Quite simply, a virtual assistant is someone who provides administrative support to business owners but are not necessarily those services in the office of the owner. This is the aspect that makes us “virtual”. Although some virtual assistants did spend time in the offices of their customers, most do not.
Most virtual assistants work with a wide variety of clients from across the country they live in or around the world. Because that work is virtual, the possibilities are limitless when it comes to the location.
Virtual assistants also charge for their work on an hourly basis. Each virtual assistant business is different in that they have setup packages in May hourly rates or retainer but most officials, and a fixed hourly rate for their services. Customers then pay the virtual assistant for the work he or she performs for them in a given pay period. These pay periods are also defined by the virtual assistant themselves.
Most virtual assistants work from home and have their own installer home office. This allows flexibility in the hours you could work and it also allows you the comfort of working in your home.
There are different types of virtual assistants. Most virtual assistants are focused on administrative aspects of assistance and provide services such as word processing, editing, proofreading, document creation, scheduling, event management, organizing files and other tasks Similar. These virtual assistants usually charge in the $ 15 to $ 25, Range dollar per hour.
The second type of virtual assistant would be what I call the virtual assistant “Web Master” which is the administrative support function, but also has experience in operations that are necessary to run an online business. Tasks that are included here include shopping cart setup and maintenance, website maintenance, management autoresponder, blog, etc. These virtual assistants can charge a little more because their knowledge is at a higher level of expertise that the assistant administrative-based virtual. These virtual assistants usually charge between $ 20 and $ 40 per hour.
The last type of virtual assistant is someone who considers himself more of a manager of online business. This person could work with their clients in the role of business partner and establish a mutually beneficial relationship for them. What I mean is that this type of virtual assistant would be much more inclined to evaluate the operations of a client’s business and suggest ways in which he or she could improve their processes. These virtual assistants usually charge $ 50 more per hour.
The types of skills you would need a virtual assistant really depends on what type of virtual assistant you want to become. At a minimum, must be knowledgeable with computer office programs – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc. – and the Internet. You must be able to have a general knowledge of these things before you can start serving your customers or you cause frustration for both you and your client.
At a higher level, you will learn and acquire a wide range of new skills. You may already be talented in the field of web design or copywriting, for example, but you may not know aspects of shopping carts and autoresponders. The best part of being a virtual assistant is that you can take time to learn these things because it will only contribute more to your business.
Being computer savvy is a requirement – you will not become a virtual assistant success if you are not computer savvy. Most business owners want to have confidence that when they send their work, they will not pay for training time or time spent figuring out how to do the requested task. If you are not computer savvy, I highly recommend you take a course at a college or institute of career development so that you can learn the basics.
Other skills that a virtual assistant must have the communication skills and ability to manage their time. Emphasis is also an essential part of being a virtual assistant. Due to the fact that most virtual assistants work from home, it can be very easy to be distracted by friends, family, telephone, television, a good book or your bed.
Communication is important because you will be the sole operator of all aspects of your business. You’ll need to talk to your new customers, you will need to send emails to potential customers who have questions about your services and above all, you want to be able to communicate clearly what it is you are doing .
Time management plays a huge role to be a virtual assistant. You need to know how to prioritize your tasks list, so you do not fall behind and miss deadlines.
You also want to be someone who is eager to learn and willing to take the time to learn new technologies and new industries. Not all customers will be in a specific industry. I work with people in the fitness industry in the marketing industry to industry body esteem. It’s never the same and it is constantly changing.