Virtual assistant can be best described as the newest way to make legitimate money on the internet.
The virtual assistant industry has boomed in the past several years even as a lot of successful virtual assistants make regular news.
What is a virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant is, as is evident from the name itself, an assistant over the internet. To be more precise, VA’s are the trained executives who offer managerial help services and/or other expert services to individuals and businesses that are looking for it.
How do virtual assistants work?
Because the job of a virtual assistant is primarily over the internet, a lot of them work independently from their home. A majority of communication between a virtual assistant contractor and the client take place using the power of internet including email, chat, and phone. A lot of the of the work assigned to virtual assistants usually includes processing text files, database management, data transcription and other such related services.
Depending on the requirements of the clients, VA’s may need to handle other tasks such mailing, event organising, scheduling and appointment setting etc.
In other words, you can offer all your skills as a virtual assistant. So the more varied a skill set you have the more kinds of jobs you can undertake.
What are the advantages of working as a virtual assistant?
Interesting as it may sound, the advantages of working as a virtual assistant are many. Consider a few key benefits:
• You can work from the convenience of your home. This is particularly helpful for stay at home moms or for people who have been laid off due to economic downtimes.
• You can have a flexible schedule. Most clients will assign work for 40 hours per week. And will give you the freedom to execute the tasks at your ease.
• Zero Percent Investment: In today’s lifestyle, most of us have a computer with internet and other facilities like international phone calls etc at our disposal. So, the job of a virtual assistant can be started with as little as an investment.
• Last but not the least, becoming a virtual assistant can offer you a stream of steady income over time. In fact, you can earn as much as you work, as unlike in a day job where your pay package is fixed.
Now, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Being a virtual assistant comes with own set of drawbacks.
Some of the disadvantages of being a virtual assistant
The disadvantages are pretty much the reverse of the above mentioned advantages.
• Scheduling can be a headache: If you are a work at home mom or a professional working from home, you may initially find it very difficult to schedule and separate your personal life from your professional work.
• No paid holidays: This is obviously associated with all the home based jobs. So, you need to take extra care of taking out holidays from your work schedule.
• Heavy Investment: If you already don’t have an upgraded computer system, with high speed internet and other prerequisites, such as printer, scanner, Xerox machine you may find it very expensive to invest in these.
To sum it up, being a virtual assistant can be the perfect job you can undertake from your home while still in your pyjamas. No doubt, there will be times you will feel like giving up. However, if you do continue with relentless enthusiasm you are sure to succeed a leading virtual assistant.