I would like to share a nice article from Mrugank_Desai on how he defines virtual assistants
VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
by Mrugank_Desai
by Mrugank_Desai
Virtual assistants, as the name suggests, assist people from the different strata of the society but virtually. The virtual assistants normally known as the VA are basically entrepreneurs providing professional assistance to people in the administrative sphere, technical world and the creative field. They provide this assistance to the clients from their home office. There are several virtual assistants working from home to help the business people. The best part of hiring such assistants is that they are involved in a wide variety of works and are able to provide service accurately.
However, these Virtual Assistants normally work for small scale organizations and consultancy groups. A worldwide survey has revealed that there are about thirty five thousand virtual assistants serving various small scale companies. Even the consultancy groups hire them for their services. Especially in the centralized economies virtual assistants are being hired often due to the short span of job. In these kinds of firms, assistants are hired for a small span of time where they are laid off after the completion of a project. This practice is often known as the FIFO method of staffing.
Normally the data transfer between the firms and the virtual assistants take place through e mail, telephonic conferences and fax machines. Sometimes it also takes place through instant messages sent online. The virtual assistants are hired on the basis of contracts for a stipulated time period. However, most of these relationships transform themselves into long lasting ones fetching more work for the virtual assistants. If you wish to work as a virtual assistant then you must have at least five years of experience at an administrative post in the previous office. Normally they work as executive assistant, secretary, legal assistant, manager or supervisor, paralegal, real estate assistant and legal secretary.
However, one must remember that he/she is not an employee of the company that has hired its services. He is considered to be an independent business contract owner. They come under the purview of tax paying workers. In fact, they pay their own self employment taxes to the government. They decide on the terms and conditions on which they will work and also the payment pertaining to their service. Hiring them are profitable for the company since they do not come under the direct payroll of the company. Hence, they are only paid when they work for the firm based on the volume of work they have done. In fact, they are capable of expanding the small scale companies by generating more sales.
Since the virtual assistant is not a direct employee of the company, the company does not have to bear the expenses like training the employee, casual leaves, paid time off, sick leave, retirement plans and insurance of the employee. Hence, the burden on the house is much less. If you can free yourself from the little office chores then you will be able to attend more and more trade shows and establish contacts with other firms. They happen to be the obvious choice for replacing a full time secretary when he or she is on leave. Hence, working with a them has many advantages.
