What an awesome thread!

I'll have to post to it when I hone down my niche list.

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Joy Wilder
Wilder Office Approach

I saw this thread and felt like I had to contribute, if anything to get any feedback from you guys on marketing myself to prospective clients.

Administrative Assistance
Word Processing documentation
Transposing information onto blogs
Answer emails and return calls
Create marketing forecasts per quarter
Set appointments and coordinate accordingly
Conduct key word research online

Import/Export Assistance
Coordinate shipments with customs brokers and freight forwarders to meet deadlines
Process import and export documentation necessary for letters of credit in overseas transactions
Assist with compling information for bids with banks who have projects overseas
Research import/export trends of a particular country
Consult on the U.S. Customs laws as a specialist, pertaining to imports into the U.S.

Paralegal Services (I am very new to this field, so bare with me)
Create briefs of cases
Cite check cases
Research slips from the Court of International Trade
Assist with the investigation of an international trade case

I am looking more into internet marketing, and how it relates to international trade. Could be an added niche?

This is all I can think of right now for this. At least it got me focused on what I really would like to be doing with my business. Such a neat exercise!

Amy

This is a fantasic thread! I am just getting started and loved reading about what other successful VAs are doing.

I have a lot of expericene as a legal admin so I think this will be my main target. I also have medical admin training so that might be a consideration as well.

As always, thanks for the great insight.

Dina

Great advice I am also in the process of sorting out my niche and although my main experience is in legal secretarial, I am interested in small business start ups. I am about to compile a strengths and weaknesses list and take things from there.

It is great being able to see what other established VAs are doing though and getting a feel for the market so to speak. Thanks for the advice I am heeding every word.

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Cassandra S Ward
An aspiring Virtual Assistant

Originally Posted by Avocet

I'm still a newbie and still finding my niche market! As well as the general administration work my friend suggested I looked into Localization. It is a new term on my but basically is "transcribing" US English into UK English. It wasn't until I looked into this seriously I realised how different our two languages are! The last time I looked at sentence construction was when I was at school which is many (many) years ago! I find it quite fascinating and think (as long as I can find a market out there for it) it is something I am going to get a lot of interest out of. Avocet

Ooooh... thanks for that idea. I was wondering how to utilise my skills in those areas. I grew up in Australia and moved to America whilst a late teen, so "localisation" would be PERFECT for me as well. And right you are on the nuances of the same (sorta) language. I'll add that to my growing list, if you don't mind.

I have the name and logo.....ongoing list. I'm taking classes in graphic design and plan to add that at a later date.

My niche is offering Human Resources support. Having worked within HR for the past 11 years I am able to provide generalist HR support to small businesses (e.g. setting up policies, procedures, employments contracts etc). However my passion lies in HR data, systems and analysis so I am trying to get most of my work in this area, working with medium size companies.... here's hoping!

The types of projects I currently/hope to undertake include the following:

Data analysis and presentations (including absence, recruitment, training etc)
Salary review and benchmark survey submissions
Total reward statements for employees
Redundancy calculation spreadsheets and "what if" scenarios
Equal pay review
HR system development and management

This is a really interesting thread! It has been really helpful to see what other people are doing.

Thanks,
Sharon

Wow!

I just wanted to say thank you to all who have posted here. I'm new & trying to develop my niche, and these lists are very valuable.

Awesome thread I see most of the services that I offer on here. It also allows me to see some areas that I have experience that I didn't include before.

Great thread!

I am mostly focused on small trade business owners and sales professionals that want to organize there work or expand their business. I am also focusing on the one-on-one relationships with them, with a little virtual business in there. Here is my niche:

Office Assistance
Document Creation
PowerPoint Presentations
Expo Preparation
Marketing Projects
Database Creation/Maintenance
Email Response
Mass Mailings
Office/File Organization
Research
Travel Arrangements
Event Planning
Running Errands
And much more

Originally Posted by April

Thats how I felt about specializing in the legal field. There are VAs out there who do a lot more than I know how to do and it can be both intimidating and discouraging. But don't let that stop you from doing what YOU want to do. There's always going to be someone with more experience or a different set of skills. You also have to keep in mind that a VA needs to be well-suited to the client as far as work methods, personalities, etc. Pick some of the skills you see other REVAs listing and find out how you can add that skill to your services. Is there a class you can take, webinars you can sign up for...?

I completely agree with people being more experienced than you and doing what you want. If you truly enjoy it you will do far better than someone that knows how to do something, but does not like to do it. Not every industry needs everything that you or someone more experienced than you offers. They just may need that extra hand. If you have experience in an industry and you truly like that industry add them to your niche. You mentioned a couple of different industries that you liked. Choose a few in each industry and test them out.