WHAT IS A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT OR VA?

tarova — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 03:50:02 +0000

“What is a Virtual Assistant?” A Virtual Assistant ( or VA) is a business owner who specializes in providing ongoing administrative support by working with clients in a continuous, collaborative relationship. Like other service providers, Virtual Assistants operate remotely from their home offices and utilize today’s technology to deliver their services and communicate with clients. A Virtual Assistant’s support is administrative in nature. Virtual Assistants sometimes offer additional, separate specialties that fall under creative and technical services. Virtual Assistants come from a variety of business backgrounds, but the single-most important qualification to become a Virtual Assistant is at least five (3-5) years administrative experience earned in the real (non-virtual) business world working in upper level activities such as administrative assistant, executive assistant, secretary, legal assistant, paralegal, legal secretary, real estate assistant, office manager, etc. From this level of experience, a VA is expected to possess the skill sets, training and business knowledge which are the hallmark of a truly qualified Virtual Assistant. ”

What Services can a Virtual Assistant provide?”

Live Phone Answering/Customer Service

~Receive calls for inquiries about your business.
~Take messages for you and your business associates.
~Send out information to prospective customers.
~Reply to emails sent to you.

Personal Assistance

~Birthday / anniversary reminder and card services.
~Client and employee gifts.
~Gift shopping online. ~Personal shopper online (clothes, grocerys etc…)
~Vacation planning.

Internet Research

~Price Comparisons
Competitor Research
~Relocation services – Real estate, packing, unpacking, schools, etc.
~Locate hard-to-find items.
~ Articles
~Real Estate Property Listings ~Driving Directions ~Software Research

Desktop Publishing

~Flyers
~Brochures
~Business cards
~Newsletters
~Logo’s
~Simple Websites
~Invitations
~Postcards ~ E-letter campaigns and so much more!

Voice Services

~Voice Services (Recording Greetings, etc.) Don’t like the standard voicemail message? Would you like your clients to be greeted by a professional, friendly voice mail message? Are you a Doctor of Hypnosis and need a script read?

These are just a few tasks that Virtual Assistants can provide.

What are the benefits of hiring a Virtual Assistant?

~No Office space, computers, scanners or any other equipment required.
~No need to pay an employee for a full day
~No employee, federal or state taxes
~No need to pay expensive employee benefits, such as vacation, health insurance, sick days.
~No need to spend valuable time reviewing resumes or conducting interviews.
~Pay only for time spent on your projects.
~No employee benefits’ premiums
~No vacation, sick or holiday time to pay
~No taxes-Payroll, Social Security
~No Medicare, Unemployment
~No Worker’s Comp
~No legal responsibilities associated with employee policies
~No ongoing training expenses
~No agency fees
~Never pay for downtime, breaks or personal issues
~Flexible work schedule

What are the rates for hiring Virtual Assistants?

It really depends on the skills, credentials, and speciality of that VA . You can visit Ocala VA Solutions for an example of their rates and skills.

What company’s can help me get started as a VA?

TheAmericanRegistryOfVirtualAssistants.com (Will help promote your business for FREE or low annual fee)

Good luck on your new venture.

T.A.R.O.V.A

WHAT IS A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT OR VA?