A Virtual Assistant - Could You Do This?

An Assistant who can:

• Produce your documents
• Present your ideas
• Promote your identity

• Available as and when required
• Cost-effective
• Professional
• Flexible
• Adaptable
• Efficient
• Discreet
• Reliable
• Friendly

• Drain your resources
• Invade your privacy or space
• Require you to provide training, equipment or benefits"

Before we go any further, it's important to mention that a VA is NOT a temp or an employee of a company. Virtual Assistants are self-employed professionals who service the needs of their clients by providing top-class administrative support, but only when it's required.

By using the VA to handle otherwise routine office tasks, for instance, the client can focus on the more creative aspects of their business.

Unlike traditional employer/worker relationships (them and us!), VAs and their clients work in partnership. By definition any such relationship has to be founded on trust and, from my viewpoint, that trust is pivotal to a Virtual Assistant's success or (perish the thought) absymal failure.

Later on we'll tell you how a client can ensure that their VA partner can be further safeguarded by a set of ethical standards and certified training courses.

Why would people want to be VAs?
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In Sheila's case, she wanted to be independent and thought she could do so much better than working for an employer. Now an established virtual assistant, she is gradually building a regular client list and now works full-time at her VA business.

Of course, there are many other reasons why you might want becoming a VA. Let's go back to Chris and Bridget:

At Staffcentrix, CHRIS says: "Some of the larger demos (n.b. demographics - J.L) from which VAs come include:

• Work-at-home moms
• Displaced homemakers
• Students (particularly graduate students studying for MBAs, MIS/IT degrees, law, accounting, etc.)
• Retirees
• People with disabilities (unemployment is particularly high in this group)
• Downsized executives and "Baby Boomers" nearing retirement
• People in areas of low or under-employment, such as rural locations and developing nations
• "Support people" working regionally who want to reach a global market through the Net
• Temporary employees who until now had no other option."

There are so many reasons but here are just a few examples:

• You will gain your independence
• You are able to enjoy building your own company and choosing who you wish to work for - when you work for a variety of clients you do not have to say yes to everyone who offers you work.
• The variety of work you will find yourself doing.
• The challenge of learning new skills and growing in confidence as you see your clients growing their businesses.
• More time to be available for your family and friends or to pursue your own hobbies.
• You will have flexibility of working hours.
• No office rules - or office politics!
• No commuting!! No 9 - 5!! No 'power dressing'!!"

Cultural differences notwithstanding (e.g. US/UK terminology and spellings), I'm sure there are plenty of you who will identify with list above.

Take me, for instance, I'm a financially challenged, early-retired "Baby Boomer" with a disability (I had a stroke in 2000) who wants to work from home. Before you start worrying, though, I don't have the experience, or the inclination, to be a Virtual Assistant . . .

. . . But maybe you do.

There is another reason, too. According to one recent survey, 97% of Virtual Assistants are female!

I suppose most men would just go away and look for something else.

Me? I'd see it as a challenge. . .

Do YOU have the right stuff?
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The first requirement for a VA, I'd say, is experience.

On the other hand, just about anybody with relevant experience in any of the undernoted disciplines could easily set up as a Virtual Assistant:

• secretary
• administrative assistant
• bookkeeper
• executive assistant
• personal assistant
• proofreader
• any other similar type of occupation. More later. . .

Let's say, you're a brilliant administrative assistant who wants to start out on your own and you want get out of the rat race. You think "I could do that", but you're just a wee bit afraid to take the plunge and go for it.

(Is this anybody you know?)

Like any other business starting out, research is also an important key to success. All that experience is a waste of time and energy if you don't have a good business plan.

That's my layman's opinion; let's see what our experts say.

The next question is: Do you have the right stuff? Let's find out.

At Staffcentrix, CHRIS asks: "ARE YOU VA MATERIAL?"

"It’s easy enough to tell. Take a moment and ask yourself these questions:

• Are you a self-starter?
• Do you like to work with dynamic people?
• Are you confident of your ability to get the job done?
• Are you trustworthy and honest?
• Can you adapt to rapid change?
• Do you have good problem-solving skills?
• Can you set goals and pursue them to completion?

At IAVA, BRIDGET asks: "AM I SUITABLE?"

"You need to fulfil most of the following criteria:

• You like to work on your own and value your independence.
• You need to feel committed to your future and understand that starting a business takes time and effort but is both personally and financially rewarding in the long run.
• You are adaptable and will enjoy working in a variety of fields.
• You like to be challenged by new ideas and new people.
• You have confidence in your own ability and don't need constant reassurance from work mates.
• You are focussed and will be able to give full attention to each individual item of work.
• You can prioritise and will be able to ensure that the important items, both within the family and your business, are taken care of without stress.
• You have an openness and are willing to adapt to new requirements and learn new skills."

By the way, isn't language a wonderful thing? There are so many ways that words can convey, essentially, the same message. Now I'll have to edit the one sentence version to something like:

"A Virtual Assistant is an experienced someone who works freelance and manages administrative tasks for individuals and small businesses."

Where can I find reading material about VAs?
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I asked both Chris and Bridget:

"In the UK there seems to be a dearth of reading material: printed books, e-books, etc about Virtual Assistants. Do you know why?" Here are their respective replies:

Chris: "I would attribute the lack of offline reading material to two things:

1. The VA industry is relatively new (circa 1995) and has only really "taken off" over the past 2 years.

2. VAs practice online and most information written for them is provided in online format, i.e., websites, listservs, etc.

Additionally, we have a new book coming out in January 2002 that is written for Real Estate Professionals who have decided to work with Virtual Assistants. Information can be found at the Staffcentrix site."

I should mention here that they also have their own bookstore where you can purchase such titles as:

"The Virtual Assistant's Pre-Launch Manual and Handbook" and "The Virtual Assistant's 'Building Your Client Base & Marketing 101' Manual and Workbook".

Bridget: "In the UK there are no publications that I know of for Virtual Assistants - although we have a training course to assist them in making their VA practices a success." (See the next question for information.)

IAVA also have a 'Starter Pack' which encompasses the basics of setting up a small business, marketing, handling business bank accounts, legal requirements, etc.

Where can I get some additional training?
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The training options listed below were all we knew about whilst researching this report, however, it's important to understand that there are probably many other options we may have missed.

Let's have a look at the few we found in the limited time available.

http://www.AssistU.com

They do a 20 week Virtual Training Program (VTP) that looks pretty comprehensive, if a tad more expensive than the others. Details on their website.

As I said before there are bound to be many others and I apologise in advance for any glaring omissions. Pricing information can be had the respective websites

Are there any recognised qualifications?
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Here's what the experts say about qualifications and certifications:

Chris: "Regarding certifications, we have seen quite a few crop up since we launched Staffcentrix in May 1999 (we also co-founded the International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA) and launched it at the same time) -- some are quite good, others are "fluff"

We believe that a certification should have an examination or other valid measurement of the core competencies it certifies. For example, our EthicsCheck examination was the result of a collaborative effort that included input from ethics professors from some of the finest universities around the world. The exam is not easy -- nearly 30% of those who take it do not pass on the first try.

Our newly launched, Certified Real Estate Support Specialist examination was developed with the input of real estate professionals and was designed to educate (through an extensive "study area") and measure (through a 50-question exam) the VA on issues these real estate pros found most important in such relationships."

Bridget: "We are working with two separate universities at the moment to produce a BTEC Course in Business Management geared specifically to the Virtual Assistant - and taken Virtually. This should be available from around Easter time next year (2002), although it is difficult to be precise about the lead time on the course as there is still a great deal of work to be done on the format and options."

Are there any particular tools of the trade?
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Earlier I asked, "Do YOU have the right stuff" and listed just a few options to get you started.

In case you would like a few more specific options, here's Chris with a few more from SX (The "buzz" term for Staffcentrix):

"Here's just a sampling of the types of services VAs are offering...

Academic Writing, Accounting Services, AudioVisual Production, Business Coaching, Business Plan Writing, Business Writing, Collection Services, Competitive Research, Concierge Services, Database Management, Desktop Publishing, Document OCR/Scanning, Editing/Proofreading, Entertainment Industry, Event Planning, Expertise in "Foreign" Markets, File Conversion, Fundraising, General Transcription, Gov’t. Procurement Expertise, Grant Proposals, Graphic Design, Graphic Scanning, Growth Advisory Services, HR Expertise, Insurance Broker/Agent Support, Internet Research, Interpreting, Import/Export Support, Intranet Development/Management, Legal “Secretarial,” Legal Transcription, Litigation Support, Live Phone Answering for Clients, Mailing Services, Marketing/Advertising, Market Research, Medical Transcription, Multilingual, Multimedia Presentation, Nonprofit Support Services, Office Management, Paralegal Services, Payroll Services, Phone-in Transcription, Private Investigation Support, Programming, Public Relations, Realtor Support, Resume Writing, Spreadsheets, Statements/Billing, Systems Management, Technical Writing/Editing, Translating Services, Voice Services (Greetings, Events), Voicemail for Clients, Web site Design, Word Processing."

Duh!! You mean there are more?

In addition to your relevant experience in any or all of above, a basic set of tools for a Virtual Assistant would have to include:

• A computer with Internet access
• A phone with voicemail or an answering machine
• A fax
• Appropriate software
• Any other specialist tools.

Starting from scratch, it's easy to see why becoming a Virtual Assistant could prove to be quite costly, but it's not always the case.

Constant improvements in computer hardware: CPU speed, better storage solutions, etc, mean that yesterday's cutting-edge machine is today's . . .

. . . Doorstop!

At least that's way most games players - who need all the processing power they can muster for their latest graphically-intensive beatem-up, shootem-up or whatever - figure things.

With all this obsolescent (only to some) hardware kicking around you should be able to pick a reasonably priced bargain from the second-hand market.

Any necessary software doesn't always have to be the very latest version of Windows, Lotus, Microsoft Office, etc, so shop around for bargains. You can always upgrade your equipment and software later, once you have a few clients.

Given this kind of "ante", let's get down to cases. . .

How much money can I earn?
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I don't know about you, but this is always the first thing I ask, so if you jumped straight in from the contents page I won't shout at you . . . As long as you read the rest of the report afterwards!

I've highlighted it in the menu in red, in case you're really in a hurry. ;-)

Just as a sidebar, it's taken me quite a while to find out the answer and there seem to be as many variables in the equation as the proverbial bit of string. I'll show you what I mean.

First place I looked for information about what sort of rewards you could expect was, unsurprisingly, Staffcentrix and IAVA. I checked out both their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) but to my own astonishment there was no obvious mention of the "going rate".

I looked through both sites with a fine-tooth comb, but still couldn't find the information anywhere. . . so I asked them in turn for an explanation.

One good thing about having the website owners in my corner, all I had to do was ask!

Chris: "On average, VAs charge about US$25/hour (about £17.50) for general administrative support services. You'll find the results of our 2001 Work Practices and Fee Survey at:"

http://www.staffcentrix.com/2001_SurveyReport.htm

I don't know how I could have missed it!

Here are a few other statistics from the survey:

• 24% of Virtual Assistants don't have a website
• 97% are female
• 19% have not yet launched their practice ("Pre-launch")
• 36% have only been practicing for a year.

Bridget: "Our VAs are working on the basis of £12 - 30 per hour for most of the normal administration and considerably more for Database creation, etc.

We work on the premise that they will actually make between £1,000 and £3,500 per month depending on how many hours they wish to spend on client work during each week."

What are the advantages?
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The number of people who work from home worldwide is on the increase every year. They may decide to do so for a wide variety of reasons, which we don't have to go into in detail here. Whatever the motivation, there are lots of benefits to be gained by working from home, these are just a few of the obvious ones:

• You choose to work the hours that suit you
• No more battling in to work each morning in all weathers, by car, bus or train - and the subsequent savings on fuel and garage bills, or fare costs if you use public transport
• You get to spend more quality time with the family (though for some people I know, this would probably be listed as one of the disadvantages).
• An end to the interminable round of pointless meetings, which tend to plague business organisations these days but never seem to solve anything. (Now that's something I do know a lot about!)

Working for somebody else has at least one attractive feature: regular pay. Unless you do piece work, your weekly income is more or less guaranteed to be what you expect, for the duration of the job.

When you become self-employed, you leave that 'security' behind you forever. Additionally, you now have to find enough work to enable you to earn a regular income, make sure you get paid when it is completed... and remember to keep enough to one side to satisfy the demands of the US Internal Revenue Service or in the United Kingdom, Her Majesty's Tax Office!

As you will have gathered by now, get-rich-quick it ain't!

Is it for me?
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That's a question I can't answer for you, but if you have the right kind experience and you are determined to change your life for the better, it may indeed be for you.

If this report has been in any way instrumental in steering you towards a career as a Virtual Assistant, I do wish you let me know how you fare. Even if just ONE of you takes that path
BIZ-Banana will have fulfilled its objective.

Whichever new career choice you make, we wish you every success, and please don't forget to give us a mention! John@biz-banana.com

REFERENCE BOOKS

For pricing and delivery information, click on any of the titles underneath.

Virtual Assistant, The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA
by Diana Ennen, Kelly Poelker (2005).

The 2 Second Commute
by Christine Durst, Michael Haaren (2005).

The Virtual Assistant's Guide to Marketing
by Michelle Jamison (2003).

Work Naked: Eight Essential Principles for Peak Performance in the Virtual Workplace by Cynthia C. Froggatt (2001)

Getting Business to Come to You: A Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide...
by Paul Edwards, Sarah Edwards, Laura Clampitt Douglas, Laura Clampitt (1998)

When this report was first published here in 2001, Amazon.co.uk did not have ONE VA related title in its catalogue. Now in 2006 three of the books are now available here in the UK. They are:

Virtual Assistant, The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA by Diana Ennen, Kelly Poelker (2005).

The 2 Second Commute
by Christine Durst, Michael Haaren (2005).

The Virtual Assistant's Guide to Marketing
by Michelle Jamison (2003).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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To Chris Durst and Bridget Postlethwaite for all their help and patience in answering all my questions and their permission to quote freely from their respective websites:

http://www.Staffcentrix.com/

http://www.IAVA.org.uk/

Without the help and encouragement of family and my very good friends on the Web this report would never have been written.