Who And What Is A Virtual Assistant?

As an entrepreneur and small business owner, you've probably heard the term "Virtual Assistant (VA)," but you are still not quite sure exactly what a Virtual Assistant is or what they do or don't do. Think of a Virtual Assistant as your online administrative assistant. However, there are still misconceptions that exist. I'm going to attempt to clear those up.

"A Virtual Assistant is a professional who specializes in providing administrative support and expertise," says Danielle Keister of Virtual Assistant Chamber of Commerce. The business community is still conditioned to think of virtual assistants as employees. This type of thinking can devalue the true worth of a VA; as a result, potential clients tend to focus on the cost of the services rather than the value a VA can bring to the table. When you pencil out the benefits you reap from working with them, you will realize that they are not as expensive as you first thought.

Since VAs are professional entrepreneurs, they are quite versed in business operations. You won't have to worry about time-consuming tasks; such as, e-mail marketing campaigns, maintaining your website, following up with your clients, bookkeeping, creating a new blog, updating your blog, to name a few. As Danielle points out, a Virtual Assistant can help you move your business forward.

The qualifications and skills that they possess as VAs enable them to be experts in their fields, as well as in their profession as entrepreneurs. You receive more than administrative support, you have someone you can consult with, bounce ideas off of, brainstorm with, as well as utilize some of their business practices. If it works for their business, it may work for yours. In addition, your VA becomes familiar with how you operate your business; as a result, s/he can help your business operations run smoothly.

The benefits you reap as an entrepreneur from this type of business relationship outweighs any fees that you may perceive as being expensive. If you choose to work with offshore virtual assistants to save a few bucks, you will not receive this type of value-added service and expertise, mainly due to cultural differences.

If you are trying to decide if it is time to retain the services of a Virtual Assistant, it depends on whether or not you find yourself spending more time working in your business rather than working on your business. If it is the former, you should work with a VA. S/he can assist you with those daily, time-consuming tasks, which divert your focus away from working on your business. Working on your business requires just as much concentration and is necessary if you want to grow your company.

There are several VA forums that have directories listing their members and how to contact them. You can start your search at VAnetworking, Virtual Assistant Chamber of Commerce, Search4VAs, Virtual Assistant Forums, and International Virtual Assistants Association, to name a few.

Although the VA industry has existed for nearly 10 years, due to workers becoming business owners because of downsizing and layoffs, VAs are suddenly in high demand. However, potential clients, and some VAs, need to recondition their concept of what a Virtual Assistant really is and what they do and don't do. They are independent contractors not employees.