It's been 2 years since we started Secretary in Israel LLC, and what a busy two years it has been!

A few fun statistics to share with you:

1. Secretary in Israel Pioneered the American Virtual Assistant Industry in Israel

Yes, it's true. We started the industry in Israel.

There has always been outsourcing in Israel, but doing the virtual assistant model in Israel was something we brought to the country.

2. 5,000 Resumes Reviewed

In the past 2 years, the Secretary in Israel team has reviewed 5,000 resumes of Americans living in Israel.

That's more than 200 resumes each month.

3. 500 Interviews Conducted

Over-the-phone and in-person, we've been talking with a lot of interesting people.

I love working for my Secretary in Israel clients because the work I do for them is so diverse: I assist my clients with writing and editing, marketing, updating websites, and more.

The best part is that the staff at Secretary in Israel does the research and matches me with a client that best fits my skills and availability, which means I am still utilizing my talents, yet in a framework that is beneficial for my clients and me.

I am so grateful that I have been able to find work which provides me with an intellectual outlet, a way to contribute financially to my family’s needs, and the flexibility to maintain a balanced family life.

MORE ABOUT NECHAMA

Nechama is a graduate of Emory university. She has worked for 10 years in a variety of office settings. She and her family currently reside just outside of Jerusalem, Israel.

The question I hear most often when I'm out and about is, "A virtual assistant sounds great! But what can I outsource to her?"

In short, the best thing to outsource is anything that you 1). don't want to do, and 2). is an ongoing/repetitive task.

For example, I don't like booking airplane tickets, but I only fly 3 times/year, so it's not the best task for me to outsource to my assistant because it's not frequent enough. (However, an executive who flies twice/week should definitely outsource this task.)

Sending welcome packs to my clients, which includes sending them a book, a card, and a few other items, is something that I don't like doing and is something that happens every week.

The Small Business Dilemma

Entrepreneurs and small business owners envision spending their time on money generating activities – working with clients and cultivating new business. However, they often find themselves spending a disproportionate amount of their valuable time and energy on administrative tasks and other routine responsibilities, which leaves less time for increasing revenue and also cuts into well deserved opportunities for relaxing with family and friends.

While entrepreneurs and small business owners may one day have a revenue stream and volume of business that justifies a larger support-staff, they are so inundated with administrative issues that they are not even able to grow their business to this point. Hiring a virtual assistant (VA) is a cost effective solution.

What is an easy way for you to reach hundreds of people every single day with your marketing message?

In your email signature!

Many of us send hundreds of emails each day to friends, family, and coworkers. Sometimes these emails are forwarded on to hundreds of additional people. The potential reach (just from your email message) is huge!

What if everyone of these people saw your marketing message? They can, if you include the key components in your email signature.

If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, your email signature should be about promoting YOUR COMPANY. If you see yourself as the brand and are a speaker or entertainer, your email signature should focus on promoting YOU.

What should be included in every successful email signature?

Even though I live in Israel, one of the most important tasks I do for one of my clients is event-planning for a monthly gathering she hosts. It’s an entrepreneur-oriented happening where people apply to present their ideas to a panel of experts. An audience of their peers and industry leaders come to watch and network before and after. Some of the key steps I take to plan and manage this event involve:

Venue

My client is lucky in that she has local corporate and collegiate sponsorship that provide her with a space to hold her events. Over the course of the month, I keep in touch with the support staff of the sponsor organization, arrange for refreshments to be ordered and paid for, create a customized guest list for the building’s security, and ensure everyone on site understands the seating and technical setup required.

Applications

Since starting, I have become the primary contact for all applicants to this event.

With the news that Oprah will not be hosting her now-famous “Favorite Things” show this year, in which she promotes her favorite items for the holiday seasons (bringing a boon of publicity to the products and making them holiday season must-haves), I began to think about my own “Favorite Things”.

As the Director of Marketing for Secretary in Israel, I help my clients increase their presence via both traditional and online media. This work often ranges from helping to secure interviews, schedule and promote my clients’ events, book speaking engagements, and connect with and continue to build their online following through Twitter and Facebook.

One of my clients has had great success attracting new clients by attending industry conferences and trade shows. These give him a chance to get his company’s services out there in a short time period, thereby enabling him to attract new clients. (He can also check out his competitors, which is a bonus!)

My client lets me know when there is a big industry conference coming up that he wants to attend. I then check out whether it is financially worth it for him to go as an attendee, speaker, or exhibitor.

To answer the question, “What are the potential returns?”, I delve into previous year’s exhibitor lists – these can be obtained from the conference organizers and can also usually be found online. The conference would normally charge a few hundred dollars for the list around the time of a conference, but a year later, they are happy to pass it on. This list contains a lot of valuable information.

In order to simplify communication with my clients, I use Google Docs. Google Docs is a free software that enables me to collaborate with my client in real-time. We can both edit the doc and each of us will see the changes.

Currently I am working with another VA, Hilary, to improve our mutual client's web content. In order to manage the content drafts, I use Google Docs to communicate with both Hilary and my client simultaneously.

I start by uploading all of my client's existing Microsoft or Mac documents to Google Docs using the easy upload button. Once I have our documents uploaded to Google Docs, I can easily share the document with Hilary through the Google Docs "share" button.

Why would a college-educated professional with five years of experience in public relations be so excited about being a virtual executive assistant?

As a Seattle native and the child of a dot-com entrepreneur, technology and communication have been a central part of my life. In addition, my fiance and I have always wanted to live in Israel, as we have a lot of family here. However, in Israel, it is particularly difficult to make a living if you work for local companies here.

As an executive virtual assistant, I have the opportunity to use technology for global collaboration and to be able to make a living in a place I love.

MORE ABOUT ALISON

Alison is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and was named Gibson Morse Scholar for her outstanding leadership and academic achievement.