Few small business owners alone possess all the skills necessary to create and manage a thriving business without some professional assistance. For the past decade, virtual assistants have been instrumental in assisting small business owners in areas such as internet marketing, website design and maintenance, publicity and advertising, list and database management, customer care, and a host of other key business functions.

However in reality, few virtual assistants possess the vast skill set necessary to provide the business owner with the highest possible quality work in all these key areas of business management. As a result, an employer may spend many tedious hours training a VA to get her up to speed in the areas in which she is deficient, only to receive mediocre results that may not help the business to grow, or worse, may actually result in a negative ROI.

This is why a Virtual Team is an intelligent outsourcing solution for the small business owner with diverse tasks to delegate, and a demand for consistent, measurable, excellent results every time, on every task.

A Virtual Team is led by a Team Leader, who is the contact person with the small business owner. That Team Leader will delegate the employer's individual tasks and projects to the most qualified VAs available, who are uniquely skilled in their particular areas of expertise.

For example, the Team Leader may utilize 5 different VAs to manage the needs of the business: one for website design and management, one to write press releases and web content, one for data entry and list management, and so on. The business owner need only communicate with the Team Leader, and she will manage the rest of the team to ensure impeccable, on time results.

If any VA on the team has not provided the highest quality work, the Team Leader will contract with a different VA for that project or task, until it is properly completed. Virtual Teams cut the time and energy associated with training and supervision immeasurably, enabling entrepreneurs to use their time to focus on what they do best – envisioning growth strategies and being creative. For more information on Virtual Teams, contact Linda at connect @ connect2pro.com today.

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As unthinkable as it may seem, outsourcing cumbersome tasks to a virtual staffing agency may be actually be the perfect way to free up your time to focus on the creative endeavors necessary to grow a more profitable business. Stacey Ballie, in her article on www.sbinfocanada.about.com explains that VAs are highly qualified, experienced office professionals who work from their home offices and are paid only for hours on task.

A VA uses her own office equipment, and is always equipped with high speed internet access, phone, and fax capabilities.

Your VA can be located anywhere, though hiring one in your own time zone is most convenient.

VAs can be used for database support and website development, general sales or phone answering assistance, copywriting, preparation of brochures and support materials, accounting, transcription, and countless other functions.

Working through a virtual staffing agency ensures that if your VA cannot complete a task, another VA will be assigned to the job. A virtual staffing professional can help you solve your employee-problems and get your projects off the ground, by connecting you with a professional who knows what they're doing, and you won't have to screen, interview and verify — that's already done for you.
Imagine how much valuable time and energy you could put directly back into growing your business with a qualified professional handling all your cumbersome tasks? For more, read the story here.

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People are no longer bound to a corporation for employment. More and more people are starting their own businesses from home. They can communicate with clients in a blink of an eye, send documents and reports around the world in an instant and even compete with large corporations for clients.

Even though a person is able to do all of those things from home, they are still only one person and will need some support in order to manage a growing business. Hiring a virtual assistant is the obvious solution, but the process can be intimidating – especially for those who are new to the work at home arena.

The first step in the process is, of course, to find some virtual assistants who are interested in working with you. This can be done by posting a help wanted ad. You will most likely receive your best response from posting it online, as those in the “offline” world may be a little less familiar with what a virtual assistant is.

There are many job boards online where your ad can be posted. Some may allow you to post for free, and others may charge. Some of these sites include justonlinejobs.com and craigslist.com.

There are even some sites, such as guru.com and elance.com that specialize in helping freelancers and contract workers find employment. As an employer, you simply post the job you are looking to fill, and prospective candidates bid on the job. They will put in the amount they are willing to accept as payment; you will be able to browse their online portfolios and decide which person has the skills and the background that is right for you.

Another way to find a prospective VA is to get referrals from other professionals you know, respect, and trust. Those that are new to the work at home industry and do not have many colleagues yet, could go to a message board targeted towards people in their field and post a message asking for referrals.

Once a few potential virtual assistants have been located, the interview process can begin. It is important to look at how the VA represents their self online, as that is how they will be representing you. Their website is a great place to start. Is it neat and professional looking? If it looks messy, has a misspelled word, or poor use of grammar, that is an indication that the person lacks the skills or motivation to complete a professional assignment.

It is also important to note the testimonials from previous clients. If there are no testimonials at all, this is a red flag that the virtual assistant is either very new to the field or hasn’t been able to make a client happy yet.

Interviews can be completed over the phone or via email. It is important to note how the VA communicates with you as this can tell you how serious they are about completing the tasks you will be assigning them.

You may want to ask them about their background, their education, what skills they can bring to the table, and what areas they feel they are weak in.

Once a decision has been made, you may want to protect yourself by having the VA sign a non-disclosure statement which ensures that they will keep your business matters private. It is also helpful to establish any payment terms, job expectations, and other requirements in writing. You can simply email this information to them, have them sign it, and then snail mail it back to you.

Hiring a virtual assistant can seem intimidating at first, but it is a fairly easy process that can do wonders for your business.

Better yet, you can get this job done for you by a virtual staffing agency – they will screen, interview, test and match the person with the perfect skills and talent for your business needs, as well as providing invoicing, contracting and legal protection. Contact Linda at connect@connect2pro.com for more information.

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There are many online schools and associations that offer VA certification. Since there is no law that governs what this distinction means, each program or association can decide what is required for their specific certification.

In most cases, this will mean that the VA has passed some exams in things like word processing, web design, internet research, and so forth. It is important to remember that there are no standardized tests and that receives certification from one organization may not be eligible for certification from another organization.

Rather than looking at a certification that may not mean much at all, it is important to look at the VA’s all around background, skill set, and past experience.

This is especially true if you are looking to hire a VA who specializes in a specific task, such as marketing or affiliate management. A basic VA certification may not have any bearing on these tasks, as these skill sets are not even tested through those exams.

Looking at the virtual assistant’s own website can give you great insights as to whether they are capable of handling the assignments you want taken care of. If their website contains misspelled words, grammar errors, or simply looks unprofessional, this is a sign that they will handle your assignments in the same way.

The manner in which the VA communicates with you will also provide clues to how your working relationship may become. If the VA is slow to respond to email inquiries and again, lacks spelling and grammar skills, this is a red flag that their work will not only be handed in late, it will also be sloppily put together.

On the other hand, someone with a crisp and professional-looking website that is free of errors, who responds quickly to emails and is enthusiastic sounding over the phone will most likely complete their assignments in the same way.

Once you know a VA has the skill set, experience, and background you are looking for, you can rest assured that they will be capable of completing your tasks. Any certifications they may have are icing on the cake.

Or, make it easy on yourself – Hire a virtual assistant through a staffing agency, like Connect2Pro. We have already done the work for you! You can rest assured that your virtual administrative assistant has been tested and guaranteed to do a great job for you.
Check the Contact Us page on this website for more information.

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Competition in a global marketplace is with competent people who have in-demand skills, working in foreign countries for a fraction of the price we would expect to pay a US worker – even someone who works out of their home.

There is a great deal of talent out there…but if you want to support a home-friendly economy and a green business climate — pay a bit more, and get a highly-skilled VA who speaks your language.

Websites like http://www.elance.com/ and http://www.guru.com/ have become extremely popular resources for employers looking for freelance professionals to complete various projects, running the gamut from writing assignments to highly technical engineering projects. On these sites, employers will post open projects for which professionals worldwide are invited to compete by bidding on them for an hourly or flat fee.

As has become a hotbed political issue in recent years, we are all aware that there are many countries around the world in which highly skilled workers are able to work for far less money than their United States counterparts.

But there are many independent contractors here in the United States willing to offer their services for far less than the going market rate, making them not only competitive with professionals abroad, but also particularly attractive to a owner on a shoestring budget.

As blogger http://www.vadiva.com/ cautions, while you might secure the services of a virtual assistant for $7-$10 per hour domestically or abroad, a low price could be an indication that the services rendered might be less than professional.

She sites examples of contractor profiles which include spelling and grammatical errors, incorrect usage of words, and the use of slang. If your task list for a virtual assistant includes communication with clients, this could cause embarassment to you or worse, damage the image you have created for your business.

Choose carefully when hiring professionals to represent your business, and don't let price be the determining factor.

Read more Here.

(An extra $10-20/hr can make the difference for your online success. Think about the consequences of a "bad hire" – which you can have happen to you virtually as well – it can cost you more than that, it can cost you your business!)

If you would like to be introduced to a true virtual administrative professional, who can be relied upon to handle your individual problems as your project manager, you can send an email to connect@connect2pro.com for personal service.

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