Virtually Indispensable

Donna Gunter helped plan a Hawaiian-theme wedding for a client in New York from her home in Texas.

Amy Catherine McEwan worked from her Frederick, Md., home with companies in Russia, Virginia and California to coordinate a publication.

Beverly Jones found a bed rental company for one client, organized a home-mortgage closing for another and took over e-mail management from a Baltimore business owner who does not know (and doesn’t want to know) how to turn on a computer.

All three are virtual assistants, a new category of employment in the online world but one that’s growing because of its flexible hours, creative job duties and work-at-home possibilities. Using e-mail, fax machines and Internet services, “VAs” often work for multiple bosses--whom they might never meet face to face.

“You need to be flexible, have a sense of humor and have great computer skills,” said Jones .

Most people who become virtual assistants have worked as administrative assistants, and have enjoyed helping others get their businesses organized. But McEwan said that after several years working in marketing and advertising at a nonprofit organization, she wanted to control her time.

“I was getting near my 40th birthday and I was tired of working for other people,” she said. “I was being pigeonholed into one category of job.”

McEwan, who has a 4-year-old daughter, discovered Assistu.com., a Baltimore-based online training academy (https://www.assistu.com) for virtual assistants, and took the 16-week course.

“It’s a very rigorous training course,” she said. “You learn to use every virtual tool you have to filter through huge amounts of information.”

Before she created Assistu.com, Stacy Brice worked as a travel agent. But she soon found herself inventing a position outside the typical travel-agent role, working specifically for high-demand clients.

One day, in an Internet newsletter, the founder of CoachU--an online personal coaching site--said he needed an assistant to run his life while he took a sabbatical. Brice raised her virtual hand.

“In months, people were coming out of the woodwork, asking me to run their lives virtually,” she said. “ ‘Run my party, plan my wedding, return this phone call’--whatever took them away from their main purpose.”

As the demand for virtual help grew, Brice saw an opportunity to help others find a career that fit their skills and interests. With a foundation of computer skills, an assistant like McEwan could target clients who could use her marketing talents, while an assistant with a background in writing could target clients with those needs.

Learning the Ropes

In March 1997, Assistu.com opened with four students. Since then, more than 150 students have passed the course. All applicants must have two years’ experience as an assistant, along with basic computer skills. Many who come knocking don’t make the grade.

“I had a truck driver who decided he wanted to stay at home and this looked like a good idea,” Brice said .

Applicants must write an essay and go through two interviews to persuade Brice that they would enjoy working in a support position and “click” with the disciplined demands of being a virtual assistant.

“We have a very small failure rate, I think, because we screen so carefully,” she said.

The online course lasts 20 weeks and costs $1,795, plus the cost of a weekly, one-hour teleconference call. Students have six or seven hours of homework a week until the final eight weeks, when Brice assigns an intensive project.

In addition to tuning computer skills, students create an organized home office, learn the legalities of running a home business, develop marketing skills to find clients, and polish professional skills to keep them.

And then there’s the billing--new assistants earn about $35 an hour, while those with experience can charge $50 to $75, Brice said.

Those who have taken on these jobs say it takes a particular kind of personality.

“A successful VA will be someone who takes initiative, gets along with different kinds of people and is flexible,” said Jones, who handles six clients and works about 30 hours a week. “Although it’s a personal business, it’s still a business.”

VAs’ clients often need skilled help for a few hours a day or week, and don’t have the office space for a full-time secretary, Brice said. VAs typically work on the details of a successful business, sending out information, setting up appointments and returning e-mail.

A Close Cyber-Relationship

When Judy Pressman’s “personal image” consulting business, J.P. images, began to take off, she hired Jones to get daily tasks done.

“As my business grew, I wanted to give more time to my clients and to my corporate work, because everything is custom-designed,” said Pressman, who dresses three to five clients a day. “Now I don’t make a move without letting [Jones] know what it is.”

After Jones began handling thank-you notes, brochures and e-mail for her, (“I don’t know how to turn the computer on,” Pressman said), the duo developed a close working relationship.

“Bev has been instrumental in the growth of my business,” Pressman said . “I’d miss her if I didn’t talk to her.”