Make yourself easily accessible through email, telephone and instant messenger. You should have access to whatever instant messenger service your client prefers. The most popular are ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo. Be certain to set your instant messengers to save your history so that you can easily refer back to client request or comments without having to solicit client to repeat what they already have said.

A rule of thumb is to remain in communication with client, but don’t waste their time. The client should end their work day each day with a sense of real gratitude of skills, organization and trustworthiness you bring to table. They should know that you are available to converse with at almost any time but you do not bother them unless it is absolutely necessary.

In end presence of a Virtual Assistant should prove to make company more money because owner and other business team members can focus on income producing areas of business that they otherwise wouldn’t have as much time to do.

The most common and I would say necessary tools for job are most current version of Microsoft Office. You should have and be comfortable using Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access. You should have either Macromedia Dreamweaver or Microsoft Frontpage and know basics of HTML and ftp’ing files to and from servers.

So much of a Virtual Assistant’s work is based online that it really is crucial to have DSL or Cable internet access. You also want to have a good computer that you can rely on.

There is so little expense in running a virtual office that I don’t believe it is wise to cut corners with your computer, software and other office equipment. Having latest technology on hand and continuing to acquire and master new skills will increase your desirability and worth in eyes of your clients. It will also demonstrate your commitment to your career.

When a client begins to trust you with important responsibilities and invests time in training and familiarizing you with procedures of their particular business, they need to be able to depend on you and to know that you are committed to your work.

In short, with administrative skills and above average technical savvy, coupled with an organized and professional approach – a career as a Virtual Assistant is definitely a viable and rewarding option.

If you don’t have time to do what you wish you would do, ask yourself, “Will this specific action contribute something rich and precious to my life? If I die in one year, will I be happy I did this?” If not, and if you’re under no obligation (like paying bills), I have a suggestion for you: stop wanting to do it – you’re wasting your energy, and irritating yourself.

We accumulate dust in our houses, in our cars, on our clothes, but we accumulate dust in our schedules as well. We hang on not only to old habits, but also to old objectives. Our priorities change, our needs change – sometimes abruptly – and we don’t always adjust. We stopped studying Spanish 10 years ago and we keep trying to go back to it; we imagine going to Mexico and communicating easily with locals, we imagine impressing our friends (and ourselves) when we’ll speak this lovely language… but we never find time or energy to study it. Maybe we don’t really want or need to speak Spanish perfectly, after all… Or maybe we don’t really need to do laundry every other day… maybe we can stop volunteering at our children’s school if we don’t get much out of it anymore.

When we dust our schedule (and our outdated objectives), we make room, we create space for those effervescent priorities that correspond exactly to what we need, at that precise moment; we free ourselves from activities and wishes that do not serve us anymore. Nothing is a true waste of time, of course, but some choices are far more constructive, and fun, than others. You may not be able to order a chicken tortilla and a green salad with dressing on side if you go to Mexico. You may not become a size 0 and fit in your wedding dress, or tuxedo. You may not have 10 clean towels piled up all time. But changing your standards, your expectations, and your objectives, will make you feel like there is room for you in your schedule – and in your life. What would you change in your life if you assumed that living was meant to be a lot of fun?