NWF Daily News Article

Judy Moss admits there are times during the year that as a Realtor with RE/MAX Southern Realty, she doesn’t have enough of herself to go around. That’s why she turns to Real Estate Virtual Staffing. “There are times during the year that I’m so busy I can’t get everything done,” Moss said. “The virtual staffing is excellent. This is the best of all worlds.” Real Estate Virtual Staffing — www.revs.com — was formed and began offering services locally about 18 months ago, according to owner Deborah Steuer. “When I moved to the Okaloosa County area in August of 2004, I didn’t see many opportunities for my skills in real estate support, nor did the opportunities exist that would offer me comparable compensation to my positions in Atlanta, where I previously had lived,” she said. So Steuer, a licensed Realtor in Georgia since 1978 and now in Florida, began to perform support duties for agents who knew her in the north metro Atlanta area. “To grow my income, I contacted a couple of local brokers to offer my services to their agents,” Steuer said. RE/MAX Southern was quick to jump on board, she said. After meeting with Kerry Veach, owner and broker of RE/MAX Southern in the local area, “Kerry immediately identified value in offering my services to his agents. But he went one step further. He asked that I offer my services only to his agents in the Okaloosa-Walton County area, which he used as a recruiting tool.” With her experience in the real estate world, Steuer said she has the knowledge of the business to support agents “in a way most assistants can’t in that I’ve been in the field and know the stresses and needs of the agent.” Moss can vouch for that. She says the company has been “excellent” in helping her to maintain a smooth business. “I have used REVS to update my Top Producer mailing lists, to make open house ads for the newspapers, to help with computer problems and to make virtual tours and pictures of properties,” Moss said. “You name it and these ladies can take care of it in a very professional manner.” Steuer said her staffing team can “jump start” an agent’s marketing and help “keep them focused on dollar productive activities.” At a cost of by the hour, according to Moss, Real Estate Virtual Staffing will handle new agent orientation, provide support to office staff during busy times, handle training and other similar situations that may arise. Steuer said some of the advantages she sees in providing virtual staffing is that they don’t have to provide office space or pay a fixed salary to an employee. “You get the best person to do the job at hand when you need them, with no long-term commitment,” Steuer said. Moss, who has been working with REVS for about a year, said the service provides temporary staffing so an employee won’t have to be let go. “Some full-time assistants will be hired and then in down time, when the market takes a downturn, they get fired, and that’s sad, because they might have turned down another job to get this one,” Moss said. She also likes the fact that she can control her spending this way. “If one month you need a lot of help, then can take care of it,” said Moss, a three-year Realtor with Re/Max. “If you have a slow month and don’t need help, you don’t have to pay an assistant.” Steuer said the virtual assistants who work for her have the best of both worlds as well. “They are independent contractors who have contracted with me to do assignments,” she explained. “I train them and pay them a higher wage than they typically find in the job market.” Steuer employs four women in Florida and two in Georgia through REVS. They take on any amount of work they choose, and they get to work from home. “Unless it’s a big project, assignments are finished the same day,” Steuer said. “This allows these contractors to have a home-based business that they control and can work around their family, which is one of my early goals.” Tracy Gaston was an executive assistant with a top agent at RE/MAX Southern looking for a change. She wanted to have a more flexible work schedule so she could be more involved with her daughter’s dance team at Choctawhatchee High School. “This job is very beneficial for my family and myself,” Gaston said. “I can get up early and get my work done or sleep in and work later in the day. I am free to take my daughter to dental and doctor appointments, school functions, and have holidays off. I can work in my pjs with no makeup and my hair in a ponytail if I choose. Only my cat sees me and she doesn’t care what I’m wearing!” Gaston, the senior virtual assistant with REVS, does everything from create flyers, postcards and mailings, enter listings in the MLS (multiple listing service) and take photos for agents and do virtual tours of listings. Steuer is proud of the fact that she is able to offer local real estate agents experienced support without the continued expense of a full-time assistant. “I have multiple people who can do any job, so there is always someone available to support the agent in a timely manner,” Steuer said.

BROKER/AGENT magazine
	August Issue of Florida Broker/Agent Magazine's Agent of the Month names REVStaffing as one or 2 prime reasons for her success. Please read the article. Thank you and congratulations Brenda Parish of RE/MAX Southern Realty in Destin, Florida.