VA is an alternative and cost-effective solution to employing a permanent staff or the calling of a temp.
Unlike a temp who works for an agency, the VA works for the business. He or she has good bottom-line reasons to learn all about the business and deliver top-quality services.
A VA is also a self-employed entrepreneur and can better understand the needs of the small business. The Client-VA relationship is a symbiotic one, in that the VA is the client’s growth partner in business, with a vested interest in helping the small business flourish. Only an employee with stock options can claim this powerful motivation.
According to a recent report by The Business Times and the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Business Research and Development (CBRD), the performance of small firms plunged in the last quarter of 1999, even as all other firms in Singapore continued to do better.
While an overwhelming 65 per cent more large firms expected business conditions to improve in the next six months, the number of pessimistic small firms outnumbered the number of optimistic ones: 20 per cent more small firms said their business may worsen in the first half.
Ms Chow Kit Boey, CBRD director, said that one possible explanation is rising labour costs, which smaller companies find difficult to deal with. “Labour costs are rising as the economy is improving. Small companies then have a heavier cost burden since labour costs tend to form a greater proportion of their total costs, relative to large firms,” she said.
It is imperative that small businesses start to rethink their business model in order to continue to survive in this new economy.
Mindsets need to change and be open to new ways of doing business and the running of their businesses. Small firms are placed in a disadvantaged position when competing with the bigger ones for qualified professionals, who can assist the business in gaining a competitive edge.
Many of the smaller firms cannot afford the high costs of employing such high caliber professionals. In some cases, the volume of their business transactions does not justify having a permanent employee to do the job.
However, some of these functions, though routine, are vital to the survival of a business.
In their efforts to build up the business, the day-to-day operational activities such as keeping track of the accounts and cash flow management, are often neglected by some entrepreneurs who do not have financial management background.
There is a need to look for an alternative staffing solution that is both efficient and cost-effective. The Virtual Solution is a viable option worth considering.
Article contributed by Ms Elsie Lee, Owner of ELIX Virtual Management – a Technopreneur Home Office endorsed by NSTB. Website: http://www.elix.com.sg
First published on Tuesday, May 2, 2000 in The Straits Times, Recruit Section.
