The Next 20 Years

Although the excerpt from the following article was about the Accounting Profession, there was some interesting information about Virtual Assistants:

Today, Crosley has an administrative assistant working from home in Denver whom she has never met. Hiring and communication was done by telephone and online, a foreshadowing of the future, according to Crosley. "I think that we'll have total virtual workplaces and what I will call electronic-based relationships," she said. "As this new generation comes onboard, they are used to electronic-based relationships, and because we have such scarce resources, it will just kind of be the norm."

That vision also rings true for Bob Gaby, CPA, CITP and principal of Arxis Technology Inc., in Simi Valley, Calif. Gaby said that he sees meetings being held via video conference, and traditional in-person client engagements will be only for the "technology-impaired."

The new generation will also be working in a totally paperless office, Gaby predicted. "Working with and storing paper documents will be a foreign concept to young accountants, like vinyl records and eight-track tapes," he said.

And so will the traditional time-and-billing system, according to both Crosley and Gary Boomer, chief executive officer of Boomer Consulting in Manhattan, Kan., and long-time Accounting Today columnist. Billable hours will be reserved for cost-accounting purposes, rather than pricing, Crosley said.

"I think we will be working towards a results-based economy, out of an efforts-based economy," Boomer said, adding that firms will become team-based, with people being employed for their unique abilities. "Pricing will become for value, rather than based upon cost plus a profit."

Read the FULL ARTICLE HERE

The Virtual Assistant Profession is only getting bigger!

Why Blog At All?

More quickly than most anyone imagined, blogging is growing up. From the blogosphere's anarchistic roots, a professional cadre is emerging that is creating an industry whose top-performing businesses now earn serious money. The industry is expanding at warp speed. Blog-based media could just be poised to elbow aside traditional print and broadcast outlets to become one of the dominant sources of news, information and opinion, many observers believe...

The blogging world has tremendous strengths - original voices, provocative opinions, imagination and intimate knowledge of a variety of subjects. But it is also an industry struggling to mature, many observers argue. They say blogging companies must overcome the industry's reputation as a sort of digital Wild West where anything goes, and confront such questions as conflicts of interest, product hype, bias and low standards of accuracy...'

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Focus on Your Business

I am still promoting the IDEA of a Virtual Assistant most because it is still a new profession. Word is getting out and more and more people are catching on.

Newswire Today had this to say about the industry:

More and more of these business owners are wasting their time ON their business and not growing their business. [Italics Mine] For most, they do not require a full-time employee to assist them. A viable outsourcing solution is the answer! They can partner with a Virtual Assistant.

The concept of Virtual Assistance is still new to the Raleigh, NC and surrounding areas, but with continuous efforts to educate the public here and nationwide, it will soon be a household name. It is a rapidly growing industry, leveraging the small business owner and entrepreneur to have a competitive internet presence because they choose to utilize the resources of a Virtual Assistant.

A Virtual Assistant or VA is an independent contractor and service provider, specializing in providing remote support, working with clients on an ongoing, collaborative relationship. A VA works from his/her own office and uses today’s technology to deliver their services and effectively communicate with their clients (defined by the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce). Because they are subcontractors, they pay their own taxes; use their own equipment therefore eliminating the cost of hiring a full-time employee. VA’s work with bright, successful individuals with a vision…authors, sales executives, high level executives, consultants, coaches, entrepreneurs…anyone who wants to achieve a well balanced life with more free time to concentrate on their own success—their own business.

Find the full story HERE.