Virtual Assistant (VA or Virtual Personal Assistant) works independently from a remote location or at home providing online secretarial, administrative, clerical and customer support as well as other skills like website design and marketing.
Typically, small businesses do look for Virtual Assistants who are either just starting out or in their initial stage of business. They usually have a limited budget and doesnt want to hire a regular employee. If you have been an Administration Assistant, Executive Secretary or may it be an Office Manager, you can be considered being a Virtual Assistant.
There are a lot of Online Certifications and Training Programs that you can enrol at for you to become a “certified” Virtual assistant. Some colleges or universities nowadays have added this on their curriculum. If youre fond of doing web research, you can actually browse several sites where you can learn some skills through their blog articles, webinars, video and audio based training programs as well as books that can actually aide you gain the necessary skill sets to be a successful Virtual Assistant.
You can actually learn the values of time management and organizational skills as well as how to market yourself.
c. Skype and VOIP Phones which is commonly used by the employer and the VA as they are free of charge or cheaper than land line rates.
Keep in mind that your working area must be free from distractions and should be quite enough for you to focus on your job. It must be free from interruptions from the family members especially from your kids.