As a virtual assistant, I control my work schedule.  When I have a client assignment to complete, most days I can execute this work around a flexible schedule. This may mean waking early, working weekends or working into the late evenings to accommodate other activities and commitments during the normal workday. But always, the client work is completed on schedule. For nearly four years, the most desirable aspect of being a virtual assistant is that I am the master of my time.

As a result, I have been able to volunteer in the media center at a local middle school. Initially, I spent about two weeks every six months working at the school book fair and then gradually was able to work in more volunteer days for other events. Recently, I took on a book donation program called the ‘African Library Project’ to collect 1,000 books to send to a primary school in Swaziland, Africa.  Much of the publicity work such as writing press releases, creating brochures and contacting business partners through email marketing has been completed from my home office.  Again, I have been able to work these projects in seamlessly around paid client work.

I really feel that a virtual assistant (or really any home-based business owner) can actually benefit professionally and personally through volunteer work.  Here are my reasons:

1)    Humans are social beings but working from home does not afford face-to-face contact with clients and other business contacts. I work solo so the job can be rather lonely.  But volunteering allows for some face-to-face contact without having to be on-site all of the time. I can still maintain my independence and control my own time. Volunteering fills a void in my social life similar to that which I enjoyed in the past when employed in the corporate world.

2)    The publicity a volunteer can receive is priceless. All of the paid and unpaid marketing I do for my business compares little to the accolades and the unsolicited attention I receive from volunteering.  Volunteering brings people together for one cause so we share a common thread. This is the foundation for solid networking.

When I explain to people that I am a virtual assistant, a common response is to receive a ‘glazed-over-deer-in-the-headlights’ look. But when they see me ‘in action’; when they see the results of a press release or view the printed materials I have created; this is proof of what I can do for their small businesses.  And word travels fast.

3)    Volunteering gives me the opportunity to keep my publicity skills fresh. I can experiment with work in ways I normally would not do if I had to perform the same work for a client, on their dime.

4)    I make new contacts I might not have made if I had not volunteered. Yesterday, a TV news reporter came to our school to film our project. I walked her out to her news van after the interviews were complete and now have a new media contact to add to my network list.

5)  I can use the volunteer information to promote on my website, blog and newsletter. When potential clients see that I take time to help make a difference, this helps people to get to know me. After all, social networking is all about building relationships.  Further, the volunteer subjects make for good writing topics.

6)    Volunteering helps me to feel valued and when I feel appreciated, my paid work benefits.

7)  In addition to being a virtual assistant, I am a mother of a teenager.  I can preach to this child how important it is to give back to others until I am ‘blue in the face’ but if he sees that I ‘walk the talk’, he knows my message is not simply useless rhetoric.  That benefit alone is worth all of my time!

8)    Volunteering helps me to become a much more interesting person. When I embarked upon the ‘African Library Project’ I knew nothing about the tiny, landlocked country of Swaziland.  In fact, I had to pull out an Atlas as I had no idea where Swaziland was located. I now have more knowledge than I had before and spoke confidently about the country when the reporter asked for statistics for the news piece mentioned earlier.

It would be great to pick up more work for my business through volunteering but if that does not happen; I am satisfied to know that my publicity efforts have worked. I can bring up my promotional skills to a potential client during conversation and verify that my virtual assistant services are beneficial!

I have made a difference in a Swaziland student’s life.  40% of the students never advance to high school.  So my hope is that the books we collect may help to motivate a child to continue his/her education.  For me, this is the best reward of all.

Janine Gregor

I was in the supermarket the other day and avocados were on sale for one dollar each.  Deep in thought as to what I could make with this delightful fruit, I saw a woman lurking from the corner of my eye who was pressing several avocados for firmness and then bagged or discarded as needed. I looked up and then moved over to make room so we both could share in the bounty without stretching across each other.

She seemed to appreciate that gesture and then said to me, “It is hard to tell which ones are too ripe just by pinching them.” So I said, “The lighter ones seem to be less ripe.” I continued, “Sometimes I get them home and in less than a day they are too ripe to use.”  She smiled and said, “Yes, that’s why I buy the light greens ones.  If you put them in a brown bag with a banana they will ripen when you need them.”

I knew about that ripening tip but acted as if I didn’t know so as not to be rude. She seemed delighted to share that tidbit with me so I didn’t want to ruin a sweet moment amongst strangers.

So from there we struck up a conversation. She asked me what I did for a living and I said I was a virtual assistant helping small businesses promote their products and services through online marketing methods such as newsletters, articles and email.

She told me about her line of work and as it turned out, the woman owned a real estate agency and contracted me (on the spot) to work on her email marketing campaign.

When I got home, I thought about what could have happened. I might not have stopped to buy the avocados if they hadn’t been on sale.  If I hadn’t showed courtesy in ‘sharing’ the space in front of the avocado display, she might not have said anything to me.  If I hadn’t acted appreciative of her banana-in-the-paper-bag tip (even though I knew about that tip), she might not have continued to chat with me.  We both might have just moved on and continued our shopping.

So I never dismiss small talk. I’m much more aware of my surroundings in public places. I smile more often and look approachable.  And when the stars align, I’m ready with a business card and a quick elevator speech should someone ask.  You never know who you will meet. Now that’s really what I define to be true social networking!

I celebrated that night with the best guacamole ever!