A Compassionate Leader | Melanie Koerperich

Melanie founded Milrich Virtual Professionals, LLC that has been serving clients since 2009. Based in Woodbridge, VA, Milrich was started when Melanie, not wanting to rely on the whim of corporate politics anymore, decided to work remotely for a client. That client told two friends, who told two friends, and they have grown from there. From the start, Melanie wanted to create a legitimate work from home environment for parents of special needs children, military veterans and spouses, and disabled individuals for whom a corporate culture might be difficult.

“We are in an industry where not only local competitors are a factor, but we are also dealing with many overseas companies that undermine rates,” she says. Melanie wanted to keep jobs in the US when many of them were being outsourced overseas. “We do our best to balance out rates with our stellar work performance, staff management and outstanding customer service. Every client gets a dedicated project manager at no additional charge to them.” Many of the staff that works for Milrich Virtual Professionals LLC are actual employees, complete with full benefits, wages well above minimum wage, paid holidays, sick time, and growth opportunities. Most other virtual assistant companies only have 1099 contractors. “We forgo profits to take care of our team.”

For the company, digital strategies have always been at the forefront. They work 100% remotely and have since their inception back in 2011. Many clients turn to them for recommendations on best practices on what to use for their teams Milrich Virtual Professionals LLC guides the clients accordingly.

David Aronchick, CEO of Hark, is proud to have been associated with the company, “Milrich Virtual Professionals never fail to impress us with the speed and completeness of projects, no matter how varied. We just ask for it, and we know it will be done!” On the other hand, Norton Ewart says, “Melanie worked for me for a year, and still would if I hadn’t changed my business model. She handled a variety of challenging projects for me, never failing to step up to learn new skills and work hard to meet my deadlines. Particularly pleasing was her proactivity if success depended on me getting something done on time, she frequently followed up with me to ensure the task was completed. You’ll be lucky to work with Melanie – she’ll add a lot of value to your business.” While Joan Pauly elucidates, “Outstanding couldn’t be more pleased with the quality of work while meeting demanding deadlines. Extremely trustworthy – if she finishes a project in less time, I’m only billed for actual hours worked. Trust, excellent work, and a real gem to work with. Doesn’t get any better than that. My business has never run more smoothly. I will definitely hire again and again.”

Milrich Virtual Professionals LLC survived the shutdown of 2020, and that is a big achievement for the company where numerous businesses closed down. While many of their clients paused their work during this time, they were able to pivot and, thanks to PPP, kept the staff employed and worked on projects during this time. “In fact, we had landed a large account that allowed us to bring on roughly 40 additional staff during this time. So, folks that normally worked elsewhere but that were stuck at home, were still able to work and bring some normalcy to their lives during that time,” says Melanie. “We are expanding our shop options of planners and printables as well as digital planners. We are also launching digital courses on how to find, hire and work with Virtual Assistants. Additionally, we are launching a virtual assistant podcast in the very near future. We not only work in the private sector but also work for US Federal, State and Local governments. We are a GSA schedule holder which was a huge achievement. Melanie serves on the Leadership Council for NSBA and is a Diamond member of the Prince William County Chamber of Commerce.”