The Benefits of a Virtual Assistant

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By smallbizpro

Work at Home Jobs that Deliver

There seems to be a common misconception about virtual assistants, in that they’re nothing more than glorified receptionists. This is unfair on both virtual assistants and receptionists, as both do an important job, without which many companies would struggle to cope.

Perhaps the reason virtual assistants have such a hard time being taken seriously is the term “virtual”, implying that it’s not a real person, merely the result of some computer program. However, not only is a virtual assistant a very real person, they offer a unique yet rewarding service for any company.

In fact, it’s more likely that a virtual assistant has many more professional skills than a “normal” office worker would. After all, not only do they have to have a wider range of I.T. skills to be able to work in any given situation, they also have to possess excellent communication skills and administrative nous. Indeed, if you were to take a look at the office of a virtual assistant and compare it to your everyday office block environment, it’s a fair bet that the “virtual office” would be far more high-tech and organized.

This is just one of the reasons that the role of virtual assistant is slowly becoming more respected, at least as far as the people that count – the company bosses and directors. These are the people that are using virtual assistants more and more, as the traditional role of the company administration changes to keep up with the ever-changing business needs.

Now, instead of the company secretary handling the likes of emails, mail and other forms of communication, a professional virtual assistant can do all that and more. What really makes this role even more effective is that it can now turn any business into a fully-fledged 24-hour company, even the smallest one-man bands.

Thanks to the Internet, time zones no longer have any meaning – so, a business in the US can close down for the day, while a virtual assistant in Europe, India or anywhere in the world can keep their business moving. Emails can be answered, meetings can be arranged – anything that a company needs, a virtual assistant can pretty much handle.

On top of this, a virtual assistant offers far much more, by their very nature. For example, a sales person might be great at sales, but could they provide a graphic report using desktop publishing? Or perhaps you have a good customer service team, but can they design your web page for you? Many virtual assistants incorporate this into their overall package, making them an ideal all-in-one solution for any company.

With the specialised skill sets that a virtual assistant brings to any business, but particularly the smaller-to-medium sized company, they offer a value far beyond their fees. Allowing directors to concentrate on the other parts of a company to ensure success, the virtual assistant can be as important an "employee" as the founders are themselves.

Comments

Sherra Scott ~ Virtual Assistant 3 years ago

Thank you for bringing some attention to virtual assistants. I do have one small problem though - VAs are not employees, they are business owners who provide assistance to other business owners.

smallbizpro profile image

smallbizpro Hub Author 3 years ago

Thanks for reading and commenting Sherra.

I'm sorry for any confusion caused by the "employee" description - I know that VA's are self-employed and run their own business. The point I was making was that they offer such an important service that they are up with CEO's themselves as key "employees" of a company, albeit outsourced self-employed ones.

Julie Cioffi-Brawley 3 years ago

A great place to find a VA if you choose to go that route is the VAnetworking.com website. VAnetworking.com even has a free ebook, “Finding A VA” (http://www.vanetworking.com/find-a-virtual-assista that you may find helpful in your search.

KEckerle profile image

KEckerle 2 years ago

Good article --- and I'm glad Sherra commented on the business owner aspect. Client relationships are important and should be on equal footing.

After 30+ years in law firms, I've had my own business as a virtual assistant with a legal/paralegal specialty for 10 years. The time differences are actually an advantage in many situations. However, folks need to know that you DO get what you pay for. Your cost savings comes in not having to provide equipment or benefits. If you hire a VA who has poor skills, is unable to communicate well in English or lacks the knowledge to complete a project without supervision, you have gained nothing. In fact, you may have lost your own reputation in the process. So it pays to pick carefully and develop a great working relationship with your VA.

Jim 2 years ago

There is a great video about this business and here. They also offer a fully customizable website. Great for someone looking to start their own business. http://www.affordablevirtualassistant.com/finalad.

Sandy 2 years ago

You can save a lot of time by outsourcing your mail and helpdesk emails - This time can be better spent in growing the business...

Sandy 23 months ago

Virtual Assistant industry is really wide and an excellent option for a home based business. You can specialize in an area (like in medical transcription) or go as wide as you want...

Virtual Personal Assistant, Concierge Services 21 months ago

Rent A Smile's Virtual Assistance Service gives busy people the resources of a 24/7 personal assistant, travel agent, and project assistant available via email, telephone and live chat. At Rent A Smile, we can handle almost any task, business or personal, that doesn't require our physical presence. If it can be carried out over the internet, via email, fax, telephone, or chat, we can handle it.

Think of us as a regular assistant who is sitting in the next room. Anything that you would ask that assistant to do, we could probably handle. Except that the next room is in another country, so we can't handle anything physical. We can't get you your daily cup of coffee, but we might be able to get someone else to deliver it to you. There are no fees to join and no annual contracts.

Virtualestaff 21 months ago

Hiring a Virtual Assistant is a perfect option to reduce overhead cost.

Nilesh Shukla 20 months ago

Hey really nice post and would completely agree that the Virtual assistants are important for any company as to they are the one who are responsible for all the back office work whose absence would lead to all mess in business organization and also that their wrong way of submitting the report creates loss to the business. You can find really Good VA's and that too at competitive rates. The rates factor affects to the small business as they need to get the work completed in less amount. You can have a look on their website http://www.yourdailytask.com/

E vir 19 months ago

Yes your think good about virtual assistant .

E vir 19 months ago

Yes your think good about virtual assistant .

Juan Lucas 16 months ago

Hello,

I suggest you to take a look in this virtual assistant system:

http://ridworld.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/dialgraph

Virtual Office Assistants 5 months ago

Hey Really a Nice post.Very Informative.

http://www.uassist.me/

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