CybertaryTM, Inc. Celebrates October’s Women’s Small Business Month by Signing First North Carolina Franchise With Former Yahoo! Exec

North Carolina Seeing Tremendous Growth in Women-Owned Businesses

ROSEVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cybertary, Inc., a network of professional Virtual Assistants (VAs) supporting independent and small-business owners, announced its first North Carolina franchise sale. On the eve of Women’s Small Business Month in October, it illustrates the tremendous growth of privately-held majority (51% or more) women-owned firms throughout North Carolina. Franchisee Tracy Phipps will run Cybertary’s South Charlotte office.

Deciding it was time to return to work after starting a family; Phipps wanted a home-based business. “I wanted to utilize my professional experience and skills while having flexibility for my family’s needs,” explained Phipps. As Director of International Finance for Yahoo! from 1998-2002, Phipps helped Yahoo! grow outside of the U.S. She was instrumental in the development of Yahoo! international offices in eight countries, “…which was like starting a new business from the ground up, but in a different language every time,” said Phipps. As employee #433 at Yahoo!, she also rode the “dot.com wave” and survived the rise and fall of the tech boom in a flourishing company. “I enjoyed the challenge of working closely with our international offices, helping them grow their local businesses alongside the U.S. I am eager to translate my diverse background into expertise for my Cybertary clients.”

Cybertaries work within a diversely talented team who seamlessly collaborate to meet the changing demands of small businesses. Cybertaries provide reliable support tailored to increase productivity and decrease non-revenue producing tasks. Cybertary clients save time and money, paying only for time spent on task without the burdens of payroll and overhead. According to the Small Business Administration, small firms total approximately 23 million in the United States, and roughly 75 percent have no employees. Therefore, many small business owners are out there trying to “do it all.” Cybertary and other professional Virtual Assistants are increasingly popular since they relieve business owners of the bookkeeping, data entry and other marketing tasks so they can focus on their clients or take time off.

Cybertary has been a great investment for Valerie Dow and Tina Angell, regional franchise owners in Sacramento, California. “In just six months we increased our client base, expanded our team, and more than doubled our revenue,” explained Dow. "Running a successful, professional business from home has been more rewarding than we anticipated. It's the ideal business model for those who want a flexible work schedule and competitive wage.”

“It’s my mission to provide this opportunity to career-minded administrative professionals who either wish to leave the corporate world and build their own home-based business or maximize their professional experience as a Cybertary team member,” explained Cybertary founder and President, Patricia Beckman. “We’re thrilled to bring Tracy Phipps on board and expand the Cybertary network across the U.S.”

The Cybertary Trend and the Virtual Assistant Industry

Cybertary’s expansion into South Charlotte illustrates a growth trend in majority woman-owned business throughout North Carolina. According to the Center for Women’s Business Research (CWBR) in 2006, there were 211,980 privately-held, majority (51% or more) women-owned firms in North Carolina. That’s a 63% increase from the CWBR’s 1997 research and exceeds the national growth average of 42.3% for the same time period. However, the number of employer firms has only grown 24%, indicating that many of these businesses are sole-proprietor businesses. Therefore North Carolina is a great environment for a business like Cybertary that caters to solopreneurs and entrepreneurs.

About Cybertary, Inc.

Cybertary, Inc. was founded in Roseville, CA in 2005 by Patricia Beckman to meet the growing demand for reliable and professional administrative outsourcing. Cybertary is the only Virtual Assisting franchise system in the United States. Cybertary franchise owners acquire a range of investment opportunities and an already-established and successful system of doing business. Cybertary is now available as a nationwide franchise opportunity to creative regional networks of VAs. For more information on the franchise opportunity, contact Jim Fitzgerald, Director of Franchise Development, at (888) CYB-TARY (292-8279), email to Franchise@Cybertary.com or visit www.CybertaryFranchise.com.