The Virtual Assistant Transcriptionist/Translator

Audio and video media are becoming commonplace in online business. It is easier to record this way for later use. Businesses will need the services of a virtual assistant to turn the recorded media into print.

Medical professionals have used Dictaphone and dictating services for a long time. Doctors later have their notes transcribed for patient and hospital records. The same goes for legal proceedings. It is more convenient to use a recording device and later create a written copy.

The Market

Online businesses have found ways to market their products with audio and video. Tutorials, how-tos and interviews are uploaded to websites for viewing and hearing. But, we all know that sometimes you can’t always understand what is being said. That requires the need for a transcribed record of the recording.

Just like movies, audio and video can be translated into other languages to increase your marketing efforts. Many business owners would like to do that but they don’t know how to transcribe or translate. They need the help of a professional like a virtual assistant well versed in transcription and translation.

Transcribing recordings is not as easy as you might think. As a virtual assistant transcriptionist your clients will not have to struggle with this issue. Using your transcription software you will be able to handle all sorts of recordings for them using the format that they choose for the written copy.

Some of your services can include:

• Medical Transcription
• Legal Transcription
• Video Transcription
• Podcast Transcription
• Transcription Translation
• Audio transcription for business meetings

Clients can email their work to you as audio or video files according to what file extensions you accept. They may even want to mail CDs or tapes for non-rush jobs. Depending on their needs, you can provide verbatim transcription or cleaned-up transcription that is grammatically correct.

For the virtual assistant transcriptionist who is also fluent in another language, you can offer translation services to your clients. This gives them the opportunity to expand their customer base with products for non-English speaking customers. Each area of transcription can become a sub-niche if you want to specialize further. Medical or legal transcription alone can turn into a lucrative business.

Transcription services are one area that a virtual assistant can specialize in as a business idea. As more and more online businesses use other media as marketing tools, they will need the skill of a transcriptionist and even a translator for their work.

The Virtual Assistant Internet Researcher

The Internet is an amazing tool for many people but it is not necessarily easy to decipher. A virtual assistant with the skills to dig out relevant information from the rest of the jumble can specialize in research. Internet researchers are in great demand for all sorts of clients.

In school they teach students to pick out the theme of a paragraph or story. After reading it is the job of the student to figure out what is the most important part of what they have read. As a researcher, that is what you will do for others who do not have the time or the skill to find it themselves. Compiling information that is useful to others is a part of your business.

The Market

The Internet provides access to a massive amount of information. Experts in different fields post their knowledge in articles and blog posts. Governments, agencies and professional organizations have digitized their databases and directories for use on the Internet by anyone who desires the information.

With so much information it is easy to see how the average person or business owner may get lost in the sauce, so to speak. Who uses that information? Businesses use the Internet to compile statistics and to learn about their competition. Writers, book authors, journalists and television professionals use information from the Internet for their work. With their busy jobs, they don’t have time to research.

Conducting research can be a lengthy process. On the Internet, it begins with knowing how search engines work and the best way to find exactly what you are looking for from them. Most people use Yahoo!, Google or MSN but there are plenty of other search engines that the average person doesn’t know about. An Internet researcher is familiar with all of them and uses the one that will yield the greatest harvest of useful information.

Virtual assistants who want to niche into Internet research provide some of these services to their clients:

• Compiling current statistical data
• Knowledge of all relevant databases and search engines
• Uses proven methods for information gathering (relevant use of keywords)
• Spreadsheet and Word document expertise for presenting information in useful manner
• General and specific knowledge of client subject matter

Writers may ask for research on specific subjects like snake venom or 18th century London for their next novel. A business client may want statistics on auto maker revenue in the last ten years. Each is a different subject, but methods of researching are similar.

As a virtual assistant Internet researcher you may find that you have a niche subject in mind for your business. Maybe statistical information gathering and analysis are your forte. You can build a client base around just that for small and large corporate-type businesses. It is not easy to perform research and your clients will want the best.

The Real Estate Virtual Assistant

Many virtual assistants worked in other areas of corporate America before they went into business for themselves. If your area was real estate, think about the opportunities waiting for you as a real estate virtual assistant.

Real estate agents either work for a company or they can go out on their own and work as an independent. To make money, they sell homes and other properties. Agents stay busy with listings, showings, sales and other projects. Combine that with their office responsibilities and the “little details” and you have way too much for one person to handle.

The Market

As any business owner will tell you, it is hard to juggle promotion, client satisfaction, daily operations and professional affiliations all at once. Many new businesses like an independent real estate agent are not in the position to hire new employees at first. Besides that, the pick of local applicants may be less than qualified to do the job without some hand holding at first.

The real estate industry was among the first to use virtual assistants to meet their needs. Virtual assistants had the necessary skills to handle bookkeeping, accounting, database management and various other office activities. Virtual assistants that once worked in real estate decided to use that knowledge to build a niche business for themselves. As such, they were able to expand their services to real estate agents beyond just the basics.

Duties of a Real Estate VA

Virtual assistants that have been in the real estate industry know that an agent needs help with basic office needs and much more. With that in mind, virtual assistants, like you can offer services like:

• Business marketing plans (creating company logos, brands)
• Website management (virtual tours, website content)
• Contacting potential clients (home sellers, home buyers, FSBOs)
• Coordinating listing activities (data entry, promotional info, presentations)
• Closing activities (escrow, inspections, signings)
• Keep track of appointments
• Create new business leads

With the knowledge of real estate, clients will seek you out to make their job easier. You will be able to propose new areas for business growth, create sales copy depending on the area and the situation with the housing market and deal with the questions that customers ask but agents don’t always have time to answer.

Many real estate virtual assistants work with local agents and develop a professional relationship. With your expertise, you are not limited to that though. Maybe you deal mainly with website services. In that arena, you can create stunning websites and virtual tours for clients in any time zone as long as they provide the needed information for you to get started.

A virtual assistant in the area of real estate is a vital member of the team. Your knowledge helps the agents to concentrate on the business of helping clients to buy or sell property and leave the rest to you.

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