A couple of days ago I had a phone consultation with a potential client who I would love to work with. He is my ideal client on so many levels. During the consultation—which lasted almost 1 1/2 hours—we got to know each other and discussed his marketing needs among other things. I know, I know. I’m sure there are some jaws dropping out there in the VA world because so many VAs advertise free 30-minute consultations, but personally, I don’t care whether it takes 10 minutes or 2 hours to discuss my prospects’ needs. It takes as long as it takes in order to fully understand my prospects’ businesses, where they’ve been, where they want their businesses to go, what I can do for them to make that happen, and if each is a client that I truly want to work with. I would rather know that the prospect and I are compatible, both in our personalities and in how we would work together, as opposed to taking on clients who obviously aren’t a good fit. It would be a waste of their time as well as mine if I were to learn the ins and outs of their businesses over a period of time, only to part ways due to things I could have recognized if I’d just taken the time in the beginning. Personally, I’m an “in it for the long haul” kind of girl.

During the course of our conversation, the potential client mentioned that he was talking to several other VAs who provide marketing services (to be expected, of course) and that he was really impressed with the virtual assistance industry as a whole. He went on to say that everyone he had spoken to thus far seemed very happy and upbeat.

I believe I spoke for all VAs worldwide when I said, “Yes. And I can tell you why. The reason we are happy and upbeat is because we truly enjoy what we do, and we do it on our own terms. We are able to give ourselves the gift of flexibility that you simply cannot get in the corporate world.”

After our call ended, I couldn’t get this topic out of my mind. I was thrilled that he had such a positive experience with our industry during his search for a VA, which only reiterated to me all the things that I love about being a VA. Really, if we did not enjoy using the skills that we have mastered during the course of our careers, then we might as well be working in “Corporate America.” Remember, one of the main reasons we started our own businesses in the first place was to get out of the corporate rat race.

Many of us have children that we want to see more than 2-3 hours a day, which for most happens at the end of the day after slaving away at work for 8, 9 or more hours and then fighting rush-hour traffic to get home—just in time to make dinner, bathe the kids, and put them to bed. Owning our own businesses means we get to work when we want and not miss out on our children’s lives or activities. Of course, there are some of us who need flexibility in our schedules for other reasons: disabilities, frequent ailments, ill family members, etc. Whatever the reason, we all know there is virtually no flexibility in the corporate world.

The corporate world should really take a page from our book and allow for more flexibility in the lives of its employees. Companies may actually find that their employees are happier and more upbeat rather than miserable from working in jobs they have come to hate. And if their employees hate their jobs, you can bet these employees are not focused or productive, which usually leads to their quitting or being let go. Of course, this is bad for employers because they have to spend valuable time and money to find replacements and train them.

I could certainly go on and on about this subject, but the real reason for this post is to share the common mindset of virtual assistants with others: What’s not to be happy and upbeat about?

Here is a short list of the “perks” of being a VA:

• We own our own businesses.
• We work from home.
• We set our own schedules.
• We choose whom we work with.
• We choose what projects we want to take on.
• We work our own hours—around our family members’ insane schedules.
• We don’t waste money on gas because our home offices are 2 seconds away by foot.
• We don’t put wear-and-tear and mileage on our cars from daily commutes.
• We don’t have to spend tons of money on business attire, unless we want to, of course!
• We don’t have to deal with office drama every day.
• I would bet we are typically less stressed. (Note I said we have “less” stress, not “no” stress. We are running businesses, after all.)
• We don’t have to ask permission to take a day off, take a vacation, or renew our driver’s licenses.
• We don’t have to make apologies to anyone when our children/parents/grandparents are sick and need to be taken care of.
• We don’t have to go to work when we are sick ourselves, although we probably do it anyway. Even then, we can pop into our home offices for a couple of hours, and then crawl back into our beds to take a short nap and give our bodies time to heal. Try getting that in the corporate world!
• And my personal #1 reason: I get playtime every day—with my daughter.

Of course, there are a few downsides to owning our own businesses, but the pros far outweigh the cons. So if you wonder why the ladies and gents of the VA industry are so happy—now you know.