What is a Virtual Assistant?

A Virtual Assistant, or VA, is generally a self-employed individual that provides professional administrative, technical,or creative assistance from a remote location, usually a home office.  VAs are considered independent contractors and are responsible for their own taxes, insurance, and other costs.

The advantage to the employer, or client, is that he or she avoids the expense of providing office space, equipment, benefits, and supplies for a regular employee.

Communication between the VA and the client is regularly done by internet, email, or telephone.  Fax can be used also.

Virtual Assistants work on a contractual basis.  Good VAs are usually able to establish long term relationships with their clients, ensuring regular work.

Virtual Assistant is the #1 work from home opportunity listed on the Bankrate website.

Necessary Skills

Here are some of the basic skills every Virtual Assistant should have:  This list is garnered from a post in a website called www.thevahandbook.com.  There are more skills listed on their website post than I have here.

1.  Reliability.  As a VA, you need to be a professional and do what you agree to do for your client.  Provide feedback and keep your client in the loop as much as is necessary.

2.  Good communication skills.  Lear your client’s likes regarding being kept informed and follow those likes.  Be sure there are no misunderstandings regarding assignments and deadlines.

3.  Good time management.  You need to be on time or early with assignment completion.  Plan ahead so you can get things done on time.

4.  Resourcefulness.  Be willing to do your own research.  Keep learning and improving.

5.  Ability to establish good client relationships.  New clients will need to know how you work and what to expect from you, and you will need to be able to understand your client’s needs and be able to give them that “warm and fuzzy” feeling that generates trust.

6.  Add Value.  Try to give your clients more than they ask for.  This builds your relationships with your clients.

7.  Be able to work alone.  If you get lonely working alone, go to where other people are and work, like a library or coffee shop.

8. Honesty and Integrity.  No one lasts very long if they can’t be trusted.

How much does a Virtual Assistant make?

Pay seems to range from around $8/hr to as much as $50/hr, depending on your skills and the difficulty of the work required.  The average hourly rate is around $11-$14/hr.  Annual salary range is from $21,000 to $26,000 per year, with the national average being $22,000 per year.

Of course you can make more, or less, depending on your client load and your ability to handle their assignments.

Is training available?

The short answer is yes.  Accredited training is available from Penn Foster online, and free online training can also be found.  Here’s a link.

Good luck if that’s the direction you want to go in.  I hope you succeed.

Have You Thought About Starting Your Own Online Business?

It’s a viable option, if you’re willing to put in the work to get up and running, and if it’s one of your dreams.  A lot of people have always wanted to start a business online but don’t quite know how to go about it.  There’s a great training platform called Wealthy Affiliate that will let you join for free to get started and to see if you really want your own business.  That’s how I got started blogging.  I found Wealthy Affiliate while I was browsing online, looking for information about copywriting, and I ran across it.

Since it was free to join, I decided “why not?” and jumped in.  There was no pressure and I didn’t have to give any financial information, like give my credit card information.  It was a quick and easy sign-up and I was a member.

In fact, I started this website while taking advantage of the free training.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the website was free too.  Who does that nowadays?  Who gives you free training and free websites, and encourages you to go for your dreams?  It didn’t take me long to realize that I’d found something really worthwhile.  Although I could have stayed on the free side for as long as I wanted, I decided within a month to move to the premium side and pay the fee for upgraded training and services.  It was reasonable and I haven’t regretted it at all.  My business is growing and I’m learning a lot.

I also get to interact with a multitude of online friends with the same goals that I have, that are happy to give good advice and to help whenever I need it.  All my questions get answered.

If you’d like to check out Wealthy Affiliate, click on the link.  Or read my review.  Disclosure:  The FTC requires bloggers to let readers know that if they click on an affiliate link and purchase a product, the blogger can get paid a commission.  That’s how it should work and that’s the business I’ve started, so I’m cool with that.  You can do the same if you’d like.

Thanks for reading my post, even though it’s short.

I’m Grant.

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