Chances are that at some point or another we have all wanted to go out on our own – away from our current occupations – and start a new career path as a solo professional in our field of specialization. But why don't we? What holds so much of us back from going out and doing what it is that we want to do with our lives? Why do we allow ourselves to be tied to our employer as if we're tied into our cubicle with invisible wires? What skill do we really need in order to finally break free from the nine to five life and start out on our own as a virtual assistant?

Ask yourself all of these questions before you even think about quitting your current occupation in pursuit of the dream of pursuing any type of solo job. Each and every year, far too many people believe that they can simply quit their current occupation and pursue a career as a virtual assistant, freelancer, or start their own businesses – and far too many of them fail, only to be forced back into the nine to five world with a sense of failure and hopelessness. They give up on the dream. This isn't meant to happen to you, so you must be prepared before you branch out. This happens for one reason and one reason alone – the person who wanted to to pursue his or her dreams had no idea what to expect.

People told him this person that he or she could be free, have as many days off as they wanted, and retain all of the profits from the work they accomplished.

But nobody ever told him that he may have to work long and hard to meet deadlines, manage his finances himself, and compete with thousands of others for the same jobs.

Before you begin any ventures in the world of the solo professional, you should know that it is not all fun and games – a lot of serious thought must go into your actions if you are to be successful. Are you ready to put planning into your efforts? Are you willing to start our slow, moonlight, and save money from your day job in the bank?

Whatever you do, do not quit your current job right now, as you will not have a livable source of income for several months while you search for well paying gigs. Quitting your job will come in due time, but only after you have managed to net a few solid contracts and references first.

The first step of your new life as a virtual assistant should be to log onto your computer, open your web browser to Google, and start the search for work. Sounds easy, right? Use specific keywords that can describe what your skills are – the types of projects you can actually accomplish – and after a few hours you will wind up with a massive database of different websites that cater to the solo community in your specific field. These are the websites you'll want to scour, learn to work with, and set up profiles for so that you can begin exploring contracts and building relationships in the freelance community.

There are also many other places on the web that you can subcontract with other virtual assistants to gain experience and work, but there are far too many to list in this article. It is highly suggested that you look at other VA websites to see what they offer and how they market themselves to find ideas on how to start advertising and growing your own business and portfolio.