Virtual Assistants – A New Breed of Work at Home Entrepreneurs
While the economy may be picking up, it's still hard to find a job and many people in the US are working more than one. That’s why being your own boss can be an attractive option. It just takes a little bit of work and patience to make it happen.
Virtual assistants are specialists who offer their services virtually from home, usually on an “as needed” basis via email, phone or video chat. The services they provide vary depending on their skillsets but could include anything from research, data input and administrative tasks to editing or packaging presentations for clients, running errands or making travel arrangements.
Most virtual assistants are self-employed and, according to the US Small Business Administration 2005 report, form a very small but fast growing segment of the small business population. About 1.6 million Americans call themselves virtual assistants, having started their own companies to perform these services. They could be classified as independent contractors or perhaps employees depending on who they work for and how they are paid.
While there's no single standard model for a virtual assistant business, it takes on several different forms that all have some things in common. Success depends on the right temperament, skills and knowledge.
Sharon Rowley, co-author of The Virtual Assistant Handbook, talks about the four different types of virtual assistants who work in this field:
The Urgent Work VA is a self-employed person who offers her services on an as-needed or project basis. She might provide basic administrative support to two or three different clients or simply focus on one client’s needs full time. This could be someone with a strong administrative background who is good at following directions and managing time well. Her services are generally purchased for just one project at a time, although sometimes she might work for a specific client for weeks or months—if she gets along well with them.
The Focused VA is a person who specializes in a particular type of work. She might be especially good at filing, data entry or telephone support. These kinds of services are best offered to one client at a time and offer the fastest results when there's a need to make quick changes as they arise.
The Personal/Consultant VA helps clients solve problems and perform certain tasks that would normally require the expertise of an employee at larger companies. This kind of work includes helping with tax preparation, bookkeeping, contracts and travel preparation. She might also do things for the client such as handling their email correspondence or taking care of appointments for them.
The Full-time VA provides some level of service to multiple clients, although her efforts are focused on just one at a time so as not to disturb the other clients. This can be someone who is also self-employed and also offers her services to multiple clients from her home or office. She does have a home office and might have a minimum of four or five business premises for additional offices that she shares with another business partner—or with another VA partner.
She might hire help full time because she enjoys the flexibility of working part-time but needs the extra income in order to make ends meet. She might also work part-time because she is a stay-at-home mom or works from home doing something else besides being a virtual assistant.
Rowley says all VAs should have at least one destination for their clients to go to for information about their services and expertise. It's good to be able to state clearly what you do and who you serve. This is true no matter how you want your virtual assistant business model to look. But, keep it simple and organize—you’re going to be sharing a lot of information, so you want things organized in an easy way that people can understand quickly.
Also, try to avoid calling yourself a “VA.” She says, “Think of it as a verb, not a noun." Nowadays people think of themselves primarily in terms of what they do rather than who they are. David Mutchler and Meg Wilcox have created the term "virtual assistant," which is short for "virtual associate." Other terms might include: virtual executive assistant, virtual secretary, virtual office manager and virtual customer service agent.
Establishing your brand starts with a solid business name. It's important that you choose something simple and easy to remember. You want it to be so compelling that they want to use it when they refer to you—and you want them to say good things about your services even if they don't use your business name. Mutchler says, "Instead of choosing a name for your virtual assistant business, choose a brand for yourself." Just keep in mind that the name of your business should reflect its unique characteristics and help people find you quickly.
It's also important not just to have a website but an outstanding one. It should be polished, professional, and easy to find. The first thing people see when they look for your business is going to keep them from looking further. If you don't impress them right away, they'll move on to the next business that they find.
You want to position yourself as a professional, so your website should look sharp and have a clean design—not too much information. You don't want visitors getting overwhelmed by text or graphics that are amateurish or cluttered with photos and links everywhere. In addition, think about what you're going to use your site for and what kinds of services you need the site to provide in order to help you achieve your business goals.
You want to make sure you give potential clients a reason to contact you. Explain all of the services that you offer and, where possible, include contact information at the bottom of your website pages. And, don't feel like having to provide every possible service imaginable; as Rowley says, "I can’t imagine there being too many VA services out there for me to do."
Having multiple social media accounts is very important in today's online world. This is one way that people can reach out and connect with you. Make sure that you have at least three social media accounts and make connections with other people in the virtual assistant community to provide a wide client base.
When it comes to building your business, you need a combination of people-oriented motivation, technical skills and some financial resources. People-oriented motivation is the most important element. You want them to want to work for you so they’ll be motivated enough to perform their jobs well. Sometimes it takes an outside observer—a client—to motivate someone before they will take on a new job or task and stick with it over time.
Conclusion
Just as your financial freedom and personal life are important, so is your need to be free of the constraints of a job you don't like. For many of us, working at home brings much more than just financial freedom. It also affords the time to do things we've never had time to do before. We can spend time with our family and friends. We can start our own projects or hobbies and begin to explore passions that have been pushed aside for too long because we were too busy working for someone else's dream.