By Stacy Brice

Five years ago, the Virtual Assistance profession was formalized when I founded AssistU. It was the first organization of any kind, anywhere, for VAs, and it remains the only organization offering fully rounded professional services for Virtual Assistants.

As I look back over the last five years, I'm thrilled with what I see — of what the industry has developed into, how successful on their own terms many VAs are, how they have turned their work into something that genuinely contributes to their having high-quality lives, and mostly, that the profession is growing and expanding, with no signs of it slowing, much less stopping.

Since the September 11 tragedies, I've received hundreds of pieces of email from Office Pro readers asking about the profession. They've wanted to know if I see a decline either in the number of people who want to become VAs, or the number of people who want to work with VAs. My answer is a resounding "no!" If anything (and your inquiries are certainly a testament to this), there's been an increase in the number of people looking into, and entering the profession. This is, in great measure I believe, as a result of people looking at their lives and taking stock of what they have, vs. what they most want. Life, they've found, is far too short to waste being disrespected and undervalued. And there's been an increase in the number of clients working with VAs as well — they are learning, quickly, that life is too precious to focus on things they don't do well or aren't passionate about.

I've also been asked about how far we've come as a profession, what some of the trends are, and where I envision the profession heading.

Here are some of the highlighted accomplishments and trends:

Barriers Erased

With Virtual Assistance, all physical barriers are erased. No one would know (unless you told them) whether you are young, old, fat, thin, ugly, beautiful, poor, wealthy, or physically challenged. What matters most of all is first who are you, and then, what you can make happen.

Who VAs are, and the relationships they form, transform work

People are hungry for more fulfilling relationships, including professional relationships. This has turned into an especially hot issue since the tragedies of last year, and more than ever, "who" people are in business is important. For VAs, this means that being authentic in business, setting high standards for themselves, and attracting and working only with clients who are ideal and want to work long-term and collaboratively can no longer be "wish-list" items, they're requisite. And clients are looking first for VAs who resonate with them (who the VAs are matters most), then to what the VAs can do (skills and resources). The relationship that's formed using this model transforms the way people work together as well as the value created in and by that work.

More than one VA

Busy clients often have so much to handle that it's simply not possible for a VA to handle it all, all alone. Often, she can handle it using resources she's developed in her practice. But a trend we're seeing is for the client and VA to bring on board another VA (or two!) to work in partnership with them.

Executives paying for personal assistance

There are unclear rules in the corporate world dictating what a company-employed admin should do (and what it seems executives and managers feel comfortable asking them to do), and there's a trend toward executives and managers dealing with boundary issues by paying for VA services out of their own pockets. These VAs take care of more personal needs — like personal appointments, personal correspondence, buying personal gifts, etc., that seem less appropriately asked of a corporate admin. Additionally, retired executives, used to being taken care of, are working with VAs; this is actually quite a hot niche!

Families paying for virtual assistance

Have you heard someone say, "I wish I had a wife?" Busy families are getting some of what they need by working with VAs.

VAs can coordinate schedules, arrange for home repairs, make or reschedule appointments, arrange for someone to collect sick kids from school, get dry-cleaning picked up or dropped off, as well as a number of other things that give family members more time to focus on each other.

Niches

VAs are developing niches — professions and professionals they choose to learn and work within and in partnership with, growing quickly in the advanced skills needed in a particular niche, becoming seen as experts within the niche, and earning far more money, and easy referrals than their generalist colleagues in the process.

VA Visits

Clients are flying their VAs in for days at a time, to help with important projects, organization, planning/assisting with a wedding or a move, staying with kids while they travel, manning booths are conventions — whatever they need most. Clients find it valuable to fly the VA to a location, pay time and expenses, and have the VA assist in whatever is needed.

VAs, not normally available to work locally in a client's office, often jump at the chance to do this — many of them see it as a way to spend time with clients they really like, or as a mini-vacation (albeit a working one!). Additionally, this speaks to the connection, trust and commitment formed by the two people working together in this kind of relationship. That it can span the distance, work as well face-to-face, and flow easily either way is a beautiful and valuable thing.

Looking ahead

As far as the future, it's exciting! Here are a few things I think we're on target for:

• Like other fabulous innovations that have revolutionized the way we live and work, I believe that by 2005, the question won't be "What is a VA," but rather, "WHO is your VA."
   
• The average hourly rate for an experienced VA who is a "generalist" (has a generalized practice) will level off at about $65/hour. VAs who are deeply niched will earn far more.
   
• Currently, there are approximately 3000 people, worldwide, using the term "Virtual Assistant" to describe what they do. There are many different definitions for that term. VAs who get professional training, certification, and who set incredibly high standards for themselves and their businesses will continue to be successful more easily than those who try to figure things out alone, and/or take whatever business comes along. People going it alone, or those who do not make use of their training will fail or be less successful, ultimately leveling the playing field and establishing a generally accepted professional definition of what a VA really is and does — provide administrative and personal support in long-term and collaborative relationships with clients who aren't in the same location.
   
• Because of the numbers of new small and home-based businesses that are being founded every day, it's unlikely that this profession will reach critical mass in the next decade, making it an ideal new business to start for those who have fabulous administrative skills and an entrepreneurial spirit.
   
• Most VAs are, and will continue to be women.
   
• The corporate workplace will begin accepting the idea of people working in true partnerships with administrative professionals within ten years, and corporate culture will change dramatically to support that way of working. Further, the strong identity and standards for their work and lives that VAs are currently setting for themselves will help change how corporations see, treat, and value administrative professionals — from the outside in. It won't be a big leap from that point to their working in virtual partnerships with their admins, creating VAs out of their existing employees, or, more likely, working with already masterfully skilled VAs.
   
• Many VAs will form small "consortiums" where they work as a group to support their customer base. The majority of VAs will be solo practitioners, though, to continue to really be able to choose with whom they work, how and when they work — something not as possible in a group arrangement.
   
• The majority of VAs will specialize, developing 1-3 niches to serve exclusively.
   
• Virtual Assistance will be slower to catch on in other countries — especially where technology isn't readily available, or where the culture would make it difficult to see a woman as an equal in this type of work relationship. Still, it will become an internationally recognized and accepted as a valid, simple, and valuable way of working for busy people everywhere.