Recently, a member of our VA forum was highlighted in a national paper with respect to her ‘sea change’ and the work she does from home. The paper was highlighting the jobs that could be done at home.
Being a Virtual Assistant has so many positives to it. Let me share with you some of those benefits:
- You choose the hours you want to work to fit around family schedules
- You choose the type of work you want to do, based on your skillset and personal interests
- You decide what your rate of pay will be as you are no longer an employee but a business owner
- You are home all day (for the most part) for family members – this has not only been good for our 5 daughters as they were growing up but my husband also experienced being cared for on three occasions that were health related and he was forced to stay home for long periods of time. I wouldn’t have been able to take time off from a job for these occasions – I probably would have lost a job.
- You can literally shift house to a new location, region, state or country and still retain your client base, especially if your clients are fully virtual, i.e. you don’t need to see them face-to-face or attend physical meetings for them.
I have loved the flexbility of attending school events as my girls grew up, and choosing to go to business events because I can, not because it was my turn in the office or it fit in with the ‘office’.
I do have to point out though that for those looking to work from home there is a downside too and you need to be mindful of this. You do need to be tracking the hours you work and the income you are producing, and you need to make sure you’re not getting too isolated which can cause feelings of depression or overwhelm. Making sure you attend regular business events is therefore two-fold – it keeps you in touch with others and gets you out of the house, and it helps keep the pipeline open for possible new clients.
If you are thinking about becoming a Virtual Assistant so you can work from home, I encourage you to explore and read as much as possible. I have a lot of articles at this blog (see the side menu bar for some) and you’ll find more at my website also.
Maria Lorena Barroso says
There are some nice points to put into perspective about the flexibility of the time of a virtual assistant. But what about clients who have a fixed schedule and they expect you to follow that, too?
Kathie Thomas says
That’s the beauty of being a VA Maria. You choose your clients. If their requirements don’t fit how you wish to work, you can simply introduce them to another VA which is why the VA networks are so worthwhile as well. You build relationships with other VA colleagues and the work you can’t take on (for whatever reason) can be referred or sub-contracted out to another VA.
As a VA you’re a business owner, not an employee, so you choose how your diary is going to be handled. In the beginning as a new VA you would be more reluctant to tell a client you’re not available (I know, as I’ve been there too) but as your business gets established and your clients grow to trust you, they also respect when you say you can’t be available at a particular time. It’s always worth asking what other times suit.