If you haven't checked out the Cybertary web site lately, you might want to give it a look. The site has recently undergone a redesign, resulting in a fresh new look, updated content about the business and its services, and more options for finding and contacting your nearest Cybertary operation. One feature incorporated during the redesign is an improved format for the Cybertary location pages, which now employ a product called Empowerkit to enable each Cybertary location to create a unique presence that highlights their team members, service offerings, and social media presence on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Just type in your zip code to find the Cybertary location nearest you, then click the link to their location page. We hope you like the new site, and will check back periodically—there may be even more changes to come!
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Cybertary Franchising LLC
at
5:41 PM
The nature of a city can shape the way that Cybertary performs. Ask Joyce Kane, whose Cybertary Pittsburgh office was launched in September 2009. “Pittsburgh happens to be a little bit slower than the rest of the country in terms of new things and changes, so it’s been a bit more challenging,” she explained. “I’m spending more time on the education process.”
Joyce says there are a number of virtual assistants in her town who have been operating there for several years, and they support mostly coaches, consultants and authors. “Those groups are very familiar with virtual assistance, and have used them, but the rest of the marketplace doesn’t appear to be as aware of what we can do for them,” she said.
So Joyce, who has about 30 years experience in the corporate world in IT infrastructure management, said her current jobs have been in the traditional office-support category, as well as personal and executive assistance projects, with a dearth of work in graphic design and bookkeeping, something she’d like to see change.
No two days are the same for her and her seven-person team, she says, and although educating potential clients can be challenging and the fear of the unknown can be daunting, she doesn’t miss her former work lifestyle. “It was fairly regimented with a lot of meetings, and a lot of late night and weekend work.” Being self-employed and more involved with small businesses has been eye opening and exciting. “I never knew some of these business existed or the sheer number of networking groups that are available.”
“A lot of this past year has been dedicated to talking with different folks of the ‘possibilities’ in terms of the types of services we offer. It always sounds like we can be everything for everyone, so the challenge is to really crystallize the message in order for it to resonate with the audience.”
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Cybertary Franchising LLC
at
1:30 PM
Dow and Angell say the leap from a pulsating corporate environment to home-based offices worked for them, giving them flexible schedules, more quality private time and less stress.
It's a niche Cybertary touts to prospective employees, and clients.
"It does work both ways. Not only do we have more time for our lives, we offer (clients) services that free up more time for them to run their businesses," Dow said.
The article also features a sidebar that summarizes Cybertary's market positioning and services, and a snapshot of those working in the VA industry.
Congratulations, Tina and Valerie, on the great exposure!
UPDATE: Tina and Valerie got TV coverage! Congratulations again!
Posted by
Cybertary Franchising LLC
at
3:33 PM
Two Cybertary operators were recently featured in newspaper articles that highlight the alternative to conventional staffing that they provide to local small businesses. In “ Filling voids with virtual assistants,” the Alexandria Times features Fleur Gessner of Cybertary DC-Metro, and one of her satisfied clients. The story illustrates how Cybertary can be an ideal solution for small business seeking specialized skills that they don't have in-house. In it, Fleur talks about how the Cybertary business model is geared toward meeting specific business needs: “What I really like about this business model is that it allows small businesses and medium-sized businesses to get very professional backup support by the hour, as needed. They don’t have to bid a lot of resources or commit to a minimum number of hours and they have a partner that has the ability to help them grow their business.”
“Small businesses just don't have the resources to allocate the different functions a big corporation might have,” explained Bhuvana Krishnan, owner of Cybertary Alpharetta, the North Fulton branch of the national firm. “Or they might not need a person full-time for the job. We provide these solutions on demand.” Congratulations and thanks to both of these franchisees for illustrating the value that Cybertary can provide to businesses seeking to grow in a challenging environment.
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Cybertary Franchising LLC
at
6:35 PM
Communicating with people face to face and keeping her own schedule are two things that Sharon Holbrook treasures. And despite the fact she’s in the virtual-assistance business, her Cybertary franchise in Elk Grove, CA has offered plenty of opportunity for connecting with people in the flesh and creating her own schedule. “I’m very uncomfortable doing things on the phone,” she says, “so my most success comes from doing what I like most, and that is meeting people.” And it’s the variety of folks, to say nothing of the variety of jobs, all handled in her own time frame, that excite her, and make the work, well, fun. “Plus I get to be creative,” she says, adding that no two days are quite the same. An assignment she recently enjoyed was assembling an operations manual for an electrical company in the San Francisco Bay area. “They have a lot of data put together, and they’d had it in some sort of format, but wanted it to be put into a marketable piece, user-friendly. It’s probably been the most fun and challenging,” she said. Elk Grove, the second-largest city in Sacramento county, lies 15 miles southeast of the capitol city and was voted the fastest- growing US urban city between July 1, 2004 and July 1, 2005. For new businesses like hers, launched in January 2009, it’s been a challenging area, she admits. “It took me a lot longer than I anticipated to get the name out there and get people understanding who we are and what we do.” But persistence pays off. With seven team members on contract, Holbrook’s found herself progressively busier, and being close to the bustling Bay area has been a plus as well. “Elk Grove’s an older community, a great community: I really enjoy it,” she said.
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Cybertary Franchising LLC
at
11:34 AM
"At Cybertary we sometimes work from a client's office, a quiet cafe, along the soccer field or from the road. (This) remote access tool allows you to work on documents as if you were sitting at the PC in your home office or even at your client's PC, without actually having to be there. A free version meets most remote access needs. The paid version allows for remote printing, file transfers, file sharing and file syncing." SecondAct.com is a great resource with lots of career and financial advice for those planning the second 40 years of their lives, and Cybertary is glad to be there!
Posted by
Cybertary Franchising LLC
at
11:24 AM
 "There used to be a person that did this, and he isn’t here anymore, and the work still needs to be done, but we’re not hiring.”
That’s the refrain that partners/owners Valerie Dow and Tina Angell of Cybertary Roseville often hear when companies contact them for virtual assistance. Theirs is the first Cybertary franchise, which the two formed in February 2007. Today, they’ve got eight team members.
“With the economy in general, people have been downsizing their work forces,” says Valerie, “and in lieu of hiring, they’re outsourcing some of their tasks to protect their existing work force.” That’s where Cybertary steps in. “It’s a win-win for us and for larger companies, and even for some smaller ones,” she said. Without having to commit to a contract or a minimum amount of work, companies can plug in Cybertary services at the drop of a hat or a wireless mouse, and feel good about saving money.
One of the franchise’s major coups last year was assisting the city of Dixon, CA. in the summer of 2009 in putting together a grant package that earned them $3 million from the US Department of Commerce. The grant is being used to make water supply and storage improvements in a commercial/industrial area of Dixon, and is projected to create 1000 jobs and generate $40 million in private investment. A glowing example of where outsourcing allowed the city to pursue a project that otherwise may have overwhelmed existing staff members and might not ever have taken off.
At a recent economic forum, Tina learned that the projected behavior for most business comes down to a single word: Caution. “There may be some hiring, but companies—typically large and mid-sized ones—are going to be cautious. So as they grow they’re going to need someplace to expand that overflow work.” Cybertary offers the perfect solution.
Posted by
Cybertary Franchising LLC
at
12:44 PM
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