“So, what is it that you do?”
Have any of us got the perfect one-liner response yet?!
At first, explaining my new role to my nearest and dearest meant a loud and proud announcement, “I’m a VA!”. They’d ask, “What’s a VA?”, I’d tell them a Virtual Assistant, and they would look at me completely blankly. As if I’d just told them I was a magical hologram that follows very important people around like a helpful ghost. This is not what I do at all. Many people know that I was a PA in a previous life, and so I explain that it’s the same kind of work, only I’m not sitting in someone else’s office! I sometimes say I’m freelancing but this doesn’t really tell them anything apart from the fact that I am indeed earning some money, as well as sounding strong and independent and entrepreneurial!
Yes yes you say, but you haven’t actually told us yet… What is a VA?!
Well, I do the administrative work that you don’t want to do, and I love it! If you don’t get a buzz from organising your inbox, hand it over it to me and I’ll be your administrative fairy godmother!
Although you can see my full list of services on my website, in a nutshell, I am happy to do any general administration that you don’t want to do. Many people hate admin and keeping themselves organised – I love it! From keeping your expenses together, managing social media accounts, or making sure that your filing system is immaculate, I’ve got you covered.
I’m self-employed and it’s up to my clients whether they need me for set hours each month, or for a one-off project. I use a time-tracking app to log my time and I hit pause every time I make a cuppa so they only pay me when I’m working. Although I’m virtual, I happily meet all my clients in person as well as online, especially at the beginning of our working relationship so that we can get to know each other.
I love networking and am readily available on my Facebook page to answer quick questions and enquiries. My line of work means I fully embrace contemporary technology, using collaborative Google docs, slides and spreadsheets, as well as social media and email for business and personal life. It’s amazing to think that the whole job role of a VA has been facilitated in the last 20 or so years by the increase of digital connectivity. If you want to know more about how VA’s can support successful businesses, “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferriss is a bestselling book which details the integral role VA’s play in his company.
Anyway, enough VA geek-out reading, if you’re interested in what I do, please get in touch. I’d love to hear from other Virtual Assistants as well and people who have benefited from using the service. What’s a VA’s most useful asset? Is there anything you’d love a V.A to do in addition? I’m excited to hear from other people working in this dynamic new industry, as we are only going to get bigger and better!!