What is a Personal Assistant?

During a particularly stressful day, week or month have you ever thought of what a lifesaver it would be have a personal assistant Even if you’re a manager or an executive who has an administrative assistant, asking that person to attend to personal matters can often be uncomfortable or even inappropriate. With the busy lives we lead, it’s often impossible to keep on top of career and family responsibilities while attending to the tedious but necessary details that help keep life running smoothly. Stressed out people from all walks of life can have their day to day tasks and responsibilities made more organized and efficient by personal assistants. A new breed of US companies has emerged that utilizes large, motivated, college-educated workforces in places like India, where English is spoken as a second language, to create a win-win situation for Americans looking to get arduous and time-consuming tasks off their plates. Their aim is to reach a broad swath of the population; everyone from busy professionals to soccer moms to executives to video gamers. They offer the stressed and overcommitted, at many different income levels, access to high quality concierge services. If your work life and social life are too hectic for you to attend to the items on your to-do list, these companies have virtual assistants standing by to help.

A personal assistant is just what the name suggests – a support person you can conveniently access– by phone, email or Blackberry. They give you the support you need in a friendly, prompt manner and often check in daily to confirm tasks you’ve requested and inquire about new ones.

Like a concierge at a hotel, these virtual concierges are often available 24 hours a day with the goal of getting you what you want, like hard-to-get concert tickets and reservations at hotels that are booked, when you want them. If what you really need is a helper for everyday tasks like picking up dry cleaning, shopping for gifts, making doctor’s appointments and travel arrangements, these tasks can generally be accomplished in an average of only 20 minutes.

A personal assistant can even help with more personal tasks like arrangements for vacations, meetings, banquets and even your wedding. Still single? More and more people are putting their personal assistant on the task of managing their online dating accounts. Once the perfect match is made, your assistant can send the object of your affection a beautiful bouquet of flowers, find a romantic restaurant, schedule a weekend getaway – whatever your romantic heart desires. Need a tutor for child? Your virtual assistant can find a highly qualified virtual tutor, often for a fraction of the cost in the U.S.

With the limitless possibilities of the internet and the burgeoning workforce in Asia, the global marketplace has grown to meet the needs of busy Americans who are in search of the elusive concept of free time – or at least the quiet satisfaction of a completed to-do list.