What is a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant is anyone who provides assistance to a company or individual from his or her home or alternate location via the internet. Virtual assistants is a growing trend in these tough economic times, even though the cost of fuel is falling the recent economic problems have alerted companies that they need to cut costs and become more efficient.

A virtual assistant helps to control costs in many ways. The company or individual may not need more than a few hours of administrative assistance each week, therefore employing a person working from home means they are only paying for those few hours instead of a full time employee. This leads to reduction in benefits and vacation expenses as well.

The position of a virtual assistant also has many benefits for the assistant. They can work around other schedules, such as doctor’s appointments, school conferences and even furthering education while still maintaining a fair income.

Rates will depend on your area of expertise and your experience. A sample wage range is $20 – $40 per hour. Not bad considering you are working from your home with no commuting costs and in some cases you can work in your pjs.

What your duties consist of will of course depend on the area you are working in. The job you would do as a virtual assistant for an attorney will vary greatly from a corporate executive. The important thing to remember is stick to what you know. If you are not skilled in any particular area there are training programs cropping up in many diverse places.

Getting started may be as close as your current job. Have you noticed that you could do most of your duties from your home computer? Take the idea to your boss, but have a clear picture of it before you do.

Know what you can do, how long it will take you, how you will communicate with the company, compensation, and any other concerns your boss may have. Have all the answers to the questions before they are asked and you could wake up tomorrow as a virtual assistant.

Starting from scratch will be a bit tougher but it is possible. The first thing to do is take an honest evaluation of your skill set. What are you good at and what do you enjoy doing? This is commonly called a niche. Restaurants, small business, and lawyers all are niche businesses.

Now that you know what and who, you will need to market your skills. If you have prior experience in the field ask for referrals from a previous boss, which can get your foot in the door. You will want to name your business, create a webpage and begin to sell your skills. You can do this with cold call type letters, advertising, and referral programs. Anything and everything that would get your name out there in a positive light.

The going may be slow at first, but when you have built a reputation for great service, you will be in high demand. At this point, you will be able to be choosier when it comes to clients, as well as your compensation.

posted by Chris Simpson