Lost Your Job to The Pandemic? Be A Virtual Assistant

According to a recent survey, almost half of Indonesian workers lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been a tough pill to swallow that life as we know it is over. The pandemic has forced many to make difficult adjustments to their lifestyle, leaving them to wonder where their lives are headed. Even businesses have fallen into the worry pit of not knowing what to do next. With people working from home now more than ever in history, everyone is looking for new ways to adjust. In this case, do you know that you can work at home and be a virtual assistant?

Adjusting to the New Normal

Finding a different way of doing things is what has led many to discover remote work. With the help of technology, you can work and execute your goals from wherever you are as long as you have a suitable device and a good connection WiFi connection.

It’s important to note that adopting digital trends that are coming up is a must if you want to stay relevant. Especially in an economy like Indonesia’s where many people get their livelihoods from the formal and informal sectors, using digital technology to get new opportunities is the new normal. That being said, let’s look at how virtual assistants come into play.

What Does A Virtual Assistant Do?

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Have you heard someone say that they are a virtual assistant? If not, you may be surprised to know that virtual assistants have around long before this pandemic happened. For example, Virtary, a popular and renowned virtual assistant company in Indonesia, has been in existence since 2010.

I need to admit, as the founder of Virtary, I spent a lot of times explaining to many people what Virtual Assistant really is, and what we do every day as it seems there are many people and businesses in Indonesia are not too familiar to the term. So, what exactly does a virtual assistant do?

To put it simply, a virtual assistant is a self-employed expert who works remotely for clients. Depending on their skill set, a virtual assistant can work for multiple clients on different projects. The client gives the virtual assistant parameters within which to work, and the virtual assistant performs the required tasks. Today, many businesses and entrepreneurs are turning to virtual assistants to get things done easily and smoothly. This means that if you become a virtual assistant, you are guaranteed to always find work depending on how aggressive you are.

That said, here are some reasons why people hire virtual assistants:

• Hiring a virtual assistant can reduce operational costs
• Clients can get a chance to focus on the core operations of the business
• To improve their online presence
• You’ll have someone available 24/7
• To gain access to the best talent
• To have more work done in less time
• Virtual assistants can drive business growth

A Rise in the Demand for Virtual Assistants

In no time in history has there been a rise in the need for virtual assistants as there is today. Virtary, for example, has experienced the highest VA service inquiries from businesses overseas in the last few months. All Virtary VAs are working hard, longer hours than usual to fulfill those demands. Many of our team members are even completely booked.  

Many businesses and companies need someone who is familiar with the system and can-do remote admin work. The good news is that you too can be one of these sought-after professionals. Long gone are the days that only designers and programmers were the only people that could work from home.

What You Can Do as a Virtual Assistant

As we have seen above, as a virtual assistant you will be able to add value to businesses and entrepreneurs by providing the services they need from a remote location. Some of the tasks you may carry out include:

• Being an online secretary to assist clients in scheduling, email and calendar management, and other secretarial duties.
• Administration work such as preparing reports and carrying out personal tasks like booking hotels and restaurants.
• Doing customer support such as offering help to the client’s customers to allow them to get the most out of the product and resolve their problems.

Here are some of the tools you will require to be a high performing virtual assistant as well as some of the skills you will need for the job.

Some of the Requirements You will Need to Be A Virtual Assistant

Having these aspects will improve your productivity as a virtual assistant and allow you to work for several high-paying clients.

• Willingness to learn. When I started working as a VA for the first time, I spent a lot of time to do research, read, learn, and practice. Digging every source, I could find to learn how to be a virtual assistant, what I can offer, how to market my services, how to find clients, how to win a contract, and it never stops until now. Every day is new learning. There will always be something new to explore.
• Be tech-savvy. Check for new apps that can help your work as a VA, try, sign up for the free version, learn new features, never limit yourself to several apps as technology will keep on changing.
• Be adaptable enough to work with the client’s time zones. The fact that there are not many businesses in Indonesia who are familiar with hiring a virtual assistant, will need us to go crossing the border, working in other time zones. This is one of the risks a virtual assistant needs to take as most clients require their VA to work within their working hours.
• Have a laptop with a good internet connection
• Have a comfortable space where you can work well without distractions

In addition to these requirements, having the following tools will make your work as a virtual assistant a smoother process. They include:

• Google Suite – Be familiar and explore Google Suite as it’s the most common product used by potential clients. By being proficient in the primary G Suite tools include Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Calendar, Google+, Sites, Hangouts, and Keep, you already made a good start.
• Project Management tools such as Asana and Trello to keep you organized.
• Time tracking apps such as Top tracker and Tick to help you track your time and work effectively
• Video conferencing apps such as Zoom and Skype to meet with potential clients

Conclusion

Now that you know that you can become a virtual assistant and start earning a decent income, nothing is holding you back. Although your life may have been torn upside down with the recent events, being a virtual assistant can be the saving grace you have been waiting for.