By Beverly Jones

Californian Christine Barnes wasn't happy working as an administrative assistant in Corporate America — she used to come home exhausted with her energy drained. She would head straight for the couch, floor, or bed (if she could make it that far) and say to her husband, "I have to de-compress."

Then, one day Christine read an article about a woman in Maryland who had founded a new profession, and now, after months of training, using email, telebridging technology, and online research, Christine is a successful Virtual Assistant, administratively supporting entrepreneurs across the country from the comfort of her own home.

Mary Sweeny, a marketing writer and consultant based in Toledo, Ohio, was at a point of stagnation in her business — she just could not handle one more thing. She could not comfortably take on new clients; her stress level was so high. In addition, she was beginning to drop balls.

Mary was referred online to The Registry at Assist University's website (www.assistu.com), where she found Christine. The long distance working arrangement has turned out to be a fantastic experience for both women.

Virtual Assistants (VAs) are small business owners and top-notch administrative assistants who work in long-term collaborative relationships with other small business owners, consultants and entrepreneurs. They handle the administrative and sometimes personal needs of clients so that the clients' time is freed-up, enabling them to focus on all that they love and do best. As the word "Virtual" in the "Virtual Assistant" title implies, all of the work is done from the VAs home office using the Intranet, email, fax, phone — with today's technology, just about anything that used to require a physical presence can be done from a distance easily. A VA could be living 800 miles away — or right around the corner.

VAs are not the same as home-based secretaries or office support services companies. VAs work with only a handful of clients, taking time to attract individuals who jazz them and appreciate them, serving as the right hand of the person being assisted. A VA becomes, literally, a partner in her client's success. A home-based secretary or office support service does piece-work and can have hundreds of clients who may only need assistance once or twice each year. There is no partnership. Only task oriented work is assigned, so the level of trust does not need to be high. VAs are highly trusted, and the relationships they form tend to be long-term.

Clients are thrilled with this new way of working. Says Mary Sweeny, "My arrangement with Chris has been the perfect solution. She has enabled me to expand my business for the first time in months. Through her objective wisdom, she has helped me make several essential decisions which have propelled my business — and increased my enjoyment of what I am doing. Chris has become the extra ears and eyes — the objective third party I have never had before. My life has become simpler and more enjoyable for having involved Chris in my business."

Christine says, "Guess what happens when you start a relationship off on equal ground — business person to business person? Mutual respect is what happens, allowing the partnership to evolve so much easier. I love my work, and I love supporting my clients in their work."

After working as an administrative assistant for eight years, Beverly Jones in Baltimore, Maryland started her own secretarial services company. She went a step further last year and entered the Virtual Training Program at Assist University, also known as AssistU — the same company that provided the training for the career shift Christine made. AssistU is a training and coaching company providing a rigorous 20-week, 250 hour program for wannabe Virtual Assistants, and a Registry for business owners looking for qualified VAs.

Among Bev's happy clients are an image consultant, an artist, and a playwright; they look to her for administrative support, sales and marketing assistance, gift buying, and online research.

Stacy Brice, founder and President of AssistU, writes a bimonthly column for Office Pro Magazine. The company has been featured on the web, in Time Magazine, and newspapers (LA Times, Chicago Tribune), radio shows, and on network television (Lifetime). For more information about becoming or finding a VA, visit the AssistU website (www.assistu.com) or send a message to president@assistu.com.