This question comes to light often these days because so many people (and countries) have variations on what they believe the term 'Virtual Assistant' means. It came about because a business coach named his assistant that title as she worked miles away from him (in the US) and he coined the phrase 'virtual assistant'. The coach was Thomas Leonard and the assistant, Stacey Brice. This was back in the mid 1990s and the term stuck and gradually the home-based secretarial industry adopted the phrase … [Read more...]
Word confusion
I own and run Australia's oldest Virtual Assistant Network. My own business "A Clayton's Secretary" was started in 1994, pre-internet, so I could be home for our 5 daughters, and then the internet began just 18months later. Not long after I placed my first webpage online I had women contacting me to ask how they could be doing what I was doing. Australia's first VA network was started and we were on our way. There are now other VA networks in the country, and it's good to see the industry … [Read more...]