If you are a student or a recent graduate, you most likely have heard of the popular service called “As a Man Thinketh”. It’s a book written by James Allen in 1897 and it talks about the power of positive thinking. The book says, “If you want to be happy, assume control of your affairs.” If you want to be wealthy, assume control of your finances. If you want to be healthy, assume control of your health. It’s basic psychology. Take charge of your life and you will be happy, healthy and wealthy, but if you don’t take proper action, nothing will change.
You’ve got your business plan and the list of people you’ll contact to get your business off the ground. Now you need to take a step back and make sure you know what you are doing when it comes to getting started as a virtual assistant. The sheer number of tasks that go into running a business can be overwhelming, but with the help of a virtual assistant, you can avoid a whole host of mistakes by outsourcing all of the daily work to start your business.
Have you ever wanted to work from home and would be willing to take on extra tasks? Do you have mastery of a certain skill and want to make use of it? Have you looked at other jobs and found them dissatisfying? How about working for a company that gives you the chance to be your own boss? Virtual assistants are people who work for companies and individuals that need someone to do tasks like research, transcribe, as well as take care of errands like shopping, preparation and general office work.
The situation in the workplace has changed significantly in recent years. Things that once seemed unthinkable, like. For example, working from home or holding meetings in a moving car have become commonplace. Every day there are new jobs using the internet. And more and more people are starting their own businesses.
In the past decade, a new Internet-related profession has emerged: the virtual assistant (or VA for short). Virtual assistants help busy professionals, small business owners, and even large organizations manage administrative tasks, scheduling, etc.
If you want to become a virtual assistant, you might be wondering where to start. With so much information, it can be hard to know how to start your virtual assistant business.
Luckily, we spoke with Kayla Sloan, an experienced virtual assistant, to find out how to do this.
Below are Kayla’s top tips for starting your virtual services business. You’ll learn what assistants do, how to find your first clients, how much you can earn, and much more.
Message: Kayla Sloan is the founder of 10K VA, an online training course for virtual assistants. College Info Geek is affiliated with 10K VA, and we can receive payments when you click on the links to the courses in this article (at no extra cost to you). However, the tips in this article will help you get started as a consultant whether or not you take Kayla’s course.
What is a virtual assistant?
In general, a virtual assistant is a person who helps a person or business perform digital tasks. General duties include:
- Replying to e-mails
- Scheduling meetings
- Data entry
- Managing social media accounts
- Organisation of the trip
And that’s just a small part of the main tasks. Volunteer consultants with extensive experience or specialized skills can help clients with everything from Facebook ad campaigns to project management.
Even if a business task can be done digitally, there will certainly be a person or company that hires an assistant for that purpose.
3 exciting reasons to become anIL
Now that you have a basic understanding of the duties of the profession, why do you want to become an assistant prosecutor?
Based on our conversation with Kayla, you should consider becoming an assistant CEO for the following reasons:
Work at home (or elsewhere)
Working from home is becoming more common, even in traditional office jobs, but it is still far from being the norm.
If you’re tired of commuting to a physical workplace, you’ll appreciate the flexibility of working as a volunteer.
As a virtual assistant, you can offer your services anywhere you have a reliable internet connection. It can be not only a home office, but also a café, a workspace or even the beach.
Flexible Schedule
In addition to having more flexibility in terms of location than a 9-to-5 job, working as a VA also means you have much more control over your schedule.
This doesn’t mean it’s a passive and unrequited income – you still have to work hard for it. However, you have much more control over when you work.
Some clients may require you to be available at certain times, but most don’t care when you do your work, as long as it gets done. Moreover, you can often combine similar tasks and work fewer hours than in a traditional job.
Use the skills you already have
You probably already do the basic skills needed to work as an assistant all the time. For example, answering emails and updating social media pages are common work tasks that most of us already do in our personal lives.
Some clients may require more specialized software knowledge, but this is the exception rather than the rule. And you certainly don’t need to be very tech-savvy to get started (although you can ask for more as your technical skills increase, which we’ll discuss later).
How to become a Vice Administrator in 4 steps
Want to become a virtual assistant? Now let’s take a closer look at how you can get into this business.
Each case will be slightly different, as everyone starts with different skills and experience. But overall, these are the steps you need to take to start your IL business:
1. Decide what services you will provide
As mentioned earlier, one of the benefits of working as an assistant manager is that you don’t have to have any special skills to begin with.
However, you need to sit down and decide what services you can offer to the customers. This allows you to develop a clear value proposition and find the right customers. Without a clearly worded quote, it can be difficult for clients to decide whether to hire you.
Again: Your services don’t have to be complex or technical. Chances are you already know how to answer emails, manage social media, schedule meetings and answer the phone. If these are your current skills, that’s a good start.
However, don’t forget about the more specialized skills you have. If you z. B. know how to use email marketing software or create podcasts, you can focus on the clients who need those services (and usually charge them more).
2. Creating an online show
Once you’ve decided what you want to offer your customers, you need to give them a way to find you. For a virtual assistant, this means creating a strong online presence.
Kayla recommends starting by creating a business page on Facebook. On this page you can describe the services you offer and provide your contact information to potential customers. Having a business presence on Facebook will be helpful for the next step (finding customers).
Also, make sure your IL company is clearly listed on your LinkedIn profile, as many professionals you may be hiring are likely on LinkedIn. Below is an example of a great VA page on LinkedIn:
Excerpt from LaSaundra Scott’s LinkedIn profile.
In addition to a presence on Facebook and LinkedIn, Kayla offers to create a website. The main purpose of this page is to warm up customers by giving them the opportunity to learn more about your services. It doesn’t have to be big or complicated; one page describing who you are and what you do is enough.
If creating a website seems daunting, don’t worry. We have a complete guide to help you with this process.
3. Find your first customers
Now that you have an online presence, it’s time for the hard part: Find your first customer.
It can be hard to get that first client, especially if you don’t have many connections. Kayla has some suggestions on this topic.
First, you can join Facebook groups dedicated to businesses and entrepreneurs. There are probably people in these groups who need help, there is no better place to connect with them.
Remember, you don’t have to join a bunch of groups and start promoting your services right away. Instead, make a sincere contribution to group discussions. So when someone posts a job, you’re already known to everyone.
In addition to Facebook, Kayla recommends networking with people in the niche you want to follow. Wherever these people hang out online, you need to be represented too. If you z. B. you want to provide executive support services, join some LinkedIn groups where busy professionals spend their time.
Don’t overlook the power of the cold call email either. While it can be scary, it’s often the easiest way to find customers. It also allows you to avoid the fierce competition and noise of discussion forums by approaching potential customers directly. To improve your cold calling skills, check out this guide.
Finally, we should mention that when you sign up for Kayla’s 10K VA course, you get access to their customer login service. Through this service, Kayla connects her former students with companies that need help.
4. Growing your business
Once you find a few clients and start making money, you can decide what to do with your IL business.
Depending on your financial goals, the additional income from one or two clients may be enough. But if you want to completely replace (or even exceed) your current income, you need to start building your business.
At a basic level, this could mean attracting more customers and longer opening hours. This approach is generally sufficient to achieve a decent level of income, but does not scale well above a certain point. Over time, you will want to increase your rates and be more selective in the clients you work with.
The advantage of this method is that you usually learn a lot about the services you should offer from your first customers. Maybe one of them will say they need help with email marketing, for which you should learn to use ConvertKit. With this capability, you now have a range of new services to offer your customers.
Of course, these are just a few examples of what is possible. If you’re looking for more specific advice, including stories about how other sellers have built their businesses, we encourage you to visit the 10K VA website.
Virtual Assistant FAQ
To wrap up this article, we asked Kayla some common questions that people starting out as assistants have. Here are their answers:
How long does it take to become a veteran?
Unlike other professions that can require years of formal training, it doesn’t take long to get started as a VA.
There is no hard and fast rule, but Kayla notes that most advisors she knows and has worked with were able to find their first client within days or weeks. Of course, it depends on your skills and the connections you have.
Should you use job boards to find veteran jobs?
In general, Kayla advises against doing this. The low barrier to entry on job boards means you will be competing with dozens (if not hundreds) of job seekers. And generally speaking, the jobs you find there are a race to the bottom in terms of pay.
Instead, Kayla recommends a more direct and targeted communication and approach to finding your first clients.
What skills and education do you need to be successful as a vice president?
You don’t need many skills to get started as an assistant, and you certainly don’t need a college degree. Key skills for this position are good communication skills, organization, commitment and the ability to work independently. You should also be able to use Google and find answers to your questions yourself.
However, if you want to bill more or work with certain clients, you will need more specialized skills. The possibilities here are as varied as the needs of the customers. For example, you can learn how to use software like Ahrefs for keyword research. You can then charge your clients a premium to help them with this technical (but often routine) work.
If you don’t have much technical knowledge to begin with, don’t worry. Focus on what you can offer clients, and remember that you can always learn new skills.
Do you need experience to be hired as a VA?
When you change careers or jobs, there is always the fear that you don’t have enough experience to get hired. Fortunately, Kayla reports that it is entirely possible to be hired as a veteran’s assistant with no experience. That’s how she and many of her 10K VA students started.
The most important thing in the beginning is to use all the experience you have gained in your previous professions and jobs. If you have worked as a teacher, for example, you already have organisational and communication skills that will stand you in good stead as an assistant.
This means that you may have to ask for a little less than you would like while you gain experience. But once you have it in your hands, you can and should raise it.
What can you do to stand out in a VA interview?
As with most interviews, the key to standing out as a VA is to do your research before the interview.
If you get a job interview, make sure you research information about the company or business that is hiring you. Keep these important points in mind:
- Who are they?
- Who are their customers?
- What are their products or services?
- What have they posted on their website, blog or social media lately?
Once you have the answers to these questions, you can incorporate them into your interview. It shows the client that you know how to do research and that you care about doing the work for them, not just who is paying.
If possible, come prepared to the interview and provide samples or examples of your past work and projects. Or, if you’re just starting out, try to offer some ideas or suggestions that the business owner might find useful for the position or role they’re looking for.
For example, Kayla once helped a client hire an assistant for Facebook ads. The best interviewed candidate came up with a (simple) campaign strategy/plan to show what he or she can bring. Needless to say, they got the job.
How much do virtual assistants earn?
In the end, it all depends on the situation. Kayla notes that a typical work assistant charges between $15 and $40 per hour. This rate depends on the services you offer, the clients you work with and how well you have positioned your business.
That amount per hour worked may be enough to live on, but it doesn’t come close to the $10,000 a month Kayla could earn with a full-time job.
To reach this level of income, you have to be more resourceful. You can change your business model and charge per project instead of per hour of work. You may also decide to set up your own support team or a small IL office. There is an entire module in the 10K VA course for tips on how to grow your VA business.
Start working as a VA today
As you can see now, getting started as a virtual assistant is not that difficult. It will take a lot of hard work and dedication, but you probably already have most of the necessary skills. If you are looking for a flexible schedule and the ability to work from home, we encourage you to give it a try.
Of course, you can start as an assistant without any training, but getting the right information from the beginning can save you a lot of time and frustration. For an expert guide to building your business as an assistant, check out Kayla’s 10K VA course.
Photo credits: Man working on his laptopWant to become a Virtual Assistant? Not sure where to start? This blog post is for you! It will give you the knowledge and skills you need in order to start working for Virtual Assistants (VA’s). I will cover the basics of VA’s, what they do and how to become one.. Read more about virtual assistant jobs online and let us know what you think.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you want to become a virtual assistant?
Do you want to become a virtual assistant? Are you curious about the life of a virtual assistant? The lifestyle of a virtual assistant can be exciting and rewarding. It is a unique combination of time management, business skills, and marketing skills, all combined with the added bonus of being your own boss. Web assistants have become a hot topic in the past few years. With the changes that digital assistants like Apple’s Siri, Google’s Now, Cortana, and Amazon’s Alexa have brought to the market, it’s easy to see why.
How do you become a professional virtual assistant?
There is no shortage of virtual assistants to choose from when looking to find a job that will make you money. But, which virtual assistant pack should you join? This is a very important article, with a lot of information, and the career path for virtual assistants is different for everyone. If you want to become a professional virtual assistant, you should first learn how to do your job. In fact, the more skilled you are at what you do, the more it will pay. So, here is a list of things you need to know before you start working as a virtual assistant.
What skills do you need to become a virtual assistant?
Whether you are just starting out in this field or you already have years of experience, the need for virtual assistants is increasing at an alarming rate. There are many occupations that require virtual assistants and there are also many skills you will need to learn in order to excel in this field. Want to become a virtual assistant? Here’s an expert’s guide to becoming a virtual assistant, a job that’s often thought of as a side-hustle for those who don’t have a steady full-time job.
In reality, however, virtual assistants can be a lucrative career path, especially for those who have no experience in the field. Before you jump into this career, however, it’s important to understand what a virtual assistant does, so that you know the skills you need to get started.
