Marketing, Semantics & the Virtual Professional: What’s in a Name? And Other Bla Bla Bla

A couple of interesting blog posts came to my attention this evening and I have to mouth off about what’s going on here (not the blog posts themselves) lest I lie in bed wide awake tonight wishing I had actually mouthed off but didn’t.

The posts that got me here tonight when I really should be watching HGTV re-runs:

The Future of Virtual Assistance Industry – An Open Conversation (Erin Blaskie)

and

Is Your Virtual Assistant Glass Half Empty or Half Full? (Craig Cannings)

The underlying non-issue behind it all that makes me nutso:

First of all, I have to give Erin some real kudos here. In her post she showed an unapologetic willingness to put her neck out there. She is totally fine with calling herself a VA, a coach and whatever the hell else she has decided fits the business model that works for her. Doesn’t seem to be hurting her business, “the industry,” her clients or even all those blind little sheep (prospective clients) who have had the wool supposedly yanked right over their faces by every VA who dares to diversify, pave her own way and all that other good stuff entrepreneurs do.

What if some of those blind little sheep weren’t so blind? Ever thought of that? Let’s give the public some credit. They could form their own opinions from their own research about virtual assistance. Some of them might even come to their OWN conclusions about what a “VA” really is. (If they even think about the topic for more than a nanosecond). Oh the horrors.

And the navel gazing.

For an industry that is so shiny and new, the myopic thinking demonstrated by a fearful few is astounding and unfortunately, making waves. (I’m here, aren’t I?) Erin and Craig are obviously NOT in this group, and neither are the vast majority of their Commenters to date. (Hallelujah for that.)

Tim Ferriss of The 4-Hour Workweek sure as hell doesn’t care (good point Craig!). In fact, I thank you Mr. Ferriss for making entrepreneurs everywhere get more comfortable with the idea of outsourcing virtually.

Did anyone happen to catch the bit in Ferriss’ book about Tina Forsyth? She works virtually and calls herself an “Online Business Manager” How cool is that? That’s entrepreneurship at it’s best. Oh wait, no one is talking about OBMs and how a VA might become one because that would detract from a far more inane compelling discussion about how to define “virtual assistance” as precisely as possible so as not to confuse the sheep, er, I mean, our adoring public.

The outsourced talent in my own business comes to my ‘doorstep’ virtually. Many of these individuals I’ve found through places like VAnetworking.com. To be fair, I’m an Admin at VAnetworking. But it’s where I cut my teeth years ago as an aspiring Virtual Assistant who knew NOTHING about working online. If it weren’t for VAnetworking.com, I may not be doing what I do now–Internet marketing consulting. Some still refer to me as a “VA,” mainly because of the residual marketing collateral still floating around the web from my VA days. I couldn’t care less. If they become a client, they know what they’re getting: value for their money. I get money for what I know. Sounds like a nice arrangement, no?

Some of my contractors do web design. Some do copywriting. Many are specialized toward administration. Each and every one of the them is extraordinarily talented and contribute a great deal to the success of my Internet marketing business, virtually. Some call themselves Virtual Assistants. Some don’t.

Indeed, it goes without saying that “voice” is important in any industry when it comes to attracting and educating the public through media and what have you. It also goes without saying that there is fragmentation in every single non-regulated industry I can think of. So if a prospective client (PC) is reading some online materials (press release, blog, forum content, etc.) about virtual assistance, it’s up to the PC to decide what fits the bill for his or her own outsourcing needs. How you’ve marketed yourself as a “VA,” a contractor, a whatever will in large part determine the PCs you attract to your business. If you are confident in your business’ marketing strategy, this ongoing chatter around how to define virtual assistance kind of becomes a moot point.

Whatever side of the outsourcing equation you’re on–the person looking to help or the entrepreneur seeking to pay for such–you and only you are responsible for the impact of that relationship on your business. You ultimately own the outcome, even if you feel you were wronged in some way. That’s the reality we often don’t want to talk about.

There is more than enough wealth to go around in this nutty world. How it’s distributed (and that’s really what all this hullabaloo is about) should ONLY matter insofar as our desire to help one another succeed as professional, ethical, caring human beings. This preoccupation with who “gets” to call him or herself a Virtual Assistant does a disservice to ALL virtual professionals and has proven to be utterly wasteful and unproductive to date.