Business owners spend a lot of time making decisions. Each decision will have a different outcome for their company.

From ‘which business supply store to shop in’ to ‘how are you going to get all of the office tasks accomplished’, choices are always needed and being made. For each decision there are contributing factors and one of the biggest is how much things cost. This is an important factor, but it shouldn’t be our top priority….quality should!

Small businesses usually have small budgets so sometimes we try to cut corners to obtain a needed product or service. Often, these choices to save a little money can have adverse effects.

Buying a cheaper type of paper and then finding that it jams in your printer is an easily rectified decision. For just a few more dollars you can buy a box of higher grade paper and you learn the lesson that cheaper isn’t always better.

Other ‘unfortunate’ decisions can have a longer lasting and more damaging effect. These lessons sometimes have to be learned but why not avoid all the hassle and extra costs by choosing to take quality over saving a few bucks right from the start?

For instance, when choosing a virtual assistance company to help you with your administrative tasks, the wrong choice can dramatically affect your business. If you decide to get the cheapest ‘help’ around, you may be getting exactly what you pay for. In the long run you won’t be saving any money…you will be paying out more to have errors fixed by a more experienced assistant. And the mistakes could possibly be seen by your clients or customers…which isn’t good! Again, cheaper isn’t always better…!

This doesn’t mean that you won’t find a virtual administrative assistant that fits your budget, but don’t go for the cheapest just because it’s….cheaper. You may be paying for it in the future.

Saving money is fine on certain things, but don’t skimp on the important stuff. Do research on any product or service you are considering for your company. Find out from others who have used the product or service whether they were happy with it. Was it worth the money they paid or did they get exactly what they paid for?

About the author
Janice Byer, owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services (http://www.docutype.net) provides professional, creative and affordable virtual office assistance and small business website design. She is a Certified Canadian Virtual Assistant (CCVA) and Master Virtual Assistant (MVA). She is also the co-author of How to Build a Successful Virtual Assistant Business and author of a library of Business Building Ebooks. Visit her website for more information.

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