Come together. Stand out from the crowd. Harness growth.
Well hello there! Welcome to the most collaborative & supportive organisation, training academy & community exclusively created for online business owners, VAs & freelancers like you.
We’re so glad you’re here!
At the Association of Professional Virtual Assistants (APVA) we are proud to be a leading organisation passionate about pioneering the setting of industry standards, training and nurturing new business owners into the industry, accrediting and helping businesses find the safe pair of hands they need to be more profitable.
I’m Holly Partridge, and I am the CEO of APVA. My aim is to continue the work of our founder Charlotte Wibberley to change the face of the VA industry, support the global VA industry as it grows and help you be the VA business owner that you want to be.
As a not-for-profit organisation, the Association of Professional Virtual Assistants also helps business owners to understand how to get the best out of working with their VA as well.
If you want to become a VA or are a highly skilled VA looking for accreditation & professional development, then our forward-thinking Association is for you.
Choose one of the options below, and see how you can benefit from being a part of our community. Whether you’re starting your VA business, growing it or building your own skills, we’re here to support you.
Start Your Business
Start one of our industry-leading training courses and build your successful, flexible, profitable online business on your terms..
Grow Your Business
Supportive membership to help you achieve your goals and reach your next level. APVA VAs do more, be more and often earn more.
Showcase Your Business
Anyone can be a VA, but to be a successful one? That takes courage and experience. Gain accreditation and be known as the best in your field.
Build Your Team
Build your own team from within our pool of experts.. Collaborate and network, learn and cross-refer. Building your team has never been easier as part of our community.
Support for our Association:
As an IT trainer who has invested heavily in personal development and qualifications, it is wonderful to see the Virtual Assistant world embrace accreditation and standards. Helping VAs stand out as they can show that they really are the best.
I think industry regulation and standardisation is essential, to ensure a level of qualification and professionalism is achieved and maintained.
I’ve learnt first-hand, that working with the wrong VA can be a stressful and costly mistake to your business.
Having now worked with an accredited VA through APVA for several months, the difference is astonishing and it’s elevated my business development.
Working with the right VA for you and your business, means you can increase your productivity and business growth, because you have the support, reliability and professionalism that you need. Regulation and standardisation can only be a positive step in which that can be achieved.
No matter the size of your business, being professional in the day-to-day running of it is vital. It could be the difference between success or closing-up shop.
It’s easier to know what ‘professional’ means when there are guidelines to direct you, which is why regulation is a huge benefit and this Association is needed.
Regulation ensures you think about the core functions as well as the day-to-day activities. Thinking about these will ultimately help your business run smoothly, everything from business set-up and having recognised training and qualifications, to having measures in place to protect yourself like the right professional insurance if anything were to go wrong.
We love working with APVA and it has been a pleasure to support them over the years. The work they are doing to regulate and professionalise the VA industry is much-needed and really important as it grows and evolves. Well done guys for pioneering this!
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I would highly recommend the APVA's signature training, the VA Foundation Course to any aspiring VAs. There’s such a lot of information out there on setting up as a VA and starting your own business – the VA Foundation Course takes it all and consolidates it into manageable, bite-size chunks.
You may, like me, have experience working as a corporate EA, but setting up your own VA business is a whole other thing. APVA ‘virtually’ held my hand the whole way and I’m now fully set up with client enquiries coming my way! The support from the APVA community is also totally invaluable - with monthly Nurture Calls, expert VAs on hand to give advice and reassurance and the FB groups to network with your peers.
The VA Foundation Course helped direct my time and energy and as a result, I’ve set up must faster than I anticipated. The course also helps to ensure you follow industry best practices by having the correct legal and operational requirements in place to function as a reliable and reputable business.
A superb and highly professional course, it will add great value to your business!
After completing the Foundation and Kickstarters courses I felt that I was in the right place and had all the tips and skills needed to start my business, the invaluable assistance in setting up from scratch with bank accounts, insurance ICO signup,web site set up amongst a plethora of vital steps and process I jumped in and found I could “swim” amazingly well. I have also made some lovely supportive contacts along the way and the support and encouragement was amazing. Thank you Holly and team wouldn’t be here without you .
I am often asked by new or aspiring VAs for my insight into how to get started and always suggest that, before they do anything else, to find APVA to connect with the amazing community. I was introduced to APVA very early on in my VA journey and it made a profound impact on my business and general mindset over-night. APVA is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack in leading the way on transforming the VA industry and raising both the profile of VAs but also the standard that clients should expect. As a member, I am privileged to have even more access to business coaching, master-class tutorials on anything from GDPR through to imposter syndrome, client matching opportunities and incredible discounts on services, plus I get to chat, collaborate, share success and ask for guidance/support with some of the most inspiring, collaborative, intelligent and professional business owners I have ever encountered - I display my APVA Founding Members badge with pride and honour.
I contacted the APVA to help me find the right VA for my business. Having used a VA previously and not had a great experience, I was looking for…
- expert advice on where to even start looking for the right VA
- a way to shortcut the process – I didn’t have the time to be wading through lots of CVs – I wanted a shortlist already devised for me
- the safe knowledge the people I was speaking to had the skills I required
- help gaining clarity on what exactly I needed
APVA helped me to do all of those things! The service was prompt, thorough and I found my perfect VA within days, not weeks!
I would highly recommend using APVA when searching for your next VA – I know I’ll be back to look for my second VA soon!
Working with an approved APVA VA is already making a dramatic difference to my business and wellbeing! I found the whole experience of switching assistants very easy thanks to the APVA team. I was delighted to be connected with the perfect match as my right-hand woman. I would highly recommend.
Although I’ve previously declined to join any other VA organisations, when I heard that Charlotte Wibberley was setting up the Association of Professional Virtual Assistants, I decided that I wanted to be a part of it from the outset. The key thing for me is the excellent online peer support – the job can be quite solitary, working in a remote office and sometimes not seeing anyone for several days. Sometimes I also need guidance and advice from other VAs, both new and old, as to how to go about solving a particular issue, whether it’s technical or resource-related. Hopefully I’m able to help others myself too. It’s just great feeling part of a community that’s focused on quality and support. When I’m looking for new top-class Associate VAs to join my team, APVA will be the first place I’ll search! I highly recommend APVA.
I have recently completed the awesome VA Foundation Course with the Association of Professional Virtual Assistants.
I can whole heartedly recommend this course to anyone considering the transition from PA to VA.
The content is concise and engaging and the team are very responsive to any enquiries you may have.
You will feel fully supported and ultimately ready for your next entrepreneurship challenge.
Where do you go when you want a VA to trust with not only your passwords, your business relationships but your professional reputation? I wanted a quality VA, a partnership with someone genuinely interested in my business. When I enquired within my lovely groups, the APVA’s name was mentioned by a few people so I got in touch. They asked about who I am and what my needs were and then made suggestions on the VAs who would be a great match for me. I am delighted with their carefully chosen VA. Thank you team APVA! I will be recommending your VAs at every opportunity!
APVA found me my fabulous VA in the middle of last year and I couldn't be happier! If this is what today's Virtual Executive Support is providing then I'm game! It's been a life line for a small business like mine
You can't pretend to know everything as a CEO and I don't need a diary manager or travel organised. Its business management support and the different areas social media, PR, research and crunching data (turning into something more meaningful), website support to name but just a few items that they have worked with me on.
Safe to also say I'm a nightmare to work with at times. I'm often on the road or at meetings or working non-stop and they are very patient with me and this is valued a lot.
If you ever get a small business owner in denial about what Virtual support can provide and why it's worth it - send them my way, I'll put the record straight! Thanks APVA.