Congratulations! You have decided to start your own business, and be you own boss by becoming a Virtual Assistant. There are awesome rewards that come from working for yourself and from your own office: no long drives to and from the office, set your own hours, independence, and the fulfillment of managing your own business. But, do you really know what it takes? Better yet, do you have what it takes?

Making the decision to start a virtual assistant business can be exciting, but this is also a serious step that requires much dedication and hard work. Plan on working very long days during start up, this includes weekends and holidays. Make sure you have the flexibility, commitment, skills and experience to support these working hours.

Many people still ask what a Virtual Assistant is; here is my brief definition:

Virtual Assistants are highly-skilled, educated, knowledgeable, independent business professionals who provide ongoing administrative support to business owners and managers. A Virtual Assistant is not an employee, a temp, or a part time worker. Virtual assistants are independent contractors who pay their own taxes and benefits.

Before starting a virtual assistant business you should assess your skills and experience. Having a computer in your home office is helpful, but if you do not know how to utilize your word processing software or put together basic documents you will have a long road ahead of you. There are several websites that offers skills testing - take the following tests to assess your skills and you will know where your strengths and weaknesses are and this will give you a base to build upon. You do have to sign up as a member to take the tests on most websites.

" Typing Speed & Accuracy

" Spelling

" Vocabulary

" Computer Skills

" MS Excel

" MS Word

" MS Outlook

" Telephone Etiquette

" Office Skills

The more administrative skills you have, the more prepared you will be for a virtual assistant business. If you assess your skills and find that you need more training, take some online courses to gain the administrative skills that you need before proceeding with your business venture.

Universal Class (http://www.universalclass.com) is a great place to start.

Never take on a project from a client that you do not have the skills to complete. This will hurt you, your business, and most importantly your client.If there is a task that you would like to learn, search the internet for classes and free tutorials.

© 2009 Nancy A. Brown - Virtual Gal Friday