�ݺ�ߣ

Editor's Notes

• #2: Welcome everyone, my teammates and I would like to thank you for coming today and sharing with us the finer points of what it means to be a Virtual Assistant. Before we begin, we would like to offer you a chance to retrieve a handout from the OAD 270 information post. It will give you a chance to go back, at a later time, and review some of the information that we will be sharing with you today. First, I would like to introduce to you my fellow teammates, Jessica Seibert, Renee Courdway, and my name is Peggy French. Today, we will be giving you a little history of the Virtual Assistant , what the requirements are, what a couple of colleges are offering as far as courses and tuition, what you should do before you start your own business, what type of tasks you will be completing, what salary you can expect to make, what some of the benefits are, and just a couple of sites that are available here in SL that would be a great place to visit if you should become interested in becoming a Virtual Assistant or would just like some extra information on the topic. Now you can see why I said you may want to get the note card.  If everyone is ready then we’ll get started.
• #3: This first slide is our contents slide, it contains all the slides in the rest of the presentation. We understand, that at least for the time being SL hyperlinks are not available; however, if anyone would like a copy of today’s presentation please let us know at the end of the presentation, we will be more than happy to e-mail one to you, and then this slide will be a wonderful way to jump to any particular slide that you would prefer to investigate.
• #4: What is a Virtual Assistant? A Virtual Assistant is a highly skilled professional, an individual who works with independent contractors who provide administrative support and specialized services to small businesses while working out of the home via the internet, email, and phone conferences.It is estimated that there are as few as 5,000, and as many as, 35,000 virtual assistants worldwide.
• #5: In 1992, Susan Brice was working as a travel agent when she realized the need to make others lives easier and not just in the office setting. In 1997, she formalized AssistU and has blazed the trail for many men and women who had the desire to become Virtual Assistants.Susan Brice is now the president of AssistU.com, which is a web site that devotes itself to training individuals how to become Virtual Assistants and teaches them how to create a sustainable business.
• #6: In many of the colleges that were researched (Portland Community College, Owens Community College, Stark State College of Technology) the same prerequisites apply; you need to be self motivated, fluent with computers, have excellent keyboarding and office skills, and have at least 2-3 years of experience in Office Administration. The only difference was that Stark State College of Technology offers both a Administrative Office Professional One-Year Certificate Program for the Virtual Office Professional Option and a two-year program that for the Management Option.
• #7: We compared Portland CC and Owens CC programs and this is what we found: the (Portland) Virtual Assistant Certificateis designed for the highly skilled, self-directed administrative assistant. Students learn the necessary skills to develop a virtual office that provides administrative support and technical services for the rapidly changing global business environment. Students must be competent with composition and math skills, word processing, spreadsheet, formatting, filing, and editing skills for common office documents. Browser navigation, searching the web, and file management skills are also essential to be successful in this program. Because of the entrepreneurial nature of Virtual Assistants, students should be independent learners who use time management skills to accomplish tasks. It is highly recommended students have a minimum of two years’ work experience in an office related field, such as administration, medical, insurance, web design, etc. (Owens)Administrative Virtual Assistant CertificateAn AVA is a highly skilled, independent entrepreneur who provides business services in a remote or virtual environment. Virtual assisting may provide support to small businesses, consultants, or even small project coordination for larger companies. The field of virtual assisting is for the experienced professional, due to its nature of self management. AVA candidates should possess high computer fluency, keyboarding, and office software skills; be a self-motivator and learner; and have at least 2-3 years administrative office experience.27 credits are required to graduate with a Virtual Assistant Certificate from Portland23-24 credits are required to graduate with a Administrative Virtual Assistant Certificate from Owens
• #8: All students at Portland CC must pass all courses with a “C” or better. Owens CC catalog doesn’t state any grade value that must be obtained to be considered passing. However, it does allow Monroe, Michigan Residents, under certain circumstances, to be considered residents even though they reside in Monroe County, Michigan and this may qualify them for in-state tuition. Mainly, the circumstances are that those wishing to attend Owens from Michigan need to attend programs listed in the reciprocal agreement Owens has with Monroe County Community College. If anyone is interested in more information on the terms of that agreement it is detailed in the Policies and Procedures section of the OCC catalog. Now, Jessica Seibert is going to explain to you what happens after you graduate and what skills you will be using to get your business started.
• #9: It’s best that you can figure out what you are best at and what you can service to clients.Before you start your business it’s a good idea to figure out what services are needed in the area, who your clients are and how you can access them.Make sure that you start a website and place an ad in newspapers and phone books to get your services known to get clientsIts best if you get the networking sites and organizations so you can meet clients and other Vas
• #10: Some of the various tasks that can be done when being a VA are but aren’t limited to : Travel arrangements, write articles and newspapers, manage databases, handle appointments and telephones, file, editing, manage calendars, arrange events
• #11: Being a VA is ultimately a home business. To ensure that you have the correct business you need to make sure that you are able to make your home business successful. To ensure that you want to make sure that you have a business plan. To start you want to make sure that you know what services you want to offer. Make sure that you chose things that are what you do best and that you have the experience to do. Just make sure that you are able to do everything that you want to do so you can do that best you can and grow your business and get repeat business. Generally it is easiest for you to chose 2-3 services to start so you don’t get bogged down and you get overwhelmed. Also it is best to make sure that you decide how much you want to work. Whether or not it is part-time or full-time you want to make sure that you have a plan.Start a budget so that you can figure our how much you have to start your business off and plan expenses and how long you can live on what you have until you start to make money.Start a business plan so you can track your growth and change in businessExamine what equipment that you already have and software that you have. Make sure you have a good computer, fax machine ,etc.
• #12: Virtual Assistants make anywhere from $30-$50 an hour. VA’s frequently feel bogged down from there job because they make their money by the hour. If they want to make money then they have to work a certain amount of hours so they can have money. So if they take too many clients they could have no personal life. (When your finished with your information, introduce Renee and tell a little about what she will share with the audience).
• #14: (Add a dollar sign in front of the 30)
• #15: There are two VA sites available on Second Life. Both VAs are at Kiriyersky Island West. The first is by Strannik Zipper. His office space offers both services and links to finding jobs for virtual assistants. He also provides an email if you need to contact him with any questions. The second is by John Simmons. He is a virtual assistant and offers a wide array of services for projects you may need completed.
• #16: In brief, to become a Virtual Assistant takes time and dedication before you actually enter the field. This specific course of study requires a lot of skills that are important to have to be successful. Picking the right college may depend on what skills you may already have and can be one of the most important decisions you will ever have to make. Once you have obtained the necessary skills, get out there and market yourself, network and get started on building a web site that can allow people to see what you have to offer. The right decisions now, could mean a future full of many happy rewarding moments. We’d like to take this time to answer any questions that anyone might have at this time. (Step down closer to the audience.) (at the end of questions, “Please remember feel free to take a note card if you have not already done so, thank you.” If anyone had ask for more information and you need to get their information now would be a good time to get it.