How To Become A Virtual Assistant

Philippa Oakley

Description

This comprehensive step by step guide will teach you exactly what you need to know about setting up and running a successful Virtual Assistant business. Packed full of useful insider tips and advice, this guide teaches you how to work out your marketable skills, what services to offer and how to market your business to attract and retain the type of clients you would like to work with. You will learn how to set competitive rates, retainer packages, how to maximise your income and avoid the common mistakes of the new Virtual Assistant. With useful templates, sample terms and conditions and contracts together with online software tools and product recommendations to run your business, this practical guide is a must for the new Virtual Assistant. If you want to taste the freedom of being your own boss, working the hours and days you choose, then why not join one of the fastest growing businesses today with this comprehensive guide to becoming a Virtual Assistant.

Sujets

• Informatique

Informations

• Publié par: How2become
• Date de parution: 15 mai 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781909229082
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

If you want to taste the freedom of being your own boss, working the hours and days you choose, then why not join one of the fastest growing businesses today? If you’d like to start your own home-based business but just don’t know where to start then read on…

HOW TO BECOME A
VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

The Insider’s Guide to Setting Up and Running a Successful Virtual Assistant Business
Copyright © 2012 Philippa Oakley. All rights reserved. Published by How2Become Ltd.
www.How2Become.co.uk


Chapter 1: What is a Virtual Assistant?
Virtual Assistance is a growing industry. It is, in fact, one of the fastest growing industries today and unlike many other home-working jobs, it’s relatively easy to get into and fit around your life.
But what is a Virtual Assistant and how do you make good money working from home?
Well, a Virtual Assistant, or as they are also know, a VA, is a self-employed individual who provides a variety of administrative, creative and specialist/technical support services to businesses, usually from their own home. This can be word processing, data entry, bookkeeping, research, blog post writing, managing social media, diary management or answering calls among a whole variety of other services.
Or, if you prefer, according to VANetworking.com, “A Virtual Assistant is a highly trained independent entrepreneur who provides a myriad of business support services virtually via phone, fax and internet based technology to support and meet the growing needs of businesses worldwide.”
Not surprisingly, 97% of Virtual Assistants are women (according to surveys by both VAnetworking.com and the Society of Virtual Assistants.co.uk). But it makes good career sense for both men and women who relish the opportunity to work from home, working the hours and days they choose and for clients that they like!
Why Do Clients Work with Virtual Assistants?
The VA has typically worked with busy professionals, entrepreneurs and small businesses that may not have the time or budget to employ in-house staff.
However, as more and more businesses cut back on secretarial and support staff to save money, the VA is a much needed complement to modern business life. Managers still need things typing, still need things organising and still need their diaries managed, but now they prefer to employ a VA to do these administrative tasks for them as and when they need them doing.
Clients can hire the services of a VA usually for as little or as much time as required, whether it is a small project, regular or adhoc support. Clients only pay for the time spent on their work, with no need to worry about paying Employer’s National Insurance or Tax, nor holiday pay, sick pay, maternity pay or pay into a pension’s fund.
This is cheaper but is also more efficient for your clients too. They only pay for jobs doing when they need them doing, rather than employing a member of staff full or part-time and paying for idle time. Plus when they hire a VA, businesses know they are getting an independent professional; someone they can trust to do their work and help successfully grow their business.
There are more and more businesses turning to VAs every day as the most cost-effective and efficient solution to their administrative support needs. Professional services such as doctors, dentists and lawyers are one of the biggest users of VA services, as are business consultancy and coaching firms. Creative people such as actors, artists, directors, photographers and writers also form a huge chunk of the client market for VAs as do non-profit and charitable organisations. In fact, Virtual Assistants in the UK now work for most sectors of industry including tourism, local government, education, IT and financial sectors.
Why Become a Virtual Assistant?
“I wanted to be more flexible with my work hours for my child,” said Natalie, a VA I interviewed. “
Sarah Cruickshank, a writer’s VA came into the VA business for a completely different reason. She said: “A number of my journalist contacts kept asking me to do transcription of their interviews for them, or even interview people, do the transcription and forward it onto them. I decided it made sense for me to offer these VA services alongside my writing services. And I love it! If I want to attend my son’s school play, assembly or sport’s day, I can, I don’t have to haggle for time off! If I want to spend the day at the beach - I can. I can arrange my working life around my home life, as my clients don’t mind when I do the work, as long as the work is done when they need it.”
Carole Meyrick, a rural VA, also had different reasons for becoming a VA. She told me: “I had been toying with the idea of working for myself since moving to Wales in 1993, when I found that jobs at the level I was used to were very few and far between. I finally became a VA in partnership with a colleague when we were both made redundant at the end of 2002. After six months on unemployment benefit I got a part time job to help the finances, but the partnership ended shortly thereafter. I was determined to continue with a business of my own, and Office Stuff was launched in January 2004. I continued with the part-time job until June 2005, when I made the decision to become fully self-employed and run Office Stuff as a full-time business. I’ve never looked back.”
Sarah Stubbings set up her VA business, the Virtual PA, when she was made redundant from her position as PA to an MD. She wanted to continue in her role and so in January 2009, she set up her own Virtual PA company.
“I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and been passionate about providing first class administration in my employed roles,” said Katie Lawson, the Dental VA. “The issue for me was that I had a desire to have complete variety in my work, doing the hours I wanted in the comfort of my own office and in my slippers! Now, I can pick and choose what work I like doing and know I am good at rather than being hired to complete stuff I don’t. “
As you can see from the statements above, one of the main advantages of setting up your own home-business as a Virtual Assistant is the flexibility this career offers you. As a Virtual Assistant you are your own boss. You decide the hours you are going to work and the jobs you are going to do.
According to a recent survey by the Society of Virtual Assistants, an equal number of VAs work part-time (between 21 - 30 hours a week) as those who work full-time (41 hours or more). The majority of Virtual Assistants in the UK work between 31 and 40 hours a week, whilst some work as little as 10 hours or less a week. All the Virtual Assistants are doing business, all are making money and all fit their VA business in around their lives.
And when it comes to making money, most Virtual Assistants charge by the hour and in the UK, the average hourly fee charged by experienced Virtual Assistants is between £20 and £25 per hour. This compares favourably with typical US VA earnings of $40 - $50 per hour. So you see, even if you only worked ten hours a week; once you have your clients you can make a nice living as a Virtual Assistant.
Plus, unlike many home-based jobs, the set-up costs to become a Virtual Assistant are relatively low and unlike jobs outside the home, you are in control. No more hours spent commuting to and from work, waiting for the train or sitting in traffic. In fact, I know some Virtual Assistants who work from various locations around the world such as Australia, Greece and the Philippines, hiring villas, staying and working there for a while, then moving onto another country. You see, as a VA, you decide your working hours, you decide where you are going to work, you decide when you’re going to take your holidays, you decide when it’s time to raise your rates, and you are fully in control of your working life.
What do Virtual Assistants Do?
It would almost be easier to list what they don’t do! But here are the top activities carried out by Virtual Assistants in the UK:


Don’t panic; you don’t need to be able to offer all the above services! I don’t know of a single Virtual Assistant who does offer all these services and it would mark you out as unprofessional if you tried to do so.
Many specialise in audio typing or in organizing a client’s receipts for tax purposes, others specialise in travel planning, event management and diary management. Some work for their clients every day, others only work for each client for a few hours a month. Some have long-standing, permanent clients; others have new clients every week.
Many don’t even describe themselves as VAs at all, but prefer the term Administrative Consultant, or Virtual Personal Assistant but they do the work we are describing as Virtual Assistant work.
Some Virtual Assistants are generalists whereas others offer specialist niche services such as social media, keeping their clients’ Twitter and Facebook profiles up to date. Others work purely as travel planners. In the UK, at the moment, almost 90% of Virtual Assistants offer a more generalist service, with only 10% working in a specialist niche. But even the generalists focus only one a few services and have carefully targeted the companies and industries they want to work with.
Types of Virtual Assistant
A quick search of any of the Virtual Assistant forums online will soon reveal the varied nature of many VA’s jobs. Here are just a few of the specialist VA roles I have come across to date:
• Administrative Virtual Assistant (General admin, typing, diary management, etc)
• Call Forwarding/Answering Service
• Dental Virtual Assistant
• Estate Agent Virtual Assistant
• Independent Financial Advisor Virtual Assistant
• Writer’s Virtual Assistant
• Legal Virtual Assistant
• Architect/Surveyor Virtual Assistant
• Travel Virtual