Dear Gritty VA:
I am starting a Virtual Assistant business to augment my income. I have a full-time job that I am intending to keep. I’ve been working remotely with a client for more than a year (limited hours; I have a lot more on my hand). I consider that as a Virtual Assistant client. I want to expand. I want to have a couple more clients. I do tech stuff (web/blog set-up, SQL server database, report development, computer upgrades, etc). Is there any advice you can give me? –RM
The first thing I’d advise you to do is get clear about what category of business you are in. Just because you work “remotely” doesn’t mean you are Virtual Assistant. The kind of work you just listed is not Virtual Assistance. Virtual Assistance is administrative support. The things you listed are more IT/tech support. If someone needs a plumber, they aren’t going to go looking for one in the Yellow Pages under “lawyer.” You have to use the proper terminology so people will understand instantly what you do and where/how to find you.
Also, consider how much of a commitment you have to offer clients if you are working part-time. People’s stuff is important to them. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it can be really difficult, not to mention stressful and exhausting, to provide a professional level of service and delivery to clients if you are still working a part-time job.
I will tell you that if IT stuff is what you do, one of the biggest advantages you could have over other IT freelancers is starting an actual, real live committed business. One of the HUGEST frustrations I’ve had in business is trying to find and work with IT pros on a freelance basis. They were so flaky and inconsistent most of the time. And because they weren’t in committed businesses, they didn’t have business-like policies and procedures in place, their service was really spotty and it took them a long time to get things done. If their priorities or interests changed, I was left holding the bag when they decided to move on to other things. I’d have to start all over again with someone new (after pulling my hair out once again just trying to find someone else).
(Knock on wood–I’ve got a FABULOUS, WONDERFUL IT pro now.)
As an IT pro, you would give your would-be customers so much more trust and peace of mind if you offered them a committed business, one that wasn’t just working for some extra side money and they could rely on being there today and later down the road whenever they needed you.
Thanks for commenting. Yeah, the virtual assistant term is really completely idiotic to...
2 Comments
While I agree she needs to specify what it is she does, I do not agree that she isn’t a Virtual Assistant.
Virtual Assistants can do much more than only provide administrative support. To me that is just a VA who specializes or niches in Administrative Support.
Other VA’s might specialize in Tech Support, or Internet Marketing, or Affiliate Marketing Management.
I just don’t want people left out of the VA arena just because they are offering niche services to their clients.
There is so much wonderful training, tools, and information that will really assist those who are focused in a specific niche that they might miss out on if they’re told they are not really Virtual Assistants.
For years I have been working at home, only recently did I choose to call myself a VA, and only then did I feel brave enough to quit my job and do this full time.
Virtual Assistance is not a catch-all term. If someone specializes in tech support, they are in tech support, not Virtual Assistance. Same thing with internet marketing. And affiliate marketing. Each of those categories of business have their own terminology.
This doesn’t have anything to do with leaving people out. This isn’t a club; it’s business and there are certain immutable laws and principles of business and marketing that apply here. One of the stupidest things some factions in our industry engage in is trying to encompass the entire world of everything under the sun under the term Virtual Assistant. That doesn’t promote a clear idea to the marketplace about what a VA does, which leaves them scratching their heads and making it up themselves. And when that’s the case and something represents no specific or comprehensible skill or specialization, it becomes absolutely valueless and commoditized in the minds of clients.
Virtual Assistance IS a specialty all its own–that of administrative support. Administrative support is exactly what Virtual Assistance is. That doesn’t mean someone can’t ALSO provide additional specialties or services. But they are not all one and the same thing.