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CHAPTER 1

Why Become a Virtual Assistant?

Virtual Assistants log on at their home-based desks for a variety of reasons. Some have obligations or limitations or preferences that keep them at home (children, elderly parents, lack of transportation, physical mobility issues), others are living in areas where meaningful career opportunities are few (rural areas, developing countries), some do so out of environmental convictions, and still others find that being an "employee" simply doesn't fit.

2-Second Spotlight

"What I Love About Being a VA"

Name: Mary Hern

Business: Kinetic Integration, Inc.

URL: Mary has been so busy with clients that she hasn't needed a Website.

Personal: Mary is the mother of two and an Air Force spouse living in Norfolk, Virginia.

Several years ago when my husband and I decided to start a family, we agreed that I would stop working and stay at home to raise the children. When my daughter turned 1, however, I began to feel like something was missing. Having worked since I was 15, I had grown used to the social interplay of a workplace, the motivation to succeed and even the need for problem-solving skills under pressure. Being at home without the demand for many of those skills, I knew something had to give.

I decided to take a more professional approach to my household. I organized closets and drawers, moved the furniture until the carpet wore thin, and developed to-do lists that brought tears to my husband's eyes. Still, I needed more. My husband asked me to put the house on a budget and find ways to cut costs. Clipping coupons and watching for sales became an obsession. I had become a "Stepford wife" and lost parts of myself that I truly missed.

Being a VA has given me the best of both worlds. I'm still at home raising my children and having a wonderful time — I still love waking up in the morning to decisions like, "Where would the tent made of blankets work best? Over the table or the couch?"— but I'm also part of something that feeds my need to interact with adults and contribute to professional society. I'm able to enjoy the details and simple triumphs of my day because when my children are tucked in bed at night, I can slip into my comfy pajamas and become the corporate woman I always dreamed of being.

As a VA, I manage projects, make decisions, and solve problems with the click of a mouse. Yet if my children need me, I'm there. If my family wants to go do something, we go. Our lives don't revolve around my work schedule, but the results of my work are tangible. I'm happier, more fulfilled and I have something to bring to the table along with a home-cooked meal. This is living.

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Whatever the reason, once the decision is made, a successful VA enjoys some great perks: control over her life, doing only the work she loves, working only with the clients she chooses, flexibility in the work schedule for family, friends, and personal interests, and no commute! (In gridlocked places such as northern Virginia, where co-author Mike lives and where the commutes can reach four or more hours a day, this can be a decisive consideration.) But in our opinion, of all the reasons we've heard, the most powerful for becoming a VA is for the individual's personal and professional freedom and growth.

Freedom: The Personal Side

Why is it that when we see people with a true entrepreneurial spirit, an authentic sense of independence, there often seems to be a glow about them that no amount of fatigue or stress can overcome? The aura of some core joy seems to come shining through, no matter how heavy the responsibility that sits on their shoulders. (And some people, such as entrepreneurs with severe disabilities, are overcoming more challenges than most of us will ever know. Yet that core happiness still emerges, still prevails!)

Strange as it might sound, could it be that the air of enthusiasm and eagerness we see in them has been liberated by the day-to-day circumstances of their lives, their own "nine-to-five" routine?

In that single phrase is the key, we think, to the puzzle, because entrepreneurs have no routine. For an entrepreneur, the "routine" that other people submit to, and endure, and re-enact day after day — and grow so bored with and often literally sick of — is play, creativity, and, even better, self-indulgence.

Because getting up in the morning to do something you like is self-indulgent. It can be likened to eating your favorite dessert, or playing your favorite sport, or embracing those you love. After all, this is your company, your business — a part of yourself — and running it and shepherding it and parenting it into the future is a tonic, a stimulant, and a provocation to do better and exceed your limits — every day.

This is the deeply personal side of entrepreneurial freedom, the kind that liberates the spirit, too, and beckons the whole self to be free. (Though beyond the scope of this book, we believe there is most certainly a spiritual aspect to entrepreneurship, and that "good work done well" can definitely help unfetter the spirit. Just ask any artist or craftsperson. To do work that has no spiritual component, in our view, is ultimately empty and can quite soon end up "emptying" the person doing the work!)

Freedom: The Professional Side

Most of us have "worked for someone else" at some point in our lives, and there's certainly nothing wrong with having a job, if that's what you really want or need and if you understand what you're giving up in exchange. Jobs can be a blessing for people who like guidance and structure, for people who prefer a fixed routine or working in group environments, and for people who like supervision. (Employment, of course, used to be a source of security, too — the comforting "pensions" of yesteryear — but that has become a rather quaint concept, these days.)

For the entrepreneurially minded, however, "employment" can be a curse, a brake, an intensely frustrating and horizon-limiting experience. (Co-author Chris, for example, used to work as a business manager in a small office. Often, when she suggested new procedures to make the business run more effectively, she'd be met with, "It's working fine. We've been doing it this way for years!" Change is a fearful experience for those who are "employees" at heart, and the entrepreneur may often find herself stymied as she struggles to improve the organization. Nor will it help if the suggestions are being made by a woman, if the company is dominated by "old-school" men.)

The self-employed, however — the independent-minded, the "chart-my-own-course" and "don'tfence-me-in" types — are free to be as creative and innovative as they like, free to set their own schedules and workloads, and free to say "no" when they feel like it or to say "yes" and not ask anyone's "permission" when they want to take a break, a "mental health day," or a much-needed vacation.

2-Second Spotlight

"VAs Paint Masterpieces, Too"

Name: Evelyne Matti

Business: e-Matti Virtual Business Support Services

URL: www.e-matti.com.au

Personal: Based in Sydney, Australia, Evelyne is married to a hotelier and is the proud mother of two.

My husband and my kids complain that I spend too much time on the computer — but I love what I do! I continually look for ways to improve my skills; that's the fun part. Some people paint as a hobby. I create beautiful masterpieces too, and it happens to be part of my work! Who else can combine hobby and work and make money at it?

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VAs can enjoy and flourish in this freedom, too, choosing the clients they prefer (and firing the bad ones) and deciding where and when to work, as well as how much they want to make while doing so. (A VA's income, where demand is a constant, is determined directly by the quantity and quality of his or her work and the efforts she puts into marketing.)

Moreover, a VA who has a good skill set and makes a solid marketing effort can often earn more in her home office than she can as an employee. (Indeed, one of the VAs we trained recently billed $10,000 in one month.) In fact, according to The Wall Street Journal, self-employed people who provide services are usually paid at least 20 percent to 40 percent more per hour than employees who perform the same work.

As a self-employed person (in the United States) you'll also be eligible for many tax benefits that employees can't get. For example, instead of having federal and state taxes withheld from their paychecks, self-employed people normally pay estimated taxes directly to the IRS four times a year. This lets you hold on to your hard-earned money longer without having to turn it over to the taxman. Even more important, you may also be able to claim many business-related tax deductions that are available to people with home-based offices. (Be sure to check with your accountant or tax advisor to get the maximum benefits from your individual circumstances and the tax laws that apply in your location.)

Because of these tax benefits, the self-employed often pay less tax than employees who earn similar incomes.

Growth: The Personal Side

It isn't enough to be free. Freedom without growth is as wasted as a fertile garden with no plants. Having your own business and working from home — the "free" side of the equation — set the stage for your personal growth. Facing and overcoming the day-to-day challenges of running a company, however small your initial business might be, fosters tremendous personal growth in the VA. Little by little, as the independent decisions and the learning and the progress of the business accumulate, the entrepreneur begins to see herself in a totally different light — a brighter, warmer, and much more positive perspective. (And her family and friends do, too!)

For those who enjoy working with entrepreneurs, as we do, witnessing this personal growth can be one of the most gratifying parts of the "job." At the risk of sounding corny, it's a bit like seeing a butterfly coming out of its chrysalis or a young deer bounding across a meadow in the spring. In our experience there is no substitute for the sheer excitement of seeing a new entrepreneur take wing.

We mentor and train VAs from around the world and given them many of the tools and the encouragement they need to start finding their footing. But we do nothing "for" them, nothing that would substitute for their own initiative and determination and courage. (Indeed, we feel that this would be a disservice to them and would delay the day when they act "alone," and by doing so, truly grow.)

This is why it gives us such intense satisfaction to see a VA "take flight" and to receive an e-mail from someone we have never met — and perhaps never will — proclaiming in capital letters the joy she felt on discovering that she could do what she had hoped she could, achieve what she had dreamt of achieving, and telling us proudly how her self-esteem mounted as she overcame the challenges she had faced along the way.

Much has been spoken of "empowerment" over the years, be it the empowerment of minorities or women, of people with disabilities, or of other groups. And this is as it should be: Without power, we have no control over our lives, no self-determination. But one of the most empowering experiences open to anyone is to take the tiller of her own company and run it as she sees fit, to rely principally on herself for the outcome of her efforts, and to set her course, navigate her vessel through good seas and bad, and sail on to all the intriguing islands that await her — under her own willpower and strength and by her own choosing.

The Insidious Effect of "Employee Life"

Have you ever wondered about the psychological effect of working in cubes, in rooms full of people doing the same thing, following the same schedule, and all looking up at the same sterile clock? Have you ever felt the inertia, the lethargy that seeps into your mind and spirit, weighing you down as you think about the layers and layers of "decision-makers" parked over your head, all with their own fixed ideas about who you are, who you should be, what you should be doing, and how much you should be paid for it? (Actually, they're probably thinking how you're being paid too much for what you do and trying to figure out how to get by without you or replace you with someone cheaper.)

Have you ever found yourself putting on weight out of boredom? Snacking at the office or during a long, crawling commute, just to have a distracting sensation, a bit of pleasure, and stimulation in a dull, tedious environment?

Have you ever felt a little childish about having to ask for a "raise"? A bit sheepish and "small," as if you were a high-school student asking the teacher if you could be excused to use the rest room? (It sounds funny, but think about it!) Ever experienced similar feelings when you had to ask some "boss" (your hands clasped deferentially in front of you) for "permission" to do something?

As you consider whether entrepreneurial life is for you (and this is not to minimize its risks), you should reflect as well on the cumulative effect of all these experiences. How have they shaped you and the way you look at yourself and your world? Do you feel, on balance, that the benefits have outweighed the costs? Are you progressing at a rate you are comfortable or happy with?

Remember that growth has many aspects: spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical. Look at all of them as you assess your situation and decide what your future will be.

Growth: The Professional Side

If the personal side of growth doesn't move you, consider the professional and financial side.

Fact 1: Market analyst firm NelsonHall predicts that business process outsourcing — of which Virtual Assistance is a part — will become the dominant form of outsourcing in 2006.

Point 1: VAs are in a high-growth industry.

Fact 2: According to Gartner, a leading IT-trends research firm, "small-business outsourcing is poised to grow appreciably over the next three to five years as chief executives strive to cut costs and raise quality."

Point 2: Because most VA clients are small businesses, VAs are in a high-growth industry both short-term and long- term.

Fact 3: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2004- 2005 Occupational Outlook Handbook, "Overall employment of secretaries and administrative assistants is expected to grow more slowly than the average for all occupations over the 2002- 12 period."

This means that more than 4.1 million people — in the United States alone — who now specialize in administrative support will be competing for an ever-shrinking batch of positions in the larger companies.

Point 3: Traditional administrative-related opportunities are shrinking.

Fact 4: Speaking again of the United States, the Small Business Administration reports that there are now 23.7 million small businesses (defined as having less than 500 employees) and that these generate 60-80 percent of new jobs every year. Millions of these businesses are home-based, and their revenues (as well as their numbers) are growing. But despite their growth, home-based business owners do not normally want employees present in their homes. Outsourcing is the answer, which is one reason why small-business outsourcing generally is predicted to grow appreciably over the next three to five years. (We ourselves expect strong micro-business outsourcing growth as broadband Internet achieves full distribution and continues to evolve, and as full-quality videoconferencing comes into play.)

Point 4: Small businesses generally and home-based businesses in particular are the primary source of clients for VAs. In other words, a sizeable segment of the VA client pool is growing in number, revenues, and outsourcing flow.

Fact 5: According to the International Telework Association and Council, there are 24.1 million employed teleworkers and 16.5 million self-employed teleworkers in the United States today. For both groups, this increasingly popular arrangement allows them the freedom to help balance their career and home life. For the HR manager, however, the trend poses new problems, because research shows that the majority of teleworkers work mostly during non-business hours (including holidays) and hence often need a more flexible administrative support system than "HQ" can provide. And for the self-employed teleworker, who is usually psychologically or financially disinclined to bring an employee into his or her home, there may be no administrative support available at all.

Point 5: HR managers who are grappling with how to provide top-notch support to their offsite workers now have — and are using — the VA option. Indeed, a small group of VAs, each working "by the hour," can undergird a number of teleworkers cost-effectively across locations and time zones both, and — being "offsite" themselves — will often understand the offsite workers' needs much better than the assistant back at the office. And the same solution — larger or smaller as the case requires — fits the self-employed teleworker as well.

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Excerpted from "The 2-Second Commute"
by .
Copyright © 2005 Staffcentrix, LLC.
Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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