By: Tebogo Mokwena
Nonomde Dazuka believes that Virtual assistant jobs are set to grow rapidly and will create many entrepreneurs in the years to come. She believes that it is an all-encompassing sector, and encourages young people to consider it as one that is viable to invest in. A virtual assistant is a self-employed worker who specialises in offering administrative services to clients from a remote location, usually a home office. Typical tasks that are performed include scheduling appointments, making phone calls, making travel arrangements, and managing email accounts.
Dazuka told Vutivi News that she initially worked as an administrative assistant. When the company which employed her went through a rough patch, she decided to supplement her income. Dazuka, who is based in Tshwane and is the founder of DaLeah Virtual Assistance Services, said that she capitalised on her communication, technical and soft skills, and went for six weeks of training with digital school ALX, where she acquired a certificate. She then started her business in 2022. According to Dazuka, the business was growing at a steady pace and there were multiple opportunities to grow further.
Dazuka pointed out that the skills of a virtual assistant were becoming sought after the more the world digitised. “My company caters to both personal clients, small businesses and solo entrepreneurs,” she said. “A virtual assistant acts as a strategic partner who adds value and makes life easier by performing tasks like handing emails, calendar management, running errands as well as social media management. “This allows business owners more time to focus on their business.”
Dazuka also said that one of the perks of running her kind of business was that it was not limited to any sector. “Anyone with skills from any sector can start such a business and offer their services to small companies,” she said. “There is always a different skill you can add which can increase your chances of getting business,” Dazuka said that although there are no difficulties in getting clients, she did have to contend with self-doubt. “I found myself in situations where other people like clients would appreciate my work more than I do my own, but I realised that I have to keep pushing and believing in myself,” she told Vutivi News.
Dazuka now plans on studying further to acquire more skills that are in demand and wants to expand into other sectors and provide more services. “My ultimate dream is to be one of the first black people to run a VA firm that caters to all needs and all company types, from technical, financial, business, and administrative services,” she said.
