by William Flood

Created on: May 25, 2007

If you are reading this, you are no doubt looking for an exciting home business that has real potential. Well, you've found it in what is called virtual assisting. This is a pet subject of mine - something that I've been teaching about for around ten years. In my opinion, it is one of the top ten home businesses to start!

A Working Definition of a Virtual Assistant

A Virtual Assistant is a home-based entrepreneur who provides administrative support services to their clients; and who utilizes technology so the distance between them and their clients is irrelevant.

Now, to break that down a bit...

A Home Based Entrepreneur

This isn't a job. There are no resumes or job interviews. A Virtual Assistant is first and foremost an independent businessperson who offers freelance administrative services. A virtual assistant most commonly works from home for customers, not employers.

Who Provides Administrative Support Services

What services do virtual assistants offer? In short, administrative services. As a virtual assistant, you do the same kind of work an executive assistant would do in a traditional job. In this case, you will assist many companies, business owners, or professionals with their daily administrative needs.

Good virtual assisting starts with solid office skills good communication, first-rate clerical skills, and a strong knowledge of computers. The daily work often consists of typing and editing, handling correspondence, developing Powerpoint presentations, database management, or processing spreadsheets. You might be handling tasks as simple as returning phone calls or balancing the company checkbook and expenses, or as elaborate as full bookkeeping responsibility or coordinating a tradeshow.

Utilizing Technology The Distance Between You and the Client is Irrelevant

What differentiates the virtual assistant from all of it ancestors in the word processing/office support field is technology breaking down geographic barriers. If it were not for communication advances such as cell phones, faxing, and email, the virtual assistant industry would not exist.

As you utilize the magic of today's technology in a Virtual Assistant position, you might write an email letter for a local client first thing in the morning, and by 10:00 AM be remotely managing a database for a client in Hong Kong. If you are on the East Coast, you might be having lunch when a client on the West Coast calls your cell phone to commence their day and ask for a sales report. You might even find yourself

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