A recent straw poll in one of my Virtual Assistant discussion groups asked members to break down their work load as to on site vs. off site service delivery. The majority of those responding indicated that they do most all of their work from their own office, although some commented that their place of work has shifted during the years they have been in business. It would seem most are now less mobile than when the industry first got off the ground.

When we’re just getting started, many of us we tended to browse the classifieds and go where the work was, hoping eventually to build enough trust that we could do the work from our own offices. Ten years ago there was a lot of confusion about about whether we VA’s were actually temps, and, if we were, wouldn’t we be happy to go anywhere the client needed us to go? Or were we some kind of telecommuter? The public understood that term, and tried to make the virtual assistance concept fit that definition.

I remember carefully logging my miles spent driving to and fro, until about two years ago when I realized it wasn’t really necessary any more. That’s when I woke up and realized my own practice had shifted in the direction my biz plan originally foresaw. My days as a mobile worker seemed to be over.

As virtual professionals we now have new options in mobility. One colleague, Amber Drake of www.Essential-admin.com, traveled by RV for over a year with her husband, while they looked for the perfect place to settle. Amber’s business didn’t skip a beat, and I marveled at how she put together all the support systems needed to remain available to her clients no matter where she woke up. (Side Note: Amber’s working on a book about her experience. I’ll spotlight it here when it becomes available.)

Personally, I have been testing the reach of my own virtual extension cords. Wanting to follow my youngest son’s developing baseball career was not specified in my original business plan. Though that career is a completely unforeseen development, I knew I would need to adapt to be able to see him play no matter where the game was. So far, I have been able to make that a reality even as my business has grown stronger year after year. Now, after he finishes college, we’ll have to see. That will take major reorganization!

Today mobility might mean you go where the client is, or it might mean you do a little work in the parking lot before the first pitch, or it might even mean you use one of those scooters to get yourself around! Exploring how family and work can coexist has been a happy experiment for my business.