A couple of years ago one of my clients got her first Blackberry. She explained that she could send and receive email (among other things) wirelessly from this device while she was on the road. I like to think of myself as someone who is fairly comfortable with technology, yet it still took me a few moments of question-asking and head-scratching before I got my brain completely wrapped around the idea.



If you're thinking of starting a home-based Virtual Assistant business, you may experience a similar sort of befuddlement. How can it work to be an assistant for someone if you're not right there in their home-office? How can you possibly ‘share' the responsibility and support of a business from a remote location?

Today, I'll answer these questions and more and, hopefully, provide some encouragement and lots of practical advice about how to really be ‘Virtual'. Here's how it works:

1. Technology is your new best-friend. My Blackberry Befuddlement didn't last very long and after I got over being ashamed of myself for being a leery as a Luddite of this new technology I realized that the experience brought home this very important point for Virtual Assistants. As a VA you will use email more than you ever thought possible. Sharing documents with your clients will become routine very quickly. Services such as web calendaring will make you weep with joy (your client syncs her hand-held device to her computer AND to a web calendar, which you can access from your computer. Now you can book appointments for her as if you were sitting in her lap, holding the pointer yourself.) You'll ‘meet' with your clients once or twice a week via telephone and wonder how you ever got along without using a telephone headset. Eventually you'll become the person in charge of setting up and managing your clients' web site shopping cart, or their audio recording account or a conference line account. And this brings us very neatly to the second reason Virtual Assistance works.

2. A VA-Client Relationship is one of Trust. The longer you work with a client, the more of their business you will be entrusted with. Think of a CEO's executive assistant who can anticipate what the CEO needs before he/she needs it and who knows more about personal preferences for airline seating and lunch and favourite hockey team than anyone. That's what a VA becomes for each client. You will work almost silently (but not invisibly) in the background, keeping the wheels of the business moving, thinking of new creative ways to support your clients and to take administration off their desks.

3. Systems and Practices. With every new client you'll very soon begin to understand the things that occur repeatedly in their business. Once you've observed this you can set up a system that best supports your client. Systems are the VA's second-best friend. For example, if your client travels a great deal, you can establish his seating preference, find out what his airline points plans are and what his preferred lodging is. Then, every time your client goes on a trip, he can let you know where he's going and when he needs to be there and you'll take care of all the rest. You'll have his credit card number on file (because you've established a relationship of trust with him – see reason #2) so you can book everything, have the e-ticket and hotel confirmation sent to him and even book a limo to pick him up in enough time to get to the airport.

4. The Pony Express. Now just because you're running a virtual business doesn't mean you can't take advantage of ‘old-world' services. Couriers, Express Post, Kinkos – all these are used regularly in a VA business. Sometimes your client will need you to make edits to a training manual or transcribe some flip chart pages that she created at a workshop. There's nothing wrong with combining virtual and reality.

5. A Good Fit. The perfect pair of jeans is always a challenge to find. But when you do, oh boy! It was worth the search. The same applies to VA clients. Not every self-employed entrepreneur is going to be a good fit for your business. That's ok; you don't need them to be. Sometimes potential clients with a home-based business will be more comfortable having their assistant with them in their office (even though we now know that's not necessary). When you are clear with potential clients about all you can do for them, many of them will be able to adjust to the idea of virtual help. I've seen it happen!

Consider these five reasons why Virtual Assistance works to be a brief toe-dip into the rapidly expanding world of home-based businesses. A little creativity, lots of tenacity, a little technological savvy and the skills of an in-office administrative assistant go a long way to creating your ideal Virtual Assistant business.