What is a Virtual Assistant?

The story goes that Thomas Leonard (known as the father of life coaching) was going to be travelling the country in his RV on sabbatical and he wanted his assistant to run his life and business for him while he was away. He was the first one to coin the term, "Virtual Assistant."

A Virtual Assistant is an independent business owner who supplies administrative/secretarial support to others remotely or virtually. A Virtual Assistant is a mostly home-based independent contractor, a "solopreneur", who is an administrative expert, and partners with other business owners to accomplish their administrative tasks.

Picture a corporate or small business office with a Secretary or Administrative Assistant who sits outside the boss's office providing him or her administrative support with day to day tasks and special projects. Now, picture that same Administrative Assistant in a different location, but still providing the same support. Communication is accomplished through email and the phone instead of face to face.

Because of the tremendous advances in technology, what once had to be done in a traditional office can now effectively be handled remotely, through e-mail, telephone, fax, overnight mail and on-line communications. All this virtually eliminates the traditional overhead associated with conventional office support.

Because Virtual Assistants (VA's) work from their own offices a small business owner doesn't have to incur the costs associated with hiring a salaried employee. A VA provides their own office space, equipment & supplies.

A small business owner partnering with a Virtual Assistant can enjoy several cost-effective solutions: No office space needed · No employer-related taxes to be paid · No benefit packages to buy · No downtime or personal leave. Since a Virtual Assistant is available on an "as needed basis," a small business owner has the choice to use a VA only as necessary for their business. A Virtual Assistant is under contract only for the time that is worked on a particular task or project.


Christine Myers
Virtual Assistant Services.net, Inc.
www.VirtualAssitantServices.net