You know the typical large executive office, where the CEO is sitting in a large room, with the corner windows, and outside his or her door is a small desk where the full time assistant sits. That’s the one who receives you, and tells you to wait until their boss is ready to see you. Those are executive assistants, and they are valuable to any business owner. But the fact is that smaller businesses don’t have the money to hire full time employees, that’s why virtual assistants exist, and by becoming a virtual assistant, you can make a lot of money fairly easily.
First, what do virtual assistants do? Just like their real life, full time counter-parts, they handle things for an executive or business owner. They do everything that the boss considers must be done, but doesn’t have time to do himself. This includes sending marketing email, planning campaigns, keeping track of important events and reminding him about them, receiving incoming mail and phone calls, handling support requests and making summaries for the executive at the end of the day. These are just examples of the many things a virtual assistant can do in a typical day. It used to be that these tasks would require the assistant to be close to their boss at all time, but now with technology, that’s no longer the case. Through email, Skype and IM, a virtual assistant can do almost everything a secretary used to do.
So now that you’re interested in becoming a virtual assistant, what do you need to succeed? The nice thing is there’s very little requirement as far as knowledge or education. A virtual assistant’s most important asset is being dependable and able to work quickly. There’s no course that teaches this well, and usually business leaders look for virtual assistants who can prove their skills on a daily basis. So when it’s time for you to try and find a job as a virtual assistant, your experience is crucial to be hired. If you’ve already served as a secretary or assistant in any organization, make sure you mention it in your CV. Then, go to freelance sites like Elancer or Freelancer, and do searches for virtual assistant. You may find employers such as small business owners, or even companies looking to outsource their assistants online. In most cases these will be telecommuting contracts, so you don’t even need to live near your employer. Another tip is to look locally at small businesses, and see if their owners has an assistant or not, then propose yourself.
Being a virtual assistant is a great way to make money. While entry into this type of business can be more challenging than others, the requirements are very low, and the pay is typically quite good, especially if you do good work. Then, once you’ve started getting experience doing it, you may find it to be a life long job.