Ritchie Secretarial Service is one of the leading virtual office assistance practices.  In business since 1996, they began in the industry while virtual assisting was still unknown by much of the business society.  It was a practice to not only provide great service to their clients around the world, but to also educate the public about the virtues of using a virtual assistant, and to mentor new virtual assistants. Kathy Ritchie, owner of Ritchie Secretarial Service is our interview subject today.

EG: Why are so many companies saying WOW after they start doing business with you?
KR: We pride ourselves in our exemplary customer service, as well as our variety of services available.  We make it a point to get to know you, and your business so that we may tailor our services to suit.

EG: What do you attribute your success?
KR: First, being one of the first in the industry, we have name recognition and a reputation of over 13 years of quality services.  I’ve been a firm believer in cooperation and not competition, I believe there is far too much work to be done and not enough virtual assistants.  This style of working is nothing new; cottage industries have been around for centuries.  We’re just more high tech now.  I’m grateful that technology allows me to work in a manner that highly appeals to me, as well as in an industry I love.

EG: How do you find your opportunities?
KR: Thankfully, our opportunities find us, either from our website, or by client referral. We currently have clients all over the US, as well as Hong Kong, West Indies, Brazil, Netherlands, Canada, England, Scotland, France and Mexico.

EG: How does your internal staff function?
KR: We have one principal, myself, and we utilize a network of sub-contracted virtual assistants.

EG: Where do you see your business as a whole in 10 years?
KR: I anticipate that the next 10 years will offer more cutting edge technology that will offer my clients superior service as they need it.

EG: What are some of the challenges you face as a business owner and how do you rise above them?
KR: The biggest challenge in my business has been educating the public and business sectors on what a virtual assistant does, and how they can be of use to nearly anyone.  Most everyone asks “because you’re virtual, does that mean you’re not really there?”. To alleviate the confusion, and to raise client confidence, I’ve implemented a webcam that is on much of the time while I’m working.  So, this tells my clients I AM actually there, and working.

EG: What sets your company apart from other virtual assistants?
KR: My company is rather unique, I get a great deal of traffic on my website, because when a potential client searches for a virtual assistant online, they invariably type in the search term “secretarial service”, because Ritchie Secretarial Service is the name of my business, I generally come up in the top 10 companies, worldwide.  For this reason, I’ve never considered paying for search engine positioning.  Second are the services I offer and philosophy I govern my business by.  I make it a point to learn about the person/business I’m working for. I take calls for many clients and feel a fierce desire to answer intelligently, not just take messages.  I want your clients to feel they have reached the administrative assistant in your offices; they have no idea most of the time that I’m not even in the same state.

EG: Can you tell us a success story about one of your clients
KR: For practical purposes, I’m relaying a client comment: “Kathy supports both of my companies, StaffingU and simplyEffective(tm). Using her services was not only a wise investment, but also brought immediate returns in increased revenues right from the first month. I can’t imagine what it would be like without her. Run, don’t walk, to talk with this savvy lady about what she can do for you.”  (Scott Wintrip, StaffingU)

I have been very fortunate, even in this economy, to have clients come to me after they have outsourced their staff – the work must still get done – as well as clients that have stayed with me for many years.  While I’m not a client of the Elder Group, I’ve certainly benefited from the association.  I’ve learned so much from Mr. Elder and happily apply what I’ve learned to my own business success. The Elder Group has offered me a platform to work with larger companies without jeopardizing my time for all my clients. We have several clients from the Elder Group because of this association.

~*~

Kathy Ritchie, President
Ritchie Secretarial Service, LLC
877-897-1859 Office  www.thebestva.com

Recently, the Elder Group with Glenn Tippy and GBW Insurance recently hosted a luncheon. Guest speakers were Michael Lazerow of Buddy Media and Dave Kerpen of kbuzz. To view the photos please click here.

NOTE:  The software I used to create the slideshow has been updated, as a result, I’ve reloaded the images for you.  You should not get a browser crash now while trying to view them.

Thanks for your patience while I searched for a solution.

Today we are happy to speak with Barry Poskanzer, Senior Partner of Poskanzer Skott Architects. Poskanzer Skott Architects has many years of experience in planning, design and construction of a wide range of projects, from large-scale master planning to new construction, adaptive reuse, interior architecture, retrofit and restoration. The scope of their award-winning work encompasses corporate, medical and healthcare facilities, retail, residential and historic preservation projects.

Why are so many companies saying WOW after they start doing business with you?

I think they’re impressed with the energy and enthusiasm generated by our team and our ability to come up with innovative designs that are a direct response to their needs. They particularly appreciate the hands-on involvement of the principals. Insight and understanding of our clients’ projects instill great confidence – they know they’ve come to the right firm.

What do you attribute your success?

Our bright, hardworking and loyal staff and the long-standing and trusting relationship I have with my partner, Larry Skott. He and I are both involved in every project and our engagement and genuine enjoyment contributes to what we do. We complement each others’ strengths and balance the necessary skills it takes to manage a successful architecture firm.

How do you find your opportunities?

Our normal business development is through outreach and word of mouth, especially from repeat clients and their recommendations to friends and colleagues. In addition, it’s important to keep abreast of the changing construction environment, real estate and market trends and the opportunities they present.

How does your internal staff function?

We function as a team in a very relaxed, familial atmosphere. We challenge one another in an ongoing attempt to develop the best ideas for our clients’ needs.

How do you promote your business?

Working on various municipal, residential, corporate and medical projects has made us well known in the area. We have a strong presence in the community and support local organizations. Of course we do some advertising and public relations in targeted markets. But the most important promotion is our track record of successful projects and word of mouth from satisfied clients

Where do you see your business as a whole in 10 years?

I’m generally skeptical of ten year projections but for the next five years I see us continuing to grow incrementally and expand into new markets.

What are some of the challenges you face as a business owner and how do you rise above them?

The biggest challenge is continuing to provide excellent service for our clients in these difficult times. Next, would be generating new clients and interesting projects. In addition, we carefully monitor staff size and our production style to adapt to changing conditions.

What sets your company apart from other architecture firms?

It has to be creativity and personal service as well as our energy and enthusiasm. Our sophisticated understanding of the real estate/construction environment and the cross pollination of ideas from our wide variety of projects is unique. Though most of our projects are “within lunch hour” of the office and centered in the Mid-Atlantic region we are also involved in national and global work.

Can you tell us a success story about one of your clients

We’d like to think each project is a success for our clients – that it was completed on budget, on time and met their requirements. The validation is when they call back. Our success is measured by repeat clients and their recommendations.

Read the rest of this entry »

This year marks the 45^th anniversary of the firm Leaf, Saltzman, Manganelli, Pfeil & Tendler and we are talking to Donald Saltzman who is the firms managing partner. The firm consists of 45 people and continually is listed in the NJ Biz top 50 accounting firms.

The firm is a proud member of Integra International, an interactive global network of independent accounting, tax, business valuation and consulting firms dedicated to exchanging information and advising growing businesses and professionals.

Mr. Elder: Don, I have known you and your firm for a number of years and have heard from many companies and professionals about the excellent service you give and the firm wide philosophy of proactive planning eliminates reactive solutions. How do you and your partners achieve this?

Mr. Saltzman: I am blessed to have partners who combine a number of laudable attributes.  We are not only great technicians but understand our client’s expectations and then exceed them.  We maintain open lines of communications with our clients, and by keeping in touch regularly, rather than waiting for them to call us, we involve ourselves in all facets of their business such as assisting them in strategic financial and tax planning throughout the year.

Mr. Elder: You have spoken about your partners, how does your staff contribute to the overall firm’s mission?

Mr. Saltzman: Our staff is both key and critical to providing the service demanded by our clients.  They are involved at every level with our clients from planning stages to the execution of the engagement. They know performing the work timely and accurately with the least amount of disruption to the client’s every day operations are essential.  They also act as the eyes and the ears for the partners and provide invaluable information to us.  We are proud that our staff retention is among the highest in the profession.

Mr. Elder: What are your firms areas of expertise and major industries covered?

Mr. Saltzman: Each of our professionals is cross trained to provide value-added advice in a wide variety of areas including:  accounting and auditing, tax and financial planning, general business consulting, estate and trust planning and accounting, entity structuring, litigation support, forensic accounting, and business valuations.  We have developed a practice area for the fields of construction, distribution, franchises, insurance agencies, law firms, manufacturing, not-for-profit, physicians, real estate, trucking and the solid waste industry.

Mr. Elder: How does your firm find and attract new clients?

Mr. Saltzman: Andy, as you know, we are not of the country club set.  We get most of our referrals from existing clients who can attest to our overall service and value added performance.  We also network, and get referrals from other professionals who have worked with us over the years as they appreciate what we can offer their clients…

Mr. Elder: What changes do you see coming in both financial and tax areas in the next few years?

Mr. Saltzman: There are major changes in financial reporting coming over the next few years known as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).  This will be the convergence of what is known as GAAP, our current reporting standard, into the international standards of accounting.  The basic result will be a change from historical cost to market value reporting of assets.  It will be major.  In the tax area I see significant personal and business tax increases to cover the vast spending programs currently underway.

Mr. Elder: Would you be so kind as to share a success story about one of your clients (name of course to be withheld)?

Mr. Saltzman: Our practice consists of primarily family owned businesses and as a result we often advise clients in the restructuring and exit strategy to pass the ownership from the current generation of owners to the children entering the business.

We have a client whose owners desired to sell the business to their children.  Originally the transaction was anticipated to be structured as a stock sale.  After a through review of all of the facts and the desires of the family, our recommendations resulted in the restructuring of the entities that saved the children over $2,000,000 in after tax dollars at no cost to the parents.  This savings of company capital and our involvement in the financial mentoring of the children enabled the company to double the volume of the business in four years and pay out their parents in a time frame shorter than originally anticipated.

Mr. Elder: Would you like to make a closing statement that best sums up your clients and your practice?

Mr. Saltzman: Our clientele consists of family owned and closely-held businesses, ranging from those with no staff to large corporations with in-house chief financial officers.  We pride ourselves on having close client relationships and work diligently to earn the trust and respect of our clients, becoming not only the accountant or auditor, but more importantly, the business advisor, management consultant and friend.  Please visit our website at www.njcpafirm.com for a bigger picture of who we are.

Check out the photos from the Yale Club luncheon on 4/3/09. www.eldergroupusa.com Click on the Photo Gallery Link in the News section in the left side column. Upcoming event is the 3rd Annual Turkey & Trout Hunt in Upstate New York.

Thank you! Andy Elder