My husband I were talking about his amazing writing ability (my words not his). I was telling him how he could make money online by writing. He kept saying “How? How? How?” I found this article yesterday about a way that he could make money with his writing.

Becoming A Virtual Assistant: Is It For You?

The other day, I ran into a friend who was distraught
because she had just been laid off. Her husband had recently
taken a pay cut and was afraid of losing his job any day.
They have mortgage payments to make, 3 children to raise…
you know the rest of the story.

Now I knew that this lady had been working as an office
assistant in a construction company. Her eyes lit up as I
gently suggested that she explore working at home as a
virtual assistant. Of course, she had a lot of questions and
rightfully so. It’s no joke to venture into a home business
after years of employment.

Since this situation is becoming more and more common with
the current economic downturn, I thought I’d share the
questions my friend asked and some quick answers to them:

What is a virtual assistant?

A virtual assistant or VA is a self-employed, home-based
entrepreneur who assists other businesses, often in
administrative work. In other words, a VA is an office
assistant who never has to step into her client’s office! In
addition, most business owners have particular tasks that
they will turn over to their virtual assistants, and these
can go beyond basic office or business administration.

What skills do I need to become a VA?

The basic skills a VA needs are office and business
administration skills. A VA also needs to be highly
organized, communicate effectively and pay careful attention
to detail. Some clients look for additional technical
skills, such as writing, marketing, social media, blog or
website maintenance, and multimedia production – even
podcasting!

The skill set you’ll need as a VA depends on the type of
clients you want to work with. Find out what they NEED and
build your skills to respond effectively.

What kinds of work does a VA do?

VAs commonly do office-related stuff, such as:

responding to emails
making travel arrangements
sending out faxes
researching and compiling information
business writing
typing up notes or transcribing audios

In addition, VAs nowadays are often expected to:

write and publish or schedule blog posts
work with autoresponders
rewrite private label rights content
optimize a website for search engines
create a slideshow presentation
update websites
set up social networking profiles/pages
create videos and publish them online

Is being a VA a good option for Moms?

Oh yes! A lot of work at home Moms I know are VAs and they
make good incomes from the comfort of their home, without
having to leave their children in the care of others.
Virtual assistance is a home business, which means it’s
flexible. You decide how many hours a day you want to work,
on which days, what type of work you want to do, and even
whom you will work with.

On the other hand, if you have small children, remember that
occasionally you will need to be on the phone or webchat
with a client, supplier or other associate. In this case
you’ll need somebody else looking after your small children
so you can have some quiet and be able to focus on the call
or chat.

How much money can I make as a VA?

The hourly rate of VAs depends on several factors. These
include their skills and experience, whether they specialize
in certain services or a particular industry, and any
certifications they may have (those who are certified by
recognized institutions charge higher fees). VA fees vary
widely, ranging anywhere from around $15 to $70 per hour. So
you can see, it’s entirely possible for a VA to make a full-
time income working at home.

OK, I’m interested. Where do I begin?

You can try and figure everything out yourself, of course.
But better yet, get the guidance of experienced VAs who have
successful virtual assistance businesses. Two such VAs are
Jen Houck and Nell Taliercio who have a combined experience
of over 5 years in virtual assistance. They share their
success stories and step-by-step tips in the Just Add
Sweat Guide To Becoming A Virtual Assistant.

The guide includes:

an audio course on everything from setting up your VA
business, to marketing your services and finding and keeping
clients
a workbook to get you into action
5 videos teaching essential Internet skills
…and more.

This is the guide
that will get your VA business up and running in no
time. Who knows? Becoming a virtual assistant may be the
next perfect “job” for you.