The term Virtual Assistant encompasses a lot of different online freelancing positions. In this five post series, we will thoroughly answer the question: What is a virtual assistant, and why is it a good side job for teachers? This first post will focus on answering this question: “What is a Virtual Assistant, and who is hiring them?”
We hear people say, they’re a VA, but nobody can ever seem to really nail down what a VA does.
The use of the acronym VA means a completely different thing online than it does in the ‘real’ world. If you throw the term VA around in the physical space, people typically think you are talking about Veteran’s Affairs, but in the online space, a VA is short for Virtual Assistant.
When people online ask what I do, I say I’m a VA or that I help teachers become Virtual Assistants to supplement their income. If Betty from church asks what I do, I don’t tell her I’m a VA, I tell her I’m a virtual assistant.
What is a virtual assistant (or a VA)?
You can ask 5 people this question, and you may get 5 different answers, so let me get straight to the point here.
A VA or virtual assistant is a person who virtually assists a business. Some people will say that a virtual assistant only works with online businesses, but I don’t agree. In fact, physical (brick and mortar) businesses often find a lot of value in having a VA working with them on their business.
Virtual Assistants work with both brick and mortar and online businesses.
The businesses a VA works with can be a brick and mortar business (like the coffee shop downtown or the yoga studio you frequent occasionally) or a VA can work with an online business (or both!). The only thing that makes you a virtual assistant instead of a regular employee is that you work *virtually* from anywhere (pun intended).
I’m gonna take a moment to get super direct here.
Brick and mortar businesses NEED virtual assistants because a good VA recognizes the need to up a business’ digital game. We pay attention to how people run their social media, the usability of websites, and inefficiency of invoicing through snail mail.
I see the need for virtual assistants all around me.
First, I saw my new massage therapist’s website, I thought “She needs a VA.”
Then, my carpet cleaner handed me a handwritten paper invoice with no due date, I thought “He needs a VA.”
When nobody at my daughter’s tumbling studio could tell me when and where their recital would be, I thought “They need a VA.”
A lot of businesses (especially brick and mortar businesses) need virtual assistants, but often they don’t realize hiring a VA is an option, so I am never shy about offering my virtual assistant services if I see a business I can help with.
It is not surprising that online businesses almost exclusively hire VAs because it is common for those businesses to operate without a physical space. They communicate with their virtual assistants through project management systems, phone calls, messaging systems like Voxer or Slack, and email.
Why do businesses hire VAs?
First reason: Virtual Assistants aren’t employees!
Since many VAs are contracted workers, businesses save money hiring a VA instead of a full-time or part-time employee. I also think this is why businesses are often willing to pay their virtual assistants a higher hourly rate than a W2 employee.
As a contracted worker, the business saves money on taxes and benefits by hiring a virtual assistant. They also don’t have to worry about providing a workspace, computer, office supplies, etc. for their VA, which allows them to use those resources in other parts of their business.
Second reason: Expertise!
Many virtual assistants specialize in their services, which benefits their clients.
If I specialize in web design, a client can hire me to design their website, and then they may pay me a reasonable monthly retainer to check and update the site each month. They don’t have to worry about filling my time, or making sure they have enough work for me. They only pay me for the one thing I’m doing, and as a specialist, I am making sure the client is getting their money’s worth.
If the business has an assistant physically coming into their store each day, the manager may feel like they have to keep that person busy, and the business owner may ask that person to do tasks that they are not good at or trained for. That isn’t good for the owner or the employee.
What do VAs do?
Basically, a virtual assistant can be whatever a virtual assistant wants to be, and a VA can do whatever they want to do. I became a VA for exactly this reason.
As you spend time as a virtual assistant, it is natural to fine-tune your skills in one particular area or change your services based on your interests and goals. In my time as a VA, I have done general VA work, project management, copywriting, editing, Pinterest management, content creation, social media graphics creation, graphic and logo design, and ghostwriting.
After taking a few tactical courses, my interest is now focused almost entirely on website design.
Virtual Assistants choose who they work with, how often they work, and how much they get paid.
When I started as a virtual assistant, I felt like I could create the job I wanted, and I could create that job without leaving the classroom.
Note: I did eventually leave the classroom. If you want to know more about that decision, I provide all the nitty gritty details in this post.
As a virtual assistant, I was constantly changing my services to match my interests. The more I learned, the more I morphed into different roles.
Editing and blog writing was easy for me. Since I am a certified English teacher, those skills are part of my love language. However, when I moved away from hourly work, I stopped offering editing as a service and focused more on graphic design and content creation. Why? Because I liked it more.
When I became interested in web design, I adjusted my services again.
A lot of virtual assistants start with basic services and then they begin to specialize as they find what they love to do. Check out post #2 in this series: What tasks are virtual assistants hired to do? to learn more about general VA services.
I know what you’re thinking…
But I’m just getting started, why would people hire me to do?
I’m so happy you asked!
Check out the next post in this series here: What kind of tasks do virtual assistants do?
Other posts in this series:
#1: What is a Virtual Assistant is and who is hiring one? (You’re on this post now)
#2: What tasks are virtual assistants hired to do?
