FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tracy Lynn / Phone: 716-570-6517 / Email: tracylynn@valliance2u.com
VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE GAINING MOMENTUM IN WESTERN NEW YORK
Virtual administrative assistance is helping small business owners in Western New York and the surrounding counties achieve greater success by relieving the burden many business owners encounter while conducting everyday office administration.
Buffalo, NY, United States, 11/29/2007 - For a growing segment of professionals who have decided to offer their skills and experience to business owners who will appreciate the value of there expert assistance, work means never having to set foot in an office or utter a single face-to-face hello to another client again.
From a home office Buffalo, and throughout the United States, thousands of people, including Tracy Lynn, are helping businesses in Western New York and the world as virtual assistants, also known as VAs.
Virtual assistants are professional office assistants who provide office services and support without being physically present by using the internet, email, fax, and telephone. Since much of their work is done online, they can work locally or globally.
Tracy Lynn began her VA business, Virtual Alliance 2U, in 2006. Previously a Florida-based company, the move to Buffalo proved to be a wise business decision as virtual assistance is a fairly new industry to many towns across the United States. “I am glad to have the opportunity to bring this professional and desireable service to the business community here in Western New York. I find that clients typically hire virtual assistants so they can focus on what they do best, and business owners in Buffalo have a definite desire to carry out the primary functions of their business without worrying about the back-end administrative tasks,” says Tracy.
She got into the profession after years of work in various industries such as Airport Retail Concessions and Managed Healthcare turned her off to cubicles, commuting and office politics.
Since the term “virtual assistant” surfaced in the mid-1990’s, an estimated 5,000 VAs have hung out their shingles. And unlike temporary employees, VAs are entrepreneurs and small start-up businesses - just like many of their clients.
Virtual Alliance 2U offers a variety of services including Document Management, Forms Creation and Conversion, Writing Services - administrative and technical, PowerPoint Presentations, Desktop Design, and many other administrative services.
Tracy Lynn says that many companies that are hesitant to use a VA are usually unaware of the tremendous talent pool available through independent contractors. “With advancements in technology, the VA industry now consists of enterprising individuals - many of whom have elected to leave corporate positions in order to provide highly skilled services virtually.”
She points out that it’s also quite cost effective to hire a VA. “Studies have shown the real cost of hiring and keeping a full-time assistant at your own site is 2-2 1/2 times the cost of his or her salary,” Tracy Lynn explains. “Since a VA is a contractor, employers don’t have to pay taxes, insurance, or any fringe benefits.. There’s no need for extra office space or equipment. And the employer only pays for ‘time on task’.”
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If you would like more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview, please call 716-570-6517 or email at tracylynn@valliance2u.com.
I would like to report that my former client that was having trouble paying me, finally came through today. I’m very happy about this because I truly believed it was a communciation barrier - you know, Africa to the US can be quite a leap. She was a very nice person though and I am usually one to give the benefit of the doubt.
Of course, as I stated in the previous post regarding this partnership, I will not be crossing the boundaries I’ve set for myself in regards to anything in my VA business. Boundaries are too important to overlook.
I have been searching for VAs in my area of New York - Western New York to be exact. I have finally found two VAs that are singing my song!
I am driven and excited about my VA business. I am striving to be the best VA I can possibly be and I’m learning every day. My two VA friends - Shannon - The Virtual Vantage - and Michelle - WNY Virtual Office - have a great deal to offer in knowledge, ideas, suggestions and more. They are very excited to be on this VA journey as well.
One of the greatest things about the VA industry is the willingness of the Virtual Assistant’s to help other VAs in any way they can. The forums are great and the organizations have a so much to share.
So Shannon and Michelle are a very welcome addition to my VA Network - They are not my competition - they are my Virtual Alliance.