What is a Virtual Assistant?

Internet Business Model Series
Service Business / Charge by Hour or Project

All businesses from time to time need administrative help beyond their current payroll. Often an unplanned project will present itself and since the need for help is temporary, it’s better to outsource the work than hire more personnel. In the case where a business is small and doesn’t need much administrative help, the owner may decide it’s less expensive to outsource than take on the expense and benefits associated with an employee. Whatever the case, smart administrative professionals are capitalizing on the need in the market and starting businesses to fill that need.

So what is a virtual assistant? A virtual assistant, or VA for short, is the equivalent of an executive assistant but instead of working as an employee for one company has taken his or her expertise and created a service business.  VA’s usually work for more than one client on a project by project or retainer basis.

As the forms of communication and sharing of documents has been made easier by the internet, the virtual assistant industry has evolved and VA’s are offering a much more varied menu of services. In addition to word processing, some VA’s have branched out and started offering other services like bookkeeping, web design, and internet marketing.  Some companies are even forwarding their phones to their VA’s to handle customer service calls. Specialization in one particular area of expertise or industry is quite common and a smart move by the virtual assistant.

Virtual assistants normally charge either by the hour or by the project. Some allow a discount for customers that pay for a number of hours in advance. Since a VA is a business owner, growing the customer base in an effort to make a profit is essential. For this reason most VA’s have a website that outlines their skills and describes the type of work they are comfortable accepting.  VA’s who have internet marketing knowledge or offline marketing knowledge, will have an edge over those that don’t since sales and marketing the business is how their client base is built.

A VA’s experience can range from brand new to many years in the corporate world prior to going solo. Experience needed to start a virtual assistant business doesn’t matter as much as the skill level in the area of expertise of the VA along with the ability to keep the customer happy. Building a reputation of not only quality work but ease of relationship and communication is important for getting and keeping customers. Even though a VA will normally work for many clients, they work hard to give the perception to each client that they are the only one.

If you are interested in starting a virtual assistant business and think you have qualities that would make a good virtual assistant, you can find help breaking into the industry. Tawnya Sutherland not only started her own virtual assistant business from scratch but built it up to the level where she now earns over $100,000 a year. She has assisted numerous corporate administrative workers and mentored various business people who are in career transitions working towards self employment. She also works directly with new and experienced virtual assistants.

If you want help starting your virtual assistant business check out Tawnya’s Virtual Business Start-Up System.

Next post in this series will cover “Who Needs A Virtual Assistant?”

Cheers!

Reba

Tweet This Post

No related posts.