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A Virtual Assistant, sometimes called a Cyber Assistant, Virtual Office Manager, Virtual Executive Assistant or Virtual Secretary provides clients administrative support from their home office, all the services you would expect from an ‘in office’ secretary or assistant, plus a whole lot more. With a Virtual Assistant, you never cover payroll taxes, insurance or buy additional equipment or office space, plus most Virtual Assistants bill only for ‘time on task,’ saving your bottom line.
A Virtual Assistant is the perfect blend - you get an assistant who can jump right into all those tasks you've either been dreading doing or have been doing until the wee hours. What is your time worth? What is your core competency? Do you find yourself so weighed down by all the administrative tasks that you're not getting any "real" work done? Perhaps you need help with marketing? Many Virtual Assistants are specialists in a particular field such as marketing, website design, bookkeeping, transcription and the list goes on and on.
Once you find and retain a talented Virtual Assistant, they'll take over all of the mundane details that have bogged down your workday and prevented you from focusing on your core competency. They'll discuss your day to day operations, what projects are falling through the cracks and create a plan of action where you both decide what should be delegated, how long tasks should take, hours reserved each month on retainer, etc. They communicate with you via phone, fax and email and they utilize the best technology to ensure their support is seamless whether they're 10 miles or 1000 miles from your office.
There are several qualities you should keep in mind when choosing a Virtual Assistant. First, do they have experience? How long have they been in the industry? Do they have a solid reputation among the business community? Do they have experience in your field? Are they communicative? Do they seem to share your same business values? Are they responsive? Are they tenacious? You may not be able to ask these questions directly to your prospective Virtual Assistant, but they are questions to keep in mind as you visit their website, read their testimonials and even as you run a Google search on their business.
Why, right here - of course! We have a member directory where you can view the profiles of our Virtual Assistants and you can submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) free, using the menu link above. Off site, you can Google the phrase 'Virtual Assistant' and find many organizations and individual Virtual Assistant websites to find the perfect VA for your projects.
The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. What tasks seem to take up most of your business day? You could easily hire a Virtual Assistant to manage your marketing, increase your search engine rank, answer your emails when you're on vacation, field phone calls, make appointments, handle your listings, send out postcards, write press releases, design a website, manage your books, create flyers, and much more! You're in business to do business, not be an administrator. Handing off your administrative work to a professional administrative services person enables you to focus on your core competencies. Don't "BE" an assistant, hire an assistant - otherwise, you're paying top dollar for amateur results.
Your Virtual Assistant won't succeed unless you're getting solid results. Therefore, their top priority is communicating with you to ensure you're seeing the results. You should initially work with your VA to allow her to get familiar with your business and your core competencies. Your VA can then make recommendations on how to engage systems and processes that will maximize your free time and increase your bottom line. They will work closely with you to accomplish your goals and they'll provide detailed reports of their time and results.
As with any situation where you're handing out your hard earned dollars, prospective Virtual Assistant clients need to do their due-diligence before choosing their VA. Virtual Assistants are human, too! And like most humans, we come with our own set of baggage - personality, work style, schedules and family issues. When interviewing Virtual Assistants, be sure you've got the right chemisty going. Communication - again - is critical in ensuring you're making the right match. The biggest complaint I hear from prospects is that their other Virtual Assistant just disappeared - Poof! No call, no email and the client is left buried in work, often with no idea how to move forward. Be sure you and your Virtual Assistant cover all of the bases in your initial planning stages and make sure he/she has backup plans in order.
The term "Virtual Assistant" was first coined by Christine Durst in 1995 when she was attempting to explain to her friends and family exactly what it was she did for a living. In Durst's book "
There are a great many benefits to working from home as a Virtual Assistant. Personally, I realized in early 2001 that I was missing the best parts of my childrens life, all those milestones (like my daughter Madison's first step!). At the time, I was running several local dotcom's for a "mover & shaker" who got a lot of press for all the great work that I was doing. I realized that the advancements in technology and the Internet were prime for me taking the plunge into working from home.
There are a great many things to consider before you decide to become a Virtual Assistant. Realize that Virtual Assistance isn't just about working at home in your pajamas. As they say in Spiderman, "With freedom comes great responsibility." As a Virtual Assistant, you'll put on a great many different hats throughout your work day; salesperson, marketer, technology support, bookkeeper, customer service, etc. You also should realize that as an entrepreneur, 100% of your success or failure rests upon your shoulders. Thus, taking the time and doing the necessary research prior to launching is critical. Many Virtual Assistants get their feet wet while they stay at their full or part time job.
When considering launching your Virtual Assistant business, you should closely consider what types of services you'll want to offer. First, take some time to evaluate what you're good at. Over your lifetime you've probably developed a great many skills. Examine these and get them all down on paper - not only will this help you decide your service list but it will give you encouragement and personal satisfaction. Second, consider those functions that you really enjoy. No Virtual Assistant wants to get stuck working on boring and unfulfilling projects, so spend some time going over your past successes and determine what brings you the most satisfaction.
The old adage, "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail" certainly holds true when it comes to setting up your Virtual Assistance business. The process isn't too difficult, but proper planning is necessary to set you on the path to success. You may want to do some research into creating a business plan. Creating a proper business plan ensures that you don't leave out any critical element. You'll need a name for your new business as well as a logo and some basic marketing materials such as your business card, flyers and website.
When starting your Virtual Assistant business, a sound business plan is your roadmap to success. Unfortunately, many Virtual Assistant's rely on their memory and never actually commit their ideas to paper. Even if they do consider writing a business plan, they are often overwhelmed or confused by the planning process and never understand the value of this critical document. As a result, many Virtual Assistant business dreams fail or fall short of their actual potential.
