With the right skills set and determination, working from the comforts of your home as a virtual assistant can be a rather simple but lucrative business to embark upon. Today, an incredible number of individuals and companies are conducting their business in the virtual world and need reliable assistance to do so.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant, often abbreviated as VA, is needed to handle all of the very same duties that secretaries and administrative assistants have done in traditional offices for many years, but thanks to technology, can now be done remotely via the internet and telephone.

Virtual assistants may work for other individuals as well as for small to large businesses and corporations and usually have the luxury of setting their own hours as well as their pay scale.

Typical Duties of a Virtual Assistant

While each and every type of business has their own unique needs, there are usually several constants that you will find that are needed from a virtual assistant, such as handling email or other similar web related tasks.

Here are some of the most common duties performed by a virtual assistant:

• Administrative duties: Basic “office” skills, document preparation, phone work, typing
• Bookkeeping: Accounting duties, including payroll or accounts payable and receivable
• Customer service: Communicate with clients via telephone, handle inquiries and disputes
• Data entry: Enter data into programs or templates, keep accurate records and databases
• Email correspondence: Communicate with clients or customers via email, email newsletters
• Order entry: Enter orders, confirm customer’s orders
• Personal assistance: Make travel arrangements, schedule meetings, correspondence
• Web assistance: Create web content, update or create websites, handle web inquiries
• Word processing: Type reports, enter data into various computer programs

Recommended Moms Talk Biz Guide – How to Start a Virtual Assistance Business

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