Introduction to Virtual Assistance - MiniAnalysis

Pick a topic for your course
INTRODUCTION TO VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE

Determine your audience for this course

This course is intended for anybody who is interested in becoming a virtual assistant or establishing a virtual assistance career.

Do a mini-analysis using a simple survey to determine the need for the course. Write a brief description of your mini-analysis and post it to the discussion forum.

The idea of earning an income while working from home has long attracted many people as the ideal career. Fueled by the radically changing global work environment, outsourcing, telecommuting, downsizing and the current economic conditions, many former employees get in the virtual assistance bandwagon without realizing that to succeed in this career, one needs more than just a computer and an internet connection.

What types of questions did you include in your survey?

This is a 5-week introductory course, intended to guide the new virtual worker in establishing a virtual assistance career. In order to narrow down the most useful topics to be included in a short course, an informal survey questionnaire was emailed to members of an international organization of virtual workers, containing only 3 questions.

1. How long have you been a practicing VA?
   • Less than 5 years
   • 5 – 10 years
   • More than 10 years
2. Which area of specialty or niche does your practice fall under?
   • General Virtual Assistance
   • Legal
   • Medical
   • Telecommunications
   • Entertainment
   • Others: pls specify
3. Which of the following do you feel are the most important in establishing a virtual assistance business? Please choose only your top 3 answers and rate them from 1 to 3 with 1 being the most important.
   • Having a business plan
   • A clear set of goals (personal, family or financial)
   • Knowledge of computers and technology
   • Marketing knowledge and savvy
   • Effective communication skills
   • Knowledge of Pricing and Costing
   • Prior industry experience
   • Able to work or collaborate with others

How many people took your survey? What did you find out from your mini-analysis?

There were 65 respondents in the survey. Thirty-six have been in practice for at least 5 years. Of the 36, twenty-one (21) were in the general virtual assistance practice, 8 are in the legal industry, 3 are in medical and 4 fall under the “others” category but all in real estate. All 65 respondents included a clear set of goals as one of their top 3 answers. All of the 36 who have been practicing for at least 5 years chose either “ having a business plan” or “a clear set of goals” as the most important. Knowledge of computers and pricing tied for the third most important skill/qualification. Majority of the respondents (60) did not think prior industry experience is more important than the others.

How can you use this information to help design your course?

The mini-analysis was not exhaustive (and somewhat simplistic and probably not the best designed) but served the purpose of narrowing the subject areas for a short course. The answers of the respondents who have been in practice for at least 5 years were the ones that I focused on, relying on their experience to guide me in what areas are most important for a starting virtual worker. The question on specialty or niche was included to gather information as to which skills are important based on area of specialty. It did not seem to make any difference according to the results. The simple survey indicate the following areas as important:

1. A clear set of goals
2. Having a business plan
3. Knowledge of computer, technology, pricing or cost

Based on the above results, the following topics will be considered in designing the short course:

• A clear set of goals
  • Topic 1: An introduction to the virtual assistant industry
  • Topic 2: A self-assessment of sorts that will help the virtual worker identify if they are ready to embark on their new career path.
• Having a Business Plan
  • Topic 1: How to develop a business plan
  • Topic 2: Developing a Marketing Plan
• Knowledge of Computer, Technology, Pricing, Cost
  • Setting up a Virtual Office
  • Pricing your Services