Friends,

The VA industry has been handed a virtual gold plated piece of marketing material.

In the August 25 issue of BusinessWeek magazine, on page 059, is an 'article' titled Tips From A Bitter Temp: how to survive in a bureaucracy. Actually, it's online here.

Now, the article may have been inteded as tongue-in-cheek, but I'm sure you've all heard the saying that comedy is based on truth. Things are 'funny' because we see a little bit of ourselves, or something we've witnessed.

What you will see is a story about a "temp" who appears to be unhappy with her career. ( Now, when I was a "temp" I held a completely different perspective. I was skilled and the agency I worked for sent me to quality assignments. ) She complains at one point that she was "denied a dollar-an-hour raise" and felt insultued. Her "pay" didn't come directly from that business. It came from the agency where she worked. Feeling glad that two execs were booted from the business tells me she didn't understand the nature of her job.

Use this article to address the differences between a "temp" and a VA in your marketing materials, blogs, and presentations.

Actually, this issue of BusinessWeek has some GREAT information in it relating to the different generations and the view of those in the workforce.

__________________
Robin A. Holstein
Robin's Desktop Virtual Administrative Services
My Blog

Thanks for sharing - that was really funny!

__________________
Julia

Robin,

I absolutely love this article for a couple of reasons. First, it shows our clients that 'temps' are only there for the money, where are there because we want to be. Secondly, being in the insurance niche, this will definitely relate to my clients.

Thanks for posting.

__________________
Internet Marketing Specialist
Back Pocket Business Solutions

Robin, thank you for posting this. I just saw this article featured on Yahoo today and had to chuckle my way through it - I have been in her shoes before. Lora makes a great point - temps are there simply because they need a way to pay the bills; VAs are there because we want to help other businesses succeed. Great resource!

LOL! That was great. Thanks for posting it.

Great piece and great tip and great idea! Thanks so much for sharing.