What Does Real Estate Virtual Assistant Do

What is a virtual assistant?

A virtual assistant, also called a virtual assistant or VA, is an entrepreneur who supports and advises fellow entrepreneurs online (sometimes on location) within their company. You can actually see it as a kind of secretary or personal assistant at a distance that you can fly in online to take the worries of the entrepreneur out of your hands. Because you as a VA are also an entrepreneur yourself, you can think along with the clients on a different level.

What does a virtual assistant do?

The tasks of a virtual assistant are very diverse. A virtual assistant is often associated with administrative tasks. But it can be much broader (or more specialized) than that. For example, I often work as a sparring partner and determine together with the client which tasks within the organization can be taken on by me. Think of taking over daily tasks to keep the business process going. But also implementing the corporate identity, designing flyers, redesigning work processes or taking over social media is one of the possibilities. You are then really cooperating within the company.

If I had to describe myself, I would be more of an all-round VA who can also think along at a strategic management level. I also work as a freelance online business manager. In this, I have a more advisory role. But these qualities also come in handy in my VA role. This can also partly overlap.

What types of VAs are there?

Many VAs are versatile. That is the strength of many VAs. They can be deployed broadly and flexibly. But not every virtual assistant is good at everything. Some VAs specialize more in one sector or one program. If I had to categorize virtual assistants, I would roughly come up with this list:

• Accountant VA

  An accounting VA is good at bookkeeping and invoicing and can organize and maintain your entire financial administration. Within this there are also VAs who specialize. For example, by focusing on one program, such as a moneybird advisor.

• Technical VA

  There are also technical virtual assistants. They are mainly concerned with the technical side of entrepreneurship. For example, you can specialize in building WordPress websites or setting up online environments, tools and programs. Ideal when you are starting a new project or are still starting up your company.

• VA project manager

  A VA project manager can be seen as a somewhat ‘heavier VA’. In addition to providing structure and overview in a project, the VA can also fully manage the project or lead a team. In this case, you can see a VA more as a sidekick with whom you can spar and who thinks strategically about your business.

• VA social media / VA content

  Some social media virtual assistant focus on entirely, content writing, or even video editing. These are often longer term projects where they are called upon to produce, schedule, and maintain content.

• VA administration & HR

  You also have VAs who have completely focused on administrative tasks or Human Resources. So it is actually not possible to describe in 1 sentence what a VA does as it is very diverse and varied.

The number of entrepreneurs working as VAs has increased significantly in recent years.

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A virtual assistant seems like a fairly new position. How has this freelance position emerged in recent years?

If you look at Wikipedia, the profession has existed since 2012. However, the number of entrepreneurs who work as a VA has increased significantly in recent years. Where people were initially surprised by what I was going to do as an entrepreneur and the fact that I was going to do it from home, since Covid everyone knows how well it is possible to collaborate online.

How did you get into this position?

At the end of 2018 I decided to start my own business after I had been out of work twice in a row due to business economic reasons. I didn’t want this to happen a third time, due to bad employership by someone else.  At that time I had also just become single with 4 children. By working as a VA I could perfectly combine work and private life. So for me it was a logical step to start as a VA.

What do you like most about your expertise? (And freelancing)?

My expertise allows me to work closely with various, diverse entrepreneurs on their businesses. The energy you get from that, that’s what I do it for! Working together to make their business function better. Using a helicopter view to identify and solve certain bottlenecks. You experience that specific feeling of freedom that you get as an entrepreneur, but you still work very closely with people, which creates that team feeling.

How can companies use a VA? 

You can use a VA in various ways, as temporary support or replacement in case of illness or maternity leave of employees. But also on a project basis or long-term collaborations. So actually very flexible. In consultation with a VA, a lot is possible. If you are looking for more specific knowledge for more complex tasks, it is best to look for a specialist VA.

You experience that specific feeling of freedom that you get as an entrepreneur, but you still work very closely with people, which creates that team feeling.

When is a VA really necessary?

Simply put: When an entrepreneur gets stuck in his/her work or when the growth of the organization stagnates. By outsourcing certain tasks, the entrepreneur can then focus on more important matters so that the company can grow again.
What are common mistakes that you encounter in the field?
Some clients want to assign too many different tasks to one person. Even an all-round VA often does not have all the expertise in-house. Often a VA, including me, does have their own network within which they can outsource assignments to someone else or recommend another VA. For example, I would never take on the financial administration. The first thing I did when I started working for myself as a VA was hire an accountant.

What was your most fun, or most interesting assignment? And why?

Actually, every assignment has something, it is precisely the diversity and variation that makes it so much fun. For example, I have mainly worked in maternity care for the past 2.5 years and I now work with someone in information provision. Two completely different sectors with different entrepreneurs.
One similarity is that two are/were start-ups. Being allowed to help start a new company remains special. Also to see how differently the various entrepreneurs approach this but are open to my feedback and experience.

We always told her to throw it over the fence. When I noticed that it was difficult, I jokingly went and stood in my garden by the fence with my hands up. Ready to catch what she would throw.

What do you most often encounter with clients?

That it is often difficult for clients to indicate in advance exactly how many hours the work will take. Fortunately, most VAs are very flexible and you can often adjust this in consultation.

What is also interesting with some clients is that they can have difficulty letting go of certain activities. Some are very easy about this and give you complete freedom to make all the decisions yourself. Others have a lot of trouble with this.

I once experienced a client who was on the verge of burnout and found it difficult to completely delegate things. We always told her to just throw it over the fence. When I noticed that this was difficult, I jokingly stood in my garden by the fence with my hands up. Ready to catch what she would throw. My daughter took the photo, which the client jokingly said she would put on her desk as a souvenir. Fortunately, she didn’t do that. From that moment on, things went a little better and she managed to delegate more.

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How do you become a virtual assistant?

Just do it! I myself just jumped in based on my broad and long work experience. I have gained a lot of work experience as a secretary, executive secretary, management secretary and as a marketing coordinator. But in the mean time there are also various trainers who offer a good training to become a Virtual Assistant if you prefer to learn a bit more in & outs of the profession before you start.

Do you have any tips for clients looking for a VA?

Try to determine for yourself where your specific need lies. This is to describe the assignment as well as possible and to attract the right type and kind of VA. Other wise you will be flooded with responses and you will lose a lot of time before you have found the right VA.