Kathie Thomas at Virtual Assistant—THE Blog was examining the difference between elibility for and suitability for the VA profession earlier today. I love it. I can see Mr. or Ms. X assessing the technology in his or her home office and considering, “Hmmm… I think I have what it takes to be a Virtual Assistant. Maybe I’ll give it a whirl!”

Wait just a minute! Is Ms. X ready to juggle multiple clients following her carefully crafted marketing campaign and web site rollout? Does Mr. X have all his policies in place (privacy, non-descrimination, nospam, recourse, etc.)? Has she priced out her service offerings using industry standards? Has he established his list of services, his operating hours, written his business plan, created a reliable back up plan, enrolled in and completed a certification program, devised a contract or work agreement, and … well it feels as though I’m shrieking!

In my twenty years as a middle school teacher (in the U.S. that’s what we call kids who are between 12 and 15), I met a number of folks who told me, on their first day, that they a.) love kids; or b.) had a really nice second grade teacher who created a desire in them to follow in his or her footsteps; or c.) was a geology major but then decided it would be hard to get a job so decided to become a teacher … and now I’m shrieking again!

While it’s hard to define what lead you to a particular profession, it takes passion and sharp skills to make it in an entrepreneurial profession and objectivity to recognize whether or not you’re a good fit. Convenience isn’t generally a prerequisite for success.

However you slice it, Virtual Assistance is a great profession for the person with the right combination of skills and attitudes. As Kathie recommends, engage a coach, sign up for some training, or join a network or forum to get a big picture view of the industry before you set up shop.