Frequently Asked Questions

A Virtual Assistant (typically abbreviated to VA, also called a virtual assistant) is generally self-employed and provides professional administrative, technical, or creative(social) assistance to clients remotely from their home office.

Virtual Professionals come from a variety of business backgrounds, but most have several years experience earned in the "real" (non-virtual) business world.

Yes, we ARE different because not only do we provide an individual end-to-end startup solution, but we also actively work with you one-on-one to strategise and implement

OUR GOAL IS TO GET YOU LAUNCHED IN 90 DAYS OR LESS...

This means we do things like:

• Build your website (yes - we actually do this for you as part of your program with the exception of our VA Quickstart Program option)
• Provide all the essential business template you need - AND THEN make sure you know how to use them
• Make you accountable - in other words, we are invested in your outcomes, and so we ensure that you do the things we need you to do in order to launch successfully
• Provide you with the ongoing one-on-one support as and when needed

• It is very important that you have a good background in the service area you are wanting to offer as a Virtual Professional  (e.g. if you are wanting to provide administrative support services, then a background in administration is essential)
• Great communication skills
• Proactive and solution-focused
• Go-to person
• Self-starter
• Entrepreneurial mindset

The services a Virtual Professional can provide are really only limited by your experience / background.

Of course, there are certainly some standard services that we see Virtual Businesses provide, including:-

• General EA Support
• Personal concierge services
• Operations management
• Social media management
• Powerpoint / Prezi presentations
• Website design and maintenance
• Client relationship tasks
• Phone answering and appointment setting
• Email and diary management
• Marketing
• Copywriting
• Email newsletter campaigns
• Proofreading and editing
• HR / Recruitment services
• Digital transcription
• Data entry
• Bookkeeping
• General document preparation and maintenance...and more

This is difficult to say, however, VA Institute's research shows that in Australia the hourly rates average between from $45-$75 per hour and higher for some niches. 

In general this average will convert to the currency equivalent for each country.

Virtual Professionals are self-employed business owners, and like other business owners, they need to invoice their clients on a regular basis.

Payments are generally received via one of the following:

• Direct bank transfer
• Credit card payment
• PayPal payment

You definitely don't need to quit your full-time or part-time job to get started. In fact, if you're employed and really NEED the income, then absolutely DO NOT QUIT...yet!

You can set up your Virtual business while you're still working in an employed position. You can take on work in your own time and build your startup business that way.

This makes the option of starting a Virtual business extremely low risk ,and very attractive to many people for that very reason!

There's no rules about what you do or don't offer, but it can be a good move to try and offer a specialised service that you love and have great experience in only because you can potentially earn more in the long run as you can really set yourself up as the "expert" in that area.

But, seriously, it's no great problem if you're going to offer 'general admin' to kick off your Virtual business.

What's more important is that you are offering skills you are comfortable with and experienced enough to deliver.

Virtual Professionals as self-employed business owners, need to be committed to sourcing clients - and it's very important to have a good plan in place BEFORE you get started about how you are going to tackle this aspect of your business. It's definitely NOT a matter of "build it and they will come". Virtual Business Owners need to be entrepreneurial, and understand that work doesn't just magically appear.

That being said, it's not difficult to achieve - and to be honest, you really only need a couple of clients to get you off and running...

We suggest the following as a good place to begin (and we work with startup Virtual Professionals to strategise precisely on this area):

• Get clients, friends and family to recommend you to suitable networks for business as well as specific audiences.
• Allocate time to invest in finding local (f2f) networking opportunities - actively build and generate connections within those groups.
• Build your online presence via social media platforms.
• Join existing Virtual Business networks to gain Job Leads and Networking

As long as you have access to the internet, you won't be disadvantaged in terms of getting work. There will be networking options online and offline that will definitely be available wherever you are located (and we work actively with you to research and identify those avenues, and build your networking strategy).

So many startup Virtual Businesses have the biggest fears about this aspect of their business journey!

Our advice - STOP WORRYING... Selling yourself is as simple as having a conversation (yes, you know, that thing you do with your mouth) with someone new.

We work with you about networking, and how best to network so you are focusing on first and foremost on building relationships - not going in for the sale as soon as you meet someone- honestly, that's not what it's about.

By building relationships, and being generous with your conversation - offering advice when asked, or just a friendly to talk to - in a business networking environment, you will definitely reap rewards (online or offline).

Let's face it - people buy from people they know and trust...and that should be your goal when networking...not smarmy sales talk which no one is interested in!

Lets be perfectly clear here; offshore VAs are providing support to businesses in all countries, but we absolutely do not see them as competition.

Why? Simply because we, as experienced admin professionals in our own countries market, understand in great detail the business climate and culture, rules and regulations that are unique to our fair shores.

We also speak the same language (generally with English as a first language), live in the same (or very similar) time zone, and can have a conversation with our client's customers as if we were sitting in their office.

You're an online business, so YES, you do need a website! (don't worry - we build a beautiful website for anyone who undertakes a VA Startup Program* with VA Institute as part of the course).

*all programs except VA Quickstart Program

At the very least, you should be on LinkedIn to build relationships and network with potential clients and colleagues, and Facebook so that you can collaborate with other Virtual Professionals. If your clients also hang out on social media, then you seriously need to be on there, in some way, shape or form.

Yes, you definitely need to have your client sign an agreement BEFORE you start working for them. It should set out at the very least:

• Services you are going to provide for them
• Your agreed hourly or package rate
• Payment terms
• How to terminate the agreement

Again, we provide these important templates to our VA Startup Program students

Depending on the sort of services you are providing, you may need to take out the following:

• Public Liability
• Professional Indemnity
• Cyber Liability

We encourage our Virtual Professional Startups to seek advice from a professional financial adviser.

Most of us have the basic equipment to start a Virtual business. You should have at the very least:

• PC or good laptop
• Access to reliable internet
• Mobile phone
• Multi-purpose printer/scanner

If possible, we suggest a dedicated office space setup so it's WH&S compliant.

No, you shouldn't need to invest in a separate phone for your business.

The only exception would be if you are providing Virtual Reception services, you may end up buying a VOIP phone that is dedicated for provision of reception services.

Our industry is an amazing one, full of amazing professional development opportunities. We have a great summit - VA Summit - run by industry professionals, and there are less formal opportunities offered by various Virtual Business networks.

Again, we have some amazing opportunities for upskilling. There are some very reputable and affordable Virtual Business-centric training / upskilling resources that we can recommend to our VA Startups.