Starting your own Virtual Assistance practice can be overwhelming, to say the least. Becoming an entrepreneur is an exciting and wonderful time in your life. This section will give you some resources for the someone who is interested in starting a VA practice.
Initially, I seriously recommend that if at all possible, you continue working at your regular job while you begin to put together your business. You need first to evaluate whether you have the skills and demeanor to become a VA. Not all people starting a VA practice will be successful. About 50% of people who apply for a listing on this site will go out of business within one year, and even more will still not have clients after one year. This is not to discourage you, but to clarify that you need to be realistic. Starting a business - ANY business - takes time, skill in your chosen field and dedication.
As an entrepreneur, you will work harder than you ever have at any time while working for an employer. As a business owner, you suddenly wear all the hats, including marketing specialist, bookkeeper, collections manager, which are all in addition to your own business tasks for clients. I would estimate that a minimum of 20-25% of my time is spent on non-billable tasks. You need to plan for that.
A virtual assistant is a highly skilled professional, not someone who simply has a computer and wants to make money from home. VAs generally have years of office experience. You must have exceptional communication skills as much of your work is done via email and telephone where you do not have the benefit of face-to-face contact. Some people simply cannot work that way and if you have that limitation, you will need to work on it or find another area of work.
Starting your own business is a high-risk venture. Successful entrepreneurs have a very strong personality, know what they want, have confidence in their capability and skills and will strive for success even when it appears that success may not be imminent. He or she will never represent to the client that he or she has skills that they do not truly have - they will be honest and of strong moral character at all times and know when to assign the work elsewhere, subcontract or assist the client with finding someone more appropriate for the task.
Like any other professional, a VA should always stay on top of the latest technology in order to better serve their clients and remain competitive. Continuing education is a necessity in order to professionally assist clients around the world professionally.
If you feel that you are ready to become a VA, there are many resources available to help you on your road to entrepreneurial success. I wish you luck in your endeavors. Please continue to come back and see our new resources for virtual assistants as they are added. We will soon be adding many business e-courses (online training) to assist not only VAs, but also anyone else who needs business skill and software training.
RESOURCES:
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