Home Business- Virtual Assistant

Looking to start your own home business? Not sure where to begin or what to do? Why not look into one of the most popular home businesses to date- The Virtual Assistant business. A Virtual Assistant is someone who works from home using their computer to do work for others. So basically you are a virtual secretary so to speak.

As a Virtual Assistant (VA) you will be able to control, for the most part, the hours you work, who you work for and how much money you will be able to make- charging by hour, project, weekly and even monthly. Some companies may also make an offer for your services.

VAs have an entire sea of ‘niches’ to choose and utilize. You may choose one particular service to offer or many services depending on your skills. You will never be limited to one field unless you want to be.

The first thing you need to decide is what services you want to offer to your potential clients. Do you have any past experience or skills that you can provide for them? More than likely you have skills that you don’t even consider like talking on the phone, organizing, scheduling appointments and more.

As I mentioned before there are a sea of services: Administrative, Web Design, Bookkeeping, Mailing/emailing services, Editing and Proofreading, Copy Writing, Medical Billing, Internet Research, Billing, Transcribing and so much more.. Those are only a few!!

You will need to look into software and web sites to help you establish your presence on the World Wide Web. The software I personally use is ExpertVA. ExpertVA comes with a web site, software with features that help me stay organized and on top of my work as well as managing my clients. My clients also have their own personal login feature where they can submit work, check on the status of existing work, check billing and communicate with me.

ExpertVA also comes with great tools like ebooks and the Easy Start program that helps you start your business from the very beginning, step by step and has everything you need to know from naming your business, licensing, equipment, marketing and so much more!

Now let’s talk about clients. Where will you find them? I’ll tell you….Any and everywhere! You just have to market yourself to find them and it is not as hard as it sounds. Unfortunately the biggest mistake new business owners make is that they think everything will be handed to them and that clients will just fall like rain into their laps. Then you get discouraged, etc, etc. You have got to attract clients, show them why they need you!

Marketing and Networking are huge factors in all businesses. It is something you will have to do to keep your business alive, bring in new clients and keep the existing ones coming back to you. Marketing resources are all around you, many of them are free and or low cost.

Here are a few freebies for you: Tell your friends and family. They’ll tell their friends, etc. Join WAHM communities and post on message boards. Write articles; write press releases about your new business and what you have to offer. Submit your web site URL to free search engine directories, submit your profile to free business directories ie: www.ekwa.com, Ryze, etc. Post your Virtual Resume on places like Monster. There is just a lot you can do to start advertising yourself for free. You just have to get started!

Looking for a foot in the right direction? Have some questions about starting your own biz? Give me a holler at jamie@expertva.com I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about being a Virtual Assistant!

©Jamie Edson Opielski