What is a Virtual Assistant?

Virtual AssistantWhen people are interested in my work, the most common question I get asked is:  What EXACTLY is a Virtual Assistant, anyway?

The fact is, all Virtual Assistants are a little different in their exact specialties or specifications on their jobs, but SheKnows hit the nail on the head in their definition of a Virtual Assistant:  "A virtual assistant is a self-employed administrative or personal assistant who works remotely (usually at home) for various clients. When most people hear "virtual assistant," they assume it's a secretary who works from home."  I really could not have said it better myself (which is why I chose just to quote the website!).

Some Virtual Assistants, like myself, go into clients' offices some of the time and work from home some of the time.  Whatever is easiest on the client is basically the nature of the job.  Sometimes, it's even possible to pick up work and bring it home to finish from my own office instead of at the client's office.

So, all Virtual Assistants do the secretary side of the assistant job for the most part.  But what makes us all uniqueWriting
is that we all have our own niches that set us apart from all the others.  With my vast experience in writing and my Bachelor of Arts in English, my niche happens to be writing (ghostwriting, copywriting, editing, proofreading, blog writing, etc), and I also do a lot of marketing (social media marketing, marketing material creation, ad creation, etc) and web design.  I mostly focus on Inbound Marketing (bringing customers to the business for quality content), but I do a little bit of all of it.

When a Virtual Assistant tells you that they "do it all," they're usually not lying.  From my own experience, I have done everything from online Christmas shopping for clients to data entry to marketing.  Anything that helps save the client time or helps their business grow, I can handle.  Entrepreneur posted a blog on their website about "10 Things to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant."  While this is just some of the many services offered, it covers the basics.

So, your business might need phone calls taken from customers, but you don't want to employ a full-time receptionist to take the calls.  Or maybe you need all administrative tasks done, or even if you need a presentation created...Virtual Assistants are experienced in administrative work and can handle it for you.  A good Virtual Assistant will be skilled in administrative work, computers and software, customer service, keyboarding, and whatever his/her specialty may be and will be able to accomplish any task given to him/her in a timely manner, typically more quickly and efficiently than others.

I, myself, have been assisting businesses and helping clients be more productive for over 7 years.  This, along with education and experience with Microsoft Office Tools, basic web design, social media graphic creation, and marketing material creation, has given me plenty of experience to help businesses in basically any administrative capacity.  I also help businesses grow by researching for, writing, editing, and posting blogs with SEO focus to help businesses grow their web presence.  By presenting quality content, businesses can attract customers in all stages of the Buying Process.  I am certified in Wedding and Event Planning and plan all kinds of events, I have multiple certifications in Inbound Marketing, along with my Bachelor of Arts in English.

For more information on the Virtual Assisting services I offer and how I can help you grow your business or maximize your time, visit my website.

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