History of Virtual Assistance

Secretarial services predate Virtual Assistance by more than a few years. Although the latter is an evolution of the other, it is important to understand that the concepts are uniquely distinct from one another. Virtual Assistance is an intentional brand of administrative support. The fundamental difference between Virtual Assistance and secretarial/business support services is the platform of service delivery. In Virtual Assistance, the ongoing relationship is key.

In founding the Virtual Assistant profession, Stacy Brice envisioned a business model concept where the role of administrative assistant is elevated to that of equal and respected independent professional who works in long-term, collaborative partnership with clients of her/his choosing. Foremost is the idea that while secretarial services are involved in the business of project-oriented work where their knowledge of the client and his/her business is limited and can therefore only perform the project at hand without much further meaningful input, Virtual Assistants are personally involved in ongoing relationships with their clients that transcend task work. Brice's model shatters the traditional boss/assistant paradigm, and provides a platform where ever-increasing efficiency and value is inherently instilled.

Virtual Assistance Primer

Many people in the Virtual Assistant industry today don’t understand that there is a difference between a secretarial service business and a Virtual Assistant business. Nonetheless, the two are very different models. Secretarial services are intermittent, piecemeal, transactional services. Virtual Assistance is continuous, systemic support.

Secretarial Services: The focus of a secretarial service business is one-off, occasional, piecemeal work. The customer of a secretarial service isn’t looking for a “partnership.” He or she has the occasional single task or project they want completed and that’s the extent of their work together. It's similar to using the services of a local copy shop, for example. You don’t work together in any ongoing capacity, although you might be a frequent or repeat customer. But in this kind of business, the relationship is transactional rather than ongoing, and the work is piecemeal and project-driven rather than continuous and across-the-board. A secretarial service is focused on individual, line-item services delivered on a transactional basis. Secretarial services are intermittent, piecemeal, transactional services.

Virtual Assistance: The focus of a Virtual Assistant business, on the other hand, is ongoing, across-the-board administrative support. The client of a Virtual Assistant is seeking a different kind of solution than the client of a secretarial service is seeking. This client is looking for an administrative “partner,” someone who can support them with any number of tasks and projects in an ongoing, continuous capacity and, thereby, get to know the business almost as intimately as the client himself or herself. This client knows that piecemeal work is only a limited, short-term solution with isolated impact on the business as a whole. He or she is more interested in the long-term efficiencies and more far-reaching results that can only be achieved in their business by working with a Virtual Assistant in a collaborative, continuous—not piecemeal—fashion. A Virtual Assistant’s service is the ongoing administrative support itself, consisting of any number and kind of activities that are delivered on a continuous basis within a collaborative relationship.

Virtual Assistance History

1960s or 70s: (Approx.) Advent of secretarial services industry.

1981: Association of Business Support Services International (ABSSI; formerly known as the National Association of Secretarial Services) is founded.

1992: Stacy Brice begins working virtually as a full-time home-based contractor with an international client base providing administrative support, travel planning and personal assistance.

1996: Brice begins working with life coach Thomas Leonard. During a telephone conversation with Brice, Leonard coins the term "Virtual Assistant," which further sparks an idea already germinating in Brice's mind, and she begins working out her vision of a profession of administrative experts--Virtual Assistance--and creating a model distinct from secretarial services.

1997: The Virtual Assistance profession is formalized in February with the opening of Brice’s AssistU. Also in February, the first ever article on Virtual Assistance appears in The Secretary featuring Stacy Brice (originally interviewed November 1996) and Lora Davidek.

1997: AssistU launches the "Daily Assistant," the first-ever ezine for Virtual Assistants which runs five days a week to more than 10,000 subscribers (most of whom were not VAs) until publishing is discontinued in 2000.

1998: Global Association of Virtual Assistants (GAVA), a members site run by Amy Sarai and Julie Hewitt that also provides RFPs to the public, opens with the backing of Thomas Leonard. GAVA runs great guns for a year or two until fizzling out in 2000 due to lack of interest by both Leonard and the site owners. Site owners Sarai and Hewitt also start VA4U.com as a directory of VAs (which is now owned by someone in the U.K). GAVA's only lasting legacy is the article "101 Ways to Use a VA" by Amy Sarai.

1999: Christine Durst and Michael Haaren establish Staffcentrix in Spring. Although claims have been made that Durst founded Virtual Assistance, that is actually inaccurate.

1999: AssistU adds Virtual Assistant certification to its program.

1999: Durst and Haaren form the International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA).

1999: Jacky Workman forms the International Association of Virtual Assistants (IAVA).

2000: Janet Jordan (deceased January 2006) opens Virtual Assistance University (VAU). Fred (deceased August 2006) and Shirley Gandee form the International Association of Virtual Office Assistants (IAVOA), and A Virtual Solution (AVS; now a web-hosting reseller) is established. IVAA begins certifying VAs.

2001: Virtual Assistant Certification appears on the scene, formed by the allied founders of VAU, IAVOA and AVS. IVAA separates from StaffCentrix. Stacy Brice nominated for Fast Company's Fast 50.

2002: Stacy Brice speaks at ABSSI conference in Virginia, encountering resistance to the new idea of Virtual Assistance and its relationship-based business model.

2002: Janice Byer and Elayne Whitfield form the Canadian Virtual Assistant Connection (CVAC).

2002: Michelle Jamison, Carol Ford and Laura Sandham form Canadian Virtual Assistant Networking (CVAN).

2002: Mary-Lou Ashton forms Canada-based Virtual Assistant Training Program (VATP).

2003: Kathy Zengolewicz, Jackie Eastwick and Mary Motz form the Delaware Valley Virtual Assistants Association (DVVVA).

2003: ABSSI dissolves; domain ownership is assumed by Nina Feldman who repoints it to her web site. Business Support Services business owners begin calling themselves Virtual Assistants, although their business models predominately remain unchanged as secretarial services (mainly local clients and project/piecework for anyone willing to pay), presumably to jump on the Virtual Assistant bandwagon given the loss of their own group.

2004: Margaret McKillen forms the Association of Virtual Assistants of Ireland (AVA Ireland).

2004: Caroline Nelson forms the Southeastern Virtual Assistant Group (SEVAG).

2005: Danielle Keister forms Gritty VA (now a blog), a concept and movement intended to instill standards of excellence in the Virtual Assistant community and promote increased awareness of the Virtual Assistance industry in the mainstream marketplace.

2005: Caroline Melville forms Scottish Virtual Assistants (SVA).

2006: Scottish Virtual Assistants changes to Society of Virtual Assistants (SVA).

2006: Gritty VA evolves into the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce (VACOC), founded by Danielle Keister.

NOTE: Facts will be added on an ongoing basis to this History of Virtual Assistance. If you would like your Virtual Assistant organization added to this history, send your information (name of organization, founder's name, year founded and website address) to thevacoc@hotmail.com.

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