Did you know?

International Virtual Assistant Day has been celebrated on the third Friday in May every year since 2006? This year it falls on May 20th.

And no, we’re not talking about Alexa or Siri.

This day celebrates and recognizes all the hard work and effort put in by virtual assistants. These superheroes help entrepreneurs manage their businesses and keep the business running behind the scenes.

For us at Wishup it’s one of the most, if not the most important day of the year!

But who exactly is a virtual assistant and what does it do? First, let’s look at the history of virtual assistants and how the term has evolved over the years.

Where everything began

In the 1940s, when Isaac Pitman first invented shorthand, secretarial jobs were still a niche. Back then, it was a job reserved for men only, since women were still frowned upon in the office. Since then, however, the job has become an integral part of every workplace. Soon no company could function without a secretary. The term was later replaced by “administrator”.

As in any other industry, technology has also helped reshape the role of the secretary.

We can’t say for sure who the first virtual assistant was, but the advent of the internet in the 1990s helped break down geographic barriers and allowed people to work together without being physically present in the same location. This idea of ​​people collaborating remotely gave rise to the concept of virtual assistants.

There’s an old story about a woman named Anastasia “Stacy” Brice who is credited with coining the term “virtual assistant” over the phone one day in 1996. As a full-time secretary for an international client, Stacy’s job title has become synonymous with that statement. She took care of administrative tasks and organized trips, all over the internet. She coined the term “virtual assistant” which grew in popularity and eventually referred to this exciting and promising career.

A different and more popular take was on Christine Durst, author of “The 2 Second Commute,” who is credited with starting the virtual assistant industry in 1995. Durst called the booming industry a “revolutionary way of working from home” and advised workers to use the internet to pursue their hobbies and maintain a real sense of freedom while making money.

At that time, the role was aimed at women and mothers who could make a living while caring for their children and families.

Virtual Assistants Today

Today, the term virtual assistant has expanded beyond women and the administrative sector. Yes, virtual assistants are still highly skilled at administrative tasks, but they also do so much more. You can help your business grow in a number of ways such as: B. – Research, social media management, accounting, personal assistance, content writing, graphic design, marketing, data entry and more.

As of 2022, a virtual assistant is a coveted position and companies across all sectors and industries are always looking for qualified professionals to help them grow their businesses.

What does Wishup do?

Wishup was founded in 2015 by an IIM-A and IIT duo, Vivek and Neelesh, with a dream of bringing global job opportunities to local talent. The idea was to match hand-picked, skilled professionals with entrepreneurs around the world who needed support to scale their businesses.

Although it originally started with administrative and personal assistant categories, we now offer a wide range of services such as:

• administration
• personally
• accounting
• research
• data entry
• contents
• Online Business Management
• quality control

At Wishup, we personally screen, screen and train the top 1% of applicants, providing them with the best global job opportunities. Our goal is to offer business owners and entrepreneurs world-class talent while saving them the hassle and cost of hiring. We currently have over 500 happy customers and we are just getting started.

In conversation with our virtual assistants

We spoke to some of our virtual assistants at Wishup. They’ve shared some of their funniest anecdotes at work and advice for anyone looking to get into this industry.

Shweta Saxena (Wishup’s first virtual assistant)

What am I best at?

Work is work for me, no matter what. I always try to give 100% for what I’m asked to do. But if you ask me what I’m best at, I’d say I’m pretty good at backend and administrative work. Also work on building a good bond with my teammates.

What was it like being the first remote VA on Wishup?

It was like a dream come true for me after a career break of 4 years. The founders trusted me and gave me the opportunity to work from home. It is indeed a blessing to me. It feels so good to be connected to the same organization that you joined as the first virtual employee 5 years ago. A journey full of realizations, struggles, trust, personal responsibility, achievements, happy times and much more…

A funny incident with a customer

A customer asked me to order a dress for his wife as a surprise birthday present. She got ready for her birthday wearing the same dress. The funniest thing was that she bought the same dress for herself and the customer didn’t know what to do now as he was still holding this gift package that was supposed to be a surprise gift? Only he can tell what happened next…

Do you have any advice for upcoming VAs?

Take charge of your responsibilities and enjoy the bliss of having this amazing flexibility to work from anywhere.

Crispino Santamaria

What am I best at?

I manage social media accounts for my clients and make sure to create artwork that represents the brand image.

A funny incident with a customer

A client once asked me to find an answer to get rid of her annoying friend. The answer worked. What was it? I guess we’ll never know.

Do you have any advice for upcoming VAs?

Why work in a boring office when you can work from the beach?

Shay Nuggu

What am I best at?

I lead the training department at Wishup; However, my favorite activity and time is when I’m teaching or running a training session. Teaching comes naturally to me, and I’ve been doing it for decades.

A funny incident with a customer

An ex-client always consulted me when she needed to date Indian men. She still asks me for advice.

Do you have any advice for upcoming VAs?

darena

What am I best at?

I can create content to be used on social media, a social media academy, sports websites and universities.

A funny incident with a customer?

A client asked me to take a picture of him with some of his favorite actors.

Do you have any advice for upcoming VAs?

Take the time to get to know your colleagues. This makes work a lot more fun!

Deepakshi

What am I best at?

I make my customers’ lives easier. One day I’m doing the bookkeeping for them and the next day I’m their recruiter. I have a new job (metaphorically) every other day!

A funny incident with a customer

Once my client was bored at work, so she asked me to play online games with her until her next meeting.

Do you have any advice for upcoming VAs?

Sometimes going out of the SOW is the SOW that works for a VA.

Shravani

What am I best at?

I am the OBM for my clients and take care of post production and social media management. My best skills are attention to detail and solution orientation.

A funny incident with a customer

Nothing funny per se, but I’ve become good friends with my team in that they share their important moments like getting engaged, moving to a new place, or buying a new car! It feels good to make friends like this all over the world.

Do you have any advice for upcoming VAs?

There will be pros and cons, but it all comes together in the end! So give him time.

Schalini

What am I best at?

Administrative services, research and project management for my clients.

A funny incident with a customer

There was this incident when my ex-client asked me to plan a surprise bday party for his girlfriend, but he gave me his dog’s name, so all over the cake, giveaway, and banner was his dog’s name .

Do you have any advice for upcoming VAs?

Be organized, enthusiastic and open to learning.

An entrepreneur’s secret weapon

Whether in secretarial roles like in the past or across industries today, it’s interesting to see how the term “virtual assistant” has evolved over the years. We hope you enjoyed this little history lesson and are as excited as we are to see what the future holds for remote work and the VA industry.

If you’re interested in hiring a virtual assistant for your business, click here to schedule a free consultation with us at Wishup today!