Lara Nieberding

As I sat here contemplating content for my blog, it occurred to me, I better research the terms I use. Perhaps I am tossing around buzzwords that I am not actually sure what they mean. What is an entrepreneur? What is a virtual assistant?

Since I am a virtual assistant, I should start with that term. A search on www.reference.com returned a very basic definition:

“A virtual assistant (or VA), is an independent contractor providing administrative, technical, or creative services to clients, usually to other independent entrepreneurs and solo and small business practices, such as that of a lawyer or realtor. Virtual assistants work from their own office (hence “virtual”)

A virtual assistant is an independent contractor, not an employee. They set their own rates, operating standards and policies, pay their own self-employment taxes, and manage the work and how it is carried out from a distance.”

The definition of entrepreneur at www.reference.com is:

“An entrepreneur (a loanword from french introduced and first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon) is a person who undertakes and operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. A female entrepreneur is sometimes referred to as an entrepreneuse”

At least I was using the terms appropriately. What fascinated me about the results was until I saw it written out; I did not make the connection. A virtual assistant is an entrepreneur. Who better to help you with your business than someone who truly understands what you are going through. It takes one to know one.