Press
Room
Visual
Persuasions Canada In The News
Local Virtual Assistant Celebrates
Inaugural International Virtual Assistants Day: May 19, 2006
Wasaga Beach Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Pam Ivey of Visual
Persuasions Canada, together with 5,000 other VA's, celebrate the
first International Virtual Assistants Day (IVAD) on May 19, 2006.
WASAGA BEACH, ON (PRWEB) May 12, 2006 -- Ten years ago if any one
had told
Wasaga Beach resident, Pam Ivey, that the nascent industry that
she has been
working so hard to promote would finally receive its own day or
recognition,
she probably would not have believed it. Ivey is a virtual assistant,
and
she along with more than 5,000 other virtual professionals working
worldwide
will celebrate the first International Virtual Assistants Day (IVAD)
on May
19, 2006.
Proposed by the online advocacy group, Alliance for Virtual Businesses
(A4VB), IVAD is now officially registered with Chases Calendar of
Events,
the recognized authority of special days, weeks and months. IVAD
will appear
in the 2007 edition and will be held annually on the third Friday
of May.
The inaugural celebration of International Virtual Assistants Day
coincides
with a three-day assembly sponsored by the Online International
Virtual
Assistants Convention (OIVAC) running from May 18 - 20, 2006. Virtual
Assistants worldwide will display the free IVAD logo and creed on
their
websites.
"This day of observance not only allows us to celebrate individual
accomplishments, but also affords us the chance to pat the backs
of our
colleagues as well," says Ivey, whose company specializes in
providing
creative marketing services and administrative support to real estate
professionals.
Ivey, a former marketing manager, office manager and executive
assistant,
originally conceived the idea for her business in February 2001.
She started
a new career in order to pursue her passion for marketing and to
realize her
entrepreneurial dream.
Virtual Assistants or VAs are independent entrepreneurs who work
remotely
and use the latest technology to deliver professional administrative,
creative, managerial, technical, business back-office and/or personal
support services to busy professionals. Clients only pay for the
time
actually spent working on projects and often retain a fixed amount
of hours
per month for service.
Typical services could include everything from general secretarial
and word
processing services to desktop publishing, website creation and
marketing.
Projects are often handled over the phone, by fax, e-mail and even
instant
messaging. Most attractive is the fact that VAs are also responsible
for
their own taxes, training, healthcare, insurance - overhead costs
that make
hiring an employee expensive.
Since 1996 more than 5,000 professionals around the world have
become VAs.
More than 90 percent of them are highly-skilled working mothers
who choose
to start their own businesses in order to achieve a better work/life
balance. According to a study conducted by Brenner Books in conjunction
with
A4VB in 2004, the United States accounts for the largest number
of VAs
followed by Canada, Australia and Great Britain.
"This will be a very special day for everyone involved in
the VA industry
because it will allow us to bring together all VA organizations
and their
memberships under one umbrella," says Alliance for Virtual
Businesses
founder Sharon Williams. "VAs are making important contributions
to the
growth and stability of small businesses everywhere, and the establishment
of IVAD simply acknowledges all of those virtual professionals who
work so
hard to honor our creed: Dedication, Experience, Expertise and Determination
to Succeed (DEEDS)."
About Visual Persuasions Canada
Launched in 2001, Visual Persuasions Canada specializes in providing
creative marketing services and administration support to real estate
professionals and small business owners in Canada and around the
world.
Visit the website at www.visualpersuasions.ca.
About Alliance for Virtual Businesses
Established in June 2003 the Alliance for Virtual BusinessesT is
volunteer-directed organization, whose primary mission is to promote
the
growth of free enterprise between virtual assistants, entrepreneurs,
small
businesses, corporations, associations and other business entities.
At the
web site client-related case studies, industry-related demographics,
and a
wealth of other types of information are available to facilitate
learning
about our industry. Visit the website at www.allianceforvirtualbiz.com.
About Online International Virtual Assistants Convention
The OIVAC is an online, interactive, "live" yet virtual
environment
convention of Virtual Assistants, traveling Pathways to Successful
VA
Practices. Visit the website at www.oivac.com.
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