Becoming A Virtual Assistant: Is It For You?

The other day, I ran into a friend who was distraught because she had just been laid off. Her husband had recently taken a pay cut and was afraid of losing his job any day. They have mortgage payments to make, 3 children to raise… you know the rest of the story.

Now I knew that this lady had been working as an office assistant in a construction company. Her eyes lit up as I gently suggested that she explore working at home as a virtual assistant. Of course, she had a lot of questions and rightfully so. It’s no joke to venture into a home business after years of employment.

Since this situation is becoming more and more common with the current economic downturn, I thought I’d share the questions my friend asked and some quick answers to them:

What is a virtual assistant?

A virtual assistant or VA is a self-employed, home-based entrepreneur who assists other businesses, often in administrative work. In other words, a VA is an office assistant who never has to step into her client’s office! In addition, most business owners have particular tasks that they will turn over to their virtual assistants, and these can go beyond basic office or business administration.

What skills do I need to become a VA?

The basic skills a VA needs are office and business administration skills. A VA also needs to be highly organized, communicate effectively and pay careful attention to detail. Some clients look for additional technical skills, such as writing, marketing, social media, blog or website maintenance, and multimedia production – even podcasting!

The skill set you’ll need as a VA depends on the type of clients you want to work with. Find out what they NEED and build your skills to respond effectively.

What kinds of work does a VA do?

VAs commonly do office-related stuff, such as:

responding to emails
making travel arrangements
sending out faxes
researching and compiling information
business writing
typing up notes or transcribing audios

In addition, VAs nowadays are often expected to:

write and publish or schedule blog posts
work with autoresponders
rewrite private label rights content
optimize a website for search engines
create a slideshow presentation
update websites
set up social networking profiles/pages
create videos and publish them online

Is being a VA a good option for Moms?

Oh yes! A lot of work at home Moms I know are VAs and they make good incomes from the comfort of their home, without having to leave their children in the care of others. Virtual assistance is a home business, which means it’s flexible. You decide how many hours a day you want to work, on which days, what type of work you want to do, and even whom you will work with.

On the other hand, if you have small children, remember that occasionally you will need to be on the phone or webchat with a client, supplier or other associate. In this case you’ll need somebody else looking after your small children so you can have some quiet and be able to focus on the call or chat.

How much money can I make as a VA?

The hourly rate of VAs depends on several factors. These include their skills and experience, whether they specialize in certain services or a particular industry, and any certifications they may have (those who are certified by recognized institutions charge higher fees). VA fees vary widely, ranging anywhere from around $15 to $70 per hour. So you can see, it’s entirely possible for a VA to make a full-time income working at home.

Ok, I’m interested. Where do I begin?

You can try and figure everything out yourself, of course. But better yet, get the guidance of experienced VAs who have successful virtual assistance businesses. Two such VAs are Jen Houck and Nell Taliercio who have a combined experience of over 5 years in virtual assistance. They share their success stories and step-by-step tips in the Just Add Sweat Guide To Becoming A Virtual Assistant.

The guide includes:

an audio course on everything from setting up your VA business, to marketing your services and finding and keeping clients
a workbook to get you into action
5 videos teaching essential Internet skills
…and more.

This is the guide that will get your VA business up and running in no time. Who knows? Becoming a virtual assistant may be the next perfect “job” for you.

Earth Day – Celebrate Awareness and Appreciation of the Earth

Every year people all over the world observe Earth Day. Celebrate awareness and appreciation of the earth by using any of these ideas. They may help you plan your own Earth Day festivities.

Earth Day began on April 22 more than 30 years ago when Senator Gaylord Nelson decided that it was important to teach everyone, especially children, about our environment. He wanted to be sure that people understood how important it was to take care of our planet.

Since the first Earth Day in 1970, there have been millions celebrating this date by helping to clean up their communities, watching or listening to speeches about the environment, and learning more about living green.  Here are some other ideas for celebrating awareness and appreciation for the planet we call home.

* Learn about global warming and what you can do to fight it. You can find information about global warming at libraries or online. Both places will be able to give you ideas of what you can do today to help reduce the problem of global warming tomorrow.

* Protect endangered animals. Endangered animals live all over the Earth, but unfortunately mankind hasn’t always dealt with or cared for animals well. In fact, many more animals are endangered now but there’s something we can do about it. We can use our resources to help create endangered wildlife refuges. You can contact endangered animal organizations to see what else you can do to help.

* Recycling is another way to take care of the Earth, and it’s something you can do every day. You may be familiar with the phrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” This is a great way to include everyone in your family when you celebrate awareness and appreciation of the Earth on Earth Day.

* Plant a tree in your yard. You can also contact a local city park and find out if you can purchase a tree to be placed there for everyone in your community to enjoy.

* Support local and downtown businesses. If you purchase items at local businesses, there will be less need for your city to expand. This can actually limit the amount of open land that’s used for housing or industrial buildings.

* Refuse to use chemicals – on your garden and in your home. Buying natural products helps reduce the build-up of chemicals in our homes and on the foods we eat. There are many natural products you can find for cleaning. There are also natural products for gardening. Look at your local discount and home improvement store to find one that will work for you.

Earth Day may only come once a year, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be aware of and appreciate the Earth all year long. Do whatever you can to help the environment. Learn ways to recycle items around your home, reuse items in a new way, or decide not to buy an item. Each of these ways will help you celebrate Earth Day every day of the year.

Quick Bacon & Tomato Risotto

Ingredients:
8 oz smoked bacon, chopped into little pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 oz butter
10 oz risotto rice
6 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
3 cups hot chicken stock
2 oz parmesan, grated
Half a glass of white wine (optional)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a casserole dish fry the bacon bits until they are crisp. Add the butter and the onion and cook both until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the risotto rice and toss until the rice is well coated. If you are using white wine, add white wine and cook until absorbed, about 2 minutes.

Pour stock over the rice mixture and add the halved cherry tomatoes. Stir, then cover with a tight fitting lid and bake for about 18 minutes. Check once and add extra stock if necessary. Add most of the parmesan cheese and stir through. Leftover parmesan can be used for extra sprinkling.

Enjoy this delicious and easy risotto with a nice crusty bread and salad or even just with a glass of wine!

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