A few years back but not until last year I began to explore seriously new ways of money making opportunities in the internet. I came across so many online money making ideas in the internet, and I actually tried some of them like pay per click and affiliate marketing. There are also plenty out there that offer get rich quick schemes and outright scams! At some point, I was also a victim of that! So please be aware of that.
However, one legitimate way to make money online that is increasingly becoming popular is to work as a Virtual Assistant or VA. I've heard of this virtual assistant opportunity only in January 2011 and it sufficiently piqued my interest. When I saw an advert about "How to Work from Home as a Virtual Assistant Seminar" by Jomar Hilario I signed up right away without hesitation. I knew then it's the right option for me, and after the seminar, my resolve to be a virtual assistant was even bolstered.
Virtual Assistant
You might be wondering what a Virtual Assistant is. A VA is a person who works remotely (via internet, telephone, fax) as an independent contractor and provides services to a client for a pre-determined price. The services a VA could provide vary; it could be professional, managerial, administrative, technical, creative and others. A VA can work for an individual client or organization/company.
You may click here for more information about Virtual Assistant and seminar opportunities by Jomar Hilario and how you can be a VA also http://adf.ly/xBlJ.
My Reasons
Here are the top 8 reasons, in no particular order, why I want to work as Virtual Assistant. As of now, I only want to work part-time as a VA, since I have my regular 8-hour job.
1. Place Freedom. As a VA, I have the ability to work from the comfort of my home or any place I choose actually. I do not need to come to work or office everyday. I can do my work in any place I choose to.
2. Time Freedom. Since I do not need to come to work or report to office Monday to Friday, I have the freedom to set my own working time — when I want to work and for how long do I want to work. And I can tell my client that!
3. Freedom to Choose Work That Meets My Personal Needs. Not only being a VA gives me flexibility to work on my own time and place, it also gives me the ability to choose the kind of work that suits my preferences (kind of work, level of effort, etc), working style and temperament. It allows me to work within the bounds of my personal circumstances.
4. Opportunity to be more Entrepreneurial. When you work as a VA, you work as an independent contractor, or self-entrepreneur. It helps to develop and train an entrepreneurial mindset, attitude and aptitude in me. For instance, I need to identify and define what services to offer, find a client, apply for a “gig”, negotiate with a client, etc. On top of that, it puts me in control to set my own price (although honestly I find this not easy to do, at least for now). All these help to develop in me the mindset of an entrepreneur!
5. Ability to Scale Up my Work. Being a VA, it gives me flexibility to take on as many projects or clients as I can handle. I can start with simple, administrative tasks, and gradually scale up as I progress. For now I am happy to take on simple projects as I am still trying to get my footing. And hopefully, when I get constant stream of projects in the future, I will also have the freedom to accept or refuse a particular project or client, depending on my personal circumstances.
6. Opportunity to Learn and Develop New Skills. In the current marketplace where competition is much fiercer than before, one needs to be strongly competitive to be successful. I am not a very techie person (neither an idiot too, hehe 
) but being a VA, it gives me a lot of opportunity to learn entirely new computer skills. In fact in recent weeks, I’ve learned new computer programs/tools that I can apply in my VA work. I’ve learned how to blog too! Isn’t that great?
7. Be My Own Boss. Not only being a VA gives me time, place and work freedom, it also lets me to be my own boss. And I love that idea! I hope I will achieve this in no short time. Of course, I still have to work with my clients and be accountable to them, but after the project I will have the freedom to decide if I want to continue to work with him or not. I have the freedom to refuse a client as much as a client has freedom to refuse me.
8. Additional Income. On top of the benefits I mentioned above, yes, doing Virtual Assistant work can give me extra income. It is a good supplement to my income from the regular 8-hour job. And I plan to use this extra income into more productive economic ventures. In fact, if being a VA will greatly click for me, I might even decide to give up my 8-hour job and work as a full-time VA. Hmmm.
I know the road to VA success is not going to be easy. Thanks to the training I received last January from Jomar Hilario. That I believe gave me an edge over others already. I am no quitter, and I am ready for the challenge!
