Becoming Your Own Boss
So you want to start a secretarial service. Where do you go from there?
Q: I've been a
secretary for 20-plus years and have been toying with the idea of
starting a secretarial service. Now with the downturn in the
economy, I really want to do it. I feel that everyone has a
computer, and I don't want to be viewed as a typist. What do I
specialize in, and how do I find customers?
Name withheld
A: Secretarial
services specialize in many ways, such as by the service they
provide (data management, desktop publishing, medical
transcription, legal transcription, Web-related work, editing,
proofreading and billing). Also decide what industry you'd like
to serve. Next, how will you position your company--as a
secretarial service, a word-processing or typing service, or as an
office- or business-support service?
Once you establish your vision, the next step is finding
customers. Try the following:
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› Participate in one
or more networking or referral organizations.
› Get listed in the
Yellow Pages under multiple categories.
› Contact other
office-support services about overload or work in which you
specialize and they do not.
› Advertise locally, such
as in a college newspaper, a chamber of commerce bulletin and in
publications published by organizations of which you are a
member.
› Build a Web site so you
can post copies of testimonial letters and list your
services.
› Cultivate relationships
with local merchants who are in a position to refer clients, such
as local office-supply stores and printers.
Paul and Sarah Edwards are the co-authors of 15 books,
including The Entrepreneurial Parent. Send them your
start-up business questions at www.workingfromhome.com or in care of
Entrepreneur.