Become a Virtual Assistant

If you have always worked in an office, you might want to become a virtual assistant when you retire.

Hang on, what is a virtual assistant? Basically it involves offering the secretarial services that you have always enjoyed, from home, to anyone, in any destination.

You might never meet your "boss" in person, instead all your communication may be through e-mail or via Skype. You might work for one company or many. You might work for someone in the same city or for a company half way across the world, or both.

You will need to be able to work independently and to be happy with your own company in order to succeed. You will be able to set your own hours and decide which jobs you are happy to include in the services you offer (and which you hate doing and therefore won't offer).

Do you have the right skills to become a virtual assistant?

If you have been out of the office environment for any length of time it may be worth taking an evening class or two, to get back up to speed.

One of the most important skills you will need is good time management. Working from home in this manner needs self-discipline and motivation. It is important that you create a schedule for yourself and stick to it. Remember to include time for your own work such as your accounting and marketing.

You will also need to be highly organised, especially if you work for more than one client. You wouldn't last long if you sent a client's information to the wrong person!

Do you have the right equipment to become a virtual assistant?

I am guessing that as you are reading this page, you probably have a computer or laptop available. But what else might you need?

Depending on the services you decide to offer, you might find the following pieces of equipment necessary...

Printer
Scanner
Fax machine
Answering machine
Cell phone, smart phone or PDA (personal digital assistant)
Suitable software

In addition to those items listed above you will also need a home telephone (preferably with a second line), desk, comfortable chair, filing cabinets and stationery supplies.

Regarding software, it would be advisable to have a version of Microsoft Office installed on your computer. Although this is expensive you will find the most other companies use it and that you need to be compatible. You may also need specialist software depending on the type of company you work for.

For your own record keeping you might want to invest in accounting software, and some form of to-do list program.

If you suffer from aches and pains in your wrists you may find that dictation software will help immensely. This enables you to talk to your computer and have it type what you say. Modern dictation software needs minimal training to understand what you are saying. It is available for both PC and Mac users.

Promoting your business

Getting your first client will be the hardest.

As your clients can be based anywhere in the world you will need to create a business website in order to advertise your services. It will act as your virtual shop window and needs to give a good impression. It is not advisable to use free hosting or a cheap website host as you need your own unique domain name to look professional.

Only a handful of your daily visitors will be actively looking for a virtual assistant. You might like to make it easy for them to get in touch when they need your services, by offering a monthly newsletter, which will remind them on a regular basis of your existence. Also provide a contact form so that they can get in touch and explain their requirements.

Get into the habit of carrying business cards with you, wherever you go. Ensure that both your website and. e-mail address are on the cards, in addition to your phone number. You never know where you might meet your next customer!

Once you get going, word-of-mouth will play a part in generating new business. Satisfied customers tend to talk to each other and are happy to recommend a good service.

Who needs a virtual assistant?

You are mainly looking for small, perhaps one-person businesses, especially those of a practical nature, such as builders, plumbers, electricians etc. who are great at what they do, but don't have a clue about keeping up with the paperwork.

They may not be able to afford a permanent secretary, and only occasionally have need for such services. Having someone at the other end of a telephone who will take care of business communications, invoicing, book-keeping services and database creation/upkeep could help them concentrate on their core business.

Of course if you are going to have the responsibility of keeping customer data on your computer then you should ensure that you comply with the rules of data protection.

Getting paid

If you are working "virtually" then you will probably opt for online payment also.

This can be through an Internet bank transfer or via a system such as PayPal. If you are going to receive money through PayPal then you will need to create a Premier or Business account as it is not permitted to accept payments with a personal account.

Please do not do hours and hours of work for someone, without asking for an interim payment to ensure that they are genuine. Most times everything will run smoothly, but you do need to build up trust on both sides in the early days.

Share your story

If you have become a virtual assistant and made a success of it, why not share your story on this site! You can help others by giving tips on what worked and what didn't, how you found your clients and anything else that will help something in the early stages of their business.