I have had the pleasure of working with several true entrepreneurs lately. And it sincerely is a pleasure working with this group. I love the energy an entrepreneur exudes while that idea is being fostered. I love helping in that stage and I love being able to support the dreams of these people, even if it is in some small way (taking the burden of administrative ’stuff’ off of their shoulders so they can nurture their creativity).

An entrepreneur in the start up phase of their business is in a very delicate state. Usually this is where the ideas are flowing freely, and the entrepreneur in question just wants their business started - up and running - as soon as possible.

Sometimes the entrepreneur is employed elsewhere and can’t do all that needs to be done without help. Other times the budding business owner has taken on clients before certain things were in place and has gotten too busy to back track and to them now.

Starting a business is a huge undertaking and the incredibly bright entrepreneur recognizes the fact that they must spend as much time as possible fostering that idea…that concept. However, if they spend all their time on their idea, the other side of their business, the administrative/operational side will never be as strong as it should be. There are some sad statistics about how many start ups actually make it past five years, and the start up phase is an important time to set up some good practices.

This is where the services of a virtual assistant can be invaluable for the bootstrapping entrepreneur.

An off-site administrative assistant works only when you ask them to. It’s not like a traditional employee where you pay someone to sit at a desk five days a week, whether or not you have five full days worth of work for them to do.

The following is a list I brainstormed yesterday, of items an entrepreneur in the start up phase can delegate to a virtual assistant:

• Graphic design - logo, business card, stationery, flyer, etc.
• Website design/development, shopping cart set up
• Blog set up (the right VA can even write the entries for you!)
• Masterminding (help determine a business name, tagline, target market, etc.)
• Business plan - a VA can take your notes and format them into a proper business plan.
• Marketing assistance
• Newsletter creation
• Internet research
• Copywriting
• Database creation
• Bookkeeping
• Making phone calls
• Email management
• Virtual PBX set up

I am going to delve into these items in more detail over a series of blog posts over the next few days - so stay tuned!

In the meantime - think about how productive you could be if you could take the above items off your own plate….

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