Most businesses are going through hard times right now and if they're not, they're at least being very careful how they spend their money.
But is the current economical outlook bad news for everyone?
For virtual office services like The Office Elf, a trend is forming; small businesses are wary of employing new members of staff - who wants to commit themselves to a regular financial outlay at a time when turnover is declining and belts are being tightened?
The solution many small business owners seek lies in virtual office services. At The Office Elf, we're often confused with a temping agency (in themselves a useful solution for some businesses) but I believe the true value of virtual office services lies in their extreme flexibility.
We work from our own offices, we have all the technology we need to work remotely on behalf of our clients, we're there for one-off jobs or regular assignments (at least, The Office Elf is) and we're self-employed, thus avoiding a whole host of extra administration and employer-related obligations.
It sounds rather cynical to suggest that virtual assistants should profiteer from the hard times that many businesses, small and large, are experiencing; but looked at from another angle, the many services that virtual assistants provide could make the difference between a business owner keeping his head above water or floundering.