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Entrepreneur Profile

Michelle Ulrich

Reflections of You, Virtual Assistant Services

Citrus Heights, CA

www.ReflectionsOfYou.com

Michelle Ulrich doesn’t have to endure rush hour traffic anymore. Her commute consists of making the short trek her from her kitchen to her home office, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

After growing tired of working in corporate America, Ulrich applied for a business licences in May of 2003 and hit the ground running. Reflections of You is her growing home business where she works as a Virtual Assistant (VA).

Virtual Assistance is a relatively new industry that has opened entrepreneurial doors for men and women with office skills who want the freedom to work independently from home. The International Virtual Assistants Association (www.ivaa.org) describes the role of a VA as “an independent entrepreneur providing administrative, creative and/or technical services.”

According to Ulrich, educating people on what a Virtual Assistant does is one of the biggest challenges in the industry. “A VA is not a PDA or other electronic device,” she says with a chuckle. She occasionally calls herself a Business Support Specialist since many people are not yet familiar with industry terminology.

Reflections of You offers a plethora of services including graphics design, contact database management, and development and implementation of marketing campaigns. For example, clients who collect business cards each month can send them to Ulrich and she will input the data into a contact management database. She can also help a client develop a marketing strategy for an entire year. She currently utilizes the services of two sub-contractors, though all work still goes through Ulrich for final proofing and discussion with the clients.

Services are typically billed on a retainer basis. Communication with clients is conducted via e-mail, phone and fax technologies, allowing Ulrich to service customers in a variety of geographic locations. She relies heavily on her computer and software programs to accomplish tasks such as designing brochures and fliers.

Ulrich is currently working toward her Virtual Assistant certificate through the Santa Rosa Junior College. She is also a member of California Business Education Association (www.CBEAonline.org) where she has delivered presentations on Virtual Assistance to educators, helping them start their own Virtual Assistant curriculum like the one Santa Rosa Junior College has had since 2000.

Though she is a certified Real Estate Support Specialist and says that Realtors frequently utilize the services of VAs, she has recently shifted her focus to serving business, life and personal coaches. As an active member and current Vice President of the Sacramento chapter of American Business Women’s Association (www.ABWA-Sacramento.com), Ulrich is able to pursue her focus on professional and personal development while networking with other members and promoting her business. She rounds out her activities as a member of the International Virtual Assistants Association (www.ivaa.org).

Ulrich is typically in her office from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. four days per week and occasionally works after hours on projects. “I enjoy the flexible lifestyle that my business provides,” says Ulrich. Her two daughters, ages 10 and 13, can spend time at home instead of being shuffled off to daycare.

Though she initially found that she missed the camaraderie of working in an office environment, her daily interaction with clients and colleagues has helped her adjust to working from home. She likes to play her stereo loudly and keeps her two cats close by for company. Ulrich says she mostly enjoys being her own boss and having the freedom to pick and choose her work projects.

“Ambition, persistence and just putting myself out there,” is how Ulrich describes the keys to her success. She spends much of her time networking, conducting speaking engagements and working on client projects.

Ulrich plans to keep expanding and subcontracting work to other VAs while continuing her efforts to educate the public about the Virtual Assistance field. Though her business is growing, she says the greatest benefit is that it allows her to enjoy time at home with her family, creating a balanced lifestyle that she loves.