Starting a Virtual Assistant Business

Planning to start a virtual assistant’s business is very easy. But who will provide you work? I started my virtual assistant office seeking voluntary retirement from a central government employment, when people were desperately running in search of job. ‘Utter foolishness’ was the remark of relatives; friends conveyed their regrets and there was a strong disapproval. The beginning was excellent; soon I realized that the job is going to be tough because there was no ongoing work. Lack of knowledge about the business, insufficient information, meager fund, lack of contacts was the limitations. Soon I learned that unless I tell people about my business, nobody will know what I am doing. For that I had to design a web site. I used the spam emails and sent messages about what I am doing. I also registered my name in freelance web sites. Yes, that was all.

Virtual assistants are hired by clients to save money and time. They save money because the clients don’t have to provide equipments, software and other benefits, which a company may provide to regular employees. Clients save time as virtual assistants are ready to work any day any time. There is no limitation to his/her areas of work. Virtual assistants have started working in more areas like web designing, programming, accounting and legal.
Needless to say that internet is the most helpful media for communication and marketing. Search key words like virtual assistant, freelance work, remote worker, article writer etc. in Google or any other search engine. There are web sites which help service providers in locating buyers and vice versa. There are forums and networking groups ready to help you whenever you need so.
If you are going to start a virtual assistant/freelance business, this article may help you a little. Before you begin, I recommend that you make a thorough study of these points.

What are your skills? (Online research, data entry, graphics, article writing etc.)
What type of work are you going to do? (Research and article writing)
What is your expertise on this subject? (Masters degree in English language and excellent writing ability, )
Do you have previous experience? (Has been working with M/s Abc for last 5 years)
Do you have a comfortable office at your disposal? (Yes)
Are you going to work full time or part time? (I will be working full time)
What type of marketing are you going to do? (I have a Blog in which I will post articles and register on relevant web sites.)
Do you have a fast internet service provider in your area?

If you are able to answer the above questions satisfactorily, proceed to next step.
1. Prepare a brief resume.
2. Prepare a cover letter. I prefer sending a covering letter along with resume and feel that it is the best practice.
3. Keep ready a sample work to be sent on demand.
4. One or two references, if any.
5. Conduct a research to find out who may need your services.
6. Outline your clients
7. Prepare a budget and business plan if your work is going to need investment.
8. Make sure that you have all equipments and software required for the said work.
I have learned that I work odd hours, paying much attention to each and every point; rise early because the office is my own of which I am very proud. After all, I am paid for something that I enjoy doing.

VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

Virtual Assistant

With unemployment at its boom, commodity prices rising, many displaced from their jobs, come to the need for a job to earn additional income. Thus the idea of work from home came up, which is now called the virtual assisting; the most popular industry in the west. The modern communication techniques have further changed the scope of this industry. Now, by becoming a virtual assistant, you can work from any corner of the world.

Imagine having an experienced Secretary/Personal Assistant who requires no office space or equipment, no holiday and is willing to work for hours to suit you? Business men prefer appointing virtual assistants because they are instrumental in helping businesses grow; they should have a solid understanding of the latest tools to make a business succeed. A good virtual assistant will handle that and more.

Who is a VA

A Virtual Assistant (VA) is a highly skilled professional who provides administrative support and other specialized services to business entrepreneurs, executives, online business etc. who have more work to do than time to do it. He is an executive for an executive.

He is an independent contractor who works from his/her office to deliver business support services. This offers small business owners tremendous cost savings by avoiding extra costs of providing office space, equipment and computer software or office supplies. Hiring an independent virtual assistant is the most cost-effective way to get the help needed.

A VA not only works for others but becomes an integral part of their company and takes pride in becoming a part of it and sees it succeeds. A VA assists his clients, get to know them personally and continue to maintain a close relationship with the clients to improve their business.

The Job

A VA performs various tasks depending on his qualification and experience in the field. Generally, a VA performs bill paying service, database creation and maintenance, information processing, internet research, event planning, travel arrangements so on and forth. Every VA has a different set of skills and ability, thus the services will differ from one to the next. All VAs also have varying education levels, but have worked as secretaries, clerks and executive assistants.

Many VAs also provide web design and maintenance, publicity and marketing, desktop publishing, word processing, and business start-up consultations. The services are endless depending upon the VA’s knowledge, skills and creativity. Some services that VAs generally provides are:

• Real Estate Support
• Create Property flyers, brochures, and just listed/just sold postcards.
• Create newsletters
• Create & update listing presentations
• Compile Buyer/Seller packets
• Coordinate open houses
• Digital photography of listings
• Purchase & send closing gifts to client
• Desktop Publishing
• Business Cards
• Brochures
• Letterhead, Envelopes, Postcards
• Business Forms
• Advertisements
• Questionnaires
• General Administrative Services
• Schedule and Confirm Appointments and Meetings
• Calendar Management
• Internet Research
• Research Equipment/Services
• Word Processing
• Data Entry
• Spreadsheets, Graphs and Charts
• Power Point Presentations
• Schedule Travel Arrangements
• Event Planning
• Letters & Memos
• Message Board Posting
• Mailings
• Mailing List Creation and Management
• Mailing Labels
  
  Can I be a VA?
  
  Why not? If you have the required skill, knowledge about the job and patience, you can also become a VA. Many think that there are already a hundred VA around and how are they going to be successful in the field? Listen, what makes you a successful VA is the way in which you are going perform and that will distinguish you from others. There are many web sites which provide information about this. (Click the link on the right hand side to learn more). Administrative assistance, Real estate, Accounts and Taxes, Customer Care etc. are few of them. http://www.keralaassistant.com/
  
  Finding work
  
  First of all decide the job you want to do i.e. determining your skills. There are many entrepreneurs around your areas who look for help on many subjects. Arrange an office with equipments, advertise and you will find that you are really busy and making good income out of it.
  
  There are many web sites which provide idea on work from home. Few are given below. Sending money and later getting into trouble is common. I don’t recommend this. Establish relationship, be honest and you will see that the ball is rolling.
  
  If you don’t have sufficient experience you can go for training. Spoken and written English, article writing, book keeping and accountancy, document preparation in real estate are few.
  
  Other useful information.
  
  It is not essential that every VA must have a web site. But, a web site is useful to tell the public about you and the services that you are providing. That web site can earn you income even when you are sleeping. Hosting a web site and maintaining it is not that much expensive. Even if you do not know HTML, XML or Java Script, there are several experts who can handle the job for you.
  
  You are always welcome to write to me for more information.