In these times of skyrocketing fuel prices, the Internet is proving to be a haven for creative entrepreneurs and IT workers. Huge contact center operators and outsourcing companies have capitalized on the global digital network to deliver their services. By the same token, work-at-home private citizens have taken advantage of this as well.

A growing number of people are discovering a whole new range of virtual professions: you could be a virtual assistant, a telemarketing merchant, or any kind of entrepreneur for as long as the service can be delivered via the Internet.

One such ‘technopreneur’ is my friend and colleague, Althea Cunanan. She works as a virtual assistant and has clients in the US, while enjoying the lifestyle she’s grown up with in Davao. There is the problem of the Greenwich Mean Time… but that is a minor hurdle vis-à-vis the benefits she reaps from her virtual employment.

Althea offers services ranging from secretarial work to marketing to being a travel merchant for her clients. She says that it’s come to a point where she can’t take on extra work anymore, so she’s looking for fresh VAs that she can train.

I know of other VAs in Davao and Metro Manila, and all of them agree on one thing: the savings in public transportation fare are indeed considerable. What’s more, you don’t even have to get all dolled up to talk to your virtual boss!

What does it take to be a virtual assistant?

Most essential requirement: English proficiency. Since the work will involve much telephone conversations (via VoIP, of course), you must be comfortable in the English language through and through. Otherwise, I doubt if you’ll be able to retain your clients.

Corollary to this, a virtual assistant should be able to write well. VAs are expected to read and write reports, transcribe data, create abstracts, etc. If you can write well and manage to meet deadlines without effort, you’d do well as a VA.

A reliable Internet connection that can accommodate voice and video at decent speeds is also a must. If possible, and because it would really be a plus, get a backup Internet connection. Unfortunately, not one of our ISPs in Davao is 100% reliable.

Computers are very cheap now, and VAs don’t really need to have the latest or the most powerful setup in order to work. So, an investment of around 15 thousand pesos for a good PC would do nicely.

How do VAs get paid?

Western Union is one option for receiving payments from US-based clients (or from Europe, for that matter). It’s the quickest, but it will involve charges at the transmitting end. Some clients might not want to absorb the transmission charges (although I doubt if they are prohibitive at all).

Another option is PayPal. Many Philippine banks are now “interconnected” with this online payment service, with UnionBank leading the pack. The enrollment process is a tad involved, but in my opinion, it’s worth the effort. Via PayPal, you can receive and send funds, while maintaining a Web-based bank account – it doesn’t earn interest, though.

Of course, if you have a dollar account, you could ask your clients to remit the funds to your bank (just make sure you provide your bank’s SWIFT code). This, however, is the most cumbersome on the part of your client. In terms of ease of use, PayPal is still the most convenient.

Now, how does one go about getting clients?

There are, in fact, tons of information on that available via Google (or Yahoo!, if you prefer). Just do a search for “virtual assistants wanted” and you’ll get thousands of hits.

In order to make yourself more visible online as a potential VA, here are a few suggestions. First, create user accounts on LinkedIn.com and Elance.com. Simply put, these are portals (or something like clearinghouses) where job seekers and providers converge. Make sure you fill out all the information requested by the user profile wizards, so that people looking at your LinkedIn page or Elance profile will get to know about you and your services right away.

There are many other Internet sites dedicated to bringing employment opportunities to freelancers. It wouldn’t hurt to sign up in as many of these sites as you can, but don’t neglect LinkedIn.com – it’s one of the most respectable business networking sites around.

Being a virtual assistant — or any other similar profession, such as being a third party processor — is not for everyone. It requires patience and perseverance, and an internalization of the business culture of American and European clients, who would be your virtual bosses.

With our country in near-crisis mode, however, it’s good to know that there are work alternatives available to those who would persist in bettering their lives in these trying times.

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