Did the virtual PA thing pan out?
SIL had her own business as a personal PA for a while for a few clients. It didn't work out but I think that was mainly because she didn't have the contacts to make it happen. If you have enough people in your network who would use it it could be a great WAH earner.
Yes, networks are so important. I had my own bookkeeping business back in Melbourne and it was a struggle to find clients. If I was previously connected with an accounting firm it would have been easy, but I had to find one willing to add me to their list, it was a real tough slog and took many months just to get one client.