In the several years I’ve been a trailing spouse and on the lookout for the ‘ideal’ portable career or business I’ve met, not only people who work in this capacity, but also groups that exist to support the VA community.

Being a Virtual Assistant, or VA means literally assisting other businesses or business people in a virtual capacity. The VA industry isn’t new but it continues to gain momentum as internet based communication and collaboration systems become more available, reliable and user friendly. For trailing spouses with the right kind of organizational and communication skills, a VA position can form the basis of a truly portable career.

You can of course set yourself up as a freelance or standalone VA but those that have been most effective tend to be part of a network of VA’s. One such network and the group that has impressed me the most is Team Double-Click. Based in Colorado in the USA, this family based business headed by Gayle and Jim Buske assists around 50,000 VA’s in all parts of the world. This assistance comes in many forms to help the beginner get started through to helping seasoned VA’s build and maintain their business.

Today I interviewed Gayle Buske on the eve of the launch of their Licensed Virtual Assistant program.

The Licensed VA model was established to allow those VA’s that want more autonomy to build their own VA business yet benefit from the strength and maturity of the Team Double-Click network. Their traditional business model of locating clients and matching them with suitable VA’s continues as normal, providing greater choices for people venturing into this type of portable career.

If you are considering becoming a VA or would like to learn more, listen to the interview by Gayle and visit Team Double-Click to learn more.

Any VA’s out there that are interested in participating in a talkcast on this subject, feel free to contact me via the contact page and/or leave a comment below.

Podcasts, talkcasts, netcasts… who cares what you call them, information in the spoken form is now prolific and if like million of others your portable listening device is an iPod, iTunes is the place to get your stuff.

I record and host my podcasts on the Talkshoe.com platform but I’m pleased to announce now that the Trailing Spouse Network podcasts can be found and subscribed directly from the iTunes Store.

Use the iTunes search box to locate ‘Trailing Spouse Network’.

Then click on the Subscribe button next to the program details.

For the technically inclined or if you are having trouble subscribing this way, you can also subscribe using this method:

In iTunes, pull down the Advanced Menu | Subscribe to Podcast and enter this URL into the box provided:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=283015905

Do you have something of interest to say to Trailing Spouses?

I’m always on the lookout for people, information and opportunities of interest to the Trailing Spouse Network community. If you have something to say, a business, a book, a web site, an idea or just need to reach out internationally to this expat professional community, visit my contact page and drop me a line.

I’m seeking regular and one-time guests to discuss and explore ideas and information of interest to Trailing Spouse Professionals.

In the meantime… put us on your iPod.