We receive many queries about how to become a virtual assistant. Here are our five top tips for entering this growing field:

1. Assess your skills. A virtual assistant, or VA, provides office-support services remotely. Their expertise may range from basic word processing to calendar management, bookkeeping, website design and beyond. But all VAs have this in common: their services can be provided virtually. In other words, if your background is in massage therapy or culinary arts, you’ll need to acquire “knowledge worker” skills before launching a VA business.

2. For clients, core skills are usually more important than VA-specific training. While prospective clients will appreciate that you have a VA certificate from a community college or similar institution (and if you can afford it, by all means obtain one), the VA’s most important asset is expertise in his or her niche (i.e., desktop publishing, bookkeeping, etc.). Even so, a reputable training program can teach critical business-management and related skills and add a competitive edge to the practice, so weigh your individual circumstances as you consider the options.

VA certificate programs are now offered at a number of community colleges, including Ohio-based Owens Community College , Palomar Community College in California, and Portland Community College in Oregon. Our own 15-hour VA training program is available to active-duty military spouses at no charge at bases listed here. 

3. Get that first client ASAP. People who have read our manual for virtual assistants know that we preach one principle in particular: keep debt to a minimum, and land that first client as soon as possible. A VA can have the most elaborate business plan in the world, but without a paying client, he or she will soon face failure. The first client not only generates revenue, but boosts morale and energy, and enhances focus. And if the VA takes good care of the client, positive word of mouth can rapidly follow, bringing more clients in the door.    

4. Marketing is key. In our experience, most VAs fail due to ineffective marketing. Identify the types of clients you’d like to work with, determine where they “hang out” (what they watch or listen to, what publications they read, or websites they visit, etc.), then get in front of them regularly in an appropriate context. Network through such industry organizations as the International Virtual Assistants Association (which we founded in 1999, and turned over to its members shortly afterward), read marketing and freelancing blogs such as Seth Godin’s or Michelle Goodman’s, and offer free input in online forums where prospective clients gather. 

5. Don’t forget to make it a family decision. A significant career decision should involve your partner (if any), and any older children at home. This becomes even more important where a home-based business is concerned. Launching a VA practice requires serious commitment and sustained – and effective – effort. The family will have to make adjustments. (Like individuals, not all families will be ready for a home-based business.) Excluding them is not only unfair, it can jeopardize your success. In other words, before you leap, you should not only look, but bring the trampoline into the picture.

To find or start discussions about virtual assistance, visit Military.com’s forums.