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IAP Career College Guide to

Become a
Virtual
Assistant

Jennifer Fishberg

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 IAP CAREER COLLEGE® GUIDE TO BECOME A
VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

by Jennifer Fishberg
ISBN: 978-1-897286-69-2

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IAP Career College Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant

Contents
About the Author..............................................................................9
Acknowledgements........................................................................10

1. Introduction...........................................................................................11
1.1 A Career as a Virtual Assistant....................................................11
1.1.1 What Is a Virtual Assistant?...............................................12
1.1.2 Services Provided by a Virtual Assistant.........................14
1.1.3 Who Utilizes Virtual Assistants?.......................................16
1.2 The History and Growth of Virtual Assistance.........................17
1.3 Benefits of Being a Virtual Assistant...........................................19
1.4 Inside This Guide..........................................................................23

2. What a Virtual Assistant Does...........................................................25

2.1 Choosing Your Niche....................................................................26
2.1.1 Specializing in a Specific Industry....................................27
2.1.2 Specializing in a Specific Skill............................................28
2.2 Tools of the Trade..........................................................................29
2.3 How to Do a Client Consultation................................................36
2.4 Establishing the Foundations of Good Communication.........49
2.4.1 Identifying Your Preferred Work Style.............................49
2.4.2 Understanding Your Clients’ Learning Style...................51
2.4.3 How To Talk to Your Clients About Money.....................52
2.4.4 Evaluating Your Performance: Client Feedback..............54
2.5 Managing Your Time and Productivity.....................................57
2.5.1 Getting Your Policies, Processes, and Procedures
in Place..................................................................................57
2.5.2 Transitioning from Employee to Business Owner..........59
2.5.3 Structuring Daily Activities...............................................61

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2.6 Working with Strategic Partners.................................................62

2.6.1 Types of Strategic Partners.................................................63
2.6.2 How to Find Strategic Partners..........................................63
2.6.3 Choosing Strategic Partners...............................................64
2.6.4 Financial Arrangements.....................................................66

3. Getting Ready........................................................................................69
3.1 Skills and Knowledge You Will Need........................................70
3.1.1 Skills Assessment.................................................................70
3.1.2 Computer Skills...................................................................71
3.1.3 Interpersonal Skills..............................................................74
3.1.4 Research Skills......................................................................77
3.1.5 Business Skills......................................................................78
3.2 Learning by Doing........................................................................80
3.2.1 Volunteer Experience..........................................................81
3.2.2 Part-Time Jobs......................................................................87
3.3 Learn From Other Virtual Assistants..........................................88
3.3.1 Information Interviews.......................................................88
3.3.2 Be a Client.............................................................................91
3.3.3 Find a Mentor or VA Coach................................................91
3.3.4 Join Associations..................................................................96
3.4 Educational Programs .................................................................98
3.4.1 Degree Programs.................................................................99
3.4.2 Continuing Education and Non-Degree Courses.........100
3.4.3 Certificate Program...........................................................102
3.5 Resources for Self-Study.............................................................102
3.5.1 Books...................................................................................103
3.5.2 Websites and Sources for Skills Training.......................104

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IAP Career College Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant

4. Getting Hired for Subcontract Work...............................................105

4.1 Who Hires Subcontractors.........................................................107
4.1.1 Solo Virtual Assistants......................................................107
4.1.2 Virtual Assistant Staffing Agencies.................................108
4.2 How to Find Subcontracting and Telecommute
Opportunities...............................................................................109
4.2.1 Advertised Positions.........................................................109
4.2.2 Unadvertised Positions.....................................................113
4.3 Job-Hunting Materials................................................................116
4.3.1 Your Resume......................................................................116
4.3.2 Cover Letters......................................................................127
4.3.3 Other Materials..................................................................131
4.4 Job Interviews..............................................................................134
4.4.1 How to Prepare for an Interview....................................134
4.4.2 Interview Questions..........................................................138
4.4.3 Following Up.....................................................................142
4.5 The Job Offer................................................................................143
4.5.1 Salary...................................................................................143
4.5.2 Deciding Whether to Take the Job...................................144

5. Starting Your Own Business............................................................146

5.1 Getting Started.............................................................................148
5.1.1 Creating a Business Plan..................................................148
5.1.2 Choosing a Business Legal Structure..............................156
5.1.3 Choosing a Business Name..............................................162
5.1.4 Choosing Your Location...................................................163
5.2 Financial Matters.........................................................................166
5.2.1 Start-up and Operating Expenses...................................166
5.2.2 Start-up Financing.............................................................173

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5.2.3 Taxes....................................................................................181
5.2.4 Insurance.............................................................................184
5.2.5 Setting Your Fees................................................................187
5.2.6 Getting Paid........................................................................196
5.3 Working with Support Staff.......................................................205
5.3.1 Employees versus Contractors........................................205
5.3.2 Finding Support Staff........................................................207
5.3.3 The Interview Process.......................................................208
5.3.4 References...........................................................................210

6. Marketing Your Business..................................................................213

6.1 Choose Your Target Markets......................................................214
6.2 Marketing Tools...........................................................................216
6.2.1 Printed Materials...............................................................216
6.2.2 Your Portfolio.....................................................................221
6.2.3 Your Website.......................................................................228
6.2.4 Social Media ......................................................................234
6.2.5 Your Elevator Pitch............................................................239
6.3 Marketing Techniques................................................................244
6.3.1 Online Marketing..............................................................244
6.3.2 Paid Advertising................................................................248
6.3.3 Free Media Publicity.........................................................253
6.3.4 Networking........................................................................259
6.3.5 Promotional Events...........................................................263
6.4 Selling Your Services...................................................................269
6.4.1 Contacting Your Target Market.......................................269
6.4.2 Meeting with a Prospective Client..................................275
6.4.3 Preparing a Proposal.........................................................279

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6.5 Client Contracts...........................................................................284

Concluding Thoughts..............................................................................291

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About the Author

Jennifer Fishberg is a freelance writer based in New Jersey. She holds
a Master’s degree in counseling psychology from Rutgers University
and a B.A. in psychology from Douglass College/Rutgers University. 
Jennifer has counseled students and alumni on resume writing,
networking, job search strategies, and other career planning and
development issues at Rutgers Office of Career Services, where she
worked as a graduate intern. Her background also includes extensive
experience in the publishing field, where she managed research
content for numerous guidebooks on education and career-related
topics including scholarships, summer programs for kids & teens,
services for students with learning disabilities, and executive education
programs. Jennifer is also author of the IAP Career College Guide to
Become a Career Coach. Jen offers professional resume writing services
through her website, Career Karma.

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IAP Career College Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant

Acknowledgements
Thank you to the following experts (listed alphabetically) for
generously sharing virtual assistant industry information or business
advice in this IAP Career College guide. Opinions expressed in this
guide are those of the author or editors and not necessarily those of
experts interviewed for this guide.

• Janet Barclay, MVA • Robin A. Holstein, BS, AS,

Organized Assistant CPS/CAP
Golden Horseshoe Virtual Robin’s Desktop Virtual
Assistants Group Administrative Services
• Erin Blaskie • Melanie Jocson
BSETC Virtual Partners Group, Inc.
• Tya Bolton • Kate V. Kerans
CEO/Administrative Kerans Virtual Assistance
Extraordinaire!
Exceptional Business Solutions, • Stephanie Lee
LLC Ops On Call

• Andrea Cannavina • Dawn Martinello

Legal Assistant * Master VA Monday Morning VA
LegalTypist, Inc.
• Suzanne Roy
• Sheila Edens-Brown V.A. Work
Virtual Admin Professionals
• Marla Regan
• Kathy Goughenour Organized Time
President, Head Trainer and Coach
Expert VA Training

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 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant

1. Introduction
1.1 A Career as a Virtual Assistant
Congratulations on taking the first step toward a rewarding new career
as a virtual assistant! Behind many of today’s economic challenges,
such as corporate downsizing and the trend toward outsourcing, lies
enormous opportunity for those with the creativity, technology savvy,
and desire to tap into it. It takes vision to imagine yourself in the roles
of entrepreneur and partner in business instead of employee, and
courage to act on that dream.

One key to a successful transition is to arm yourself with the facts,

skills, and advice of those who have already traveled the path you are
beginning. The IAP Career College Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant is
designed to be your guide along this path to a successful career in this
fast-growing field, and to help you avoid the potential pitfalls along the
way.

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IAP Career College Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant

In this guide, you will learn what virtual assistants do, how much they
earn, who they work for, and how they find clients. You will also gain
an understanding of how to leverage your skills and experience to
tap into a niche market, how to develop new skills to make you more
marketable, and where to find the resources you need to help you grow
your business. So let’s get started!

1.1.1 What Is a Virtual Assistant?

Ask any successful CEO or business owner how they got where they
are and, if they’re honest, they’ll probably tell you that they could never
have done it without a fantastic administrative assistant and support
staff. A great assistant is typically highly organized, skilled in utilizing
the latest technology, and has an ability to anticipate what is needed
and make the boss look good to his or her colleagues and clients. It’s
clear why someone with these traits would be in high demand.

Unfortunately, there are also many administrative assistants who work

tirelessly for years in support of others for little financial reward or
appreciation, spend countless hours commuting to an office in addition
to working long hours, and are never valued for their contributions.
They may be thought of as “just a secretary” or “typist”, which is usually
far from reality, and may not be given the opportunity to grow in their
career or to focus on those aspects of the job that they truly enjoy. If
any of these scenarios sound familiar, or even if you’re happy in your
current administrative position and are just seeking new challenges,
more flexibility in your schedule, or are concerned about your company
downsizing, becoming a virtual assistant could be right for you.

Virtual assistants have the satisfaction of doing what they love and
contributing to the success of their clients while experiencing the
financial rewards and freedom of entrepreneurship. According to
the International Virtual Assistants Association, a professional
organization dedicated to educating and promoting the interests of
individuals in the virtual assistance profession:

“A Virtual Assistant (VA) is an independent entrepreneur providing

administrative, creative and/or technical services. Utilizing advanced
technological modes of communication and data delivery, a
professional VA assists clients in his/her area of expertise from his/her
own office on a contractual basis.”

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Virtual Assistant, Telecommuter, Freelancer:

Is There a Difference?
The short answer is yes! Because virtual assisting is still a relatively
new field, you’ll likely get a few quizzical looks from people who are
unfamiliar with the term when you try to explain what you do. Some
may associate the term with the animated paper clip character that
pops up in older versions of Microsoft Word (to provide document
writing assistance or annoyance, depending on your perspective).
Others may assume that this is just another term for anyone who does
freelance work or works from home. While a virtual assistant does
generally work from a home office, running a virtual assisting business
should not be confused with telecommuting (sometimes called “remote
working”), a practice which began more than 20 years ago and has
grown in popularity in the corporate world in recent years, in particular
with the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Telecommuters typically work for one company, either full- or part-

time, but do so from their home or another remote location. The
numbers of people telecommuting has increased exponentially in the
last 20 years, with about 18% of workers reporting working remotely
at least once a week in 2019. This percentage spiked to as high as
70% remote working full-time at the height of the global COVID-19
pandemic in 2020-2021, creating a new work-from-home “normal”.
According to a recent Upwork survey, almost 42% of workers continue
to telecommute post-pandemic, and it’s expected that 25% will continue
to be working remotely in 2025. Some telecommuters, especially those
whose work requires regular communication and interaction with
colleagues or the public, work a regular 9 to 5 schedule. Others may
work a flexible schedule within pre-determined company guidelines.
Telecommuters may be administrative assistants, IT professionals,
marketing professionals, or hold any number of titles within the
company. The common thread is that they often have a single job
function (e.g. computer programmer) and are regular employees of an
organization, not contract workers.

Freelancers may also work remotely, or they may work on-site for
one or more companies on a contractual basis. They are not officially
employees of the companies for which they provide services and are
often hired on a per project basis or for a predetermined length of time.
Like with telecommuting, the numbers of people working freelance has

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IAP Career College Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant

risen exponentially in the last few decades. According to Upwork, 36%

of the American workforce now consider themselves freelancers. And
while this trend has also been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic,
it had already been developing as companies cut costs by shedding full-
time, permanent posts and shifting to lower cost contract workers. They
may be writers, editors, web designers, researchers, or work in any
number of other professions. They typically focus on one type of service
or a group of related services (writing, editing, and proofreading,
for example) rather than offering a diverse array of services. Many
freelancers work part-time to supplement their income from another
job, though there is an increasing trend in the current economy toward
full-time freelance work.

So what makes virtual assistance unique? One thing that distinguishes

a virtual assistant from a telecommuter or freelancer is that while they
may have a specialty on which they focus, they also provide a variety
of administrative support services in addition to that specialty. These
services may vary based on the individual client’s needs, as well as
the VA’s experience. The required range of support services may also
evolve over time as the client’s company grows and changes, making
the virtual assistant a collaborator, and sometimes advisor, in addition
to someone who just carries out assigned tasks. A virtual assistant is not
an employee, but rather an active partner with a stake in the success
and growth of their clients’ businesses – this requires a completely
different approach and mindset than administrative work in the non-
virtual world.

Virtual assistants can also be distinguished from telecommuters and

freelancers in that they more commonly establish long-term business
relationships with clients to provide ongoing services. They may be
paid per hour, per project, or may work on a monthly retainer basis.

1.1.2 Services Provided by a Virtual Assistant

Specific services and specializations will vary based on the virtual
assistant’s personal experience and business model. For example, some
virtual assistants choose to subcontract work to other virtual assistants
in areas where they have less experience or less interest, or they may
accept subcontract work from another virtual assistant who may not
have expertise in a particular area.

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Typical VA services might include any or all of the following:

• Accounting and bookkeeping

• Appointment setting

• Billing

• Collections

• Concierge service

• Contact management

• Customer service

• Data entry

• Database design and management

• Desktop publishing

• Document translation

• Editing & proofreading

• Event & meeting planning

• Executive assistance

• Graphic design

• Human resources services

• Legal secretarial services

• Medical billing and transcription

• Newsletters

• Online marketing & social media

• Programming

• Project management

• Public relations

• Real estate virtual assistance

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• Research

• Transcription

• Travel arrangements

• Technical writing

• Website design & maintenance

• Word processing

Pretty impressive list! And this is by no means an exhaustive one. If you

have skills in other areas, knowledge of particular software packages,
computer programming languages, or services you have experience in
providing for a past employer that could be offered virtually, this could
help you to stand out from the crowd. It may even become a profitable
niche for you (more on choosing a niche in Chapter 2).

1.1.3 Who Utilizes Virtual Assistants?

In addition to offering a diverse array of services, virtual assistants work
with clients across many different industries and with businesses of
varying sizes and needs. Some are small businesses without the office
space, budget, or workload to maintain an on-site staff. Others may be
larger organizations seeking to cut back on expenses by limiting spending
on employee benefits, tax contributions, and equipment purchases.

Several examples of the types of clients for which virtual assistants

typically work are listed below.

Self-employed Individuals and Small Business Owners

• Authors and journalists

• Coaches, counselors, and therapists

• Real estate professionals

• Medical and law practices

• Financial planners and advisors

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Larger Organizations
• Corporations that are downsizing

• Companies with short-term projects

• Companies seeking a specialized skill set

• Hospitals

• Universities

• Professional associations

• Nonprofits

1.2 The History and Growth of

Virtual Assistance
While there is some disagreement over exactly who established the
field of virtual assistance, and you will likely read accounts on the
Internet of several individuals claiming the title of “founder”, most
sources agree that individuals began providing administrative services
virtually in the early 90s, when the first VA websites and associations
began to appear. Timothy Ferriss’ bestselling The 4-Hour Workweek,
originally published in 2007, extolled the use of virtual assistants for
saving time and money and working more efficiently, and the industry
has grown exponentially since then.

Time is Money: Benefits of Outsourcing

Today, with flexible and remote working gaining in popularity,
individuals and corporate hiring managers everywhere are recognizing
the value of outsourcing the tasks that are outside their areas of
expertise or interest, and focusing on those things that are profitable
and that they do well. Good news for aspiring virtual assistants!

Recent figures from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

suggest that the average small business operator spends 40% of
their time on administrative tasks. So for small business owners and
individuals who are self-employed, virtual assistants can help eliminate
some of the long hours spent on routine daily tasks and allow them to
focus on the revenue-generating aspects of their business. They may

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IAP Career College Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant

also provide needed expertise and flexibility to work on special projects

as they arise.

There are other cost savings that are appealing to companies as well.
According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau
of Labor Statistics, employers pay an average of an additional 35-40%
above wages for employee benefits including health insurance, paid
leave (vacation, holiday, sick, and personal time), and retirement
contributions.

The Virtual Assistant Networking Association Cost Comparison

indicates that employers can save as much as $60,000 per year by hiring
a virtual assistant instead of a full-time employee. These are some
impressive figures to keep handy when explaining the cost benefits of
your service to potential clients! For companies facing financial crisis in
the current economy, utilizing the services of a virtual assistant instead
of hiring full-time staff can mean the difference between staying in
business and becoming yet another statistic.

The Future of the Virtual Workforce

Clearly the way companies do business is changing, and workers are
learning to adapt to the changing marketplace. While the height of the
COVID-19 pandemic saw over a third of the American workforce —
that’s roughly 59 million workers — doing freelance work, this trend
was already developing before the pandemic. According to Upwork’s
annual Freelance Forward study, while this is a 22% increase from
pre-pandemic numbers, is has also come as a result of younger and
highly-skilled professionals seeking flexible alternatives to traditional
employment.

So how many of these 59 million workers are virtual assistants? There

are currently no formal numbers due to varying definitions of the term
“virtual assistant” among other things, but estimates range anywhere
from the thousands to the hundreds of thousands worldwide. One
statistic that might help put virtual assisting into perspective — Statista
reports that in 2019, the global outsourced services market was worth
$92.5 billion, up from $85.6 billion the year before. While virtual
assisting is not the only type of outsourced service, it is clearly one part
of an exploding global industry.

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Because virtual assistance is a relatively new field, and because it

can encompass such a variety of job functions and tasks, the U.S.
Department of Labor does not list statistics on its predicted growth.
However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook
Handbook does specifically mention virtual assistants under the
category of Secretaries and Administrative Assistants; secretaries
and administrative assistants work in nearly every industry. Most
secretaries and administrative assistants work in an office setting. Some
administrative assistants may work out of their own homes as virtual
assistants.

Growing industries for administrative assistants include:

• Healthcare and social assistance

• Legal

• Construction

• Educational Services

• Professional, scientific, and technical services

Based on the predicted need for administrative assistants and related

fields, it is clear that virtual assisting represents an area with enormous
growth potential.

1.3 Benefits of Being a Virtual Assistant

There are many reasons why virtual assistance continues to grow in
popularity as a career option. Some of the benefits include:

Helping Others
Many virtual assistants are drawn to the field because they have a
sincere desire to use their organizational skills and expertise to help
people run more efficient and profitable businesses. Virtual assisting
can be extremely satisfying in this regard since you can see the
immediate and measurable results of your work with clients. It is a
tangible way of making a difference not only in your clients’ bottom
line, but in the quality of their day-to-day lives.

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IAP Career College Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant

“Great VAs are true experts in the target markets they service and the
skills they provide. They also act as consultants. By that I mean, they
provide recommendations on how best to achieve their clients’ goals,
and they offer suggestions on additional ways to increase their clients’
income and happiness with their lives and businesses.”
— K
 athy Goughenour, President, Head Trainer
and Coach, Expert VA Training

Flexibility and Independence

This freedom to choose the types of work and clients accepted, and the
flexibility of creating a schedule that fits one’s lifestyle is what attracts
many people to the virtual assistance field. A recent survey indicated
that among more than 750 respondents, over 79% started their VA
business because of a desire for flexible hours – this was ranked well
above money as a motivating factor. VAs can work full- or part-time
during any hours they choose. Over 60% of respondents to the survey
indicated that they do not keep traditional 9 to 5, Monday to Friday
work hours.

Virtual assistants may also choose to work independently or

subcontract for other VAs. The flexibility of working from a home
office also eliminates the tiresome and costly daily commute from their
routine, enabling more time to be spent with family and doing the
things they love.

As a VA, you also have the freedom to choose a niche that you have
a particular interest in. The options are unlimited. Tya Bolton, virtual
assistant and founder of Maryland-based Exceptional Business
Solutions, manages a team of 10 VAs.

“You have control of your destiny! I always ask our VAs what they
enjoy most and what they truly dislike. That helps me to match them
up with clients and assign worthwhile work. You should be able to
look forward to the work you do when you’re in business for yourself.
Gone are the days of being a miserable employee; take control!”
– Tya Bolton, Exceptional Business Solutions

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Challenge and Variety

Because they work with many different types of clients in different
industries, and because they never know what projects may arise,
virtual assistants have the unique challenge of keeping up-to-date on
emerging trends in many different areas. This includes keeping up with
new technologies that can be utilized to assist their clients.

In terms of running your own business, there is the added task of

keeping up with new marketing techniques and getting the word about
your services out to potential clients. For those who are easily bored
with the same old day-to-day routine, being a virtual assistant offers
a continued opportunity for learning. Many virtual assistants say that
there is no such thing as a “typical day” for a VA!

“A great virtual assistant has a thirst for knowledge, is constantly

learning new things, and shares that knowledge with his or her
clients by making recommendations to enhance the client’s business.
There are so many rewards, including the flexibility to create my own
schedule, and the knowledge that I don’t have to do the same old work
day after day. But perhaps most rewarding is being able to constantly
learn and apply new technical and creative skills.”
— J anet Barclay, Founder of Organized Assistant and
Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants Group

Income Potential
Virtual assistance is a field with a great deal of income potential –
more than 30% of new VAs had their first client within only a month.
Including those VAs who had prearranged clients before starting
their business and those who had their first client within 3 months,
that number jumps to nearly 80% — encouraging numbers for a new
business owner seeking to turn a profit as quickly as possible.

Virtual assistants typically earn a higher per hour wage than an

administrative assistant performing similar tasks in a traditional
office setting. Because businesses don’t have to pay many of the costs
associated with hiring on-site staff, this savings is reflected in the
hourly rate that a VA can charge. Your fees as a VA will vary based on
your specialization, level of experience, and unique skills, as well as the
industry and types of clients you are targeting.

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Some VAs earn over $100 per hour – but more typically the range falls
somewhere between $25 and $60 per hour. Virtual assistants who offer
general office support services only are more likely to earn toward the
lower end of the scale, while those who have experience in specialized
areas such as internet marketing, web design, medical, legal, or real
estate fields typically charge higher fees.

“When determining what rate you should expect to make, it is always

advisable to understand that your time is more valuable than you may
think!  Something that may only take you 30 minutes to complete may
take them 4 hours – you should remember to charge accordingly. Your
knowledge and skill is extremely valuable!”
– Suzanne Roy, Real Estate Virtual Assistant, V.A. Work

Many VAs generate additional income by earning a percentage from

client work they subcontract out to a team of other virtual assistants.

“I have no trouble finding new VA clients, but do have a big problem

overbooking myself to the point where I was working 7 days a week,
12 to 14 hours a day for about a year. Ridiculous!  I finally figured
out that by outsourcing to other VAs I could still earn money without
having to do the majority of the work.”
– Kathy Goughenour, Expert VA Training

Low Start-up Costs

Office space, staff, inventory, supplies, expensive marketing campaigns…
these are just a few of the costly headaches that many new business
owners have to deal with. A major benefit of starting a virtual assistance
business is that many of these typical expenses can be greatly minimized
by using the many free resources that are available (you will find many
of them listed throughout this guide).

As the title “virtual” assistant indicates, much of the VAs work can
be done on a computer either utilizing software or online resources.
Files can be stored electronically. Paperwork is minimized. This helps
to eliminate the need for storage space and excessive supplies. Many
virtual assistants make an effort to keep their businesses as green as
possible, benefiting both their bottom line and the environment.

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1.4 Inside This Guide

The IAP Career College Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant will take you
step-by-step through the process of transitioning from employee to
business owner, from learning what virtual assistants do, to finding
resources to meet your educational and practical needs, and learning
techniques for building and running a successful virtual assistance
business. You’ll also find sample forms and contracts you can adapt for
use with your clients. The guide is arranged as follows:

Chapter 2 (What a Virtual Assistant Does) explains the importance of

choosing a niche and how to choose the right one for you. Once you’ve
decided who you want to work with and what services you enjoy
providing, this chapter also details how to do a client consultation, and
how to establish and maintain a positive VA/client relationship. You’ll
also learn helpful techniques for structuring your business policies
and procedures, and how to organize your day to maximize your “you
time” as well as your billable hours.

Once you understand the basics of what a virtual assistant does,

Chapter 3 (Getting Ready) will help you discover the many opportunities,
both formal and informal, that exist for learning and practicing the
skills you’ll need to be a great virtual assistant. This chapter covers
suggested areas of study for those interested in pursuing a college or
university degree or certificate program, the value of VA certification
programs, and how to find a mentor. Chapter 3 also suggests ways you
can hone your skills in your current profession and through volunteer
activities.

If you want to try virtual assistance on for size before starting your own
business, or if you’re just looking to supplement your new business
or provide an added income stream, subcontracting could be for you.
Chapter 4 (Getting Hired for Subcontract Work) will provide you with
information on how subcontracting works and where to find these
opportunities.

Starting a new business venture can be exciting, but it can also be

overwhelming if you aren’t informed about the process. Chapter 5
(Starting Your Own Business) will provide you with guidelines and all
the resources you need to start your virtual assistance business, from
the legal formalities to how to choose a business name and create your

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fee structure. This chapter also provides a sample contract you can use
with clients.

You don’t need a degree in marketing or a big publicity budget to

attract business. Chapter 6 (Getting Clients) offers lots of ideas on how
to reach out to the target market you identified in Chapter 2. There are
many free and low cost options for designing and hosting your website,
social media marketing, and writing and distributing press releases –
this chapter will show you where to find them. Chapter 6 will also offer
some tips to help take the anxiety out of networking and make the most
of this extremely effective marketing tool.

Each chapter also contains relevant practical advice from the many
virtual administrative professionals and trainers with experience in
many different specializations, such as real estate virtual assistance
and legal virtual assistance, who generously shared their time and
insights with us. You will learn what these now successful virtual
support providers wish they’d known when they were where you are
right now, what challenges and rewards you can expect to face as you
grow your business, and what steps you can start taking today to be an
outstanding VA with the thriving business of your dreams.

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2. What a Virtual Assistant Does

So now we know that virtual assistants work as partners in success
with their clients, not as employees for their clients. They utilize their
administrative, organizational, technical, management, marketing, and
creative skills to help their clients build and run successful businesses.
But exactly how do they go about doing that? What does a typical day
look like for a VA?

Most virtual assistants will tell you that there is no such thing as a
typical day, which is actually part of what attracts so many people to
this profession. Every day brings interesting new challenges, priorities,
and opportunities. But while the actual tasks may differ day by day, and
depending on the client and your specialization, there is a great deal of
commonality in the processes by which you will approach the tasks. In
this chapter we will examine some of the most important processes that
virtual assistants use to manage their day-to-day operations, as well
as suggestions on how to foster the mindset of a business owner, and
good communication with clients.

The specifics of how to conduct an initial client consultation are also

covered in this chapter, along with several key questions to ask – the

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client and yourself – before taking on a new assignment. Our experts

have contributed some great, insightful questions to help you weed out
the potential successful partnerships from the potential headaches. As
one of our experienced VAs so aptly put it – it is often in your best
interest to avoid the temptation to work with “anyone who has a
checkbook and a pulse” and to instead find clients with whom you can
create a productive, mutually-beneficial working relationship.

While some of the experts we interviewed suggested starting as a

generalist in order to determine what you most enjoy doing, the
overwhelming majority stressed the importance of choosing a niche as
early on in the process as possible. So whether you decide to specialize
right from the start or later on, let’s begin by looking at some potential
niche areas, including specializations that appear to offer growth
potential.

2.1 Choosing Your Niche

“Having a niche gives you a very specific group to target and
ultimately service which builds trust and credibility over time.
Growth is more viral when you have a niche market or a niche set of
services.”
— Tya Bolton,
Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC

Kathy Goughenour, a virtual assistant trainer and coach, encourages

beginning virtual assistants to invest some serious time and thought
into determining their best fit niche. She provides the following steps
as a guideline:

1. Determine who you enjoy working with.

2. Identify the skills you enjoy performing.

3. Do your research to determine which target market that fits

#1 is willing and able to pay the most. That’s your target market.

4.   Perform research to determine which skills that fit #2 will earn
you the most money, whether that means you can bring in the
most clients or charge the most for the skills. Those are the skills
you should provide.

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So let’s examine this further and break it down into categories. A virtual
assistant’s specialization can fall into two general categories, though
some may choose a sub-specialty within that niche:

• Clients who work in a particular industry

• A specific skill or area of expertise

Some VAs use a combination of these areas to create a unique

specialization, such as social media and internet marketing (skill
area) for coaches/counselors/therapists (industry-specific). Others
may choose to become experts on a particular industry-specific type
of software, such as fundraising databases (skill area) for nonprofits
(industry-specific).

The more you can individualize your niche, the more you will stand
out from the crowd and the better equipped you will be to connect with
and help your clients. As you read this section, begin to think about
ways you can use what you already know and enjoy doing to capitalize
on your experience.

2.1.1 Specializing in a Specific Industry

Since many virtual assistants have built an industry-specific knowledge
base by accumulating years of administrative experience in a particular
field, they often choose to utilize this expertise in their VA business by
working with individuals who share this background. If your chosen
niche is a particular industry, you will use your existing network of
contacts, as well as your inside knowledge of the skills, priorities,
and industry-specific networking opportunities to give your clients’
business an advantage. Specializing in an industry in which you have
extensive experience allows your clients to feel as if they are working
with someone who truly understands their unique needs and the
language of their industry.

Here are several examples of industry niches that currently represent

growth areas for virtual assistants according to our expert contributors:

• Law & legal services professionals

• Real estate professionals

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• Coaches (e.g. life coach, relationship coach, or career coach)

• Therapists and counselors

• Healthcare & medical professionals

• Authors & speakers

2.1.2 Specializing in a Specific Skill

“Don’t be a jack of all trades. Pick one skill, software or task that you
truly enjoy doing (as you’ll be doing A LOT of it) and are proficient
with and seriously narrow down your marketing to that one superb
skill/software/task.”
— A
 ndrea Cannavina,
LegalTypist

Consider your own skills and background. Are you particularly good
at writing or do you have a keen eye for detail? Perhaps a writing,
editing, and proofreading specialization would maximize your skills.
Are you fluent in the latest social media or do you have a background
in marketing? Then maybe a specialization in internet marketing or
branding (establishing an individual or business’ unique marketing
presence) is for you. Remember, specializing in a skill doesn’t mean
that’s all you’ll do for the client – a VA differs from other freelancers
because they are not just marketers or writers – they also provide
general administrative support. However, having expertise in a
particular skill, or computer software package, can really help set your
business apart, and can also ensure that you spend a good part of your
day doing tasks that you enjoy.

The following list includes several skill specializations that our

contributing experts suggested are currently in greatest demand for
virtual assistants:

• Writing and editing (may be even more specific, such as online

content, newsletters, or technical writing)

• Shopping cart program/e-commerce set-up

• Social media/social networking

• Marketing

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• Virtual event planning (webinars and video conferencing)

• Website design & graphic design

2.2 Tools of the Trade

Section 5.2 of this guide will provide you with a basic list of what a
well-stocked home office will need, including a computer or a laptop
(or both) with a camera and a microphone and a basic operating system
(Windows, OS), printer/scanner/copier (all-in-ones are handy and
fairly cheap these days), a high-speed internet connection, and good
ergonomic office furniture to prevent chronic pain or injuries from
prolonged usage.

Obviously, as a virtual assistant providing office support you will need

to have some basic software installed on your computer that will be
compatible with the majority of your clients’ systems: Microsoft 365
(formerly Office), Adobe Reader at minimum (Standard or Professional
versions if you plan to do more advanced work, such as forms design),
popular email programs like Outlook and Gmail, presentation software
(PowerPoint is included in Microsoft 365), and some type of accounting
software such as Quicken, QuickBooks or Freshbooks (these are
discussed in more detail in Section 3.1.2).

Take the time to delve deep into what the different software packages
can do, so you are not stuck trying to figure it out when you are “on
the clock” for a client. This includes, for example, looking at all the
programs available in Microsoft 365 and not just Word and Excel
thinking that is all you’ll ever use!

If you have knowledge of the Mac (OS) environment and are

specializing in this, or lean towards the more creative/design-oriented
industries where Mac usage is more common, you should also become
familiar with the basic OS programs like Apple Pages, Numbers,
and Keynote, as well as some of the most commonly used creative
applications. You will be highly sought after if you can easily swap back
and forth between the Windows and OS operating systems, especially
if you have the savvy to easily convert Apple files to Windows, and vice
versa.

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But before you drop a whole lot of money on additional expensive

hardware or software in an effort to maximize your service offerings
for clients, there are plenty of free (or low-cost) resources available
online you should also familiarize yourself with, for instance Google
Workspace and Open Office. Not to mention all of the productivity and
organization apps that are available for mobile devices!

Sometimes too many options can be overwhelming, especially if you’re

just starting out. If the the number of software tools mentioned in this
section makes your head spin and you’re not sure what you really need
just yet, consider trying a few of the resources listed below for starters.

Design
Adobe has set the standard here with programs such as InDesign,
Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver. These programs can be
pricey, but if you plan on doing a lot of work with graphics and web
design, they may be a wise investment for you (if your budget allows).
Free trial versions of all of the above products are available to download
through the Adobe website.

If you’re looking for alternatives, there are also some great free
downloads and online tools available out there that offer many of the
same features, including the following:

• GIMP
If you want to delve into the world of image editing but aren’t
ready to invest the big bucks in Photoshop, GIMP is a popular
free alternative. It’s available for Windows, OS and Linux. Lots of
tutorials and free help available too.

• Canva
Canva is a free online graphic design program that allows you
to easily edit photos and create a wide variety of items, ranging
from business cards to social media posts, without needing
any previous design or photo editing experience. Courses and
tutorials are available, as well as a huge array of templates.

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Video Conferencing
• Zoom
Hold online video conference calls, events, trainings, etc.
with clients around the world from your computer, tablet or
smartphone. Includes features like screen sharing, chat and
recording functions, calendar syncing, and more. Free for the basic
service, with payment options to open up more functionality.

There are some competitors to Zoom in common usage in

professional settings that it would be good to familiarize yourself
with, including Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex, and
Skype.

Transcription
• Otter.ai
There are plenty of speech to text tools out there these days,
but artificial intelligence transcribing tools are becoming more
popular and can be quite inexpensive, saving you hours of
frustrating transcription by hand. Otter.ai is free for basic services,
with payment packages for additional minutes and other features.

Remote Desktop Access

• LogMeIn
Access and manage PCs, Macs, and wireless devices remotely.
Also includes LastPass, a password management application,
that’s very handy.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

CRM software helps businesses manage information about their
clients, their strategic partners, their suppliers, etc. In addition to
maintaining contact information and communication, CRM software
tracks client data, such as purchasing or usage (or any other categories
you choose), and provides analysis and reporting to improve your sales
and marketing efforts. While this is not software you will likely buy
yourself (unless you find it useful for your own business), it would be
good to have a familiarity with some of the most widely used CRM
systems.

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• Salesforce
By the far the most well-known of this type of cloud database
management system. They have excellent training materials
available through their website, many of which are free when you
register with “Trailhead”.

• Zoho CRM
Consistently receives top praise as a strong competitor to
Salesforce. It is particularly appealing to businesses that use other
Zoho business products (Projects and Books, for instance, which
are also popular products), because it provides familiarity and
easy integration. One particular advantage is that there’s a Free
Edition available, which would allow you to explore what CRM
software can do.

• Blackbaud (Raiser’s Edge)

A CRM tool designed specifically for donor and fundraising
management for non-profits. Blackbaud is intended for large
non-profits, while Raiser’s Edge is meant for smaller to mid-sized
non-profits. The website provides various levels of training and
support depending on your need and budget.

File Conversion
• Zamzar
Free file conversion without any software download required.
This site is fantastic for converting PDF documents into Word
(not as easy as the other way around!), or any number of other
file types, including just about every document, image, video,
and audio file type you can think of. A link to your converted
document is emailed to you, usually within a few minutes. The
free version allows you to convert 2 files of up to 50 MB each per
day; paid versions give you unlimited conversions per day with
increased file size up to 2 GB.

Project & Time Management

• Basecamp
There are many time-tracking and remote working programs
out there, but the beauty of this system is its ability to integrate
and optimize workflow. Easy to use, secure, and with many great

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features to help you keep your work on track. You can sign up
for the Personal option for free; the Business option is a flat fee
per month with a free 30-day trial available. Competitors for
Basecamp that you will want to be familiar with include Trello
and Asana.

• Slack
While some might put Slack into the same category as Basecamp,
it is more of a collaborative messaging application, rather than
straight up project management software. But it is quickly gaining
popularity, particularly in corporate and tech environments, so
it’s an app you should become familiar with.

• Work OS
Task management software to plan, manage and monitor
workflow from monday.com. Available for computers and
devices. Free plan available for individuals; paid plans include
additional features. 14-day free trial.

• Calendly
A meeting scheduling app that allows meeting participants
to schedule a meeting via a URL, links to whatever calendar
software you are using, and sends meeting reminders. It can save
a lot of emailing back and forth time when scheduling meetings!

• Chrometa
Automatically tracks and records time spent on tasks including
documents, emails, meetings, phone calls, and other applications
without any manual data entry required – which means one less
task for you to spend time on. Great for freelancers or remote
workers. Potentially increases billable hours by accounting for
previously undocumented time. Individual packages from $19 to
$49 per month.

• TimeAndDate.com
Free time zone and date calculators, international dialing codes,
and other useful planning tools.

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Online File Editing, Storage and Sharing

If you use Microsoft Office, you will have Microsoft’s cloud storage
program OneDrive as part of the package. Other commonly used cloud
storage and sharing programs include:

• Google Drive
Cloud storage linked to Google Workspace that allows you
to create, edit, share, and store web-based documents, forms,
spreadsheets, and presentations in all of the most popular file
formats (DOC, XLS, PPT, CSV just to name a few) that can be
accessed from any computer or device through the Google
interface or sent via email. Allows collaboration by multiple
users in real time. Completely free – you just need to sign up for
a Google account. If you already have gmail, just go to the above
website and log in – you’re ready to go!

• DropBox
Another option where you can save and share files, either with
linked folders or shared hyperlinks. Can be accessed either
through the DropBox website or a DropBox folder on your
computer, tablet or smartphone. The free version allows for
2 GB of storage and access for up to 4 devices; there are multiple
paid plans for individuals and businesses that increase storage
and number of devices from there.

Email Marketing
• Mailchimp
Email marketing engine that allows you to send newsletters and
other email campaigns to up to 2,000 contacts for free (paid plans
allow for larger contact lists). Includes a lot of great features like
contact registration and management, easy-to-use templates,
reporting, automation, and list segmentation.

• Constant Contact
Mailchimp’s biggest competitor for email marketing. Plans start at
$20/month. Compared to Mailchimp, Constant Contact a bit more
user friendly and has more template options, but more expensive
with less flexibility and features.

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Social Media Management

Many businesses rely on social media for marketing these days, it will
be useful for you to familiarize yourself with the most popular social
media apps (more on this in Section 6.2.4) and also with some of the
most used social media management tools.

• Hootsuite
Social media management platform with a dashboard that
allows you to see and interact with multiple social media
accounts simultaneously. Also includes scheduling, tracking and
advertising functions. Plans start at $49/month.

• Buffer
Alternative to Hootsuite with similar functions and a free basic
option, as well as multiple paid plans with additional features.

Website
• WordPress
Popular and highly customizable website builder. According to
their website, “42% of the Internet is built on WordPress,” so it’s a
good place to start learning about how to create a website. Plenty
of support available, including webinars, expert tips, and paid
courses. You can use WordPress for free (it’s open source), though
they also offers paid plans that include domain registration and
hosting, additional support, a variety of themes and plugins,
and ecommerce options so your website can do more and be ad-
free. Competitors to WordPress include Wix, Squarespace and
Leadpages.

• Google Analytics
Free tools that allow you to track and report on various “metrics”,
such as visitors to your website and what they’re clicking on, to
better understand and analyze your marketing efforts.

• Shopify
Need to set up a shopping cart for your client’s website in a
hurry? Shopify is easy to use, secure and fully featured with
every imaginable option. Plans start at $29.99/month and go up to
$299/month, depending on your ecommerce needs. There’s also a

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“Lite” plan for $9/month. Free 14-day trial available. Competitors

for Shopify include Square Online and BigCommerce.

Marketing Products
Depending on your specialization and target market, you might find it
useful to know what programs are out there to create and sell digital
marketing products, like how to publish ebooks or create online
trainings or courses.

• Teachable
Course creation platform that helps people build and sell online
courses and coaching services. Lots of support, including an
extensive knowledge base, examples, and webinars on creating
content. Plans start t $29/month, with a free trial available.

• Kindle Direct Publishing

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (or KDP) is an online
publishing platform that allows an author to self-publish for
free in ebook format or paperback (the paperback is printed “on
demand” and the cost is subtracted from your royalties). Also
provides additional features like marketing optimization and
distribution support.

• DPD
Digital publishing platform that helps creators sell digital content
like ebooks, software, music, etc. online securely and copyright
protected. Competition for DPD includes SimpleGoods, Sellwire
and Sellz.

2.3 How to Do a Client Consultation

No matter what marketing techniques you use (covered in Chapter 6),
you can expect to start getting calls and emails from people interested in
using your services. In this section you will find some tips for working
with prospective clients and turning them into paying clients. You’ll
also learn what qualities to look for in a client, as well as potential
warning signs of a client who might not be suited for a virtual assistant.

The initial consultation is offered free of charge and typically lasts

about 30 minutes. It is a time for the client to evaluate you and your

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services, and to ask questions about the process of virtual assistance,

how it works, and what you can do for them and their business. By the
same token, it is a time for you to evaluate whether or not the client is
someone you want to work with, and whether you have the time and
skill set to address their current needs. The initial consultation is the
foundation on which the virtual assistant-client relationship is built.
Kate Kerans, an Alberta, Canada-based paralegal and virtual assistant
focusing on the legal industry offers this advice:

“I think it’s important to ask potential clients to articulate what they

are looking for. Some clients think they need a VA and they don’t;
they need an in-house assistant. Some potential clients have difficulty
defining what their needs are and that can make it problematic to
fulfill those needs.”
— K
 ate Kerans,
Kerans Virtual Assistance

How to Respond to Inquiries

Your first contact with prospective clients will most often be over the
phone or by email, when they initially get in touch with you in response
to your marketing to ask about your services and prices.

For this reason, it is important that phone calls and emails are
responded to quickly and professionally. You should always answer
your telephone in a professional, friendly voice with your company
name. If you’re not available, have your voicemail take a message.

Emails should be responded to promptly. You may want to consider

setting up an autoresponder that will reply back with a default message
stating that you will get back to them in more detail by a designated
time so you don’t feel rushed getting back to people right away. You
may also prefer to respond by phone rather than doing any initial
information-gathering by email, so be sure to get their phone number.

You may want to consider making it a policy to always let calls go to

voicemail and emails to autoresponder, and then get back to people at a
scheduled time of day that you set aside for this purpose, when you are
fully prepared to answer questions and do not have any distractions.
This gives you a chance to familiarize yourself with the potential client’s
website and business so you can ask appropriate questions. It may

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also be helpful for time tracking purposes. If you are on the clock for a
particular client working on a project, it is difficult to bill accurately (not
to mention get any work done!) if you are constantly interrupted with
work that is not related to that client’s business. Later in this chapter we
will review additional suggestions for time management and tracking,
one of the most important components of running a successful VA
business.

Do not allow children or anyone who isn’t involved with your business
to answer your business phone, and be sure to have your voicemail pick
up and email autoresponder on if you are running after a screaming
child or the family dog. If you are using a cell phone, be sure not to
answer it from a noisy public location, while on the treadmill at the
gym, taking care of your barking dog, or from a spot where reception
may be poor. Likewise, don’t try to reply to an email on your phone
while in the midst of other tasks. A harried or cut off response or an
email riddled with spelling and grammatical mistakes do not provide a
good first impression of your business.

When getting back to an inquiry, be prepared at that point to conduct

an initial information-gathering consultation. Phone is preferable here,
or even video conferencing. Email is fine, but you won’t get as good a
feel for the potential client (and vice versa).

When making the call, have a full packet of your promotional materials
on your desk or your website up on your computer screen so you can
refer to them, as well as a copy of your client consultation form (see the
sample form that follows for ideas), and a clear idea of who your ideal
client is (e.g. large business or small, start-up or established, hands-off
or more directive) so you can evaluate whether this is someone you can
(and want to) work with.

Be sure to get all of the client’s contact details during this initial
conversation. Later, you can enter them into your contact management
database if the person becomes a client. You’ll also have them if the
person doesn’t immediately become a client but is someone you wish
to keep in touch with. (Remember to get permission before adding a
prospective client to an email marketing list.)

Members of the public contacting you for the first time will typically
be searching for information about your services and what they cost.

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At least that’s what they’ll be doing on the surface. What they are also
doing, at least in part, is sizing you up and deciding whether or not
they feel comfortable with you. Do you sound confident in what you
have to offer? Can you help them with their specific needs? Do you
seem calm and organized? A successful consultation is all about using
your communication skills effectively. You can use the following list of
dos and don’ts as a guideline:

DO

• Educate the prospective client on what a virtual assistant is and

does if they do not know

• Ask what the prospective client’s expectations are and convey

yours

• Keep the conversation on track to avoid going over the scheduled

time

• Respond clearly and concisely to questions or concerns

• Try to establish rapport by finding common interests or shared

ideas

• Get an overview of the client’s goals, both short- and long-term

• Evaluate their communication style and whether it meshes with

yours

• Be confident in the value of the services you provide

• Let the client know of any special qualifications, experience,

or training you have that relate to their situation (for example,
experience in their industry)

• Be prepared to share success stories and discuss contributions

you have made to other businesses (examples from non-virtual
jobs are great too!)

DON’T

• Interrupt the potential client while they are speaking

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• Use a hard-sell approach

• Do most of the talking or talk about yourself too much

• Try to rush the person into committing

• Pretend to have expertise in an area you are unfamiliar with

• Agree to work with any client you don’t feel comfortable with or
have adequate time for

If they are not ready to make a commitment, it is best to respect that and
not try to push them. The client needs to be confident in the collaborative
process of working with a VA before proceeding. Do, however, follow
up with them at a later time if they have given permission for you to
contact them again.

If the potential client is ready to go forward and is someone you

would like to work with, let them know about payment options (see
Section 5.2.6), and that you will be forwarding them a contract and
confidentiality agreement for their signature.

Appropriate paperwork needs to be completed prior to your beginning

work so that everyone is on the same page regarding the parameters
of the virtual assistance relationship. Even though this may have
been discussed during the initial consultation, the agreement should
be formalized in writing with a contract signed by both parties. The
contract will specify the terms of your relationship, including fees,
policies about confidentiality, and a legal disclaimer (see Chapter 6 for
more information and a sample contract).

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Client Consultation Form

Following is a sample consultation form, which you can modify
as necessary to suit your individual needs. You may wish to use a
shortened version for preliminary phone conversations and email
the potential client the detailed version so they can spend more time
considering their answers.

A consultation form helps you to ensure that you get all the needed
information in a timely and organized manner during your call. This
enables you to screen potential clients that are a good fit for you, and
to better understand their business processes and how you will fit into
them (or perhaps better streamline them going forward).

A consultation form also helps you conduct your initial “needs

assessment”, to determine the scope of the client’s needs, how much
and what type of work it will take from you to do it, who else you may
need to involve (i.e. strategic partners, vendors, another VA, etc.). This
also can help you determine how much to charge, depending on how
you decide to set your fees (see Section 5.2.5).

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Sample Client Consultation Form

CONTACT INFORMATION
Business Name: _______________________________________
Primary Contact: _______________________________________
Street Address: _______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
City/State/Zip: _______________________________________

Phone: ______________________________ (Daytime)
______________________________ (Evening)
Cell: _______________________________________
Website: _______________________________________
Social Media (if applicable): _____________________________

BUSINESS INFORMATION
What type of business do you operate?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

How long have you been in business?

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

What is your work environment like (e.g. is it a home office, are

there many distractions)?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

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Do you work with partners?

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Do you have support staff? In what capacity do they currently

assist you?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Please list the activities you perform during a typical day, and
indicate a check next to each revenue-generating activity:

1. q

2. q

3. q

4. q

5. q

6. q

7. q

8. q

Approximately how many hours per week do you typically

work?
_______________________________________________________

What are your typical business hours?

_______________________________________________________

Do you anticipate needing me to work outside of traditional

office hours? If so, how frequently and what hours?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

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TYPE OF ASSISTANCE REQUIRED

Which administrative tasks would you most like to get off your
plate?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What services or tasks do you envision being my primary duties?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What types of special projects, if any, do you anticipate me

working on in addition to routine tasks and approximately how
often do these arise?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

COMMUNICATION
How would you describe your communication style?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

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What is your preferred communication method?

q Phone
q Email
q Text message
q Other: ____________

How frequently do you prefer to communicate?

q Daily
q Weekly
q As needed

How involved do you like to be in the day-to-day administrative

operations?
q Very hands-on 
q Somewhat
q Only what I need to know
q Depends on the task

Do you prefer formal status reports or informal? What

information do you want communicated to you in these reports
and how frequently?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Have you worked with a virtual assistant before? If so, what

was the experience like? What, if anything, would you like to be
handled differently this time?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

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(If ‘no’ to the previous question) Do you have any concerns about
working with a virtual assistant?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION
Rate your comfort level in using technology (1 being not at all, 5
being expert):

1   2   3   4   5

Rate your level of knowledge about current technology (1 being

basic, 5 being expert):

1   2   3   4   5

What computer operating system do you currently use?

_______________________________________________________

What software do you currently use (include any industry-

specific software here also)?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

What email program do you currently use?

_______________________________________________________

Do you use a mobile device or computer-based scheduling

program and are you happy with your current system?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

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Is your file storage system primarily paper-based or electronic?

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

How do you currently maintain your website and other online

(e.g. social media) content and how frequently do you update
them?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

What technology improvements or updates, if any, have you

considered in the past few months?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

GOALS
What are your goals for your business over the next year? Five
years? Long-term?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

How do your business goals mesh with your personal goals?

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

What should I know in order to better assist you in achieving

these goals?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

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List of Services
In addition to your consultation form, it may be helpful to have a flyer
of specific tasks and services handy. Alternatively, you could point
the client to a specific page on your website that lists your services.
This is a good way to ensure that you and your client are on the same
page in terms of expectations about skill sets. In addition, seeing all
of your skills and services in inventory form may remind a potential
client of services they could use that they hadn’t thought of, potentially
increasing your billable hours. For those clients who are more visual, it
also helps them to understand the breadth and depth of your abilities –
and why your services are so valuable to them!

“If you do not enjoy doing a particular task, do NOT list it! Do what
you love and you will love what you do!”
— M
 arla Regan,
Organized Time

Know When to Say No

It is tempting as a beginning virtual assistant to accept any client who
comes your way. Even once your business is more established, many
virtual assistants find it difficult to say no to someone who is seeking
their help. There are times, however, when you do both yourself and/or
your client a favor by doing just that.

Long Island, New York-based virtual assistant Andrea Cannavina of

LegalTypist, Inc. offered this tip on how to avoid a common newbie
mistake:

“Not everyone who contacts you is going to be a good fit for you/your
business - even if you need the money. If you spend 3 hours per week
working like a dog for one crazy client, that’s 3 hours per week you
could be out there finding/networking with other clients.”

Once you have your time management system in place, you’ll have
an idea of how many clients you can reasonably juggle at any given
time, including both long-term clients and shorter-term or one-time
projects. If you know you don’t have the time in your schedule to do
your best work for a new client, you will be doing them a favor by
referring them to someone else who can. Otherwise you risk damaging

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your reputation as a VA when things begin to fall through the cracks

because you’ve overextended.

Another situation in which you might say no to a client is if you don’t

have the skill set they are looking for. While every VA looks to build
on their knowledge and skills and often learns new tasks on the fly as
requests arise from clients, if you don’t have the foundations in place to
perform the core tasks of the client’s business, consider referring them
elsewhere. As you build your network, you’ll probably find that other
VAs are very willing to return the favor!

2.4 Establishing the Foundations of

Good Communication
While an ability to communicate may come naturally to you, it’s
important to remember that this may not be the case for all of your
clients. We addressed some of the specifics above in terms of clients’
expectations about frequency and type of communication and
clearly establishing this up front. But everyone has different methods
of communicating their needs, and processing the information
they receive. Taking the time to understand a little bit about your
communication and work style preferences, your clients’ preferences,
and establishing effective communication guidelines is one of the
best ways to ensure a smooth working relationship and head off any
problems before they occur.

2.4.1 Identifying Your Preferred Work Style

While an ability to be organized, efficient, and flexible are important
qualities for anyone interested in becoming a virtual assistant, there are
also some unique qualities that you will bring to the table based on your
own experiences and personality. Your work style is a reflection of you
and your personality, and probably influenced your client’s decision to
hire you. There is no need to try to act the part of someone you are not.

However, you should have an awareness of your personality and work

style, any strengths or weaknesses, and be prepared to modify your
style based on the client’s needs. It’s easy to get caught up in a pattern
when you’re used to working a certain way and having success with
it. If you find in a particular instance that you’re not getting the results

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you want with a particular client or that they are “difficult” (they are
requiring more contact than you’d agreed on, for example), before you
think about terminating your contract, try thinking outside the box and
using a new approach.

“It may be that they need to have a daily report on all work done
in order to feel in control of the situation, or they may prefer that
you don’t email them because they never get a chance to check their
inbox.”
– Dawn Martinello, Monday Morning VA

Depending on their need for control, some clients may require that
you be more hands-on in making suggestions about their business
operations while others will prefer you handle just the tasks that are
assigned to you. Part of this will be up to you and how well you are
able to read your clients and what they need. You’ll get better at this
as you gain more experience. You can also ask the client what they are
most comfortable with if you are unsure, and this is something that can
be revisited as well, as you establish a trusting relationship over time.

Of course there will also be times when your personality and work
style just don’t mesh well with the client, and only you can make the
decision about whether or not the relationship can be productive and
worthwhile or not.

“What I like least are those (clients) that want to micromanage time;
they only want 4 hours per month, but they send a million emails
per month and call you weekly. We manage this by constantly
reminding clients of expectations and tweaking strategy until we
reach a good mid-point. If the client is persistent in using their time
on communication and we’re not getting anything accomplished,
we release the client from their contract so they can find someone
else with a working style more similar to theirs. That doesn’t allow
productivity for us.”
— Tya Bolton, Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC

If you are interested in learning more about your personality type

and its influence on your work style, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI), based on the theories of noted psychiatrist Carl Jung, may be a
useful tool. The MBTI attempts to measure how people prefer to take in
and perceive information about the external world (their learning style),

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how they make decisions, and whether they are primarily energized by
their internal or external world (i.e. ideas and feelings, or people and
surroundings). Individuals are placed on 4 scales, each considered a
continuum where people utilize both ends of the spectrum, but tend to
rely more heavily on one than the other based on their own strengths
and comfort zone.

You can learn more about the 16 personality types, and a host of other
tests, at HumanMetrics. While the MBTI is usually administered by a
certified professional (a career counselor or coach with special training
in interpreting results) for a fee, there are several similar assessments
available for free online. One of the best is the Jung Typology Test, a 72
yes/no question online assessment offered by HumanMetrics.

2.4.2 Understanding Your Clients’ Learning Style

Some clients may be more visual learners while others may need
auditory or written reinforcement. Since effective communication is
an extremely important part of any successful VA-client relationship,
it’s important to understand how your clients think. This enables you
to present materials to them in the most effective way and to make
the best possible impression of your services. For example, if you are
tasked with a research project that entails presenting data, a client
who is a visual learner will probably appreciate results presented in a
colorful graphic format with lots of charts. Another client who is more
verbal might prefer a detailed written report or list of the exact same
information.

Is your client a “just the facts” type interested only in numbers and
bottom lines? Or do they seem interested in the ideas behind the facts?
Some of these questions can be answered during your initial client
evaluation (both by asking and from your own impressions), but others
you will get a sense of in time as you work with your clients and learn to
read them and their preferences.

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2.4.3 How To Talk to Your Clients About Money

“Talking about money is so crucial; yet no one wants to do it. You can
learn a lot about a client simply by listening. I once terminated a client
who mentioned he didn’t have any money in his bank account while
he was on the phone updating me on the 20 tasks he wanted me to
complete while he went on travel. Hello! Red flag! Stop the press!”
— T
 ya Bolton,
Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC

Why is discussing money such a difficult subject? One reason,

especially for new virtual assistants, is a lack of confidence or tendency
to underestimate the value of their skills, time, and experience to their
clients. If you don’t believe in the value of what you have to offer, it
becomes difficult to ask for what you are worth without feeling
uncomfortable.

In addition, you may be earning significantly more per hour as a virtual

assistant than you were used to earning as an employee performing
many of the same tasks. However, you have additional expenses as
a business owner that an employee doesn’t have. Remind yourself –
and your clients – that hiring a virtual assistant provides them with a
significant cost savings. Prepare a sheet of facts and figures to prove
your point (see Chapter 1 for examples) – nothing speaks as loudly to
clients as the bottom line.

Virtual assistant Tya Bolton offers the following additional suggestions:

• Consider offering new clients a discount for up to 3 months before

your regular rate takes effect.

• Outline the terms of rate increases for existing clients in an email

prior to sending a new contract so clients have a chance to react
and ask questions.

• Offer volume discounts for your best clients – this is a great way
not only to keep their business, but to ensure referrals.

Dealing with Late Payments

Your policy regarding late payments should be clearly stated both in
your policies and procedures manual, and in the contract. However,

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there are times when you may choose to be flexible if you are working
with a client who is communicative about payment, provides you with
a specific date when payment will be made, and with whom you have
established a positive work history. These are decisions you’ll need to
make on a case-by-case basis.

Unfortunately there are also occasions when you will run into clients
who are simply avoidant and uncooperative.

“I’m okay with flexibility for our clients, as long as they are not
sacrificing my integrity. However, I have no tolerance for a client that
is blatantly paying late or avoiding me. Be true to yourself and don’t
get into any compromising positions. You run a business which means

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you do not work for free. No payment (and no communication); no

service (and you will hear from my attorney).
Try to prevent this by ensuring clients are never surprised by their
invoice amounts. Get in the practice of asking your client for a “magic
number” at the time of contract which is really the max amount of
hours or invoice amount you can reach without contacting them for
authorization to increase. This gives the client total control of how
much they’ll be charged and will help you to avoid the uncomfortable
conversation around getting your payment because the client didn’t
anticipate an invoice being so high and now your hard work is being
questioned. Of course, you can also implement monthly retainers; use
it or lose it and put the client on recurring billing.”
— T
 ya Bolton,
Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC

2.4.4 Evaluating Your Performance:

Client Feedback
Feedback is a vital part of business communication, and helps to foster
your learning and growing as a virtual assistant. This is a good way
to take stock of where you are and where you want or need to be
to continue to grow your business. It can help you to build on your
strengths, as well as improve areas of weakness.

When you work as an employee for someone else, you may receive
ongoing feedback from your boss or manager. Most companies also
have a more formalized review or feedback process in place so progress
on specific points can be measured. The feedback process serves a
similar function for virtual assistants. While some clients may offer you
their unsolicited feedback as to whether you are meeting (or exceeding!)
their support needs, you can be proactive by asking for and welcoming
this feedback. In addition to providing you with valuable information
about how you and your services are being perceived, it offers one more
way to let clients know that you care about their needs and opinions.

A sample feedback form, which you can revise to meet your individual
needs, is included on the next page.

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Sample Client Feedback Form

Your satisfaction is important to me. Please take a few moments
to consider the questions below and provide me with your
valuable feedback.

Date:___________________________________________________

Name:__________________________________________________

Business Name:_________________________________________

Communication
1. Do I respond to your emails in a timely q  Yes q  No
manner?

2. Do I respond to your phone calls in a q  Yes q  No

timely manner?

3. Do my status reports provide adequate q  Yes q  No

detail?

4. Do I answer your questions thoroughly q  Yes q  No

and clearly?

5. Do I maintain a positive attitude about q  Yes q  No

my work?

6. Do I offer an appropriate level of q  Yes q  No

suggestions on business processes or
ideas for solving problems?
7. Are you happy with the frequency of our q  Yes q  No
communication?

8. Are you happy with my level of q  Yes q  No

professionalism in providing customer
service to your clients (if applicable)?

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Skills & Knowledge

1. Are you confident in my technical skills q  Yes q  No
and knowledge?

2. Are you satisfied with my level of q  Yes q  No

knowledge about your industry?

Overall Satisfaction
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 = “significantly exceeded”), please
rate how well your expectations have been met.
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 = “extremely valuable”), please let

me know how helpful or valuable my suggestions have been to
your business.
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 = “extremely satisfied”), how

satisfied are you with the value of the service you have received.
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

Additional Comments
What do you consider my areas of strength?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

What suggestions do you have for improvement?

________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

What changes have you seen in your business as a result of our

working together?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

Thank you for your time and feedback. Your continued business and
referrals are our biggest compliment!

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If you prefer the convenience of an online survey for client feedback,

SurveyMonkey offers several options, including a free basic plan.

TIP: Good feedback can provide strong testimonials in your

marketing, so be sure to get permission from clients who
send particularly good feedback to make sure it’s okay to
use it on your website or other promotional materials.

2.5 Managing Your Time and Productivity

“Know your limits! Be honest with your clients about being able to
complete a project in a timely manner. If you think a project can be
completed in a day, promise 2 days; when you complete the project
sooner,you are the hero!”
— M
 arla Regan,
Organized Time

Being organized and good at managing your time is an extremely

important skill for a virtual assistant, and probably one you have
already mastered to some degree if you have had non-virtual
administrative experience. You know what it takes to keep an office
running smoothly and a project on track.

Still, there are only so many hours in a day, and for a virtual assistant
only so many of those are billable hours. Managing your time as a
business owner, particularly one with multiple clients, can present many
new challenges as you transition to virtual assistance from working as
an employee in a traditional office environment. This requires not only
skill, but advance planning, and a change in perspective.

2.5.1 Getting Your Policies, Processes,

and Procedures in Place
Many virtual assistants begin their businesses with little in the way of
formal procedures or policies and instead choose to “wing it” as they
go along. Certainly this can work for some people. However, creating a
formal manual of policies and procedures up front, while it may seem
time-consuming, can ultimately save you a lot of headaches down the
road.

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“When it’s a one-person operation and you only have a handful of

clients, you know everything you need to do, but by the time your
business has grown to the point that you need systems to keep track
of various clients and projects, and share information with other team
members, getting those systems in place is a daunting task. I wish I’d
taken the time to document everything right from the start. It would
have been easier to make changes as needed than to start from scratch
with a busy practice to run.”
— J anet Barclay, Founder,
Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants Group

There are some policies and procedures that you can (and should) share
with your clients, such as those relating to billing and your availability
to them. These can be included in your contract (see the sample contract
in Chapter 6) or as a separate document. However, it can also be useful
to document how you will handle other situations that may arise.
Ultimately, this can provide you with benefits such as time-savings,
process simplification, and peace of mind. A detailed procedural
manual can come in especially handy if you choose to take on partners,
staff, subcontract out work, or sell your business at any point.

What to Include in Your Policies and Procedures Manual

Whether your manual is a few pages or a lengthy document is entirely
up to you as a business owner. The following represent some items that
may be included in a VA standard procedural manual:

• Your business plan (see Chapter 5 for specifics on creating a

business plan)

• Your mission statement (a paragraph detailing what your

business is all about – what is your ultimate goal and by what
means do you accomplish this?)

• Schedule of daily operating procedures and activities (including

time you intend to devote to marketing or networking)

• Communication policy (including progress report policy and

frequency of email and voicemail checking and responding, both
for business inquiries and your existing clients)

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• Policies regarding rush orders and standard turnaround times for

projects

• Invoicing and billing procedures and policies (including how you

will handle late payments, deposits, retainers, and refunds)

• Unused client hours (will they be carried over?)

• Your hours (will you be available to your clients weekends

or outside of traditional business hours? If so, under what
conditions?)

• Your vacation and holiday policy

• Policies for subcontractors if all work will not be completed by you

• Data security and confidentiality policy and procedures (where

will client data and files be stored, who will have access, and
what will be done with this upon contract termination?)

• Disaster recovery (where will data – yours and clients’ – be backed

up and how often?)

• Quality checks and client satisfaction policy (including

procedures for reviewing subcontractors’ work)

2.5.2 Transitioning from Employee

to Business Owner
“If you act like an employee, you will be treated like one. Remember
you are a business owner supplying a service to your clients. So many
new VAs I see coming on to the scene don’t seem to have a really good
grasp of this concept and it negatively impacts their business and their
clients. If you don’t treat what you do as a business and from a business
owner’s perspective, in turn it impacts how your clients treat you.
Virtual Assistants are not simply administrative assistants who provide
services online. We are business owners striving to save our clients time
and money by effectively doing tasks for them, allowing them time
to grow their own businesses and saving them money in the process.
Always try to keep that business owner mentality in the back of your
mind and it will help you and your business in the long run.”
— K
 ate Kerans,
Kerans Virtual Assistance

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As a business owner, no one will be looking over your shoulder or

monitoring your workflow. No one will tell you that you have to take
lunch between 12:00 and 12:30. This may seem like a good thing – and
it can be! But when you are juggling priorities for multiple clients
instead of just one boss, marketing your business, networking, and
doing your own administrative work in addition to your clients’, it’s
vital to have a good system in place that accounts for all of these added
responsibilities.

“Establish hours of business. One thing to balance is your work time

with your networking time. Let your clients know that you are not in
your office all day, every day, that you do network. I also let my clients
know that when I network, I keep their business in mind and if I find
someone they should meet, I will make an introduction.”
— M
 arla Regan,
Organized Time

In addition, working from a home office can make it more challenging

to avoid the distractions of your non-work life during business hours
– and by the same token, to leave your work “at the office” at the end
of the day.

Staying Motivated
Motivation is key in operating any successful business – it affects your
productivity, focus, stress levels, and self-confidence. While keeping
your business and life goals in mind and remembering why you
chose the career path of virtual assistance may be enough some of the
time, let’s face it – some days that just doesn’t cut it. So how do you
stay focused when keeping “the big picture” in mind isn’t working?
Focusing on “the small picture” instead can sometimes be a more
tangible way to get in touch with what motivates you.

• Set realistic goals: Setting the bar so high that you can never
reach it can negatively impact motivation; set achievable
productivity goals for each day.

• Give yourself an incentive for meeting milestones: Create a

positive frame of mind and build self-confidence by allowing
yourself small rewards for completing those realistic daily goals
to make large tasks more manageable.

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• Visualize success: Success means different things for different

people – what does it mean to you? Surround your workspace
with things that inspire you to be your best (motivational quotes,
photos, etc.).

• Reach out to others: Isolation can be a problem for anyone who

is self-employed, and can negatively impact motivation; build
time into your day to communicate with your support network.

“Working alone from home 7 days a week can make you a wee bit
stir crazy. To combat that, I started reaching out in the digital world
- joining online VA groups on LinkedIn and Facebook. Of course,
there’s also Twitter, the ultimate water cooler in webspace!”
— A
 ndrea Cannavina,
LegalTypist

2.5.3 Structuring Daily Activities

“Be extremely well-organized. At any given time, you may be working
for 5 to 10 clients simultaneously. You must be able to coordinate your
workload, your priorities and your day very well. And in doing so, be
diligent in your time record keeping – utilize a time tracking or task
management app (there are tons) to record your hours worked for
each client and then send them a report at the end of each month.”
— S
 uzanne Roy,
V.A. Work

Another time management issue for the self-employed is that what

often ends up on the bottom of the priority list is your personal time.
While it’s true that you may need to devote more hours to building
your business initially, it’s also important to make time to take care of
your own needs so that you can be effective in helping your clients meet
theirs.

Virtual assistant Tya Bolton offers this advice on scheduling your day
effectively:

1. “Use task management tools in conjunction with a calendar to

block slots of time out specifically for each client. This makes
time tracking for invoicing so much easier! For example,
schedule Client A from 10am - 11:30am on your calendar, but

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use your task management software to itemize everything you

need to do during that timeframe.“

2. “Don’t get over excited and block tasks for every hour of
the day (it won’t work). Allow at least (4) 15 minute slots for
miscellaneous phone calls/emails/technology hiccups/projects
that lasted longer than anticipated. That way, your whole
schedule is not thrown off by that unexpected phone call that
came in and lasted for 25 minutes.”

3. “Finally, be sure to schedule at least 30 minutes of free time

to take care of Y-O-U. You decide what that includes - eating,
a power nap, exercising, a walk, etc. If you’re tired and
overworked, you lose productivity and creative thinking
abilities; you need time to rejuvenate.”

In the Tools of the Trade section of this chapter (Section 2.2), you will
find some additional suggested time tracking and project management
tools. Additional resources for developing your time management
skills are provided in Section 3.5.

2.6 Working with Strategic Partners

As a virtual assistant, you are working as a “strategic partner” with
your client in providing VA services. A strategic partner is an individual
or business that works in cooperation with another business to provide
specific services or products in an area of expertise. They may also
be referred to as “vendors”, “suppliers”, “service providers” or
“independent contractors”.

Depending on the type of business your client operates, and the scope
of services you are personally able to provide as a VA, from time to
time you may need to locate and work with additional strategic
partners to get a particular task or project done for your client. For
example, you may need to work with a travel agent or car service in
booking arrangements for a trip, a photographer to provide photos of
your client’s event for you to post on their website, or your client may
request that you regularly order their office supplies.

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2.6.1 Types of Strategic Partners

It is impossible to provide a complete list of the types of strategic
partners that may be needed since this will largely depend on your
individual client base. However, the following represent a few common
types of strategic partners that may be useful to a variety of clients.
• Caterers

• E-commerce solutions

• Electronics and computer equipment

• Florists

• Mailing houses

• Office supplies

• Photographers

• Printers

• Sign shops

• Transportation

• Travel agents

• Virtual event / webinar hosting

Some of these service providers may need to be located in your client’s

local area (e.g. transportation service, photographers or catering
for events), while others can be online suppliers (e.g. office supplies
and e-commerce systems). Sometimes your client will already have a
preference and will request that you, for example, order from a local
florist with whom they already have a relationship. However, there
will likely be many occasions when they defer to your recommendation
(and as a VA it’s your job to worry about these details so they don’t have
to!). It’s helpful to have a list of trustworthy and dependable resources
handy to call on that will meet your clients’ needs for any occasion.

2.6.2 How to Find Strategic Partners

For a beginning virtual assistant, finding reliable strategic partners to
suit all of your clients’ needs and preferences can be a daunting task.

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Fortunately there are some great resources available to help you find
strategic partners for just about any situation, and you will be able to
test many of them out for yourself in starting and running your own
business. See Chapter 6 for a list of several useful business marketing
resources (e.g. web hosting services). These can be valuable strategic
partners for you and your clients.

While websites and national directories can be excellent sources for

strategic partners, don’t neglect the local market. In addition to online
searches, you may be able to find local suppliers through your (or
your client’s) local Chamber of Commerce. Many local chambers have
a membership directory with company contact information on their
website. Your network of other VAs (both online and in-person) will
also be one of the best places to get recommendations on reputable
strategic partners.

2.6.3 Choosing Strategic Partners

When you hire or recommend strategic partners to a client, you are
ultimately responsible for how well strategic partners do their jobs, so
you will need to find businesses you can depend on to do the job right,
by the agreed-upon deadline, for the agreed-upon price. Remember
your name is on the line if you bring in a strategic partner and they
don’t come through in a timely or professional manner or within cost.
So look for someone reliable, and have at least one back-up for each job.

Once you have utilized a particular service a few times you will know
which strategic partners deliver what they promise, and you will have
built a preferred list you can recommend. Until then, you will need to
check out strategic partners in order to recommend them to clients.

To help you choose strategic partners, make appointments to meet

either by phone, over video conference, or in person. Ask what services
they provide, their rates, and their availability. You need to know that
you can depend on them, and that they will be willing to work overtime
if necessary to keep their agreements with you. (Unfortunately, some
busy companies consider deadlines to be “suggestions” rather than
requirements.)

Depending on the time frame and freedom you are given by your client
to make arrangements, it’s always a good idea if you can solicit bids

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from at least two suppliers for each service and compare prices and
services. Remember, you often get what you pay for, so the service that
seems least expensive may turn out to be more costly (be it in hidden
fees or the stress of following up on errors). Some key points to address
with the potential supplier or vendor:
• Price (including both set-up and maintenance fees for ongoing
services)
• Product specifications

• Turnaround time

• Delivery services

• Customer service

• Payment schedule

• Deposits needed

• Return or cancellation policy

Before working with a strategic partner, you should do an online search

to see if there are any complaints about them, and try checking with the
Better Business Bureau (BBB). You should also ask the service provider
for references from previous clients. Call those references to find out
what services were provided, and whether the clients were satisfied. To
uncover any problems, ask the client what they would do differently
if they were hiring the same service provider, and which parts of the
provider’s services they were least satisfied with. Also check if the
strategic partner holds liability insurance, which may protect both
them and you if the provider’s work is not satisfactory.

If you choose a strategic partner for a specific client or project, get

agreements (e.g. for costs, delivery dates, services to be provided) in
writing. For some vendors a contract is critical. This is your insurance
policy that the vendor will provide what you’ve agreed to. Most
suppliers are comfortable working with contracts, and will probably be
able to provide this document for you.

If the strategic partner provides you with a contract, review it carefully

before signing, and make sure all key points are covered. Some of the
critical information that must be spelled out includes:

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• Exactly what the vendor will (and will not) provide.

• Exact times for set up, delivery, pick-up, etc.

• Any technical specifications or details that you must provide.

• Detailed payment schedule, including deposits and when

payment is due in full.
• Cancellation policy, including any fees payable if services are
cancelled.

Remember, contracts are negotiable. If there is anything in the contract

that you don’t like, or anything you don’t fully understand, discuss
it before signing. Once that document is signed, you will have little
recourse if something goes awry.

TIP: Unless you will be paying the vendor yourself, make sure
the contract is between the vendor and your client, not
between the vendor and you. If you enter into a contract
with a vendor, you will be held personally liable for
payment if the event is cancelled or postponed.

2.6.4 Financial Arrangements

You have several options for your financial arrangements with strategic
partners. If you accompany your client to a retailer, you can simply
let the client pay when it’s time to check out. However, since many of
your clients won’t be located near you, you’ll likely need to make other
arrangements if you will make purchases on behalf of your clients.

Purchasing Services for Your Clients

If you are purchasing services for your client, one option is to pay the
strategic partner, then submit the invoice to your client along with
other agreed-upon expenses. In this case, you would need to specify in
your client contract that this service will be billed in addition to your
fee. To avoid being out of pocket, you can ask your client for a deposit
or an advance on your fees. (Fees are covered in detail in Section 5.2.5.)

Another option may be to have the strategic partner bill your client
directly. That way you won’t risk being in the position where you
have to pay the strategic partner’s bill before you have been paid by

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the client. However, you may prefer not to have the client establish a
relationship directly with your supplier.

An additional option is to offer the strategic partner’s services under the

umbrella of your company. In that case the strategic partner is working
for you rather than your client and would invoice your company. You
in turn would invoice the client for the service as part of your fee.
Although you might be out of pocket for a while until you are paid by
the client, this option may ultimately be more profitable for you.

When giving the client a quote for your services, you could include
the strategic partner’s services at a price marked up to cover your
overhead. For example, if the strategic partner charges you $200, you
might charge the client a fee of $300 for that particular service. Another
option, instead of charging the client more for the strategic partner’s
service, is to charge the strategic partner a commission, such as 25
percent of the cost of the services. That way the client won’t pay any
more than if they went directly to the strategic partner for the service.

If you decide to work with strategic partners in this way, you should
make sure you have a written agreement in place. The agreement
should outline exactly what services the strategic partner will provide,
the date the services will be provided by, and what the exact cost
will be. In Section 6.5 you will find samples of both a simple letter of
agreement and a more detailed services contract which you can adapt to
use with service providers. Remember to have your lawyer review any
agreement to ensure it meets your needs.

Referring Clients to Strategic Partners

In some cases, you may recommend that your client buy a product
or service from a particular business, and your client will make
the purchase alone. For example, you might recommend that your
client buy a computer from XYZ Computers. In this case, you may
recommend XYZ simply because you believe they will provide the best
products for your client’s needs. You won’t get anything in return for
your recommendation from XYZ.

However, if there are companies you believe provide excellent products

and services, that you plan to recommend to your clients, why not ask

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them to provide you with something in return for referring them to

your clients? You might simply agree informally to refer clients to each
other’s business which may result in some additional business for your
company.

Affiliate Programs
An increasingly common practice in business is the payment of
“referral fees”, sometimes referred to as an “affiliate program”. For
example, if you refer a client to XYZ Computers, that strategic partner
pays you a fee as a thank you for referring business to them that they
otherwise would not have. Likewise, you could pay them a referral fee
for any virtual assistance business they send your way. There are no
firm guidelines for the amount of a referral fee. It can be whatever you
negotiate with a particular strategic partner, and might be a percentage
of what they earn from the referral (e.g. 5 to 20 percent of the amount
of the client’s first purchase from the strategic partner) or a flat fee. In
some cases, a strategic partner will not be willing to pay a referral fee
(for example, if they are already booked up with work at their full fee).

Referral fees can potentially represent an additional income stream

for you. It is a fairly common practice for virtual assistants to include a
page on their website for strategic partners with links to their websites.
In this case referral fees are usually earned based on the number of
clients the affiliate partner receives or number of items sold through
business obtained through the link on your website. Depending on your
agreement, you may earn a lesser “per click” fee for page views as well
just for driving traffic to their site. Affiliate programs can provide a win-
win “pay for performance” proposition both for you and the strategic
partner to which you are referring business.

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3. Getting Ready
Now that you know what the job involves, this chapter will give you
information on how to further develop the skills you will need to
succeed in this career.

“A great virtual assistant has a thirst for knowledge, is constantly

learning new things, and shares that knowledge with his or her clients
by making recommendations to enhance the client’s business.”
— J anet Barclay,
Organized Assistant & Golden Horseshoe
Virtual Assistants Group

Before you begin seeking clients or drawing up your business plan,

there are several steps that may make it easier for you to transition
to this career. In this chapter, you will discover how to develop your
skills, knowledge and experience. By following this advice, you can
begin to enhance your existing skills, learn where your strengths and
weaknesses lie, and gain a wealth of new skills and experience that
could make you much more attractive to prospective clients, and better
equipped to help them reach their business goals.

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3.1 Skills and Knowledge You Will Need

Virtual assistants need to use a variety of skills to do their job well. As
you will read in this chapter, the skills you need to succeed as a virtual
assistant can be learned.

However, if you already have relevant experience in office

administration and support, marketing, or one of the other areas of
specialization discussed in Chapter 2, and an aptitude for computers,
entering this career will be even easier for you. So let’s take a look at
the specific skills and knowledge that can help you succeed in virtual
assistance:

• Computer & technology skills

• Interpersonal skills

• Research skills

• Business skills

Later in this chapter you’ll find plenty of resources to help you develop
these skills through education and self-study.

3.1.1 Skills Assessment

“Great VAs are in high demand because they respect commitments
and communicate details throughout the scope of projects. He/she
anticipates what can go wrong and ensures proactive measures are in
place as a backup. Strategy and implementation are traits of a great VA!”
— T
 ya Bolton,
Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC

Here are some questions that reflect traits shared by many virtual
assistants. Make a mental note or put a checkmark next to all that are a
“yes” for you.

Signs of Virtual Assistance Aptitude

Some people seem to be born “organizers”. These people often seem
to have an uncanny ability to “get things done” in the face of deadline
pressure despite road blocks and numerous demands on their time.

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They are efficient, proactive, resourceful, and often able to anticipate

the needs of others. Take a look at the list below and see how many of
these statements are true for you.

q You get enormous satisfaction in helping others achieve their

goals.

q You have an ability to manage your own time and stay on track
without an externally imposed schedule.

q When a friend, family member, or colleague has a document

that needs proofreading or editing, they often seek out your
keen eye for detail.

q People often describe you as resourceful or creative.

q You are able to get along well with people who have a different
personality type, perspective, or different priorities than you.

q You have an ability to see “the big picture” as well as the details
when you take on a project.

q You tend to notice things that others miss.

q You are able to remain calm while juggling multiple deadlines.

q You enjoy staying current on all the latest technology and

learning new things.

q You are comfortable working on your own without supervision

or assistance.

Do you see any common threads in the above list? Efficiency,

resourcefulness, and problem-solving abilities just come naturally to
some people. But many of the skills that go along with these traits can
be learned and developed, such as research and communication skills.
This guide will help you learn how to enhance the abilities that come
naturally, and work toward improving those that don’t.

3.1.2 Computer Skills

Computer skills are important in just about every profession these
days. For a virtual assistant, however, a facility with and interest
in technology is one of the most important keys to a successful and

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satisfying business since you will likely be spending the majority of

your day in front of a computer.

A virtual assistant needs to stay up-to-date on the latest office

management tools and applications not only to be able to run their
virtual business efficiently, but also to be able to provide the best quality
service to their clients. A thorough knowledge of technology will also
allow you to make recommendations on time-saving technology that
might help streamline your clients’ businesses.

Software Knowledge
Of course no one is an expert in every software program and online
application available. But if you are comfortable with the computer
and have an aptitude for learning new things, there are many ways to
expose yourself to a variety of programs, some of which were discussed
in Section 2.2 and some more are covered later in this chapter. There are
also many specialized tools and applications you can learn to enhance
your value within particular niche markets. However, a solid familiarity
with the fundamentals is a good place to start.

This includes knowledge of:

• Word Processing (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Apple Pages)

• Spreadsheets and Databases (Excel, Google Sheets,

Apple Numbers)
• Email programs (Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, Gmail)

• Bookkeeping software (Quicken, Quickbooks, Freshbooks)

• Adobe products (Acrobat, Photoshop, InDesign)

• Presentations (Powerpoint, Google Slides, Apple Keynote, Prezi)

• Filesharing (OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox)

• CRM software (Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge)

For a start, you can usually find a lot of great information, support and
even tutorials and training on the software manufacturer’s website (e.g.
Microsoft 365 Support or Google Workspace Learning Center). If you

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need advanced “from-scratch” help, look for a paid tutorial, such as

those found at LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, and Coursera.

Word Processing and Data Entry Skills

A good virtual assistant needs to have expert word processing and
data entry skills. This includes a familiarity with the various features
of word processing, spreadsheet, and database software, and how to
maximize them to create different types of documents for your clients
(for example, tools like mail merge, voice-to-text, formulas, etc.).

But you also need a strong foundation in the basics: typing and data
entry. No matter what your area of specialty, as a virtual office support
professional, a fair amount of your time will probably be spent on these
tasks. Accuracy should never be sacrificed for speed. There are many
free programs available online that can help you develop both if you
feel you need improvement in this area.

Filesharing and Collaborative Working

While word processing will most likely form the core of what you will
be doing day-to-day, working virtually will require you to have the
ability to work collaboratively on shared documents online through
cloud and filesharing programs and the collaborative work platforms
your clients use. This also includes a familiarity with the “review”
functions, like track changes and commenting, in the most commonly
used applications.

Online Knowledge
Even if you don’t plan on specializing in online marketing, websites
and online content, or social media, there’s no denying the growing
impact of these trends in the business arena. Virtual assistants should
have at least working knowledge of popular social media sites such as
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and how to use them to their clients’
benefit. More information on how to use social networking to market
your business is presented in Section 6.2.4.

You may not have any interest in developing skills in website design
(which is perfectly understandable!), but you will want to know the ins

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and outs of how to produce online content, such as marketing copy and
blog posts, and maybe even how to do simple website updates.

If you want to brush up on your computer and technology skills, or

increase your knowledge base and marketability by learning new
tools and applications, one of the most comprehensive and highly
recommended resources around is LinkedIn Learning. LinkedIn has
integrated the popular online learning site Lynda.com and now offers a
user-friendly, subscription-based online library that contains thousands
of video tutorials by expert trainers. You can learn everything from
software programs to social media skills to marketing. For $29 per
month, far less than most individual online training programs, you
can take as many tutorials as you like. Discounted annual plans are
available, as well as a one month free trial. Additional resources are
provided at the end of this chapter.

3.1.3 Interpersonal Skills

As a virtual assistant, you will not only need to have organizational and
technical skills, but you will also need to work effectively with many
people including your clients, employees, suppliers, and everyone else
you do business with. As a result, your interpersonal skills (i.e. your
skills in dealing with other people) will be one of the key factors in
ensuring that you are successful in this business. Following are some
key interpersonal skills and why they can be so helpful to you in the
virtual assistance profession.

Developing Relationships
To have a successful virtual assistance business, you first must have
clients who will hire you to perform the work. When prospective
clients find out about your services, chances are they will want to speak
with you by phone, over video conference, or even sometimes meet in
person to determine whether there is a “fit” between their needs and
your services. If people have a choice between two different VAs who
both have similar experience and capability, they are more likely to
select the VA that they “liked” the most and felt the most comfortable
with. Think about the individuals who you choose to do business with,
for example, when you need a haircut. As a general rule, people prefer
to do business with people who they like. Chances are, if you don’t like

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someone or how they treat you, you will take your business somewhere
else if you have that option.

If you are able to develop a rapport with people and build their trust in
you, they are more likely to want to hire you to do the job. One of the
best ways to develop that relationship is to show genuine interest in
them and their needs. A common mistake many new business owners
make is to talk too much about themselves while trying to sell their
services. Instead, you should focus on asking others about themselves.
Then listen attentively to the responses, using the listening tips
provided below. If you show interest in prospective clients and their
needs, they are more likely going to show interest in you and want to
hire you to provide their office support services.

Besides developing relationships with clients, you will also need

to develop relationships with other business people. For example, if
you have a good relationship with your colleagues and other virtual
assistants, they are more likely to refer business to you or send
subcontract work your way when they have too many clients to handle
or a client whose needs are outside their area of expertise. If this is an
area you want to improve, pick up a copy of Dale Carnegie’s book, How
to Win Friends & Influence People.

Listening
Being an excellent listener is key to providing your clients with the
service they want. While listening seems like an easy skill to master,
most of us experience challenges in at least one of the following
areas involved in listening: paying attention, understanding, and
remembering. You can become a better listener by focusing fully on
someone when they are speaking. Here are some ways to do that:
• Don’t interrupt the other person. Hear them out.

• Keep listening to the other person, even if you think you know
what they will say next. If you make assumptions, you may miss
the point they’re making.
• Ask questions in order to clarify what the other person has said.
Take notes if necessary.
• Don’t be distracted by outside interference. Loud noises, the other
person mispronouncing a word, or even an uncomfortable room

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temperature can break your concentration and distract you from

the conversation.
• Give feedback to the other person. Nod occasionally; say things
like “I see,” and smile, if appropriate. Let them know you’re
listening.
• Use paraphrasing. In other words, repeat back in your own words
your understanding of what the other person has said. It can help
alleviate misunderstandings later on.

If this is a skill you want to improve, there are numerous books and
resources available online on the subject of honing your listening skills.

Verbal Communication Skills

Good verbal skills are helpful when you are selling yourself to
potential clients or when you need to communicate with colleagues,
strategic partners, or other business people, such as your accountant or
subcontractors. Many people prefer to work with somebody they can
understand who “speaks their language.”

To improve your verbal communication skills, ask friends or a vocal

coach for feedback on any areas that could be improved, such as: clarity
of speech, use of slang, proper grammar, or altering your tone of voice
to eliminate any harshness. (You can find vocal coaches online).

Reading Non-Verbal Messages

In addition to hearing what people say, a skilled virtual assistant also
notices non-verbal communication (tone of voice, facial expression,
body language, etc.). These signals can give you valuable clues about
what the other person is thinking. Being able to “read” people can
not only help you get the job, it can help ensure you keep your clients
satisfied. For example, did a prospective client fold their arms when you
made a particular suggestion? If so, they may be communicating that
they disagree, even if they don’t actually say so.

This is an important skill to make use of during in-person networking

events when you are interacting with your colleagues and potential
clients. However, since most of your actual client interactions will be
done over the phone, or even via email, you may not always have the

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benefit of reading body language. It will be especially important for you

to develop not only your ability to read tone of voice, but also to read
between the lines of emails.

Although body language and tone of voice can’t tell you precisely what
someone is thinking, they can give you clues so you can ask follow-up
questions, even as basic as “How do you feel about that?” If you want
to improve this skill, you can find some excellent advice in books and
online.

3.1.4 Research Skills

No one has all the answers. But a good virtual assistant knows where to
find them. Clients from many different industries will commonly have
research assignments for you ranging from detailed academic research,
to researching the best travel deals for a conference they need to attend
or gathering background information about a potential client.

In addition, because the world of work, not to mention technology, is

constantly evolving, excellent research skills are imperative for keeping
up with trends in your clients’ industries. This enables you to serve
as a valuable consultant for them and to show initiative in making
suggestions about their business. It is also the key for you as a business
owner for keeping up-to-date with marketing practices and the virtual
assistance world.

The Internet puts an enormous amount of resources at our fingertips.

It’s fast and convenient. However, it can also be overwhelming to sort
through all the information and determine the legitimacy and value of
sources. For all of the useful information on the Internet, there is at least
an equal amount of misinformation. Evaluating web resources requires
a keen eye, critical thinking skills, strategy, and above all, common
sense. A few questions to ask yourself in evaluating a web source are:
• Who is the intended audience? Is the information relevant to you
or your clients?
• Who is sponsoring the website? Is it a government agency or
reputable organization? Is the main purpose of the site to sell
something?

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• If there are statistics listed, are they current and can they be
verified through another source?
• Does the information seem biased?

• Is the information well-organized and the site easy to navigate?

• Can you find another source that verifies that the information
you’ve found is correct?

The University of California Berkeley library’s website offers some

additional useful advice on evaluating web sources.

Don’t forget, however, that the Internet is not the only source of
information out there. Reference librarians at your local library are
always happy to assist you in finding information, and your network
of contacts can be valuable resources as well.

Good research skills are required in many different careers, so you may
have already developed some techniques that work for you, and some
favorite websites that you have found reliable. If not, you are beginning
to hone your research skills now as you explore a potential new
occupation as a virtual assistant. Much of the research you are doing
for yourself now will also be relevant to your clients’ small businesses.

3.1.5 Business Skills

As a virtual assistant, you are a business owner, so the more skilled
you are in this area, the better the chances are that your business will
be a success. The skills you’ll need to run a successful virtual assistance
business include:

• Organizational Skills

• Business planning

• Financial management

• Hiring and supervising contractors

• Marketing, sales and customer service

Organizational and productivity skills like time management are

critical for a virtual assistant. You will always be working to deadlines,

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and you constantly need to stay on top of how you spend your time.
This means that virtual assistants need to be good project managers
and planners.

Some virtual assistants rely on organizers or datebooks such the Day-

Timer or the or more upscale Franklin-Covey. Or you may find that you
prefer having everything stored on your computer, or online where it
can be accessed from aywhere. Regardless of what system you use, you
need to ensure that your organization and productivity management
is “synced”.

You will also need a simple filing system for paperwork, bills, and
invoices. Of course, having your papers organized is only the tip of the
iceberg in “getting organized” as a business owner. You will need to
have good productivity tools in place, such as contact management to
keep track of current, former and potential clients. You will also want to
develop a system for maintaining files on your computer or online; you
will want to be able to find things easily and delete when necessary.

Financial management is crucial. The more you can keep your expenses
down while building revenues, the more successful you will be. For
some tasks, you can hire employees or contractors to help you, such as
a bookkeeper or someone who can help with the marketing for your
business. Keep in mind, though, that the fewer people you need to
hire to help you manage your business, the lower your overall costs of

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running the business. An investment in a few courses to develop these

skills can pay for itself very quickly.

You will likely find reading the entire guide before you launch your
business helpful, but you can quickly identify particular areas you
may want to focus on by reviewing the table of contents. For example,
Section 5.2.1 provides advice on start-up and operating expenses, and
Section 5.2.2 gives you advice about start-up financial planning. Both
these sections provide website links to online resources to help you find
further help in these areas.

One tool for helping you to focus on what business skills are involved in
being a business owner is business planning. Section 5.1 looks in detail
at how to develop a business plan to get your business up and running
by outlining and clarifying what services you will offer, deciding
how you will finance your business, creating a marketing plan, etc.
In addition to addressing these important business issues, a business
plan will also help you to understand some of the other basic hard skills
required of a business owner, such as marketing and accounting skills.
The following resources can also help you develop your business skills.

3.2 Learning by Doing

Virtual assistance is about being proactive, being a “doer”. While
studying on your own and taking courses can provide you with the
proper foundation, skills training, and knowledge necessary to be a
good VA, working directly with people utilizing the skills you plan to
use in your business will provide an equally important component of
your VA education, as well as valuable contacts and feedback.

“A common mistake is to spend all of the business building and

planning stage learning and then never moving into implementation.
Too many virtual assistants take course after course and they stay in
that perpetual state of training instead of taking action and building
their businesses. VAs need to learn the most important things they
don’t know, that will add value, and then move into offering the
services that complement that.”
— E
 rin Blaskie,
BSETC

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A survey conducted in 2008 of the virtual assistant industry found that

the majority of virtual assistants had 5 years or more of administrative
experience before starting their VA business. While some virtual
assistants will tell you this is still the only way to break into the
business, others point to the changing face of the virtual assistance
industry as more people recognize its benefits. Putting in many years as
a “3D” administrative assistant or secretary is certainly not mandatory,
or a prerequisite for success as a VA. People from diverse employment
backgrounds are also in demand as the need for specialized skills
grows. There are many different ways you can gain the skills and
experience you need, as well as leverage the experience you have
from other jobs (if you’ve worked as a computer programmer or real
estate agent, for example). This section provides a variety of ideas and
resources to help you build your experience, develop your knowledge
by doing, and add to your credentials.

3.2.1 Volunteer Experience

One of the best ways to fine tune your virtual assistance skills or
develop an in-demand skill that you have little or no experience with is
by volunteering. Although you won’t be paid, you will build credentials
that can help you attract clients in the future. You will gain practical
experience, develop your knowledge, and possibly make valuable
contacts that could lead to future paid work or mentoring relationships.

TIP: Remember to ask your volunteer supervisor and clients

for letters of recommendation, if appropriate. With their
permission, you can use select quotes on your website
to promote your services. See Section 4.3.3 for more
information about getting letters of recommendation.

Nonprofit Organizations
Imagine being able to do what you love, gain valuable experience, and
make a difference in your community at the same time. You can do
all of these things by volunteering to provide free virtual assistance
services for local nonprofits. Since most virtual assistants are natural
helpers, gaining experience and building credentials while fostering
your humanitarian instincts at the same time may be a particularly
appealing avenue.

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Most nonprofits have a need for administrative assistance. Begin by

offering the skills in which you already have expertise – be it data entry,
event planning, or newsletter design. Then, once you’ve established
a relationship with the organization, consider branching out and
learning some new skills you’d like to incorporate into your business,
such as web design or grant writing. Because these organizations often
have very small budgets, you’ll probably have a lot of opportunities to
branch out in different directions.

When choosing an organization to volunteer with, keep in mind those

skills you’re trying to develop for your business, such as organizational
skills, project management, and marketing. It also helps to select
a cause that you are interested in or with which you have a personal
connection. For example, if you’re interested in learning grant writing
and love animals, volunteer for the fundraising committee at your
local animal rescue organization. If you feel passionately about helping
disadvantaged women succeed in business, check with your nearest
Dress for Success affiliate (they are often in need of assistance with
administrative tasks such as mailings and database work). If you work
for a cause you are truly passionate about, you’re more likely to be
motivated to stick with it.

You can find help in locating your community’s nonprofit groups through
the Internet. GuideStar is a searchable online database of more than
1.8 million nonprofit organizations in the United States. CharityVillage
has a similar database of Canadian nonprofit organizations. Another
excellent source for finding volunteer opportunities is Idealist, which
lists the specific volunteer needs of nonprofit organizations in the
U.S., Canada, and overseas along with contact information. They
currently list over 18,000 volunteer positions with over 95,000 different
organizations. Just click on “Volunteer Opportunities” and enter your
location along with skills or keywords to refine your search. Also check
VolunteerMatch.

You might also contact your local Volunteer Center or Chamber of

Commerce. In many communities, these organizations run a volunteer
matching program and can help make the introductions you need to get
involved.

Other opportunities to volunteer your services as a virtual

administrative professional include:

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The Taproot Foundation

The Taproot Foundation also helps connect volunteers with nonprofits
who need help with specific projects. According to their website, most
project work can be done virtually. Volunteers typically spend 3-5 hours
per week over a 6 month period, participate in a weekly conference
call, and attend one on-site meeting per month. You can learn more
about this organization, the nonprofits they work with, and the projects
currently looking for staff in your area on their website.

Professional Associations
Many of the virtual assistant professional associations are run entirely,
or at least in part, by volunteers. Some of the tasks that may be done
by volunteers include responding to email inquiries, serving on a
committee, organizing events, mailings, and assisting with creation of
website content. Once you have some virtual assisting experience under
your belt, you can even volunteer to mentor someone else. Typically
you need to be a member of the association in order to volunteer.
Review the list of associations later in this chapter to determine which
may be right for you. Email the organization’s volunteer coordinator,
which can be found on their website, for more information.

Educational Seminars
Another avenue for volunteering may be to create and run a free
seminar on virtual assistance and its benefits for small businesses for
community residents. You can provide some tips on how to choose
and work with a virtual assistant, and some examples of the type of
work virtual assistants do. You might even consider offering a free hour
of services to anyone who attends – in addition to educating business
owners, it’s a great way to recruit clients. Public libraries often host
these types of programs. Next time you’re checking out a book, take a
look at their bulletin board and check out the upcoming programs they
are offering. Speak with the person in charge of programs about their
needs.

The Internet
You might also consider placing an ad offering an hour of free virtual
assistance services on a website like Craigslist. Potential categories for

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your listing, depending on your specialization, include “small biz ads”,

“creative services”, or “writing/editing/translation”. Be sure to spell out
the details of what you are offering clearly.

Alternatively, you could post something on your social media

accounts, in particular LinkedIn, offering your services for free to your
professional and personal networks.

The Internet also hosts a plethora of virtual assistant sites (many of

which are listed throughout this guide) where people in various stages
of their career post questions about VA-related topics and receive
replies from others in the VA community. In addition to being a great
way to network, it’s also a way to share your expertise and experience.
Even if you’re new to working in the virtual world, maybe you know
of some great free software, or have tips on how to handle a particular
type of project that you’ve worked on in another job. Be creative in your
responses. You can develop your virtual assistance skills and make
great contacts right from the comfort of your own home.

Your Current Employer

If you are currently employed, you don’t necessarily need to quit your
job in order to learn new skills to add to your virtual assistant resume.
For example, if the company you now work for needs someone to
do social media marketing or marketing copy and you have a good
relationship with your employer, you might offer to take on this task,
perhaps offering your services free of charge and taking on the extra
work in your “spare” time. This will also help make a good impression
on your employer, who may become one of your clients in the future.

If someone in your company is currently doing a job that you would like
experience with, such as working in human resources, an area in which
many VAs offer services (such as payroll services and employment
applicant screening), you could volunteer to help the person or
department you want experience with. Although not everyone will
accept an offer of help (some people are territorial, afraid of training
someone who might take over their job, or simply don’t want to share
work they enjoy), you might be surprised at how many people will
jump at the opportunity for assistance. As a result of downsizings, many
departments are short-staffed. Be sure to speak to the right person. In
some cases it will be the head of the department. In other cases it will be

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someone who is currently doing a particular task. If you are not willing
to work for the other department on your own time (lunch hours,
evenings, or even weekends), getting experience this way is probably
not an option for you.

However, in addition to volunteering to do extra work that is outside

of your current job description, one of the easiest and most convenient
ways to develop some of the skills you will need to be a good virtual
assistant is to do so in your current job, whatever it may be. Most virtual
assistants have held administrative assistant or office support jobs for
at least several years before starting their businesses. But keep in mind
it’s the skill set and knowledge, not the job title, that matters! Revisit the
list of skills we explored earlier in this chapter and think about how you
can utilize and improve them right now no matter what your job title or
function. The following are just a few examples:

• Offer to learn a new software package that you think would help
your current employer’s business – you can even help reinforce
your new knowledge, and make a good impression, by training
others in your office on what you’ve learned.

• Gain practice in writing a procedural manual or technical

document by outlining the processes and procedures for your
current job.

• If you feel anxious about interacting with clients, try speaking up

more at meetings, or volunteering to give a presentation.

• Does your boss travel to meetings and conferences? Offer to take

on the task of making travel arrangements if this doesn’t fall
under someone else’s duties already.

• Does your job involve written communications or research? Ask

for feedback on your performance in these areas if your employer
is not already formally providing it.

Your employer may even make online or in-person training seminars

and workshops available to you during working hours to help you
improve these skills if they are relevant to your current position or to
the company as a whole. Always take advantage of free training that
will help you to develop these important skills.

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Family and Friends

If you’re already responsible for all the scheduling and appointment-
setting in your family, that’s great practice for juggling the needs of
multiple clients! Perhaps you are already providing other informal
administrative support services to family and friends. If not, begin
by making a list of all the people in your circle of family and friends
who run their own small businesses either full- or part-time. Offer to
proofread documents, set up a new website or shopping cart program,
set up an email newsletter, or provide background research for projects
they may be working on. This is good practice in anticipating people’s
needs and being prepared to jump in where you’re needed – something
that will come in handy as a VA. Depending on the types of projects you
work on, you can use the results of your labor later to show off your
work to prospective paying clients.

When a friend or family member wants to use your VA services, try to

treat them the way you would treat a “real” client. Schedule a meeting
by phone or in person to discuss the services you will be providing.
Then, try to work with them the way you would with an actual client,
using the steps described in Chapter 2.

To avoid misunderstandings, it’s also a good idea to prepare a simple

contract even if you’re working with family members (let them know
you need the practice). See Section 6.5 for a sample contract.

The final stage of any volunteer experience, including helping friends or

family, should be feedback. This is one of the best ways to learn. Some
people may provide this unsolicited. Still, it is a good idea to make
up a basic feedback form that people can complete (see the example
in Chapter 2). They may feel more comfortable being honest with you
and offering criticism in writing than they would face-to-face. Be sure
to let them know that you welcome constructive criticism and most
importantly, do not take it personally! It is the rare individual that
is born being great at what they do. This is the time for you to make
mistakes and learn from them.

Yourself
Last, but by no means least, be your own first client! It has probably
also occurred to you that your own path toward a new and fulfilling

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occupation as a VA may in many ways parallel the journeys of some

of your future clients who are also starting out in their own businesses
or dealing with some of the challenges and time-consuming tasks that
they may not have anticipated. Remember to keep track of the websites,
software, books, and other sources you find helpful as you go along –
they might also help your clients later. Set up a system that works for
you to keep track of all you are learning, be it a simple notebook and
folders approach, or electronically.

3.2.2 Part-Time Jobs

Another good way to get related experience is by taking a part-
time job. Even if the job doesn’t focus on virtual assistance or office
administration, it can give you an opportunity to learn valuable skills
that could help with your future business (see the lists of skills in this
chapter and Chapter 1 and target part-time jobs that will allow you to
develop those).

A part-time job can also offer a steady income supplement if you do

not yet have the client base to work full-time on your own VA business.
According to one VA industry survey, over 40% of virtual assistants had
begun their business on a part-time basis while working in other jobs.

You can build your administrative skills by taking a non-virtual part-

time office position in your local area. However, one of the best part-
time jobs for gaining virtual assistance experience is working as a
subcontractor for another VA or for a virtual staffing agency. This is the
primary way our experts recommended gaining experience as a VA.

“Subcontracting is a great way for someone to get started. It is a way for

you to set up your billing/invoicing and have it be to a more “friendly”
payor than a regular client. Many VAs are happy to help those who
come behind. However, just as with any relationship, subcontractors
have to maintain their professionalism and stand behind the quality of
their work.”
— Andrea Cannavina, LegalTypist, Inc.

Since subcontracting encompasses many unique issues outside those

entailed by a regular part-time job, you will find more comprehensive
details on this option in the next chapter, which focuses specifically on
subcontracting and working for virtual staffing agencies. In addition, if

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you’re interested in a telecommuting or part-time virtual assistant job,

check out Chapter 4 for details on how to find opportunities and get
hired.

3.3 Learn From Other Virtual Assistants

One of the best ways to learn about being a virtual assistant is by
speaking with people who are currently doing the type of work you
are interested in doing. In this section you will find a variety of ways to
connect with people in the virtual support field.

3.3.1 Information Interviews

Information interviews are another effective way to learn about virtual
assistance. An information interview is defined as a brief meeting with
someone who is working in a career you are interested in learning
about.

Ask your network of contacts if they know anyone who works as a

virtual assistant or who uses a virtual assistant. You may want to
consider expanding your information interviews to other professionals
in areas that you would like to specialize in as well, such as technical
writers, real estate experts, or marketing experts, depending on your
interests. If possible, go beyond getting a name and telephone number
or email address. Instead, ask the individual who personally knows
the VA to make the initial contact, explain that you are learning about
the virtual assistance field, and see if you can call or email them to ask
a few questions.

If no one in your network knows anyone who is a virtual assistant, you

can easily find many helpful virtual assistants online who are willing to
provide information and answer questions for someone starting out. A
good place to begin is the International Virtual Assistants Association
website (click on “Directory” and enter your state or country, or choose
from the list of specializations if you are interested in a particular area).
This association includes members from the U.S., Canada, and abroad.

Although you are conducting an “information interview”, it’s usually

best to avoid using that term when you first call. Many professionals
assume someone who wants to set up an information interview

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is actually looking for a job, not simply looking to learn about the
profession. So they may decline to meet with you if they do not have
any current job openings.

Instead, say that you are studying the virtual assistance profession and
politely ask if you can arrange to meet with them for 20 minutes to learn
about the career. People are much more likely to agree to a meeting if
they know it won’t take too much time. Be prepared that the VA may
not be available for a personal meeting but may be willing to answer
questions on the phone or by email, or even by video conference. If
they make such an offer, take them up on it! If you’re sending an email,
you’re more likely to get a response if it is limited to only a few key
questions.

It’s important to remember that while some people are generous with
their time and encouraging to newcomers, others may simply be too
busy to meet with everyone who wants career advice. People in this
profession are generally a friendly bunch and very willing to share
their knowledge and experience. However, if someone you contact says
they don’t have time for a meeting, politely ask if they know anyone
who might be available to talk with you. If not, thank them for their
time and move on.

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If the VA agrees to a personal, video, or phone meeting, arrive (or

call) on time, dressed professionally, and come prepared with a list of
questions. Following are some questions you might ask:
• How did you get started in virtual assistance?

• What professional experience did you have prior to starting your

business?
• What do you enjoy most about your work?

• What do you wish you had known when you were first getting
into virtual assistance?
• What are some of the specific services you offer?

• Can you suggest any ways that I might utilize my experience in

(mention your employment background) as a VA?
• What is a typical day of work like for you?

• Based on a quick review of my experience to date, what training

or experience do you think I should pursue next?
• What is the biggest mistake you see new virtual assistants make?

• What are some growing trends in the field?

• What advice do you have for someone just getting starting as a

VA?
• Isthere anyone else you can refer me to who might be willing to
meet with me?
• Which professional associations, websites, or publications should
I look into?

TIP: While owners of virtual assistance businesses may be

willing to speak with you, be aware that some of them
may not be eager to help if you plan to start a competing
business in the same city or same niche. However, if you are
going into a niche they do not serve, they might be willing
to answer questions about their business, such as which
marketing techniques they have found most effective.

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If you want to make a good impression, it’s usually not a good idea to
stay longer than agreed without permission. Let the person know when
the 20 minute time limit is up, say you know they are busy, and offer to
leave. If they don’t have another appointment, they may be happy to
extend the meeting. Thank them for their time and any referrals they
were able to provide.

Most importantly, this is not the time to ask for a job. A direct request
puts the person who has done you a favor by meeting with you in an
awkward spot. However, it’s a good idea to have a copy of your resume
with you. If they offer to take your resume to pass along to someone
looking for a subcontractor or to keep on file, do take them up on their
offer!

After the meeting, send a thank-you note or email to the person you met
with and, if someone referred you, thank that person as well. Making
a good impression in an information interview could lead to future
opportunities such as a mentoring relationship or a client referral.

3.3.2 Be a Client
Experiencing virtual assistance from the client perspective has a
number of benefits. It will provide you with first-hand knowledge of
the process from start to finish, as well as a sense of what the VA-client
relationship is like. Hiring a good VA on a project-basis, or even on a
short- or longer-term basis, can also help you with any aspect of starting
or running your business, including research, billing, marketing, or
setting up a website or data entry system.

If you develop a good relationship with your VA, they may even be
willing to mentor you after your working relationship has ended.

3.3.3 Find a Mentor or VA Coach

Another way to learn about virtual assistance is to find a professional
VA who is willing to be your mentor. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary defines the word mentor as “a trusted counselor or guide.”
A mentor can provide you with one-on-one guidance to help you
launch your own career, and if you find someone with whom you truly

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“click”, can often be a valuable resource for years to come, even after
the official mentoring period has ended.

A mentor is someone who has been where you are, has already made
the mistakes, and can offer you a perspective that you won’t get from a
structured certification course or volunteer work. Choose someone who
is open, communicative, and willing to give you “the real scoop” about
what the day-to-day challenges are, in addition to the rewards, and how
to effectively deal with them. Having a strong positive role model can
boost your confidence as a VA, as well as help you improve your skills.
The mentoring relationship benefits the mentor as well as the mentee
by providing an opportunity for them to contribute to the future of a
profession they feel strongly about.

TIP: Job shadowing involves spending a day, a week, or some

other limited period of time observing someone work. It
allows you to learn more about a career, ask questions, and
actually see what a job entails on a daily basis. When seeking
a mentor, you may want to ask if there is an opportunity to
observe your mentor on the job.

Structured Mentoring and Coaching Programs

There are many experienced virtual assistants who offer one-on-one
coaching and consulting or mentoring, walking you through every stage
of your business start-up and serving as your personal “motivator”
if you feel you need more guidance and support. The line between
mentor/coach is somewhat blurry and you may find these words used
interchangeably. However, true coaching is a specialized skill that
goes beyond imparting advice about becoming a virtual assistant and
sharing personal experience. A coach can help you with concerns you
may have or challenges you are facing around things like goal-setting
or work/life balance. While mentors may or may not charge for their
services, coaches almost always charge for their consulting services.

Coaching sessions may be sold as a monthly package for several

hundred dollars, entitling you to a certain number of phone or video
sessions and emails per month for a pre-specified period (generally
anywhere from 1 to 3 months), or on an hourly basis for consulting.
Hourly rates may range anywhere from $50 to more than $100 per hour.

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AssistU is an organization often mentioned by our experts as a great

source for one-on-one coaching. Founded in 1997 by virtual assisting
trailblazer Stacy Brice, coaching is available in addition to certification
and training programs and many useful VA resources. Information
about coaching through AssistU is available on The Training page of
the AssistU website.

There is currently no licensing requirement for coaches, so bear in

mind during your search that anyone can call themselves a Professional
Coach. When choosing a coach, in addition to virtual assistance
experience, one criteria you can look for is coaching credentials from a
professional coaching organization or training from a reputable coach-
training provider accredited by the International Coaching Federation
(ICF). There are also many great coaches out there, however, who are
not credentialed in coaching. Only you can decide what your individual
needs are (whether you might benefit from a life coach or career coach
as opposed to a coach specializing in virtual assisting, for example),
what fits your budget, and who you feel comfortable working with. The
best way to find the right coach for you, besides interviewing several
for yourself, is through recommendations from other VAs (back to the
importance of networking!).

Finding a Mentor On Your Own

If you do a significant amount of networking and informational
interviewing, you may have come in contact with one or more
individuals who you really felt comfortable with. Perhaps they took
extra time with you and indicated a willingness to speak with you
again in the future, or perhaps you shared an interest in a particular
specialization. You may also have participated in a webinar or event in
which the speaker particularly impressed you. Or maybe you’ve read
of someone online whose work you especially admire, or whose name
you’ve heard mentioned frequently by other virtual assistants. Once
you have identified what you are looking for in a mentor and have
identified a few potential prospects, approach them with an email of
introduction (see sample below).

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In your email:

• Explain why you selected this person as a potential mentor. It

may be their success in an industry you are interested in, their
expertise in a particular niche, or that you admire their ability
to inspire others. Whatever the reason, let the potential mentor
know why you chose them out of all the virtual assistants out
there. Don’t ever use a form letter to approach multiple coaches at
the same time. Make your request personalized and thoughtful.

• Make a specific request. Don’t just say you want them to be your
mentor; explain what you are asking. Do you want to talk with
them on the telephone once a week for 20 minutes? Do you want
to meet with them once a month over lunch? Do you want to
communicate with them on a weekly basis via email? Also, be
open to their offer of an alternative method of contact, as you are
the one asking for a favor. Some people shy away from mentoring
because they fear it will take too much time or energy. Assure
your potential mentor this won’t be the case.

• Ask whether they charge a fee for mentoring and if so, whether
they have a minimum time-frame such as six months or one year.

• If they do not charge a fee, offer something back. There are likely
many demands on their time, so you can offer to refer the mentor
business, or you may have another skill that you can offer in
return for mentoring services. Maybe you are a computer whiz
and can offer to set up the mentor’s new computer network. Or
maybe you can write great advertising copy, and offer to write the
mentor’s next brochure.

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Sample Mentoring Request Email

To: [email protected]
Re: Mentoring Request

Dear Ms. Frank,

I recently had the opportunity to participate in your webinar on

building a successful VA business. I was extremely impressed
with your creative ideas, as well as your ability to use humor and
personal experience to connect with and empower your audience.
As a beginning virtual assistant myself, these are skills that I am
seeking to cultivate. The purpose of my letter is to inquire about
your availability as a mentor, and to ask whether you would
consider providing me with your guidance on this basis.

I understand that you have a very busy schedule of training

workshops and seminars in addition to your regular clients.
However, I can assure you that I do not wish to take up too much of
your time and would be willing to structure the mentoring situation
in whatever way is convenient for you. Perhaps I could call or email
you once per month with specific questions or areas where your
feedback would be helpful, if that would work for you.

Prior to getting into the virtual assistance field, I worked in

information technology and also have some experience in database
design. I would be happy to volunteer my services to assist with
any computer-related needs you may have in exchange for your
mentoring time.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I will follow up with
you next week.

Best Regards,

Valerie Virtual-Assistant

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3.3.4 Join Associations

“My advice is to get to know other Virtual Assistants. I learned SO
MUCH from other VAs when I was just starting out. Everything from
tech tips and tricks, “how to’s” and new arenas to network and educate
yourself. It’s unbelievable. And it’s been my personal experience that
we’re a pretty approachable bunch!”
— Stephanie Lee,
Scratchpad Secretaries

Professional Associations
You don’t need to wait until you are an established business owner or
experienced VA to join a professional association. In fact, you shouldn’t!
Professional Associations are a great source for learning, both
through networking with other virtual assistants and through varied
educational offerings from free newsletters to members-only programs.

Below we will take a look at several professional associations you can

join as a beginning virtual assistant and the types of benefits you will
receive. This is a great way to increase your visibility to prospective
clients and network with other VAs, as well as gain credibility, especially
if you are relatively new to the field.

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IAPO International Association of

Professional Virtual Assistants
IAPO International Association of Professional Virtual Assistants
is a membership organization created to provide education
and business development services for people working as, or
studying to become, a professional virtual assistant.

Benefits for Members

Numerous benefits for paid members including: discounts on the
Virtual Assistant Certificate Courses offered by the International
Association of Professions Career College; quarterly newsletter
with practical advice to help you achieve greater success in
your career; additional discounts on hundreds of products and
services for both business and pleasure including: restaurants,
hotels, computers, movie tickets, books, flowers, cell phones, gifts
and much more from popular companies such as Dell, Target,
Sears, Disney, FabJob, Toyota, Sprint, and many more in the
U.S., with some discounts available in other countries. Plus, you
may display the seal of membership of the IAPO International
Association of Professional Virtual Assistants on your own
website and marketing materials.

Join the growing IAPO Professional Virtual Assistance

community today and start accessing all of the benefits
membership offers. 

Visit IAPO International Association of Virtual Assistants for

more information about benefits and membership fees, and to
join.

To take advantage of these learning and marketing opportunities, and

access many job offers and requests for bid proposals (called “RFPs”,
which will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 6), consider joining
one or more of the following as your budget allows:

International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA)

This is the leading professional organization for VAs and offers a wealth
of resources. Among the membership benefits are access to a variety of

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online and offline connections and networking opportunities with other

members, monthly information sessions, free website hosting, access
to their RFP system where you can bid on projects, a listing in their
member directory, and more. Membership is open to anyone at any
stage of their VA business, from novices through to owners of multiple
VA practices.

Here are some other online communities you may be interested in:

• Virtual Assistant Networking

• Canadian Assocation of Virtual Assistants

• Reddit Virtual Assistant Community

Business Organizations
You can also join a number of excellent organizations designed for
business owners to learn and network in an organized setting. One
excellent resource is your local Chamber of Commerce. Chambers usually
have an annual fee and are set up to aid the local businessperson with
a variety of business-related issues. Members attend local meetings and
can also take part in events designed to help them be more successful.

To find out how to contact your local chamber, visit the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce or the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Through these connections you may even find out about part-time or
full-time job openings.

3.4 Educational Programs

Unlike some professions such as accounting or engineering, there are
no specific educational requirements required to become a virtual
assistant. However, there are a number of educational credentials that
can make a good impression on both employers and clients, including:

• Degree programs

• Professional certification

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• Continuing education courses

Each of these educational opportunities will be covered in this section.

In the section that follows, you will find other ways to learn about
virtual assisting through self-study.

NOTE: Information about courses and other educational programs

is provided for the convenience of readers and does not
represent an endorsement. Only you can decide which
educational program, if any, is right for you.

3.4.1 Degree Programs

According to an analysis of VA resumes, online career experts Zippia.
com found that 45% of virtual assistants had a bachelor’s degree and
18% had an associate’s degree. So, as you can see from the numbers, a
college degree is definitely not a requirement to be a successful VA.

However, depending on your area of specialization and target market,

holding a relevant degree (in business or marketing, for example) can
certainly help. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of
Labor Statistics, administrative assistants with a bachelor’s degree “will
be in great demand to act more as managerial assistants and to perform
more complex tasks.”

While a degree can certainly be useful if you want to start your own
VA business, it is not essential. That’s because most clients are more
concerned with finding a VA who has real world experience in office
administration, marketing, or whatever specific service they are
seeking. In the virtual assisting field, degrees are secondary to the
importance of matching the right VA with the right client in terms of
skill set, experience, and work style.

In the end, getting the job or the client is a matter of them trusting
in your ability to perform and succeed at the required tasks for the
projects. If you want to become a virtual assistant without getting a
degree, you can use some of the other techniques described in this
chapter to learn the necessary skills.

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Types of Degrees
Virtual assistants may hold associate’s or bachelor’s degrees in a wide
spectrum of fields including:

• Communications

• Marketing

• Public relations

• Business

• English

• Graphic design

• Human resources

• Accounting

• Information technology

• Psychology

While there is much to be learned from all of these fields, and many
others, that can be of use to a VA, there is no particular advantage to
holding one degree over another in terms of establishing your business
according to the VAs we spoke with. A lot depends on the work
experience you’ve accumulated and your choice of specialization. Many
people end up working in industries that have absolutely nothing to do
with the field in which they hold their degree.

TIP: If you want to earn a degree but don’t want to attend classes
full-time, consider another option such as online or distance
learning which you can do at your own pace.

3.4.2 Continuing Education and

Non-Degree Courses
You can also take relevant courses at your local college or university
without pursuing a degree or certificate. Through the continuing
education department you may be able to take a single course on a
Saturday or over several evenings. Many colleges and universities

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will also allow you to register for single courses on a non-degree basis.
You complete all of the course work and exams as if you were a degree
student, and can generally apply these credits toward graduation
requirements should you later decide to become a matriculating
student. Not only can this be a valuable learning experience, you can
also list any relevant courses you have taken on your resume.

Virtually every college and university has a continuing education

department, although the department may be called adult education,
continuing studies, educational outreach, extension, or further
education. If you can’t find a listing for the continuing education
department on the college’s website, call the college’s main switchboard
and ask for the continuing education department. If you are interested
in taking regular courses on a non-degree basis, contact the admissions
office and the specific department that offers the courses you are
interested in.

When you visit an educational institution’s website, there are a variety

of terms you can use to search for courses. Before you begin your search,
it might help to make a list of your current skills and competencies
along with your level of experience in each, and a list of skills you do
not currently have that you’d like to incorporate into your VA business.

Depending on your interests, you might try searching for courses in:

• Web design

• Marketing

• Business

• Graphic arts

• Writing

• Computers

• Human resource management

• Project management

• Accounting

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3.4.3 Certificate Program

International Association of Professions Career College
The International Association of Professions Career College, also
known as IAP Career College, was established by the publishers of the
guide you are reading and a team of respected academics with the aim
of offering the finest certificate programs for non-traditional careers.
IAP Career College offers a Virtual Assistant Certificate Course which
uses the guide you are now reading as a textbook.

This part-time 6-week course is open to students anywhere in the

world and is offered online, allowing you to earn a Virtual Assistant
Certificate from the comfort of your own home.

Registration gives you an all-inclusive package consisting of: access to

the comprehensive, self-directed online Virtual Assistant Certificate
Course, support from a Faculty Member who can provide you with
personal teaching assistance and career advice, and a beautiful
professional Virtual Assistant Certificate upon successful completion
of the course. When you register for the course, you will also have the
option of becoming a member of the IAPO International Association
of Professional Virtual Assistants and enjoy its many benefits.

Visit the Virtual Assistant Certificate Course page on the IAP Career
College website for more information about benefits and fees, and to
register.

3.5 Resources for Self-Study

This section provides information about books, periodicals, and
websites that can help you get a virtual assistance education. Some of
these sources will provide you with more information about virtual
assistance as a career (aspects of running your business, finding clients,
etc.), while others are sites you may use to learn or brush up on your
computer or business skills.

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3.5.1 Books
Amazon lists more than 60,000 books on the subject of computer skills
alone – and thousands more on the various business skills you might
use as a VA, but of course you do not have the time to read them all! So
here is a selection of excellent books you may want to start with. Look
for them at your local library, browse through them at a local bookstore,
or order them online.

Writing
• 10 Steps to Successful Business Writing,
by Jack E. Appleman

• On Writing Well,
by William Zinsser

• Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously

Good Content,
by Ann Handley

Desk Reference
• Administrative Assistant’s and Secretary’s Handbook,
by James Stroman, Kevin Wilson, and Jennifer Wauson

• The Elements of Style,

by William Strunk, Jr.

Time Management & Organization

• Time Management from the Inside Out: The Foolproof System for
Taking Control of Your Schedule—and Your Life,
by Julie Morgenstern

• The 4-Hour Workweek:

Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich,
by Timothy Ferriss

• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity,

by David Allen

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Computer & Internet Marketing Skills

• Building a Story Brand,
by Donald Miller

• Digital Marketing Strategy,

by Simon Kingsnorth

• Information Technology Essentials,

by Eric Frick

3.5.2 Websites and Sources for Skills Training

If you type “virtual assistant training” into a search engine, you will
have literally thousands of websites to choose from. So here’s a short
list of the best websites for getting started learning about being a VA
and enhancing your skills on your own. You will find more resources
on many of the websites listed throughout this guide. The following
additional sites either provide detailed information, or links to detailed
information, on numerous aspects of providing virtual office support.

Skills Assessment and Training

• FlexJobs
A reputable source of flexible work, including many
online-only jobs, FlexJobs has a bank of over 170 free skills
assessments for members. (Check for an online coupon before
joining!)

• Northstar Digital Literacy

Free online assessments for basic computer literacy, software
literacy, and technology in daily life. Also includes resources
for improving your skills. Funded by Literacy Minnesota but
available for free to everyone.

• MindTools.com – essential career skills

Offers free assessments and suggestions for improving
business skills such as communication, problem-solving, and
decision-making.

• TypingTest.com - typing skills measure mean

Free online typing practice, speed, and accuracy tests.

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4. Getting Hired for Subcontract Work

Once you have developed your skills and knowledge of how virtual
assistance works, it’s time to start getting paid for your talents.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not differentiate between

virtual assistants and “traditional” administrative assistants. This
is unfortunate because while the BLS predicts a 9% decline for
administrative assistants in the next decade, according to VA industry
sources, virtual assistants are benefiting from the global rise in
remote working and outsourcing and employment prospects are
booming. Growth potential looks particularly strong for those with
extensive knowledge of computer software applications and advanced
communication skills.

Virtual assistants, as defined in Chapter 1, don’t really “get hired” in the

traditional sense, since by definition they are independent contractors
and do not work as employees for any single company. Still, you do
have flexible employment options.

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While many virtual assistants enjoy the freedom and independence

they gain from operating their own business without having to answer
to anyone else, some prefer to work solely as subcontractors for other
virtual assistants or virtual staffing agencies.

“If the VA is only working as a subcontractor, she doesn’t need to

spend money or time on marketing. That means she doesn’t need
a website. She also doesn’t have to sell herself to anyone except the
person she’s subcontracting to. This can save her a lot of money and
time.”
— K
 athy Goughenour,
Expert VA Training

Other virtual assistants accept subcontract work to supplement their

own VA business, either temporarily while seeking clients of their own,
or on a more permanent basis just to increase their opportunities and
build their network.

In addition, many administrative assistants who are looking to gain

experience in the virtual world to make sure it’s right for them dip
their toe in the pool by subcontracting for others. Almost all of our
contributing experts highly recommended this as a great avenue for
new virtual assistants to explore.

“I think subcontracting is definitely a good way for new VAs to get

started and gain some experience. The benefits include allowing the
new VA to gain some valuable experience in working with clients and
possibly collecting a testimonial for their business.”
— K
 ate Kerans,
Kerans Virtual Assistance

If you fit into any of the above categories, you may wish to look into
obtaining subcontract work from a more established VA or a larger
virtual assistant staffing agency. While you do give up some control
and are typically paid less per hour (often about half of what you
might make on your own), there are also some attractive benefits.
Subcontractors don’t have to deal with the additional responsibilities
and expense of marketing and the time consuming process of building
a client base. They also do not have to interact directly with clients so
more of their time can be devoted to income-generating assignments.

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This majority of this chapter focuses on the benefits and challenges

that are unique to VA subcontract work, and how to find and obtain
subcontracting opportunities. However, for those readers who are
interested in exploring the related area of administrative telecommute
positions (i.e. a work-from-home staff position with a single company)
some information on the more traditional job application process is
included as well. In the next chapter, you will learn how to start your
own virtual assistance business and “get hired” by clients. Before you
know it you may be subcontracting work out yourself to help grow
your business! So whether you see subcontract work as an end in itself
or as a stepping stone to starting your own VA business, the information
in this chapter can help you get started.

4.1 Who Hires Subcontractors

Subcontracting work is a common practice in the world of virtual
assistants. Consider the information in this section both from the
perspective of getting subcontract work and outsourcing work yourself.
Outsourcing allows the entrepreneur to maximize income potential by
earning a percentage of the hourly rate they have negotiated with the
client and paying a lower rate to another VA to handle the assignment.
The VA who negotiated the assignment is ultimately responsible for
the quality and timeliness of the subcontractor’s work, so it’s important
to work with individuals who are dependable and reflect positively on
their business.

This arrangement can benefit all parties involved. But exactly who hires
subcontractors and how does one find opportunities?

4.1.1 Solo Virtual Assistants

Many experienced virtual assistants with thriving one-person
businesses just don’t have enough hours in the day to accept all of the
potential clients that come their way. Others may not specialize in a
particular task that a client is requesting. Some VAs choose to refer
these clients elsewhere. Many, however, choose to subcontract work to
other VAs who work on an as-needed basis. The business owner who
subcontracts work to others may want or need to spend more time
running and marketing their business. This leaves fewer hours to be

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spent doing actual income-producing work for clients. Subcontractors

can be an extra income-generating solution for them.

Using subcontractors who have skill sets outside the business owner’s
area of expertise also allows business expansion by providing added
value and more flexibility in the types of clients they can accept. If you
have a specialized skill or a particular area you’re interested in focusing
on, you may be able to get subcontract work that allows you to do that.

“We currently have several associate VAs on staff including general

VAs, graphic artists, and bookkeepers. From a business owner’s
standpoint, it’s not necessarily the top way to make a lot of money
because much of my time is spent working behind the scenes
monitoring projects, paying contractors, and setting up projects, but
it is a great way to offer a multitude of services to keep your business
a “one stop shop” for clients. For an upcoming VA, this is a perfect
way to get your feet wet and determine what type of clients you enjoy
working with most and what services you enjoy providing.”
— Dawn Martinello,
Monday Morning VA

4.1.2 Virtual Assistant Staffing Agencies

Virtual staffing agencies are typically larger operations that maintain a
stable of subcontractors and/or staff with varied areas of expertise. The
virtual assistant staffing agency functions similarly to a temp agency
with the exception that all work is done virtually.

Staffing agencies often distinguish themselves from solo VA

businesses by offering expanded service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
which obviously would be extremely difficult for a single person
office to manage (even with a lot of coffee!). Having a large pool of
subcontractors available in various time zones with varying availability
allows a team approach and maximum flexibility and availability for
their clients.

Some virtual staffing agencies may offer opportunities for staff positions
as well as subcontract work. In addition to providing virtual assistance
services, they sometimes hire client services representatives to handle
inquiries and determine which subcontractor has the experience and
skills to meet their specific needs.

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4.2 How to Find Subcontracting and

Telecommute Opportunities
There are a variety of ways to find opportunities for subcontract work.
This section covers both traditional and non-traditional ways to find
job openings.

4.2.1 Advertised Positions

“Checking the job ads” is the traditional way to look for job openings.
However, it can also be the least effective way for most virtual assistants
to find a job. That’s because for every good position that’s advertised,
there may be a hundred or more applicants. There are also many “work
from home scams” that masquerade as VA job opportunities or VA
staffing agencies and a virtual assistant looking for work in this way
needs to be savvy about spotting them. Nevertheless, if you want to do
a complete job search, or if you have specialized skills or extensive work
experience, you could find your next job advertised online.

Virtual Staffing Agency Websites

Many large VA staffing agencies post information on their websites
about how to apply to work for them. In addition to lists of current job
openings, they may have any of the following:

• Online application form

• Explanation of what they’re looking for in employees

• Description of the types of clients they provide services for

• Profiles of current team members

• Information about the company’s history and growth

• Advice on what skills are most in demand with their clients

VA staffing agencies get many applications from those seeking

subcontract work, but don’t overlook smaller firms’ sites. If there is
no link for “careers” or “work with us” on the home page, click on
the link for information about the company or the “contact us” page.
That will usually take you to a page that includes information about

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opportunities to work with the company and whether or not they are
currently accepting applications.

Several virtual staffing agencies that often hire subcontractors are:

• Belay

• Chatterboss

• Zirtual (U.S. only)

Be sure to review subcontracting contracts carefully and ask questions

about the agency’s payment policy if it is not clearly expressed – being
paid for your work should never be contingent upon whether or when
the client pays the agency.

Job Websites
These days, online job sites like Monster and CareerBuilder dominate
the job search market. That being said, online newspapers can still be
a good place to look, in particular for regionally based jobs. Likewise,
online business and industry magazines can be useful for specific
specializations.

Job seekers can now find positions advertised at a variety of job sites,
the most popular of which are:

• CareerBuilder

• Monster

• Workopolis

• Indeed

• SimplyHired

You will find some subcontracting opportunities through these job

sites. Mostly, however, you will find companies listing full- and part-
time administrative telecommute or remote work positions. Some
companies may refer to these positions as “virtual assistant” jobs even
though they do not meet the traditional definition. It is important to
clarify, both for yourself and with the company, if not clearly stated in

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the ad, whether these are staff or contractor positions. If you are seeking
a full-time administrative position that allows you to telecommute
(refer to the definitions we reviewed in Chapter 1), this may be a good
avenue. It is not, however, the best choice for finding clients for your
own business. This is typically done by responding to RFP’s posted on
freelance marketplaces (discussed in Section 6.3.1) or on professional
virtual assistance association sites (see Chapter 6 for specific advice on
finding clients and more details about what an RFP is and where to find
them).

Some VAs make a habit of regularly scanning the administrative

assistant ads on job sites and responding with their marketing materials
or link to their website in an effort to make these companies aware of
the benefits of hiring a VA instead of an on-site staff member. This is
a good creative idea in theory, but in reality it rarely brings results.
Why? One reason is that hiring managers may not even get past your
initial email inquiry if you have not followed their instructions. Did
they request applicants submit a resume? If so, sending a link to your
website (however beautiful and credential-filled it may be) is likely to
end up in the deleted bin.

If you do choose to go this route to find work, consider submitting

your resume instead (see the example below). Since an eye for detail
and ability to follow instructions are important qualities in a virtual
assistant, why not get started on the right foot and make a good
impression?

Industry and Telecommute Job Sites

While the general job boards offer the greatest number of positions,
you may also have luck finding your ideal job at one of the following
job boards that focus specifically on telecommuting opportunities and/
or the virtual assistance industry. However, most of these do require a
subscription fee, and they tend to be more geared towards freelancers,
which means you may have to bid on work (this is discussed in more
detail in Section 6.3.1). These sites have been recommended by other
VAs who have found work through them.

• Rat Race Rebellion by Staffcentrix Job Leads

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• Virtual Assistant Job Board

• Upwork

• FlexJobs

Avoiding Scams
According to a report from Staffcentrix, a leading advocate of
home-based virtual careers and a virtual work training provider,
“A daunting 42-to-1 ‘scam ratio’ in online work-at-home job leads
is costing Americans millions of dollars annually.” They further
estimate the growth rate of online work from home scams at a
whopping 50% per year.

So how can you tell a real VA opportunity from a scam? It can

be difficult. However, keep the following tips in mind when
evaluating online job leads:

• Be extremely wary of any VA staffing agency that charges

you a fee either to apply or to be considered for work.

• Avoid agencies that ask you to work for free on a “trial

assignment”. Even on a trial basis, you should always be
paid for your services.

• Sometimes the scam is more well hidden, such as an agency

that requires you to complete their “training”, for which
you must pay, before being signed as a contractor (which
may or may not ever result in any jobs).

• Perhaps the most difficult to spot—some staffing agencies

lure you into downloading software that they require you
to use for contract assignments with them, or otherwise
require you to utilize an affiliate’s wares or products for
which they are paid a fee in return (again these may or may
not ever result in any subcontract work).

A reputable staffing agency earns their profits by providing

quality services for their clients. They charge the client a fee, and
pay the subcontracting VA a percentage of this fee. A legitimate
agency does not directly request payment of any kind from the

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VAs who work for them. They are interested in your qualifications
and experience, not your credit card number. It should be noted,
however, that there are some legitimate job listing sites that do
charge a fee to access their job leads. These sites typically hire
researchers and staff to investigate the legitimacy of work from
home jobs and prescreen all opportunities, so you are paying in
part for their leg work on your behalf.

4.2.2 Unadvertised Positions

Many available jobs are never advertised. While you may find some
telecommute positions listed on the major job sites, virtual assistants
and VA staffing agencies are unlikely to spend hundreds of dollars to
post subcontracting work opportunities at a site such as Monster. So
how do they find subcontractors? The two primary ways are through
referrals and direct contact.

Referrals and Networking

Many virtual assistants seeking subcontractors find them through
referrals, or word-of-mouth. When a business owner needs to bring
someone on board with a particular area of expertise, they will typically
ask friends, business associates, and current VA team members if they
know anyone who might be suitable for the job. They also may contact
those they know through VA associations and online VA social media
groups.

“Signing up to online VA communities is a great place to start. That

allows a newbie to see how active other VAs are, who the experts are,
their communication styles, and what they’re up to. These potential
VAs can then market themselves to a select group of VA firms. More
and more of us are looking for subcontractors as this industry grows!”
— T
 ya Bolton,
Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC

A recent article on Payscale cited a number of surveys that have been

conducted over the last several years, where anywhere from 70% to
85% of people surveyed reported getting their job through networking
(the 85% was found in a survey conducted by LinkedIn). In addition,

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some studies estimate that up to 80% of jobs never even get advertised.
Regardless of which of the countless studies and surveys on this topic
are the most accurate, it’s clear that networking remains one of the
mains ways for people to find jobs.

What is perhaps most significant for job seekers is the fact that most
positions obtained through word of mouth are found through
acquaintances instead of through friends or family. A classic study by
sociologist Mark Granovetter of Stanford University, titled Getting a Job:
A Study of Contacts and Careers, found that 84% of the respondents who
found a job through personal contacts learned about the opportunity
from someone they saw only “occasionally” or “rarely”. That’s because
you likely know many of the same people that your close friends know,
whereas acquaintances are likely to know other people and hear about
different opportunities.

In Section 6.3.4 you will find practical advice on how to network to find
clients. You can also use the advice in that part of the guide to help you
meet and connect with other VAs who can hire you – or recommend
you to someone who can hire you – for subcontract work.

Direct Contact
Even if you don’t know anyone connected to a particular company, it
may still be possible to get subcontract work there by contacting the
company directly. About 10% of the participants in Granovetter’s study
were hired after applying directly to an employer.

It happens rarely, but sometimes a manager will have just decided that
they need a new person when they happen to receive a phone call or
email from someone who looks like they might be an ideal candidate
for the job. Many employers would rather find someone this way than
invest all the time and effort in advertising the job, screening resumes,
and interviewing numerous candidates.

If you decide to make “cold” contact with employers (as opposed to

the “warm” contacts that come through networking), it’s a good idea
to focus on specific types of employers who are seeking the types of
skills in which you specialize or who work with clients in an industry
in which you have experience.

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Direct contact with someone you don’t know is not typically a good way
to find subcontract work with an individual VA, however. You are more
likely to put someone off or seem unprofessional by directly asking
someone you don’t know for work. It’s typically a better investment of
your time to develop a relationship with the person first and establish
your credibility, reliability, and expertise. Then down the road when
that VA is looking for help, they are far more likely to send work your
way if you’ve made a positive impression.

Using LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a professional networking website used by millions
of professionals around the world, including virtual assistants,
and it could be a powerful tool for you to find work and market
your services (more on using LinkedIn for marketing purposes
in Section 6.2.4).

On LinkedIn, you can conduct job searches and create job

“alerts” based on keywords (e.g. “virtual assistance” or “virtual
administrative services”), job type (e.g., part-time, entry-level,
remote, etc.), salary range, and so on, to narrow the scope of your
search.

LinkedIn is also a great way to network with other professionals

in the virtual assistance industry and beyond. You can connect
with other users and as your network grows, your name and
profile will reach more people, which could very well result in
new business for you—eventually, you might find that, instead of
you always initiating contact, prospective clients begin seeking
you out for assistance.

To get started on LinkedIn, you’ll first need to register and

then set up your profile. Your LinkedIn profile picture and
background photo are two of the most important elements of
your page. You are essentially marketing yourself, so make sure
your profile picture is polished and professional.

Other important elements of your profile include:

• YourHeadline: in addition to your job title, try to include
some details about your work style, your philosophy,
and maybe your motto or tagline if you have one. Just

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remember to keep it short and to the point—you want to

grab the reader’s attention from the outset.
• Your Summary: go beyond the basic listing of your work
experience, education, skills, etc. Demonstrate how these
skills and experience can benefit clients.

• Services You Provide: This is an especially important

section for self-employed individuals. It’s here that you’ll
list and highlight the range of services you provide and,
according to LinkedIn, it can “boost your visibility in
search results.”

• Endorsements: Including endorsements from clients and

colleagues is a great way to demonstrate your value to
prospective clients and employers. Try to present a variety
of endorsements that capture a broad range of your skills
and talents.

If you want to learn more about how to create an effective

LinkedIn profile, check out LinkedIn’s Help Center, which has
lots of advice on developing your profile, connecting with your
network, and searching for jobs.

4.3 Job-Hunting Materials

This section presents a brief overview of job hunting techniques,
including crafting winning resumes and cover letters, additional
materials to include such as portfolios and references, as well as tips on
how to prepare for an interview.

4.3.1 Your Resume

As most job seekers know, a resume is a written summary of your
work experience and other qualifications to do a job. A good resume,
however, is not just a chronological list of jobs – it is a personal
marketing tool. The way your background is presented can say just as
much about you as your work experience does.

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Which Type of Resume Is Best for You?

There are three common resume formats: chronological, functional,
and combination.

Chronological Resume
The chronological resume is the most commonly used format. It
lists work experience in reverse order, starting with the most recent.
Employers prefer chronological resumes because the format makes
it easy for them to quickly weed out candidates whose previous
experience doesn’t precisely match what they’re looking for.

A recent survey found that 84 percent of recruiters prefer chronological

resumes so it’s a good choice for those with a solid work history.
However, if you are a career changer or have time gaps in your work
history, a functional or combination resume will likely be a better choice
for you.

Functional Resume
Instead of listing your experience chronologically, the functional
resume organizes your experience to highlight your skills and
accomplishments. In a functional resume you create headings for
each administrative skill you want to demonstrate (such as project
management or payroll administration), and summarize your previous
experiences and accomplishments using those skills.

The functional resume is a good choice for career changers because

it emphasizes your relevant skills rather than specific jobs you have
held. However, because this format is often used by applicants who
have gaps or weaknesses in their work history, some employers view
functional resumes with suspicion.

Combination Resume
The combination resume (also known as a hybrid resume) combines
elements of both the chronological and functional resumes. It includes
a section with headings of relevant administrative skills and summaries
of your accomplishments in those areas. This section is followed with
a summary of previous jobs similar to what you might include in a
chronological resume.

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This resume is often the best choice for new virtual assistants because
it highlights your skills while giving employers the chronological work
history that most want to see on a resume.

Basic Resume Writing Guidelines

Even if you have never been paid to provide virtual assistance, you
can write a powerful resume that can help you get a job based on the
relevant skills and experiences you’ve accumulated in your non-virtual
jobs and volunteer positions.

Employers want to know you have the specific skills necessary to do

the job they are hiring for. A resume containing too much irrelevant
information could be rejected before the employer has even finished
reading it. Therefore, instead of submitting a traditional resume
focusing on each job you have ever held and what you did, create a
combination resume focusing on the skills the employer is looking for,
followed by a brief summary of previous jobs.

Exactly what you will include on your resume, and where on your
resume you will include it, depends on your previous experience, but
also on the types of assignments you’d like to focus on in the future.
For example, if you have bookkeeping experience from a previous
administrative job, but you absolutely hated it and want to focus on
web design, by all means do not highlight your bookkeeping skills on
your resume. Below you will find a sample of a resume that could be
used to apply for a position as a virtual assistant.

Highlighting Transferable Skills

Looking at work experience in terms of skill sets and accomplishments
instead of job titles can open up a lot more possibilities.

For career changers or those with limited employment experience,

look for transferable skills that can be utilized as a virtual assistant.
The following is by no means an exhaustive list, but represents some
common categories of transferable skills:

People Skills:

• Training

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• Teaching

• Supervising

• Team building

• Coaching

• Managing

• Developing

• Mentoring

• Motivating

Communication:

• Writing

• Editing

• Presenting

• Proofreading

• Interviewing

• Formatting

• Foreign language skills

• Corresponding

• Facilitating

Finance:

• Budgeting

• Fundraising

• Accounting

• Cost analysis

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• Financial planning

• Auditing

• Controlling

• Payroll management

Technical:

• Programming

• Designing

• Systems management

• Database design

• Database management

• Engineering

• Troubleshooting

• Manufacturing

• Database administration

Marketing Skills:

• Marketing

• Advertising

• Copywriting

• Promoting

• Pricing

• Market analysis

• Client relations

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Management Skills:
• Decision-making

• Delegating

• Organizing

• Implementing

• Directing

• Overseeing

• Strategizing

Creative Skills
• Problem solving

• Synthesizing ideas

• Designing

• Writing

• Photo editing

• Creative thinking

Here are some general dos and don’ts for preparing your resume. You
can see examples of these dos and don’ts in the sample resume that
follows.

• DO put your contact information (name, address, phone number,

email) at the top of your resume.

• DO include an objective or summary statement that is relevant

to the position you are applying for and that entices the reader to
want to read further in your resume. Mention the value you will
bring to the employer, not just what you want.

• DO include professional affiliations, certifications, or educational

programs attended. This includes membership in professional VA
associations (listed in Section 3.3.4 of this guide) or even attending
a workshop or training program on a particular type of computer
software.

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• DO show that you have the administrative (and/or marketing,

design and research, depending on your focus) skills described
in Chapter 3 of this guide. Include both paid and volunteer
accomplishments and experiences.

• DO include accomplishment statements that quantify where

possible (e.g. “increased sales by 20%” is more effective than just
“increased sales”) and show cost savings, increased quality or
productivity.

• DO proofread. Then proofread again! Spell check programs are

great, but they do not catch all errors and are never a substitute
for careful editing and a good eye.

• DO create several versions of the resume in different formats

including Microsoft Word, Google Docs (for easy filesharing),
PDF (which preserves formatting), and an ASCII or plain text
version in Notepad for scanning or cutting and pasting into
online application forms.

• DO save your electronic resume with a filename that uses your

full name or first initial and middle initial and last name. This
will allow employers to easily locate your document rather than
wading through hundreds of files simply named “resume”.

• DON’T include irrelevant information. Some employers make a

decision about a resume within seconds, so a resume containing
information about your age or number of children could be
rejected before the employer has even finished reading it.

• DON’T go back further than 10 years on your resume unless you

have done something exceptional. Some employers believe what
you learned or did more than a decade ago is outdated. If you
do list earlier employment, include only a couple of bullet points
about each and describe more current accomplishments in greater
detail.

• DON’T list references on your resume, or the unnecessary space-

wasting phrase “References available upon request” (this is
assumed), but consider including quotes on your resume from
people who have worked with you.

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• DON’T go overboard and use too many different fonts on one

resume. This can be disorienting and disrupt the flow. Make
sure the design matches the industry culture (is it a conservative
or creative industry?), and looks nice with no typos. You are
applying for a job where professional presentation matters.

• DO ask someone (preferably another VA or administrative

assistant in your industry niche) to review your resume before
you send it to an employer.

There are many excellent books devoted specifically to the topic of

resume writing if you need further assistance. Two extremely useful
resources are Knock ‘em Dead Resumes by Martin Yate, and How to Write
the Perfect Resume, by Dan Clay. You may also choose to have your
resume reviewed and critiqued by a professional career coach if you
find you’re not getting the desired results.

Sample Resume
As this sample shows, you can create an impressive resume even
without a bachelor ’s degree or previous paid experience as a
professional VA. This sample includes administrative experience you
probably already have through your previous non-virtual jobs, and
additional credentials you may be able to acquire relatively quickly
using the techniques described in Chapter 3 – such as experience
obtained through volunteer work and continuing education. This
resume also shows how to maximize relevant experience by featuring it
near the top of your resume, while accounting for gaps in employment
and jobs that may be less relevant to the position you are currently
seeking.

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VALERIE VIRTUAL-ASSISTANT
4321 Main Street
Sunnyday, CA 12345
Phone: 123-555-1212
Email: [email protected]

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
Project Management / Desktop Publishing / Customer Service /
Website Maintenance / Scheduling / Research
Detail-oriented, reliable virtual assistant with more than 5 years of
administrative and office support experience. Consistently produce
quality results in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments. Reputation
for maintaining the highest ethical standards in handling confidential
data. Demonstrated track record of providing outstanding customer
service and handling difficult situations with diplomacy. Excellent
written and verbal communication skills. Completed professional
development courses in virtual work.

RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE

Really Busy Corporation, Inc., Sunnyday, CA 2019-present
Executive Assistant
Oversee administrative functions and provide research, creative,
and project management support for Chief Executive Officer of
leading flux-capacitor producer and distributor.

• Coordinate quarterly meetings and arrange regular

training seminars for staff

• Conduct market research and analyze efficiency of product

development processes

• Recommended process streamlining that resulted in

$50,000 cost savings for the company

• Update Website on a weekly basis and design promotional

materials for conferences

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• Supervise staff of 3 assistants including monitoring

workflow and providing quality assurance checks

• Communicate effectively with interdepartmental teams to

ensure all project support needs are met on deadline

• Prepare expense reports

“I have worked closely with Valerie on a number of special projects

over the years and found her to be knowledgeable, professional,
and extremely resourceful. She is always ready to contribute
above and beyond her job description for the benefit of the team
and organization. I highly recommend Valerie to anyone seeking a
virtual assistant.”
– Harriet Hampton, Human Resources Manager,
Really Busy Corporation

Williams Animal Clinic, West Sunnyday, CA 2015-2016

Office Assistant
Collaborated with 3-person team to provide day-to-day
office operational support for busy 5-partner veterinary
practice. Responsible for balancing efficiency and high level
of productivity with compassionate client service, often under
highly stressful conditions.

• Scheduled client appointments for 5 doctors and 4

veterinary technicians

• Used effective listening skills to respond to client and staff

needs

• Maintained accurate chart filing system

• Managed accounts payable and receivable and prepared

invoices

• Responsible for accurate and timely data entry in Access

database

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OTHER WORK & VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

Really Nice Nonprofit 2014-present
Assist in quarterly fundraising campaigns by participating in
phone banks and preparing mailings

Sunnyday Health Food Co-op 2018-2019

Provided customer assistance and maintained inventory

Homemaker 2016-2018

EDUCATION & TRAINING

• Sunnyday Community College East Sunnyday, CA
Professional Development courses in Mastering Virtual
Work & Virtual Work Efficiency, 2018

• Computer Training Seminars, Inc. Sunnyday, CA

Beginning and Intermediate Level Quickbooks Training
Seminars, 2011, 2015

• Sunnyday Community College East Sunnyday, CA

Associate of Arts in English, 2010

COMPUTER SKILLS
• Microsoft 365

• Quickbooks

• WordPress

• Social media marketing

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
IAPO International Association of Professional Virtual Assistants

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One benefit of using a qualifications summary (also sometimes called a

summary statement, professional profile, or professional summary) at
the top of your resume rather than a simple objective statement is that
it makes it easy for you to personalize your resume for each position
you apply for. It is also a good way to synthesize your experience
for the reader and emphasize the most relevant skills, especially if
you have a diverse work background or are a career changer. You
can simply change the focus of this paragraph while the rest of your
resume remains the same. To illustrate using the above example, if you
know a position requires accounting expertise, you could mention the
Quickbooks training course completion and experience in using it in
the summary. Or, if customer service was the focus of the position, you
could feature that angle.

4.3.2 Cover Letters

A cover letter is an additional way to “sell” yourself and your skills, so
you should always include a cover letter with your resume. Your cover
letter should be tailored to the company and explain why you are an
ideal candidate for the job. Here is what it should contain:

• The position you are applying for.

• A brief summary of relevant experience you have in

administration and office support and/or in the particular
industry (e.g. healthcare, publishing, finance).

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• A statement about why you want to work for this particular

company.

• How the employer would benefit by hiring you.

• A request for an interview.

• Your contact information.

TIP: Keep your cover letter to one page. Because employers may
make quick judgments, a short, well-written letter can be
more effective than a long one.

To see what to do – and what not to do – in a cover letter, we have

included two sample letters prepared in response to this ad:

VIRTUAL ASSISTANT SUBCONTRACTORS

To help meet the needs of our growing business, Very Busy Virtual
Assistance is currently seeking several reliable subcontractors with
regular availability during business hours (EST) to provide services
for our clients in a variety of industries. If you have at least 3 years
of administrative experience, strong computer skills, and can work
within strict deadlines, please send resume to Terry Smith at Apply@
VeryBusyVA.com.

Sample Cover Letter 1

Dear Sirs:

I saw you’re ad. This is the kind of job I’ve been looking for. I’m
pretty sure I would enjoy it and it would be good experience for
me. I’ve already sent out a bunch of resumes without much luck
so I hope you’ll hire me. As you can see I have everything your
looking for. Its your loss if you don’t hire me. Call 5555-1212.

Andy Applicant

In the cover letter above, Andy has done a number of things wrong. See
how many of these mistakes you noticed:

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• The letter is addressed to “Dear Sirs.” Andy could make a better

impression by addressing it by name to the person who will be
reviewing resumes. If you don’t know who to send your letter
to, you can check the organization’s website, which usually lists
staff responsible for hiring, or the name of the person in charge if
it is a solo business. Since the person reading your letter may be a
woman, avoid saying “Dear Sirs.”

• It doesn’t say which position is being applied for. Some companies

advertise more than one position at a time.

• It has typographical and grammatical errors (e.g., confusing

“you’re” with “your”). Letters should be proofread before being
sent.

• The letter focuses on what Andy wants (to enjoy the job and get
experience), instead of what the company wants. Employers want
to know what value you will bring to them.

• The letter doesn’t mention the company by name. Andy could

make a much better impression by doing a little research in order
to say something flattering about the company. (You can find out
what companies pride themselves on by checking their websites.)

• By saying “I’ve already sent out a bunch of resumes without

much luck” and “I hope you’ll hire me,” Andy sounds desperate.
Employers may wonder if there’s a good reason why no one else
has hired Andy.

• As you can imagine, saying something like “It’s your loss if you
don’t hire me” does not make a good impression!

Employers would be more impressed with this letter:

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Sample Cover Letter 2

ANDY APPLICANT
4321 Main Street
Sunnyday, CA 12345
Phone: (123) 555-1212
Email: [email protected]

May 16, 20XX

Very Busy Virtual Assistance

555 Helpful Highway
Sunnyday, CA 12345

Attention: Terry Smith

Please find enclosed my resume in application for subcontracting

work, as advertised on the Sunnyday Journal website. I have
extensive database management expertise with over 5 years of
administrative and office support experience in high-pressure,
fast-paced environments. My computer proficiencies include:

• Windows and Mac OS

• Microsoft 365

• Adobe InDesign

• Adobe Photoshop

• Salesforce

• Raiser’s Edge

• QuickBooks

Most recently, as an administrative assistant in Smart University’s

Development Office, I was responsible for donor research,
writing and distributing all direct mail solicitations, and assisting
in grant writing projects. I also maintained accurate and up-to-
date records in the Raiser’s Edge database system.

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Having proven myself in this goal-oriented environment,

which required both an ability to work independently and
collaboratively, I would like to contribute my administrative,
creative, and organizational skills to Very Busy Virtual
Assistance’s team.

Thank you in advance for your consideration. I look forward

to speaking with you to discuss how my qualifications and
experience can be of benefit to your organization. I will contact
you by phone next week to follow up.

Sincerely,

Andy Applicant

Your own cover letter will of course depend on the position you are
applying for, and the company you are applying to. It should also
include your name and contact information at the top of the page.

4.3.3 Other Materials

Portfolio
A portfolio is a collection of samples of your work that you can share
with prospective employers. A portfolio can help you stand out from
other applicants. It offers an employer proof that you have the skills
to do the job, but it also gives them a snapshot of your individuality,
professionalism, creativity, and personality.

Working and volunteering as a virtual assistant gives you a perfect

opportunity to start creating a portfolio. As you gain experience in the
field, your portfolio will build. If you don’t have a portfolio — get busy
and create one!

Section 6.2.2 explains how to create a portfolio, even if you have no

previous paid VA experience.

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References and Letters of Recommendation

References are not usually submitted with the resume unless they are
specifically requested by the employer. However, a list of references
should be prepared in case it is requested by a prospective employer,
VA staffing agency, or client. They should not be included on the
resume itself.

The first step is choosing the right individuals to provide a reference.

They need not be direct managers, but should be individuals with
whom you worked closely in some capacity. This may include:

• Colleagues

• Supervisors

• Vendors

• Clients

• Volunteer coordinators

• Professors

It is best to avoid using family or friends as references. Many people

will offer to be references, but it’s important to know how to distinguish
those obligatory “anytime you need a reference” comments that well-
meaning people may offer, from those who can truly be relied upon
to provide the kind of information that will make you stand out to
potential employers. If the references have experience or credentials
in the industry where employment is being sought, so much the better.

Never use someone’s name as a reference without asking them. Also,

prior to an interview it’s a good idea to send the references a brief email
reminding them that someone may be contacting them; also let them
know what the position is so they can be prepared to address any
qualifications that are particularly pertinent.

Reference lists should be presented in the format demonstrated on the

next page. Three is the standard number of references that should be
provided, unless otherwise requested.

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You might also find it useful to collect some letters of recommendation

from people you meet while you are building your experience, for
example the volunteer coordinator where you provided some free
VA support or the professor from your most recent course. You could
include one or two when you send your resume and cover letter, or
bring them with you when you get the interview.

It is great if you can get a letter of recommendation “customized” to

a specific job position, but that is not always necessary. Most skills
required are transferable from other settings and situations. As long
as the letters are positive, hiring managers can identify that the
skills you have can be used in varied job duties. Try to keep letters of
recommendation as current as possible, updating with new ones as you
request them.

TIP: Be certain that, should a hiring manager call a reference

or the writer of a letter of recommendation, their response
will be a good one. Sometimes a person who was happy to
provide a reference or write a glowing recommendation
will have forgotten details of your work as time passes.
Especially if you have not worked for that individual for
some time, be sure to call or email them first and get an
assurance that they will still speak of your work in the best
possible way.

Sample Reference List

APPLICANT NAME
Address
City, State, Zip
Phone
E-mail

References
Reference #1 Name, Title
Company Name, City, State
Phone
E-mail
(...repeat for each remaining reference.)

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4.4 Job Interviews

Your preliminary work has paid off: The employer wants to meet
with you for an interview. But before you break out the champagne to
celebrate, you’ll have more work to do.

4.4.1 How to Prepare for an Interview

Preparation is key to ensuring that prospective employers see you as
someone who is a fit with their company. You can get ready for the
interview by conducting further research, dressing professionally, and
coming prepared with everything you might need during the interview.

Researching the Company

Once you’ve scheduled the interview, it’s time to learn more about the
employer so that you can ask relevant questions and speak to their
particular needs during the interview.

Chances are, most of what you learn will not become a topic of
conversation during the interview. However, the employer will be
listening for evidence that you are thoroughly familiar with their
company. In a recent survey of the 1,000 largest companies in the U.S.
by the staffing company Accountemps, 47% of the executives polled
said that the single largest mistake an interviewee can make is to
display “little or no knowledge of the company” for which they were
applying.

Your first stop for company information should be the company’s

website. If you are applying to work with a large company, you can also
check out websites such as D&B Hoover’s for company information.

Finally, review the resources mentioned throughout this book so that

you can be up on industry news, particularly anything related to the
employer’s niche.

TIP: Don’t forget that interviewers can research you online just
as easily as you can research them. Do a Google search of
your name to see what comes up, and take down anything
from sites such as Facebook that employers might consider
unprofessional.

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How to Dress
If you are working for a company located outside of your area, any
interviews will likely be done by phone. However, if you do get an in-
person interview with a local company, proper attire can make a big
difference. It would be great if we lived in a world where we were
judged strictly by our qualifications and personality, but the reality is
that when you show up for an interview, you will also be judged by
what you wear. First impressions make a difference. Appropriate attire
for an interview depends somewhat on the industry and position being
applied for. It’s hard to go too wrong with a suit. You can always wear
the jacket or take it off for a more casual look once you get there and see
how the interviewer and other employees are dressed.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. You probably would
not dress formally if you were interviewing for work in a totally
laid-back environment (a small Hawaiian company that works off a
beachfront, for example). So the best advice is to learn more about the
company. In a recent article on CanadianLiving.com, Roz Usheroff, a
communication and image specialist, says, “Absolutely research the
company you are going to interview with. Know their dress culture.”

There are a number of ways that this information can be found. Do

you know somebody who works there, or somebody who knows
somebody? Ask them about the dress code. For the more assertive,
there’s always the option of taking a quick trip to the company’s parking
lot as employees arrive or depart for work to get a first-hand look. Just
remember to make it a quick trip; no loitering or anything conspicuous.
Avoid visiting the office before your interview if the parking lot is
controlled by security, requires an appointment to be on the property,
or presents other obstacles which could put you in an uncomfortable
predicament. You can also call the human resources department and
ask what the company’s dress code is.

If you don’t have an opportunity to learn about the dress code or

observe people who work at the company, then dress in standard
corporate attire. For women, a matching suit or jacket and skirt or
pants in navy, dark grey, or black coupled with a tailored blouse in
an appropriate neutral color is very safe and traditional. For men, a
two piece suit in navy or dark grey with a white or neutral shirt and a

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simple (i.e. not loud or overly trendy) tie represents a classic corporate-
minded outfit.

In the final analysis, it’s always best to use simple good judgment
when weighing the options between one outfit and another, with a
nod to erring on the side of the more conservative. This also applies
to any jewelry, cosmetics, body piercings, tattoos, or anything which
might prove distracting or be considered flashy. And of course, have
groomed hair, clean nails, and polished shoes. Avoid heavy colognes
and perfumes. Remember, when you’re being judged on whether or not
you’ll fit in, every detail counts, no matter how small.

TIP: In applying for virtual assistant jobs, it’s likely that your
interview will also happen virtually. If you are interviewing
online, you may be tempted to dress casually. Don’t! Make
a great impression remotely by taking the time to put on
something professional even though you don’t have to leave
your dining room table. No matter how tempting it might
be...don’t skip the pants or skirt! You never know when you
might have to stand up to deal with something unexpected.

What to Bring
To look confident when arriving for an interview, you want to appear
as unencumbered as possible. However, while it would be nice to stroll
in with nothing but your winning personality, it’s important to be
prepared to provide some documentation or proof of your skills and
experience if asked.

The basics of what to bring to an interview include:

• Several extra resumes

• An updated list of personal references

• Any letters of recommendation

• Copies of certificates or transcripts

• Copies of any career-related awards you may have received

• A dozen or more personal business cards

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• Your paper or digital planner (but make sure your smartphone,

tablet, or anything else that can ring is turned off during the
interview)

• Some basic writing supplies (two new black or blue ink pens, a
sharpened pencil or two, and one each of memo and legal-size
notepads)

• A tin of Altoids or other mints (to use before, not during the
interview, to ensure the interviewer can’t tell what you had for
lunch)

• A bottle of water to make sure you’re well hydrated before the

interview and don’t come down with a case of dry mouth (not to
be taken into the actual interview)

Organize all of these documents and supplies in some manner of a hard

or soft shell briefcase in black, brown, or some other neutral color. Be
sure to know where everything is for easy, fumble-free access before
you arrive.

If you are interviewing online, be sure to have digital copies of the

documents mentioned above to send along to those interviewing you
if they request them. It is also a good idea to keep a notepad and pen
close by in case you want to jot something down to come back to later
during the interview.

Your Attitude
Your attitude and ability to get along with people are being judged from
the moment you first walk into the place where you will be interviewed
– or even earlier, when you first speak on the telephone with anyone
from the company. Anyone you encounter in the lobby, the elevator, the
washroom, or the reception area may have input into whether or not
you are hired.

One of the editors of this guide has conducted hundreds of employment

interviews, and routinely asks the receptionist about the person who
had just been interviewed to find out if the applicant treated the
receptionist with friendliness and respect.

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During the interview itself, try to be as outgoing and enthusiastic

as possible. Of course this isn’t always easy because interviews can
make people nervous, and nervous people tend to smile less, and
act more stiff and formal than they normally would. However, the
employer wants to see that you are comfortable even in a potentially
uncomfortable interpersonal situation such as an interview. It is equally
important not to go too far in the other direction. Some people respond
to nerves by talking or laughing too much or too loudly, or being too
informal with the interviewer.

If you tend to be stiff and uncomfortable during an interview, it is

time to perform. Act how you would if you did not feel nervous. This
may feel unnatural at first, but behaving as if you are not nervous
can actually make you start to feel more confident. It can also be very
helpful to do some role plays (practice interviews) with a friend before
you go to the interview.

As well as being enthusiastic, be positive. Avoid saying anything

negative, especially about former employers. Focus on what value you
would bring to the company as an employee, and not on what you want
to get from the job. For example, don’t discuss how much vacation time
you want or bring up salary until the employer does.

Also avoid saying anything negative about yourself, which some

applicants do by sounding as if they are desperate for a job. Before the
interview remind yourself how much you have to offer an employer,
and that there are many opportunities for you. Believe that if this
particular job doesn’t work out, there is something better out there
for you. You want the interviewer and the other people you meet to
think: “What a nice person! It would be great to have someone like that
working with us.”

4.4.2 Interview Questions

Much has been written elsewhere on the best way to approach
interview questions. The scope of this section is not to attempt to
provide an exhaustive list of all possible questions and answers, but
rather to put you in the frame of mind where you can easily identify or
tailor the nature of the question or answer to serve both your concerns
and the concerns of the employer.

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Types of Questions
During the interview, questions will likely primarily focus on your
background. The interview may include a review of your resume, a brief
overview of your personal and work experience, and a line of questions
geared towards getting a better sense of who you are as a person and a
potential employee. In addition to traditional questions such as “Tell
me about yourself,” or “Why do you want to work for our company?”,
you are likely to be asked “behavioral questions” about specific past
behaviors. The purpose of behavioral questions is so the employer can
attempt to predict how you are likely to behave in the future.

“Tell me about a time when you experienced conflict at work,” is an

example of a behavioral question. The interviewer will not be satisfied
with a hypothetical answer about what you “would” do in a conflict
situation. They want to hear about an actual time you experienced
conflict. The purpose is not to see if you have ever had a conflict (they
expect you have); the purpose is to see how well you resolve difficult
situations and, if something did not work out in the past, what you
learned from it.

For virtual assistance or administrative telecommute positions, you

can expect to hear behavioral questions such as: “Describe a situation
where you had to work with a difficult or demanding client. What
did you do to make it a success?” and “Describe a project you worked
on where something went wrong. How did you solve the problem?”
When confronted with these types of questions, describe the situation,
say what you did, relate the outcome, and finish with what you learned
from it.

Sample Questions and Answers

Interviewing for a virtual assistance or administrative telecommute
position can be somewhat different than interviewing for a non-virtual
job. In addition to wanting to know about you and your qualifications,
a potential employer (or client) is likely to want to know the details of
your home office set-up and what types of hardware and software you
have access to.

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Anyone who hires you for subcontract work, be it a solo entrepreneur

or staffing agency, is also likely to ask whether you are willing to sign a
non-disclosure and non-compete agreement.

What Experience Do You Have With _____?

Depending on the company, they may want to know your experience
with designing brochures and logos, event planning, bookkeeping,
customer service, working in teams, juggling many projects at once,
etc. Give specific examples from your experience. Include any work
experience, volunteer work, internship, or education that demonstrates
your skills in a particular area. For example, if you haven’t done much
budgeting for real events, but earned an A in an accounting class
where you had to prepare budgets – tell the interviewer. This is your
opportunity to show that you know your stuff.

What Is Your Greatest Strength?

Think about the duties and responsibilities of the job and what the
employer is most likely to value, and answer accordingly. For instance,
“My ability to come in under budget is my greatest strength.”

Do You Have Any Questions For Us?

“Yes” is the appropriate answer here. Having researched the company,
you can ask specific questions which show that you’ve done your
homework, that you know who they are and what they do, and that
you are ready to join the fold. For example, you might ask a question
such as:

“I noticed on your website that your company is planning to begin

offering expanded availability of services. Will there be an opportunity
to take on special project work outside of traditional business hours?”

Finally, ask questions to get a good sense of your specific duties. Make
sure that while you’re busy proving that you’re a good fit for the
company, you’re also satisfying yourself that the company is a good fit
for you.

For example, you might ask:

• What would your expectations for me be during the first six

months on the job?

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• How many subcontractors do you currently work with?

• What are you looking for in a subcontractor?

How to Answer “What Is Your Biggest Weakness?”

If you think a good answer is you’re “a perfectionist who won’t
quit until the job’s done right,” think again. The interviewer has
probably heard the same thing from countless other applicants and
doesn’t believe it’s a weakness any more than you do.

According to Vicky Oliver, author of 301 Smart Answers to

Tough Interview Questions, the worst thing you can do is give
your interviewer a “canned” answer, such as saying you are a
workaholic. Applicants who give such a typical answer may be
perceived as dishonest or unoriginal. Oliver is one of 40 career
experts and hiring managers who gave one of the authors of this
book their best tips for handling the weakness question. So what
is a good answer? “Confessing that you’re ‘impatient’ is a small
weakness that often goes hand in hand with high performance,”
says Oliver.

But present it with a positive spin. Carole Martin, author of Boost

Your Interview I.Q., offers this possible answer: “I know I could
improve my patience when working with people who don’t work
at the same pace as I do. What I have found is that by helping
members of the team who are having problems, I can move things
forward instead of being frustrated and doing nothing.”

Other Questions
You can expect interviewers to ask a variety of questions based on the
position and their personal preferences about what they want in an
employee.

If you are asked something you haven’t prepared for, try to answer
honestly. This will help ensure the position is a good fit for what you
are looking for. Plus, interviewers say they are turned off by applicants
who tell them what they think the interviewer wants to hear.

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4.4.3 Following Up
Following up after an interview can be almost as important as the
interview itself. A survey of 650 hiring managers by CareerBuilder.com
found that nearly 15 percent of hiring managers say they would not
hire someone who failed to send a thank-you letter after the interview,
while 32 percent say they would still consider the candidate, but would
think less of him or her.

So make sure you send a thank you. Within 24 hours after the interview,
write a thank-you letter to the person who interviewed you and anyone
else who may have been helpful to you, such as the interviewer’s
assistant.

Sample Thank-You Note

Ms. Jane Doe
Director, Event Planning Division
ABC Company

Dear Ms. Doe:

I just wanted to thank you for taking time from your busy
schedule to meet with me today to discuss my candidacy for
virtual assistant with ABC Company and to let you know that I’d
be delighted to work with you. I feel my experience and career
goals are an excellent match with your virtual assistance needs.

During our discussion you mentioned that ABC has a goal to

decrease budget spending by five percent by the end of your
current fiscal year. My expertise in budget management would
greatly assist in achieving that goal.

If you require any additional information, please do not hesitate

to contact me by either phone or email.

Thank you again for the opportunity to meet with you. I look
forward to hearing from you at your convenience.

Best,
Valerie Virtual-Assistant

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You can send a thank-you letter by email, but if you really want to stand
out, follow-up the email with a hard copy, either hand-written or typed.

Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at

CareerBuilder recommends that your letter have three paragraphs.
“In the first paragraph, thank the interviewer for the opportunity. Use
the second to sell yourself by reminding the hiring manager of your
qualifications. In the third paragraph, reiterate your interest in the
position.”

4.5 The Job Offer

You’ve been offered the job. Take a moment to congratulate yourself on
how your efforts have paid off, then focus on the final stage in accepting
a subcontracting VA job: ensuring that their offer meets with both your
current needs and future goals.

4.5.1 Salary
If an employer is interested in hiring you for an administrative
telecommute position, they will bring up the issue of salary. (You
should avoid being the first one to bring up salary because it can
create the impression that you are more interested in the pay than the
position.)

To maximize your salary, try to get the employer to state a figure first.
If you are the first one to mention a specific salary figure, and it’s lower
than the one the employer had in mind, you risk getting hired for less
than they might have been willing to pay you. Therefore, if they ask
your salary expectations, try turning the question back to them by
saying something like “It depends on exactly what I would be doing.
What is the salary range for this position?”

What if their proposed salary offer falls short of your expectations?

A survey by CareerBuilder.com found that 53% of the executives
surveyed are prepared to negotiate when proposing a new hire’s salary.
Despite this, the same survey found that over half of workers (58%) do
not negotiate when hired. Of course, in order to negotiate for more,
you’ll have to present a strong case for why your particular set of skills

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and experience might warrant a higher salary than what’s currently on

the table.

In terms of being hired as a subcontractor, remember, you are being

paid a percentage of what the client is paying the staffing agency, so
take a look at their rates and keep the profit margin in mind. Your skills
may very well be worth $100 an hour, but if the agency hiring you only
charges their clients $50 an hour you will need to be comfortable with
making less than that.

If this is your first foray into virtual assistance, remember that what the
position might lack in a hefty paycheck, it will make up for in valuable
experience working in the field and you’ll be in a much better position
to raise your rates in the near future.

If you really want unlimited potential for income, then you should
consider being self-employed. In the next chapter you will learn how to
start your own VA business.

4.5.2 Deciding Whether to Take the Job

No amount of money or prestige will make it any easier to get your
work done when you have grave reservations about the job or concerns
about the company or individual you are working for. Subcontracting
also has its pitfalls so you should go into this arrangement (both as a
subcontractor and in hiring subcontractors) with your eyes wide open:

“Disadvantages of this arrangement can include the VA being

restricted from possible contact with the client or even being given
credit for a job well-done. All the control rests with the VA who has
hired the subcontractor and occasionally on either side the experience
can be a negative one. I have heard of subcontracting VAs who have
stolen clients despite signing non-competition agreements and have
also heard of VAs who fail to pay their subcontractors.”
— Kate Kerans,
Kerans Virtual Assistance

Above and beyond the general nervousness and unease associated with
the big interview, ask yourself:

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• Did you feel comfortable with the person you would be dealing
with?

• Did the interviewer appear stressed or impatient?

• Willyou likely be overwhelmed by the workload, or perhaps

underwhelmed?

• How will the hours affect commitments to your family, social life,
or important hobbies?

• Will there be room for advancement on the scale that you’d like to
see your career progress?

Answers to questions such as these can help you decide if the job is
worth taking and keeping.

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5. Starting Your Own Business

As a self-employed virtual assistant, you can enjoy freedom and the
potential for much higher income than you might earn as an employee.
If you dream of having your own VA business, the information in this
chapter will help you get started.

Starting Full-Time or Part-Time

According to a recent survey conducted by the Association of Virtual
Assistants (AVA), 54% of respondents operate their business full-time,
while 46% of respondents describe themselves as part-time or providing
supplemental income. According to the AVA survey, “full-time” and
“part-time” are not necessarily tied to hours; in fact, according to their
results, only just over 26% of respondents work 40 hours or more per
week. So, as you can see, you have a great deal of flexibility in the
number of hours you choose to devote to your business. If you are
currently employed, some of the questions you may need to consider
are:

• Should I quit my job and start my virtual assisting business on a

full-time basis?

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• Should I remain at my current job and start a VA business on the

side?

• Would my employer let me keep my job on a part-time basis so I

could be available to meet with clients during business hours and
have a secure source of income while I’m getting my business off
the ground?

• IfI leave my job to start my own VA business can I rely on my

current employer to become one of my clients?

While some of your choices will depend on external factors such as

whether or not your employer allows employees to moonlight, other
choices will be yours to make.

Other Start-Up Decisions

Whether or not you are currently employed, there are many other
decisions you will face when starting your virtual assistance business.
For example:

• Should I have a specialization or offer general administrative

services?

• Should I incorporate?

• Should I work with one or more partners?

• Where should I set up my office?

• What should I name my company?

• What systems do I need to set up (e.g. for invoicing)?

• How much should I invest in start-up costs?

• Should I hire support staff?

• What types of insurance should I get?

• What fees should I charge?

This chapter is designed to help you make these and other decisions
you will face in starting your business. (The next chapter will help you
decide how to market your business to attract clients.) It begins with

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creating a business plan and continues with an overview of other factors

you’ll need to consider in starting your own business. Chapters 5 and
6 also offer strategies, tips, and advice for increasing your chances of
success in the early stages, and insight into how to make your business
successful in the long-term.

Throughout the chapter you will also find many helpful resources
for further information. If you could use more help with all areas of
starting a business, the following are excellent sources of information:

Small Business Administration

The SBA offers help with business start-ups and has a variety of
programs and services for the small business owner. There is at least
one SBA office in every state in the United States.

SCORE
A nonprofit organization, SCORE has over 12,000 volunteers who
provide counseling and mentoring to new business start-ups. They also
offer business tips on their website.

Government of Canada: Business & Industry

You will find a wide range of information at this site, including a step-
by-step guide to walk you through starting your new business.

Nolo.com
Nolo is a publisher of plain English legal information. Their website
also offers free advice on a variety of other small business matters.

5.1 Getting Started

5.1.1 Creating a Business Plan
Business planning involves putting in writing all the plans you have for
your business. If you will be seeking financing for your business, the
lender will expect to see a business plan that shows you have a viable
business idea with an excellent chance for success. Even if you don’t
need financing (most virtual assistance businesses do not), putting ideas

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on paper will give you the “road map” of where you want to go with
your business and how you are going to get there.

A business plan can also help you avoid costly surprises. If you are
considering whether to leave a secure job to start your own VA business,
a business plan can help you determine the resources you will need to
start your business and decide when the timing is best to get started. It
will help you determine if you have enough funds set aside to support
yourself while you get the business up and running.

If you make the effort to draw up a good plan now, you can be confident
that it will pay off in the future. You may find over the course of your
research that your thoughts change about how you will set up your
business. For example, you may decide to start by subcontracting work
from a more established VA, eliminating the expense of conducting
your own marketing campaign.

After reading this chapter, and the next one on finding clients, you will
be able to start creating your own business plan. It is a document you
will probably read repeatedly as you start to operate your business. In
the meantime, this section will give you an introduction to business
planning, walk you through key components of a business plan, and
conclude with a variety of resources to help you create your own
business plan, including links to further information, business planning
software, and business plan templates.

TIP: If your business plan is going to be shown to anyone, such

as potential investors, make sure you proofread it carefully.

While the format of a business plan can vary, one good approach is to
divide the body of your business plan into the following sections:

• A description of your business

• Your marketing plan

• Your financial plan

• Your management plan

In addition, your plan should include the following items:

• A cover sheet

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• A table of contents

• An executive summary

• Financial projections

• Supporting documents

Description of Your Business

A description of your business is just that—a description of the business
you plan to start and operate. The key is to include information about
your business so that everyone who reads your business plan will know
you’re on to something viable.

You’ll need to state in this section that, as a virtual assistant, you’ll

be operating a service business. Get specific about the services you’ll
provide. If you will have an area of specialization, state that in your
description.

The description of your business should also explain the legal structure
of your business. Will you have a sole proprietorship, for instance, or
incorporate? You’ll find more information about legal structures in
Section 5.1.2.

In this section you can also discuss the virtual assistance field generally,
touch on points you will address in other parts of the business plan,
and include details about how your business will operate. For example,
you could describe your business hours. Do you plan to be available
during regular business hours? If you are working at another full-time
or part-time job, when will you be available to meet with clients? You
could also identify the planned location of your business, and why it’s
appropriate for your business.

You can conclude the description of your business by clearly identifying

your goals and objectives, such as sales targets. Support them with
information you’ve acquired about being a virtual assistant. It’s here
that you’re explaining exactly why you’re starting this business and
what you hope to accomplish with it.

Your own company description will be unique to your VA business.

You’ll find business plan models you can follow in the resources listed
at the end of this section.

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Should You Specialize?

Most professionals market themselves as specialists. For
example, unless a doctor is a general practitioner, he or she will
specialize as a pediatrician, cardiologist, plastic surgeon, etc.
Similarly, lawyers specialize in criminal law, intellectual property,
immigration, etc. Likewise, most virtual assistants choose to
specialize.

Many virtual assistants feel it is easier to get started in the

business as a specialist rather than a generalist because you have
narrowed down the options of who your potential clients may
be and these potential clients will perceive you as an expert in
that area.

However, depending on your particular business, it may be

better for you to be the equivalent of a general practitioner. For
example, if you aren’t yet sure what types of clients you want to
work with or what services you most enjoy providing.

You can find information about specializations in Section 2.1.

When choosing a specialization, in addition to considering which
areas you have experience in and are most enthusiastic about,
you will need to consider which areas are most in demand.

Also watch for emerging trends which can help you recognize
opportunities for your VA business. The resources in Section
3.5 can help you keep on top of trends in the virtual assistance
industry.

Your Marketing Plan

Following are key elements of a typical marketing plan. You will find
additional information to help you plan your marketing in Chapter 6
of this book.

Your Clients
The most important elements of a good marketing plan are defining
your market and knowing your customers. Knowing your customers is

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important because it allows you to tailor your services to accommodate

those clients.

You don’t want to limit yourself to a market that is too narrow—that

can limit the scope of your business once it’s underway. For example,
you could decide to focus your marketing on “life coaches and career
coaches”, but broadening the scope to “professional service providers”
would expand your market significantly. Quantify your market and use
your marketing plan to paint a picture of a wide and ready market that
needs your VA services.

Competition
All businesses compete for customers, market share, and publicity. So
it’s smart to know who your competitors are and exactly what they’re
doing. To provide services that are different and better than those of
your rivals, you need to evaluate your competitors’ services, how
they’re promoting them, who is buying them, and other information.

Pricing
You’ll learn more about setting fees later in this chapter, but know that
you should address this issue, at least briefly, in your business plan.
This section should consider factors such as competitive pricing, costs
of labor and materials, and overhead.

Your Market Strategy

You’ll need to think about how you’ll advertise and promote your
business. Have a budget in mind, or at least set percentages of your
income that you’ll invest back into marketing the business.

Your Financial Plan

Financial management is crucial to running a successful business.
Your business plan should describe both your start-up costs and your
operating costs. The start-up budget includes all the costs necessary
to get your business up and running. Operating costs are ongoing
expenses, such as advertising, utilities, rent and so forth.

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Remember to include the following items in your budgets. Notice that

some expenses overlap on the start-up and operating budgets. More
information about expenses is provided in Section 5.2.1.

Start-up Budget
Legal and professional fees, licenses, equipment, supplies, stationery,
marketing expenses.

Operating Budget
Make a budget for your first three to six months of operation, including
expenses such as: personnel (even if it’s only your own salary), rent,
insurance, marketing expenses, legal and accounting fees, supplies,
utilities, printing, postage and courier, membership dues, subscriptions,
and taxes.

Your financial management plan also should address the accounting

system you plan to use. Many small business owners conduct their
own accounting, using accounting software (discussed in Section 5.2.1),
while others hire someone to set up a system.

Your Management Plan

No matter how large your business is, managing it requires organization
and leadership. Your management plan will therefore address issues
such as:

• Your background and business experience, and how they will be

beneficial to your VA business

• The members of your management team (even if you’ll be the

only member)

• Assistance you expect to receive (financial help, advice, or other

forms of aid)

• Plans for hiring employees or seeking partners or subcontractors,

either now or in the future

• The duties for which you and any employees or subcontractors

will be responsible

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• A general overview of how your business will be run

The Extras
In addition to these major areas, your business plan should include the
extras mentioned earlier:

A Cover Sheet
This identifies your business and explains the purpose of the business
plan. Be sure to include your name, the name of the business, and the
name of any partners, if applicable. Also include your address, phone
number, email address, and other relevant information.

Table of Contents
This goes just under your cover sheet and tells what’s included in your
business plan. Use major headings and subheadings to identify the
contents.

A Statement of Purpose
This is important because it summarizes your goals and objectives.
A statement of purpose should sum up your hopes and dreams.

Executive Summary
Basically, this is a summary of your business plan. It should summarize
everything you’ve included in the main body of the plan.

Financial Projections
This is an estimate of how much money you’ll need to start your
business, and how much you expect to earn. Remember to support
your projections with explanations.

Supporting Documents
If you will be seeking start-up funding, you’ll be expected to include
financial information. This may include your personal (and business,
if applicable) tax returns for the past three years, a personal financial
statement (get a form from your bank) and a copy of a lease agreement
if you will rent office space.

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Resources
There are a number of excellent resources available to help you write
your business plan. The following are among the best:

SBA: Write Your Business Plan

This page has links to sample business plans, a business plan workshop,
an interactive business planner and more.

SCORE: Business Planning

This page offers an outstanding free business plan template, available
in Word or PDF formats, and an online tutorial on how to “Develop a
Business Plan,” as well as many other tips and resources.

BDC: Business Plan Template

This Canadian site offers a free business plan template and information
on what to include in your business plan.

BPLans
Offers a wide range of free resources on their website, including 500
free business plan templates.

LivePlan
Palo Alto offers business planning software that will help you create a
professional business plan. An affiliate of BPlans, LivePlan gives you
access to the same templates but helps you customize them to suit your
own business planning needs.

Sample Business Plan

Here are a couple of sample business plans for businesses providing
online services to other businesses:

• BPlans: Administrate Service Business Plan

• BPLans: Medical Transcription Business Plan

At the pages above, you can see the executive summary; scroll to the
bottom of the page to find links to other areas of the business plan.

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5.1.2 Choosing a Business Legal Structure

Like all entrepreneurs, virtual assistants are faced with the decision of
how to legally structure their business. You may be familiar with the
different forms of legal structures—sole proprietorship, partnership,
corporation or limited liability company—but it’s worthwhile to
review them briefly so that you can consider your options. Most virtual
assistants starting out on their own opt for sole proprietorship, though
some choose LLCs for the asset protection and tax benefits. You will
need to decide which structure best suits you and your business. In this
section we will look at the advantages and disadvantages of each for
businesses.

Sole Proprietorship
A sole proprietorship is any business operated by one single individual
without any formal structure or registration requirements. A sole
proprietorship is the simplest and least expensive business legal
structure when you are starting out. It is also the easiest because it
requires less paperwork and you can report your business income on
your personal tax return. One drawback to this type of business is that
you are personally liable for any debts of the business.

Without going through any formal processes, you can begin your VA
business simply by getting the word out that you’re in business. With
this said, however, there are usually business licenses and permits
required by local municipalities in order for you to conduct business.
The costs of these licenses are usually minimal, but be sure to check
with your local municipal licensing office.

Business Licensing
No matter what kind of company you own, you will need a
business license. There may also be other permits and licenses
you will need, so contact your local city hall or county clerk’s
office. Additional information and contact details can be found
through the website of your local city hall or county clerk, or at
sites such as the SBA’s Apply for Licenses and Permits page.

Your city hall should also be able to tell you if you need
a special license to work from home (it may be known as

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home occupation license) and, if so, where to get it. In many

communities, to obtain a license to work at home you will need to
fill out a form, provide your business name and phone number,
and give some details about the nature of your business. Most
questions on the form are designed to detect and deter people
who will be a nuisance or a risk to their neighbors, and may not
apply to you.

In Canada, business licenses are issued at the municipal level

so check with your local municipality for help with acquiring
a business license. Many municipalities offer business license
applications right on their websites. For a province-by-province
list of Canadian municipalities and their websites, visit the
Federation of Canadian Municipalities page on Provincial and
Territorial Associations. For information about licensing and
regulations for businesses in Canada, check out the Permits,
Licenses, and Regulations page on the Canadian Government’s
website.

Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of starting your VA

business under the sole proprietorship model.

Advantages
• Easy to start

• Low start-up costs

• Flexible and informal

• Business losses can often be deducted from personal income for

tax purposes

Disadvantages

• Unlimited personal liability: the sole proprietor can be held

personally responsible for debts and judgments placed against
the business. This means that all personal income and assets, not
just those of the business, can be seized to recoup losses or pay
damages.

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• All business income earned must be reported and is taxed as

personal income.

• More difficult to raise capital for the business

Incorporation
Incorporation of a business means that a separate, legal corporate
entity has been created for the purpose of conducting business. Like
an individual, corporations can be taxed, sued, can enter contractual
agreements and are liable for their debts. Corporations are characterized
by shareholders, a board of directors and various company officers. As
such, ownership interests can be freely transferred.

Creating a corporation requires filing of numerous documents to

legalize your virtual assistance business, as well as formally naming
a president, shareholders, and director(s), all of whom can be a single
person as set out in the company charter. As the rules and forms
required for incorporation vary from state to state and province to
province, it’s best to consult your local business licensing office or a
local lawyer specializing in incorporation.

While it is probably best to seek legal expertise when incorporating,

if you have the expertise and knowledge, you can incorporate your
own business or use one of the many online resources that specialize in
these matters.

Here is a list of some of the advantages and disadvantages to

incorporating your VA business.

Advantages
• Protect personal assets and income from liability by separating
your business income and assets from your personal

• Corporations get greater tax breaks and incentives

• Ownership can be sold or transferred if the owner wishes to retire

or leave the business

• Banks and other lending institutions tend to have more faith in

incorporated businesses so raising capital is easier

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Disadvantages
• Increased start-up costs

• Substantial increase in paperwork

• Business losses cannot be offset against your personal income

• Corporations are more closely regulated

An S Corporation is similar to the corporation in most ways, but with

some tax advantages. The corporation can pass its earnings and profits
on as dividends to the shareholder(s). However, as an employee of
the corporation you do have to pay yourself a wage that meets the
government’s reasonable standards of compensation just as if you were
paying someone else to do your job.

Partnerships
Another business structure that some virtual assistants choose over
sole proprietorship or incorporation is the partnership. A partnership
is precisely as its name implies, a business venture entered into by two
or more people with the intent to carry on business and earn profits.
Partnerships can be beneficial for virtual assistants as the workload and
finances can be shared, and partners with differing areas of expertise
can increase business opportunities.

You must register your partnership with a corporate registry. This does
not mean that you must incorporate, only that you are making a formal
declaration of entering into business with another person or persons.
Be sure to consult your local business registry and a lawyer specializing
in business registry. The primary purpose for doing this is for each
partner to protect himself or herself concerning issues such as sharing
profits, liability and dissolving the partnership equitably. Below are
some of the potential advantages and disadvantages to partnerships:

Advantages
• More equity for start-up costs

• Broader areas of expertise can lead to increased opportunities

• Lower start-up costs than incorporation

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• Some tax advantages

Disadvantages
• All partners are equally liable for the other’s mistakes with the
same liability as a sole proprietorship

• Profits and losses must be shared

• The business must be dissolved and reorganized when a partner

leaves

Beyond any legal issues, before going into business with a part­ner you
should spend many hours talking about how you will work together,
including:

• What each of you will be responsible for

• How you will make decisions on a day-to-day basis

• What percentage of the business each of you will own

• How you see the business developing in the future

• What you expect from each other

During your discussions you can learn if there are any areas where you
need to compromise. For example, one of you may want to start your
business as a part-time job, while the other wants to work full-time
and eventually build a business that will employ more people. You can
avoid future misunderstandings by putting the points you have agreed
on into a written “partnership agreement” that covers any possibility
you can think of (including one of you leaving the business at some
point in the future).

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

A Limited Liability Company is a newer type of business legal
structure. It is a combination of a sole proprietorship (where there is
only one member of the LLC) or partnership and a corporation, and is
considered to have some of the best attributes of each, including lim­ited
personal liability.

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An LLC business structure gives you the benefits of a partnership

or S corporation while providing personal asset protection like
a corporation. Similar to incorporating, there will be substantial
paperwork involved in establishing this business structure. LLCs have
flexible tax options, but are usually taxed like a partnership. Here are
some of the advantages and disadvantages of LLCs:

Advantages
• Limited liability similar to a corporation

• Tax advantages similar to a corporation

• Canbe started with one (except in Massachusetts) or more

members like a sole proprietorship or partnership

Disadvantages
• More costly to start than a sole proprietorship or partnership

• Consensus among members may become an issue

• LLC dissolves if any member leaves

• LLC is not a recognized legal structure in Canada

In the end, choosing a business legal structure for your VA business

is a personal choice, and the advantages and disadvantages should
be considered thoroughly. Many virtual assistants begin their
independent venture as a sole proprietorship because of the low costs,
and incorporate as the business grows and the engagements become
larger and more complex.

For more information about business structures, take a look at the

Incorporation and Legal Structures page on the FindLaw website.
For some additional government resources to help you decide which
structure to choose in the U.S., try the Small Business Administration
(SBA), which provides information on Choosing a Business Structure.
In Canada, visit the Canadian Government’s Setting Up Your Business
page; scroll down to the “Business Structure” section. You can also
find useful information on business structures on the Business
Development Bank of Canada (BDC) website.

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5.1.3 Choosing a Business Name

There are a few things to consider when deciding how to name your
business. Your business name needs to:

• Describe what you do

• Be easy to pronounce

• Attract customers

• Be unique

• Be available

To choose a name for your VA business, start by taking a look on the

Internet to see the names that other virtual assistants have chosen.
Notice which names stand out. When you’ve decided on a few names
that sound fabulous, let some friends and colleagues know what
you’re thinking of calling your business, and ask for their comments
and opinions. The decision is still up to you, of course, but the instant
reactions of “real people” can be a good indication of whether you are
on the right track or not. Here are name samples from the VA business
owners we surveyed.

• Monday Morning VA

• Organized Time

• Longer Days Virtual Assistance

It’s important that your business name not resemble the name of
another similar business offering similar services. For one thing,
prospective clients may confuse the other business with yours and go
with your competitor’s services instead of yours. In addition, if you do
use a name too similar to another business that was in business first
they will have grounds for legal action against you. The SBA website
has an informative page on Choosing Your Business Name. In Canada,
visit the Canadian Government’s Choosing a Business Name page.

Before officially registering your business name, you must conduct

formal fictitious names and trademark searches. (The fictitious names
database is where non-trademarked business names are listed.)

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A trademark database lists all registered and trademarked business

names. In the U.S., the essential place to start is with the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office. You can hire a company to do a name search for
you, or conduct a free search yourself at the USPTO’s website.

In Canada, information on trademarks is found on the Canadian

Government’s Trademarks page. The default database for name
searches is the Newly Upgraded Automated Name Search (NUANS).
There is a $13.80 charge for each NUANS search (you will receive a
NUANS name search report).

You can also hire a company such as Arvic Search Services or

BizNameSearch to help you with name searches, trademarks and
incorporating your business for a fee. Check online for “corporate
registry services” to find other companies.

In most jurisdictions, once you have chosen your business name you
will also have to file a “Doing Business As” (DBA) application, to
register the fictitious name under which you will conduct your business
operations. The DBA allows you to operate under a name other than
your own legal name.

Filing a DBA usually takes place at the county level, although some
states require that you file at the state level, publish your intent to
operate under an assumed business name, and sign an affidavit stating
that you have done so. However, in most cases it’s usually just a short
form to fill out and a small filing fee that you pay to your state or
provincial government.

5.1.4 Choosing Your Location

Before you can decide where to locate your business, you have to
determine what functions you need your work space to serve. Take into
consideration the services you provide and what tasks you will need to
do in your office. Consider whether you will meet with clients at your
office. Most virtual assistants don’t, and communicate with clients only
by phone, email, or video conferencing (hence the “virtual” in virtual
assistant!). You will also need to consider if you have enough space to
store documents and other materials, and space for future employees or
partners to work if you decide to expand.

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Much like choosing a business name, your choice of office location may
depend on client perception. However, if you don’t intend to invite
clients to your office, then a home office is the most economical place
for you to establish your business. Many virtual assistants choose to
keep their office in their home for the long-term.

Working from Home

For many people, the biggest benefit of working from home is the end
of the commuter lifestyle, greater freedom, and the ability to spend
time with family. Another benefit for eligible businesses is that you can
deduct from your income taxes a percent of your mortgage payment
and property taxes (or rent) and a share of utilities and maintenance
costs.

There are various methods to make those calculations, but by far the
easiest – and most acceptable to the IRS – is to use an entire room, and
to use it for no other purpose. In the U.S., IRS Publication 587 has
information on how to compute the calculation and file the deduction.
In Canada, consult the Canada Revenue Agency’s Home Office
Expenses for Employees page.

The other thing you should check before deciding on an office at home
is local zoning. Most places won’t have a problem with a home-based
business that adds only a few cars a day to the automobile load on your
street. Most will, however, prohibit you from posting a sign in your
front yard, which is okay anyway, as you will not get any clients from
drive-by traffic. To find out the rules in your area, look up “zoning” or
“planning” on your municipal website.

In addition to any legalities, working from home requires some

planning with family members. Set regular office hours that you will
insist on, both for your own focus and to keep family members from
intruding when you need to work. It will be tempting for the family to
interrupt you. So make it clear you are at work unless it’s an emergency.
(The garage on fire is an emergency; needing to know where the cookies
are is not.)

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Office Space
While a home office works well for many virtual assistants, others
prefer to rent a separate space, especially if they plan on expanding
their VA business and hiring additional staff. Also, if you find it
challenging to stay motivated, or tend to get easily distracted when
you’re at home, an office may be just what you need to help you focus
on business. A separate space also creates a better impression if you
plan to have people visit you. If you want a place to meet with clients,
or work with employees, you might want to consider getting an office
outside your home.

If you decide to rent space, start by determining what your requirements

are. Look for a place that is convenient to get to from your home, and
that gives you quick access to any services you may need. You can use
the checklist below as a starting point.

Office Space Checklist

q Will this be an easy commute for me? (You don’t want to
have to battle traffic to and from work every day if you can
avoid it.)
q Is the neighborhood or district safe? (You want to feel
comfortable in your office and you want this for your clients
as well.)
q Is the parking area lit well? (Drive by at night and look at the
lighting. You don’t want to have to walk to your car in the
dark.)
q Is the parking convenient for my clients, employees, and me?
(Even if you don’t mind a long hike, your clients will expect
convenience.)
q Is there space for growth? (You don’t want to have to move to
a bigger office next year.)
q Can I afford it? (You’ll want to read your lease agreement
carefully, and crunch some numbers in your budget before
you agree.)

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If you want the appearance of a professional office space, but cost is

an issue, consider shared office space in a business center or executive
suite. These facilities are typically furnished offices that provide you
with receptionist and mail services. They may also offer photocopiers,
Internet access, and conference rooms that you can use for client
meetings. Do a Google search for your city and “office space”, “shared
office space”, “business center” or “executive suite”.

5.2 Financial Matters

5.2.1 Start-up and Operating Expenses
Although your clients will reimburse you for expenses that can be
directly attributed to the projects you do for them (see Section 5.2.6),
you will have a number of business expenses that you won’t be able to
bill to your clients. Fortunately, a VA business is a relatively inexpensive
business to start, especially if you will be working from home and are
running a solo operation. Still, every business has expenses and it’s
important to budget for these before you start calculating your fees.

Use the following to estimate your start-up expenses and your monthly
operating expenses. Note that even if an item is listed below, that
doesn’t mean you have to budget for it. You may not need it, or you
may already have it. You should also consider if there are expenses not
on this list that will apply to you.

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Start-Up Expenses
Item Low High
Office furniture (see checklist later in this section) _____ _____

Computer (desktop and/or laptop with webcam _____ _____

and microphone for video conferencing)

Headset _____ _____

Color printer/copier/scanner (separate or all-in-one) _____ _____

Office software _____ _____

Business phone line installation fee _____ _____

Internet setup costs _____ _____

Smartphone and/or tablet _____ _____

Landline (and line setup costs) _____ _____

Office supplies _____ _____

Stationery _____ _____

Business cards _____ _____

Printing (brochures or other marketing materials) _____ _____

Website set-up costs _____ _____

(design, domain name, etc.)

Business licenses/fees _____ _____

Professional consulting (lawyer, accountant) _____ _____

Other _____ _____

TOTAL: _____ _____

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Monthly Operating Expenses

Your monthly operating expenses include both fixed and
variable costs. Fixed costs remain the same from month to month
regardless of the amount of work you do (examples include rent
and membership dues), while variable costs may vary from
month to month (examples include travel and taxes). To estimate
monthly variable costs, start by estimating a yearly total than
divide that by 12 for a monthly average.

Item Low High

Salaries _____ _____
Benefits _____ _____
Rent (or portion of mortgage) _____ _____
Office supplies (see checklist later in this section) _____ _____
Phone service (mobile and/or landline) _____ _____
Internet service _____ _____
Postage and courier _____ _____
Travel expenses including mileage _____ _____
Insurance costs _____ _____
Membership dues _____ _____
Printing materials _____ _____
Marketing expenses _____ _____
Web hosting _____ _____
Magazine subscriptions/professional literature _____ _____
Training and conferences _____ _____
Legal and accounting services _____ _____
Banking expenses _____ _____
Entertainment _____ _____
Taxes _____ _____
Other _____ _____
TOTAL: _____ _____

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Creating a monthly budget will help you plan for your first year in
business. After the first year, you can then build a budget for year two
based on what you actually spent during your first year. Your monthly
budget will also help you determine what costs you need to cover
before you start making a profit.

Your own costs may vary widely from those of other virtual assistants,
depending on what you currently have and what you plan to do with
your business. For example, your rent might range from $0 if you have
a home office to $1,000 per month for leased office space.

Following are checklists of typical office equipment and supplies

required for a VA business. Keep in mind, however, that many virtual
assistants are now going green and limiting the amount of paper
supplies they use. This is not only good for the environment, but also
for your wallet. Keeping as much of your business digital as possible
also means less space required for storage. Most of the large retail office
supply chains can set you up with everything you need for your office
at a reasonable price.

There are also many free and low-cost software programs available
online to get you started with some common tasks like web design and
creating PDF documents (see Section 2.2 for a list of useful budget-
conscious tools). You may find that these are sufficient for your needs,
at least initially as you explore new skill sets. Once you determine what
you enjoy most and what services you’d like to specialize in, then you
might consider investing in some of the professional software packages
that provide all the bells and whistles.

Office Furniture and Equipment Checklist

q Bookcases for reference material

q Chair(s)

q Computer and software

q Printer/copier/scanner

q Desk (one or more)

q Filing cabinet

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q Lamps and lighting

q Storage shelves

q Work table

Supplies and Small Equipment

q Accordion files

q Binders

q Brochures

q Business cards

q Business stationery

q Calculator

q Calendar or day planner

q Envelopes (all sizes)

q File folders

q File labels

q Index cards

q Mailing labels

q Mailing envelopes

q Paper

q Paper clips

q Paper cutter (for trimming brochures, postcards, etc.)

q Pens, pencils, markers, and erasers

q Post-it notes

q Postage stamps

q Rubber bands

q Ruler

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q Smartphone / Tablet

q Stapler and staples

q Tape

Keeping Track of Your Finances

Here are some tactics to use to keep track of your business income and
expenses. First, open a business account at a bank, trust company or
credit union, even if you are using only your own name to do business.
Use this only for paying the bills of the company and your own salary,
which you then deposit in your personal account.

Get a style of business check that requires you to record checks you’ve
written. You want to create a paper trail for your business account so
you are able to:

• Prove your deductions at tax time

• See at a glance where your money has gone

• Create balance sheets that your vendors or other financial

institutions may request from time to time

Also, keep track of your accounts receivable, accounts payable, and so

on with accounting software. The most popular accounting software
for small businesses is Quicken or Quickbooks. For not a lot of money,
accounting software will help you prepare invoices, manage your
accounts, and generate reports from your records.

Finally, keep two ledgers – small enough to carry in your purse or

briefcase – so you can log (1) mileage (or other travel expenses), and (2)
everything you spend during the day (remember to keep personal and
business expenses separate).

Also carry an envelope so you can keep receipts for everything you buy.
The cup of coffee you buy for a prospective customer, the latest issue of
a business magazine, the mileage you travel to a client’s office, the pack
of paper you pick up at the office supply store, the admission charge
for a trade fair — these and many other expenses should be accounted
for so you can minimize your taxes. And, of course, knowing exactly
where your money is going will help you plan better and cut back on

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any unnecessary expenses. So make it a habit to ask for a receipt for

every expense related to business.

Be sure to re-file these at night in the appropriate files in your file

cabinet. The business receipts should be stapled to the order form for
each purchase/service for a client. If you prefer keeping track digitally,
there are many apps out there that allow you to scan receipts as you
get them, so a digital copy is saved on your smartphone that you can
upload to your accounting software later. You don’t have to print
hard copies of everything but be certain that the information is easily
accessible if you need to look it up or produce something. No matter
how you design a system, make sure it works for you and that you can
find receipts for anything at any time.

Financial Experts
Just as people will hire you as an expert to help them solve some of their
personal and business problems, you may want to hire experts to assist
with your finances. An accountant or tax advisor can be expensive—
you might pay $100 per hour compared to the $20 per hour you might
pay a bookkeeper—but their advice could possibly save you hundreds
or even thousands of dollars at tax time.

An accountant is someone who takes all your recorded transactions

and creates financial reports, such as those mentioned earlier, in order
to analyze your business. They can also provide valuable financial
guidance and help with filing tax returns. To lower your expenses
when hiring an accountant try to do some basic bookkeeping so the
professional accountant doesn’t have to sort through and organize your
paperwork. Remember, they charge by the hour.

If you find yourself so busy with providing virtual assistant services

that you don’t have time to do your own bookkeeping, consider hiring
a part-time bookkeeper on a contract basis to do your bookkeeping for
you.

A bookkeeper can assist with your daily and weekly transactions with
respect to accounts payable and accounts receivable. They will record
all of your incoming money and process any money that you owe.
Depending on how busy you are, it may take the bookkeeper a few

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hours per week to get your books up to date and balance them with
your bank statements.

Once you’ve determined what your accounting needs are you may be
able to find a professional accountant at Accountant Finder. This site
offers a clickable map of the United States with links to accountants in
cities across the country. Alternatively, performing an online search for
accountants or bookkeepers in your area is another option.

TIP: Never neglect to back up your data on a regular basis. You

would find it more than embarrassing to tell the IRS at tax
time that you cannot file your taxes because your computer
died and your records were not backed up.

5.2.2 Start-up Financing

Although the start-up costs for virtual assistance businesses are
minimal, you may want to secure a loan or investment to get through
the early months, purchase some office equipment, or lease office space.

In business, there are two basic kinds of financing: equity financing

and debt financing. The decision to choose debt or equity financing
usually will be based on your personal financial position and how
much additional money you need in order to get your business started.
Essentially, equity financing is when you agree to give someone a share
in your business in exchange for an agreed amount of investment
capital from that person.

Debt financing is any form of borrowing money, including a loan, lease,

line of credit or other debt on which you must pay interest in order to
finance the original principal amount. Sources for this kind of financing
include banks, credit unions, credit card companies, suppliers, and so
on. If you buy a computer system for your company and pay for it
in monthly installments over a couple of years, that is a form of debt
financing since you will pay interest on the amount you finance.
Consider all your options carefully and, especially before you enter into
any kind of long-term debt arrangement, speak with an accountant and
a lawyer first.

Only you can decide which financing sources will be the best ones for
your business and your personal situation. The most important thing

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is to make sure you agree to loan repayment terms that you can live
with and that are realistic for you. In the following sections we’ll look
at some of the sources of each type of financing and the advantages and
disadvantages to each. Additional advice on all aspects of financing
your business can be found at the SBA’s website on their Fund Your
Business and Manage Your Finances pages. In Canada, visit the federal
government’s Business Grants and Financing page.

TIP: Many financial consultants recommend having a nest egg

to live on while you are starting up your business. Some
suggest at least six months’ of living expense money — that
is, all the money you will need monthly to pay all your
personal living expenses, bills, and debts, so you can focus
on your new business without stress. This is apart from any
start-up capital you might need for the business itself.

Commercial Loans
Commercial loans are loans that you can get from a financial institution.
These include traditional banks, credit unions, savings and loans and
commercial finance companies. The terms of your loan will depend
upon several things, including your credit score, your collateral, and
your ability to pay back a loan. Be sure to compare interest rates and
terms of lending to see which institution offers the best deals.

When you are starting your business, financial institutions will likely
lend the money to you personally rather than to your business. As a
result, they are much more interested in your personal financial status
than your business plan. A business just starting up won’t count as
collateral, so you’ll probably need to guarantee the loan with personal
assets like your house or your car.

They will look at how much money you need every month to pay your
bills, what kind of resources or assets you have, what kind of debt you
are in, and how you will repay this debt.

Once your business is established, if you want a commercial loan in

order to expand – for example to open VA offices in other cities – the
financial institution may be willing to lend the money to your business
rather than to you personally.

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In that case, the lending institution will insist on seeing a formal

business plan that demonstrates clearly-defined financial and business
goals. (If you haven’t read it already, see Section 5.1.1 for advice on
creating a business plan.) You will also need to prepare a loan proposal,
which includes a credit application, and provide information about
your business including the following:

• The type of loan you’re applying for

• Amount you are requesting

• What you will use for collateral

• How the money will be used

• Information about your business, its name, legal structure, tax

numbers, existing loans, taxes owed, assets

• Details about the business owners or principals: name, mortgages,

source of other income

Family and Friends

One of the greatest resources for your start-up money will always be
the people you know who believe in you and your ideas—your family
and friends. Very often they will help you with money when all other
resources fail you. They usually will agree to payback terms that aren’t
as strict as commercial lenders, and they are usually pulling for you,
too. As with any other kind of loan, it is important to make sure that
you and the other parties completely understand and agree to the terms
of the loan. Make sure you have a written document which states when
and how you will pay the loan back.

Another possibility is to ask a family member to co-sign a commercial

loan for you. Co-signing means that this person agrees to take on the
financial responsibility of the loan if you should fail. Family members
are often willing to help you out this way. Make sure, before friends or
family members help you out by co-signing a loan, that they are really
comfortable doing so.

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Partners
One of the simplest forms of equity financing is taking on a partner.
Having a partner in your business brings additional skill sets, business
contacts and resources to the venture. Most importantly, a partner can
bring money to help pay for start-up costs and assist with ongoing
operations. You’ll need to decide whether your partner will be active
in the running of the company or just a silent partner who invests the
money, receives income from the business, but has no say in how things
are run. (You can read more about Partnerships as a form of business
legal structure in Section 5.1.2.)

You as an Investor
Never forget that you might be your own best source of funding. One
nice thing about using your own money is that you aren’t obligated to
anyone else or any other organization—it is yours to invest. This can be
an excellent solution for individuals with some credit problems.

To raise your own capital, you can:

• Cash out stocks, bonds, life insurance, an IRA, RRSP, or other

retirement account

• Increase your credit on charge cards (remember that you will pay
high interest rates on these)

• Use personal savings

• Take out a second mortgage or home equity loan on your house

or other property

• Sell something valuable, like a car, jewelry, real estate, or art

Government Programs
Small Business Administration Loans
The Small Business Administration (SBA) doesn’t actually lend you
money. However, they do offer a whole range of supports and services
including Lender Match that can help small businesses get off the
ground. Additional information can be found on the SBA’s Loans page.

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Under the Lender Match program, the SBA works with approved
lenders to provide loans to small businesses, through a program the
SBA has with lenders called the 7(a) Loan Program to learn more about
the process.

The SBA sets specific guidelines for loans made by its partnering
lenders, community development organizations, and micro-lending
institutions, and guarantees loans made by those lenders up to 85%.
This reduces risk for lenders and makes it easier for them to access
capital, making it easier for small businesses to get loans.

According to the SBA, loans guaranteed by them can range from

small ($500) to large ($5.5 million) and can be used for most business
purposes, including working capital and fixed assets. These loans
also come with a number of benefits and supports, so there are good
incentives for exploring this option. The SBA suggests you have your
business plan, financial statements and projections, and credit history
ready when you start the matching process.

The SBA also has a Microloans program, which offers loans to start-
up and newly established businesses through non-profit entities at
the local level up to a maximum of $50,000. The average loan is about
$13,000. Interest rates for these small loans vary between about 8 to 13
percent.

With Microloans, the SBA provides funds to intermediary lenders,

who administer the program. Lending and credit requirements are not
universal and are individually decided by the intermediary. Microloans
can be used for working capital, inventory/supplies, furniture/fixtures,
and machinery or equipment. Before your loan is approved, you may
have to undergo business training or fulfil other planning requirements
which should help you with your business’ launch and expansion.

Government Programs in Canada

If you plan to open a virtual assistance business in Canada, you might
be interested in the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) or
the Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP).

The BDC is a financial institution owned by the federal government that

offers consulting and financing services to help get small businesses

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started. They also have a financing program aimed specifically at

women entrepreneurs.

The Canada Small Business Financing Program is much like the SBA
7(a) Loan Program mentioned earlier in this section. The maximum
amount you can borrow is $1,000,000, and no more than $350,000 can
be used for purchasing leasehold improvements, improving leased
property or purchasing or improving new or used equipment. The
CSBFP works with lenders across the country to offer loans at 3% above
the lender’s prime lending rate.

Additional Financing Options

Other options for financing include the following:

Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a newer form of financing, where instead of getting
one or two investors to put money into your idea in exchange for some
form of return (e.g. portion of your profits, shares in your company,
etc.), you get large groups of people to put small amounts of money
into your idea.

Crowdfunding usually falls into one of three models: donations/

rewards, debt crowdfunding, or equity crowdfunding. Under the
donations/rewards model, people give money without expecting
anything in return; however, the general rule of thumb is that donors
will receive some form of reward, such as discounts on the services
you provide. Generally speaking, the greater the reward, the more
successful the crowdfunding campaign will be. Debt crowdfunding
involves investors lending you money at fairly high interest rates. With
the equity model, investors will either purchase shares of your business
or take a percentage of your profits. Equity crowdfunding is usually
recommended for established businesses wanting to expand rather
than companies in the start-up phase.

Crowdfunding very much relies on social media and online marketing

to help spread the word, and popular crowdfunding campaigns
that have gone “viral” have been hugely successful. Well-known
mainstream crowdfunding sites include Kickstarter, GoFundMe and
Indiegogo. Usually these types of sites do not charge a fee to post a

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crowdfunding campaign, but will take some percentage of the final

amount you raise.

Which online platform and type of crowdfunding you choose to pursue

(if any) will depend on your own circumstances and what you feel is
best for your business. As with any financing opportunity, research
your options carefully before committing to anything.

Accelerators and Incubators

Accelerators and incubators are also relatively newer forms of
investment. Accelerators tend to invest in established companies while
incubators assist start-up businesses, but both offer mentorship and
business expertise to entrepreneurs. Accelerators focus on helping
start-ups reach new levels of growth and attract new or additional
investors, and incubators assist fledgling start-ups in taking their
business concepts from idea to reality.

Another key difference between the two is that accelerators hold an

equity stake of a company in return for providing a certain amount
of capital. Incubators on the other hand are typically funded by
universities or economic development organizations. They do not
provide capital and as such, they don’t usually hold any equity in the
business they are backing.

Angel Investors
Angel investors are usually wealthy business people (sometimes
retired) with years of industry experience behind them. They help new
businesses get off the ground by not only investing their money, but
also by mentoring new entrepreneurs and offering their expertise.

Like any investor, though, Angels want to see a return on their initial
investment, so be prepared to sell your idea. As well, Angels usually
have a hand in overseeing management practices, often by serving
on the company’s Board of Directors. Check out the Angel Capital
Association Member Directory to explore this option further.

Venture Capital
Venture capital is a form of equity financing and is considered a high-
risk field. Venture capitalists may invest in start-ups, but they tend to

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invest more so in small businesses looking to expand and in young

businesses that show promising growth potential.

Because venture capitalists are taking on a high degree of risk by

backing a company that has yet to prove its worth, the rate of return on
their investment is also very high. For that reason, venture capitalists
tend to focus on businesses and industries where there is strong growth
potential and/or they feel the business is offering a unique service or
product that could give them a competitive edge over other companies
in the industry (Facebook, Dropbox, and Spotify, for example, were all
financed in part by venture capitalists).

Check out the National Venture Capital Association Member

Directory for a listing of venture capitalists in the U.S. In Canada, visit
the Canadian Venture Capital Association Member Directory.

Regardless of where you go for money, be well-prepared. Have an

extra copy of your business plan available for the potential lender’s
inspection, and be able to speak clearly and concisely about your plans
and goals.

Keep these tips in mind when asking someone for funding:

• Get an introduction or referral. If you can get someone who is

respected in the community to introduce you to a potential lender,
it gives you credibility and a big advantage.

• Be prepared. Be able to discuss all aspects of your business plan,

your long-range goals and your prospective market.

• Be professional. Shake hands, speak with confidence and look the

person you’re talking to in the eye.

• Dress to impress. You’re going to be a virtual assistant. Be sure

you look the part.

• Be receptive. Even if you don’t end up getting any money from a

prospective lender, you may be able to get ideas and suggestions.
Perhaps they will have some pointers regarding your business
plan, or some suggestions about steering your business in a
particular direction. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, either.

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5.2.3 Taxes
If you are properly informed and prepared you won’t have to face
your tax responsibility with a feeling of dread. In fact, once you are
organized and you have enlisted the help of a good tax professional,
taxes become just another regular business task.

Get Informed First

The best thing you can do to be sure of your personal and business tax
obligations is to find the information you need before you start your
new business. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a number of
informative documents online that you can look at today to learn the
basics about everything you need to prepare for your taxes as a small
business owner. If you read these documents and understand them,
you will have no surprises at tax time.

One helpful document is the Tax Guide for Small Business that
outlines your rights and responsibilities as a small business owner. It
tells you how to file your taxes, and provides an overview of the tax
system for small businesses. For more general information for small
business owners from the IRS visit their Small Business and Self-
Employed Tax Center.

For Canadian residents, the Canada Revenue Agency also provides

basic tax information for new business owners. This includes
information about the GST, how to file your taxes, allowable expenses
and so on. Another helpful resource is the Canada Revenue Agency’s
Liaison Officer Service, which provides assistance to small business
owners and self-employed individuals regarding their tax obligations.
Complete the Liaison Officer Service Request Form on the CRA
website, and a Liaison Officer will contact you to arrange a one-on-one
meeting or group seminar depending on your needs and preferences.
This service is provided free of charge.

It is also important to be informed about your tax obligations on a state

and local level. Tax laws and requirements vary on a state-by-state
basis and locally, too. Make sure that you find out exactly what you
are responsible for in your state and city. In addition, it is important
to find out about sales tax in your area. The Tax Foundation provides
information on a state-by-state basis for personal, sales and other

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taxes. In Canada, consult the Business Taxes page on the Canadian

Government’s website.

Getting Assistance
If you decide you would prefer a qualified tax professional to help you
handle your taxes, you will find you are in good company. Many small
business owners decide to have a professional handle their taxes. An
accountant can point out deductions you might otherwise miss and
save you a lot of money. See Section 5.2.1 for more information about
hiring an accountant.

You will also need to understand payroll taxes if you plan on hiring
employees. Each new employee needs to fill out paperwork prior to
their first paycheck being issued. In the U.S. this will be a W-4 and an I-9
form. In Canada, the employee will have to complete a T-4 and fill out
a Canada Pension form. Both the W-4 and the T-4 are legal documents
verifying the tax deductions a new employee has. The amount of tax
you will withhold as an employer varies and is based on the required
deductions an employee has as specified by the federal government.
Make sure you retain the forms in a folder labeled with their name and
store them in a readily accessible place such as a filing cabinet in your
office.

Check with your state or province’s labor office to make sure you are
clear about all the forms employees must fill out in order to work
for you. The sites below give more information on legal paperwork,
including where to get blank copies of the forms your employees will
need to fill out. For more on employees, see Section 5.3.

• IRS: Employment Tax Forms

• Canada Revenue: Forms and Publications

Taxes on Product Sales

In most jurisdictions, if you buy items or services at wholesale prices
and then resell them to your clients for a higher price, you will need to
collect sales tax and turn it over to the appropriate city, county, state,
and/or country. In order to collect sales tax, you must have a resale
number. Also known as a tax number, a resale permit, or a sales tax

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permit, you are required to show this number on a certificate when

you want to shop wholesale. You will not pay sales tax at the point of
purchase, but will file your purchases with the state or county and mail
them a check.

Wholesalers generally do not sell to the general public, and so they

need to know that you are in fact running a business and making
purchases for that business. In many cases, wholesalers will want your
business license number to keep on file (see Section 5.1.2 for more about
obtaining a business license) in addition to your resale number. This
helps them prove to tax authorities that purchases you are making are
legitimately tax exempt.

Keep in mind that, in the U.S., a tax ID number doesn’t always

automatically grant a retailer sales tax exemption for purchasing
inventory. In some states, you’ll have to apply for a tax exemption
certificate. In order to get one of these, you’ll need the tax ID number
to prove you are a registered business with the state revenue agency. In
other states, you may not need to formally apply for a tax exemption
certificate. Some states allow you to complete a form that the state tax
agency supplies or to simply create your own statement of tax exempt
purchasing that includes your tax ID number. In these states, you don’t
need to submit the form or statement to the revenue agency but do
need to keep it on file for tax purposes in case the revenue agency
wants to look at it.

To find your state’s revenue agency, visit the IRS’s State Government
Websites page.

In Canada, the process is a bit different. Canadian provinces (with the

exception of Alberta) have a provincial sales tax (PST) that must be
collected along with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by retailers when
customers make purchases. Several provinces have a Harmonized Sales
Tax (HST), which is a blended sales tax including both PST and GST.
In most provinces, retailers must pay the GST on wholesale purchases
and then these amounts are subtracted from GST payments made to
the federal government.

In provinces with a sales tax separate from the GST, you will need
to apply for a purchase exemption certificate and a PST registration
number. You will have to provide them with your business ID number

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(obtained when you apply to the Canada Revenue Agency to collect

GST) and they will send you the certificate. In provinces with the
blended HST, you will pay the HST on all goods you purchase for your
business, just as retailers in other provinces pay the GST on wholesale
purchases. To learn more, visit the Canadian Government’s page on
GST/HST for Businesses.

TIP: If you are able to do business entirely by using your clients’

credit accounts, or if they reimburse you for anything you
buy for them, you may not need a sales tax license.

5.2.4 Insurance
Insurance can help protect the investment you make in your company
from unforeseen circumstances or disaster. Types of insurance for the
small business owner are listed in this section. Contact your insurance
broker to determine whether these or other types of coverage are right
for you.

Liability Insurance
This insurance (also known as Errors and Omissions Insurance)
protects you against loss if you are sued for alleged negligence. It could
pay judgments against you (up to the policy limits) along with any
legal fees you incur defending yourself. For example, if you mistakenly
book the wrong flight for a client, and he misses an important meeting
which causes him to lose an account (and money), you may find this
type of insurance valuable.

TIP: For some small businesses, getting a Business Owner’s

policy is a good place to start. These policies are designed
for small business owners with under one hundred
employees and revenue of under one million dollars. These
policies combine liability and property insurance together.
Small business owners like these policies because of their
convenience and affordable premiums.

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Property Insurance
This insurance covers losses to your personal property from damage or
theft. If your business will be located in your home, you’re most likely
already covered with homeowner’s insurance. However, it’s a good
idea to update your plan to provide coverage for office equipment and
other items that aren’t included in a standard plan.

If your business will be located in a building other than your home, you
may need an additional policy. If you rent space, you’ll need property
insurance only on the equipment you have in your office — the owner
of the building normally would pay for insurance on the property.

Life and Disability Insurance

If you provide a portion of your family’s income, then you need to
carry life insurance and disability insurance to make certain they are
cared for if something happens to you. If you become sick or otherwise
disabled for an extended period, your business could be in jeopardy.
Disability insurance would provide at least a portion of your income
while you’re not able to work.

Business Interruption Insurance

This insurance covers your bills and lost profit while you are out of
operation for a covered loss, such as a fire. Just because the business is
shut down doesn’t mean the bills stop coming. This type of insurance
covers ongoing expenses such as rent or taxes until your business gets
up and running again.

Car Insurance
Be sure to ask your broker about your auto insurance if you’ll be using
your personal vehicle on company business.

Health Insurance
If you live in the United States and aren’t covered under a spouse’s
health plan, you’ll need to consider your health insurance options. The
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 established

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Healthcare.gov as your primary resource to obtain affordable health

insurance.

TIP: Some insurance companies offer discount pricing for

members of particular organizations. When you are looking
for organizations to join, whether your local Chamber
of Commerce or a national association, check to see if
discounted health insurance is one of the member benefits.

Canadians have most of their health care expenses covered by the

Canadian government. For expenses that are not covered (such as
dental care, eyeglasses, prescription drugs, etc.), there are several
insurance companies who offer private health and dental insurance.
Do an online search for “health insurance in Canada” and then review
and research your options thoroughly before purchasing any plan.

Self-employed professionals also may qualify for tax benefits by

setting up their own private health care plan. In order to be eligible for
these tax benefits, you will need to meet certain requirements as laid
out by the Canada Revenue Agency in their Private Health Services
Plan. Your accountant can also offer additional advice regarding your
eligibility for this benefit.

Notice that IAP Career College does not recommend a specific vendor
for your insurance needs. As always, do your own research before
making the choice which is right for you.

Workers Compensation Insurance

Most states and all provinces require that small business owners who
hire others carry workers’ compensation insurance. For more about
these obligations in the U.S., visit the Office of Worker’s Compensation
Programs website. visit the Association of Workers’ Compensation
Boards of Canada.

More Information
Another resource you may find helpful is the SBA website, which
includes a section on Business Insurance. In Canada, visit the
Insurance Bureau of Canada.

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5.2.5 Setting Your Fees

One of the biggest challenges for novice virtual assistants is determining
how much to charge clients and how to present the bill. Part of the
confusion lies in the fact that there is such an enormous disparity in the
fees charged by many virtual assistants for the same services. It is also
tempting for beginning virtual assistants to set lower fees in an attempt
to compete with overseas firms in countries such as India where wages
are considerably lower (perhaps as little as $4 an hour!).

The range of fees is also related to the wide variety of services virtual
assistants may provide, as well as their level of expertise and training.
Typically a VA offering a very specialized or in-demand service will
earn more than a VA that offers only basic office support, though this
is also highly variable depending on the clients you work with and the
reputation you build. Most virtual assistants use a basic hourly rate as
a starting point. However, it is also common practice for VAs to work
on a monthly retainer basis for ongoing clients, and to offer additional
per project rates as well.

In an article at Forbes.com, journalist Mary Crane wrote: “New

entrepreneur consultants tend to undercharge for their services. This
mistake is understandable. ... it’s difficult to know the going rate because
most consultants vigilantly guard their prices.” However, through the
research and interviews conducted in the process of writing this book,
we found a number of virtual assistants willing to share their fees and
the process used for setting those fees. We have distilled their advice
into a step-by-step formula you can use for setting fees. This section
also offers insights on factors you may want to consider in setting your
own fees.

As mentioned in the introduction, virtual assistants typically earn $25 to

$60 or more per hour. Factors affecting the fees you may charge include:

• Your income requirements (this includes how much you want to

be paid, your business expenses, and how much profit you want
your company to earn)

• Your reputation and level of experience

• Your specialization

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• Your client and their budget

• Your relationship with the client

• Your competitors’ fees

As you can see, some of these factors involve market conditions, while
others, such as your income requirements, are entirely under your control.

Virtual assistants structure their fees in a number of different ways. You

may choose one way that works for you to simplify your billing system,
or more likely, a combination of these methods based on the types of
assignments you get and your clients’ needs. The most common ways
of charging are:

• Hourly/pay-as-you-go

• Per project/flat fee

• Monthly retainer

Hourly and Pay-as-you-go

One fee option for virtual assistants is to charge an hourly or pay-as-
you-go rate. Pay-as-you-go works best when dealing with clients with
minimal support needs, such as a client that requires only a few hours
per month or assistance with small projects on an occasional basis.
Clients pay only for the hours they use, so those who have never used a
VA before might find this suits their needs best, at least initially.

It is not uncommon to require an initial deposit (such as 50%) from new

clients who choose the pay-as-you-go plan. Once you have an established
relationship with a client, however, this is not always necessary. You may
decide to bill on a weekly or bi-weekly basis for hourly or pay-as-you-go
clients so that you’re not providing a full month’s worth of work before
payment. Whatever structure you and your client agree to, make sure the
terms are clearly spelled out in the contract.

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Calculating Your Hourly Fee

Whether you offer a pay-as-you go plan or not, it’s a good idea to
calculate your hourly rate anyway to help you estimate project and
retainer rates.

Some virtual assistants charge as little as $15 an hour, while others

charge more than $100 an hour – quite a range! More typically, rates
range from $25 to $60 per hour. So how do you determine your hourly
rate? While you could simply pick an hourly rate you would like to
charge (such as $50 per hour), or an annual salary you would like to
earn (such as $50,000) divided by the number of working hours in a
year to determine your hourly rate, most virtual assistants take a more
systematic approach in setting their fees.

To ensure that your costs are covered and that your business can
prosper, it’s recommended that you do some number-crunching using
the formula below. Try it with different figures (such as different annual
incomes) to help you settle on an appropriate hourly fee to charge.

1. Decide on the annual salary you would like to earn.

2. Estimate your number of working hours per year.

3. Estimate how many of those hours will generate revenue.

4. Determine your overhead costs.

5. Decide how much profit you want to earn.

6. Calculate your hourly rate.

Step 1: Decide Your Annual Salary

First, choose a figure you would like to earn as your annual salary. For
the purpose of illustrating how this formula works, we’ll assume you
want to earn an annual salary of $50,000.

Step 2: Estimate How Many Hours You’ll Work

While you may be planning to work full-time, that means different
things to different virtual assistants. Some consider full-time to be eight

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hours a day, five days a week, with two weeks off for vacation. If so,
you will work:

40 hours per week x 50 weeks = 2,000 hours per year

Your own hours per year will likely vary from this amount. If you are
like many entrepreneurs, you may find yourself working more than 40
hours per week. For example, you may work 10 hours per day or six
days per week. On the other hand, you may want more vacation time
or you may want to start your VA business on a part-time basis. Plug
your own estimated hours into this formula.

Step 3: Estimate Your Paid Hours

The next step is to estimate the percentage of your working time that will
be spent on revenue-generating activities. This is a key consideration
that is sometimes overlooked by entrepreneurs. However, the reality is
that you will not be spending 100% of your working hours on revenue-
generating activities. Instead, you will need to assume that some of
your time will be spent on other activities.

Here are a few examples:

• Administrative work

• Attending networking events

• Preliminary consultations (most VAs provide this to prospective

clients for free)
• Other marketing activities

• Submitting proposals that don’t result in work

• Learning (reading, taking courses to enhance your skills, etc.)

• Down time (sick days or time off)

Because your first year in business is likely to involve additional

work to get the business off the ground, it’s wise to estimate a higher
percentage of time spent on such tasks in your first year than you might
estimate for subsequent years. For the purpose of our example, we will
assume that 40% of your time will be spent on tasks that don’t generate
revenue, so 60% of your hours will be paid.

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60% of 2,000 hours = 1,200 paid hours per year

Step 4: Determine Your Overhead Costs

Overhead is all the non-labor expenses needed to run your business.
Some examples include: rent, utilities, insurance, office equipment, and
membership fees. Generally a VA business has relatively low overhead
if you choose to work from your home. You probably already own
certain items you will need, such as a computer. However, you still
need to account for additional expenditures in your calculation.

Use the total amount that you came up with in Section 5.2.1. For
example, if you estimated that your monthly operating costs will be
$2,000:

$2,000 per month = $24,000 per year

Step 5: Decide How Much Profit You Want

Profit is generally expressed as a percentage of your total costs (your
salary plus expenses). How much profit would you like your virtual
assistant business to earn? Unless you want to start a nonprofit
organization, the answer should certainly be more than 0%. Exactly
how much more is entirely up to you.

There’s no standard for how much profit you should be earning. Most
recommendations we found ranged from 10% to 25% annual profit.
Because you may have higher costs in your first year, you may want to
aim lower than you might in subsequent years. So for the purpose of
our example, we’ll assume you want to earn a profit of 10%. Here’s how
you would calculate that based on our previous figures:

$50,000 salary + $24,000 expenses = $74,000 total costs

$74,000 x .10 = $7,400 profit

Step 6: Calculate Your Hourly Rate

Once you have figured out the other numbers, you can easily come up
with an estimated hourly rate which you would then round up or down
to come up with a fee that appears professional. Here’s the hourly rate
calculated from the numbers used throughout this example:

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$50,000 salary + $24,000 expenses + $7,400 profit = $81,400

$81,400 divided by 1,200 hours = $67.83 per hour

(which you might round to $68 per hour)

To see what you would need to charge in order to earn a larger salary,
work fewer hours, spend more on overhead, or make a larger profit,
you can plug other numbers into the formula.

If the figure you come up with doesn’t seem reasonable for your
market (e.g. you don’t think you can generate the number of clients,
especially your first year in business, that would be required) and you
are willing to work more hours, earn a lower annual income, spend less
on overhead, or make a smaller profit, you can plug in figures that will
reduce your hourly rate.

According to a recent survey by the Association of Virtual Assistants,

almost 58% of respondents charged between $26 and $50 per hour. At
the same time, job sites like Upwork and ZipRecruiter report an average
hourly rate closer to $20 per hour for the virtual assistants that post on
their sites, suggesting that virtual assistants might be bidding low on
freelance marketplaces to get work. But don’t get disheartened! Remind
clients that they will get what they pay for in terms of quality, expertise
and reliability.

Another factor to consider when setting your rates is how many clients
you want to work with at one time and how many you can reasonably
handle. You may not be able to provide your best to each client if you
stretch yourself too thin. Many VAs have between 2 and 4 clients;
however, some have just 1 and others more than 10. Only you can
decide what works best for you.

Keeping Track of Your Hours

Below is a sample showing how you can keep track of your hours so you
can bill your clients accordingly. You will find additional time tracking
suggestions in Chapter 2.

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Sample Time Tracking Record

Task Date Time Hours

Website maintenance 03/02/21 09:00-10:30 1.5

Preparation of presentation 03/7/21 15:00-17:00 2.0

Transcription 03/15/21 09:30-12:00 2.5

Database contact management 03/20/21 19:00-23:00 4.0

While most virtual assistants these days rely on synced calendar

software to keep themselves organized, some virtual assistants still rely
on paper organizers or datebooks such the Day-Timer or the or more
upscale Franklin-Covey. If this is your only support system, though,
you’re at risk of losing your entire business if you lose your “book”!

Also consider appointment or CRM (customer relation management)

software. Some of the most popular CRM packages were discussed in
Section 2.2, but there are countless options available, based on your
budget and needs. Ideally, you want one that integrates well with any
other organizational and time tracking systems you are using. Check
out software review sites to help you make a decision.

Per Project
Virtual assistants also have the option of charging a per project fee
(may also be referred to as a fixed fee or flat rate). Many clients like per
project fees because they know the maximum amount they will pay for
a particular project. This fee structure may also work well with clients
who balk at what they consider to be a high hourly fee. Clients who
resist paying a VA $50 per hour may happily pay $1,000 dollars for a
project that solves a problem for them.

This fee structure is best used for one-time projects, or projects that
recur on an irregular basis, such as designing a website or organizing
an email marketing campaign. To come up with a fee for a particular
project you can either base it on how many hours it would take you to
complete the project or you could base it on the value of the project to

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the client. For example, if your hourly rate is $50, but it only takes you
15 hours to do a particular project, you could charge more than $750.

Another option is to calculate a fee based on each particular project. In

that case, you would consult with the client and calculate the number
of hours it would take you to complete the project. You could then
multiply the estimated number of hours by your hourly rate to come up
with a total project fee, or else give the client a discount off your hourly
rate. For example, if you calculate that it would take you 50 hours to
complete the project and your fee is $50 per hour, your project fee might
be $2,500 or a discounted amount such as $2,200.

TIP: As an alternative to giving an exact fee, you can provide a

range that the fee will fall within.

This structure works best for virtual assistants who are experienced
enough in a particular task to be able to accurately estimate the amount
of time the project will take. For less experienced VAs, the difficulty
with per project fees is estimating how long it will take you to complete
a project. Beginning virtual assistants may underestimate the number of
hours a project will take, or they may neglect to include in the contract
everything the client is required to provide. For example, if you require
current market data in order to carry out the project and are expecting
the client to provide that data to you, make sure that is stated in your
contract (see Section 6.5 for a sample contract). If they aren’t able to
provide the data and you haven’t stated in your contract that market
research is not included in the project fee, you may have to carry out the
research yourself for no additional fee.

TIP: Unless you are confident in your ability to calculate how

much time each project will take, you may want to avoid
a per project fee until you have more experience with that
type of project.

If the project scope hasn’t changed, it is unprofessional to try to

renegotiate the project fee after the project has started because you
neglected to account for all aspects of the project or miscalculated
how many hours it would take you. Not only are clients unlikely to
comply, they may question your expertise and it could keep them from
hiring you for future projects. Instead, it may be better to chalk it up

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as a learning experience, work overtime if necessary to do the job as

promised, and revise your fee for the next project.

However, if the project involves scope creep, where it expands beyond

what was originally agreed upon, then it is reasonable to expect the
client to pay a higher project fee. Make sure you have a clause in your
contract to address what happens if the project expands beyond what
was agreed upon. Then as soon as you are asked to do additional work
or it becomes apparent that additional work will be necessary, arrange
a consultation with your client to inform them about the situation and
let them know the additional cost if they decide to proceed with the
additional work.

In order to quote an accurate project fee you’ll need to know the exact
scope of the project. That’s where it becomes essential to do a needs
analysis based on the information gathered in the initial consultation,
described in Section 2.3. Many virtual assistants offer a free initial
consultation. However, unless the project is a small one, that initial
meeting will not be sufficient to gather all the information you need to
accurately quote a project fee.

TIP: Many virtual assistants invest hours of unpaid time

preparing proposals, however, you do not have to do so.
Instead, you might charge a project fee to prepare a proposal.
(See Section 6.4.3 for advice on preparing proposals.)

Monthly Retainer
A monthly retainer is a fee that clients pay you on a monthly basis. In
return, you agree to be available for a particular number of hours of
work each month. You are paid the retainer to be accessible to the client
for those hours whether or not the client needs you for the full number
or not. If you work more than the agreed number of hours you can bill
for a higher fee. Monthly retainers work best for ongoing clients that
require regular support services and want to be able to budget ahead
of time exactly how much they will spend. You can set a minimum
number of hours per month, or offer packages in increments (such as 5
hours per month, 10 hours per month, etc.).

Steady work like this is a triumph for a virtual assistant, as it is income

that can be relied upon every month. It is also good for the client,

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because it ensures they have an expert who knows their company

available to them every month on an ongoing basis, usually for a lower
cost than it would cost the company to hire a full-time employee.

A retainer arrangement may be made for any period of time acceptable

to both the client and the consultant. For example, you might work on
retainer for a period of three months, six months, a year, or longer. If a
retainer arrangement is renewed, it might be for the same fee or you
might renegotiate the fee or number of hours.

To calculate the fee you can multiply your hourly rate by the number
of hours you agree to be available to the client. However, many
consultants will offer a discount, such as 10% off their hourly rate,
to encourage clients to agree to a retainer. You might even consider
offering incremental discounts based on the number of hours the client
commits to (for example, a 5% discount for 5 hours per month, 10%
discount for 10 hours or more per month).

5.2.6 Getting Paid

Whatever type or combination of fees you decide is best for your
company to offer, make sure you and your client agree to it in writing.
A sample contract appears in the next chapter, but you will need to
revise it according to the specifics of your arrangement with your client.

You can even automate the billing process on your website, which is
particularly convenient since many of your clients won’t be local. Setting
up an online payment processing system (more on this below) helps
you avoid having to deal with issues such as bounced checks, manual
invoicing, and the time-consuming and sometimes uncomfortable task
of repeatedly contacting clients to collect payment. This allows you to
spend less time on business and more time doing billable tasks for your
clients.

Deposit
For larger jobs, or jobs that require you to purchase supplies or work
with strategic partners, vendors or wholesalers, it’s acceptable to
ask the client for a deposit (advance payment) to be paid before you
begin working. The deposit helps you cover your overhead costs
until subsequent payments come in. For a short-term project you

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might require a deposit of 50% and payment upon completion of the

assignment.

For long-term projects, for example if you have a year-long contract

where the fee is on a monthly retainer basis, you could ask to be paid
upfront for either the first month alone, or both the first and last month.
For example, if the monthly retainer is $2,500, you could ask for a
deposit of either $2,500 or $5,000 before beginning work.

At the end of your initial consultation, if the client wants to go ahead,

you can ask for a non-refundable deposit with the balance payable on
the day of, or even a week before, the engagement.

Interim Payments
Even if you collect a deposit you don’t have to wait until the end of
the project to collect the rest of your fee. The general rule for invoicing
frequency is to do it often. Clients prefer to pay out small amounts
at several intervals rather than one large, lump sum; it’s easier on
their accounting books and will provide you with a steady cash flow
throughout the engagement.

You could invoice the client at the end of each phase of a assistance
project, upon completion of specific project milestones, or based on
elapsed time. For example, if you’re actively engaged in a year-long
project, invoicing on a bi-weekly or monthly basis is an appropriate
frequency for both parties.

On the other hand, if the engagement is only for a few days or a

month, it’s appropriate to submit the invoice for the balance of your fee
promptly upon completion of the project. If you’re ever in doubt about
the frequency of invoicing, simply address the issue with the client;
they will appreciate knowing what to expect, and you will be fully
aware of how to approach the process and can adjust your accounting
accordingly based on cash owed.

Invoicing
Most corporate clients will expect you to submit invoices in order to be
paid; your accounting software will produce an invoice. Alternatively,
you can use FreshBooks. FreshBooks is an online invoicing service

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that lets you quickly make professional looking invoices, send them
by email or mail, and accept payments with PayPal or Authorize.net.
You can also use it for keeping track of other business matters including
tracking your expenses and time. (PayPal also has its own invoicing
system.)

For your retainer-based clients, you will typically invoice them monthly
in advance. For hourly/pay-as-you-go clients, an advance deposit is
often required and billing may be done more frequently (weekly or
bi-weekly). This can vary based on your relationship with the client
(whether they are new or long-term) and the type of services you are
providing, as discussed earlier in this chapter.

The exact terms for payment should be specified in contract form at

the outset of your relationship, including the level of detail the client
expects in the invoice. Invoices are generally sent to the accounting or
human resources department if you are working with a larger corporate
client, and to an individual for smaller businesses. Check with the client
up front to determine where to send invoices.

A sample invoice is provided on the next page.

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Sample Invoice
(On Your Letterhead)
Invoice #: 040110-1* Date: April 1, 20XX
Client: Cosmo Client Federal Tax #: 54321
XYZ Life Coaching
123 Main Street
Sunnyday, CA 12345
555-123-4567

(*You can use the date as part of the invoice number to help keep track)

Re: Design and Online Media Services

(as per contract of March 1, 20XX)

Services and Expenses

ITEM Price
Fees for Initial Blog Set-up and Maintenance $100.00
Fees for Logo Design $50.00
Total $150.00
Less: Deposit ($50.00)
Balance Due $100.00

Terms:
Due Upon Receipt.
Please pay via PayPal to [email protected].

Payment Information (by credit):

Type (circle one): Visa / MC / Amex

Card Number: __________________________________________

Name: __________________________________________
Expires: __________________________________________

Thank you for your business.

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If you choose to create invoices manually instead of using one of the

automated systems, the invoice should be on your letterhead and
include the following (see the previous page for a sample).

• Your business name

• Invoice number

• The client name and contact information

• The date of the invoice

• A purchase order number (if the client gave you one)

• Reason for invoice (this is a brief summary of services provided,

and usually has the prefix “Re:”; for example, “Re: Consulting
services for marketing division”)

• Services provided, as well as any products you may have sold to

the client

• Any taxes payable as required by law (e.g. Federal ID number in

the U.S.; Goods and Services Tax (GST) number in Canada)

• Where to send payment (e.g. “Payment accepted by check, EFT or

PayPal: [email protected]”)

If you are getting a graphic designer to design your logo and marketing
materials (as discussed in Chapter 6), be sure to have them make up an
invoice template for you that is in sync with the color and look of your
logo and overall brand. If you are designing your materials yourself,
there are countless invoice templates available online. Microsoft Word
also has invoice templates that make it easy to add your information,
even your logo, to give it a professional look.

Accepting Payment
You have a variety of options for getting paid by your clients.

Accepting Checks
When you accept checks, especially for large amounts, you may want
to have a back-up system for getting paid if the client has insufficient

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funds in their checking account. One option is to ask the client for a
credit card number which will be charged if the check does not clear.

You can accept checks from clients with greater assurance by using
a check payment service such as Clover ® Check Acceptance or
TeleCheck, both provided by First Data. These services compare checks
you receive with a database of millions of bad check records, allowing
you to decide whether to accept a check from a particular client.

Accepting Credit and Debit Cards

You may find that some clients will want to pay with credit cards; if so,
you will need a merchant account and card processing equipment.

American Express and Discover cards set up merchant accounts

nationally and internationally. MasterCard and Visa are local.
(For international information, visit the country-specific Visa and
Mastercard websites.)

To become a merchant directly accepting MasterCard and Visa, you will

have to get accepted by a local acquirer (a financial institution licensed
by the credit card company). Because yours is a new business, you may
have to shop around to find one that gives you good rates (you may
be charged between 1.5 and 3 percent per transaction for the service,
and often an initial setup fee and perhaps ongoing fees for phone calls,
postage, statements, and so on).

You might also have to provide evidence of a good personal financial

record to set up an advantageous rate, at least until you’ve become
established in your business and have a good track record for them
to look at. Remember, the bank is granting you credit in this instance,
“banking” on the fact that your customers will not want refunds or that
you won’t try to keep the money if they do.

These days, although the acquiring bank will be a local bank

somewhere, it need not be in your hometown. Numerous payment
processing services are available online to help you set up a merchant
account. MasterCard and Visa accounts, as well as American Express
and Discover, can all be set up through your local bank or by going to
the websites of each of these companies.

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Debit cards are processed the same way as credit cards, but with a debit
purchase, the funds come directly out of the customer’s account at the
bank and are deposited directly into your business bank account. There
is no credit involved for the customer or merchant. Setting up debit
payments is usually part of the payment processing package you set up
with your merchant account, as is the card reader which will allow you
to process both kinds of cards.

There may be a short delay or small charge to you for debit purchases,
initially or ongoing, depending on the bank. And you will have to get
the equipment to process the payments and print or send receipts.
(Federal law mandates receipts be provided to customers for debit card
purchases.)

Square provides ways to process transactions anywhere using their

tools. One option is using their small card reader accessory that plugs
into your mobile device, enabling you to swipe cards and receive
payment through your smartphone or tablet. Customers will receive
copies of their receipts via email. A newer device allows you to read
chipped credit cards or accept payments with contact-free devices.

DirectPay is another way to get merchant account credit and debit

card services, and offers a variety of other tools useful to the virtual
assistant business owner, including online shopping carts and the
ability to accept payments on-the-fly with a swipe reader accessory to
your smartphone.

If you expect to receive a lot of international payments (especially if you

are selling virtual assistance services internationally), you may want to
let your bank, credit card company or merchant account provider know,
as they may be able to offer you better rates for processing international
payments. For instance, American Express offers businesses a “multi-
currency” plan that allows you to accept payment in over 100 different
currencies. Keep in mind though that online payment companies (see
below) tend to offer better rates for international payment processing
than the more traditional merchant accounts.

Accepting Payment Online

With so many technological advances in recent years, you and your
clients now have a number of payment options that can be done

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remotely. If you don’t think you’ll be completing many transactions on-

site and don’t want or need to invest in payment processing hardware
(e.g. POS system or debit/credit card terminal), some of the following
options might appeal to you.

Electronic Funds Transfer / Electronic Money Transfer

An Electronic Funds Transfer, or EFT (sometimes known as an e-check
or wire transfer), is a payment made by transferring funds directly from
the client’s bank account to yours. Some virtual assistants request this
form of payment since it doesn’t require card processing technology
and usually involves less processing fees. There may be a fee attached
to the transfer, though this fee is usually paid by the sender to their
banking institution. If you will be receiving EFTs from clients for your
services, you will need to provide them your bank details, such as
account number and routing number, when you submit your invoice.

An Electronic Money Transfer or EMT (also known as an e-transfer)

is similar to an EFT in that payment can be sent directly from one
bank account to another. Like EFTs, some virtual assistants like using
e-transfers because they are a quick and simple way of sending and
receiving money, and there are no processing fees for the recipient (the
sender may pay a small fee depending on their banking institution).
Unlike EFTs, you do not need to provide your bank details. The sender
simply adds the recipient’s name and contact information (email
address or mobile phone) in his or her online banking account, and can
then transfer money to that recipient.

EFTs and e-transfers can be a good way to send and receive payment,
but there can be security risks with this method of payment, so it’s
important that you (and your clients) take the necessary precautions.
For more information on EMTs, visit Zelle in the U.S., and Interac in
Canada.

Digital Wallets
In addition to online banking for sending and receiving payment, you
can also use “digital wallets” to process transactions. Digital wallets
store customers’ credit and debit card details, using encrypted code
to protect sensitive data, which can then be used to make quick and

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easy online transactions. Digital wallet apps can be installed on mobile

devices such as tablets and smartphones, but you can also use your
laptop or desktop computer to register and use their services to make
online payments.

There are several service providers to choose from, including Apple

Pay, Venmo, and Google Pay, and PayPal, to name a few.

You can also process digital wallet transactions in person, but only if
you have the appropriate payment processing hardware, such as a
device that inserts into your mobile phone. Whether or not it’s worth
investing in a payment processor with these capabilities will depend
on your own – and your clients’ – preferences and how your business
is set up.

Many of the digital wallet companies also have the option of sending
and receiving money in much the same way as an e-transfer, PayPal
perhaps being the most well-known of these. There are minimal
or no monthly fees, but if you choose an upgraded service for your
account, which some companies offer (for example, one that allows
you to receive funds almost instantly with no waiting period), you will
incur additional charges. Also keep in mind that in order to receive
payment this way, your client will need to be registered with the same
payment processor. As well, there is usually a daily limit on how much
money can be sent (learn more about these terms by visiting the service
providers’ websites).

If you intend to set up your business to process purchases through

a service like PayPal (as opposed to accepting payments via money
transfers), note that these services typically charge a greater discount
rate, which is what the banks and credit card companies call the 1.5 to
3 percent they withhold from your payments. There are no monthly
service or other account-related fees, but you will surrender a small
percentage of each transaction to a service like PayPal.

If you would like to accept credit card payments through PayPal,

there is an additional small charge per transaction (1.9%-2.9%) plus
an additional 30 cents per transaction. For international payments,
there is a small fee of up to one percent applied, which will depend
on where the payment originates and where it is going. Also be aware
that if currency conversion is required during payment processing, you

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will be charged an additional fee (PayPal’s current minimum rate, for

example, is 4%).

Following Up on an Invoice
If a client doesn’t pay within the time requested on the invoice, you can
send another invoice, noting that payment is expected within a shorter
time, perhaps five or ten days. This gives your client a reminder to
quickly make the overdue payment.

If a bill is not paid within a reasonable time frame, such as 60 days,

you will need to contact the client again. You can do this by phoning
or writing. If you send a letter, you can make arrangements with the
courier or post office to get confirmation that your client actually
received it. If you’re dealing with a corporate client that is slow to pay,
you may have to make more than one phone call. If you work with that
client again, you may want to consider requiring a larger deposit or
interim payments before proceeding with work.

See Section 2.4.3 for more advice on talking to your clients about money
and dealing with non-payment issues.

5.3 Working with Support Staff

You may be working on your own when you first start your business,
but at some point you could decide to hire people to work with you.
For example, you might hire your own virtual assistant or someone to
help market your company. You might hire these people as employees,
or you might sign them on as contractors. Note that this section deals
with staff or contractors hired to help you with the tasks of running
your business, as opposed to subcontracting out your virtual assistance
work for clients, as covered in Chapter 4.

5.3.1 Employees versus Contractors

Legally, if you hire an employee, you will have to pay payroll taxes
on that employee, and probably make unemployment and workers’
compensation contributions to the appropriate government agency. On
the other hand, you can train those employees the way you like, and

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you can require them to do their work at certain hours and at places
you choose.

If you hire contractors, those people will have learned their job skills
elsewhere. They can choose how and when to do the work. You
mutually agree on what product will be delivered or what services will
be performed, as well as where and when they will be performed. But
you cannot require them to be at your office or anywhere else for a
certain number of hours daily. It is often best to spell out what you
expect and what the contractor is to do or deliver in an agreement.

Other differences between an employee and a contractor, which also

apply to you as a consultant, are:

• Employees work only for you. Contractors may have other clients
as well as you, and can work for any and all of them.

• Employees are paid on a regular basis. Contractors are paid per

project.
• Employees work for a certain number of hours. Contractors set
their own hours, as long as they get the job done. That can be
great for them if they are really fast, or not so great for them if
they are really slow. As long as the project is finished on time
to specs, it’s great for you. (On the other hand, if an employee is
slow, you may end up paying more salary to get the job done in
overtime, or even hiring temporary help to get things finished.)
• Employees can be fired or quit. Contractors can’t be fired in the
usual way while they are working under contract. You may decide
to have them stop working on a project, but you will be obliged
to pay them according to your contractual agreement unless you
are able to renegotiate the contract or successfully sue them if
you are unhappy with their work. (Of course that would only be
in extreme cases; it is best to avoid lawsuits altogether!) To help
prevent this, you will want to make sure there is a termination
clause in the contract; this gives either party the ability to end the
contract with a certain amount of notice (for instance, 2 weeks or
30 days) for certain reasons.

Be sure to read the IRS’s information and advice on employees versus

contractors. In Canada, check out the Canada Revenue Agency’s
publication RC4110.

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Even though you are not writing paychecks to contractors, but rather
checks for contracting fees, there are still tax considerations. For more
information about employment taxes, contact the IRS or Canada
Revenue Agency.

For More Information

Before you hire, check with your local department of labor to find
out all the rules and regulations required as an employer. There
may be other state and federal rules and regulations that may
apply to you, including: health and safety regulations, Workers’
Compensation, minimum wage and unemployment insurance.
Before you hire someone as an employee, it’s a good idea to get
some additional information concerning regulations, taxes and
so forth. In addition to your local department of labor, visit the
sites below for more information:

• IRS: Businesses with Employees

• U.S. Department of Labor: Summary of Major Laws

• Canada Business & Industry: Hiring and Managing

Employees

• Nolo.com: Human Resources

5.3.2 Finding Support Staff

So, how do you find staff when you need help? There are several routes
you can take, including posting an ad on an online job site such as those
mentioned in Chapter 4, working with an employment service, or even
posting something on your website and social media accounts. You will
find additional details on working with subcontractors, a more common
need for virtual assistants than traditional support staff, in Chapter 4 .
(You could even consider hiring a VA for yourself, if that’s the type of
support you require. This would not only give you the help you needed,
but you might end up establishing a good enough relationship with that
person to subcontract work to them at a later date...and vice versa!)

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However, the first place to start is by using word-of-mouth to get

the word out that you are looking to hire someone. Ask friends,
family, and acquaintances if they know anyone who might be a good
candidate to work with your business. You can also spread the word
through organizations that you belong to. You can find out more about
networking in Section 6.3.4.

If you need help for just a limited time, you might consider contacting
a temporary employee service. These services provide employees
on a temporary basis. You pay the service, and the service pays the
employee. It also provides benefits to the employee and takes care of
payroll, taxes and so forth. You’ll likely need to pay more to the service
than you’d pay to a permanent employee, but if you only need help for
a limited amount of time, it may be worth it.

The selection process starts with the prospective employee sending you
a resume. Here are some other things to look out for when prospective
employees send you a resume:

• Does the resume look nice and professionally laid out? Did they
clearly proofread before sending?

• Did they include everything that was asked for in the ad (for
example, a cover letter or references)?

• What does your gut instinct tell you?

5.3.3 The Interview Process

The purpose of an interview is to get to know potential applicants as
much as you can in a short period of time. It is therefore important
that most of that time be spent getting the applicants to talk about
themselves. Most employers with limited interviewing experience
spend too much time talking about the job or their business. And
while that is certainly important, it won’t help you figure out to whom
you are talking and if that person is a good match for your business.
A good rule of thumb to follow is that the applicant should do 80% of
the talking.

To make the best use of your time, have a list of questions prepared in
advance. This will keep the process consistent between applicants. You

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can always add questions that pop up based on their answers as you go
along. You can find a list of questions in Section 4.4.2.

To get a sense of how an employee will actually behave on the job, it is

also a good idea to ask “behavioral questions”. Behavioral questions
ask applicants to give answers based on their past behavior. An example
is “Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult customer.
What was the situation and how did you handle it?” Instead of giving
hypothetical answers of what someone would do in a particular
situation, the applicant must give examples of what they actually have
done. While people’s behavior can change, past performance is a better
indicator of someone’s future behavior than hypothetical answers.

You can also ask questions that communicate your company policies
to discover if the applicant will have any issues in these areas. Some
examples are:

• When you are working, I expect your full attention to be on

my business. I do not allow private phone calls unless it is an
emergency. Is that a problem?

• Itis important that we open on time. I expect my workers to be

punctual. Is there anything that could keep you from being on
time regularly?

By being clear on specifics and details in the interview, you can hash
out any potential problems right then and there or agree to go your
own ways because it is not going to work.

What You Can and Can’t Ask

You should be aware that there are some things you simply cannot ask
about during a job interview. Some are illegal and others are insulting
and open the door to charges of discrimination. They include questions
about:

• Age

• Race

• Religion

• Marital status

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• Family status or pregnancy

• Disability

• Workers Compensation claims

• Injury

• Medical condition

• Sexual orientation

5.3.4 References
Once you have found an applicant who appears to be a good fit, you
can learn more by checking their references. The best references are
former employers. (Former co-workers may be friends who will give
glowing references no matter how well the employee performed.)

Many companies will not give you detailed information about a past
employee. They are only required to give you employment dates and
sometimes they will confirm salary. But many times you will be able
to learn a lot about a potential applicant from a reference phone call. A
good employee is often remembered fondly and even asked about by a
former employer. An employer may not be able to tell you much about
a bad employee for liability reasons, but they can answer the question
“Is this employee eligible to be rehired?” If the employer can give you
more information, begin with open-ended questions to gather as much
information as possible.

• How do you know (name of applicant)?

• What did they do in that job?

• How did they do?

• Why did they leave the job?

Then move into questions related to the skills they will need to work
for you. For example, you might ask “How productive were they?” or
“Were they willing to work overtime?” Here are some other questions
from Tom Hennessy, author of the IAP Career College Guide to Become a
Coffee House Owner:

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• How well did they get along with everyone? (This will give you
information about team skills.)

• Did they take direction well? (This is another way of asking, “Did
they do their job?”)

• Could they work independently? (Or did they sit around waiting
to be told what to do next?)

• How did they handle stressful situations? (This is important,

especially if you are busy.)

To see if the applicant is a fit for your business, you can also ask “What
were their strengths?” and “What were their weaknesses?” Because
many employers hesitate to discuss a past employee’s weaknesses,
you might reword the question to say: “Every employee has areas they
could improve. What would you say were areas this employee needed
to develop?” You can also ask behavioral questions such as “Tell me
about a time the applicant had to deal with a difficult customer. What
happened?”

Finally, conclude with the question “Would you rehire this person?”
The response should be an enthusiastic “yes!” If the reference hesitates
or gives a response such as “I can’t answer that because we don’t have
that position currently available in our company” chances are that
person is telling you “No, I would not rehire this person.”

You can try to probe further by saying: “Hypothetically, if you did

have the same position available, would you rehire [name of applicant]
to do the job?” If the reference gives a non-answer such as “Well, I’d
have to check with human resources...”, “I can’t answer a hypothetical
question...”, etc., this person is not giving a good reference for the
applicant. It’s possible the reference is just being cautious, but if other
references are similarly cautious, the applicant probably did not leave
a good impression with previous employers.

When gathering references, it’s important to read between the lines

and watch for what references are not saying. While it’s pretty clear
when a past employer says “This is one of the best employees I have
ever worked with, and I would rehire him without hesitation,” most
references will not be as clear about bad employees. Instead, when
you ask about the employee’s strengths you may hear a pause as they

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try to search for something positive to say, followed by a lukewarm

response such as “he was punctual” or “she kept her work area tidy.”
If the references are weak, it means at least that the applicant had poor
judgment in choosing references.

If the references make you feel comfortable, call the employee to let
them know they have a job and to fill out the paperwork.

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6. Marketing Your Business

“Lately I feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get all of
my work done. I spend so much time on paperwork and responding
to emails that I have less and less time to work with my clients.”

“I know what you mean. When I started my business I felt completely

overwhelmed! I was used to working in an office where we had lots
of support staff and really took it for granted how much they did. I
found this great virtual assistant though, and she’s saved me so much
time and money, not to mention stress.”

“Wow, that sounds great! I can’t afford to hire a full-time staff, but a
virtual assistant sounds like the perfect solution. Sounds like you’re
very happy with the person you’re using. Do you know if she’s
accepting new clients? I’d love her number.”

This is an example of the way many virtual assistants find clients —

through word-of-mouth. As you probably know from personal
experience, a recommendation from a friend is perhaps the most
powerful form of advertising that exists. As you gain more experience

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and network with others in the field, you will also likely get many
referrals from other virtual assistants who have more clients than they
can handle, or who don’t have expertise in the area a particular client
needs.

But don’t despair if you are just starting out, or if you want to sell your
virtual assistance services to a market you have no previous experience
with. In this chapter you will find a variety of ideas to help you market
your business and attract clients. And once you have done a great job
for those first few clients, you can start attracting more through word-
of-mouth.

6.1 Choose Your Target Markets

Before you start trying to sell your services to prospective clients, you
should decide which types of clients you want to work with. These are
your target markets.

It can be tempting for a new virtual assistant to say something like “I

want to provide virtual assistance services for anyone who’ll pay me!”
Avoid the temptation. It is costly and time-consuming to try to market
your business to “everyone” and the truth is that some people will be
more interested than others in the services you have to offer. In fact,
people are more likely to hire you if they see you as an “expert” who
specializes in what they need.

When you are just starting out, of course you might take whatever
business comes your way. However, you can focus your marketing
efforts on the target markets you most want to work with. Once you
start getting more business, you may be able to give up work you find
less rewarding, and spend your time on clients and projects you find
most rewarding.

Your target market will depend on any specialization you identified

in Section 2.1. Your specialization might include working with clients
in a particular industry in which you have experience, knowledge, or
training. For example:

• If you want to use your specialized knowledge and skills as a

legal secretary, think about marketing your services through
professional associations and publications that appeal to lawyers.

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• Ifyour specialty is website design and maintenance, think about

targeting clients that might be less technologically adept or just
more interested in people-related tasks than computers, such as
therapists, counselors, or coaches.

• Ifyou have a background in research or have a great eye for

proofreading, you might consider targeting journalists or authors
who might be able to use your services to free them up to spend
more time on writing.

Following are several questions to ask yourself to help determine and

evaluate your potential target markets:

• What skills do I have that others would be willing to pay for?

• In what industries do I have experience and/or know people who

could use my professional assistance? (Remember, this doesn’t
necessarily have to be paid experience – include areas where you
may have done volunteer work).

• What new skills do I want to, or would I be willing to, learn

to continue my professional growth and expand my market
potential?

• What skills do I currently enjoy using most?

• What skills do I least enjoy using? Just because you’re good at

something doesn’t always mean you enjoy it!

• What types of people do I most enjoy working with?

• What types of people do I least enjoy working with?

Once you have decided who your target markets are, you can prepare
materials and plan marketing activities that will most appeal to those
groups. As you gain more experience and gauge the results of your
initial marketing efforts, you may choose to branch out to different
markets or fine-tune the focus of your marketing approach. Don’t be
afraid to try different methods and get as much feedback from clients as
you can as to what attracted them to your business. However, starting
with some specific target markets in mind can help you focus your
marketing efforts most efficiently – saving you both time and money.

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6.2 Marketing Tools

When you start a new business, you will have to invest in some business
promotional tools at the outset. These tools should be designed in a
consistent way to promote both your business and the style of your
business; this includes the choice and use of a logo.

An attractive logo is an important part of branding your business; a

logo may be used to tie together all your printed materials as well as be
displayed on your website. There are companies such as DesignContest
and Fiverr that help you find a logo designer for a reasonable price. If
you have a concept for a logo in mind and you feel creative, you can
design your own. Programs such as Adobe Photoshop allow you to
create something from scratch, but is not necessarily an application
for the beginner. Logo design software such as Logo Design Studio
or LogoMaker will generate a logo for you from pre-designed generic
templates. One word of advice about logo generation applications
though is that they do not result in a unique logo, so you will need to
make sure your logo does not look similar to any others out there. Your
logo should be unique and emphasize your business’s identity.

6.2.1 Printed Materials

Your printed materials include business cards, stationery (such as
letterhead, envelopes, and mailing labels), and other marketing
materials such as brochures.

If you have a computer with a high quality laser or ink jet printer, you
may be able to inexpensively print professional looking materials from
your own computer. Free templates for the print materials you are
likely to need in your business can be found online.

An excellent resource is the Microsoft Office Online Templates. At this

site you can search a database to find templates for:
• Business stationery (envelopes, labels, letters, memos, etc.)

• Marketing materials (brochures, flyers, newsletters, postcards,

etc.)
• Other business documents (expense reports, invoices, receipts,
time sheets, etc.)

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Canva is another fantastic resource, which allows you to design

not only printed materials, but also social media posts, videos, and
digital marketing campaigns. All of Canva’s basic design features are
completely free, but you can also pay for additional features including
stock photos, extra templates, and brand kits which allow you to
upload personalized fonts and logos.

As an alternative to printing materials yourself, and for materials

that won’t fit through your printer (such as folders), consider using
a company that provides printing services. Beautiful stationery can
convey to prospective clients that you have a good eye and a high
standard of excellence. Your printed materials can be easily designed,
paid for and delivered without leaving the house. Search online for
local printing businesses near you or one of the large retail companies
that provide printing services for small businesses.

Below is some advice about two types of materials that are particularly
important for marketing purposes – business cards and brochures.

Business Cards
The first thing on your list of marketing tools is your business cards.
This is one item that you can’t do without as a virtual assistant. A
business card gives clients the essential contact information for your
business, and every time you hand one out you should think of it as a
mini advertisement.

The basic information to list on your business cards includes:

• Your
name (include any certifications you’ve earned, e.g. “Your
Name, MVA”)

• Your title or what you do (Virtual Assistant or Virtual

Administrative Professional)

• Your company name

• Your contact information (phone numbers, email address)

• Your web address

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In addition, consider including the following items to promote you and

your consulting services.

• Professional memberships and certifications (e.g. Member, IAPO

International Association of Professional Virtual Assistants)

• Your specializations and services offered

• Company logo

• Your mailing address

Keep business cards the standard size, 2 x 3 ½ inches, and if possible,

invest in a sturdy card that has a good weight and feel to it. The cost of
business cards can vary depending on how much or how little of the
work you do creating them. You can make your own business cards
inexpensively using a design program like Canva and your own color
printer. Office supply stores sell sheets of cards that can go through any
type of printer.

Or you can hire a graphic artist to design the layout of your cards and
even arrange for printing. If the same designer you hired for your logo
also offers business card services, they will already be familiar with
your business’s brand. Most print shops also have a design specialist on
staff to help with these matters.

Whichever way you decide to go, make sure your business card is a
reflection of you and your virtual assistant business. For example, you
might want to use a two-sided card with a clever tag line or quote on
the back (perhaps something related to the value of time — which
you will be saving your client a lot of!). Incorporate color, or a design
that represents your specialization. Avoid the temptation to choose
something “cute” or to use overly fancy fonts that can be hard to read.
The goal should be a professional and uncluttered appearance.

When ordering your cards from a printer, the more you order the less
expensive they are. When you order 500 cards, for example, the cost is
minimal, starting around $50 depending on how many colors you have
on your card and the card stock you use. Shop around to see where you
can get the best deal.

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If your budget is limited, a good source for high quality low-cost cards
is Vistaprint. Visit their site to see a wide variety of designs you can
consider; you can upload your logo and do the design yourself in a
matter of an hour or so.

TIP: Check online at sites like RetailMeNot for a VistaPrint

coupon; there is almost always one available.

Once your cards are printed, always keep some on hand, as you never
know who you might run into. Keeping your business cards in a case
is more professional than keeping them scattered across the bottom of
your briefcase or bag. It will also ensure that you only hand out pristine
cards, and not a worn or stained card.

Brochures
You will have many opportunities to give out your business card. But
there are also times to give out brochures. For example, when you give
a presentation at a networking meeting (see Section 6.3.5) or when
people seem particularly interested in your services. You should also
provide some to the companies with whom you do a lot of business
in case someone asks them if they know a virtual assistant they could
recommend.

Brochures give prospective clients an overview of what your business

is about. Some virtual assistants choose to develop very detailed
brochures while others prefer a clean look with less detail. If you decide
to create a brochure for your business, it should of course contain your
company name and contact information, including your web address
and social media handles.

It can also include information such as:

• Information about the services you provide

• A description of your professional qualifications

• Benefits of hiring a virtual assistant

• A short bio and photo of you

• Testimonial quotes from satisfied clients

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You can purchase low-cost photos through websites such as iStock,

Dreamstime, and Shutterstock. You can also use free stock photos
from sites such as Pexels, Pixabay and Unsplash.

TIP: Don’t use photos downloaded from the Internet without the
permission of the owner or copyright holder; it’s not only
bad practice, but you may get caught having to pay fines for
copyright infringement down the line!

If you want to publish photos of your own clients, whether on your

website or in print, be sure you have them sign a release form that gives
you permission to use the images in any of your promotional materials
without compensation. Most people are happy to have their images
used in such a positive way but there may be exceptions. Here is a
sample of a release form you can use.

Sample Release Form

I hereby give (insert your name) permission to use my
photograph taken of me on (insert date) at (insert location) for
promotional, on-line or commercial purposes. I am of legal age.

___________________________ ________________________
(Print Name) (Date)

___________________________
(Signature)

If you are printing only a few copies of your brochure, you may be able
to find nice paper at your local office supply store or one of the websites
listed earlier in this section, which you can run through your printer.
You can use software such as Microsoft Publisher to design and print
your own brochures, or you could try a free online template where
you download the template and create the design and print using your
printer.

For a professional look you can use a service such as Vistaprint or a

printer in your area to do it for you. Look online for printers in your
area.

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6.2.2 Your Portfolio

A portfolio is a collection of samples of previous work and other
evidence of your skills displayed attractively. In addition to playing a
critical role in getting hired (see Section 4.3.3), a portfolio can be an
important sales and marketing tool. Presenting your portfolio allows
you to showcase your best work to virtually anyone, anywhere,
anytime, and it will vouch for the quality, professionalism, and range
of your services with examples.

A portfolio is a unique document that shows not only what you can do,
but who you are. It offers a prospective client proof that you have the
skills and creativity to do the job, but it also gives them a snapshot of
your individuality and personality. It tells your story visually. So, use
this opportunity to not only let your previous experience shine, but
also include the backstory behind how each project came to be and the
learning you’ve had along the way. And make the whole package look
interesting and unique. If you demonstrate that you are professional,
have strong organizational and strategic thinking skills, and the ability
to integrate feedback, the client knows you can do the same (or better!)
for them.

These days, most virtual assistants have their portfolio entirely online;
however, there may be some cases where a client is looking for a
physical portfolio, in which case it may come in handy to prepare both
versions from the outset. How to create both types is discussed in more
detail below.

Before you begin, have a look at other virtual assistants’ portfolios to

get some ideas about what to include and how to present it. There are
lots of good examples online or perhaps on some of the virtual assistant
websites you’ve discovered in your career research.

A portfolio generally includes some or all of the following elements:

Table of Contents
This is a must for physical portfolios with a lot of content. For your
online portfolio, make sure you have a clear, navigable menu.

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Mission Statement
You should include a short but powerful mission or work philosophy
statement that briefly sums up your goal(s), and what your thinking is.
This should be clearly visible on the home page of your online portfolio.

Biography
Include a short biography, which has information about your interests,
background and expertise. Include a photo of yourself as well.

Resume
This will largely depend on what you are using the portfolio for; if you
are looking for work, include a downloadable resume, preferably a PDF
document. Your resume should be closely aligned with your portfolio –
a resume shows what you’ve done; a portfolio shows how you do it. A
resume isn’t necessarily a requirement when your portfolio is primarily
marketing your business. Check out what other virtual assistants are
doing and use your own discretion.

Samples of Your Work

This is the heart of your portfolio, so include any materials that best
express your skills and expertise. Even though your virtual assistant
portfolio will probably be more text-based than, say, a graphic
designer’s or a photographer’s, images will still help you sell your
services. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and nowhere
is this truer than when you are trying to sell yourself as being highly
skilled, organized, and professional. However, an image with a few
lines of text to give it context and a story can say that much more.

Samples of your work could include:

• Any printed materials you have produced for clients, such as

newsletters or brochures that show off your writing, editing,
desktop publishing, and graphic design skills

• Sample databases you’ve designed to show your data

management, analysis, and organization skills

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• Websitesyou’ve designed or written content for or online

marketing materials you’ve produced for a client

• Materials from presentations and workshops you have given (e.g.

flyers, brochures, posters, news releases, etc.)

With every virtual assistant job you take, ask permission to collect
samples of your work (such as photos, scanned documents or printed
materials, or even videos if appropriate). When choosing which
samples to use, make sure that you only use ones that reflect your best
work, choosing the most professional and representative samples. Most
clients do not have time to look through hundreds of images, so be
selective about what to include.

In your samples, try to show a variety of projects, types of work, and

experience to demonstrate your range of skills. And be sure to include
any works in progress; clients like to know that you are currently
working on things and it helps them see your “process”.

Compose some explanatory text for each image that identifies it and
gives it context and backstory. Here you could write about how you
handled any obstacles or challenges you’ve faced, if any, on a particular
project; how you incorporated feedback from the client; where you took
the lead; where you were creative; what you learned, etc. Highlight
your professionalism, leadership, and strategic thinking. This way you
are offering insights into the thought and work progress you’ve made,
which in turn show what you are capable of. If the stories aren’t there,
the images won’t speak for themselves!

Make sure the images are of high quality and sized to load quickly
for the online viewer. Nothing will give a worse impression than an
image that is out of focus or takes too long to load on a potential client’s
phone. Keep in mind – quality is more important than quantity!

Testimonials
You should include some testimonials and/or letters of recommendation
from previous clients and employers.

The best testimonials are those written by clients you have provided
virtual assistant services to. However, you can also include letters of

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recommendation or references from past employers if the letters say

good things about your abilities in areas that are important in the virtual
assistance business, such as computer and IT skills, interpersonal skills,
or organizational ability. Even a few good quotes from a letter would
work. See Section 4.3.3 for advice on letters of recommendation. You
can also include any positive reviews you’ve gotten on social media or
online review sites (see Section 6.3.1) and appropriate thank-you notes
you have received. Be sure to get permission where necessary.

The following is advice on how to get client testimonials from the

Business Consultant Certificate Course offered by IAP Career College.

Once you’ve finished working with a client, take the time to

gather testimonials about your work. Testimonials from happy
clients can be used in future sales presentations, in proposals,
or in promotional materials such as brochures, letters, your
portfolio, and your website.

Evaluation forms sent out to clients as follow up after a job is

finished is an easy way to gather positive feedback to use. Be
sure to ask permission to use any feedback at the bottom of
the evaluation form. Social media accounts like Facebook and
LinkedIn also offer opportunities for satisfied clients to give
their comments as reviews (keep in mind though that they also
allow unsatisfied clients to give bad reviews which are visible
to the public!).

Throughout and after a project, clients may also spontaneously

express that they are pleased with your work, impressed with
your skill and grateful for the results you are achieving.

You may not have a pen in hand at the moment, and the timing
may not be right to make a note in your notebook or laptop, but
remember the essence of what has been said. Write it down at
the earliest chance you have, quoting as accurately as possible.

Do not be shy about asking if you could make use of these

comments. Tell your clients how much their praise means to
you and the ways it can be helpful in letting others know about
your work.

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Everyone is busy so make it easy for your clients. Jot down their
praise and email it to them for approval. Even better, you can
ask if they will put it onto their letterhead and sign it. Many
clients who are pleased with your work will be happy to give
you a testimonial.

Make sure your testimonials are displayed in a way that’s eye-catching

and emphasize a variety of your skills and achievements. See the
sample below.

Sample Testimonial
I am thrilled with Found Time Virtual Assistants! Not only does
Valerie Virtual Assistant manage to keep my practice running
smoothly and anticipate my needs, but she does it all with such
a positive attitude and good humor. Found Time continues to
show a thorough understanding of my client base and are always
up-to-date on the latest marketing trends. I have already gotten
several new clients as well now that they’ve gotten the word out
about my business on Twitter. I will definitely recommend Found
Time to other small business owners who want to spend more
time on what they do best and leave the rest to a real expert!

Catie Coach of Catie Life Coaching Services

Awards and Recognition

Include any awards or other recognition you have received. You can
also include any press coverage you’ve received for your business or
projects you’ve been involved with. Also, include any links to media
where you have been quoted as an expert, been a guest, or had your
work reviewed (i.e. websites, books, radio, or TV). Also include any
professional certifications and affiliations.

Contact Information
Make sure you include information about how the viewer can contact
you, including your email address, phone number, mailing address,

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contact form, etc. Don’t forget your social media addresses (e.g.
LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.).

What Else to Include

Your portfolio can include anything else that could impress someone
who is considering hiring you. Be sure to include any volunteer or
community work you’ve done related to your career as a virtual
assistant.

Some virtual assistants create a portfolio blog to include added

reflection on their experience and skills. A blog is also another way for
you to engage with potential clients and anyone visiting your portfolio;
you can leave room for feedback and people will come back regularly
to read your most current posts. This is not for everyone and should
only be included if you plan to keep it up-to-date and it’s relevant
to your overall portfolio design and marketing strategy. One added
advantage of including a blog is that it increases your online search
visibility, so people will find your portfolio online more easily. For
more information about blogging and search engine optimization, see
Section 6.2.3 on creating your website.

Make sure that your portfolio includes your business name and logo if
you have one, and is in line with your overall brand. Read on to find
out how to get items for your portfolio and how to put it together. At
the end of this section, you’ll find some tips on how to create a portfolio
if you don’t yet have samples from previous virtual assistant jobs.

Putting It All Together

You should prepare an online portfolio, and if you think it necessary, it
could be useful to prepare a physical portfolio as well, collected neatly
into an attractive binder for in-person meetings and more traditional
clients.

For a physical portfolio, there are several different options for

displaying the materials. One possibility is to put everything into a
professional-looking three-ring binder with plastic sheet covers to
protect the pages. If you wish, you can mount your photographs and
other portfolio materials onto thin cardboard. All of these supplies are
available from any office supply store.

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Another possibility is to use a portfolio case, which you can purchase

online or at a local art supply store. Portfolio or presentation cases
comes in a variety of sizes (for example, 11” x 14”, 14” x 17”, 17” x 22”)
and cost from about $15 to $150-plus, depending on the size, material,
and how fancy you want it to be. Keep in mind that although clients
will be primarily interested in what’s inside the case, your portfolio is
an expression of who you are and what you do, so the case should
reflect that as much as what’s inside.

When it comes to creating your online portfolio, there are many

good, free portfolio sites available, such as Behance, Dribbble, or
The Freelancer by Contently. These sites guide you through the
development of your portfolio and host it for easy access. Keep in mind
that while having your portfolio on portfolio-hosting sites may be
easier, they allow you less customization and control.

The option that will give you the most control over your portfolio’s
layout and appearance will be creating and hosting it on your own
website, on a dedicated page; or alternatively, creating a dedicated
portfolio website by making your entire website your portfolio, broken
up into various subpages.

Section 6.2.3 suggests software like Adobe Dreamweaver and

WordPress to create your own website. The same software enables you
to create professional-looking portfolio pages. Adobe Portfolio and
WordPress Portfolios offer customizable themes you can add to your
site. Alternately, if you decide to hire a professional web-developer,
they can design the portfolio page or dedicated website for you, making
sure it’s in line with your overall brand.

If you are creating a dedicated website for your portfolio, your home
page should immediately jump out at the viewer with a few simple
images, and one or two sentences about your goals, professional
activities, and your mission or philosophy statement. Then you can
create separate subpages for all the different content you are including,
for instance, the About Us page can include your bio, photo, and maybe
a downloadable resume; samples of your work can come under a
Gallery or Work page; a Testimonials page for positive comments and
reviews; a Contact Us page; a Blog page; and so on. If you decide to
dedicate your whole website to a presentation of your portfolio, you
will also want to include additional pages for your business, such as

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the services you offer, or an online shop for products you sell. You
should create a good, clear navigation menu which makes it easy for
the viewer to find all the information you’ve provided on the subpages.
Make sure your portfolio is “optimized” for mobile viewing on tablets
and mobile phones (this is discussed for your website in the next
section). Also, get some feedback from friends, family, and colleagues
before you make it “live”. Is everything working correctly (on a
computer as well as a mobile device)? Are the photos loading quickly?
Is there anything missing? Is there too much, or too little, information?

If you don’t yet have materials from actual virtual assistant jobs you can
create sample ones, highlighting your unique skills. For example, you
could develop a sample marketing campaign for an event or a complex
database that shows off your analytical and technical skills.

TIP: Like your resume, your portfolio is a “living document” and

should be updated regularly. A client will be unimpressed
if all of your sample work and testimonials are years out of
date.

6.2.3 Your Website

Your website can be an important tool for marketing your services. It
gives prospective clients an opportunity to learn more about you and
your services at their convenience any time of day. It may also introduce
you to new clients you might otherwise not encounter through other
marketing activities.

Today’s consumers expect you to have an online presence and will often
decide not to do business with you if you neglect this aspect of your
marketing. While the idea of creating a website may seem intimidating,
it doesn’t have to be complicated.

“Without a professional website, you won’t have much success using

any marketing tool. It may not pull in business, but the absence of a
professional website will push business away. When you have a great
website, potential clients will pre-qualify themselves before calling
you.”
- Kathy Goughenour, Expert VA Training

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What to Include on Your Website

Any information you would include in a portfolio (described in
Section 6.2.2) and in your brochure (described in Section 6.2.1) can also
be included on your website. You should also visit websites of other
successful virtual assistants to get ideas for your own site. Here are
some ideas of what to include on your website to get you started:

• Home page with links to navigate through your site.

• “About Us” page so that your potential clients can learn more
about you and your company. This should include your bio with
any relevant experience, academic degrees, virtual assisting
credentials, and a photograph of you.

• The name and/or logo of any professional business or virtual

assisting associations to which you belong (use of association
logos are generally part of the membership benefits).

• A way to contact you, including at least your company name,

telephone number and email address. This should ideally be
on every page, but you can also have a “Contact Us” page with
your business mailing address, email address and other contact
information, including your social media addresses, such as
LinkedIn and Instagram.

• Information about your services and the benefits you offer to

potential clients, your rates (or if you choose not to list them,
whether you charge per hour, per project, or work on retainer),
any discounts available, and types of payment accepted.

• A Frequently Asked Questions page defining what virtual

assisting is and is not, and explaining how you work with your
clients.

• Testimonial quotes from satisfied clients and a list of any relevant

entrepreneurial awards you have won.

• A blog with helpful information you have written such as virtual

assisting-related articles, checklists, advice, e-books, and other
content that shows your expertise. Adding new content on a
regular basis can keep people returning to your site.

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• An information/contact page for virtual assistants who may be

interested in working for you (if you are looking to hire staff).

• A page with links to recommended affiliates and strategic

partners.

• A media page with any press releases you have written, your
press kit (see Section 6.3.3), and a list of publications where you
have been quoted as an expert.

• To build up a contact list, you could offer a free email newsletter,

and include a place at your website where visitors can subscribe.
Your newsletter could include articles about the types of services
you offer and information about holiday specials, events, and
other news. Your newsletters can also be posted online.

Developing Your Website

To get started, visit websites of other successful virtual assistants to get
ideas for your own site. Make a list of the things you like and want for
your own site.

Next, you’ll need to get an address, or domain name, for your site.
There are a number of sites where you can search for and register a
domain name. One web host we have found that provides good service
for a low cost is GoDaddy. Yahoo! Small Business also offers a quick
search for domain name availability.

If your preferred domain name is available, but you’re not yet ready
with your website, you can also “park” your domain. This means that
you register the domain so that someone else does not take it before
you’re up and running with your business website. You then park the
domain with your web host.

Once you register your domain, you will need to find a place to “host”
it. You can host it with the same company where you’ve registered the
name. Your Internet Service Provider may also provide this service.
You can find a wide variety of other companies that provide hosting
services by doing an online search.

If you are already experienced at creating web pages, you can design
your website yourself. Applications such as WordPress or Wix have

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made creating web pages possible for just about anyone with the time
and energy.

But creating the website is only half the battle—adding to and

updating it frequently is important, yet time-consuming. If you feel
you don’t have the time or expertise to design and maintain a polished,
professional website yourself, you should hire a professional web
developer to build and maintain your website.

First impressions mean a lot! Your potential clients will judge the
quality of your business and services by what they see on your site.
Work with your website designer to lay out your site’s pages, art, and
text. You’ll provide the text and art – maybe even the design – and
decide how to organize the information. This is the creative process of
website creation and will take the most time to complete. Focus on the
overall look and presentation – just as you would with a client.

Make sure the site is easy to navigate and potential clients can easily
find your contact information to hire you. Test the site before you roll
out with it, and test it on multiple platforms – your computer, your
phone, your tablet – to make sure it looks good and loads quickly on
every type.

Promoting Your Site

A great site is only as good as how many people it attracts. No matter
how much you spend on creating an attractive and easy to navigate
site, if people don’t know you exist, it won’t help you market your
virtual assistance business.

Once you have set things in motion and your website is live, put your
website address on absolutely everything you send out. Encourage
people to visit your site by mentioning it as often as you can, for
example, whenever you write an article, give a presentation, or are
interviewed by the media. Put it in your email signature, so everyone
who receives an email from you can access the link easily.

Make certain you list your site on all your printed materials, business
forms, cards, brochures, signs, and even your car, van, or truck. If you
spend time on blogs or internet discussion forums like Reddit, add
your site’s hyperlink to your signature.

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You can also help people find your website by listing it with industry
websites (for example, the membership associations all offer directory
listings) and online business directories, such as Google My Business
and Yahoo! Local. Registering your business with online directories is
discussed in more detail in Section 6.3.1.

Optimizing Your Site

It’s also important to optimize your site, and your web hosting company
may offer a search engine submission service for an additional fee. You
can find information about optimizing your website, to help it rank
higher on search engines, at the Search Engine Watch website and at
Google’s Webmaster Help Center. And don’t miss the Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide.

Or you can do your own search engine optimization.You can find

keywords at sites such as SEMrush or Ahrefs Keyword Explorer for
a monthly fee. Or you can gain some free keyword intel with tools like
Google Trends or Keyword Generator.

When looking for keywords, you’ll want them to be:

• Relevant

• Targeted

• With steady to decent traffic

• With reasonable levels of competitiveness

You’d use them strategically without overdoing it in the following

places:

• URLs

• Title tags

• Meta description tags

• H (header) tags

• Internal linking

• Body copy

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In addition to SEO optimization, you should also ensure your website

is optimized for “mobile use”, which means that the website can
be easily viewed from smartphones and tablets, as well as from a
computer screen. These days, over 50% of internet users worldwide
access websites from mobile devices and this will only increase in
future. Optimizing your website for mobile use is usually something
that’s offered at the beginning of the website design process, so if you
are working with a website designer, be sure to mention it. It may cost
a bit more but investing early to ensure your website stays current will
mean you are spending less down the line to convert your website at a
later date.

Online Content
One very effective way to promote your website and generate online
interest in your business is to write a regular blog on your website
explaining what you’re doing. Keep your blog active and interesting.
Update frequently, with bits of news about your services or tips and
tricks related to your trade in order to keep people checking back on a
regular basis. Adding new content on a regular basis can keep people
returning to your site and is a great opportunity to show your expertise.

Just as with your website, make sure you are optimizing your blog
so people who are searching the internet will find your content. This
includes using lots of good keywords in your articles (known as SEO
articles), sharing blog posts on all of your social media accounts, and
linking to other websites and influencers in your industry. Be sure to
use an eye-catching image with every blog post that will show up well
on social media and your website.

In addition, consider creating a free email newsletter which customers

and visitors to your website can sign up to receive. Your newsletter
could include links to blog posts you’ve written, or any other online
content you’ve produced such as published articles, tips, advice, as
well as any news such as upcoming events or discounts offered. You
can send your email newsletters through email marketing sites such as
Constant Contact, MailChimp, AWeber, or Campaign Monitor. (See
Section 2.2 for a more information about email marketing tools.)

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Analytics
To help measure how successful your website promotion efforts are,
you should consider using a service like the popular Google Analytics
in order to track traffic on your website. Code is embedded on your
website that allows you to track “metrics” like numbers of visitors to
the site and specific page views within the site, as well as bounce rate,
user location, and type of device used. This information can help you
better understand what works and what doesn’t on your site, so you
can tweak things to improve your site.

A few of the most important metrics you can study are as follows:
• Visitor Conversion: Conversion is the number of users who have
visited your website. You can compare unique visitor conversion
(looking at new visitors only), return visitor conversion (looking
at repeat visitors only), and conversion overall. This can help
show you how effective your promotion and marketing have
been at leading people to your website.
• Interactions: This metric can mean different things depending
on what you are specifically interested in. In general, it looks at
how many and what kind of interactions visitors have on your
website. This includes visiting different pages, watching videos,
browsing products, adding contents, or buying something, if you
have an online store.
• Bounce Rate: This is a measure of how many users arrive at your
website but leave without taking any other action. Bounce Rate
can be useful because it shows that while the visitor was initially
interested, for whatever reason, what they saw didn’t keep their
interest. This can help you determine what might need to be
improved on your site.

6.2.4 Social Media

“By far, the most effective marketing tool for generating new business
has been Twitter. Knowing how to use it correctly is a huge advantage.
I not only use Twitter as a means of reaching my target market by
way of information and quotes but I also search the Twitter stream
for keywords that let me know that someone is looking for a virtual
assistant, or someone who may benefit from my services.”
— Dawn Martinello, Monday Morning VA

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Effective use of social media platforms has fast become almost a

necessity in marketing small businesses. Each type of social media has
a distinct style and audience you will want to understand in order to
effectively market your business through this medium. You can use
social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, do micro-
blogging (brief updates) at Twitter, create videos to post at YouTube,
and post photos of your virtual assisting successes on Instagram,
among other online marketing activities.

There are countless books and online articles available offering advice
on social media marketing for small businesses. You will most likely
not have the time to maintain a high level of activity on all of the
platforms listed below. Explore the different sites and get to know their
key demographics before focusing on a few that work well for you and
your target audience. Social media can be time consuming, so you want
to be strategic in how you spend your time!

When you have decided which platforms you want to use, consider the
following advice on setting up social media accounts:

1. Create a business account or page, separate and distinct from

any personal accounts you may already have.

2. Create a username as close to your actual business name as

possible. Keep this username consistent between platforms, so
it’s easier for people to find you.

3. Use your logo for a profile picture, or an image closely

associated with your business.

4. Fill in the about or bio section of every platform you sign up for.
Describe who you are, what your mission is, and where you’re
located. You will likely be limited by a character count, so keep
it brief. Include a URL to your website and a way to contact you.

When you post on social media, you want to make sure your content
is seen by as many people as possible. That means working with the
specific platform’s algorithm. An algorithm determines the size of the
audience who will see your post, and how high up it will appear on
their feed. Every platform’s algorithm is different, but in general, it
is impacted by how recent your post is and how much engagement

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(likes, shares, comments, and/or views) it receives. In general, the more

engagement you already get, the more visible you’ll be.

To gain traction with the algorithms, post frequently and consistently,

on a regular schedule. If you fall too far behind on your posting
schedule, a potential customer might think you are no longer in
business. Some obvious posts you can make include some FAQs about
what virtual assistants do (and don’t do); a link to a recent media article
about the boom in remote working; tips on organizing your calendar or
email inbox; or offers for discounted services.

One important way to learn is to follow other virtual assistants,

in particular any high-profile social media “influencers” you’ve
discovered while learning about the career. What content are they
sharing? How are they interacting with their audiences? The key to
successful social media activity is to engage; don’t just put up your
weekly blog post, tip video, or interesting article and let it sit there. If
followers make comments, respond and create a conversation. Thank
people for sharing. Comment and reply to your connections when they
post interesting, related content. Engagement increases your business’s
visibility organically and leads visitors to your profile.

Use hashtags wherever possible (like on Twitter, Facebook and

Instagram). Hashtags are basically a sorting system. Whenever
someone searches for a hashtag featured in the caption or comment of
your post, your content will show up in the results. Limit your hashtags
to only a few and separate them from your post’s main text, so they
are not intrusive. Choose your hashtags strategically! While general
hashtags (such as #virtualassistant) are more widely searched for,
your post may be lost in a sea of other posts using the same hashtag.
Long-tail hashtags (such as #bestreasonstohireaVA) are more specific,
drawing an audience which is more likely to see and be interested
in your content. Use a mix of both, with more focus on the long-tail
hashtags.

Below is a list of some of the major social media platforms available.

Facebook
With over 2.7 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the world’s
largest social network. You must first register a personal profile to
create a business profile, then you can access features such as posting

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photos/videos; attracting followers with whom you may exchange

messages and live chat; publicizing events including issuing invitations
and tracking planned attendance. You can also accept reviews on your
page and respond to them. Since Facebook has become one of the
primary ways people search for local businesses, having an up-to-date
and active business page is an important marketing tool. There is no
charge to join and use Facebook; it is supported by advertising revenue.
You may also purchase paid Facebook Ads, which reach beyond your
followers to as wide a target audience as you choose.

Twitter
Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that allows
users to send and read text messages which are referred to as “tweets”.
Founded in 2006, there are currently over 330 million active users. As a
registered user, you can both post and read tweets (unregistered users
can only read tweets). You may tag each of your tweets with a hashtag
(#) subject line, allowing users who were not actually sent the original
tweet to access the message. Twitter offers analytic tools that allow the
user to review the performance and impact of their various messages.
There is no charge to join and use Twitter; it is supported by advertising
revenue. You can also purchase ads on Twitter, which reach a wider
audience than those who “like” your profile.

Pinterest
Pinterest is a social networking site that lets users create visual bulletin
boards of their interests including recipes, images, videos, and ideas.
It is a virtual bookmarking tool where you “pin” things of interest.
Your “pins” can be shared on other social networks like Twitter and
Facebook. For businesses, it is a great way to showcase examples of
your services, and others can “pin” images from your board onto their
Pinterest and other social media accounts. You can also embed Pinterest
to function within your own website.

Instagram
Instagram is a highly popular social media app for sharing pictures and
videos. Snatched up by Facebook as a huge opportunity, Instagram is
now the second largest social media platform and boasts 1 billion users
worldwide. You can embed Instagram photos onto your website or
blog, making it a useful tool for marketing, as well as link it directly to
your site. You can cultivate a following through sharing engaging posts,
Instagram Stories and Reels, and tips related to your business, as well

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as engage potential clients. You can also purchase ads on Instagram,

which can reach a wider audience.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social networking website for people in professional
occupations, and has fast become an essential tool for professional
networking. Launched in 2003, LinkedIn now has over 760 million
members in over 200 countries and territories. Along with posting
profile information similar to that found in a resume, users can establish
and maintain “connections” (people who have some sort of relationship
to the user). A contact network is then built up consisting of the user’s
direct connections, the connections of each of their connections (or
“second-degree connections”) and also the connections of second-
degree connections (or “third-degree connections”), so that the user
may gain access by messaging new virtual acquaintances through
mutual contacts. There is no charge to join and use basic LinkedIn, but
there is a subscription charge to access various “Premium” services.
You can also advertise on LinkedIn.

YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website owned by Google where users
can upload, view and share videos; videos stream on your computer
or other mobile device. Launched in 2007, there are currently over 2
billion unique users on YouTube. You need to register to post videos,
but unregistered users are free to view most videos (with the exception
of adult content). YouTube videos may be viewed on the YouTube
website or embedded in and viewed at other websites. Although there
is a premium subscription service available, there is no charge to join
YouTube, and the vast majority of videos on YouTube are free to view,
being supported by advertising revenue. In fact, if you post a popular
video, you can earn money by selling space to run advertising (called a
“pre-roll”) as an integral and unavoidable part of your video.

Social Media Analytics

You can check how well your various posts or paid advertisements are
doing through the built-in analytics systems social media platforms
offer. While the specifics of what you can do varies from platform
to platform, the provided tools are meant to help you optimize your
marketing strategy. The most important metrics to keep an eye on
include:

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• Volume: The total number of people talking about your business,

including things like mentions, tags and hashtags. Look separately
at the number of individual people talking about your business
and the number of mentions. You can look at when volume is
higher, and measure whether a new marketing campaign has in
any way increased volume.

• Engagement: How many times someone interacted with your

account, including likes, comments, shares, clicks, and more. You
can measure the engagement rates of single posts or all of your
posts combined, and your overall profile. Examine which posts
have a higher engagement and check for patterns. For example,
if your videos do better than images, consider favoring videos in
your social media marketing strategy. You can also take a look
at the demographics of users which engaged with your content,
checking to see who is most interested in what you offer.

• Reach: A measurement of the number of people who could

potentially your posts. When coupled with engagement, reach
can help you understand how effective your post was at capturing
your audience’s attention. If it reached a very wide audience but
only a small percentage chose to engage, you may have to rethink
your ad designs.

These are just a sampling of the social media options available to you
in marketing your business. Many entrepreneurs find the number of
social media sites overwhelming. If you want to learn more about how
to use them, search online for reliable and up-to-date advice or consider
purchasing a book on the subject such as Social Media Explained:
Untangling the World’s Most Misunderstood Business Trend by Mark W.
Schaefer.

6.2.5 Your Elevator Pitch

Imagine you have stepped onto an elevator with someone who has
just asked what you do. During that elevator ride, you’ll have about
60 seconds to give a brief explanation of your business and services.
Because this person – like most other people you meet – may be
someone else who could become a client or otherwise help your
business, you want to say something to get the listener immediately
interested in you and your business.

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What you would say in this situation is your elevator pitch. And while
most occasions to tell people about your business won’t happen while
you’re riding an elevator, a well-crafted elevator pitch may be the single
most effective, and least expensive business development tool you can
have. Your elevator pitch, like your business card, is a basic business
marketing tool. But it can be particularly powerful in helping you generate
sales. Here is advice on creating an elevator pitch from Marg Archibald,
co-author of the IAP Career College Guide to Become a Business Consultant:

Whether you are speaking to a group or to a single person, the principles

of a good pitch are the same. It needs to be simple and memorable, and
because we store memories based on the emotions attached to them,
a pitch that generates feelings is going to be remembered. In business
consulting, saying something memorable that offers proof you can help
someone get the results they want at an affordable cost is the strongest
card you can play.

“Start identifying the top 10 tasks you thoroughly enjoy in addition to

the ones you never want to do again. Use marketing savvy—website,
business card, email, brochure, social media, etc.—that clearly list the
services you want to provide and be prepared to state your elevator
speech on the fly. Wrap a story around how your employer or co-
workers have benefited from these tasks and why you’re a hero. This
will help to build a database or a following to further communicate
with. Believe it or not, there’s a higher chance of someone local
utilizing your services if they’ve met you face-to-face.”
— Tya Bolton, Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC

An effective elevator pitch provides people with memorable words

they can tell others and creates positive impressions that could lead to
more word-of-mouth business for you. Your elevator pitch is always
targeted, as closely as possible, to your audience. When you’re pitching
to a group you focus on what is common to the group. Your elevator
pitch is a chance to make the group sit up and pay attention because
you connect with what matters to them.

When you are speaking to one individual, two things change. You can
tailor your pitch very specifically to that person, plus you can turn the
speech into a dialogue in less than one minute since you already have
the person’s attention. Note that the core elevator pitch is the same, but
how you fit it into a conversation changes.

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Group Elevator Pitch

You have 60 seconds to connect with the group and their priorities. You
open with your name, title and company name. You briefly describe
your business and an overview of your services. The key here is to be
brief. You sketch out the things you do that would most interest this
particular group. You outline the kinds of clients you serve (ideally
clients just like them), and tell a story proving how effective you are.
This may include a quote from a happy client. You express interest in
working for them or receiving referrals. You close with a memorable
phrase, repeating your name and company. This is perfect when it is
your turn to stand up at a luncheon and introduce yourself, although it
is a bit too long in a one-on-one situation.

One-On-One Elevator Pitch

People can tune you out in 10 seconds or less. An engaging, interactive,
one-on-one elevator pitch gets the same information across that you
would present to a group but involves the listener in dialogue sooner.

First, you need to find out more about the person you’re speaking with.
Use every bit of information you can glean about the person you’re
speaking to in order to make your pitch relevant. Your observations
are providing you information from the time you approach each other.
Keep the focus on the other person.
• Where might you have met before?

• Arethey wearing a name tag? Does it list their company? Is that

company one you could work with?
• What is their title?

• Who have they just been talking to? Have you picked up any
additional information from that observation?
• How does the other person react to your name tag?

• How confident do they appear to be in this group?

When you initiate the conversation, you can open with:

“Hello. I’m (your first and last name) with (your company name).
I don’t think we’ve met.”

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Then pause to get the other person’s name and if possible any other info
on what he or she does.

When the other person asks what you do, you can follow simple steps:

Step 1 - Connection
• “I work with people like you.”

• “I work with businesses like yours.”

• “I work in your industry.”

If you know absolutely nothing about the other person, you can say, “I
work with (types of people/businesses).”

Step 2 - Promise
“I enable/improve/maximize/organize/design/optimize (whatever you
do, very simply).”

Step 3 - Proof
“Clients say/my last client said/most people who use my services
say…”

Step 4 - Probe
Connect the proof back to the other person and the time and expense
of handling administrative tasks and managing staff, or how much
trouble the other person has with a particular issue: “Is that an issue for
you? Do you have that problem?/How do you handle that problem?”

Step 5 - Close
If this is a strong prospect, you probe further and gently work toward
trying to set up a meeting. (See the sample on the next page for an
example of how to do this.)

If this is a weak prospect, you can ask if they know of anyone that
might be interested in your services. Consider that every single person
you meet is a conduit to people that will be helpful even if they are not
actual prospects.

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Sample One-On-One Elevator Pitch

Connection
“I work with many individuals who feel as if there just isn’t
enough time in the day to get everything done.”

Promise
“I handle all the day-to-day aspects of keeping a business
running smoothly and provide marketing expertise so that
business owners can focus on the aspects that are most rewarding
to them. It’s also a huge cost savings not having to pay salaries
and benefits for staff.”

Proof
“I recently set up social media accounts for a client of mine who
was hesitant about using online media and didn’t have the time
to invest in learning about it. Now I update it weekly for her and
she’s been amazed at how many new clients the exposure has
brought in.”

Probe
“What tasks take up more of your day than you’d like?”

Close
(Strong Prospect) “Let’s discuss your specific goals for your
business further. I have an opening on Tuesday for a phone
consultation.”

(Weak Prospect) “I’m interested in helping entrepreneurs

streamline and grow their businesses at a significant cost
savings.” Insert some chatting about the number of hours the
average small business owner spends on tasks that could be
handled by someone else, and about the potential monetary
savings and flexibility. Feel your way to gradually asking: “Do
you know anyone who is looking to outsource some of their
business tasks? Could you suggest anyone in this room you
think I should meet?”

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Practice Your Pitch

Armed with an elevator pitch that you have practiced until it sounds
and feels natural, you can practice on friends, family, colleagues
and acquaintances. Ask for honest feedback. Pay attention to their
suggestions and make any changes necessary to create a more effective
pitch. Once you are comfortable with your elevator pitch, you’ll be
able to use it to market your business. Your pitch does not have to take
a “hard sell” approach, particularly if this goes against your nature.
Remember, virtual assistants are in the business of connecting with
people, anticipating the needs of others, and communicating effectively.
Use these strengths to your advantage during your pitch. By all means,
be yourself. Just be yourself prepared to present what you have to offer
in a concise and effective way.

6.3 Marketing Techniques

In this section we’ll look at a variety of marketing techniques, including
online marketing, which includes both “organic” marketing and paid
online advertising; advertising in print media; free media publicity; and
networking in your community. This section will focus on the forms
of marketing that are most often used by new virtual assistants and
include some tips that may assist you in considering other types of
marketing in future.

Consider as many of these techniques as possible to help you get the

word out about who you are and what you do. Generating clients from
marketing is not formulaic and not every strategy works for every
virtual assistant with the same success. The key is to determine what
combination works best for you.

6.3.1 Online Marketing

In the last few years, online marketing has taken off, eclipsing more
traditional types of marketing such as print and broadcast advertising
and telephone directories. To ensure people find your business
these days, you will need to market your business online, through
“organic” (free) media like social media posts, online directories and
search engines, and review sites, and through paid online advertising.

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Knowing your target market will help you determine which forms of
online marketing will work best for you and get you the most business.

Online Directories and Business Listings

A highly effective way to promote your business is to make business
profiles on websites that specialize in online directory listings. This
includes well-known online directories such as Superpages, Yellow
Pages and Yellow Pages Canada, and Whitepages.

In addition to online directories, all of the major search engines have

business listings. One of the most well-known business listings you can
create is on Google My Business, or “GMB”. A GMB profile allows
your business to show up in Google Maps results whenever someone
searches in your area. Your business also has the potential to show up
in Google’s “three pack” results, which are three businesses local to the
searcher that fit their search criteria. The three-pack show up before
organic or regular search results, making it more likely that that the
“three pack” businesses would be seen.

Other popular search engines offer business pages as well, such as

Yahoo! Local and Bing Places, which will mean that your business
will be more likely to show up at the top of their respective internet
searches.

After registering your business profile with several directories, you can
use the various functions they offer. For example, Google My Business
allows you to enable one-tap calls, chats, and/or appointment booking
which can easily connect you to your clients. You can also create GMB
posts to showcase featured services or news.

These are basically free forms of advertising, so don’t hesitate to register

your business details with as many of these directory services as you
can find. If you find registering your business with each separate online
directory somewhat overwhelming, and you want to ensure your
business is getting as wide a reach as possible, there are services out
there that will do that work for you, such as Thryv.com (who operate
the online version of the Yellow Pages) and ReachLocal. These types
of media services certainly cost but they can also take some of the
headaches away of managing your online marketing needs.

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Review Sites
Another useful marketing technique is registering your business to
online review sites. Positive reviews are free testimonials which help
boost your business’s reputation. Even negative reviews can be helpful.
If you respond to unsatisfied customers in a concerned yet positive way
and offer ways to improve their experience, you can show that you take
your virtual assistance business and its online reputation seriously and
are focused on providing a fantastic service. You can even make the
disgruntled customer return with a very good response! For baseless
negative reviews, honest responses can help show your version of the
truth to other potential customers.

One of the best-known review sites is Yelp. Yelp provides a business

review guide in major urban areas. Originally started in San Francisco
in 2005 as a restaurant review site, Yelp is now used by over 178
million unique users to check out local businesses providing goods
and services ranging from nightlife to auto repairs to medical services.
Anyone can read Yelp reviews, but users must open a free account to
be able to write reviews, which allow the user to assign a one-star to
five-star rating as well as to write about what they like (or don’t like)
about businesses they’ve patronized. A free Business Owner account
is also available, by which businesses may reply to reviews as well
as message users, add photos to their listings, engage in a variety of
promotional activities, and view trends and statistics for their own
page. Yelp is supported by advertising revenue; advertising can be
targeted in a variety of ways, including having your business ad appear
when users view your competitor’s page and blocking competitor’s ads
from appearing to viewers of your page.

Registering your business with search engines such as Google and

Yahoo! (described above) also function as review sites. When potential
customers search for your business or a business of your type, they will
come across your business profile with the browser they are using first.
Users can leave reviews and you can answer them, showcasing how
many people have been satisfied with your services.

You can also enable reviews on Facebook if you have a Facebook

business page. This will allow Facebook users to add ratings (which
are known as “recommendations”) and reviews on your page. Keep
in mind that you can’t delete individual reviews from your page, but

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you can disable all reviews, though this will remove positive reviews
as well.

Freelance Marketplaces
Freelance marketplaces are websites that connect freelancers with
clients or employers. While a few simply list freelance jobs, others
require you to compete against other freelancers by “bidding” for work
(submitting a proposal to do the work for a particular fee). Many also
allow you to post information about yourself and your services, so you
may be contacted by clients who are interested in your services. There
are thousands of freelance opportunities offered at these sites every
month, including many administrative and virtual assistance projects.

In order to bid on freelance projects, freelancers typically pay a fee

or may have to pay a commission for any work generated through
the site. Some marketplace sites (like Flexjobs for instance) are just
“middlemen”, so payment is made by whoever accepts your bid in
whatever form you agree to. In other cases, for instance Upwork or
Fiverr, payment is made by the marketplace site either directly to your
bank account, to PayPal, or other options depending on the site.

Each site offers information on how to use their services and bid for
projects. If you decide to use a freelance marketplace to market your
services, take advantage of any tips they offer for successfully bidding
on projects (some of the advice is useful with other clients as well).

TIP: If you want your bid to stand out, make sure you customize
it. Many freelancers submit the same generic proposal
to every client, not even bothering to include the client
company’s name. You will make a better impression if
your proposal addresses the specific points the client has
mentioned in their posting.

• FlexJobs

• Upwork

• Guru

• Freelancer

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• Workbook

• Creative Jobs Central

• Fiverr

• Angi

Just be cautious, whatever source you decide to use. Be sure to do

an online search using the name of the company or client you’re
considering working for, and check for comments and reviews about
that company. Some freelancers have been less than satisfied with some
of the online companies offering freelance opportunities.

6.3.2 Paid Advertising

While there are many different marketing techniques, advertising is
a form of marketing that involves paying to promote your business.
There are many places businesses can advertise—from online banner
ads to television commercials to the local newspaper.

This section will discuss both online and “offline” advertising,

including search engine and social media ads, and print media. There
are other types as well, such as advertising on TV and radio and Out-
of-Home ads, such as those found on billboards and bus benches, but
these can be pricey. While some types of advertising might be way
outside your start-up marketing budget, it is important to know what
options are available to you to help you develop your marketing plan.
Some paid advertising techniques might only be useful for big events,
like your Grand Opening, or for a specific marketing campaigns. Once
your virtual assistance business has started to make a profit, and
depending on the target market you want to reach, you may want to
consider some of the more expensive advertising options.

Online Advertising
The main benefit of paid online advertising is that it allows you to
reach audiences beyond your “followers”, targeting those audiences as
narrowly or widely as you choose. Your advertisements will show up
to people who are not already interacting with your business, capturing
their attention and leading them to your business.

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While registering with online directories is free, you can also pay to
advertise on search engines. You might be saying to yourself, “I’ve just
registered my business on all the online directories so it will show up
in searches, why do I need to pay for online advertising as well?” Well,
you’re paying so that your business will be the first one people will see
when they search (what’s called the Search Engine Results Pages, or
SERPs). This doesn’t happen automatically for organic searches, and
can’t even be guaranteed with a GMB profile.

Many businesses also use “pay-per-click” advertising to attract

prospective clients. This involves paying for every visitor that a search
engine sends to your website. You can find information about using
pay-per-click advertising on Google Ads, including how to target
internet users in your city. Other sites you can advertise on include
Microsoft Ads and Verizon Native Advertising. There are also
advertising platforms, such as Outbrain and AdRoll, that push your
content to the top of searches on multiple platforms.

If you choose specific search terms that few other advertisers have bid
on, you may be able to attract some visitors to your website for as little
as five cents each. However, pay-per-click costs can add up quickly and
some of the people clicking on your ads may simply be curious and
not serious prospects for your business. So you should set a maximum
dollar amount per day and monitor your results to determine if this
type of advertising is effective for you.

Social Media Ads

Many social media sites also offer paid advertising that can be targeted
as widely or as specific to your market as you choose. Targeted
advertising shows your ads specifically to users who are not already
following you, potential customers who are most likely to engage with
your business. You can target based on age, gender, location, social
media activity, and interests, amongst other things. Advertisements
can include “call to action” buttons, which, when clicked, direct to your
business’ website, a specific landing page, your social media profile, or
anywhere you choose.

The cost of advertising varies based on the social media platform,

targeting, placement, format, and the amount of time you want it to
run, although they are based on cost-per-click (how many times your

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advertisement was clicked) and cost-per-impression (how many times

your advertisement was viewed). You can set a monthly advertising
budget, limiting the amount you are willing to spend.

If you advertise on social media, you will find that there is a large
variety of paid ad types to choose from, depending on the platform
and the type of ad you choose. The most common styles of ads include
a single image or video, or collection of images or videos, with text and
a link or “call to action”.

With some social media platforms, you will be able to choose between
full page views, banner ads, or embedded in the timeline or feed.
Other platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram, your advertisement
will appear almost identical to a regular post. This format allows your
ads to be seamlessly integrated into viewers’ feeds. To increase this
effect, you can format your ads to look like regular posts as well. Other
platforms will show your advertisements more obviously. In this case,
you can be bolder with how you present the ad.

Check out Facebook for Business for info and advice on marketing
your business on social media. Also look at Instagram for Business,
Twitter Business, and LinkedIn Business for more social media
advertising solutions.

Keep in mind that if you choose to invest money into paid media, you
should also invest time into organic media. If you catch a potential
client’s eye with an ad on Twitter, and they find your Twitter profile
largely empty and abandoned, they are unlikely to try to contact you.

Advertising in Newspapers and Magazines

Just because marketing tends to be focused online these days, don’t
assume that advertising in newspapers and magazines is obsolete!
Newspaper and magazine readers tend to be more engaged in what
they’re reading, meaning that your advertising may get more dedicated
attention than a social media ad which can be easily skipped over.

As many publications now have an online presence as well as a print

version, you can run an advertisement in both the print and online
versions. While both may be worth it to you, print advertising can
be expensive, so you may choose to focus online initially to measure

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the effectiveness of your advertising before moving to print. Since

paid advertising costs, you will want to determine your target market
(see Section 6.1) to decide how best to advertise in newspapers and
magazines.

You can look for specialty publications in your area, or those that
pertain to your specialization. Read a magazine or newspaper carefully
to see if an advertisement for your business would fit with the theme of
the paper, the articles, and the other ads. Also consider advertising in
newspapers with classified ads for services like yours.

Many publications will provide you with a free media kit with lots
of information about their readership. You can usually find this
information on their website, often at the bottom of the page under
“Advertising”. This information will help you determine if their readers
are the sort of customers you are looking for and if it is the right
publication for your ad. Some publications will design your ad for free,
while others will design it for an additional cost and give you a copy of
the ad that you can then run in other publications if you wish.

Another way to advertise online in newspapers and magazines is

indirectly, with placement targeting. For example, Google Ads can
display your ads as banners on specific websites. You can choose online
newspaper and magazines that are a part of Google’s Display Network
– a directory of all the sites which will show Google advertisements.

While advertising helps many businesses to attract clients, you may

have much better results if you can get free media publicity.

Creating Effective Ads

Some people spend years learning how to create the most effective ads.
Since we do not have years, we’re going to focus on a few key points.

• Create a consistent look and voice, using your brand and logo
to create ads that are recognizably related to your marketing
materials.

• Include your website in your contact information.

• Display information in easy-to-read fonts and use high contrast

for good legibility.

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• Emphasize clarity. Too much information just becomes hard to

read or hear.

• Rather than just listing your services, explain how clients can
benefit from your services.

• Tell readers (or listeners) what you want them to do and give
them a reason to contact you (for example, “Call now for a free
initial consultation!”).

• Get someone to help you proofread. Don’t take the chance of

spending money to publish a print or online ad with errors in it.

• Make sure you’re available for people who respond to your ad.
If someone keeps getting your voicemail or doesn’t get a quick
response to their email, they may give up.

One of the most effective ways to get people to contact you—and to

test the effectiveness of each ad—is with some sort of incentive. An
incentive can be anything from a discount coupon to a free gift or a free
initial consultation. To measure advertising effectiveness with coupons,
it’s a good idea to list a time limit or expiration date. Make sure this
date is clearly visible on the coupon. It should allow customers enough
time to contact you if they pick up the publication after it’s published—
maybe a week or two—but not so much time that they forget about the
offer, thinking they can use it well into the future. Tie the coupon to a
date that’s easy to remember, such as the end of the month.

For online advertising, you can measure the effectiveness of your

advertising through the analytics metrics that are offered by most
social media applications, similarly to the website analytics discussed
in Section 6.2.3. Social media apps like Facebook and Twitter offer data
on the levels of user engagement (how many likes, followers, shares,
etc.) that can give you a good sense of what works and what doesn’t in
your social media marketing. Their advertising functions also provide
you with important data about your advertising reach and if users are
clicking to go to your webpage.

If you feel you need a more thorough understanding of the

fundamentals of marketing, consider consulting your local library or
your favorite bookseller for books about marketing your business. Also
check out the SBA’s Learning Center for resources on marketing. Or

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you could take a short online course to provide you with the basics
of effective advertising; there are many reputable free online courses
available.

6.3.3 Free Media Publicity

One of the best ways to market — with potentially excellent results
for minimal cost — is to get free publicity in the media (magazines,
newspapers, radio, television, and online). While you don’t have the
final say over what gets reported, the exposure can give a boost to your
business. This section describes a variety of ways virtual assistants can
get publicity.

TIP: Subscribe to Help a Reporter Out to receive a free email

newsletter containing requests from reporters who are
seeking experts to interview.

Newspaper and Magazine Publicity

One way to get a story written about your business is to send a press
release (also called a “news release”) to a writer or editor of a magazine,
newspaper, or online media source. The ideal press release is a single
page and should be written so that it could be published as is. Read the
magazine or section of the paper where you would like to be published
and use a similar writing style for your own news release.

In order to get published, your press release should read like a story,
not an advertisement. A press release that simply announces you have
started your business is not likely to get published, unless there is
something unusual about your business. Instead, consider issuing press
releases to announce events or community activities that your business
is involved with (see Section 6.3.5 for information about promotional
events).

Here is a quick list of tips for writing a press release:

• Make sure the press release is newsworthy. A community event

is newsworthy. A new business is not, unless there is something
particularly interesting about the business.

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• Give your press release a strong lead paragraph that answers the
six main questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how.

• Keep it short. Aim for a maximum of 500 words.

• Include contact information at the end of the press release so that

reporters can get more information.

This sample press release is an example of the format and type of

content that is appropriate for a press release:

Sample Press Release

Contact: Valerie Virtual-Assistant

Company: Found Time Virtual Assistance
123 Savings Lane
Anytown, USA 12345
Phone: (555) 555-1212
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.FoundTimeVA.com

For Immediate Release

March 1, 20XX

Virtual Assistant Helps Local Businesses Thrive

Valerie Virtual-Assistant, President of Found Time Virtual
Assistance, today announced a county-wide program designed
to help give local small business owners a boost during these
difficult economic times. This month, Found Time Virtual
Assistance will offer a discount of 15% off regular rates for
website design, social networking assistance, and selected other
services for all Great county businesses.

“Many local businesses have closed their doors and others have
had to lay off workers. Others don’t have the time or expertise
to spend on crucial marketing tools like social media to bring in

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new business. I felt that as a resident I needed to do something

to contribute, not only by offering discounted services, but by
introducing business owners to the long-term savings and
benefits available to them through virtual assistance,” said
Virtual-Assistant.

Ms. Virtual-Assistant has more than 15 years of administrative and

marketing experience and began her successful virtual assisting
firm, Found Time, in 20YY. Her company provides clients across
the country in many different industries with independent
contractors who work off-site, providing administrative
and marketing services at a fraction of what it would cost
companies to hire regular staff. Virtual-Assistant is a member
of the IAPO International Organization of Virtual Assistants.

The special recession rates will take effect this week. For more
information, call Found Time Virtual Assistance at (555) 555-
1212.
###

You can find numerous online resources and templates to help you
write a press release.

Most media outlets publish contact information for their editors on

their websites. If you can’t find the editor’s name and email address
on the website, you can call and ask the receptionist. Newspapers may
have dozens of editors, so make sure you send your submission to the
appropriate one (for example, the Lifestyle Editor).

As an alternative to writing a press release, you could find out who

the editor is, and either phone or send a brief “pitch letter” by email
to suggest an idea for a story. In your pitch, remember to focus on
something that will be interesting to readers. For example, you might
suggest a story on a new poll or research study relating to the economy
and growth of outsourcing, or on using new technology to grow
business. Do some brainstorming or consider a story based on the most
common kinds of questions clients ask you.

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While it is not necessary to submit photographs, they may help attract

an editor’s attention. You can send links to images from your website or
portfolio with your email.

You may even want to compile a “press kit”, which could include items
such as:

• A few images from your portfolio

• A bio and photo of you

• Key facts about your business

• Some FAQs about the virtual assistance profession

• Links to any media appearances or articles that show your

expertise.

These items can all be “stored” on a page on your website dedicated to

press inquiries. Then send the link to the page every time you send a
press release or pitch letter. This way any interested editor or journalist
has all the information they need about you right at their fingertips.

A press release published through services such as PRWeb may be

distributed for you for a moderate investment. For press releases of
local interest only, such as a discount for community businesses or
presentation at the town library, submitting press releases yourself to
local publications is your best bet. However, if you want to promote
your services nationally or internationally, a distribution service can
save you quite a bit of time and help you gain access to some markets
you might not reach on your own.

Television and Radio Talk Shows

Phone local radio and TV shows to let them know you are available
to provide expert advice to their viewers or listeners on how to start,
organize, or streamline their businesses to save time and money, how
virtual assistants are good for business, or something more specific
based on your chosen niche. Shows that might be appropriate include
morning shows and afternoon talk shows. The person to contact is the
producer of each show.

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When you contact them, be sure to emphasize how much the show’s
audience will benefit from an interview with you. Keep in mind that
they are not interested in giving you free advertising – their ultimate
goal is to improve their ratings, so anyone they interview should be
dynamic and interesting.

Also, keep in mind that many station employees are overworked and
underpaid. If you can make their job easier you are much more likely to
land an interview. The best way to make their job easier is to include a
list of “frequently asked questions” with the email you send them. This
is a list of questions that you think listeners might like the answers to.
Chances are, whatever you find people asking your advice about are
questions that an audience would be interested in, as well.

If you’re finding it difficult to get radio and TV interviews, or you

just find you have a flair for TV and radio, you may want to consider
producing your own audio and video content and sharing them on
your website and social media accounts. This not only gives you some
practice with public speaking, it can also help you build your own
following that you can use as leverage to attract journalists and get
media interviews.

Audio and video recordings are powerful marketing tools these days
and a great way to reach a broader audience. And they don’t require
much in the way of equipment anymore either; just your computer,
tablet, or smartphone and you’re ready to go! If you plan on doing
a lot of recording, you may want to invest in a dedicated camcorder
and tripod, and maybe a good microphone, but these aren’t necessities
when you’re just starting out.

The quickest way to develop material is by recording yourself giving

a live presentation or teaching a class (see Section 6.3.5 for more on
promotional events). Just be sure to get consent from any participants.
Or you could record yourself saying or doing pretty much anything
related to virtual assistance. Basically, any topic you would post on
social media or write about in an article (see below), you could also
record yourself saying or even demonstrating.

If you really want to get into audio broadcasting, then creating

your own podcast could be an excellent option for you; it’s basically
like hosting your own weekly radio show. You could also look into

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BlogTalkRadio, which is a home for thousands of online radio talk

shows on all subjects.

You have multiple options for sharing recorded content. You can record
and share directly with some social media accounts, the most well-
known of these obviously being on your dedicated YouTube channel,
but also Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all have video options. You
can also embed content directly onto your website. If you’ve hired a
web designer to build your website, ask for a setup with audio and
video functionality and also for instructions on how to upload content.

Write an Article or Column

One of the best ways to get free media publicity is to write articles or
a column for a newspaper, magazine, newsletter, or website. While it
can be tough to break into the larger media publications, there may be
an opportunity to write for smaller newspapers, local magazines, or
industry-related newsletters or websites.

You might have to start small — perhaps a community website or even

a throwaway shopping circular. You may even have to pitch five or six
media outlets before finding success. Use your own blog as practice,
building up your journalistic writing skills. Offer to “guest post” on
popular blogs you’ve discovered in your research. Share these posts
widely on your social media accounts and in your email marketing to
clients, and pay attention to which posts get the most traction. Post on
heavily trafficked sites like Medium, which is free to post and will get
your content out to an even wider audience. If you’re effective, you’ll
develop a following, and you should be able to upgrade to more highly
trafficked websites, or a magazine or daily newspaper published in
your area.

When pitching to a larger media outlet, offer to write on any topic

related to virtual assistance or propose an “Ask the Virtual Assistant”
column where you would answer questions from readers. The length
and frequency of your column will depend on the publication. For
instance, you might produce a weekly 500-word column or a monthly
1,000-word column.

Make sure your article or column provides valuable information

to the publication’s readers. You will have a better sense of this after

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seeing which of your own blog posts are more popular and get the
most feedback. As with press releases, articles that sound like an ad for
your services are not likely to get published. Write about something in
your area of expertise; for example, you could review the top email and
calendar applications for staying organized.

If you are hoping to get published, email the editor and include your
first column or article. Ask if they would be interested in a regular
feature. Be sure to include the link to your press kit and links to some
of your more popular blog posts. If they want to publish your article,
they may offer to pay you. However, even if they don’t pay, you should
consider letting them publish it in return for including a brief bio and
your contact information and web address at the end of the article or
column.

6.3.4 Networking
Networking may be a little intimidating at first but is a valuable
marketing tool and one that gets easier every time you use it. It is also
a tool you will be encouraging many of your clients to make use of as
you partner with them to help grow their business, which makes it that
much more important that you master the art yourself. The people you
network with can either be prospective clients, or anyone who could
refer you to clients.

So what exactly is networking? Simply put, it is interacting, formally

(such as at an organized networking event) or informally (with your
fellow season ticket holders at local sporting events, for example) for
mutual benefit. It is not just about what the other person can do for you,
nor is it a simple quid pro quo trade-off. Networking is not something you
should fear because at its heart it is really about building relationships,
something you are probably already good at. Focusing on how you can
help the other person instead of on yourself also helps take some of the
pressure off for those who are anxious about networking.

While your immediate goal may be to get clients, you should think of
networking as a long-term investment. Use your listening skills and
take a sincere interest in the other person. Use your organizational
skills to create a system for keeping track of contacts (make notes about
your conversation on the back of any business cards you receive, and
then include that additional info when you’re updating your contact

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management database). Take the time to email someone you met at a

networking event an article that is relevant to their business, client leads
or referrals, or just send a holiday e-card or congratulatory note on a
promotion or publication. People tend to remember small gestures of
kindness like this, because most people don’t take the time or interest.
These are especially helpful networking techniques for people who are
introverted and dislike large group events.

Friends and Family

The first people you should network with about your business are
people who already know you. This includes your friends, family
members, neighbors, former co-workers, members of organizations
you belong to, and anyone else that you have a relationship with. These
are people who are likely to be interested in hearing about your new
business because they are interested in you.

You can tell these people in person that you have started a new business,
but it can be even more effective to mail a personal letter letting them
know that you have started a virtual assistance business. Include a few
business cards in the envelope and encourage the recipient to pass them
on to people they know who may need a virtual assistant in the future.

While people who know you may send some business your way, you
can greatly increase the number of potential clients you can reach by
meeting and networking with new people.

Networking Clubs
Networking clubs typically include one member each from a variety
of industries (e.g. insurance, financial planning, law, real estate,
etc.). Meetings may include a meal, an opportunity to network, and
presentations by speakers. In some clubs, each member is expected to
bring a certain number of leads to the group each week or month.

To become a member you are either recommended to the group by an

existing member or you might approach the group and ask to sit in as
an observer for a couple of meetings then apply for membership if you
find the group is a good fit for you. You may be asked to give a short
presentation about your own business and what you can bring to the
group. The types of activities will vary with different groups, so don’t

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settle on the first one you visit if they don’t seem to offer what you’re
looking for. Make sure the members represent the kind of people you’re
trying to connect with for clients, or who might know others who would
benefit from your services.

One way to find a networking club is through word-of-mouth. Ask

people you know who are in sales, such as financial planners. You
can also look for networking groups online. Business Network
International has more than 2,300 chapters around the world. Also
consider joining a local Meetup group for entrepreneurs.

Connecting at a Networking Event

To help you strike up a conversation at a networking event, business
consultant Marg Archibald recommends using an elevator pitch and
developing a tag line that you can use to quickly identify yourself and
what you do. If your tag line is interesting or intriguing people will
naturally ask you for more information. You could try something like:

“I’m Valerie Virtual-Assistant and I partner with entrepreneurs to help

them accomplish more and spend less.”

Once you start talking about your business, ask others about theirs and
show an honest interest in what they do; don’t start scanning the room
for your next prospect. For the next few minutes at least, the person in
front of you is the most important person in the room. Meeting people
and getting to know them a little better is the first step toward effective
networking.

Membership Organizations
Another excellent way to network is by joining associations that
prospective clients may belong to. While online networking has grown
in popularity and can be an efficient way of reaching out to people, you
may find it worth your while to establish local roots within your local
business community before branching out.

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“The fact that people can see you lends credibility and builds trust
so they’re more comfortable working with you virtually or making
referrals. I didn’t immediately make this connection when I started
out, but when potential clients religiously stated they wanted to work
with someone that was local, I figured I’d give that a shot.”
— T
 ya Bolton,
Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC

Some examples of organizations that provide opportunities for in-

person networking include:

• Business organizations such as your Chamber of Commerce or a

group for women business owners

• Service clubs such as Rotary Club or Kiwanis Club

• Organizations of any group you are already a member of, such as

alumni associations or ethnic groups

• Clubs that attract the wealthy, for example, golf, polo, yachting,
and country clubs

Membership fees may vary from $20 to hundreds or even thousands of

dollars (the latter if you want to join an exclusive country club or private
golf club). The more expensive clubs usually require current members
to introduce you and put you up for membership, so you may have to
join some less exclusive clubs in order to meet people who might also
belong to the more expensive clubs. Many less exclusive clubs will let
you attend a few times for a nominal fee so you can decide if you really
want to join.

You can find organizations by asking your friends and colleagues what
they are involved with. You can also find them online. Several women’s
business organizations to look into are:

• National Association of Women Business Owners

• National Association of Female Executives

• American Business Women’s Association

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Also check out your local chamber of commerce. To find the Chamber
near you, visit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce or the Canadian
Chamber of Commerce.

If you simply attend club functions without getting involved, the value
of the membership will not be as great as if you truly pitch in. What
sorts of things can you do to help out and gain the attention of others
whose good will can help your business grow? Choose something you
enjoy and that emphasizes your strengths – you are more likely to stick
with it, and others will get a chance to see you at your best.

Here are some suggestions:

• Serve on a committee

• Write articles for the association newsletter

• Volunteer to help out with the organization’s events

• Run for election to the Executive Committee

TIP: You should also join professional organizations in your

industry, such as those listed in Section 3.3.4. You might be
able to partner with other virtual assistants or an established
VA might be able to send work your way. At the very least
you’ll be able to learn more about the industry.

There are many helpful books on the subject of networking if you

need more guidance in this area. The Networking Survival Guide: Get the
Success You Want by Tapping into the People You Know, by Diane Darling
is an excellent resource that provides tips and practice exercises.

6.3.5 Promotional Events

Give a Speech or Seminar
Even if you don’t join organizations, you may still be able to connect
with their members and get new business by being a speaker. Many
organizations have speakers for breakfast meetings, luncheons,
workshops, and annual conventions.

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To let people know that you are available to speak, contact membership
organizations mentioned in Section 6.3.4 and ask friends and
acquaintances if they belong to any groups that have presentations
from speakers. To prepare a talk that the audience will find interesting,
consider what their needs are. For example, if you’re speaking to
new business owners you might give a presentation on “How to Use
LinkedIn to Find Clients,” or those who run service businesses, such
as coaches and therapists, might be interested in hearing how online
appointment scheduling and billing can save them time and money.

Another approach would be to speak about your experiences as a

virtual assistant starting your own business to others who are interested
in becoming VAs or entrepreneurs. The benefits of getting your name
out there, being seen as an “expert VA”, and the potential referrals and
relationships to be built by sharing what you know with others far
outweigh the competition factor. Just as you will likely find many VAs
who are eager to lend you a hand with helpful information and advice
as you start your business, it’s always good karma to pass that same
kindness along to those who will follow you.

While you probably will not be paid for your presentations, it can be an
excellent opportunity to promote your business. Your company name
may be published in the organization’s newsletter, it will be mentioned
by the person who introduces you, and you will be able to mingle
with attendees before and after your presentation. You may get a free
breakfast or lunch too!

Instead of or in addition to speaking for organizations, you could

present your own free seminars or workshops. You can hold it at your
office, if you have one, or you may be able to rent a meeting room
inexpensively at your local Chamber of Commerce or a local hotel or
convention center. Libraries are another great place to hold seminars.
Most public libraries have a meeting room, and they are usually eager
to recruit speakers that will be of interest to the local community. To
help you market your event you could set up a Meetup group, an
Eventbrite page, or a Facebook event page. Be sure to share the event
on your website and all of your social media accounts. Although you
can ask people to pre-register, you may get some last minute attendees
if you accept registrations at the door.

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To get people to attend, or log into a webinar, make sure it is a topic that
people are interested in, and present it at a time that is convenient for
your audience. If you are marketing to corporate clients, schedule your
event during business hours. If you are marketing to the public, you’re
likely to have the best turnout on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday
evening. You’re likely to get a larger turnout for a shorter event (e.g.
an hour) than one that lasts for hours. An added benefit of a webinar
is that you can record it and make it available on your website to be
watched to at the convenience of prospective clients.

If you give a good talk and offer useful advice, you will be seen as an
expert. As long as there are people in the audience who need virtual
assistance services, this can be an excellent way to attract clients.
On the day that you deliver your speech, be sure you bring plenty of
business cards, brochures, and useful handouts such as a list of web
links (with your logo and contact information since people are likely to
hold on to this information if it’s useful) so you can hand them out to
everyone who attends. You’ll want people to remember you and have
your contact information if they decide they might be able to use your
services.

If you feel your speaking skills could be better, you can get experience
and become more comfortable talking to groups by joining
Toastmasters, an international organization that helps people develop
their speaking skills.

Teach a Class
Teaching a class can be a great way to earn extra money, establish your
reputation, and meet prospective clients. You don’t have to have a
degree to teach adults—just lots of enthusiasm and knowledge of your
subject.

The first step is to review the current continuing education courses

being offered by local colleges, universities and other organizations
that provide adult education classes in your community. Once you
have reviewed their current list of courses, come up with some ideas
for new courses. (They already have instructors for any courses that are
already listed.)

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Once you have an idea for a new course in mind, call the college or
organization and ask to speak with whoever hires continuing education
instructors. They will tell you what you need to do to apply to teach a
course.

Trade Shows
A trade show is an event to promote specific types of products and
services. If you have ever attended an event such as a home and
garden show or a wedding show, then you have been to a trade show.
As a virtual assistant, you may be able to market your services to
prospective clients by participating in a local trade show relevant to
your target market. In fact, some virtual assistants even provide trade
show support as one of their services, so in addition to the attendees, all
of your fellow vendors may also be potential clients!

The cost to become an exhibitor (i.e. to get a booth at the show) will
vary depending on the particular show, the location, the number of
people expected to attend, and the amount of space you require. It may
range from as little as $50 to $1,000 or more for public shows, or up to
thousands of dollars for industry shows. To cut costs, you could partner
with another non-competing exhibitor and share a booth space.

However, before investing in a trade show booth, attend the event if

possible, or speak to some past exhibitors. While you may find a $100
booth at a corporate conference is a good investment to market a virtual
assistant business, $1,000 spent on a trade show booth to promote
your services could give disappointing results. Find out all the costs
involved, what it includes, and what you have to pay extra for (e.g.
chairs, carpet, electricity).

You can find out about upcoming shows by contacting your local
convention centers, exhibition halls, or chamber of commerce. You can
search for events by industry, type of event and location at the Trade
Show News Network. For most events, you can then click on a link to
find out contact information. Many shows now have their own websites
and provide registration information as well as site maps and logistical
information.

You’ll need to provide your own display. Unless you know that you’ll
be exhibiting at future shows, look for low-cost options for your display

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such as getting a local printer to blow up a few photos and signs for
your booth. You should also bring business cards, your portfolio and
your company brochures for display at your booth, and be prepared to
schedule appointments with prospective clients.

One way to attract people to your booth is with a promotional gift

such as a free week of virtual assistance services. When speaking with
prospective clients, mention a few of the ideas you have for streamlining
or promoting their business (but don’t give away too much for free). If
you don’t have an assistant or partner, see if you can find a friend or
family member to help out at the show and make the rounds to other
vendors to drop off your brochure (especially if you offer trade show
support). The days can be long and tiring, and you won’t want to close
down your booth to take breaks.

Charitable Events
A marketing insider secret is that charitable organizations often hold
events like silent auctions or gala dinners that can be attended by
wealthy and famous people or people who have a vested interest in
the charity’s success. You can imagine the variety of people who would
attend an event to benefit childhood cancers or juvenile diabetes, both
of which have touched so many lives. The number of worthwhile causes
and charities is quite large with the National Center for Charitable
Statistics reporting more than 1.5 million registered in the U.S.

In previous chapters we’ve discussed how you can volunteer your

services to a charity as a means of networking, gaining experience, or
getting known in the industry, but charitable events are also a great
place to “sell” your virtual assistant services or get known without
even attending!

Here’s how it works. Let’s say a charity is holding a silent auction where
items such as paintings or tickets to sporting events are auctioned off.
Even if you do not have items like these for the auction goods table you
could create a gift certificate offering your services for a set period of
time (for instance a full or half day).

The certificate is then framed and set out with the other items to be bid
on. There are plenty of online certificate templates to help you create
something that looks professional and fits in with your overall brand.

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You do not need to spend a lot of money on the frame as long as it’s of
reasonable quality. You should, however, use the best paper you can
and use letterhead from your company or at the least your company
logo or tagline and contact information.

The person who is the highest bidder then receives a certificate and
you get a client! The great thing about this type of marketing is that
you will get in front of people from all walks of life – what is often
called an “untargeted” market. This is a great approach for two reasons
– you get to donate to your favorite charity while gaining valuable
experience from a real-life client. As a contributor to the evening, you
might also ask the event planners if you could put a business card or
small postcard at each table in recognition of your business.

Keep in mind that while this is a great way to get clients and help a
charity, it is not a simple tax “write off” for your business. There is some
disinformation out there on social media and other discussion forums
about businesses donating for the purpose of getting a tax receipt for
services you provide for free to charities. Volunteering your services
– or working pro bono – was discussed in more detail in Chapter 3,
and donating your services, even if you get something out of it too,
can be a very worthwhile thing to do. But you can’t donate your fees
for a job; that is, you can’t just work for two hours, then claim $200
because you normally charge $100 per hour. A charity can only issue an
official donation receipt if a person or business provides a service to the
charity, the charity pays for the service, and the person then returns the
payment to the charity as a gift. So, two transactions have taken place:
the first being the provision of the service and payment via an official
invoice (created by you), and the second being the gift you return for
the same amount as the donation receipt.

Charitable tax deductions may be allowed on your expenses if they

meet two qualifying rules:

1. They must be incurred as a requirement to perform the service

for the organization

2. They must primarily benefit the charity and not the taxpayer.

An example would be the cost of supplies or the mileage charge

necessary to perform the service that directly benefitted the charity.

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For more information, see the IRS’s Form 526 on Charitable

Contributions. In Canada, visit the Canada Revenue Agency’s
Claiming Charitable Tax Credits page.

6.4 Selling Your Services

No matter what marketing techniques you use, you can expect to start
getting calls from people interested in using your services. In this
section you will find some tips for working with prospective clients
and turning them into paying clients.

Many of the techniques already mentioned in this chapter can help

you break into the corporate market. For example, clients may hire you
after meeting you at networking events, hearing you give a speech, or
reading about you online. However, you don’t have to wait for clients
to call you. Instead, you can take the initiative and contact prospective
clients.

6.4.1 Contacting Your Target Market

Your Warm Market
When selling to corporate clients, start with your “warm market” of
family, friends, and other people who know you. Chances are, your
warm market includes a number of people who are “decision-makers”
in an organization that could use your services. In other words, they
are in a position where they could hire your company. If not, they
may be able to recommend your services to the decision-maker. So, as
suggested in the section on networking, get the word out to friends,
family, colleagues and acquaintances that you have started a VA
business. Tell them what your skills are and how you might be able to
help them, and show them the areas in which you can help enhance
their business.

Cold Calling
Cold calling involves picking up the telephone and calling people
you’ve never met or talked to before. Although it can be intimidating to
make cold calls, this marketing technique can be very effective. Martin
Wilkins, a consultant interviewed for the IAP Career College Guide to
Become a Business Consultant, says “I make 200 phone calls a week.

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It’s the best way to get your name and business into the minds of the
president or CEO of that company.”

Before you start dialing, do some assessment. Cold calling requires

a significant investment of time, so before undertaking a calling
campaign, determine how much time you have to devote to your
marketing efforts and whether this is the most effective method for
you. One alternative might be to mail a copy of your brochure to local
companies detailing your VA services. Include your business card,
and perhaps a brief personalized hand-written note showing your
knowledge of the specific company’s needs and mission and asking to
set up a meeting.

Cold calling works best for those who are confident and not too afraid
of hearing the word no, because the reality is that some people will
say no. In fact, probably even most people. Some will hang up on you
and not even give you the opportunity to say why you are calling. You
may gain a whole new respect for the fortitude of those telemarketers
who are always calling you during dinner or your favorite TV program.
Or… maybe not.

In addition to the requisite thick skin you will need to develop to make
cold calls, it may help to keep in mind that while some companies may
be abrupt, it is also a reality that there are others that truly need virtual
assisting services and would welcome a call from someone who can
offer them a money-saving alternative to hiring more staff. With that
in mind, look at each call as an introduction of your services – services
that could possibly help this person and organization. If you decide
cold calling is the right approach for you, here are some tips to make
your calls more successful.

Deciding Who to Call

Do some research and come up with a list of prospective clients. Section
6.1 offers advice on finding prospects in your target market. If you’re
considering pitching to a particular company or individual, find out as
much as you can about the company or individual, what they do, and
how they can benefit from your services.

When making a cold call to a prospective client company, be sure to

talk with the executive or manager who will make the decision about

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whether or not to use your services. In many large organizations, the

key decision-maker in each department may have the title of Vice-
President, Director, or Department Head. If the company is small, there
may be a single individual you should talk to, such as an owner or office
manager. The Director of Human Resources is a good person to start
with.

If you don’t have the name of a decision-maker when you call a

company, simply ask the receptionist. You might ask: “Can you tell me
the name of the person who handles staffing or outsourcing services
for your company?” Or you might ask: “What is the name of the head
of your human resources department?” Most busy executives have
administrative assistants who field calls for them so they don’t have to
talk with everyone who calls. A friendly attitude can help you get past
these gatekeepers.

Using a Script
Having a script to follow when you make a cold call can make the
difference between failure and success. A script is simply an outline of
what you want to say during your call. It’s a good idea to have scripts
for leaving a message on voice mail as well as for your first conversation
with a prospective client.

Be prepared for the fact that many decision-makers screen their calls
with voicemail. They simply don’t have time to speak with everyone
who wants their attention. If you must leave a voicemail message for
the decision-maker, consider leaving it after hours so it will be among
the first messages the person hears in the morning. Whether or not they
return your call depends primarily on how intriguing your message is.

A script shouldn’t be followed verbatim, because you’ll sound stilted

and rehearsed. Instead, use your script to organize your thoughts and
to provide you with a guideline so that you don’t leave out any vital
information. Practice the script several times before making your first
call. It will become easier the more you do it, and eventually you won’t
need the script right in front of you.

Below is a sample script compiled from suggestions from several

virtual assistants. As you can see, there is room to adjust your message

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according to how the conversation evolves. But having a script will

help you to sound professional and keep the conversation on track.

“Good morning (afternoon) Mr. /Ms. Decision-maker.

My name is ________________________. I’m a virtual assistant located

in ________________. I specialize in ________________.

I’ve been conducting research with local businesses to determine

whether they are aware of the time and cost-saving benefits of
working with a virtual assistant. May I inquire if your organization
currently outsources any services, and if so, if you are happy with
the results? My administrative experience is extensive and our fully-
equipped office can handle any small or large tasks from the routine
to special projects. We offer a flexible approach that may provide you
with a better value than hiring staff or using temporary workers.

I’d like set up a 20 minute meeting with you at your office to

discuss your needs and how I can provide you with a cost savings.
I have a couple of openings this week. Would Tuesday afternoon or
Wednesday morning work better for you?

Thank you and I look forward to our meeting.”

As the example above illustrates, you can avoid a mistake many cold
callers make of giving the decision-maker a choice between saying yes
to a meeting or saying no. Instead, give them a choice between two
possible meeting dates. Some experts also suggest setting a time limit –
ideally no more than 30 minutes –because many decision-makers view
their time as limited.

TIP: You are much more likely to get your call returned if you say
you were referred by someone the decision-maker knows
and respects. Ask for referrals from your warm market and,
wherever possible, slip “____________ suggested I call you”
into the script after your name.

Calling Again
You may not get through to a decision-maker on the first call, and when
you do get through, you may not make the sale on the first try. Many
sales professionals recommend trying again unless a prospect gives you
a definite yes or no. However, the experts we interviewed had different

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advice about how often to call. Some felt you should be prepared to call
five or more times to set up a meeting with your prospect. Others said
if a decision-maker is not interested after two calls, you should move on
and invest your time elsewhere.

Assessing Your Results

Don’t worry if your first few calls don’t go as planned. Consider
them practice. Once you have been using this approach for a while, it
should generate a respectable success rate. Depending on what you are
proposing, a good success rate for setting up meetings may be one yes
out of every ten calls or even one yes out of every two calls. It is up to
you to determine if making a lot of cold calls is a good use of your time.

If this approach doesn’t work, go back and take a hard look at your
script. Are you clearly communicating the benefits of taking the action
you suggest to the decision-maker? If you believe you are, ask someone
you respect to listen to you make some of your calls. They may discover
something in the way you communicate that could be improved.

TIP: “Cold calling” could of course also be translated to “cold

emailing”. You may decide you prefer to do initial contact
with your cold market by email. It’s certainly less time-
consuming and can feel “easier” and less invasive than
using the phone. You don’t have to worry about making
sure you’ve said everything in your script, you can send
them anytime, and you can include links to your website
and a PDF version of your brochure. But keep in mind that
it’s very easy to ignore an email or delete it without reading
it; something that can’t as easily be done to a person on
the other end of a phone. Try both techniques to see which
works best for your target market.

Having Someone Phone for You

An alternative to phoning yourself is to have someone phone for you.
This can give the impression that you are already an established VA
firm. Like many of us, clients can be influenced by how things appear,
and may assume you are a successful professional to have people
working for you.

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One way to have someone call for you is to hire someone you pay on
an hourly or commission basis. This person might work for you full-
time or part-time, from your office or from their home. You might find
the right person through word-of-mouth or from an online job ad. You
could post an ad on your social media accounts, or in your local college
newspaper where you’re likely to find students eager for part-time
temporary work. Another alternative is to have a friend or relative call
on your behalf. Ideally this person should have a different last name
from yours, or they should simply introduce themselves by their first
name.

Staying Organized
An important part of cold calling is keeping track of everyone you’ve
called. When gathering information for cold calls, the amount of
information can be overwhelming. To keep yourself organized and
help ensure success, use CRM software (like those discussed in Section
2.2) or even a simple spreadsheet to keep track of each contact’s name,
company, and information about when they were contacted and the
results. Below is an example.

Sample Contact Sheet

Company Name/ First Second Contact Meeting
Address Call Call Name Date

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Most email platforms, like Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail, have
basic contact management capabilities that can help you keep your
contact information organized. There are also plenty of customer
relationship management (CRM) tools available, some of which were
discussed in Section 2.2. Or you could try a free CRM application like
HubSpot CRM, which gives you the basic CRM tools like contact
management, tracking, and lead management. Additional features are
available with a paid plan.

6.4.2 Meeting with a Prospective Client

The fact that a busy person has agreed to meet with you means they are
interested in your services. While there is no guarantee that you will
land a particular client or project, if they have a need for your services
and are meeting with you, you have a good chance of getting their
business.

During your initial meeting your goal should be to learn as much as

possible about the prospective client and what they want, so you can
show them how hiring you will help them achieve their business goals.
In addition to arranging to get together with prospects who call your
company, you can arrange preliminary consultations with anyone you
meet (for example through networking) who mentions that they might
need administrative services. You could say something like:

“Let’s get together for coffee to talk about that. I’d be happy to share
some ideas with you about how a virtual assistance firm like ours can
effectively meet your needs at a lower cost.”

Where to Hold the Meeting

If you are fortunate enough to have an office outside your home and it
is a nicely decorated space, by all means have the consultation in your
office, especially if you are dealing with someone you know or with a
smaller local company. You will be close to all of the materials you’ve
gathered during your research and learning stage and will be able to
answer questions with pictures as well as words. Likewise, if you have
a home office that is nicely decorated and free from interruptions (i.e.
no children, barking dogs, etc.) and you are licensed to have a home-
based business, you can have the meeting there.

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If, on the other hand, you do not have either of these spaces available
to you, you should meet at a spot you know will allow you to have a
private and uninterrupted conversation. This could be the client’s home
or office or a quiet room in a tea house or restaurant.

You may also choose to hold this meeting virtually – you are offering
virtual assistance after all! – through a video conferencing service such
as Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet. Even if the meeting is online, you
will still need to do all of the same preparation!

Preparing for the Meeting

During your initial meeting, the client will be deciding whether or
not to hire you. It is therefore important to remember that the client
will be making judgments about your professionalism based on how
you look and behave. Make sure your clothing and grooming are
impeccable, arrive on time or a few minutes early, and make sure you
have everything you need.

What you wear to the first meeting should be dictated in part by the
type of client you are meeting. For instance, a navy suit that you would
wear to a meeting with a large financial corporation may be too formal
for a meeting with a life coach or author. When in doubt, wear a two
piece suit (pants or skirt with jacket) over a shirt or sweater so you
can remove the jacket if necessary. To express your creativity, you can
add a funky accessory such as jewelry, a scarf or tie. Remember your
mother’s advice: You only get one chance to make a first impression.
Yours should say professional, organized, and approachable.

Over time you will develop your own checklist of what to bring to an
initial consultation. In the meantime, here is a list of items to bring:

• Your business cards

• Your brochure (see Section 6.2.1)

• Your portfolio (a physical copy or a laptop or tablet to show your

online portfolio, see Section 6.2.2)

• A notepad and two pens

• A calculator

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• A client questionnaire (see Section 2.3)

• Your day planner, or your smartphone, tablet or laptop to access

your calendar software (just make sure whatever device you
bring is turned to silent during the meeting!)

• Blank contracts (see Section 6.5)

Although this initial consultation may be seen only as an opportunity

for the client to assess whether they want to hire you as their VA, it is a
good idea to come prepared to write up a contract.

TIP: If you are having this preliminary meeting via a video call,
make sure you have digital versions of all of your materials
easily accessible, so you can make them available to the
prospective client during or after your online meeting.

What to Say
As mentioned above, while there is no guarantee that you will land a
particular client, if someone has a need for your services and is meeting
with you, you have a good chance of getting their business. Your
purpose during this meeting is to turn a prospective client into a client.
The way to do this is by identifying what your client needs and wants,
so you can communicate how your services will benefit them.

This is where your interpersonal communication skills will really pay

off (see Section 3.1.3 if this is an area you need to improve). You can
begin by giving a quick overview of your services, however, during
your meeting you should mostly ask and listen. Aim to have your client
do about 80% of the talking. Of course, take your cue from the client. If
they prefer not to do a lot of talking, don’t try to force it.

Instead of simply describing all your services, focus specifically on

what the client wants. Be ready to offer several alternative packages
with different levels of service and at different price levels, such as
hourly rates for one-time projects, or services provided on a monthly
retainer. Being willing to share a few innovative ideas for their business
will leave the impression that you have many more which you haven’t
shared.

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The issue of money, and if your fees and service are worth the cost,
is bound to be raised either on the phone or at the meeting. If you
followed our script for the telephone call you have already planted the
seed in the prospective client’s head that you will save them money
and offer them personalized service, and hopefully you won’t have to
justify your fee during the consultation. If you do get involved in this
conversation, remember to focus on the benefits of your services, which
include:

• Your local connections and knowledge of local businesses

(especially if they raise the point that they can hire an overseas VA
for $4 an hour – remind them that these firms have little, if any,
knowledge of your community and cannot refer them business as
you can)

• Cost savings – this is a big one – remember, they are saving the
cost of health insurance, vacation time, not to mention the expense
of conducting a hiring search

• Individual attention and personalized service – emphasize your

ability to think outside the box and to be proactive in promoting
their business

• Knowledge of their industry, including any specialized

technology and awareness of their competitors

Remember to focus on what the client wants. Ask them why they are
interested in hiring a VA, and what they think a VA can do for them.
They may talk themselves into hiring you!

It is important to keep in mind that not every client will be an ideal fit
for you, and you will be evaluating them during this meeting just as
they are evaluating you. If you sense that someone is a micromanager
or has unrealistic expectations, you might do well to steer clear.

Following Up
After this initial meeting, make sure you follow up with the client.
Decisions can take time, especially when there is more than one person
involved in deciding whether to hire you. Keeping in touch ensures the
client keeps you in mind. After the meeting, you can send the client a
proposal letter summarizing the points you addressed in your meeting

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and thanking them for taking the time to meet with you. Don’t be
discouraged if you don’t get hired right away. Think of it as a long-term
investment. If you have made a good impression, the client may keep
you in mind for the future or may refer you to someone else who is in
need of virtual assistance services.

When you get the good news that a client wants to work with you,
you’ll be putting other parts of this guide to use, starting with sending
out a contract as described in Section 6.5.

6.4.3 Preparing a Proposal

A proposal is a written document outlining what you propose to do for
a client. In some cases, a proposal can be as simple as a short letter. In
other cases, where a client uses a formal “Request for Proposal” or RFP
process as described below, a proposal may be a detailed document
that is dozens of pages long.

Many of the freelance marketplaces discussed in Section 6.3.1 require

freelancers to “bid” on VA job listings with a proposal, so proposal
writing is a skill you will likely want to master.

Why Clients Ask for Proposals

Sometimes the request for a proposal may come unexpectedly from a
client you haven’t approached. The beginning virtual assistant typically
thinks this is great news! After all, why would they ask for a proposal
if they were not interested? Actually, there are a number of reasons
organizations ask for proposals:

It May Be Necessary for the Job

In some cases, a proposal is necessary for the job. For example, many
government departments require written proposals from several
different prospects before a contract is awarded. They will often
have formal RFP (request for proposal) guidelines for you to follow.
Likewise, some large companies require written proposals that follow
strict submission guidelines. Information about RFPs is provided
below.

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It May Be a “Brush Off”

This scenario may happen when you have approached a prospective
client. Some clients find it difficult to say “no” and want to avoid a
confrontation. They can delay saying no by having you submit a
proposal. The client can then say it is “under review” until you either
give up or they finally work up the courage to tell you they are not
interested.

It May Be Used to Confirm a Hiring Decision

Some clients ask for proposals because they want to have written
comparisons of several consultants. Often, they have a “preferred” VA
they want to hire, and the purpose of the written proposal is to help
them confirm their decision, or show their supervisor or a committee
that they have “shopped around”.

TIP: If you are the preferred VA you will know it. The client will
have discussed the project with you in detail, and you will
have reached a tentative agreement to do the work. They
will explain that their regulations require them to review
written proposals and may even assure you that it will be
just a formality.

If you are the preferred VA and you want the job, then it is worth
your time to put together a proposal confirming the details you have
discussed with the client. This can be in the form of a proposal letter
or engagement letter (described in Section 6.5). Otherwise, your time
might be better spent focusing on clients who are seriously interested
in you.

Prospects who approach you will not generally start off by asking for
a proposal if they are seriously interested in working with you. If they
do need more information, they will usually want to discuss it first. If
you suspect that a prospective client is not serious, but don’t want to
miss out on what could potentially be a good opportunity, you might
try what some other consultants do when asked for a proposal. They
charge a “proposal preparation fee” such as $150 which is deductible
from their fee if they get the job. However, you can’t expect to get this fee
if you are responding to a formal RFP as described in the next section.

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Requests for Proposals (RFPs)

Wikipedia.org defines a Request for Proposal or RFP as “an invitation
for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on
a specific … service.” An RFP process may be used by companies to get
written proposals from businesses and consultants that wish to become
suppliers and get hired to do work for the organization. The companies
that submit proposals are known as bidders.

An RFP typically has information about the organization that is

requesting proposals, some background on the planned project, how
and where to submit your proposal, how the proposal should be
formatted, and what specific documents and other materials need to
be included.

An RFP typically asks bidders to submit a proposal that contains the

following:
• A description of your company

• The services you propose to provide

• Evidence of your capability to provide the services

• Details about how you will provide the services

• A proposed timetable

• A fixed price quotation

• Specific resources (including people) that you will assign to the

project
• References from organizations you have provided similar services
for
• An explanation of how you will measure results

The RFP may also include the project’s proposed budget and time
frame, eligibility requirements for those wishing to submit a proposal,
and information about the client’s selection process. The bid process
may also require you to make an oral presentation. When pricing your
services for a proposal (see Section 5.2.5 for advice on setting your
prices), keep in mind that the client may not be obligated to award
the contract to the lowest-cost bidder. Instead, they may make their

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decision based on a number of factors, including the bidder’s previous

experience with similar projects.

TIP: To avoid a costly mistake, your proposal should specify

anything that is not included. For example, if you were
proposing to develop a marketing campaign, you might
need to mention if your proposal does not include postage
costs for mailings.

How to Find RFPs

If your company becomes well known, RFPs may come to you. Just as
corporations may contact you to ask you to submit a proposal, you may
be contacted directly by departments and agencies that invite you to
reply to an RFP. You might consider adding a separate page to your
website for potential corporate clients and including an online form
they can complete to request a proposal. However, you will first have
to make them aware of your services, using some of the techniques
described earlier in this chapter.

As a beginning virtual assistant, you are more likely to get RFPs by

finding them posted online. The U.S. government offers free access
to RFP information at SAM.gov (the SAM RFP search engine is here),
while the Canadian government and private contractors offer RFP
information at MERX. Additional Canadian government contracts as
well as advice on how to do business with the government can be found
at the Canadian Public Works and Government Services’ Buy and Sell
site.

Find RFP posts RFPs for all levels of government in the U.S. You can try
it out free for one week and get a subscription for $19.95 per month for
a regional plan or $29.95 per month for a national plan; discounts are
available for annual subscriptions.

If you join virtual assistant associations, like those discussed in Section

3.3.4, they often provide RFP opportunities for members. You can also
check out LinkedIn and the freelance marketplace sites listed in Section
6.3.1 for opportunities. These “jobs” are usually a lot smaller than the
ones traditionally offered through an RFP system, but the process
is essentially the same: a company advertises a need and consultants
submit a proposal or bid to do the job.

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Submitting a Proposal
When responding to an RFP you should follow the instructions exactly.
To improve your chances of getting the job, make sure you emphasize
your experience directly related to their needs, and include written
references. The description of your company should also include any
relevant information about the backgrounds of yourself and other
representatives of your company who will be working on the project,
including education, experience, professional memberships, and
pertinent awards.

The decision-makers who will be reviewing your proposal need

evidence that you are ready and able to handle their needs. They want
to know that you have the qualifications to successfully carry out
the project. This is where it really pays off to have acquired as much
relevant experience as possible using the techniques described in
Section 3.2 of this guide.

TIP: If there are skills or experience that you don’t have, consider
partnering with someone who has the necessary skills or
experience.

Even if you decide not to respond to RFPs, you can prepare proposals
for clients you have met with that have indicated they are potentially
interested in working with you but require more information. However,
while a formal proposal in response to an RFP may be up to 25 pages
or more, you can prepare much simpler proposals for most prospective
clients. In fact, you can submit your proposal in the form of a letter,
such as the following example.

In some cases, a proposal can be as simple as an engagement letter, as

discussed in Section 6.5. In other words, you describe what services you
will provide based on your discussions with the client. The client signs
the letter, and you start working for the client.

A number of companies specialize in writing proposals. You can find

them by doing a web search for “writing proposals” and “contract”.
Recommended books on proposal writing include Persuasive Business
Proposals: Writing to Win More Customers, Clients, and Contracts, by Tom
Sant, and Win Government Contracts for Your Small Business, by John
DiGiacomo.

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6.5 Client Contracts

A contract is vital. It can help avoid misunderstandings by ensuring you
and your client have the same expectations of the work to be done. It
may also protect you. For example, if the person who hired you leaves
the company, and is replaced by someone who decides your services
are no longer needed, having a contract in place can help you get paid.

Your contract or agreement should explain what services you will

provide for the client and how you are to be paid. Your contract may
include all of the following:

• Your name, company name, address and contact information

• The client’s name, company name (if applicable), address and

contact information

• Description of the services being provided

• When the services will be provided

• Any services not being provided

• Fees, including payment terms, deposits, and reimbursement of

expenses

• Cancellation policy

• Signature lines for you and the client

On the pages that follow you will find two samples. You can adapt these
contracts to fit your needs. The first is a sample engagement letter you
might use for a one-time project, limited scale, or short-term assignment
with an individual client. You could ask your clients to sign it at your
initial meeting, or have them return it to you later.

The second is a services agreement which you could adapt for use with
a client for whom you will be providing extensive ongoing services
on a retainer basis. It covers a number of additional areas, such as a
liability disclaimer.

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Some clients may wish to use a separate confidentiality and non-

disclosure agreement in addition to the basic contract. This will be
somewhat dependent on the nature of the client’s work, as well as the
nature of the material that you will have access to. A confidentiality and
non-disclosure agreement can also provide an added level of protection
for your business interests and processes, and is something you should
use with any subcontractors you may take on as well.

Before using any contract, make sure you have it reviewed by your
lawyer to ensure it protects you and meets your particular needs.
For example, even if you will only be working on small projects for
individuals, ask your lawyer about including additional clauses in your
engagement letter, such as a limitation of liability clause.

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Sample Engagement Letter

(On Your Letterhead)

[Insert name of Client]

[Insert address of Client]

[Date]

Dear [Name of client],

As promised, I have set out below a description of the services

that [your name/company] will provide to you.

I will provide the following services:

[Insert description, and frequency if applicable, of the services, such

as consultations with the client, providing proofreading of technical
documents, etc.]

My fee for the services performed will be as follows:

[Insert rates, amount of deposit, etc.]

If you agree that the foregoing fairly sets out your understanding
of our agreement, please sign a copy of this letter in the space
indicated below, and return it to me at [insert address or email
address].

Yours sincerely,

[Name]

Agreed and Accepted:

__________________________________
[Insert name of client]

__________________________________
Date

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Sample Services Agreement

THIS AGREEMENT is made this [date] day of [month], 20__.

BETWEEN
[insert name of your client] (the “Client”); and [insert your name or
your company’s name] (the “Consultant”), collectively referred to
as the “Parties.”

1.1 Services
The Consultant shall provide the following services (“Services”)
to the Client in accordance with the terms and conditions of this
Agreement: [Insert a description of the services here].

1.2 Delivery of the Services

• Start date: The Consultant shall commence the provision of the
Services on [insert date here].

• Ongoing Services will be provided in a timely manner on

an “as-needed” basis, unless otherwise agreed upon by both
parties.

• Key dates: The Consultant agrees to provide the following

parts of the Services by the specific dates set out below: [insert
dates here if you have agreed to specific milestones or one-time
projects such as designing a website for the Client].

1.3 Fees
As consideration for the provision of the Services by the
Consultant, the fees for the provision of the Services are [insert
fees here] (“Fees”). The Client shall pay for the Consultant’s out-
of-pocket expenses including [insert here] and other expenses as
agreed by the Parties.

Additional fees may be incurred for Expedited Services or After

Business Hours Support.

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1.4 Payment
The Client agrees to pay the Fees to the Consultant on the
following dates: [e.g. 50% deposit payable before work begins; also
specify whether the price will be paid in one payment, in installments
or upon completion of specific milestones].

The Consultant shall invoice the Client for the Services that it has
provided to the Client [monthly/weekly/after the Completion Date].
The Client shall pay such invoices [upon receipt/within 14 days of
receipt] from the Consultant.

Any charges payable under this Agreement are exclusive of any

applicable taxes or other fees charged by a government body and
such shall be payable by the Client to the Consultant in addition
to all other charges payable hereunder.

1.5 Warranty
The Consultant represents and warrants that it will perform the
Services with reasonable skill and care.

1.6 Limitation of Liability
Subject to the Client’s obligation to pay the Fees to the Consultant,
either party’s liability arising directly out of its obligations under
this Agreement and every applicable part of it shall be limited in
aggregate to the Fees. The Consultant assumes no liability due to
the quality of items or services purchased for the Client.

1.7 Term and Termination

This Agreement shall be effective on the date hereof and shall
continue until either party terminates the Agreement by
providing a minimum of 14 days notice in writing.

If the Client terminates this agreement for any reason, the Client
will reimburse the Consultant for all outstanding fees and out-
of-pocket expenses.

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1.8 Relationship of the Parties

The Parties acknowledge and agree that the Services performed
by the Consultant, its employees, sub-contractors, or agents
shall be as an independent contractor and that nothing in this
Agreement shall be deemed to constitute a partnership, joint
venture, or otherwise between the parties.

1.9 Confidentiality
Neither Party will disclose any information of the other which
comes into its possession under or in relation to this Agreement
and which is of a confidential or proprietary nature.

This includes:

• Personal Information

• Products

• Costs

• Business Plans

• Expansion Plans

• Client Contact Information

• Data Collected for the Client

• Personal Information

1.10 Return of Records
Upon Agreement termination, the Consultant shall promptly
return all documents, data, and any other property belonging
to the Client and shall not retain copies of any proprietary
information.

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1.11 Miscellaneous
The failure of either party to enforce its rights under this
Agreement at any time for any period shall not be construed as a
waiver of such rights.

If any part, term or provision of this Agreement is held to be

illegal or unenforceable neither the validity or enforceability of
the remainder of this Agreement shall be affected.

This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding between

the Parties and supersedes all prior representations, negotiations
or understandings.

Neither Party shall be liable for failure to perform any

obligation under this Agreement if the failure is caused by any
circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including but not
limited to acts of god, war, or industrial dispute.

This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the jurisdiction

in which the Client is located.

Signatures
Agreed by the Parties hereto:

Signed by: _________________________________________

On behalf of: _________________________________________

[the Client]

Signed by: _________________________________________

On behalf of: _________________________________________

[the Consultant]

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Concluding Thoughts
Now that you have familiarized yourself with the information, expert
advice, and resources in the IAP Career College Guide to Become a Virtual
Assistant, you are well on your way to a successful new venture! But
this is just the beginning of your exciting journey as you make the
transition from employee to entrepreneur.

We hope you have found this book helpful, and that you will continue to
refer to it often, both for answers to your questions and for inspiration,
as you begin to build your VA business and realize your dream career.

Remember, the information and advice in this or any guide is only

valuable if you put it to use and take action. There are many small steps
suggested throughout that you can take today, even if you’re not ready
to start a full-time business just yet or have limited financial resources.
Any career journey must begin with a process of introspection – you
need to be able to envision the career you want before you can achieve
it.

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In closing, a few thoughts from one of our experts:

“The one thing I wish I had known before I started my virtual assistant
business was how amazing being an entrepreneur and a business
owner can be. Despite all the hills and valleys, I wish I had done this
sooner because it really is a struggle worth making. I never knew what
a profound impact it would have on the way I view myself and what
I am capable of achieving. It has made me a much stronger, more
independent-minded person and allowed me the freedom to choose
to do what I want, for who I want, when I want.”
— K
 ate Kerans,
Kerans Virtual Assistance

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 Earn a Certificate in Your
Dream Career
The next time someone asks you “Why should I hire you for
your dream career?” or “What are your credentials?” imagine
being able to say: “I am a trained professional with a certificate
from the International Association of Professions Career
College!”

Benefits of Having a Certificate in Your

Dream Career
A certificate from the International Association of Professions
Career College may give you:
• 
Respect as a professional plus a sense of confidence
and achievement
• A competitive  advantage when marketing your services 
• A  credential for your resume when applying for
employment
• Assurance to clients of your professionalism and
evidence of your expertise
• Higher earnings (according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics publication Certificates: A fast track to careers)

Now that you’ve read this

IAP Career College guide,
which is the textbook for
the certificate course, you
can earn a certificate in as
little as four weeks part-
time from the comfort of
your own home. Please
see the following pages
for a full list of certificate
courses offered.

Continued on next page

• Antique Shop Owner • Dog Walker
• Art Gallery Owner • Doula Business Owner
• Bakery Owner • Errand Assistant
• Bar Owner • Etiquette Consultant
• 
Bed and Breakfast • Event Planner
Owner • Executive Coach
• Book Editor • Fashion Accessories Store
• Book Publisher Owner
• Bookstore Owner • Fashion Design
• Boutique Owner • Feng Shui Consultant
• Brewery Owner • Fitness Club Owner
• Bridal Salon Owner • Florist
• Business Consultant • Freelance Writer
• Cake Decorator • Genealogist
• 
Cannabis Business • Gift Basket Business
Owner Owner
• Candy Store Owner • Gift Shop Owner
• Career Coach • Gourmet Food Store
• Caterer Owner

• Chocolate Shop Owner • Hair Salon Owner

• 
Cleaning Business • Handyman Business
Owner • Home Decor Store Owner
• Closet Organizer • Home Stager
• Coffee House Owner • Human Resources
• Craft Store Owner Consultant

• Dance Studio Owner • Ice Cream Shop Owner

• Daycare Owner • Image Consultant

• Death Doula
• Dog Daycare Owner

Continued on next page

• Interior Decorator • Public Relations
• Interior Redesigner Consultant

• Jewelry Designer • Relationship Coach

• Kitchen Store Owner • Restaurant Owner

• Landscape Company • Secondhand Store Owner

• Life Coach • Social Entrepreneur

• Lifestyle Expert • Social Media Consultant

• Makeup Artist • Spa Owner

• Matchmaker • Stationary Store Owner

• Motivational Speaker • Tea Room Owner

• Nail Salon Owner • Time Management

• New Age Store Owner • Travel Consultant

• Nonprofit Business • Virtual Assistant

Owner • Web Designer
• Organic Farmer • Wedding Planner
• Party Planner • Weight Loss Center
• Party Store Owner Owner

• Personal Assistant • Wellness Coach

• Personal Chef • Wine Store Owner

• Personal Concierge • Winery Owner

• Personal Shopper • Yoga Studio Owner

• Pet Hotel Owner

• Pet Sitter
• Pet Spa Owner
• Professional Organizer
• Professional
Photographer