[Reprinted from my Moving Toward Success Ezine 10/12/08 Edition.]

There’s a lot of concern out there about the troubled economy and the future for all of us. It’s hard to know where to invest your money these days, and it’s even more frightening to ponder your job security.

However, even this black cloud has a silver lining. When the economy turns bad and people downsize employees, they start looking for independent contractors to do the same tasks their employees used to do.

Why? Here are the main reasons:

1. The companies don’t have to pay for insurance benefits for a virtual assistant. This is a HUGE savings!

2. The companies don’t have to pay someone to be there 20, 30 or 40 hours per week. VA’s are paid only for the time worked!

3. The companies don’t have to worry about paying Social Security and other payroll taxes or complying with OSHA rules and regulations with independent contractors like they do with employees.

4. The companies don’t have to pay for utilities and furniture and equipment for someone. VAs work from their home and have their own equipment.

Even though a VA’s hourly rates are higher than an employee’s hourly rates, companies can save big money and have less risk using the services of a virtual assistant over keeping an employee.

Also, many people will be starting home based businesses right now (not just VA businesses) as they find themselves losing jobs. It’s easy to do that these days, and those people will need support in setting up those businesses and keeping them running. That’s where you, as a VA, step in with your expertise and help them set up their businesses quickly so they can start getting a profit (which means contract security for you!).

Financial institutions are struggling, but home based businesses are growing at a steady pace.

If you’ve been putting off getting your VA business started or expanding it, now is the time to take action!

A bad economy isn’t always bad for everyone. Don’t make it bad for you.