Many people don't know what a virtual assistant's job entails or what their duties are. However, this activity has existed for several years. It was and still is not sufficiently exposed to the general public. Hence the lack of knowledge of the job of a virtual assistant administrative

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WHAT IS AN INDEPENDENT VIRTUAL ASSISTANT?

Many people are confused about the role of a virtual assistant. It is often equated with that of a "classic" secretary, employed in an office and managing administrative tasks. Which is not the case.

A freelance virtual assistant wears many hats. And, very generally, it is not limited to drafting documents or filing your client's invoices. Far from there! In this booming profession, we find a summary of several web-related activities. A wide range of digital skills that a virtual assistant can exercise, even without a diploma. Administrative management for clients is one of the fundamentals offered by a remote assistant. But, little by little, other missions came to be added on top.

The number of business creations on the web has continued to grow over the last ten years. And all these web entrepreneurs have seen their need for delegation increase. The virtual assistant has thus adapted to this demand for a collaborator trained in digital.

Moreover, I see that more and more independent secretaries, or administrative assistants, are turning to learning web skills in order to transform their activity.

Why? Because they are gradually becoming aware that what they do on a daily basis can be done by any other secretary. That they are not unique. That since these tasks are “basic” (but no less respectable!), a client can – overnight – drop them and turn to a colleague with a lower rate. It is therefore important to define how, as a beginner virtual assistant, you can become essential for your future clients.

WHAT DOES A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT DO?

I am not going to list all the tasks that a virtual assistant can offer, because there are so many. Indeed, it can be responsible for a number of more or less basic missions: those that an entrepreneur cannot or does not want to manage.

The daily life of a business leader is strewn with countless actions if he wants to succeed in his activity and achieve the turnover he is aiming for. Alone, he will have to make choices. He will not be able to be present on all fronts: administrative, communication, technical, financial, strategic.

Collaborating with a virtual assistant will relieve him of a large part of these responsibilities. He will then be able to focus more specifically on some of them. And above all, stay focused on the profitability and development of your business.

THE MAIN TASKS OF A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT:

• Administrative management;
• Support for customer service;
• The creation and management of social media (without being the more specialized role of a community manager );
• Managing a website, an online store;
• Managing a YouTube channel;
• Content writing: product sheets, newsletters, descriptions of posts for social networks, etc. (Here too, unless it is specialized, the entrepreneur cannot expect work as in-depth as that of a content creation professional.)
• Etc.

WHO ARE THE CLIENTS OF A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT?

The Internet allows you to connect with a whole bunch of customers without leaving your home. And above all to be able to collaborate remotely with many companies requesting professional virtual assistance.

The main clients of a virtual assistant are:

• Infopreneurs (coach, trainer, blogger),
• e-retailers,
• service providers (photographer, wedding planner, web agency, Airbnb concierge, etc.),
• craftsmen…

VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE, A JOB FOR EVERYONE?

It is not a job that everyone can do, because certain conditions are required to perform it. This guide will give you all the information about the job of virtual assistant .

But it can suit several profiles and this may be your case: you already have a professional background in the secretarial field and you have the basics of office automation? You are curious and you like to learn new skills? Do you hate routine in your work?

THE MAIN SKILLS TO BE A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

It's necessary :

• be organized and know how to demonstrate discipline. Working alone requires being autonomous and rigorous in planning your services and their achievements.
• Love challenges! Starting a business is one of them.
• Don't procrastinate.

THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS JOB

• Working from home (or while traveling around the world) is certainly one of the main reasons for choosing this virtual assistant job.
• Find time for yourself  , for your family, rather than losing it commuting from home to work/work to home.
• The organization of your days depends on no one other than yourself.
• The same goes for choosing the date of your vacation.
• Being self-employed and feeling the pride of creating something that reflects our image, in which we finally flourish.
• Having this financial independence which allows you to choose who you want to work with.

THE DISADVANTAGES OF THIS PROFESSION

• The financial uncertainty of freelancing: unless you quickly find fixed contracts over several months, your income can be up and down. It will therefore be necessary to anticipate possible slack periods by creating emergency cash flow. An illness, an accident, and it's a loss of turnover (and therefore income) that you also have to know how to predict. How? By contributing to complementary health insurance and opting for a welfare contract.
• No longer having someone directing us, being alone on board: this is both an advantage and a disadvantage. You have this fabulous freedom of not depending on HR to deign to increase your salary by 1%! Your income depends on your skills, your actions, your determination! But, on the other hand, this responsibility can also scare you.

DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT?

This job is very versatile, so you have to be ready to juggle several missions, several clients, when starting your business. You must never stop learning, whether through reading or taking courses, in order to stay abreast of  developments in this profession  .

You can start by offering a few basic services, specializing in a theme or a type of client (which I recommend in our training to become a virtual assistant administrator ).

Want to learn more about being a virtual assistant? Sign up for our free conference “How to become a [specialized] virtual assistant” and discover the seven secrets to thriving in this profession. 

Also Read: Virtual Assistant Web Design and Development

Also Read: Get Amazing Services With Website Design Virtual Assistant