I am 30 years old and have been in the administration field for over 8 yrs i don't have any degrees just been lucky to get work based on my experiences would that help me as well in the virtual business as well. I am a stay home mom and have been reading alot about this and i really want to start i already have everything such as equipment, supplies etc.. but i keep getting caught in the thought that maybe i would not be able to get into this due to my lack of degrees any suggestions.

I am planning on taking course on real estate, bookkeeping and general administration just as a refreshers course do you think this would be enough? Please advise

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Esmeralda Castro

I have been working in offices for 32 years - no degrees, just experience. I started Goddess 4 years ago and have not had any issues getting clients over lack of education because my experience and references have handled those issues before they came up. Next question?

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

I also do not have a degree or any formal training of any kind. I started my business, advertising a few services that I know how to do and am taking on-line courses in other areas that interest me.

Although, I am still new (started in June), I have had a few clients already and none of them ever asked about my education. If you are honest with yourself and with your clients about what you are really good at and what your limitations are, I'm sure you'll do just fine.

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Jennifer Simons - Girl Monday
www.girlmondaysf.com

Esmeralda, you've received some good advice on this thread. Because you asked such a great question, we posted this on our Facebook page as well today - click here to read even more answers to your question!

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I am currently not a VA but I have been doing research into starting my own business as a VA. You should definitely consider buying the VA forums ebook to help you started. \

As far as education goes, I guess you don't NEED a degree but education is always helpful. I think many years experience in your field is really what clients will be looking for. I am 31 years old and currently in school doing a degree in corporate communication because it's something I want to do for myself. It may not necessarily benefit me in my future VA business but I want to be able to call myself a college graduate. Even if you don't get a degree, I still think that continuing education in your field is important just to keep up with technology and advances in the field.

As someone that recruits virtual assistants I deal with this almost daily.

I tell people all the time that working in a brick and mortar office for 30 years does not qualify them to be a virtual assistant. It is a transition and you have to have excellent communication skills to switch from "in person" to "virtual". Some people just can't do it.

You also have to have excellent computer skills and be able to find answers to your own questions, because there is not always someone to ask.

So.. in a nutshell, you don't need a fancy degree or a certification from some expensive course.. you need great communication skills, you need to be extremely internet savvy, and you have to be resourceful and be able to research.

Hope that helps!

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Melissa
Virtual Assistant

Originally Posted by iRealEstateVA

I tell people all the time that working in a brick and mortar office for 30 years does not qualify them to be a virtual assistant. It is a transition and you have to have excellent communication skills to switch from "in person" to "virtual". Some people just can't do it.

You are dead-on! Being a VA also requires the discipline and motivation to run your own business, which many people just can't handle. It's a lot easier to have someone else tell you where to be at what time and what to work on than making yourself do it all.

I also agree with Paulette that continuing education is extremely important for VAs. We HAVE to keep up on the newest technology and information available not only in our chosen 'target market' but also in business as a whole. Clients are more concerned with what we know NOW than what we learned in school however long or short time frame it may have been that we received our 'book larnin.'

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

I received training straight after school in Secretarial Support which helps, but what has helped me in being a PA/VA is the hands on experience. Luckily when I took Secretarial Studies the college had an internal Admin Office where we had practical training. I went on to be an office junior, then an Administrator, then a PA/OM, and I worked my way up and that's what's important in being a VA, knowing what you're doing on a practical level.