| Register/Subscribe Home |
|
|
ONLINE FEATURES
Book Reviews
BW Video
Columnists
Interactive Gallery
Newsletters
Past Covers
Philanthropy
Podcasts
Special Reports
BLOGS
Auto Beat
Bangalore Tigers
Blogspotting
Brand New Day
Byte of the Apple
Economics Unbound
Eye on Asia
Fine On Media
Green Biz
Hot Property
Investing Insights
Management IQ
NEXT: Innovation
NussbaumOnDesign
Tech Beat
Working Parents
TECHNOLOGY
J.D. Power Ratings
Product Reviews
Tech Stats
Wildstrom: Tech Maven
AUTOS
Home Page
Auto Reviews
Classic Cars
Car Care & Safety
Hybrids
INNOVATION
& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip INVESTING Investing: Europe Annual Reports BW 50 S&P Picks & Pans Stock Screeners Free S&P Stock Report SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth 100 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 S&P 500 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs MBA Blogs MBA Profiles MBA Rankings Who's Hiring Grads | | NOVEMBER 22, 2000 WORK & FAMILY By Jill Hamburg Coplan The Catch in Being a Virtual Assistant It's convenient, you can work from home, and it's perfect for the disabled. Just don't expect an easy life -- or a lucrative one
Q: I've lost several jobs because I'm sick a lot. Along with a friend who's disabled, I'd like to start our own business as virtual assistants. Can you recommend Web sites we should go to? We don't want to get scammed out of our money. ---- T.M. A: If you have a computer and printer and can do the clerical tasks -- word processing, phone work, writing letters, booking flights -- that a secretary or office assistant might perform, there's no reason you can't do them as a virtual assistant, a freelancer whose clients communicate via phone, fax, or e-mail. But be warned: Even once you're up and running, you're likely to earn only half -- or even one-third -- what you could as a full-time, salaried administrative assistant, according to people who work in the field. The good news is that you can charge $20 or $25 an hour. And the bad? Work will probably trickle in irregularly. Physical handicaps, however, should pose no obstacle. Indeed, people with disabilities were among the first workers to recognize how new telecommunications technology could make being a VA viable. "It's a wonderful option for people with disabilities," says Catherine Durst, CEO and founder of a for-profit VA membership association, Staffcentrix, based out of her home in Woodstock, Conn. Her company charges a membership fee -- regularly $49.99, but recently offered at a special price of $19.99 -- that entitles you to participate in a "listserv." That allows members to share tips as well as be listed in an electronic directory that prospective clients can search. There's no need to limit yourself to one such group. Find referrals to others at the nonprofit International Virtual Assistants Assn.. You can easily find many other VA organizations on the Web that typically charge between $25 and $40 a year for advice, chat, and the chance to list your name in a searchable database. I would avoid any VA "universities," which can charge upward of $1,500. But most of the other informational sites appear useful. Bear in mind that these sites are nothing more than starting points. On a typical day, only one or two potential employers search Staffcentrix's database of 1,000 VAs (on a really good day, 20 log on). Figuring out how to market yourself is the key, and it's entirely up to you. "Every VA's success is directly related to his or her marketing abilities," says Durst, who warns that "it will take months" to get established. You might find a successful VA and inquire if he or she would like to subcontract work to you. Virtualassistant.com is a network set up for this purpose, run by Jennifer Madden, a mom with a home office in Shreveport, La. "You don't have to have any cash to do it," she says. "Just a doing-business-as [DBA] bank account and some business cards you can print up on the computer." Some other marketing ideas from experienced virtual assistants: Leaving flyers in a local hotel's business office to attract traveling executives who may need last-minute assistance, placing small, promotional items (like a business magazine with a "Compliments of..." sticker) at local real estate offices, copy, or mailbox shops. As is the case for most businesses, your success will depend on whether you can build solid, long-term relationships with a stable of clients who can keep you busy. Working at home may not be everything you hope for. While it sounds like the ultimate liberation, you'll probably have to give up some freedom to provide fast service on painfully short notice. Chances are, the small-business owners most likely to need you won't call until they're desperate. But then there's the positive side of being at home. Says Madden: "When I'm done, I come out of the room, and there are my kids."  Jill Hamburg Coplan has covered work, family, business, and finance for the past decade as a writer and editor for newspapers, magazines, and wire services. She left Working Woman magazine, where she was senior editor, when her first child was born and now works solo from a home office in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can e-mail her at Jill Hamburg Coplan  | | |
 Copyright 2000 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of Use | Privacy Policy |
Printer-Friendly Version
