Small Business of the Day: Your Virtual Assistant

We’re highlighting small businesses from around the country as nominated by you, our readers. If your favorite small business is using Twitter to communicate with customers, let us know about it @fbsmallbiz with the hashtag #mysbc, and it may be featured as an upcoming Small Business of the Day.

Small Business of the Day: Your Virtual Assistant

Who: Michelle Mangen, 35, @mmangen

What: Virtual assistant services specializing in social media management, bookkeeping and administrative duties for small businesses

When: December 2008

How: Mangen had read about a virtual assistant in a fictional novel in 2006 and was intrigued. While living and working as a bookkeeper in Wisconsin, she commuted nearly 100 miles each way to work—even during the state's treacherous winters. In 2007, she had finally had enough.

"When the snow melted, I went into my bosses and quit. I remembered the book and thought, 'I should do more research on this.'" By 2008, she had opened her business and become a virtual assistant herself.

Where: Sarasota, Fla.

In her own words: "I have many solopreneuers," she said of her current 18 clients. "I am offering them assistance in areas they are not comfortable doing themselves."