Want to offer virtual assistant services from home? Learn how to become a virtual assistant (VA), do virtual assistant training courses, find virtual assistant jobs from home or start a virtual assistant business.
There are more online businesses than ever and the number keeps growing. The beauty of having an online business is that you do not have to maintain a physical office.
But online business owners still have to take care of administrative tasks like answering calls, scheduling appointments, customer service, marketing and so on.
There are many businesses that need remote assistance to help them handle these tasks and this is where a virtual assistant comes in. With the growth of the gig economy, the number of companies that need virtual assistants is also growing.
This article is for you if you want to understand:
- What’s a virtual assistant
- What virtual assistant tasks and responsibilities are in demand
- What virtual assistant services you can offer
- How to become a virtual assistant
- How to apply for virtual assistant jobs or start a virtual assistant business
.
What is a virtual assistant?
So what’s a virtual assistant? A virtual assistant (or VA) is a virtual employee or a remote executive assistant who handles routine stuff for small business owners who may not have the time or skills to handle these tasks.
Business owners who don’t want to hire a full-time employee or who run a virtual organisation often have certain tasks they need to outsource to a virtual assistant.
You can get paid to be a virtual assistant by applying for virtual assistant jobs or by starting your own freelance virtual assistant agency from home.
Your virtual assistant services rates or virtual assistant salary will depend on the kind of virtual assistant tasks you can handle and how specialized they are.
What are some virtual assistant services I can offer?
So exactly what does a virtual assistant do? This list of virtual assistant tasks includes some of the typical virtual assistant services you can offer as a freelance virtual assistant.
Here are some of the services offered by virtual assistants:
- Pinterest marketing assistant
- Podcasting virtual assistant
- Video editing virtual assistant
- Social media virtual assistant
- Digital marketing assistant
- Data entry virtual assistant
- Email management virtual assistant
- Project management virtual assistant
- Real estate virtual Assistant
- Bookkeeping virtual assistant
- Live Virtual Receptionist
- Virtual secretary services
- Customer service virtual assistant
- Virtual PA (personal assistant) services
- Virtual administrative assistant services
- Virtual executive assistant services
- Virtual legal assistant
- Virtual research assistant
- Virtual sales assistant
- Virtual scheduling assistant
- Virtual marketing assistant
- Internet marketing virtual assistant
- SEO virtual assistant
- Web design virtual assistant
- IT virtual assistant
If you’re unsure what virtual assistant services you can offer that people actually need and will pay for, download the 275+ services you can offer as a virtual assistant plus the skills inventory process you can use to identify the valuable skills and abilities that you already possess and can market to clients.
You’ll also receive a self-assessment workbook that will help you decide what virtual assistant services you plan to offer clients, so you can start looking for opportunities to earn today and some amazing student success stories that’ll leave you inspired and motivated.
Enrol in the Virtual Assistant Business mini-course and learn a simple step-by-step approach to help you figure out if being a VA is right for you. You’ll learn what do virtual assistants do so you can get ideas for new virtual assistant services and the inspiration you need to level up your VA services.
Some clients might also want to employ you full-time as a dedicated virtual assistant or remote executive assistant for small businesses. The best part is that you can be a virtual assistant in India, the USA or anywhere in the world.
How can I get a virtual assistant certification?
So are you thinking, “I want to be a virtual assistant”? Here are some of the best online virtual assistant courses that offer virtual assistant certification.
This virtual assistant training course helps new and aspiring virtual assistants start. See what to expect from this course and get the Virtual Assistant Business Mini-Course to learn how to grow a VA business from scratch.
If you love Pinterest and are willing to learn new skills to become a VA, becoming a Pinterest Virtual Assistant is a good option because it’s a highly coveted niche in demand by bloggers and business owners alike.
You can make a living as a Podcasting virtual assistant and learn everything you need to know to help business owners launch, manage and grow a successful podcast. Download the Free Podcast Production & Launch Checklists to learn more.
Not sure how to pitch your virtual assistant services? You’ll learn how to master the art of pitching with pitch templates and tutorials to increase the open and response rate of your pitches in no time.
Checklist for your virtual assistant services business
Here’s a checklist to help you learn how to become a virtual assistant and start offering online virtual assistant services from home.
1. Get your equipment ready
Before you can apply to be a virtual assistant, you’ll need to ensure that you have the proper work from home setup or virtual assistant companies will not even consider your application.
Besides a computer with a high-speed internet connection, you’ll need good quality headphones with an attached mike for video conferencing. You’ll most likely have to get on calls with clients to discuss their business, so you need to have all this equipment in place and working.
Virtual assistant firms require that you must have the equipment and environment below in order to apply for a virtual assistant job with them:
- Laptop or PC (at least 4 GB RAM with a quad-core processor)
- Fast Internet Connection (minimum of 5 Mbps)
- Backup Internet Connection (minimum of 3 Mbps)
- USB Noise Cancelling Headset
- Smartphone
- WebCam
- Quiet Home-Office
Many laptops come embedded with a webcam, but you can buy a separate webcam for higher quality images. It’s a good idea to invest in quality equipment so you can ensure it doesn’t fail when you need it most.
You should also learn how to secure your sensitive data and devices so that hackers can’t steal your information when working from home.
2. Set up your home office
You can allocate space in the living room, but if the distractions are too much, you can clear a bedroom or extra room to use as your office. When you’re working from home, designing an ergonomic home office is a must. Follow our home office ergonomics guide to buy ergonomic home office furniture.
Start with a good computer desk and an ergonomic chair with back support. You will need it as you will be sitting for a good amount of time at your desk. Learn how to set up your home office to maximise productivity and wellness with our home office setup ideas and home office essentials list.
Remember to get up and walk around every 20 minutes or so to prevent health issues that result from too much sitting. Get work from home motivation tips for working remotely and methods to improve productivity with remote work best practices for working from home.
.
3. Apply for virtual assistant jobs
Your next step is to get some experience as a virtual assistant and get virtual assistant work by applying for virtual assistant jobs in India or anywhere in the world.
Start by applying to top virtual assistant companies like Virtual Assistant Finder as they’re the best bet for work-from-home or part-time virtual assistant jobs for beginners.
The best way to get hired as a freelance virtual assistant is to create an attractive LinkedIn profile. Get a professionally written resume and list your skills carefully. Include referral links and contacts, so your profile appears more professional.
Update your LinkedIn profile, headline and summary to state clearly what virtual assistant skills you have to offer your clients and the field you specialize in. Browse the most in-demand skills and see if you fit the profile.
Don’t try to fit into a specific virtual assistant job description. Instead, you might want to list niche skills that do not have high competition. Your virtual assistant salary will vary widely depending on what virtual assistant services you offer and how many hours you can invest in your virtual assistant job.
If you’re paid by the hour, your virtual assistant rates will remain low. If, however, you charge on the basis of the results you get for your clients, you can charge higher virtual assistant fees.
4. Start a freelance virtual assistant business
Once you have some experience working with a virtual assistant business, you can think about starting your own freelance virtual assistant agency.
To get a strong business foundation, spend some time creating your virtual assistant business plan so you can get clear about your services, financials, and pricing strategy.
When you’re starting out, the competition in the virtual assistant market will be stiff and you may have to quote lower virtual assistant rates to attract customers. But setting your price too low comes across as suspect and gives the impression that you don’t know your job.
Take a look at what virtual assistant pricing others are charging and instead of offering low virtual assistant fees, you can offer additional services or perks so that your bid comes across as more competitive without seeming less competent.
You want to come across as an affordable virtual assistant, but not a cheap virtual assistant. To eliminate the guesswork involved in launching and growing your successful virtual assistant business, check out this Virtual Assistant Guide.
It will walk you step-by-step through the entire process, help you select your virtual assistant niche, and even find and pitch prospective virtual assistant clients looking for virtual assistant services in India and abroad.
As a freelance virtual assistant, you want to make sure you are paid on time and can retain ownership rights to the intellectual property you create but how do you make sure all your financial and legal interests are fully protected?
To help you protect yourself, look professional and hit the ground running with your new virtual assistant business, check out the Independent Contractor Contract Template, the only lawyer approved written contract you need if you are a Freelancer (or a Client looking to hire a freelancer) to do any kind of work for you.
This is a written contract that the client and the freelancer (also known as the independent contractor) use to safeguard their business and financial interests while protecting themselves legally. It will help you ensure that all your financial and legal interests are fully protected as a freelancer.
5. Create a professional virtual assistant website
A virtual assistant website is part of your virtual assistant branding because it allows you to showcase your virtual assistant portfolio and market your virtual assistant skills better.
This will help you get your virtual assistant website up and running in just a weekend. With the latest web development technology, it’s easy to make a website even you have don’t have any technical knowledge.
You should also start a blog to boost the search rankings of your website and capture reader emails to build and nurture an email list so you can follow up with potential clients looking for VA services.
Offer your website visitors a free report or case study on how your virtual assistant services can help their business to grow your list. Make a video of yourself at work and post it on Facebook, YouTube and on your own blog.
Install a live chat app on your website, so you can communicate directly with clients looking to hire a virtual assistant online. Have a ‘Hire me’ page where you can make a pitch to potential clients. Provide testimonials from former clients to boost your credibility.
6. Promote your virtual assistant services
The next step is to market and grow your virtual assistant business. Advertising can get clients faster. Start with Facebook advertising as it’s easy to set up Facebook ads and they don’t cost the Earth.
The good thing about Facebook advertising is that it allows very precise targeting by interests, careers, geographic location, so you target your ideal clients anywhere in the world.
You can also set up a Google Adwords campaign and publish articles or videos on your field of expertise, to attract clients trying to find a virtual assistant on search engines.
Set up a freelancer profile on Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, and Upwork and create gigs that showcase your virtual assistant skills and the results you’ve created for your clients. Or you can apply for a backend professional job with MARS by SHEROES.
Conclusion
A virtual assistant business offers freedom and flexibility and is relatively easy and affordable to set up. If you want to be a virtual assistant, don’t wait for the opportune moment to get started.
Get the Virtual Assistant Business Mini-Course and learn how to start and grow a VA business from scratch. It will help you become a virtual assistant, using skills you already have (or by learning a few new ones) and start your own virtual assistant agency.
You can start a virtual assistant business in India or from your home anywhere in the world today, so take advantage of this amazing opportunity to ditch the 9 to 5 job and work from home.
The MARS by SHEROES program certifies Indian women as remote professionals so they can find full-time remote work from home or part-time work from home in India. Click here to become a Certified MARS Partner now!
About the author:
Priya Florence Shah is the Group Editor at SHEROES and author of Devi2Diva, an emotional self-care book for women.
Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links. For more information, read our disclosure.
.
More Freelancing & Work from Home Articles:
- Top Freelance Websites & Best Freelancing Sites For Beginners
- Online Jobs For Students To Earn Money At Home Without Investment
- 21 Real Online Work From Home Jobs Without Investment
- 21 Highest-Paying Freelance Jobs From Home
- How To Find Customer Service Representative Jobs From Home
- 7 Part-Time Jobs From Home For Stay-At-Home Moms
- 10 Free Money Earning Apps For Android In India
- How To Find Online Internships Or Remote Internships
- How To Become A Video Editor And Start A Video Editing Career
- How To Start A Social Media Marketing Agency From Home
- How To Succeed Spectacularly In Your Digital Marketing Career
- How To Find Computer Programmer Work From Home Jobs
- How To Get Upwork Jobs For Beginners: Nick Tubis’ Secret Upwork Hacks
- Freelancers Here’s How To Write A Resume To Win Clients