Virtual Assistant FAQ
This section is here to help answer the most frequently
asked questions about Virtual Assistants as well as facts on
virtual assistants.
Have a question regarding Virtual Assistants? Contact Us.
What is a Virtual Assistant?
How do you go about finding clients and companies
to work for?
Do I need a business license?
Do I have to get a Virtual Assistant
Certification?
Is a college degree required to become a Virtual
Assistant?
What is the difference between a Sole
Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation, and Limited
Liability Company (LLC)?
Do I need training to become a Virtual
Assistant?
Are there any places to train as a Real Estate
Virtual Assistant?
How do I write a business plan?
What are the start-up costs for a Virtual
Assistant Business?
How do I keep track of the billable hours I work
for my clients?
How do I start a website?
How do I start a Virtual Assistant
Business?
How do I market my Virtual Assistant
Business?
How do I set my rates or prices for my Virtual
Assistant Business?
What are Virtual Assistant Coaches?
Are there any Virtual Assistants who do medical
billing/coding? Are there reputable companies out
there to work for, and if so, what are they?
Which is more effective: to use my own name,
with "Virtual Assistant" underneath, or should I start right
off with a distinctive business name?
How do I choose a niche or target
market?
What would you do in a situation where you were
asked to perform a job that you were not familiar
with?
How would I go about furthering my knowledge in
areas I'm not familiar with, i.e. transcription, etc?
Where do I get contracts for my VA Business and what should I
include in them?
What is a
Virtual Assistant?
A Virtual Assistant (VA) is an
independent contractor and a home-based entrepreneur who uses
the Internet, phone, fax, email, and other technology to
communicate with his/her clients. To learn more about Virtual
Assistants and what they do, read the article What is A Virtual
Assistant.
How do you go about
finding clients and companies to work for?
There
are several methods you can use to locate clients. Many VAs
have been successful in using freelance websites such as
Elance and Guru to land clients. Networking is also
a good way to land clients. Virtual Assistants usually
subcontract work out to other VAs they know and trust.
Frequenting job boards are another way to locate clients.
Read the article "Virtual Assistant Job Opportunities:
7 Ways to Locate Clients and Job Opportunities" for
more ideas on how to locate and find clients.
We also list free
virtual assistant jobs on our site reguarly to help you
jumpstart your client search.
Do I need
a business license?
Depending on where you live you may or may not be required to
obtain a business license. In the state of Georgia, independent
contractors are required to have a business license. Check with
your local county and state to make sure you follow all legal
protocols for setting up and running your business.
Do I
have to get a Virtual Assistant Certification?
Obtaining a Virtual Assistant Certification is not required to
work as or become a Virtual Assistant. Obtaining a
certification can add weight to your credentials, and can
possibly mean the difference between prospective clients
choosing you from several Virtual Assistants.
For more information about the certifications available to
Virtual Assistants, go to our Virtual Assistant
Certifications page.
Is a college
degree required to become a Virtual Assistant?
A college degree may be help, but not necessary. Experience and
skills that you have gained from previous employers is
more than likely sufficient enough.
What is the difference
between a Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation, and
Limited Liability Company (LLC)?
I'm by no means a legal expert so I recommend consulting an
accountant and/or lawyer to learn more about each business
entity and which is best for your needs.
Do I need
training to become a Virtual Assistant?
Well that
is up to you. You may be surprised to know that you probably
already have the necessary training from current and past
employers. As the Virtual Assistant Industry grows, you may
need more specialized training and knowledge to be successful.
That applies to any industry. So investing in continuing your
education is well worth it. For more information on training
programs available for aspiring and current Virtual Assistants
please visit Virtual
Assistant Training Courses.
Are there any
places to train as a Real Estate Virtual
Assistant?
Yes, currently there are a few that I know of. Here they
are:
CyberStarVA
REVA Training Center
Real Estate Professional Assistant
How do I write a
business plan?
Writing a business plan doesn't have
to be complicated. Your business plan can include things such
as:
- Start-up costs (licenses, registrations, equipment,
office furniture, supplies, software, domain name
registration, webhosting, high speed internet, marketing
etc)
- Finances (Will you need financial assistance to start
your business? Loans, etc.)
- Business goals
- Financial Plan (recurring, monthly, and yearly
expenses, how much money do you need to make to keep your
business running and/or making a profit)
- Marketing Plan
- Skill strengths, skill weaknesses, and what are you
willing to learn how to do.
- What will set your business apart from the competition
and make it unique.
Here is a helpful article for writing a
business plan:
Business
Plan for Virtual Assistant
What are the start-up
costs for a Virtual Assistant Business?
Although it's a lot less expensive than starting a traditional
brick and mortar business, there are no set costs for starting
a Virtual Assistant Business. Some start-up costs can include
(this is not an exhaustive list):
- Licenses, permits, and registrations
- Domain and web hosting
- Office furniture, equipment, and supplies
- Marketing and Advertising
- Software
- Business Insurance
- Internet Service
- Legal fees
- Training and Certifications (optional)
How do I keep
track of the billable hours I work for my
clients?
There are several great programs out there
that can help you keep track of your billable hours for your
clients. Some are free and others have associated reasonable
costs. You can always do it yourself by using a good old
Excel spreadsheet, but I'll share with you some resources that
some Virtual Assistants are using to keep track of their
time.
Traxtime
QuickBooks
TimeSlice
TimeStamp
Allnetic Working Time Tracker
Responsive Time Logger
MyHours.com
How do I
start a website?
There is some basic some
information you should know and consider before starting a
website. One is whether you will have a Web Designer build it
for you or do it yourself. To learn more about the pros and
cons of each please read the article How to Start a Website.
How do I start a
Virtual Assistant Business?
There are several steps to take when starting a Virtual
Assistant Business from analyzing your skills and motivations
to writing a business plan, choosing a business name, and
setting up a business entity. See the following articles to get
more information on how to start a Virtual Assistant
Business.
How
to Start A Virtual Assistant Business
Virtual Assistance
Business & The Legalities
How do I market
my Virtual Assistant Business?
There are two ways to market your VA Business, internet
marketing and offline marketing. You can market your Virtual
Assistant Business with brochures, flyers, postcards, business
cards, press releases, yellow page ads, and writing articles,
amonth others. See the section on Marketing a Virtual Assistant Business
for more ways and tips to marketing your Virtual Assistant
Business.
How do I set
my rates or prices for my Virtual Assistance
Business?
Some things to consider when setting your prices or rates for
your VA Business are your expenses and your competitor’s
prices. For more info and basic guidelines to setting your
rates for your Virtual Assistance Practice, see Virtual Assistance Price List
What are Virtual Assistant
Coaches?
Virtual Assistant Coaches are pioneers in
the Virtual Assistance industry with years of experience under
their belts. They have dedicated their lives to helping others
start and run successful and profitable Virtual Assistant
Practices.
In most cases, Virtual Assistant coaching programs are where
experienced Virtual Assistants' coach and/or mentor those
interested in becoming Virtual Assistants. It can be in a group
setting or one on one. Some also provide mentoring and coaching
for established Virtual Assistants.
Are there any
Virtual Assistants who do medical billing/coding? If so, are
there reputable companies out there to work for, and if so,
what are they?
I used to do medical billing before
I started my VA Business. I offer this service, but I haven't
really run across any medical billing companies that
specifically utilize Virtual Assistants. However, there
are a lot of legitimate coding companies that contract work
out. I'm a member of Telework Recruiting and there is
list of about 40 medical coding companies that hire
telecommuters and independent contractors. There are also some
job leads listed for medical coders and billers. Visit
Telework Recruiting to learn more.
Which is more effective,
to use my own name, with "Virtual Assistant" underneath, or
should I start right off with a distinctive business
name?
To be honest, it doesn't really matter whether you use your own
name or a business name. It's a matter of personal preference.
Just make sure that whatever you choose to use, it's easy to
remember and spell for prospective clients, especially if you
will be using it for your website domain name.
How do I choose a niche
or target market?
The best thing you can do before starting your VA Business is
market research. Assess your skills and decide what services
you want to offer and then do some market research to see if
there is a need for this service. You can visit forums and
message boards that your target market frequents to see what
services they want and/or need and if they are willing to pay
for them. If they are, then you would want to assess your
competitors. If it's a highly competitive niche or target
market, you may want to reconsider this market and research
another one.
Don't automatically rule it out if there is competition.
Remember, competition can be a good thing because it means
there is definitely a need for the service. There may be room
in the target market for you to make a decent income. Be sure
to do your research.
What would you do in
a situation where you were asked to perform a job that you were
not familiar with?
Always be honest with your
clients. If your client asks you to perform a task that you're
not familiar with then tell them. You can simply say that
you're not familiar with the task, but you're willing to learn
how to do it. You'd be surprised at how many clients are
willing to train you. Not only will clients appreciate your
honesty, but you may be given the opportunity to learn
something new that you can utilize for new and other
clients.
How would I go about
furthering my knowledge in areas I'm not familiar with, i.e.
transcription, etc?
You can always take specialized training and continuing
education courses at your local college and/or school. If
you're interested in offering a specific service such as
transcription while you're learning, you can consider
outsourcing and/or subcontracting it out to another VA who
specializes in this area.
Where do I get contracts
for my VA Business and what should I include in
them?
You can check out the example Virtual Assistant contract forms on this
site. There is also a website that has contracts and forms
specifically for Virtual Businesses. Here is the
website:
VACOC
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