Planning to be a virtual personal assistant? Here’s some information about what the job entails.

Virtual Assistant Position

As a virtual assistant, you will be required to provide services ranging from administrative support to consulting via email, fax or phone. In other words, you will be streamlining your client’s business, thus letting them have free time to run regular business operations.

Qualifications and Duties

It takes more than typing skills to be a successful virtual assistant. A virtual assistant needs to think like an entrepreneur to understand the workings of the business world, and thus assist other business owners in their secretarial services (for which they neither have time for nor understanding).

Depending on your qualifications and interests, your duties as a virtual assistant may vary. But these are some of the basic ones:

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  typing
  
  
  
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  transcribing
  
  
  
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  data entry
  
  
  
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  creating or managing databases
  
  
  
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  desktop publishing
  
  
  
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  creating or managing websites.

However, industry experts say that though hard work is the key to building sustainable practices, what is equally important is combining your experience with strong business plans and training.

Salary

Get in touch with your local Chamber of Commerce, enterprise agency, or regional business start up centre to help you to work out the charges. They will guide you with the basics like how much you need to earn to sustain a living from your practice and thus plan your charges.

By and large your charges depend on the kind of work and your locality. Jobs like data processing can start at low rates and then increase the rates for complex jobs like database management.

On an average a new virtual assistant can start with as minimum as $12 per hour. And with your experience and the complexity of the job you can expect to earn $45 per hour. Hence if you are working 20 hours per month then the pay is $12,960.

Don’t offer any discount especially if you are just starting out. You have overhead costs, and bills that need to be paid regardless of discount.

Resources

The key is to be patient. It takes time for any business to get established. However in the meantime you can follow these steps to help you

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  Do some research on virtual assistants and word processors
  
  
  
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  Choose a professional sounding company name.
  
  
  
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  Networking is always important. Join business associations in your area.
  
  
  
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  Sign up for newsletters they are a wealth of information. Read business magazines for more information.
  
  
  
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  Finally take a small business course to upgrade your skills regularly.

 Benefits of onshore virtual assistants

Your fees as compared to your offshore counterparts are high, but highlight these benefits to your prospective clients.

There will be no language barriers, communication gaps, lack of understanding and cultural differences as compared to you, or your services.

Most of the offshore virtual assistants are not business owners hence they don’t have an understanding of how business process.

Onshore virtual assistant will be interested in making your business a success rather than her offshore counterpart.

Major disadvantage is that an offshore virtual assistant is dependent on Internet through dial up or cable connections.

The only benefit of hiring an offshore virtual assistant is that your client will save some money.