About Michele, Founder of A Virtual Pro
A highly motivated self-starter, Michele graduated from the University of Toronto in Canada with a BA in Management with Distinction in 1993. She also holds the Certified EthicsChecked ™ and IVVA Certified Virtual Assistant™ designation - recognized internationally as the standard that Virtual Assistants strive to attain. Michele has served on the Board of Directors of the International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA) and is currently a Virtual Assistant Mentor.
As profiled on the Roaring Women Website:
The E's of Business
Energy. Enthusiasm. Efficiency. All of these things come to mind when you talk to Michele O’Reggio. Apply effort to those three E’s and you have all you need when it comes finding someone for behind the scenes in your business.
Michele is a professional who wanted it all - a great career and a great family life. She quickly learned that a working mom had to wear many hats and many times, her family would have to take 2nd place. However Michele, now 34, faced the dilemma many working mothers face – trying to achieve a balance between work and family.
She took on several temporary jobs but that still wasn’t the solution that Michele needed. Long hours, late nights and cold snowy waits for public transit took their toll on time that Michele would rather spend with her family. Finally she said "enough was enough" and began researching work-at-home jobs.
Her decision to start her own business was really a no-brainer. In 2000 while working part time with several temp agencies, Michele began to take on clients as a Virtual Assistant, supporting clients from her home-based office. A Virtual Pro, Michele’s company, gave her the flexibility she needed to earn an income and still be at home with her daughter. When I asked her about Virtual Assistants she responded - “We’re part of a hot new business trend that’s been receiving a lot of attention in the media lately. We use the Internet and the latest communication technologies to remotely perform a wide range of administrative and marketing tasks. Yet the quality and promptness of our work is never compromised. We’re always accessible, and because we’re not on-site, your overhead is much lower.”
Her very first client came almost as a fluke. Her car insurance agent needed some telemarketing done, and Michele was able to make calls for him from home. After finishing her tasks he was a believer- and so was Michele. “I realized that there was little need for me to be in an office away from home. In this electronic age, business support services can be done anywhere in the world” she told me in our telephone interview. Attending a networking event, she met several more potential clients, and realized that there was a real niche market out there crying for the services she could provide. And so Michele began to market herself as a Virtual Assistant.
Like many Canadians, Michele’s family tree extends outside of Canada and Michele loves the flexibility and luxury of being able to work whenever she is traveling. She has been very resourceful, setting up a 1-800 number, 416 number , US number and internet services that would enable her to work for clients in Canada and the United States. After she explained the processes and the technology she had to set up and learn to ensure that she was accessible and could provide timely service, I am amazed she was able to do it at all. “People and processes are my forte”. “Some people cannot grasp the concept of working virtually at first but once I educate them and they see the results – like sky’s the limit – they are amazed and become die-hard advocates for working virtually”. After hearing what services that she could offer that could be done at a distance, I amazed to see how cost effectively it could be done.
Michele is good at educating people on how she can help them grow their businesses. A simple form is all it takes for her to see where you need help and where she can best assist you. And as the needs change for her clients, so evolves her business.
“The niche I find myself fulfilling now is for marketing. My clients need administrative support but they also need more visibility and to generate leads.” Arranging appointments, publishing ezines and online article promotion are only a few of the tasks she can juggle. “Almost anyone who is in business needs an assistant” says Michele. It certainly sounds like a great idea. “I can do all the behind the scenes stuff so that a business person or entrepreneur can do what they do best.” Michele says that with great enthusiasm. Combine that with energy, efficiency and it is a recipe for any businesses success.
Credentials
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