Everything you need to know about becoming a Virtual Assistant

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If you’ve been following this blog for a while you will know that I am now a full-time Virtual Assistant. Although I am based in East Yorkshire I have clients from all over the world and specialize in helping fellow bloggers with their blogs.

HOW TO BECOME A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT?

Today is International Virtual Assistant day so I’m sharing with you everything you need to know about if you too are thinking of becoming a Virtual Assistant.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A Virtual Assistant is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin! It’s an assistant that supports you virtually!

A Virtual Assistant is likely to be freelance and has their own terms and conditions. They also set their own fee’s, work their own hours and works on what they tend to specialise in whether that be general administration, blogging, SEO or even lifestyle!

What Services Does A Virtual Assistant Provide?

Find a niche

What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? There are tons of VA niches out there and endless lists of services you can offer but try not to offer everything. There will be something you like more than another task and the fact you are now being able to now work on your terms should mean you do exactly what you WANT to do and not what someone is telling you to do.

I am obviously a blogger so to specialize in blogs something that that comes naturally because it’s a true passion of mine. I don’t feel like it’s work because I genuinely love seeing results and helping others build their brand. I am also experienced in LEAN so I save people time and money by working smarter not harder and this is reflected in all the conversations that I have with my clients and suggestions I make in relation to the way they work or their processes.

You can offer pretty much anything though from email management, to SEO to general administration duties.. the world is really your oyster when it comes to the services you can provide as a virtual assistant but ensure you decide what it is you like doing and what services you want to offer to others.

How to Become A Virtual Assistant?

Just start! Sounds easy but it really is. Get yourself a free WordPress website, design some business cards, create a Facebook page and liaise with some local businesses perhaps in your niche/speciality.

This isn’t something that I even thought was a ‘thing’ but it is and an extremely popular one at that! We as VA’s, offer a unique service. We are helping businesses that know they need help but perhaps don’t have the funds, time or even patience to hire an employee. Aside from the fact it’s actually dearer to employ someone that hire someone as a VA, employers have tons of other things to factor in too. One is the fact that no one works 7 hours per day. You may be paying them for 7 hours however there is no way that ANYONE works for the duration that you are paying them. They are also not paying your sick pay or holidays either!

Virtual assistants are hired on an hourly basis or per task and only work what you want them to work.

Choose your business structure

This is YOUR business. You are no longer working for someone else. You are not employed by a big wig who you never see and YOU can now call the shots.

I talk about pricing further down in this post as that is part of your business structure, but I’m more referring to here as to working out WHEN you are going to work, WHERE are you going to work from, are you going to ensure you get time out i.e spend one morning at the gym every Wednesday without fail and only work between school hours.

Set your terms!

It’s super flexible But Be Firm

Although I have deadlines, my clients know that I work when I work. If someone was to dictate to me when or even where I was to work then I would be classed as an employee or rather that person ought to look to employ someone.

I work for myself, from my sofa, from my desk even from a beach if I had too 😉 that’s the flexibility I love. I write this as I am full of cold today and although it’s a beautiful day outside and I would love to sit in my office with the sun beaming through, I can’t think of anything worse being sat with a tissue up my nose at my desk so I am working from my laptop in the living room whilst listening to Judge Rinder 🙂

What to charge?

You can charge what you want to charge. Think about the training you’ve undertaken, your expenditure and at least have an idea of your competition. Does something set you aside from everyone else?

Also don’t ever let someone dictate to you how much you should charge. It’s your business, you pay the bills, it’s your roof you are having to keep over your head not there’s! If someone can’t afford what you charge that is absolutely fine.. but don’t reduce the prices and packages you have worked hard to build.

It is not just the work they are paying for but the knowledge and experience YOU have. They are coming to you because either they don’t have it or they don’t have the time to dedicate to doing it themselves. If you have the time, and they want that time they should pay for your time.

How to get Virtual assistant clients?

Build relationships, network and pitch. In Catherine’s How To Be A VA members only Facebook Group we are all regularly posting #varequests when we see something that we maybe don’t have the skills for or want to offer it out to others. A lot end up getting the membership cost per month back just through these VA requests to be fair!

Get yourself on LinkedIn too… that is the place to be for VA’s with tons of small businesses looking for help that are willing to pay your worth because they know if you want to better your blog of build you brand you have to invest in your business.

I hope this post gives you some hints and tips on becoming a Virtual Assistant… if you have any questions on any feel free to drop me a comment below or Pin to read again later 🙂