A business may have a variety of needs. The business owner has needs that may go unmet because they are always busy with work issues. For a virtual assistant looking for a niche, this type of client needs the multitasking expertise of a concierge professional.

Organization is hard to manage for some businesses. It is enough to work on creating products for clients or managing the services that they provide. In the grand scheme of things, other important stuff gets missed. Someone needs to pay attention to detail so that events and product unveilings go off without a hitch.

The Market

A business has many areas of operation. Take for instance a catering service that is preparing for an event. Besides the food, there is the equipment, hiring workers, uniforms and a million other details. Forgetting even one thing can hinder the event and cost the business a client.

An organization wants to set up a national meeting for its members. After the date is set and the invitations go out, the real work begins. There are hotels to reserve, entertainment, caterers and other arrangements to make. They need help managing the particulars.

The unsung hero of major events is the one who handles all of the things that go along with the grand ideas that someone else thinks up. With a small business, that unsung hero is the business owner who already has their hands full with other projects. Only a well organized person can coordinate and handle all of this with zeal.

Multitasking is not for the faint of heart. You may do it in your own life and find you have a talent for it. A virtual assistant that was once the right arm of an executive or another management professional knows how demanding it can be to handle every detail.

For the highly organized and multitalented virtual assistant, using your skills to help in every aspect of your client’s life is a rewarding challenge. Some of the duties you will be called upon to make as a concierge virtual assistant:

• Event planning
• Business scheduling
• Making personal appointments
• Planning parties
• Hiring various services
• Buying personal and corporate gifts
• Hotel reservations
• Travel arrangements for clients
• Paying personal bills
• Handling household activities

A concierge virtual assistant is a personal assistant and business assistant all rolled into one. When a business client has an idea for a new product, you are the one doing the fact finding. If they forget to schedule doctor’s appointments for the kids, you call the dentist and arrange it. Their entire schedule is managed by you so that they are where they need to be when they need to be there. A concierge virtual assistant takes care of a client’s personal and business needs with an air of professionalism.

One niche that virtual assistants are pursuing is that of a web designer. More and more brick and mortar businesses are taking their products to the Internet. Without the savvy to create the base for their online presence, they will need your help.

What is a web designer? A web designer is someone who works to set up websites for other businesses. If you have knowledge in this area and are talented to boot, you can take your virtual assisting business in that direction.

The Market

The Internet is the next great frontier. Millions upon millions of people use the Internet everyday to look for information, conduct business and buy merchandise or services. The way into this world is through your online presence. It is the way that people learn about you and your business.

Web designing has a tremendous learning curve. Most people don’t know anything about HTML or RSS except that they are letters. It can be intimidating for someone who wants to build a website (for an existing business or as an Internet business) to do so and not make mistakes.

Mistakes can cost you business. Pages that won’t load or graphics that are too loud can turn visitors away before they can see what the business has to offer. Many businesses would avoid this part if they could.

The area of web design is ripe for the picking for any virtual assistant with experience. Website designers who can take the ideas of the business owner and turn them into reality are and will continue to be in demand.

Virtual assistant website designers perform tasks like:

• Website setup
• Blog setup
• Monitoring forum discussions
• Page setup
• Search engine optimization of pages
• Uploading files, videos, audio and podcasts
• Troubleshoot coding problems
• Website maintenance

Visitors look for different things in a website. Placing ads at the top of the page are more eye-catching. Dedicating each webpage to a different product allows more information about the product to be readily available. Well-informed visitors are more likely to buy the product that way. 

These are just a few of the tasks you may be called upon to perform. Believe it or not, just taking care of the website duties is a weight off of the mind of business owners both small and large who want to concentrate on the business side of things and not pulling their hair out trying to manage graphics or blog posts.

The good news is that any one of these areas can further be defined as a sub-niche. Within web design you can concentrate on website maintenance or simply the initial setup. Both are much needed services. Any virtual assistant, who likes the technical side of the Internet, will see their passion fulfilled as a website designer.

Parents often dread the beginning of school because clothing, supplies, and fees for their children can be so expensive. However, there are ways to purchase the items your children need without going over budget. Considering how much money you stand to spend at the start of the new school year, here are five tips on saving money on school supplies.

When the school system releases the supply lists for students, you’ll want to obtain a list as quickly as possible. This will enable to you to see what is needed and make plans for purchasing those items.

Purchase during tax-free holiday

Many states now offer tax-free holidays right before school starts so families can purchase school supplies and save money at the same time. With taxes adding up to 10% of your back-to-school purchase cost, this could be a considerable savings when purchasing school-related items. You can check with the local board of education to find out if your state is planning a tax-free holiday.

Shop online

Office supply stores often have back-to-school sales. Sign up to receive emails with sales flyers or online coupons when making large purchases. As the school year begins, these sales will increase and quite often you can have the items shipped to your home instead of your having to fight the crowds to get them.

Another online option would be search auction sites for school supplies. There are often office and school supplies for sale, often at prices that are too good to pass up. You’ll want to factor in the cost of shipping but this still might be a good option.

Buy in bulk

Look for weekly sales papers as the start of school nears. They will often have school supplies at drastically reduced prices, often 1-cent to 50-cents for items your child will need. Stock up on those items that are on sale, even if it means you have to go back several times over a week.

Make and stick to a list

It’s tempting to buy the new items in the store aisles. However, you’ll save more money on school supplies by sticking to the list of items your child needs. If your child asks for something extra, let them buy those items with their own money.

Reuse items

Look around your house and see if you have some school supplies left from last year. Perhaps what you have isn’t the name brand your child’s teacher suggested, but they will do if they’re all you can afford. Some supplies, such as rulers, backpacks and calculators don’t wear out easily so they should still be good for the next year.

When it comes to your children, you want to give them what they need, especially for school. Using these five tips on saving money on school supplies, you’ll be able to get the supplies they need and not break your budget.

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