Starting a virtual assistant business can be a rewarding, flexible and profitable way to work and earn an income.
As a VA, you can provide a variety of administrative, technical, and creative support to clients remotely, working from a location of your choice. If you chose to start a virtual assistant business, the potential for income is way bigger as you accumulate more clients and deploy the right Virtual Assistant for your business.
However, starting a VA business, like any other venture, involves risks and requires careful planning and preparation.
That is why in this article, we will explore:
- the steps you need to take to start a successful virtual assistant business
- discuss the potential challenges and benefits of being a VA
- Discover effective tips for managing your VA agency.
Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand your existing VA business, this article is designed to help you succeed.
Let’s begin with understanding…
What is Virtual Assistance?
Virtual assistance refers to the provision of administrative, technical, or creative assistance to clients remotely, typically over the internet. Virtual assistants (VAs) are virtual staff that can work in remote locations, such as their home or a virtual office, and use various technologies to communicate and collaborate with clients.
VA can involve a wide range of tasks, depending on the needs of the client and the skills and expertise of the VA. Take note, in our definition, we have already cited the importance of getting the right VA and client need because this is where the common disconnect happens.
There are a lot of tasks that a virtual assistant can do. The VA can also work as an individual. For Growth VAs, we have several clients who are outsourcing all of their work to us as the need of their small businesses or organizations is way complex and requires multiple VAs of different expertise working at the same time.
The Virtual Assistant
He or she that provides the virtual assistance service is called a virtual assistant (VA). There are a lot of name variations for this. Here are some of it:
- Remote staff
- Virtual staff
- Digital staff
- Online Staff
A VA, is in general, a professional who provides administrative, technical, or creative assistance to clients remotely, typically over the internet. A VA can work from home or any location with the use of various technologies to communicate and collaborate with clients.
The Filipino Virtual Assistant
The Philippines is currently one of the top providers of quality and highly skilled and experienced VAs. A government program tagged them as OFW 2.0 ( Online Filipino Workers) as a pun to the nature and income it generates over the years. Another influencer calls Filipino VAs, as OFS or Online Filipino Staff. Personally, I want to call them as Digital Professionals. Whatever their branding or names, these filipino VA’s are professionals who can work remotely and can communicate and collaborate with the clients anywhere in the world.
Benefits of Hiring Filipino VAs:
More and more businesseses, brands and organizations prefer hiring virtual assistants from the Philippines. Here are some of the reasons:
1. Cost-effective: In most cases, hiring a Filipino VA is less expensive than hiring a full-time employee, especially if you are located in a high-cost country. The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) found that the average salary for a Filipino VA is between 70 and 80 percent less than that of a Western VA.
2. Skilled workforce: The Philippines is home to a sizable population of qualified virtual assistants (VAs) who are capable of completing a wide variety of tasks. Its high quality education system and large pool of English-speaking graduates make it a prime location for outsourcing.
3. Filipinos are Good Cultural fit: Virtual assistants from the Philippines tend to be a good cultural fit for Western-based companies due to their proficiency in English and their dedication to hard work. As a result, it’s possible that the quality of their working relationship will increase as communication and misunderstandings are cleared up.
4. Time zone advantage: The Philippines’ location in a time zone that is different from that of many Western countries means that your business will be covered around the clock. As a result, your company’s response times can enhance, and customers can rest assured that they can always reach you.
5. Improved productivity: Outsourcing routine administrative work to a virtual assistant (VA) frees you up to concentrate on more strategic endeavors, boosting your productivity. Outsourcing can boost productivity by as much as 20-30%, according to a study published in the Harvard Business Review.
6. Access to a wider talent pool: A larger pool of qualified applicants is available to you when you hire a Filipino VA as opposed to a local worker. This can help you find the most qualified VA for your needs and ensure you receive the highest quality care.
7. Improved work-life balance: Work-life balance will also be much smoother when you hire a virtual assistant to handle some of your work. Forbes found that outsourcing can have positive effects on mental health and stress levels. Filipino Virtual Assistants, by nature and culturally designed, are emphatic and good emotional support, should you need one in the future.
8. Scalability: Filipino Virtual assistants (VAs) allow you to expand your team without the high costs of full-time employees as your business expands. This can also help your company adapt to new demands and stay ahead of the competition.
One of the best choices any brand, businesses and organizations make is hiring the right virtual assistant for their business.
In Conclusion…
Virtual Assistants (VAs), may be called in different names and lingo and branding, are experts in providing administrative support to clients remotely. Furthermore, Virtual assistants (VAs) based in the Philippines are often praised for their professionalism, growth mindset, fluency in English, and technical savviness.
Brands, Businesses and organizations that choose to hire a Filipino Virtual Assistant gain access to a skilled and dedicated worker, increase productivity, reduce expenses, and more. The Philippines has also emerged as a major center for virtual assistants (VAs), thanks to the country’s large pool of highly skilled workers who are eager to contribute to the success of businesses and individuals worldwide.
Lastly, Hiring Filipino Virtual Assistant can change the game for any business owner, solopreneur, or person in need of some extra help and wants to achieve work-life balance. Hiring the right virtual assistant will allow you to concentrate on leading your company in growing your business.
