Expert Rating


Virtual Assistant Training
From ExpertRating gives you an excellent opportunity to join the elite league of certified Virtual Assistants.
The ExpertRating Virtual Assistant Course leading to Virtual Assistant Certification offers you a unique opportunity to get a Virtual Assistant Certification from one of the leaders in online skill testing and certification.

Online Virtual Assistant CoursewareThe Virtual Assistant Certification is by far the "best value-for-money" Virtual Assistant Certification Program at 69.99. Know more about industry's leading Virtual Assistant Certification Course



Virtual Assistant (VA) - "a highly-skilled, independent professional who remotely provides administrative, technical and/or creative business support services"

Choosing the best Virtual Assistant Training and Certification
The virtual assisting industry has been growing exponentially since the last few years as it helps individuals realize their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs and maintaining a work/life balance that they enjoy. One of the benefits of this industry is the availability of great virtual assistant training courses such as the industry leading one from ExpertRating that can help you quickly equip yourself to enter this lucrative career.

Anyone with the necessary skills learnt from the ExpertRating virtual assistant training course, basic equipment, an Internet connection and the proper motivation can become a Virtual Assistant. According to the Virtual Assistant Networking Association, almost 97% of VAs are women, however the number of male VAs is growing. A survey performed by the group also indicates that the majority of VAs are married, have children and started their VA businesses after having been in the workforce for quite some time. Although there were many reasons given for starting their own businesses, most VAs said they did so for three reasons - they wanted flexibility, they wanted to run their own business, and they wanted independence.
The ExpertRating Virtual Assistant Training manual mentions that according to market analyst firm NelsonHall, business process outsourcing, which includes Virtual Assistant services, is expected to generate $450 billion in revenues by 2012. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010-2011 Occupational Outlook Handbook indicates that there were about 4.3 million secretaries and administrative assistants in 2008 and the field is expected to grow 11% to 4.8 million by 2018, making it one of the largest occupations in the U.S. economy. However, the report also states that office automation and organizational restructuring will eliminate large numbers of office administration jobs because many small and medium-sized organizations are outsourcing key administrative functions, such as data entry, bookkeeping, and Internet research, to virtual assistants.

The ExpertRating Virtual Assistant Training Course also states that The Office of Advocacy and Census Bureau reports conclude that there were nearly 29.6 million small businesses in the United States in 2008 and small businesses make up the majority of clients for Virtual Assistants. The same office states that an average of 600,000 new businesses open each year which contributes to the positive outlook of a Virtual Assistant career.

As per the Virtual Assistant Training Course, the word 'virtual' has many definitions, but for the purposes of this course can best be described as having most of the properties, the appearance, essence, or effect of something without being that thing. Virtual Assistant (VA) is defined as a highly-skilled, independent professional who remotely provides administrative, technical and/or creative business support services. A virtual office is a mobile or remote work-environment equipped with telecommunication links and basic office furniture, but without a fixed office space.

Virtual Assistants are professional Administrative Assistants who work from their own home or office rather than from an employer's location, and they typically provide services for multiple clients instead of a single company. Services provided by Virtual Assistants include such things as technical, creative, secretarial and receptionist services, however some VAs also specialize in certain fields such as real estate, social media, legal, project management, event planning, ecommerce or research. Following is a partial list of typical services provided by VAs as taken from the ExpertRating Virtual Assistant Training Course:
Life Coaching Event Planning Project Management
Advertising Excel Real Estate Services
Appointments Human Resources Resumes / CVs
Blog Design Internet Research Search Engine Optimization
Blog Maintenance Legal Assistance Social Media
Copywriting Marketing Taxes
Customer Service Medical Billing Transcription
Data Entry Newsletter Assistance Translation
Database Design Office Assistance Web Design
Database Maintenance PDF Creation Word Processing
Word Processing Phone Services
Editing/Proofreading PowerPoint Presentations Accounting/Bookkeeping

Some Virtual Assistants choose alternate titles for themselves like Virtual Professional, Virtual Associate, Personal Assistant, Virtual Business Manager or Online Business Manager.

The Virtual Assistant Training Program from ExpertRating equips you with most of the essential skills required to start working in many of the above stated job categories.

Some of the key concepts covered in the ExpertRating Virtual Assistant Training Course are:

* About the Virtual Assistant training Program
* How to Create a Business Plan
* Registration and Licensing of your business
* Setting Up Your Virtual Office
* Virtual Assistant Tools
* Computer Skills
* Introduction to SEO and what it involves
* Developing Your Services
* Pricing Your Services
* Marketing Your Services
* Marketplaces For Your Services
* Social Media - The Next Big Marketing Revolution
* Online Forums & Communities
* Organizing Your Work Flow
* Balancing Your Home Office & Family
* Expanding Your Virtual Assistant Business
* Business Ethics
* Sample Documents


How the virtual assistant course is structured - The Online Virtual Assistant training Course from ExpertRating will equip you with all the knowledge and skills that you need to start your own VA business. The VA training program is 100% online and you can read the material at your convenience from any computer with an internet connection. On completing the VA course you are required to take a small test to ensure that you have understood most of the concepts explained in the course. You will receive a certificate, logo and online transcript for you to display on your website, stationary and in your office. You can display the credentials "Certified Virtual Assistant" on all your business correspondence on completing the virtual assistant training and test at the end of the course. The Virtual assistant course includes in-depth material that covers all the concepts covered in the final test. Below is the format for the Virtual Assistant Test which must be taken at the end of the VA training program in order to be certified:

Virtual Assistant Certification Test format

Type of Exam - Multiple choice questions with one or more correct answers.
Duration - 40
Number of Questions - 40
Question Weightage - All questions carry equal marks.
Navigation - You can go back and answer unanswered questions.
Answer Reviews - You can review the questions at the end of the exam by going back and answering marked questions.
Exhibits - Some questions will be based upon an exhibit.
Pass marks - 50%
Retake Policy - You can retake the test any number of times by paying the required retake fee.

Note: Some exams may follow a different format. Please read the exam details carefully before registering.
All successful candidates will receive a hardcopy certificate of accomplishment stating that they have completed all the requirements of the Virtual Assistant Certification process.

Pricing your VA services - (Extracted from the ExpertRating Virtual Assistant Training manual)

When considering the prices that you will charge for your services you need to be sure to price your services high enough to cover your expenses, but also low enough to make it worthwhile for people to hire you.



Estimating Costs

The first step in setting fees is to estimate your costs. Calculate how much income you'll need to cover your regular household bills, or how much income you need to replace if your plan is to move from a current job to running your own Virtual Assistant business. Next, divide that amount by 52 weeks to determine how much you'll need to earn on a weekly basis.

For example, if you are currently earning $20,000 gross per year and you'll need to make that much or more in order to leave your current job, then divide $20,000 by 52 weeks to arrive at a weekly figure of $385.

Next, figure out what additional business expenses you'll also need to cover and add that amount to your weekly figure. As an example, you will be using space in your home and likely extra electricity and other utilities that you would not be using if you were working outside the home. For the purpose of this example, we will estimate 15% to cover those expenses, so $385 x .15 = $58, for a total of $443 per week.

Now, if you work an average of 40 hours per week then you would need to bring in around $11 per hour. Therefore, if you are bidding on a job for a client that would take approximately ten hours to complete, you would need to bid at least $110 for that job.

 The above calculations will provide you with a starting point for determining your fees, however you will also need to consider several other factors. If your client is in a hurry to get a job done, then you can charge more to perform the work in a rush. Consider the complexity of the job and charge higher prices for more difficult jobs. You may have one price for building a five page website, but you should charge more if you must also write all of the copy for the website.

The prices that you charge should also be based on your experience. If you have years of experience as a copy writer then you can charge more than if you are a beginner.

On larger jobs you might want to charge on an hourly basis rather than on a per job basis, or if your client has many different tasks for you then it may be easier for everyone involved to bill hourly for the work. In cases like this you can ask for a retainer up front based on the number of hours you expect to work each week. For example, if you charge $15 per hour and expect to spend ten hours per week for that client then you would request $150 in advance and provide billing reports indicating how much time you've spent.

Research the fees that others charge for similar tasks and set your fees accordingly so that you'll be competitive in the marketplace. Check resources such as the annual "Writer's Market" digest at your local library to see what common fees are per page or per word. Look up the websites of Virtual Assistants or other businesses that provide services similar to the ones you plan to provide and find out what they are charging.

Take all of the above factors into consideration when setting fees for your initial list of basic services and keep in mind that can and should revisit your price list from time to time and make any changes or adjustments that you feel are necessary.


Virtual Assistant Training
From ExpertRating gives you an excellent opportunity to join the elite league of certified Virtual Assistants.
The ExpertRating Virtual Assistant Course leading to Virtual Assistant Certification offers you a unique opportunity to get a Virtual Assistant Certification from one of the leaders in online skill testing and certification.

Online Virtual Assistant CoursewareThe Virtual Assistant Certification is by far the "best value-for-money" Virtual Assistant Certification Program at 69.99. Know more about industry's leading Virtual Assistant Certification Course