Columbus Business Owner and Parisian Assistant
Prove Virtual Outsourcing is More Than Fad
PARIS, August 13, 2003 - Carole Nicolaides
of Progressive Leadership, Inc., a Columbus-based
executive coaching firm, sits at her office desk
jotting down all of the projects that marketing
assistant, Carolyn Moncel, must complete this
week. Although the tasks list seems ordinary –
editing the company newsletter, and drafting sales
letters - the work relationship between the two
women couldn't be more unusual because Moncel
works 4,000 miles away from her home office in
Paris.
Carolyn Moncel is a virtual assistant and president
of MotionTemps, LLC. She services clients throughout
the Midwest as well as in Paris. Her company,
along with hundreds of others like it, is part
of an exciting trend sweeping the small-business
world - outsourcing administrative and marketing
services to virtual assistants.
A Virtual Assistant or (VA) is a highly skilled
professional who works as an independent contractor.
When businesses partner with them, they only pay
for the time actually spent working on a project
rather than an employee salary or an expensive
staffing agency retainer fee. The VA is a business
owner also and is responsible for taxes, training,
healthcare, insurance - overhead costs that make
hiring an employee expensive. The "virtual" part
means that the VA doesn't have to be present on-site
in order to oversee projects. VAs work from their
home offices and projects can be handled over
the phone, by fax, or even over the Internet via
e-mail.
Through her own consulting practice, Nicolaides
also participates in the virtual outsourcing revolution.
Born in Greece, raised in Germany and educated
in France before moving to the United States,
Nicolaides is a knowledge management specialist,
branding strategist and corporate trainer. She
launched Progressive Leadership, Inc., in 1999
and often works with her clients via Teleclass
sessions, which are hour-long meetings conducted
by phone. Her e-learning seminars serve as an
alternative way for companies throughout the Midwest
to outsource their training in the hopes of providing
their employees with much-needed skills while
keeping costs low.
Moncel, a former marketing manager, originally
conceived the idea for her business in July 2001
while living in her hometown, Chicago, IL. She
started a new career in order to spend more time
with her pre-school-aged daughter. When her French
husband, accepted a job offer in October 2002
and moved the family to Paris, Moncel decided
to expand her company rather than close shop.
"When Carolyn told me that her family had to
move to Paris, I was surprised but not worried,"
said Nicolaides, whom Moncel met back in November
2001 when Progressive Leadership was also based
in Chicago. "I was confident that we could continue
working together because we had always worked
virtually.”
In fact Nicolaides has only met face-to-face
with Moncel on two occasions even though they
have been partnering on projects for almost two
years. Despite the trans-Atlantic move, the work
relationship between Nicolaides and Moncel remains
largely unaffected. From Paris, Moncel launches
marketing campaigns and handles new business development
opportunities for Progress Leadership, Inc.
Improvements in technology allow the two businesswomen
to integrate projects seamlessly, swap and download
files, chat by Instant Message and even talk by
Internet phone - still at a fraction of what it
would cost Nicolaides to hire a full-time marketing
employee to work in her office.
“Rather than ending a successful relationship,
I just coached her through the most difficult
parts of the move by phone and e-mail sessions,”
commented Nicolaides. “I wanted to make sure Carolyn
could continue working without her business experiencing
any major interruptions," commented Nicolaides.
With Nicolaides’ help, MotionTemps continues to
thrive and within months has become the premier
English-speaking virtual assistance practice in
Paris.
Nicolaides also understands Moncel’s drive to
succeed better than anyone. Faced with a similar
situation one year ago, Nicolaides moved her company
from Chicago to Columbus after her husband accepted
a position at Bank One. Using her MBA background,
she successfully transformed her own business
to meet the needs of local corporations.
As midwestern corporations still struggle to
achieve productivity in a recovering economic
climate, Columbus companies now look to Progressive
Leadership, Inc. to provide cost-effective solutions
for increasing employee morale through coaching.
"Carole and I have more than a Client/Vendor
relationship because not only are we friends,
but we also treat the other person’s company as
an extension of our own company,” said Moncel.
“We are proof that virtual outsourcing can work
and that the trend is here to stay.”
About Carole Nicolaides
Carole Nicolaides is president and founder of
Progressive Leadership, Inc., an executive coaching
firm based in Columbus, OH. For more than 12 years
Nicolaides, who is fluent in four languages (Greek,
German, French and English), has been managing
people and change programs for some of the largest
companies in healthcare and the high-tech industries.
Progressive Leadership, Inc., specializes in helping
companies – both big and small – implement sound
knowledge management and employee retention practices.
Her company remains committed to developing managers
into leaders, transforming departments into successful
teams and providing the tools to build business
success through human growth. Contact Carole Nicolaides
at (614) 477-6749, by e-mail,
or visit the website.
About MotionTemps, LLC
Launched in 2001, MotionTemps, LLC is a virtual
assistance and communications firm with offices
in Chicago and Paris. The company specializes
in providing complete project coordination, administrative
assistance and marketing communications support
to home-based professionals, small-business owners,
non-profits and small-to-midsize consulting firms.
The company has further expanded its presence
into the European marketplace by providing an
emergency service to English-speaking business
travelers in need of administrative support during
their stay in Paris.
Contact Carolyn Moncel toll free at (877) 818-3864,
by e-mail
or visit the web site's newsroom.
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