Nearly four years after I began working with my VA, I find myself wondering how I ever managed without her in my life. She is my champion and my absolute partner for success. Finding her was like finding the most perfect diamond. As a successful author and speaker, having someone who represents me almost as well as I represent myself isn't a luxury, but a necessity. I couldn't do what I do, professionally, without her graciously competent support. — Cheryl Richardson New York Times Bestselling author of Take Time For Your Life, Life Makeovers, and Stand Up for Your Life

 
Questions Frequently Asked By People
Considering Becoming Virtual Assistants

In case you have just a few questions, or are a frequent visitor looking for a specific piece of information, we've created a list of the questions listed here. A click of the mouse will take you to the info you seek!

	What is Virtual Assistance?
	What Virtual Assistance isn't.
	Why does it matter how an entrepreneur labels his or her business?
	What's the history of the profession?
	Don't small business owners do it all themselves?
	Does it work? Why would I consider it?
	How is it different than being a home-based secretary?
	Tell me more about the relationship aspects of being a VA.
	Why would I want to do this at home?
	What's the idea behind Virtual Assistance?
	Who would work with a VA?
	Why wouldn't they work with a temp?
	How do I decide if being a VA is the right career path for me?
	Are all VAs women?
	Aren't the skills I have now enough?
	What qualities do I need to be successful?
	Can your graduates survive financially on this business alone or do they have to have other jobs?
	Do you have medical benefits or any type of benefits?
	Can I do this part-time?
	How will I find clients?
	How long does it take to build a successful VA practice?
	How soon should I start to build my business, and what kinds of work might I do as a VA?
	What could I expect to earn?
	How do I move forward to building a VA practice of my own?
	Where do I get more info?

 
Q:  What is Virtual Assistance?

A:  Virtual Assistance is a fairly new administrative profession. The professionals are called Virtual Assistants, or VAs. VAs are micro business owners who provide administrative and possibly personal support while working in long-term collaborative relationships with only a handful of terrific clients. Using phone, fax, email, as well as other emerging technologies, VAs support their clients' needs, across the board, without having to ever step foot inside the clients' offices.

It's a fabulous way of working, and opens new doors for administrative professionals!!

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Q:  What Virtual Assistance isn't.

A:  As you move around the 'net, you'll see a variety of definitions about what Virtual Assistance is, and what VAs do. AssistU has always had a strong and distinctive brand of Virtual Assistance which we believe is the highest and best standard for the industry as a whole. We invite the entire Virtual Assistance industry to step up and use this particular definition!

We stand for VAs providing administrative and personal support, across the board, in long-term and collaborative relationships. So, a VA is a person who supports a client, across the board, administratively and personally without being geographically present in the client's location.

Having said that, a VA is not someone who provides consulting services. That person is a consultant. A VA isn't someone who only provides bookkeeping services. That person is a bookkeeper. A VA isn't someone who only provides marketing support. That person is a marketing consultant or a marketing assistant. A VA isn't someone who books speaking engagements. That person is an agent. Nor are VAs Tax Advisors, Accountants, Medical Transcriptionists, Web Designers, or professional business and personal coaches.

In our opinion, what makes a person a VA isn't that the services can be performed at a distance, but rather that the services that are being performed are administrative in scale and scope, and are provided with the desire to support the client across the board, not with just one specific function or task, no matter how ongoing that might be.

While it's possible that a VA may offer additional services, those who offer limited, or non-administrative services are not, in our opinion, Virtual Assistants.

Are we judgmental? We don't believe so. There's certainly room in the business world for whatever any entrepreneur wants to do. However, we feel, and have always felt, that there needs to be a strong definition of what this profession is about; in order for Virtual Assistance and VAs to have a future, we need to distinguish ourselves and what we offer as distinct from all others.

At AssistU, through our brand, we have been doing that since we formalized the profession years ago, and it's part and parcel of what we stand for.

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Q:  Why does it make any difference how a new entrepreneur labels his or her business? Other organizations don't seem to feel that way!

A:  The Virtual Assistance profession is still a very young profession, and we feel it's critical for there to be a strong definition as to what Virtual Assistance is and isn't. "Virtual Assistance" isn't a catch-all phrase for anything a person can do from home. It's a specific professional industry, and we are committed to "Virtual Assistance" being defined appropriately, and being used by people actually doing the work of a Virtual Assistant.

Because the industry isn't regulated, anyone, anywhere, can hang out a shingle and call him or herself a VA, regardless of the work actually being done. But a person only doing bookkeeping, for instance, who calls herself a VA rather than the more appropriate "bookkeeper," causes confusion for the public coming in contact with her. That's confusion creates difficulty in terms of growing this profession.

Additionally, when an entrepreneur mislabels his or her business, marketing becomes so much more difficult. Our bookkeeper, rather than using the label of "bookkeeper" which is immediately understood by millions, uses "VA," which then has to be explained. It makes things far more difficult on everyone.

Think of examples of other industries, products and services. For example, there's the car industry, and the motorcycle industry. And while both cars and motorcycles transport people from place to place, they are very different things. If the motorcycle industry suddenly started calling motorcycles "cars," the public would be quite confused, and, over time, the motorcycle and car industries would only suffer for it.

As a profession, we need to be as clear as we possibly can about what we're doing. That's why AssistU ardently believes and stands for our definition of Virtual Assistance. It's clear. It's focused. And it expresses our vision of what the profession and the professionals are about.

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Q:  What's the history of the profession?

A:  It's difficult to pinpoint when, exactly, virtual assistants began working. We know that our founder, Stacy Brice, was working virtually with clients in the mid-80s, long before working that way was easy or cool. She may or may not have been the first VA, but what's absolutely clear is that she formalized the profession when she founded AssistU in early '97.

Since then, AssistU has been the leader in VA training and support, and is widely known to train the finest Virtual Assistants in the world. That reputation has had them referred to as the "Harvard of Virtual Training." With the highest standards in the industry, AssistU is always looking at what's the highest and best for the Virtual Assistance profession, and acting as steward, gently guiding and forming the industry as it grows.

The industry's seminal innovator, AssistU is responsible for the creation of such now commonly held industry standards as:

• VAs working in long-term and collaborative partnerships with their clients.

• VAs offering a two-tiered fee structure (retainer, and pay-as-you-go).

• VAs growing themselves so that they can be more attractive, ultimately attracting the exact clients they most want to work with.

• VAs creating high standards for their virtual practices.

• VAs seeing the value of their service to clients, and setting their fees in a way that honors them and allow them to earn a profit ($30+/hour).

• VA certification (AssistU offers the highest level of certification in the industry).

• VAs using emerging web technologies to communicate and collaborate with their clients.

• VAs creating businesses that, often for the first time, have their work contributing in a positive way to their having high-quality lives.

More than two years after AssistU started training top-notch VAs, additional organizations began to emerge to support VAs in their practices. While there are vast differences in the business models embraced and the view of the profession as a whole, the variety of organizations permit a new or aspiring VA to find the best support for him/her.

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Q:  In the corporate world, many managers are required to do most, if not all their own administrative work. Don't small business owners do it all themselves?

A:  They usually do, but sooner or later, as their businesses grow, they often find what managers do — it's impossible to do it all and have a great life. Something has to give! Fortunately, small business owners can do something about it. Managers are fundamentally stuck running faster on the corporate gerbil wheel.

Business owners and entrepreneurs find what great administrative professionals have always known deep down: When the client gives work to a VA, and allows him or her to proactively support the client in reaching his or her goals, freed up time and energy are created and available for an abundance of other things.... the things that they love and do best, and should be focusing on.

VAs are dedicated, driven, masterfully skilled administrative professionals who genuinely want to powerfully impact the lives of people they work with.

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Q:  I can see why it's a great idea for busy people everywhere, but I have to ask, does it work? Why would a client consider it? And, why would I consider it?

A:   For the client, working virtually is especially powerful for many reasons:

• Giving work away that doesn't need his/her attention gives back time and space for an abundance of other things, which may include:
  • Growing a business
  • Doing just the work he/she loves
  • Spending more time with family and friends
  • Seeking other opportunities or being able to take advantage of those already aware of
  • More life balance

• No need to share space in a home-office, or find additional office space for an employee

• No need to buy additional equipment

• No need to deal with the managing of an employee

• No need to deal with the administration details associated with payroll

• No need to pay associated payroll taxes, insurance, and possibly benefits

• No need to adhere to Federal and State mandates, like OSHA, the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act

• No need to pay someone *else* to administer all of the above, so that he/she isn't further bogged down.

• Gets to interact with another business owner (the VA!!) who isn't simply task oriented, but instead, wants to help find great solutions to challenges and the best ways to really go for opportunities.

You can see that there are powerful reasons for a client to consider working with a VA!

For you, the VA, working virtually is especially powerful for many reasons:

• Gaining independence and control over your own life

• Being successful on your own terms

• Changing the paradigm from working for someone and running on that corporate gerbil wheel to owning your own company and choosing with whom you will work

• Working at home lets you spend more time with your children

• Only doing work you love

• Doing diverse work

• Getting to contribute in a way you may never have been permitted to before

• Getting to use your creativity freely

• Doing dynamic work with interesting people

• Having no commute

• Working with people who genuinely appreciate your contribution

• Being a pioneer in a new profession

• Setting your own hours, taking as much time off as is desired

• Devising a schedule that works best for you and your family

• Receiving compensation that genuinely honors the contribution you make

• Not having to any longer be at the mercy of a corporate structure that doesn't see you or honor you as a true professional in your own right

You might consider becoming a VA because any one reason in the above list, or for a reason not shown. What we know is that the only job security in this country is the security you create on your own. The corporate world will continue to ask you for more, while giving you less. And downsizing continues... there is simply no way for you to know how long your job will be viable. If you want to, and are ready to create your own destiny, becoming a VA might be just the way to do that.

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Q:  How is it different than being a home-based secretary?

A:  Generally speaking, the difference is in the scale and scope of the relationship.

A Virtual Assistant:

1. Works in a relationship. That relationship is ongoing, with the people working together daily. Because of the nature of the relationship, a VA can only work with a relatively small number of clients.

2. Becomes the right hand of the person assisted, getting to know the client, his business, his customers, his life. She becomes, literally, a partner in his success.

3. Does secretarial work, but as partner, she often does much more than that, *and* it often crosses over into supporting the client in personal matters as well as professional.

4. Creates value for her clients through a dynamic learning process — the more she learns about the client, his business, his customers and his life, the more she is able to support him, and the more value she creates.

A home-based secretary:

1. Does piece work. Can have hundreds of clients because a client might only need assistance once or twice each year. There is no partnership.

2. Doesn't get to know a client's business well because there's no need. Only task oriented work is given to them, so the level of trust doesn't need to be high.

3. Provides a value which is commodity based through a select set of secretarial services offered.

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Q:  You keep talking about the relationship aspects of being a VA. Can you tell me more about that?

A:  Virtual Assistance is similar to Administrative or Executive Assistance, well known in the corporate workplace in many respects. But the corporate world generally devalues its administrative staff. They simply don't yet see, much less understand the power that could be created if bosses and managers actually saw their administrative people as more than functions, and as being able to bring more to the table than what's typed on a job description. Incredibly lucky is the administrative professional who has a real partnership with her boss — the reality is that those kinds of relationships are too far and few between.

So the main thing that makes Virtual Assistance so special (besides the fact that it's, well, virtual) is the relationship — the partnership formed between the VA and client.

It's a brave, new world, and AssistU shatters traditional models and rewrites definitions all the time — Here's how we define "partnership"...

A Partnership is the purposeful and collaborative commingling of talent, strengths and goals contributing to the constant benefit of all those involved.

Let's look at that more closely to see what this new partnership is all about:

First, we believe it's critical that the partnerships are constant — the people involved need to be committed to working together on a super frequent and ongoing basis. Each action taken within the relationship leads the pair to another action, moving forward to a specific goal. Each goal moves the pair toward goal, and the momentum carries them forward, together.

For the VA/Client relationship, the ultimate goal is harmonious and constant partnering — not a series of transactions.

Next, the relationship is purposeful — it's no accident that the two are working together. They chose each other and moved together into the relationship, and they will move together to achieve results.

In the VA/Client relationship, if the purposefulness isn't there, there's no basis for the relationship.

Partnerships are also a commingling of talents, strengths and goals. That implies that each member of the partnership brings all of their talents and strengths to the table, incorporating them together — with each giving what they have so that they can together achieve more than they could alone. Their goals may not be completely the same, but in the shared experience of the partners, both people achieve their independent and combined goals.

In the VA/Client relationship, the VA gives all she has, in terms of talents, skills and resources — BUT here's the important point: while it would seem she does so simply for the good of the client, that's simply not so. That's more traditional corporate thinking.

Instead, partnerships create constant benefit for all involved, and as such, the VA derives as much benefit from the relationship as the client, and in very similar ways.

While the client may grow a business, free up more time for family and friends, do only the things he/she's good at, and generally have a better quality of life as a result of the relationship with the VA, the VA benefits by having greater freedom and flexibility, grows her own business, does the work she most loves and is good at doing, and generally has a better quality of life.

The client gets all this by giving work TO his VA partner, and the VA gets all this by taking work FROM her client partner.

Neither can have all they want and need when working alone. The VA/Client partnership synergistically provides the missing elements.

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Q:  Why would I want to do this at home, rather than working for a company in their offices?

A:  We've heard many reasons. Some are:

• Independence

• The desire to be successful on their own terms

• Changing the paradigm from working for someone to owning your own company and choosing with whom you'll work

• The ability to stay home with children

• Only doing work you love

• Doing diverse work

• Doing dynamic work with interesting people

• No commute

• Working with people who genuinely appreciate your contribution

• Opportunity to be a pioneer in a new profession

• Set your own hours, take as much time off as you like

• Devise a schedule which works best for you and your family

• Receive compensation which genuinely honors the contribution you make

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Q:  What's the idea behind Virtual Assistance?

A:  As corporate downsizing continues, more and more people are starting their own small or home-based businesses. In order for them to maximize their potential, they really need support of all kinds.

Working in a collaborative relationship with a Virtual Assistant is a terrific way to get that support.

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Q:  Who would work with a VA?

A:  All sorts of people. Consultants (marketing, sales, management, corporate, etc.), coaches, CPA's, attorneys, writers, photographers, therapists, financial planners, stock brokers, executive recruiters, entrepreneurs - what professions can you think of where a small business owner would need support? The list is limitless!

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Q:  OK, but why wouldn't they work with a temp?

A:  If they have a home-based business, it's unlikely that a temp agency will send someone to work with them. More importantly, they *still* need to have the space, furniture and equipment in order to have a temp; expenses many small business owners would rather not have.

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Q:  How do I decide if being a VA is the right career path for me?

A:  If you're here reading this, if what you're reading is exciting to you, if you have great skills, if you genuinely love being of service, if the idea of supporting a busy entrepreneur jazzes you, if you are insatiably curious, love to learn, and love being a resource for people, if you want to create a company of your own visioning — one where you'll do work you love with dynamic people, chances are becoming a VA is right for you.

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Q:   I see that your site most often refers to VAs with feminine pronouns. Are all VAs women?

A:  No — all VAs are not women, however, the vast majority are. We wish that more men would show an interest (if you know any terrific male admins who might be interested in becoming VAs please tell them about this site!), but that simply hasn't been our experience. The administrative profession as a whole is female dominated, which, we believe, explains why the early adapters interested in becoming VAs are also female.

As for why we use feminine pronouns, we had to choose. It's far easier to use one or the other than it is to consistently use both, and feedback shows us that internet users grow weary of seeing "he/she," "his/her," etc., all the time.

Since the vast majority of VAs are female, and the majority looking into becoming VAs are female, it makes sense for us to choose to use feminine pronouns for use on our site.

We could have chosen to write things differently, speaking about VAs always in the plural so that we could appropriately use plural pronouns, but the light, conversational quality of our site, so often commented by people who visit, would be lost in the process.

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Q:  Aren't the skills I have enough for me to just go out and start working now?

A:  Perhaps you have great office and relating skills. That's perfect! Still, we've found that learning to build a virtual business and develop a successful thriving practice happens quickly and easily when you get the right training.

We firmly believe that anyone considering this profession probably needs additional training. We are certain that people who get great training and really understand the power created in the relationship between the VA and the person assisted, will get their practices up and running much quicker than those who try to do it on their own.

You and your business deserve every advantage. The training, coaching, and support available from AssistU is the best advantage you can get.

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Q:  What qualities do I need to do Virtual Assistance work successfully?

A:  Working virtually is not for everyone. It sounds great, but the reality is that to do this work successfully and happily a person needs to have a certain something.... something different than one needs when one works in an office surrounded by people.

Here are the qualities we look for in a person before we recommend our program and the formation of a virtual assistance practice:

• Has the magic. You know — open ears, engaged mind, ready heart. You really need to be insatiably curious!

• Has the touch. Able to attract people, simplify life and work.

• Open. Willing to learn new things, able to adapt to new ways of doing things.

• Quick. Able to get it — whatever it is, rapidly.

• Intuitive. Listens well. Can hear what's said and what's not said.

• Proactive. Takes the bull by the horns. Sees something that needs attention and takes care of it.

• Focused. Can give each task or piece of work complete attention. Not easily distracted.

• Confident. Finds joy and peace in solitude. Trust gut instincts. Doesn't need the input of folks around a water-cooler. Sees a path and follows it, or carves one out alone.

• Committed. Knows that starting a business is an investment, not a way to make money fast. Looks for partnerships - long-term relationships with partners, not quickie tasks or one-time assignments.

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Q:  Can your graduates survive financially on this business alone or do they have to have other jobs?

A:  They can absolutely survive financially on this business alone.

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Q:  Do you have medical benefits or any type of benefits?

A:  None of the "traditional" work benefits, no. It wouldn't be appropriate for us to, as each VA owns her own business, and is responsible for setting those up according to her own needs and her business structure.

We do have many valuable partnerships with vendors who provide benefits to our community members, usually in the form of discounts available to the VAs and their clients.

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Q:  Can I do this part-time?

A:  You can structure your practice any way you like. It's your business! You set your own hours, and if you only have one day a week, or evenings and weekends only, go for it!!

Finding clients who need that kind of support might be a bit more difficult than it would be if you were available from 9-5, but it can be done.

Some people think they'd like to keep a full-time job, and work part-time as a VA in the evening and on weekends, building a practice until the income generated is on par with the income earned at the full-time job. If that's something you're considering, know that, depending on your circumstances and financial needs, that might not be an especially realistic goal, as it may require you to work more hours than you have the capacity to handle.

What's more realistic is that you have a transition plan — a way to move from working full-time to working in your own business. There are only a few ways to make that happen without making yourself crazy in the process, and we're happy to share those with you before you take another step forward. Just contact us, and we'll be happy to help you assess your situation so that you can create a realistic and easy to implement transition plan.

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Q:  How will I find clients?

A:  Since prospective clients are everywhere, you'll need to learn about marketing your services and making yourself attractive to them. Among other things, we share many marketing and practice building strategies in the VTP. As a wonderful addition to your own efforts, you'll have access to high-quality client referrals through our Registry!

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Q:  How long does it take to build a successful VA practice?

A:  A lot depends on the time you have to invest. If your plan is to launch into this and do it full-time, you could have a full practice in a matter of months. If you plan to work part-time, and you have less time to invest now in marketing your services, it could take longer.

Traditional business wisdom tells us that it takes an average small business owner three to five years to build a business. It could take you that long, and you need to be ready for that reality. Most VAs do it in far less time.

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Q:   How soon should I start to build my business, and what kinds of work might I do as a VA?

A:  Most people wait until their training is finished. The training, and all your fieldwork and special projects done in the course of the training are incredibly rigorous, and there won't be much time left over for starting to actually build your business.

Once you've successfully completed the program, however, you'll have the knowledge, and skills you'll need to be ready to take on the world :)

As for the kind of work AssistU VAs do, remember that they provide administrative and personal support, across the board, to their clients. So all your client's needs can be handled by you; you can personally do what is needed, or you can make it happen. The beauty of this work is that the only things that can't be done are things which actually need to be touched in a client's office, such as paper filing (and even that's possible if you're creative!). Otherwise, you and your clients are only bound by imagination, need, skills and desire.

Having said that, when we talk with clients about how to effectively work with VAs we share that there are two avenues of thought they need to travel while thinking about what they want a VA to do for them. This is important information for you to understand, as well.

Those two avenues are:

1.  The tasks of today
2.  The goals of tomorrow

The tasks of today are the things that absolutely must be done if a client's business is to operate successfully. They are almost never things that are going to make the client money, but they are the things that keep the client from pursuing additional money-making opportunities.

For instance, it's critical for a client to reply to email, handle inquiries, schedule appointments, return calls, and do paperwork. While it's not uncommon for a client to probably handle all of them, himself, if a client didn't have to do any of them, and could focus on his core business, he would make more money.

So, although it costs money to have a VA handle them, the VA's a pro with administrative tasks, does them faster and better than the client does, and the client's giving them to the VA creates the time for the client to make more, or focus on whatever's most important to him.

Tip: Ultimately, if the client is doing his own administrative tasks, he is costing himself a lot more than he would be paying to have a VA handle the same things.

Here are the kinds of basic "back office" tasks a VA would likely handle for a client:

• Handle email or US mail, handling most and forwarding to the client just those which need her attention
• Make appointments, keep a schedule
• Personal/business paperwork
• Make/receive phone calls/inquiries
• Send/receive faxes
• Research of all sorts
• Plan meetings and events
• Plan parties (business and personal), weddings, reunions
• Make travel arrangements - business and personal
• Renewing passports
• Dining reservations (local and while traveling)
• Golf tee time reservations
• Theme park tickets
• Site seeing tours
• Worldwide weather information
• Turn-by-turn driving directions
• Handle reservations for seminars given or attended by the client
• Basic business writing
• Basic proof reading
• Basic copy editing
• Desktop publishing
• Newsletter creation (print and internet)
• Canceling, creating, renewing subscriptions
• Coordination of web design/hosting
• Mailings
• Buy/send gifts/cards for customers of the client
• Addressing holiday cards
• List managing (majordomo, listserv)
• Blog creation/management
• Reminder service
• Transcription and Dictation
• Bill paying
• Advocate for billing disputes
• Complaint handling
• Create/maintain databases
• Relocation services help and research

The goals of tomorrow are the things a client is working toward, and the tasks inherent in them that contribute to the client's bottom line. These are things that will bring people to the client, like:

• Posting articles to article banks, submitting a newsletter to e-zine directories, submitting a blog to blog directories
• Staying on top of the client's company news, and distributing press releases as appropriate
• Collaborating with the client on appropriate "pitch" ideas for the media about his work
• Creating an online and offline media kit to submit with pitch ideas
• Researching things the client can write about in his newsletter or blog ("feeding" the client ideas based on what people in the blogosphere are interested in)
• Going to a telediscussion to learn about how to make a client's book an Amazon best seller, or build a successful affiliate program, or create easy info products the client can sell or give away
• Setting up, and managing a client's affiliate and partner programs so that all of the people referring business to your client feel fabulously taken care of
• Monitoring logs of online purchases of a client's products and proactively helping people who seem to have problems (or communicate that they do!) during the purchasing process
• Being a client's gatekeeper; no one (except friends or family) gets to your client except through YOU. You screen prospective clients using a client's criteria, and either pass people on, or refer them to colleagues the client has put on a list for such referrals. You screen requests for the client's time based on the client's criteria, say no to things the client wouldn't want to do, and facilitates next steps about things the client would want to do. You're the ultimate authority when it comes to the client, and can even get the client off the hook if she wants to say no to something but isn't quite sure how to do it!
• Joining online groups, participating with the client's company in mind, and using an email signature that includes the client's URL, and the info about subscribing to her newsletter or blog
• Actively looking for people with whom the client could create strategic partnerships for their mutual benefit, and/or the benefit of the client's clients, then making the initial connection
• Helping the client identify, then implement and manage, any number of multiple streams of income
• Subscribing to, then reading blogs and e-zines done by others in the client's industry, or markets the client targets.
• Providing a weekly update of all the news the client needs to know, but doesn't have time to seek out and read herself. Think of yourself as a personal clipping service, or news aggregator for your client.
• Learning about new tools and methodologies for working that will make a client's processes and procedures better and more efficient, then implementing them and training the client (and others on his team) in their use. The better a client can work and collaborate, the more quickly he can respond to opportunities and challenges, and the more attractive he'll be to potential clients. You can always be on the lookout for how your client can better serve and attract his ideal clients

Can you see that the two avenues are very different?

Each powerful in its own way, a client needs to be doing ALL of those kinds of things on both lists if she want to be successful and profitable. Most clients really are only thinking of the back-office tasks they can delegate, and not focusing on how a VA can actively contribute to attracting markets, make connections, and help them serve their own clients well - all things that you can do that will contribute to the bottom line.

It's important to note that a VA's job is never to actually put money in a client's pocket. That's the client's job. But you can both handle the tasks of today, and the goal-reaching work the client should be actively pursuing.

On another note: Some VAs have specialized skills they can bring to the table for a client's benefit. In addition to the administrative and personal support they offer to clients, some VAs may also offer:

• Corporate Intelligence
• Advertising
• Personnel Management
• Business Planning
• Quality Control
• Space Planning
• Safety Consulting
• Ghost Writing
• Position clients as experts in a given field/Publicity
• Virtual Office Management
• Web Design

Of course, these skills are billed at a rate that is separate from and higher than the rate generally billed for assisting.

Some VAs have also developed niches - specializing in working with certain kinds of professionals. Some of those professional groups are:

• Personal and Business Coaches
• Speakers
• Authors/Writers
• Real Estate Brokers/Agents
• Real Estate Appraisers
• Financial Professionals

New niches and specialties are emerging all the time!

It's not so important that you know how to do it all. No one knows how to do that! What's important is that you know how to get it all done. AssistU trained VAs have valuable resources that allow them to make things happen for clients, with ease. Of added value is that when clients work with AssistU VAs, they get the benefit of all the experience in our community, which is now comprised of more than 500 VAs! The VAs all support each other, and we support them. And all of that is brought to bear on a client's behalf by you, his VA.

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Q:  What could I expect to earn?

A:  Much depends on your skills, what you want to do, how much value you create, your experience, etc.

Generally speaking, an experienced assistant with a new VA practice, great skills and great VA training can expect to make $30+ per hour. A VA with an established practice can make much more ($40 - $70+ per hour).

Virtual Assistance was never intended to be the low-cost alternative to getting administrative support. It was intended to be the most convenient alternative to having on-site employees provide that support. As a result, VAs set fees based on the value they create for clients; the higher the value, the better the VA's compensation.

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Q:  How do I move forward to building a VA practice of my own?

A:  Some people try to do it on their own. What we know is that people who get great training specifically about what it is to be a VA and have a business, get their VA practices up and running far more quickly and easily.

If you choose to do it alone, we wish you all the best luck!

If you want a road map for success which will allow you to miss most of the bumps and potholes along the way, you'll want to very seriously consider joining the program offering the premier training for VAs: the Virtual Training Program offered by AssistU.

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Q:  Where do I get more info?

A:  Start here on the site. It's information rich, and will give you just about everything you could need. Be sure to visit the FAQ about our Virtual Training Program and all that's included there (including audios and articles), and read the information we've created for the clients who will work with our VAs. Then, listen to our recorded telediscussion done with people who share your interest in possibly becoming VAs, and/or register for the live version of that telediscussion that we do each month.

Be adventurous; click links from our navigation menu, and from inside our pages. There really is a lot to see and learn about!

When you've done all that, if you have more questions, or want more information, please be in touch with our Enrollment Advisor. She'll be happy to make sure you get the information you need!