The Virtual Assistant: The Business of Working at Home

With the advances made in technology, the ability to set up a home virtual assistant business has become quite doable and in many cases, very profitable. We have the technology to get voicemails, faxes and transcriptions by e-mail and with the addition of a business line you can easily re-direct business calls to your home and no one would know that they were calling someone’s home and not the office.

We are now able to set up a virtual office at home and work by contract for many different employers, and there are entrepreneurs doing just that.

The role of the virtual assistant can be limited to areas you want to work in, i.e. personal assistant and desktop publishing, or the sky is the limit with any number of functions you can fulfill for your client’s business and personal needs. It all depends on your abilities and what you want to do. The work is out there and the Internet has provided the means to do the job effectively and without borders. Your employer can now be anywhere in the world with just a click on the mouse.

Two Heads are Better Than one

Running a virtual business doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself. It is easy to virtually hire someone in another city or country to assist you. Your expertise may be in accounting, word processing and marketing, but you can easily partner with someone to do your web design and graphics work. You can also contract yourself out to virtual assistant firms to lend your expertise to their businesses all from the comfort of your home.

The Virtual Office

Your virtual office can be tucked away in the corner of your house or in a basement office, but it does require state of the art technology and equipment to be able to meet the needs of your clients. Investing in good quality equipment is a smart move. If you are not a hardware person you will want to have a contract with an IT company who can assist you when you run into computer problems, especially if you are in the middle of a rush job for a client.

Purchasing an ergonomic workstation is also essential as you will spend hours sitting at your desk in front of your computer.

Networking in the Virtual Community

Becoming part of the virtual community is a necessity for the virtual assistant. Networking among assistants is necessary whether virtual or in an office building. Assistants depend on their co-workers to ask questions and get feedback, and it is the same for the virtual assistant.
There are virtual office groups worldwide to share your successes and concerns with and to share your expertise. Having a network of assistants is key to a successful business.

The demands on executives have increased and the need for assistance is not going to go away. As corporations downsize and technology advances, the business of the virtual assistant will only increase and become more doable and profitable in the future.

Click here for an article on starting your virtual assistant business.

Click here to visit the Virtual Assistant Networking Association.