What Makes Someone an Administrative Consultant?

An Administrative Consultant is someone who is SPECIFICALLY in the business of administrative support.
Administrative support is not one-off projects or tasks on an ad hoc basis. That is a secretarial service—completely different business model and type of service. Administrative support is an ongoing relationship where you are administratively supporting clients with the operations of their business across the board. So, it’s important to understand the difference between a projects/task-based business and an ongoing support one. If your business model is project-based, you are not an Administrative Consultant.
If you specialize in transcription, then you are in the Transcription business and not an Administrative Consultant (or VA or OBM or anything else).
If you specialize in social media, then you are in the Social Media business and not an Administrative Consultant (or VA or OBM or anything else).
If you specialize in marketing (of any kind), then you are in the Marketing business and not an Administrative Consultant (or VA or OBM or anything else).
If you specialize in web design, then you are in the Web Design business and not an Administrative Consultant (or VA or OBM or anything else).
If you specialize in bookkeeping, then you are in the Bookkeeping business and not an Administrative Consultant (or VA or OBM or anything else).
Are you getting it now? What you specialize in IS your business.
If you are in the business of getting the work and farming it out to third party contractors, then you are in the staffing/outsourcing business and not an Administrative Consultant. Administrative Consultants work directly with their clients in close one-on-one relationships. That’s what makes it personal and where the magic happens—between two people.
Administrative Consultants don’t have “teams” of subcontractors they farm their clients’ work out to. That is the antithesis of administrative support as it transactionalizes the work, turning it into a generic commodity and assembly line instead of an intimate relationship (which, by the way, is your value and competitive advantage as an Administrative Consultant). What Administrative Consultants do instead is collaboratively partner with another Administrative Consultant (or two) who administratively supports them in their business in the same way they support their clients.
Administrative Consultants are not personal assistants who perform personal tasks/errands. That is a personal assistant/concierge service. An Administrative Consultant’s work is focused on the client’s business support needs.
An Administrative Consultant is not an assistant who does anything and everything. That is a virtual assistant. An Administrative Consultant is a business owner and independent professional who specializes in the expertise of administrative support.
If you specialize in the expertise of administrative support (i.e., it’s the chief thing you are in business to do), and work personally with your clients in an ongoing, collaborative partnering relationship to support the operations of their businesses, you are an Administrative Consultant.

3 Responses

July 14, 2015 at 6:15 pm

Hi Danielle,
I really like this article and think I will be referring back to it on occasion. I find it really motivating and is an upfront reminder of why I started my business and why I love what I do.
Thank you for your words.
Gill