Did you know?? 10 Facts about Virtual Assistants

by | Apr 11, 2018

It always astounds me when somebody asks me what a Virtual Assistant is!  Surely, I think to myself, you must have heard of us!

But then I remember, I know who I am and what I do because I do it, but many small business owners have never heard of a Virtual Assistant.

So, I decided I would try and remedy this situation slightly and supply you with a few facts about VA’s and the industry itself.

The VA industry has been around for a while and is growing all the time in the UK and internationally.  Many businesses are outsourcing to virtual workers and are looking for ways to decrease costs.

And outsourcing to a Virtual PA is a popular option.

So here are a few facts about the industry that you may not know:

  1. Virtual Assistants in the UK work with 11,400+ small to medium size enterprises and this will continue to increase as virtual working becomes more popular.
  2. On average each VA will work with 6.2 clients each, this is dependant on full and part time working however.
  3. The majority of VA’s are female with only 1.6% being male.
  4. The majority of VA’s are based around London and the South East.
  5. Most VA’s are over 35 and bring a range of experience and skills with their business.
  6. 76% of VA’s have a dedicated workspace in their home.
  7. The most popular marketing method for a VA is referrals and word of mouth.
  8. VA’s work for a variety of different industries including business consultants, coaches, financial sector, charitable organisations and the property sector to name a few.
  9. A variety of tasks can be outsourced to a VA, these include general admin, social media, marketing, event planning, bookkeeping and accounts.
  10. Virtual Assistants are awesome!! Ok I made that one up, but we are in so many ways, we support your business behind the scenes, we are not as expensive as you might think, and we save you money on overheads.  What is not to like!

So, there you have them a few facts about my industry that perhaps you didn’t know.

If you would like to know more about how a Virtual PA can support your business, please do get in touch and email me at emma@theumbrellatree.co.uk or visit www.theumbrellatree.co.uk

Source: UK Virtual Assistant National Survey v8

For more information please visit www.societyofvirtualassistants.co.uk.  For larger excerpts or reprint rights, contact the publisher.