The New Entrepreneurs: Virtual Assistants

Rose Marie Kuceyeski, Ph.D.

Owens Community College

NBEA, April 8, 2009

“Change is the law of life. And

those who look only to the past or

the present are certain to miss the

future.”John F. Kennedy

My Role

1

• Share the scope of the new entrepreneurs focusing on the virtual assistants—who they are and where they are.

2

• Achieve an understanding of the extent of virtual assistant programs at the post-secondary level and how they provide a unique opportunity for growth.

3• Explore ways a VA program may be

developed and its practical uses.

“One who organizes, manages, and

assumes the risks of a business or

enterprise.”

VAs Defined

• Provide administrative, creative and/or technical

services

• Utilize advanced technological modes of

communication and data delivery

• Assist clients in his/her area of expertise from

his/her own office on a contractual basis

Evolution of VAs

1995

33,559

Virtual VA assoc. 5,000 members

2007 Comprehensive Study of the Virtual

Services Industry, Brenner.

Who Are They?

• Work-at-home moms

• Displaced workers

• People with

disabilities

• Military Spouse VAs

• Downsized executives

• Baby boomers

nearing retirement

• People in rural

locations

Survey of virtual services industry

supplied the following information

(2007):

• 55.6% of Virtual Professionals in US are women

• 99.1% women (primarily admin support, data entry, wp)

• Larges concentration in US, India, and Canada

• 81 percent are located in the U.S., (California 4,063; Texas, 2,608; Florida, 2,507; New York, 2,303.)

• 1,550 provided educational level, over half have bachelor’s degree or higher

2007 Comprehensive Study of the Virtual

Services Industry, Brenner.

Core Competencies for Emerging

VAs

Professional Skills

Personal Skills

People Skills

Education

Office Standards

http://allianceforvirtualbiz.com

Industries Served

Services Offered

Virtual assistant (VA) admin services (42%)

Graphic design (41%)

Web services

Software services

Top Programs - US VPs

MS Office 57.4%

PPT 51.1%

Photoshop 45.0%

HTML 43.6%

Word 40.8%

Excel 39.7%

Dreamweaver 38.7%

Top Programs - US VA Admin

Word 92.6%

Excel 86.8%

MS Outlook 76.0%

MS Office 74.4%

PowerPoint 70.2%

$16.87/hr.

$$51.96/hr.

Billing

Rates

Revenue Based on Gender

Gender Revenue

Range

Average

Revenue

$/Hour Range Average

$/Hour

Females $10,234-

$233,262

$33,649 $8-$65 $32.26

Males $10,000-

$271,320

$32,144 $12-$100 $48.82

2007 Comprehensive Study of the Virtual

Services Industry, Brenner.

VA Benefits

Being Your Own Boss

Client Benefits

• Only pay for the time the VA works either by task or project

• No continuing education assistance for employees

• No extra office space, furniture, computers, software, telephone, printers, etc. that normal employee staff requires

• No overtime pay when projects must be completed by a specific deadline

• No unemployment insurance, sick leave, vacation pay, health or dental insurance

Entrepreneurship in Business

Education

• Broaden the scope of entrepreneurship courses

to include virtual professionals

• Include how to become a virtual professional

and conduct business in cyberspace

• Address how to successfully partner with a

virtual assistant

Opportunities for Business

Education

• “Employment of secretaries and administrative assistants is

expected to increase about 9 percent, which is about as fast

as average for all occupations, between 2006 and 2016.”

• Presents challenges to the administrative/office support

programs

• Almost half (49 percent) of the nation’s businesses are

operated from home, and more than 6-in-10 owners used

their own money to start the business, according to new

U.S. Census Bureau reports on characteristics of businesses

and business owners.

Administrative Virtual Assistant

(AVA)

• Conducted research on the Internet and through e-mail questionnaires to virtual assistants

• Reviewed courses in the School of Business and Information Systems to determine which courses addressed the necessary skills

• Reviewed the curriculum and provided input from VAs

• Reflected a true partnership of the School of Business and Information Systems

• Developed Spring 2005

Certificate Program

Course Name Semester

Credit Hours

Introduction to Small Business 3

The Legal Environment of Business 3

Introduction to E-Business 3

Internet for Business 1

Troubleshooting Applications 3

Integrated Office Communications 3

Virtual Assistant Coaching Seminar 2

OAD/IST Electives 6

Total Semester Hours 24

Institutions

• Red Deer, Canada

• Palomar College, CA

• Portland Community

College, OR

• Springfield Technical

Community College, MA

• Sierra Community College,

CA

• American River College, CA

• Sacramento City College, CA

• Riverside Community College, CA

• Raymond Walters (UC), OH

• Stark State College, OH

• Santa Rosa Junior College, CA

• Southwestern Community College, NC

• Manchester Community College, CT

• Wake Technical Community College, NC

Virtual Assistant Coaching

SeminarThis online course will emphasize understanding

the virtual assistant concept, business planning,

establishing a web presence, specialty services,

operating the business, and other topics as

needed. The goal of this class is to create a

workable virtual assistant business and

marketing plan.

Course Objectives

• Have a thorough understanding of the virtual assistant

business. The student will also have a completed business plan

and marketing plan that establishes mission, goals, and

objectives;

• Demonstrate competency in writing business goals and

determining a sustainable competitive advantage;

• Be prepared for the job market by becoming aware of the

many facets of operating a small business;

• Demonstrate personal, professional, and ethical growth by

integrating the core business components that have been learned

during your college experience into a real business plan

presentation.

Text Used

Virtual Assistant – The Series, Become a Highly

Successful, Sought After VA, by Diana Ennen and

Kelly Poelker, Third Edition Revised. Another

8 Hour Publishing, ISBN 0-9742790-5-6

Assignments

• Marketing Plan

PowerPoint Presentation

• Virtual Assistant

Interview

• Individual Business Plan

Components

• Discussion Board

Participation

• Final Project: Business

Plan

Virtual Professionals

• Mortgage professionals (Close-more-loans.com)

• Consultants (marketing, computer, Tech Problem Solver)

• Insurance agents

• Programmers

• Graphic artists

• Realtors (www.WebMLS.net)

• Accountants (Virtual Growth, Inc.)

• Human Resources (Employease.com)

“There will come a time when big

opportunities will be presented to you,

and you’ve got to be in a position to

take advantage of them.”

Sam Walton

60 Seconds of Cool

Curriculum/Marketing Ideas

References• References for The New Entrepreneurs: Virtual Assistants

• A New Frontier: The advent of the virtual assistant (2005). Retrieved

February 16, 2005 from www. womentoday magazine.com

• Brice, Stacy. (2002, April). New way of work takes hold. Office Pro, 63(3),

Retrieved February 15, 2005, from Business Source Premier.

• Brenner, Robert. (2007). A comprehensive study of the virtual services industry. CA:

Brenner Information Group.

• Finkelstein, Brad. (2005 February-March). Virtual assistant a reality. Broker

Magazine. 7(1). Retrieved February 15, 2005, from Business Source Premier.

• Gregory, Kip. (2003, August). 21st century prospecting. On Wall Street. p. 61.

Retrieved February 15, 2005, from www.onwallstreet.com

• International Virtual Assistant Association. Retrieved February 16, 2005, from

http://www.ivaa.org.

References Cont.• Marks, Susan J. (1999, December). Virtual assistants fill staff gaps. Microtimes

Magazine. 201. Retrieved February 16, 2005, from

http://www.thevirtuallink.com/pdf/microtimes.pdf

• Moncel, Carolyn (2004, July 6). Starting a virtual assistant business.

Entrepreneur.com. Retrieved February 16, 2005, from

http://www.ivaa.org/press/wall-st-journal-12-14-04.htm

• Nasaw, Daniel. (2004, December 14). Cost-cutting, tech advances spur call for

“home-sourcing.” Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 16, 2005, from

http://www.ivaa.org/press/wall-st-journal-12-14-04.htm

• Today Show. Retrieved March 28, 2009, from

http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&brand=msnbc&vid=fda5aec6-5250-

43c2-936f-dfac1ec2033d

• US Census Bureau News. Retrieved March 25, 2009, from

http://www.census.gov/Press-

Release/www/releases/archives/business_ownership/007537.html

References Cont.

• Williams, Sharon. Alliance for Virtual Businesses. Retrieved February 16, 2005,

fromhttp://www.allianceforvirtualbiz.com/survey.html

• Zieger, Anne. (1998, September). The many virtues of virtual services. Business

Week’s Enterprise. Retrieved February 16, 2005, from

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/news/columns/98-

37/e3595059.htm

• Additional Websites

• www.guru.com

• www.elance.com

• http://allianceforvirtualbiz.com/resources/page_3.html

• http://www.crtechnologyinc.com/