In 2008, Tiffany Nielsen looked at her hometown of Webster City, Iowa, decided that the economically depressed area held no future for her and her daughter, and moved to Loudoun. “A lot of what I saw around me was factories closing up,” Nielsen said.

Now Nielsen, who formerly worked in fundraising, is helping individuals, small businesses and charities survive the recession with the administrative support they need. In 2009, she founded Exec-u-sist, a provider of virtual administrative services.

“We emphasize the ‘u’ because our tag line is ‘making more time for you,’” Nielsen said. “We’re trying to give back to the communities that are struggling so much and we’re trying to build up those who are struggling to grow.”

Exec-u-sist provides a long list of services, including answering phones, scheduling appointments, paying bills and graphic design.

It provides “full-time hours at a part-time rate” and is designed to help people who can’t afford to pay for administrative help. “An executive assistant is what a lot of people want,” she said.

So far Exec-u-sist has worked with 10 clients, from “an individual who works within his own company to a company the size of 15 employees,” Nielsen said.

In addition to using her business to assist other companies, Nielsen also wants to help experienced executive assistants find jobs after losing their previous jobs. She started with her own pool of friends and acquaintances.

“People I had known were getting food stamps and fighting over jobs at Kmart and Wal-Mart,” Nielsen said. “The sooner we can grow our client base, the more people I can employ.”

Nielsen has four employees, three full-time and one part-time. All three full-time employees work out of their homes in Iowa. The part-time employee works with Nielsen in Lansdowne.

Nielsen communicates with her long-distance employees by webcam, and requires that they be in professional attire in a clean office during business hours. She uses webcams and e-mail to cut down on paper, making Exec-u-sist a green company.

Nielsen’s goal is to employ only people in the United States.

“No outsourcing,” she said. “We’re trying to make it affordable for Americans to have admin in the U.S.”

Currently, Exec-u-sist is mostly working with local residential service providers such as handymen, moving companies and tutors.

During July, Exec-u-sist will give $200 to charity in the name of every company that decides to start using its services.

For more information, visit execusist.com.