Leva: What experience or skills does someone need to run a secretarial service?
Nancy: The industry standard is two to three years experience in office support, keyboarding speed of 70 wpm, and good English and grammar skills. When I was hired for my first secretarial job, my typing speed was only about 45 wpm. Over the years, it has more than doubled.
But typing speed is only part of it. I have a college background (although that's not really necessary), have taken additional courses over the years, and have worked in a variety of industries. Now that I have my own business, I find that all of those bits of knowledge I picked up over the years help me to do a better job now. Because I have such a variety of clients, I find it helpful to know a little bit about a lot of things. So I would have to say that knowledge and continuing education are helpful.
Leva: What was your previous experience? Did you have any experience with transcription?
Nancy: I have over 20 years experience in office support, as a secretary and then eventually executive secretary. I typed correspondence and statistical reports, edited and helped prepare a monthly field publication, took minutes, transcribed, and did light bookkeeping.
Leva: How did you get started? How did you get your first clients? What's the best way to attract customers? How do you market your business?
Nancy: I left my job with the plan of starting my own office support business. I enrolled in college classes to become a certified medical transcriptionist. I created some sad-looking business cards and flyers on my computer. My first paying customer got my phone number from one of my flyers on campus -- I made a whopping $10!
I was confident of my office skills but quickly realized I was pretty much clueless as to how to get this business off the ground.
But I had vowed to make this business work. I wrote a business plan to get me focused. I gave my business card to everyone I met. I joined the Chamber of Commerce and other networking groups. I stepped outside my comfort zone by going door to door in office buildings and introducing myself. I put an ad in the Yellow Pages.
At the beginning, most of my business came from the Yellow Pages ad, with a few referrals from friends. Now that I've been in business a while, most of it is repeat business or referrals, with an occasional call from someone who saw me in the Yellow Pages or on the Internet.
It was when I met Leva that things began to really come together. She had seen my name somewhere and invited me to attend a meeting of a local group, AOSP, Association of Office Support Professionals. Members of AOSP -- but mostly -- Leva advised me on pricing, referred work to me, and answered my many questions. I can say with absolute assurance that if I had not met Leva, I could not have made my business work.
That's why I think her product, "Secretarial Business-in-a-Box", is brilliant. You get to pick the brain of someone who has been successfully operating this business for years. I wish this product had been around when I first got started!
Leva: What's the biggest challenges?
Nancy: If you work from home, one challenge is getting friends and family to take you seriously and understand that you are working, even though you are at home.
Another challenge was getting used to all the "business stuff" involved in running a business -- getting a deposit before starting a project, asking clients to sign an agreement, and asking for payment.
Leva: What are the biggest mistakes a secretary or word processor can make?
Nancy: Sloppy, inaccurate work, typos, not meeting deadlines. It gives the rest of us a bad name.
Not treating this as a serious business. If you respect yourself and your skills, respect from others will follow.
Knowing how to price your services. Get it clear in your mind that you offer professional services, and you should be reimbursed fairly for that. Like I said before, Leva helped me immensely in that area.
Leva: Do you have any recommendations for someone just starting a secretarial business?
Nancy: Don't reinvent the wheel. Instead, pick the brains of more experienced people like Leva.
Nancy has operated A+ Secretarial and Business Services In Vista California for 9 years. She the author of "14 Surefire Tips to Get the Job of Your Dreams," a concise book to assist job hunters. For more information about her secretarial services or her book, call 760-945-666, email nancyjg5@cox.net, or visit www.aplusnancy.com.
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