As the new year approached and the holiday gatherings with friends and family were upon us, I found myself once again trying to find different ways to explain to different people what exactly a virtual assistant is and what we do.
I thought this might be a good time to break this down in as many ways as possible! I often find myself having to start my explanation in remarkably different ways and using very different terminology and points of reference depending on where my listener is coming from. So, for the first installment of “What is a virtual assistant in 2007?” here are some of the key points in my explanation to my 91 year old grandfather…
-A virtual assistant is like a secretary. (I know, I cringe myself a bit at the simplistic not completely accurate description, but for a lot of people that’s a tangible way to understand something very intangible!)
-A virtual assistant communicates with clients the way a travelling salesman (yes, I would prefer salesperson…but you have to know your audience!) would with their company…any way possible over a long distance!
-A virtual assistant’s business is often a lot like a motivational speaker or business consultant. We provide services for many people and companies, but in general, work for ourselves.
Now, that is definitely not an all inclusive definition of a virtual assistant, but it is a few points that help get my message across to my very specific audience!
As a virtual assistant or client that takes advantage of virtual assistance, how would you describe what a virtual assistant really is?
Look for my next installment, points of my “virtual assistant definition” from a discussion with my 9 year old cousin!