Offering Business Support Services

How to Start a Secretarial Business

If you have previously worked in secretarial jobs and are thinking about a home business, offering business support services to local small businesses could be the answer. Perhaps you gained a qualification at one of the secretarial schools and never used it. - this could be your chance! Or even if you haven’t had formal education and have taught yourself how to use a computer, this could be a great business startup idea.

What do You Need to Supply Business Support Services?

If you haven’t got any significant experience, make sure you learn to touch type and get a good typing speed. This shouldn't take long – borrow a touch typing course from the local library and practise every day. In a few weeks you should have reached a decent typing speed. Once your business takes off, you’ll need to be able to work as quickly as possible.

You don’t need to spend a huge amount on equipment - a computer with internet access, a fax machine, telephone and answering machine and filing cabinet are the essentials and you probably already have at least the computer and phone.

It’s important to have the ability to use a number of common computer programmes, such as Word and Excel, since these are used by the majority of businesses and your work must be compatible with the clients’ software. And of course, you will have to be able to use email and the internet. You’ll need to be very highly organized and keep files for each client and a diary with deadlines to ensure that everything is completed on time.

What Kind of Business Support Services Should You Offer?

You can offer a range of business support services to small business owners in your own area. You should start off with those in which you are most proficient, adding new services as you grow your business to meet your clients’ needs. If you have specialized in a particular area, you could consider targeting that niche, for example, if you have medical secretarial experience you might consider working for local doctors or complementary health practitioners.

Another important factor to consider is demand. If you find that there is a high demand for services you do not offer, you should consider expanding to meet that demand. This could mean having to develop a few new skills, but if you do your research and find that demand is increasing, it will be well worth the effort, as you'll get more clients, especially if not many other people in your area are offering these particular services.

Finding Your First Business Support Services Clients

Your first clients are likely to be local small businesses or sole traders, who don’t have enough work to justify the expense of a full time secretary, but need help with tasks like word processing letters or invoices, bookkeeping, transcription and keeping financial records on spreadsheets.

More and more people are setting up home based businesses these days and as they become established, many will need help with secretarial work . A common problem for many people who operate their business from home, is not having someone to answer the phone. Examples would be therapists or practitioners of complementary medicine who work in their own homes all day, but can’t leave a client to answer the phone. You could offer to have calls diverted to you, taking messages and booking appointments. Many people do not like answering machines and will try the next number in the phone book until they talk to a real person.

You can find clients by looking in the local Yellow Pages or online small business listings and contacting them directly by phone or letter. You’ll need to work out your rates in advance and prepare a price list. You can do this by going online and checking who else is offering a similar secretarial service in your area. Are there any obvious gaps in the market which you could fill? You should also have good quality business cards and letterhead printed, as this will give you a professional appearance.

As a business owner, you will be responsible for your own taxes and insurance and you must check the local requirements before you start.

You can also set up your own website and market your services online. If you are more interested in offering business support services over the internet, you'll find more information here: secretarial services online

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