Virtual assistants provide real help to small firms

By Kelly Hildebrant
(Sioux Falls, S.D.) Argus Leader

As the owner of Human Resource Associates, Joe Niechwiadowicz runs "a one-man operation."

But the Sioux Falls, S.D.-based businessman wants to spend his time working with clients rather than doing mass mailings or data entry.

He leaves that to Tiffny Ford — a virtual assistant whom Niechwiadowicz has met face to face only once but on whom he relies for large projects.

"She was able to complete my project within two days. If I had to do it myself, it would have taken me about a week doing it a little bit at a time," Niechwiadowicz said.

Ford is the owner of Virtual Office Advantage, and she's joined a growing number of virtual office assistants in the nation.

Popular with small businesses that have few employees, virtual assistants work off-site doing anything from mass mailings to promotional advertisements, Web design or data entry without actually working in the company's office.

Ford, who started the business about a year ago, said it allows her the freedom to plan her work around family.

"We have a 2-year-old daughter, and I didn't want to take her to daycare," Ford said. "I love the freedom. I love that I don't have to go to the office every day, and it's always something different."

Michelle Nestegard started MyFlunky.com about two years ago when she moved to Sioux Falls and couldn't find a job that she felt paid a decent wage.

She inventoried her skills and decided virtual assisting would be a good business.

"I like being able to get paid what I'm worth," Nestegard said. "I can pick and choose who I work for."

The number of virtual assistants nationwide has been growing as it becomes easier to outsource work via the Internet and as companies become more aware of the industry, said Fred Gandee, chairman and chief executive officer of the International Association of Virtual Office Assistants.

Those who can do real-estate support work or medical dictation are in particular demand, Gandee said.

Another reason for increased demand is that many companies have cut jobs in past years and are realizing that administrative work can be outsourced, Nestegard said.

For Niechwiadowicz, virtual assistants offer help during busy times without the hassle of hiring, training and paying a full-time employee.

"A lot of small businesses are just getting started, and they don't have the money to hire full-time employees," Gandee said. "They can hire someone based on necessity and keep overhead down."

As the industry grows, virtual assistants aren't confined to working with just smaller companies. Nestegard said she recently put in a proposal with several other virtual office assistants to do work for a larger corporation.