By Di Chapman

Having been a Virtual Assistant since 2000 and involved with two VA organizations I am often sent CVs with a request for work or how to start making money quickly. There is a lot of help on the Net for new Virtual Assistants but very few spell it out from the beginning that it is not easy to 'make it' in the profession

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A Virtual Assistant is a person working from their own office on clients's work. They are fully-fledged businesses regulated by the local and state tax and business regimes. The idea of a VA is that they have multiple clients so are suitable for SME's etc. Many companies would not be where they are today if they had not started in partnership with a VA, the work growing as the client's business grew.

A VA Practice may consist of more than one VA or even employees. It is a business and not a 'home typing' scheme.

What do Virtual Assistants do?

This question for me is a real problem. They can do anything they are qualified to do. I once knew a virtual worker who had a huge server in her kitchen. She worked for a large multinational testing their server software and strength. The only place they could cable it in was her kitchen but she ran it from her office upstairs.

Many VA's specialize in digital transcription. That in itself is a minefield, as you have to be very experienced to cope with all the types of hardware that the files can be recorded on. It is a far cry from the tape based transcription systems.

In the US, there are courses for Real Estate VA's. It is best to find a niche and specialize. That way you know to whom to market your skills.

What qualifications do Virtual Assistants need?

You can qualify by experience or specific qualification - if you have been, a proofreader for 5 years in a company you should be qualified to offer this as a service otherwise you would not have been able to keep your job. I am a qualified teacher in RSA word-processing in the UK to level three but I no longer offer this service having gained qualifications in HTML and other skills as I have built my business.

Can you be a Virtual Assistant as a second job and only work evenings and weekends?

You could, but you still have to conform to tax and other business regulations. Many clients need to contact their VA during normal working hours and so you could have a problem. Some clients want work completed overnight and in this instance it could work.

How much can I earn?

That is down to you. It normally takes 6 to 12 months to get your Practice really rolling. You will have to learn and spend time marketing yourself. You will have start-up costs and overheads that you have to pay for as well as tax, health and pension considerations. You really need start-up funds to get this going.

Can I live anywhere to do this?

As long as you have a reasonably fast Internet connection, you can do this from almost anywhere. I live in a remote part of France with better Internet and phone services than I had in a very large village in the UK. My clients are all over the world.

Is it worth it?

For me it has been fantastic. I have clients that have been with me for over 6 years and new clients in France. I am not lonely as there are plenty of VA and non-VA forums on the net and it is often the case that someone you help on an Internet forum will contact you months or even years later for help and work.

Di Chapman is an IT specialist, having won two Awards for her work in the promotion of Virtual Working and the support and coaching of Virtual Assistants. She is proud to be a co-founder of the Alliance of UK Virtual Assistants and owner of "Become a Virtual Assistant". Both Free web sites. For more information http://www.iceni-it.co.uk