Work At Home As A Virtual Assistant

There is a new trend in online working – the virtual assistant. A virtual assistant is more than just a “secretary”. In fact, a virtual assistant is more like a trusted co-worker, a researcher, a writer, a typist, a spouse, and a “gofer” all rolled into one.

Many people are now working online as virtual assistants and don’t even put themselves in that category. They may think of themselves as writers or designers, programmers or grant researchers, but what they are doing is being virtual assistants for others. This work can be financially rewarding and offer you the opportunity to work at home, the hours you want, and charge whatever the market allows.

By working at home as a virtual assistant, there are more benefits than just flexibility. The tax benefits are extraordinary. Many of the people you work for will not claim you on their taxes and that means that you don’t need to claim the revenue you earned – tax free income! In addition, you can claim deductions for many items you already use on your taxes. Claim a percentage of your mortgage or rent, your insurance, your travel, your dining and entertainment, cable bill, utilities, and more – just by having a home office and being a virtual assistant.

Finding work as a virtual assistant is easy to do. There are several websites that advertise positions that you can apply for. By charging you a percentage of the fee you receive, these sites make their living. Check out Sologig.com, Elance.com, or Virtualassistants.com, you can bid on jobs and hopefully win them.

When acting as someone’s virtual assistant, there are several things you need to ensure for your own safety. Never complete a job in its entirety without at least receiving partial payment or ensuring that payment is put in escrow. Elance.com is very good at protecting the rights of providers and you can require that moneys be put in escrow before you start a project.

Never give out personal information to the purchaser of your services. In most cases, all work is done online. If a buyer wants your telephone number, be wary – this person could be more work than he or she is worth. Try to keep all of your work online via email or IM. If the purchaser asks you to do something for free, something that is illegal, or something that seems even a little bit shady, listen to your gut and don’t do it. There are more fish in the sea – don’t compromise your ethics for a few dollars.