Jimmy Johnson

The Virtual Peacock provides top-notch administrative support--virtually. Kelly Morrison works from her home office to assist in the daily details of running her clients' small businesses. She can complete a wide-array of tasks to help them run smoothly and effectively. If she can't do something, she'll find someone who can.  Services offered include administration, purchasing, word processing, customer service, research, desktop publishing and website management.

Kelly Morrison named her business the Virtual Peacock because virtual assistance is a unique business. "Because a lot of people are not familiar with the virtual assistance industry, I knew that I wanted a business name that would be interesting and invite questions.  I've always liked peacocks so the name just kind of fit."  Later she found out the peacock is a sign of prosperity in different parts of the world, which only made the name more apropos.  Since she started the business, friends and family have given her many peacock knickknacks with which she has decorated her office.

Morrison had no idea two paragraphs in a Readers Digest her mother handed her one day would change the course of her life. The article in that May 2007 issue was "New Ways to Make a Bundle" by Andrea Cooper, and the two paragraphs concerned a fairly new business model, Virtual Assisting. Intrigued, Morrison began researching the field and became even more excited.  After graduating from LSU with a Bachelors Degree in General Studies, she attended (not physically, but virtually) Assist University and graduated as a Certified Virtual Assistant. 

As a VA, Morrison helps small business owners with administrative and personal tasks from her off site location. She handles business practices such as scheduling, bookkeeping and marketing, but can also manage such personal items as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace accounts as well as many customer-oriented tasks.  She communicates with her clients via email, phone, and fax on a daily or weekly basis depending on need, and uses mail when original documents must be shared.  Clients first meet with her via phone to discuss their administrative needs and to determine if they are a fit for working together.  Clients can choose services from a detailed list on the Virtual Peacock website and they can add to or alter the list to meet their specific needs. Morrison has clients in Baton Rouge, Texas, Maryland, Connecticut and New Jersey.  Her longest distance client is in France.  She networks with other VAs in Louisiana through monthly chapter call meetings. "Someone in the group has usually ‘been there, done that'."

Her favorite business book is How to Wow: Proven Strategies for Selling Your [Brilliant] Self in any Situation by Frances Cole Jones.  "This is such a great book for anyone who wants to talk more confidently about themselves or their business - I definitely recommend it to anyone just starting out as a business owner or anyone entering the corporate business world." She gets most of her news online from The Advocate and CNN news. For pleasure she likes to read James Patterson, Lou Ann Rice, Nicholas Sparks and Beverly Lewis, but says she also enjoyed the Twilight series.

Morrison believes that small businesses offer our community the support, opportunities and services community members want and need. "Small businesses offer consumers the chance to experience customer service on a more personal level than when dealing with large corporations." Her biggest challenge is explaining what a VA is and how the system works to those not familiar with the virtual assistance industry.  Her advice to those starting a small business is to prepare by researching the field and to have a good business plan to guide them and to fall back on when unexpected things come up.  "Don't be afraid to ask for help from experienced people when you need it and develop a good support group."