I’ve come across so many stories as to why people have chosen to become a Virtual Assistant.

For me it was about family and has always been that. I began before the internet and in those days we were known as home-based secretaries. But the reasons why were the same. Fed up with corporate life and the rat race. Fed up with driving into the city and back every day, or being stuck because a train has broken down.  Fed up with office politics and all that went with it. Fed up with being blocked for promotion because someone had been in that role for 20+ years.  And fed up that I missed so much of our daughters’ lives, or feeling guilty when they were sick, or on school holidays and I couldn’t be with them. Lots of reasons really.

• I’ve met others who were having a baby and didn’t want to return to work, and I couldn’t blame them for that.
• Some had a disability, or a sick parent, spouse, family member that they were the carer for.
• Others weren’t retired yet but the corporate world felt they needed to move on.
• Some just wanted control of their lives, and I guess for most of us, that is also true.
• Today there are many feeling that this is what they want to do as they come out of college.

Whatever the reason any reason can be a good one for becoming a Virtual Assistant, but that doesn’t always mean it will work.  It depends on whether that reason is strong enough. And it also depends on whether you have the skill-set and ability to be a VA. There have been some who have joined the industry, but when they haven’t scored their first client in the first few weeks, they’ve given up and gone back to a job. For some that might mean it’s been 2, 3 or 4 months, but again, they’ve given up and gone back to a job.

Know that any business, no matter what it is, no matter how little it might cost to get started, deserves to be given suitable time to germinate, grow and develop. If you don’t have income to live on while trying to start up a business, you will be discouraged very, very quickly and decide to move on again.

Set yourself some goals, do lots of reading on what is involved, align yourself with at least 2 VA forums and join at least 1 VA Network (yes, a membership-subscription based network that will have a membership fee) so that you are giving yourself the best possible chance to get your business started. And, if necessary, do a course on becoming a VA. There are a few out there. Check out who it is that’s running the course and how long they’ve been in the industry themselves – anyone providing training should have walked their talk successfully first.  If you can’t identify who is running the course then best you move on to another one.  I can tell you that the rewards are worth it and it has allowed me to be home as our daughters grew up, and now I get to see one of our daughters and our two grandsons on a weekly basis.  Love it!