Going Virtual: Sharing the Adventure- Part Three

I’m bringing you part three of my series sharing just how the client/virtual assistant relationship works in real life situation…my own.  If you missed Part One and Part Two go ahead and check them out to see how it all began.

In my prior business life, starting a new job always required a learning curve. Now as a business owner providing services to a client I’ve come to recognize that each client also requires a learning curve.  My title processing client was no exception.

During the first month any concerns my client might have had about the e-phone system not appearing professional were put to rest. Receiving information from different sources via e-mail and fax allowed me to keep all relevant information in electronic form, categorized into files on disk.  Upon receiving closing instructions from the Lender, I could add the information I gathered before sending all of it on to my client’s office in one complete package, ready to print out for the real estate closing. But like I said, there is always a learning curve.

At the end of a month, it was obvious to me that the volume of work was greater than my client had anticipated and the time they had estimated to complete it fell far short of the actual time I was logging in my time tracking software.  With the discounted rate we had agreed to, my business was taking a loss.  I contacted my client with details on just what was being done for each file, how much time each task required and showed them why the current situation wasn’t a viable business situation for me.  I also presented an alternative that would allow me to continue to do their processing work while still falling within their budget.  A phone call and several e-mails later we had adjusted our agreement to benefit both of our businesses. 

In a little over a month, it became obvious that a job even I was a bit skeptical about doing virtually, could be done and done well.  So is that the end of the adventure?  Not quite. I’ve shared how as a virtual assistant I was able to get the normal tasks of a difficult job done.  A virtual assistant offers so much more than that.  In our next installment, I’ll share what some of those things are in relation to this particular client.