Hard numbers aren't easy to come by, but Brice clearly isn't the only virtual assistant out there. We're seeing it pop up all over the place.
Virtual assistants offer several advantages over temporary or part time workers.
The pay arrangement plus the distance, tends to clarify the relationship, making it less of a management challenge. It's a job, managing an employee. Brice, who serves as Goldsmith's virtual aide as well, routinely handles for him such tasks as rounding up Japanese business, booking speaking engagements, and identifying Web site designers. Brice thinks so, too. The best candidates, she notes, have already mastered basic skills, such as phone etiquette.