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
“Ugh”, I thought to myself when I saw the cover of The Wealthy Freelancer, 12 Secrets to a Great Income and Enviable Lifestyle (TWF) featuring a bigger-than-life photo of a red Corvette. “Not another get-rich-quick publication selling a phony lifestyle reminiscent of late night gold digger infomercials!” To add ‘insult to injury’ the use of the subtitle word ‘enviable’ was equally as dubious. However, my first impression would prove to be utterly incorrect. Lesson to self: “Don’t judge a book by its cover!” In fact, TWF is not about becoming financially wealthy at all. The introductory chapter titled, What Being a Wealthy Freelancer Really Means explains that … “Being wealthy isn’t just about the dollars you earn; it’s about the life you build-and the kind of person you become in the process.” Unfortunately, at first glance, the book title and its photo cover, most likely used as a visual ‘hook’ promoted a brief amount of uncertainty which was quickly reconciled by the excellent content within.
