Australian virtual office

Travelling in Australia for business can be immensely satisfying but can also be challenging. I have travelled extensively across the Country for business. I rarely took more than an overnight bag, a laptop, a few bits of paperwork and the usual technical resources. As a consultant, I had little support at the other end. This was ok when things went well. My staff and I put a lot of effort into planning these trips. We spent a lot of time securing the ideal venue at the other end, checking on the food and technical support for the IT. But still there would be the odd thing at each event that got tricky.

On one occasion, I got to the venue and the handouts hadn't arrived. The venue operator had changed their receiving address for the booklets without telling those hiring the venue, and their administration assistant service had closed for the day. I made do with the powerpoint and a few hard copies of the materials to those who clearly were not impressed, but this had an impact on the outcome.

I know the value of a skilled virtual office and on line personal assistant. In this case, I would have valued the availability of a person who could quickly provide local information about the closest photocopying service in town or someone who could email copies of the material to each of the attendees.

Outsourcing this work to a virtual assistant at the time it is needed, makes a lot of sense. It also saves money. Once I realised the importance of a virtual assistant, I was able to leave a certain number of tasks to be worked out along the way.

Getting the best out of your virtual office requires a few small steps on your part.

1. Choose a virtual office assistant before you need them;
2. Ask them about their qualifications, experience and affiliations';
3. Check out if they have a 24 hour, seven days a week service or restricted hours;
4. Check out what they can do for you - know their limitations, rules and yours;
5. Be clear about pricing and if they offer discounts for periodic and long term work; and
6. Exchange shared respect