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Gx Webzine: Vol B Issue 7 August 2002
Volume B Issue 8 August 2002
Copyright 2002 Gx Webzine All Rights Rsvd.

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Interview:Bizmagic:
The Magic of Virtual Support Services
by Madison Knight


1AugBiz1.jpg
Small businesses on a shoestring budget are always on the look out for innovative ways to help their businesses succeed. With the internet taking the world by storm, virtual support services like Bizmagic are fast becoming the next innovation and proving to be the economical approach to business.

 

 

 


 

BizMagic is an enterprising company that provides virtual support services which consist of administrative and graphic design services. Samantha Allan, owner of BizMagic, is a Gen ‘Xer with an entrepreneur background and describes BizMagic's main function as 'helping small businesses succeed through innovation'.

MK: What magic can BizMagic bring to a ‘new business on a shoestring budget'?

SA: BizMagic, carrying the slogan ‘Helping Small Business Succeed Through Innovation' provides virtual support services, encompassing all areas of small business administration and graphic design. It is marketed specifically to new small business owners (i.e. Those within their first five years of trading), home-based businesses and future entrepreneurs (i.e. Those considering commencing a business venture but haven't yet taken that initial step).

I am highly aware of the fact that many small business owners begin on a shoestring budget. Indeed, my own vast array of businesses throughout my career were all started with little or no money up front. BizMagic, therefore, offer a unique service to low budget business start-ups whereby the high cost of commercial printing is avoided, yet a good-quality product is still created.

As an example, a start-up business may only require a small quantity of brochures (say 50). Commercial printers tend to work with a minimum order of 500, which can cost around $500 - and that's not taking into account any artwork that will need to be created. An electronic-only version of the required promotional material can be provided to the client for printing on their own desktop printer, keeping prices to a minimum for them. This procedure means that the new business owner only has an initial outlay of graphic design fees, plus their own printer cartridge and paper costs. This also provides the customer with the added advantage of owning the artwork (as commercial printers keep the original artwork themselves), which they are able to manipulate as their business progresses and adjust according to changes in their business structure (e.g. They can update prices on flyers, announcements, etc., or add more services to their business card or brochure).

One other problem that may be encountered when using a graphic designer or commercial printer is that they may produce their artwork in a program that you don't have. This is why BizMagic also offers design services in a whole range of graphics packages and, with a bit of luck, there will be one to suit the client's needs.

BizMagic also carries a range of paper supplies which allows for another only slightly more expensive option for the new business owner. As per the above, there are no commercial printing costs or large volumes of promotional materials needed to be produced. This is an alternative to the small business owner using his/her own printer and paper supplies, and is still much less expensive than commercial printing.

Through close collaboration with new clients requiring websites, I have learnt that actually asking them what their budget is, instead of simply putting a quote together for what I believe is needed (as I have seen numerous other web design firms do), I have won the contracts 100% of the time. By knowing exactly how much money my clients are willing to spend on a particular project, I am able to provide a quotation in line with their budget. I also always provide additional options for them in my quotes, which are often accepted if it can be seen that the extra money they are spending is providing foreseeable added value.

Here in Australia it can cost several hundred dollars to register a domain name and have it hosted each year. For business owners who just want to see if it's really worth their while investing in a website, I offer sub-domain packages which allow for a website to use BizMagic's domain space for up to 12 months. A www.yourbizname.bizmagic.com.au or www.bizmagic.com.au/yourbizname are two options that cost only $60 or $20 respectively - much less expensive options for those business owners who wish to test just how effective their online presence can be.

MK: Why did you establish BizMagic?

SA: In the year 2000, having worked conscientiously for the same company for the previous five years, I decided it was time to make use of the numerous skills I had acquired throughout my career to become a small business owner in my own right.

I graduated from Curtin University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition, I had never put my qualification to use, choosing instead to follow a career in business administration, as work in this area was plentiful. However, after five years working in my chosen field, progressing from receptionist to secretary and ultimately to Administration and IT Manager (completely self-taught), I began to realize that I was not reaching my full potential, or at least was not being fully recognized for my vast range of skills.

Having a degree ‘under my belt', as well as experience in a range of small businesses of my own (from tutoring to my own dance/aerobics business, plus working as a graphic designer/typesetter for my mum's publishing business), I decided it was time to seriously look at my long-term goals and start a small business that I could expand in line with my own abilities and experience.

On 28th September 2000, BizMagic was registered as a sole proprietorship; the owner and manager of the business being Samantha Allan, a single woman of 27 years of age with no children – just two small dogs to feed!

The original aim of the business was to assist other small businesses with the ‘behind the scenes' activities (such as typing, data entry, answering telephones, etc.) that small business owners require to enable them to have more time to work ‘on' rather than ‘in' their business. The administrative side was an area that I was highly experienced in and knew extremely well but there was one small problem.

In business administration I was highly proficient but it was not particularly enjoyable or fulfilling. And so, I began to look at areas of my work that I was not only extremely competent in, but also loved to do – after all, if this business venture was going to be a successful and lasting experience, it would have to have an element of enjoyment in it I believed.

I continued working in administration whilst my small business venture got underway. BizMagic's first client was a small business owner requiring the production of a logo for their business cards, stationery and future website. Next came a client requiring a simple business card design. I soon realized that the graphic design side was not only more popular than administration, but was also much more enjoyable, rewarding and paid much better! In 2001 a PhotoShop and Dreamweaver/web design course were completed at TAFE to ‘polish off' my skills and give me the confidence to promote this area of my business venture.

Whilst slowly working away at my everyday projects, I decided to investigate the situation in the US. I wanted to see if there were any similar businesses overseas that were perhaps conducting themselves in a more ‘technologically advanced' manner – as it is a known fact that the US is at least one to two years ahead of Australia in terms of technology. And so, the virtual assistant was discovered.

Due to advances in technology in recent years, namely the commercialization of the Internet, BizMagic's virtual support services save its clients both time and money as they only pay for work as they need it. Virtual support means that the cost of overheads for small business are greatly reduced as there is no need for employing staff, which can not only involve large temp agency fees, but also such benefits to employees as insurances, taxation, superannuation, holiday leave, sick leave or even providing them with an office and equipment, etc. A small business owner doesn't even need to consider opening an office if it is more cost-effective for them to work from home.

Using the adage ‘Virtually saving you time and money', BizMagic has tapped into a market that is still relatively new to Australia and is certainly in its infancy in WA. All of BizMagic's services are able to be provided through telephone, fax and email without the client, or myself, having to leave their desk. In many cases I don't ever get to meet my clients due to the virtual nature of my business. All work is computer-related, be it administrative or design-oriented, so the Internet and email are the media in which all projects are transferred and discussed with clients.

Engaging BizMagic to become part of a small business's operations means having an experienced and competent administrative and/or graphic design expert available to them whenever they are needed. Clients are free to build their business through product/service improvement and client liaison. This year I have heard many influential people within the small business community use the adage, ‘Work ON not IN your business'. This increasingly popular message is encouraged by BizMagic and is promoted to its clients in all marketing campaigns.

MK: What obstacles did you face in establishing BizMagic?

SA: As with any new business, BizMagic commenced with a low profile compared to its established competitors. The Joondalup Business Association awards helped to increase BizMagic's profile in the small business community when I won the "Most Innovative Product, Service or Business Concept" in April 2002, and was subsequently featured in my local newspaper, The Wanneroo Times.

When I set up my business in September 2000 I initially did not own a website. Potential clients would request a quote for their project by phone or in person, as is the case in the majority of businesses. There were a small number of times where quotes were higher than the clients' budget and so, the job was given to a lower bidder. I saw the time that was taken to prepare the quote as unproductive time and so I decided to set-up my website at BizMagic to provide prospective clients, not only in WA but also the rest of the world, with an online brochure of fees and services. All costs are listed so that clients are aware of these up front. This means that my unproductive time providing potential clients with quotes for projects is gone!

MK: What achievements have you made as owner and operator of your own business?

SA: A significant highlight of my business achievements was winning the contract to upgrade The Western Pacific Association of Transactional Analysis (WPATA) website in February this year. Previous to this, I had only created websites for my mum's business ( Reader's World ), the engineering company that I had been continuously working with for the previous five years ( Bisset and Future Proof Solutions ), and my own business ( BizMagic ). This was the first website that I had to quote the number of hours it would take to complete, a daunting task in itself as all previous sites had no time limits on them. The WPATA website upgrade quote for 24 hours of web design was completed in less time and under budget.

In April 2002, BizMagic won the Joondalup Business Association's 'Most Innovative Product, Service or Business Concept' category in their annual small business awards. I use this achievement to leverage my credibility and promote BizMagic to its highest potential. I also hope to further highlight the benefits of providing my services ‘virtually' and encourage other business people in their respective industries to follow suit.

MK: Where do you see BizMagic in five years time?

SA: It is hoped that eventually an office in the Joondalup area will be purchased or leased to allow for every available virtual business support service. Taking this a step further, it is envisaged that, as no other virtual assistants appear to be operating from Joondalup at present, BizMagic will be able to set up a network of home-based entrepreneurs to work under BizMagic's umbrella, perhaps in the form of individual franchises.

As the average stand alone small business has an 80% chance of failure in its first five years of operation, BizMagic will need to be operating for this amount of time (or at least three years if business is booming!), to prove that it has a viable concept and ongoing market demand, and a management, marketing and training structure capable of supporting franchisees in varied locations. If not, the business may well become another statistic. For now, franchising BizMagic is a dream for me that I hope will one day become a (virtual?) reality!

MK: Describe a typical working day?

SA: The majority of my work comes from new small business owners requiring websites and the process of web design is as follows: The client completes the Work For Hire Agreement, available on the BizMagic website or by fax/mail directly from me, then either a meeting is arranged to determine the requirements of the client's site or alternatively, if the project is an upgrade of an existing website, I provide an example of what I believe the new site design should look like as an email attachment. To date, I have only had to provide one example of my ideas, rather than two or three suggestions (as the majority of web design firms provide), as my creative background has proven to be an asset whereby the client has been extremely happy with my initial plan. Upon completion of the website design, all files are uploaded to the client's website address through File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and then an invoice for services provided is emailed to the satisfied customer.

Amongst each major project I receive I also spend my day checking and replying to emails from my graphic designer I use for print media (as I prefer to stick to the web design jobs), checking the work she provides and assisting her with some of her freelance projects, and also current and prospective clients. In addition I subscribe to a range of mailing lists on business marketing, web development and self-help in the form of setting goals, staying positive, and promoting my business venture.


   
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