The Essentials of Working as a Home Based Virtual Assistant
What does it take to be a virtual assistant? What are the important matters that a virtual assistant should take note of when working on different jobs and tasks? What elements are needed to become an effective home-based VA?
To help you answer these questions, here are the essentials of working as a home based virtual assistant.
Logistics
It’s essential for a virtual assistant to work without encountering difficulties with the projects or tasks assigned to them. This is why it’s essential for a VA to have the proper tools in completing tasks and projects. What you’ll need is a properly working computer that can handle a wide range of tasks.
Choose between a desktop or a laptop depending on what suits your particular situation best. Also, make sure that your computer’s specifications can meet the demands of different software and applications needed for the job.
Reliable Internet Connection
Having a fast and reliable internet connection is essential as this directly affects how quickly and effectively you can finish your projects. Having slow and intermittent connections can shoot down your productivity. This can also cause miscommunication and jobs being left unattended.
In the digital age, it’s important to have high-speed internet as you’ll be sharing files that are huge. As much as possible, you want the upload and download of different files to be a matter of seconds or minutes. If it goes over 5 minutes, it’s almost considered a nuisance. A steady and reliable connection is also important as you don’t want to get cut off during an important meeting or client call. This not only brings a bad impression, it may also cost you your job or career.
A Designated Workstation
Being a virtual employee that works from home allows you to literally work from anywhere in your house. However, it’s better to have a designated workstation in the comfort of your home. Establishing a designated location for work not only sets boundaries for you, it also sets boundaries for the people living with you.
It’s important to choose a workstation that has a good working atmosphere. Make sure you don’t work by the kitchen, in the bedroom and where there is a television. These places are susceptible to noise that will be a source of distraction. Also, don’t work in front of a window; noise and visual distractions are common while working near one. A good place to set as your workstation is the study or the dining room, just make sure that everyone is done eating.
Stay Fit
Working for long hours can make you forget about drinking. Stay hydrated by keeping a good supply of water close. Sometimes, VAs get too engrossed in their work that they forget to drink and eat. Stay fit by eating at the right time, and drink lots of fluids. Since working from home gives you access to food and water freely, don’t overdo it. Sitting for long hours is also unhealthy, so try to do some stretching from time to time to refresh both your body and mind.
Before deciding to work with a VA or if you’re thinking of making virtual assistance a long term career, make sure you’ve ticked off these essentials first. By taking note of these important details, expect your VA career to run smoother as you’ll encounter fewer challenges along the way.
Next: 5 Must-Have Tools When Working From Home
20Four7VA recognizes the challenge of effectively managing an online business – and we are very eager to help. Our company specializes in eCommerce VIRTUAL STAFFING SOLUTIONS, providing customizable and scalable solutions to small, medium, and large enterprise business owners so they can focus on growing their business.
Ready to have access to incredible people with incredible skills in the most cost-effective way? Contact us today!
