This month, we shift focus from the business owners’ standpoint to that of virtual assistants themselves. Every job has its pros and cons, and being a virtual assistant has its own set too. Before you embark to be a virtual assistant, perhaps it is best if you go through these pointers to know what you are in for:
Pros of being a Virtual Assistant
You Are Who You Are - The Boss
That’s right. You have full ownership of your time and effort now. There’s no one who will, well, boss you around nor will there be designated times for your lunch breaks. If you have been wanting to experience what freedom is, being a VA will help you make that dream come true. Just make sure you at least get your clients’ jobs done.
You Reap What You Sow
There’s never a need to make an obligatory or compulsory monetary commitment on a monthly basis to any particular organization, anymore. Plus here’s the best part: you get what your client pays you; every single cent of it. No more middlemen woes. In theory, this equates to a limitless amount of income that you can possibly earn as you are now your own limitation.
You Office Is Where Your Feet Takes You
While that means you can now (finally!) work from home, it also means you can be any where on Earth and still be able to accomplish the duties of a VA. Typically, all you need is a laptop - though a tablet may suffice these days - and internet connectivity. So your environment doesn’t quite matter at all. And you do realize this means you dictate your own working attire as well, right? Pyjamas for the win!
Cons of being a Virtual Assistant
You Are Responsible, For Your Own Self
They say, “with great power, comes great responsibility”. Unless you have a team of VAs working with you, you have to ensure that every single aspect of your new-found role functions smoothly. This includes from the health of your accounts to your very own health. There is very little room for error here when you are your own company.
You Are Not Alone
As the world gets more interconnected through rapid globalisation, the supply of virtual assistants will undoubtedly increase through time. While this abundance of VAs is a good indicator for business owners, it is quite the opposite for the VAs themselves. Here comes the bad news: your competitiveness does not just ends at your qualifications, but the price you are offering too. What this means is that if you are new to the VA world, and don’t have a list of existing clients, it’s going to be a daunting task to get your VA services up and running - at the price that you want.
You Know What, You Are Alone After All
Ironic but true: In the sea of VAs, you are actually on your own trying to stay afloat. In fact, every other VA out there is. On top of that, you have to ask yourself a very important question: are you really comfortable working alone? Aside from your clients whom you will be speaking to about the business, you have no other colleagues during your working hours. Consider if you are really comfortable with this arrangement before you jump to becoming a VA.
Weigh the pros and cons carefully before making the leap. But once you have set your heart to it, stick with it and weather the storms bravely. The future of being a VA is definitely bright, if you do it right.
Find out more about being a VA through Virtual Assistants Singapore, where your burning questions can be duly answered by the friendly people of VA-SG.
