You can do virtually anything with a virtual assistant
Virtual offices and virtual assistants (VAs) are becomingly an increasingly popular choice for SMEs. And at the same time, many people are making successful, home-based small businesses of their own by offering such services.
These days there are a plethora of virtual and serviced office services available. For many SMEs, they’re the ideal way of making a great first impression with an exclusive CBD office address and the appearance of reception staff, without the full-time costs of owning or renting their own fixed office space.
Virtual assistants (VAs) are now also offering a flexible and low cost approach to admin and reception help for busy small business owners struggling to juggle everything themselves while often balancing family commitments at home. So, could it work for you? 
Credence International is a home-based executive search and selection firm that identifies and retains the best talent from mid to senior level roles, primarily for small to medium businesses. Founder Judy Wong-See, has been in the executive search and selection industry for over 15 years.
Judy began Credence International after starting a new family, preferring not to return to the grind of working in the city. Initially, her goal was to find occasional project work in order to help bring in extra income for the family. But as work began to increasingly come her way, she started to look at ways to grow the business. After much thought, she found that the only way she would be able to sustain her career and raise her children was if she developed a business model that worked from a home office.
“Initially I was hesitant to work from home. I really did question whether the corporate audience I was targeting would accept or even understand the idea of a home operator,” she says. “It was a struggle that initially kept me from turning my project plan into an actual business. However, as the results of my work were starting to get noticed in the industry, I decided to develop a home/work plan that could give me the best of both worlds.”
Credence International has used virtual and serviced offerings from the very start. Judy made a conscious decision not to market her business as home-based, instead choosing to ensure that a seamless image is always projected to clients, regardless of whether she is available or not.
The first solution she turned to was a virtual office, preferring her clients to get a professional first impression, rather than the managing director answering the phone. Credence is a longstanding client of Serviced Offices International, which provides the business with both a virtual and serviced office offering. Serviced Office International staff have been an extension of Credence’s staff for over six years. All business calls are handled by reception and whenever needed, Judy works and conducts meetings from the CBD address.