The rise of the Virtual Assistant

Over the last few years the internet has introduced a whole host of opportunities for people in the PA field. What was once a fairly low-skilled job has now become a rewarding career choice for people who want to work from home and earn a sizable income. PA’s can now work remotely, fulfilling most of their tasks by phone or on-line. These are known as virtual assistants.

It is predicted that by 2018, online working across the globe will be worth $5 billion as the demand for outsourcing continues to grow. Whilst businesses were originally sceptical as to whether people from outside their company could work remotely and still be effective, they are now starting to see the many benefits of outsourcing work. By hiring a VA, businesses don’t need to spend valuable time or resources on training and overheads. They can also pay someone purely for the hours they require them to work as opposed to having to pay a salary. How to become a Virtual Assistant or VA?

Why become a virtual assistant?

If you’ve ever wanted to become a freelancer or to run your own business, then a career as a virtual assistant maybe perfect for you. Someone with previous PA/office experience is already likely to have most of the skills required for the role and taking a VA course can help you gain additional skills and become qualified. As the role of a VA has expanded, taking on more responsibilities, the potential rewards have become greater. Top VA’s can earn £30/£40 an hour and don’t even have to leave the house!

Another reason you may want to become a VA is that you get to work with people from a wide range of businesses and different professions. A VA never stops learning and the role can be highly rewarding albeit fairly challenging at times.

Things you need to consider if you want to become a VA

Running your own business is not for everyone and whilst there are many successful VA’s out there, it can be a tough and competitive market to break into. Before becoming a VA there are several things you need to think about such as how you plan to attract clients and whether your confident enough in your own abilities to make a successful living from this type of work. A successful VA will need to work long hours and ideally have an overflow of continual work. Some of the best VA’s even need to employ other VA’s to cope with the amount of work they attract.

VA Courses

There are many VA courses available both on-line and off-line. These are a great way to gain additional skills and to see whether this type of work is right for you. They will teach you all the things you’ll need to successfully manage your own business such as bookkeeping/marketing skills and how to work to deadlines.