Introducing the Virtual Assistant

What is a Virtual Assistant (VA)?

"VAs are independent contractors who provide administrative support or specialized business services from a distance, through the Internet, fax, telephone or another method of communication. They can help a company that needs extra people to meet seasonal demands; provide unique skills for a special project; or step in to meet the demands of business growth, locally, domestically or globally." (www.ivaa.org)

To rephrase, a Virtual Assistant does what you do right now, only they work for themselves instead of someone else. The saying "if something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't" does not apply here. I am living proof.

My career was in Property & Casualty Insurance. Just this past month, I performed database services for an insurance agency. They provided their expiration sheets; I entered them into an Access database. Ordinarily, this is work done by regular staff.

The source material (expiration sheets) was couriered to me. Thanks to modern communication tools, I was able to enter the data and e-mail the database. The client received an Access database, an Excel file (in case no one was knowledgeable enough to work with Access), and a Word mail-merge document. They may now either print their labels, or sub the work out to me. The client paid me with PayPal. To this day, I have never seen the gentleman and probably never will.

Virtual Assistants' clients tend to be self-employed entrepreneurs, and small to mid-sized businesses. Businesses without regular staff are some of my best clients. I have numerous consultants as clients. These one-person businesses are excellent prospects. It's difficult for them to focus on their core business tasks as well as maintain the daily chores required.

When Did the Virtual Assistant Profession Begin?

People were providing virtual assistance prior to 1999, but there is no way to tell the numbers, although I can safely say there were well under 100 worldwide. AssistU, a VA training facility, was established in 1997. The profession really started taking off with the creation of Staffcentrix and the International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA) in 1999. These were the first two organizations formed solely for the benefit of Virtual Assistants, with the goals of setting industry standards and educating the public on the existence of this new profession.

There have been traditional business support services in existence for a long time – what we used to call secretarial services and typing services. But the proliferation of the Internet launched a new breed of business support. The Virtual Assistance profession is a modern spin-off of the traditional secretarial service. My business is a hybrid of the two. I began in April 1999 as a traditional business support service working with local clients. I soon discovered working on a "virtual" level and quickly made it the main focus of my business.

Prior to 1999, media coverage was nonexistent. Currently, the coverage is extensive, with articles appearing in publications such as Inc. Magazine and Entrepreneur Magazine. An article is scheduled for September in Forbes. This is an industry that is rapidly gaining attention. A professional certification examination is administered by the IVAA for professional Virtual Assistants to prove to their clients their high skill level and ethics. Credibility is well established thanks to organizations such as the two mentioned above, but mostly thanks to the professional Virtual Assistants who have worked so hard to please and impress their clients. There is no better publicity than word of mouth.

What Exactly Does a Virtual Assistant Do?

Think about what you do as an administrative professional all day long in your job. A virtual assistant does the same thing. Some common tasks are:

• Word processing (including desktop publishing)
• Data base design/entry
• Internet (and traditional) research
• Scheduling
• Mailing services
• Web design/maintenance

Niche services such as bookkeeping/accounting, copy writing/proofreading, graphic design, etc., are also being done virtually.

Thanks to the increasing number of entrepreneurs, opportunities for virtual assistants are exploding. Not only do we assist entrepreneurs and start-ups, but small businesses are starting to take notice of this administrative profession.

In future articles, I will detail some of the clients and services that are regularly performed by Virtual Assistants. You will be presented with real-life examples of how people are making money for themselves instead of for their employers. You will be able to see how successful virtual assistants made the transition from full-time employee to full-time business owner. Administrative professionals are among the most talented in the workforce. Virtual Assistance gives these professionals a chance to take charge of their careers and put the money where it belongs: in their own pockets.

©2001. All rights reserved. No portions of this article may be reproduced without written permission from author