What is A Virtual Assistant?
When you say a “virtual assistant” you immediately think about robots and computers, with SIRI and Alexa as a couple of examples. However, that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about humans who provide business solutions to clients without being stuck within 4 confining walls of a corporate office.
As a virtual assistant, you’re someone who works remotely as an independent contractor via the internet. You can work in a home office or co-working space as long as you have the means to perform all your tasks and provide your deliverables.
Different Types of Virtual Assistants
A virtual assistant does more than just office work. Many think of a virtual assistant is like a secretary and hate being tagged as a virtual assistant. When I first started, I also thought of a virtual assistant as someone doing admin tasks, but that’s not the case. As long as you’re working remotely and you use your own tool, you can be considered as one. As a virtual assistant, you can be:
- General VA (GenVA) – providing general administrative tasks like answering emails, scheduling, booking flights, invoices, general transcription, and more.
- Real Estate VA (ReVA) – your tasks revolve more on real estate roles like creating real estate listings, craping property data, connect with renters, do follow-ups and assist in the closing process.
- Project Manager – as a project manager, you report under the GenVA. You’re responsible for handling the project from proposing, planning, execution, and implementation, right down to completion. You’ll be managing a team under you, which can be a group of any of the succeeding virtual assistants.
- Graphic Designer – you’ll be in charge of creating visual content geared for capturing attention and marketing. Some of your tasks include handling photos, creating layouts, designing brochures, or produce visual content for social media.
- Content Writer – you notice all the information that you see on websites and blogs? Most of the stuff that you read online comes from the minds of the content writer.
- Copywriter – copywriters are different from content writers. If a content writer’s goal is to engage, a copywriter aims to convert by creating content that has an emotional appeal.
- Social Media Manager – love Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter? Then you’re going to be perfect for this role. As a social media manager, you’ll be the voice of your client’s brand on social media. You’ll be planning out and scheduling content for different social media platforms, monitor the metrics, engage with customers through comments and chat.
- Social Media Marketer – this is more on the marketing side of social media wherein you’ll be creating a strategy to generate leads and drive people to your client’s website.
- Appointment Setter – this is a subtask of a GenVA, yes. However, as an appointment setter, you’re an expert in making calls and doing follow-ups. And yes, you have a lot of calls to do, which means a quiet environment is a must.
- Chat Support – your part of the customer success team whose goal is to answer customer queries and issues about your client’s brand.
- Web Developer – your task is to create a webpage for your client to use. It’s different from web design because you’ll be creating a code that will dictate how a specific website should function. You’re creating building blocks where everyone can see your client’s brand and business information.
- Ecommerce VA – You’ll be handling your client’s online store, which can be in eBay, Amazon, or Shopify. Your tasks include creating lists, send invoices to customers, process orders, and more.
These are just some of what you can do as a virtual assistant.
Why work as a virtual assistant?
Working as a virtual assistant comes with many benefits.
- You work at your own pace – you can work as much as or as less as you want depending on your capacity. As a mom taking care of my family, this the benefit that I enjoy the most.
- No more 6-hour daily travel – my goodness, you saw the lady in the news who said she had to wake up at 3am to get to the office on time? You don’t have to sit in traffic and sacrifice family time just to earn a living.
- You see your kids grow – since you work at home, you can see your kids and monitor the care that they’re getting from their yaya or nanny.
- Everyone eats healthy – this is also the best for me. You can personally see the meals that your family is having. No more fatty, salty take-outs, fried food only, or instant noodles for meals.
- You set your own rate – you are your own boss, and for this reason, you can set your rate and negotiate with the client.
- Work in your pj’s – no more spending precious resources just to look fashionable and presentable. As long as you’ve got a good t-shirt, you’re well-groomed, and have a wall behind you, video calls are livable.
You may not get all of these, but having more than two is a blessing that you’ll undoubtedly appreciate and get used to.
Do you want to become a virtual assistant? Register now and be part of a growing community of Filipino freelancers who are looking for ways to improve their quality of life. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in our comment section. You can also send us a message on our Facebook Page, as well as join our Facebook Group!
Photo by Chris Spiegl on Unsplash
About the Author
Donna Marie Fajardo is the co-founder of VAJobs.ph – a leading marketplace for Filipino Virtual Assistants working remotely, based in the Philippines. She is an experienced professional and coaches up and coming VAs. Previously, she was a project manager for Redkix (acquired by Facebook) and was a web producer for Socient – a digital agency for non-profits and social enterprises.