One of the easiest home based business models to become a part of is the home based assistant. You will basically being doing data entry work, or the job of a receptionist from the comfort of your own home. While these jobs don’t pay a huge amount of money, they are out there and they really aren’t that difficult to get.

Setting up Shop

If you want to become a virtual assistant you will need all of the equipment that a typical receptionist needs. That means you are going to need a dedicated phone line, internet service, a computer, as well as a printer/scanner/fax machine. Most people already have most of these items in their homes, but if you do not you will have to pick these up.

Preparation

After you have all of the equipment that you need you will need to learn what you are doing. As a virtual assistant one of the most important skills you need to have is the ability to type. If you don’t know how to type use an online training course, or buy some training software to learn how to do so.

You should be able to type at least 35 words per minute with a good accuracy of at least 95 percent before trying to get hired as an assistant. Any less than that and people may think that you are unproductive. You also need to understand basic computer skills like checking email and sending it out, creating new files and making folders to put them in. You will also need to know how to use an office suite in most cases.

If you don’t own an office suite you can start off with a free set like Open Office. The software is just as good as Microsoft Office and it is absolutely free. Plus after you learn to use the programs (mostly the word processor and spreadsheet) you will be able to use MS Office effectively as well.

Now that you have the skills and equipment that you need to become a virtual assistant get on the online job boards or freelance sites and begin applying for jobs. You will be surprised by how many of them you find.