Mom makes working at home a virtual reality
By Kelly Alm
When Bealeton resident, Kim Bloom connects with clients from around the world in their personal work spaces each week, her one-year-old daughter Renee often plays or watches television in the same room.Bloom is a virtual assistant (VA). And her clients’ “personal work space?” That’s virtual, too.
According to the International Association of Virtual Assistants (IVAA), a virtual assistant is an independent entrepreneur “utilizing advanced technological modes of communication and data delivery” to provide clients with “administrative, creative and/or technical service” from the comfort of their own home.
Bloom launched Waivasir, Inc, a virtual assistance business support service, in 2006, before her daughter was born.
“I wanted to be able to work from home and raise my daughter,” she said.
The term virtual assistant may be new to many, but as Bloom pointed out, “there were people in the 90s working from home, providing services through modern technology.” The only difference is that today’s technological advances make virtual assistance especially convenient, both for the assistant and the client.
Bloom rarely meets her clients, who may be living in other states or countries.
“Virtual assistance is about allowing my client to do what they need to do with less worries, less interruptions, and a peace of mind that I’m getting my part done,” Bloom said, adding that virtual assistants should be skilled organizers and multitaskers.
Bloom typically has about four retainer clients to whom she provides 10 hours or more of virtual assistance each a month. In addition, she usually has three to five clients who pay project to project, most of whom she receives through referrals.
Virtual assistants charge between $25 to $50 an hour, depending on their skill level and specialty, Bloom said.
Her own passion is arts and entertainment. Bloom offers business advice, referral and professional development services, as well as networking, promotional and industry-development opportunities to actors, agents and producers.
Additionally, her company offers a wide range of services, including administration, personal assistance, travel research and arrangements, advertising, marketing, and graphic and Web design. Some of this work is provided by virtual assistants she has recruited.
“There are skills I don’t have,” Bloom said. “By having my own VA business, I can offer an array of services all in one place. You can’t do it alone and successfully grow your business.”
If Bloom isn’t doing the work herself, she is overseeing it to ensure it’s done to her client’s satisfaction.
Bloom said she likes to provide value-added services, such as “personal work spaces” for her clients. She described this service as a a virtual space where, in addition to organizational tools such as a calendar and task list, both she and her client can upload and make changes to the same documents. “Each time they update something, I get an e-mail alert,” Bloom said. “They enjoy that because they need a VA to get them organized and focus on the administrative tasks so they can focus on the important work.”
Because she works from home, Bloom can use her down time during the day to engage her daughter and take her for walks.
“I feel blessed that I’ve had the opportunity to see all those ‘firsts,’” Bloom said. “Her first word, her first step.”
Bloom starts her work day between 9:30 and 10 a.m. ? after she feeds and changes her daughter? and works an average of three to five hours a day.
“If you have a full-time job and are trying to get started as a VA, I’d probably say keep your day job and try to do it part time,” Bloom said, acknowledging that her previous career experience, and being part of a two-income household, significantly helped make the transition a smooth one.
Before starting her own business, Bloom worked as the executive assistant to top executives at an air cargo company in Dulles. She began researching business opportunities that would allow her to work from her home in Bealeton. She came across the term virtual assistance, eventually discovering a 20-week, $1,500 online certification program offered by Virtual Assistance U, based in Washington, D.C.
The program helps virtual assistants network, develop business and marketing plans, determine a target market and pricing, create business materials (Web site, business cards, brochures), and teaches them about necessary technological equipment
“It was fun,” Bloom said. “You can talk online with other students and your teachers. You also have one-on-one consultations.”
Bloom was getting Waivasir off the ground before she received her Graduate Virtual Assistant Certificate in 2006.
“I had already incorporated Waivasir and received my business license,” she said. “Because of my corporate background, I didn’t treat it as an income-based business, but as a corporation.”
She said start-up costs for a virtual assistance business can range from $1,000 to a couple of thousand dollars, depending on what equipment the entrepreneur already owns. Bloom said she broke even after about a year and a half, which included putting the business on hold for several months after her daughter was born.
Virtual assistants can start with basic technological equipment like a computer with high-speed Internet (or a laptop if you are traveling), a printer (preferably laser), fax machine, copier, telephone with a separate business line, and business software such as Microsoft Office.
“I like to get the best I can get, so I researched, read reviews and tech magazines before buying. Technology changes so much, and as a V.A. you really have to keep on top of it,” she said.
The most significant challenge, however, comes from finding clients. While her background in the arts significantly helped her to establish a client base, she said she also finds clients online.
Bloom stresses the importance of networking, marketing yourself and finding your own niche.
“You are your own business owner,” Bloom said. “You have to distinguish yourself.”
For more information, visit http://www.waivasir.com .
E-mail the reporter: kalm@timespapers.com .