Celebrating Virtual/Independent Assistants

Meli Steinberg
May 21, 2021
3 min read

Why celebrate virtual/independent assistants?

That's a great question and there are so many good reasons! By the time you get to the end of this article, we think you'll agree that virtual/independent assistants are a brilliant idea. We hope you will see that they are very useful for small businesses that need a variety of skills and services that they could not justify by hiring full-time staff, agencies or consultants.

Celebrate International Virtual/Independent Assistant Day - 21 May

This day celebrates all those wonderful people who have the ability to step in like Mary Poppins and bring order and peace, eliminate stress and sort out all those endless tasks that plague busy business owners and individuals.

The First Virtual/Independent Assistant (VA)

No matter who created them, it seems that VAs magically appeared in the early 1990s in the United States, according to the Society of Virtual Assistants. It's an idea and a service that quickly gained traction, simply because it meets a real need and as a service it makes sense.

It’s a positive career choice, not a last resort.

One survey, the 2011 UK Virtual Assistant Survey, proved this particular point and busted the myth that virtual assistants are just mothers without childcare who bridge the gap before returning to a "real" job. It revealed that less than 4% of virtual assistants fit this description.

While we're on the subject of working mothers, let's just say that if you come across a virtual/freelance assistant who is also a mother, you've found a true model of efficiency. Few roles in life require this particular blend of special qualities needed to coordinate raising a child, a job, and running a household. The statistics of the pandemic have proven once again that women have taken on the brunt of all these tasks, not to mention homeschooling.

The bottom line is that when you invite a virtual/independent assistant (who may or may not be a parent) into your business, you are bringing in someone who has made a choice to do this career and that person will be motivated to deliver.

Services of a virtual/independent assistant

This gives you an idea of what you can expect when you work with a virtual/independent assistant - and there are so many good reasons to do so:

No matter how simple or complex, we can help you with a range of services:

Regular administrative tasks
Process improvements
Systems and applications training
Social media planning
Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter training (and more).
Website redesigns, updates, or even building websites from scratch.
Marketing and email management.
Marketing planning and execution.
Event planning - private or business, virtual or real.
Attending meetings, managing note taking and minutes.
Managing your holiday home rental or Airbnb.
Supporting business growth.
Brand development and management.
Managing your teams

When using our services, you will have a choice of financial arrangements (hourly, fixed price, à la carte), we cater our services to businesses of all shapes and sizes.

The advantages

Flexibility
Free you to run your business.
Frees your mind to have more time for planning.
A complementary perspective, especially in terms of strategy.
Bring in specialist skills for just the time you need them.
Fund only the time and skills you need.
Filling skills gaps.
Corporate experience at a manageable cost.

Dedicated to your success

We work closely with you and, through our network, have access to other independent professionals, enabling us to find specialist skills that your own team may not have.

Realistic prices

If the task is simple and brief, we'll offer hourly rates. Depending on the type and level of support required we can offer varying rates and packages.

We take care of you

You can be anywhere, we will be there for you.
In fact, you can go on holiday knowing that we will keep an eye on everything and only contact you if necessary.
We always have your best interests at heart.

A surprisingly affordable price

First of all, you are always in control of the cost, because we don't believe in surprising (small) business owners with unexpected bills.
Secondly, our service has been designed to be economical and transparent, while offering you a high level of expertise.
Finally, with SIA independent administrative services, you only pay for the time you need.

This is what we would want for ourselves, so we know this is a sensitive issue.

Think personal assistant

Professional activities are personal in nature and we are there to listen and act.
We get to know our clients well and support you through the ups and downs of running a small business.
Think of us as a virtual private secretary or personal assistant, someone you can trust to get things done properly and without fuss.