Balancing work with family can be one of the most difficult challenges for women working from home.

Virtual Assistant Jobs: 7 Ways To Locate Clients And Jobs
By India Jordan

Virtual Assistant jobs are out there, you just have to know how and where to find them. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Your Current and Former Employers

The first place to start is your current and former employers. If you are currently working or have worked for someone, let them know about your company and what you are doing. A plus to "advertising" with them is that they already know you, your qualities, your personality, and the quality of work you provide. Draw up a proposal. Let them know how utilizing your services can benefit their company.

2. Job Boards and Search Engines

Careerbuilder.com, Monster.com, and HotJobs.com are examples of job boards. Google.com and Yahoo.com are examples of search engines. You can use both to find clients who are looking for help by using specific keywords. Keywords are what you type in when you are searching for something on the internet. The more specific your keyword is, the more relevant the results will be. For example, a generic keyword like "work at home" will more than likely return a lot of scams. Most legitimate companies don't post job leads using those phrases. Here is an example list of keywords you can use when searching for clients.

Example Keywords:

"remote contractor"
"must have home office"
"independent contractor"
"freelance"
"freelance job/s"
"1099 Contractor"
"Virtual Assistant"
"remote office"
"1099 employee"
"must have home computer"
"virtual worker/employee"
"online work"
"telework"

You can also use these keywords with search engines like Google and Yahoo.

Note: Make sure to put the "" marks before and after the phrase. Surrounding your keywords with quotations shows more specific results from the search engines. The search engines will only show the results with that exact phrase. If you don't use them, it will look for either/or.

3. Fee-Based Websites

Fee-based websites have already completed the hard work for you. These sites have searched the internet, job boards, etc., and found the legitimate jobs for you. All you have to do is apply. Buyers beware, however; not all fee-based job sites are legitimate. Make sure you do thorough research of the company.

4. Freelance Websites

You can also browse some freelance job sites like Guru and Elance. These sites allow freelancers to bid on projects posted by individuals or companies. If your bid is accepted you will be awarded the project. Most of these projects are short-term, but are a great way to build your clientele and your portfolio.

5. Work At Home Websites

There are also some free work-at-home websites that you can use to find clients. This has its pros and cons. Most of the time the job leads are unresearched, limited, and old. Also you can be sure that they have been applied to many times by others seeking work at home jobs. The upside is that someone has kindly searched for and posted these job leads for you. You will still need to research these job leads for legitimacy.

6. In Your Neighborhood

Well…not literally in your neighborhood, but you know what I mean. In other words, in the area you live. Why not have some flyers made and pass them out to local vendors? You can also have them posted in local grocery stores. Have some business cards made and leave them with local business owners and managers.

Have your business cards handy to pass out when you meet people. This is a good networking strategy as well. Be prepared to explain what you do when someone asks. I remember when I started my Virtual Assistant Business people would ask me what I do and I found it hard to explain. So be prepared and keep it simple.

7. Networking and Word of Mouth

Networking and word of mouth is an excellent way to get your name and company out there. Get to know fellow Virtual Assistants. Sometimes they will have an overflow of work and will subcontract or outsource the work to another Virtual Assistant (VA).

Joining associations and organizations is another way to network. There are several organizations out there just for VAs. Some VAs have found success in locating clients by joining their local Chamber of Commerce.

So now you know how and where to find the virtual assistant jobs and clients. Go get them.....

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India Jordan is the owner and editor of http://www.virtualassistantbusiness.com, a resource site for aspiring and current Virtual Assistants. Claim your free e-report "Virtual Assistant Business: A Basic Guide to Start Your Own" at http://www.virtualassistantbusiness.com