What is (and Isn’t) a Virtual Assistant?

I wrote this a couple of months ago when I first started blogging. I thought with Spring coming in, it might be a good time to bring it back up.

Spring is the time when people start planning how to revitalize their business, cleaning out the old to make room for the new. It’s a great time to start thinking about letting go of those administrative tasks that are holding you back from adding to your client base. That’s where a virtual assistant comes in. Although the term “VA” is getting much more popular and known, I thought it’d be appropriate to talk about what is (and isn’t) a virtual assistant.

Here is my understanding of what is and isn’t a virtual assistant.

The term “virtual assistant” was coined by life coach, Thomas Leonard, during a conversation he was having with Stacy Brice, founder of AssistU, the first organized training and coaching organization for virtual assistants. The AssistU definition says, “VAs are micro business owners who provide administrative and possibly personal support while working in long-term collaborative relationships with only a handful of terrific clients. Using phone, fax, email, as well as other emerging technologies, VAs support their clients’ needs across the board, without having to ever step foot inside the clients’ offices.”

One of my favorite VA forums, the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce (VACOC) has this definition (which I’ve espoused to fit my unique business): “A virtual assistant (or VA) is a professional service provider who specializes in providing remote administrative office support services as an independent contractor who works with clients in an ongoing, collaborative professional relationship.”

Now here’s where the waters start to get muddied some. VAs do not work from your office, we do not use your equipment, we do not work piece-meal projects. We are there to be an integral part of your business, providing you the time to add to your client base while having professionally skilled people taking care of your back-end office needs.

Some VAs can also provide additional, specialty services. But that’s exactly what they are, additional and specialty. Services such as bookkeeping, consulting, marketing. These are skills that some VAs choose to provide, but those skills are not the heart and soul of the VA business. The heart and soul of the VA business is administrative support.

If you feel you’re at a point where you have to turn over some of the administrative duties in order to take your business to the next level, I invite you to visit my web site at Elite VAs. I’m looking to add to my client base of coaches, consultants and speakers and would love the opportunity to speak with you.

Vickie