Virtual Assistants come in every specialty you can name. There are VAs for real estate, for lawyers, for IT, for authors, for coaches, and even for spiritual practitioners!

Spirituality and personal growth are of growing interest in the U.S. With the release of “The Secret,” “What the Bleep Do We Know,” “The Celestine Prophecy,” “Conversations with God,” and other well-known books and movies, more people are aware of and opening to their spirituality and the mind/body/spirit connection. Most people have heard of Dr. Andrew Weil, Deepak Chopra, and Wayne Dyer, who all encourage us to deepen our awareness.

There are thousands of spiritual entrepreneurs who practice everything from bodywork and energy healing, to numerology, psychic reading, past life regression. They speak and write to educate and inspire others. All share a common mission: to heal, inspire and uplift those who seek them out.

Many practitioners got involved in their field by having some sort of turning point occur. An energy healer sought help for an ongoing ailment, and upon experiencing her own “miraculous” healing, trained to be able to help others. A medium who communicated with spirits from infancy chose to stop hiding from her gift and instead use it for the benefit of others. A whole food expert healed obesity and diabetes by changing her diet, and now educates others.

Some of these entrepreneurs have basic business knowledge, and others do not. Lack of knowledge is not the only obstacle to successful business for these providers. Lack of time is, as well. Often, they spend more time scheduling clients, managing events, and doing their own administrative work than they do actually DOING the work they are here to do. That is where the Spiritual Virtual Assistant comes in.

Being a successful Spiritual VA takes several skills:
-Computer work (internet, basic programs)
-Time management
-Organization
-Focus
-Client service
-Anticipating needs
-Ability to work with different personalities (not just of the practitioners but of their clients)
-Tolerance of all faiths, spiritual beliefs and practices

When I began my Spiritual VA practice in 2009, I quickly realized that there were a multitude of tasks that providers need help with. For instance:
-Client scheduling
-Marketing
-Support with editing and proofing
-Management and coordination of events
-Setting up speaking engagements
-Managing mailing lists and newsletters
-Website development
-Creation of presentations, webinars, teleseminars
-Calendar management
-Record keeping
-Office and file organization
-Creation of forms, spreadsheets

It’s not just skills that make a successful Spiritual VA. Personality is crucial in this sensitive field. Let’s say that a gifted healer wants a website created. The best person to take on that task is NOT the person who thinks that energy healing is mumbo-jumbo “woowoo”! To best express the personality and mission of the client, the VA must not only accept, but believe in the work of their client. Likewise, assisting with editing a newsletter won’t work well if you don’t understand or believe the message being conveyed.

Another crucial aspect is confidentiality. The Spiritual VA serves not only his/her direct clients, but their clients as well, and most of those have some sort of dis-comfort that drives them to seek out guidance or healing. One must be able to sensitively handle communication and respect the privacy and dignity of those seeking help.

I encourage not only existing Virtual Assistants but others who are seeking a new career path to consider their own belief systems and to find a way to use those in their work. Expanding your own mind/body/spirit wellbeing allows you to be of more service to clients. As a network, we can truly change the world!