VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS - WHO ARE THEY?

“Hey, I am planning to be a Virtual Assistant!” This is what my former colleague told me last year 2019. “What’s that?” I asked. He answered, “Well…someone who can work at home!”

I became curious why he was willing to leave his permanent job to become one. I searched by myself through the internet to see what I can find. I’m pretty sure you also saw profiles or pages with words “Virtual Assistant”, “Freelancer” or “Work At Home” in the internet which led you to questions – who are these people and what do they do?

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WHAT ARE VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS?

According to Tawnya Sutherland, founder of VAnetworking.com, it is really simple to define what a Virtual Assistant is. A Virtual Assistant (or VA) is a highly-skilled, independent professional who remotely provides administrative, technical and/or creative business support services. These are professionals who provides service or assistance by means of the Internet usually from their home office.

Wow! That’s cool. So, what do they exactly do?

There are a lot of things Virtual Assistants can do. In a simpler perspective, just think about this:

Are you an Entrepreneur or Business manager who’s busy to even manage your page in Facebook or Instagram?

Or do you need someone who can work just this one time to transfer information from scanned images to Word document?

Then, you need a Virtual Assistant!

In her blog, Tawnya S. asked Virtual Assistants in VAnetworking.com the top 10 reasons for hiring Virtual Assistants. Here’s the list they have come up with:

Marketing support – A VA can assist you with marketing support, increasing your clientele and freeing up valuable time to service your customers. They also can handle all your marketing and publicity helping you to spread the word about your product or services.

Specialty services – Many Virtual Assistants specialize in web design and search engine optimization. Once you work with a VA, they know your business inside and out, who better to help you prepare your website.

Make you shine – A Virtual Assistant can make your next presentation shine by giving it that polished professional presentation which is sure to capture your audience and promote all your products and services.

Gives you a professional edge – A Virtual Assistant can be instrumental in proofing, editing, and typing all your correspondence, pleadings, manuscripts, etc., thus allowing a more professional edge to all your business communications.

Bookkeeping services – A Virtual Assistant can take over all your bookkeeping, bills and accounts payable. Let them worry about payroll so you can worry about the important tasks of running your business.

Event Planning – A Virtual Assistant can plan your next company event or outing providing for an enjoyable and memorable time for all. Think how much more enjoyable it can be when the burden of planning is removed.

No office space required – A VA can save you space because s/he work from his/her office as an independent contractor.

Save you time – Hiring a VA can save you time because you will not have to spend time hiring an employee or temporary help, as well as training the new staff.

Get you organized – A Virtual Assistant can schedule your appointments, manage your calendar, organize your desk, and make running a business that much smoother.

Affordable!!! – Because VAs work on an “as needed basis”and only when you have work, hiring a VA can save you money. Clients only pay for the work done, and don’t have to pay for benefits, equipment, or supplies.

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WHERE CAN I FIND VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS?

Most Virtual Assistants use online platforms such as Upwork, Hubstaff Talent or Online Jobs PH to show their set skills. If you are seeking to hire a Virtual Assistant, you can sign up from any of those sites and post a job where VAs can simply apply.

You can also check out my Services page for Virtual Assistant tasks that I can do for you. Feel free to browse thru my page and we can connect!

Hopefully this post brought light to your curiosity for Virtual Assistants.

Not a business owner? That’s okay! As long as you need assistance, a Virtual Assistant can help you out – like me! 🙂