What is a Virtual Assistant?
A Virtual Assistant (VA), is a person who provides virtual services to businesses. The majority of the Virtual assistants have a home-based office. VAs are usually independent contractors but sometimes they work with an agency as well. The demand for a VA has increased drastically due to COVID-19. If you are thinking to start a virtual assistant business then this would be a great time to start.
You can hire a VA for a short-term project or as an employee for a long-term project. Hiring a VA is much cheaper than hiring an in-office employee since you will not have to pay for lunch breaks, vacation, statutory holidays, and office equipment. A virtual assistant is ideal for small businesses and entrepreneurs. However, lately even corporates are hiring virtual assistants for certain parts of their business.
What exactly does a Virtual Assistant do?
A VA can do almost anything possible virtually. As technology is improving rapidly more and more people are hiring virtually. A virtual assistant can do basic tasks such as Data entry to complex tasks such as handling a company’s finances. There are plenty of services that a virtual assistant can offer. You can start by delegating simple tasks to a virtual assistant until you feel confident enough to hire someone to handle other parts of your business.
How much can you earn?
Salary depends on how much you charge per hour. A VA can make anywhere from $18 per hour – $50 per hour depending on your service, skills, and experience. The location of your country should not dictate the amount of money that you should charge. I have met VAs from the Philippines, Pakistan, and India who only charge $5-6 per hour. On the other hand, I have met VAs from the same country who charge $18+ per hour. Please do not undercharge, know your value, and trust your skills.
Virtual Assistant Services
Before you launch your business select a niche and services that you will be offering. There are a lot of Niches that you can pick from such as real estate, wedding planners, business coaches, fitness coaches, etc.. One of the niches that I would recommend is real estate. There is a lot of opportunities in the real estate industry for virtual assistants. Being a Real estate virtual assistant does require a lot of training compared to being a general administrator. However, a lot of clients will provide you with training.
There are plenty of services that you can pick from if you are unsure of what to offer.
Services
- Graphic Designing
- General Administration
- Customer Service Representative
- Transcription
- Translation
- Editing
- Content Writing
- Social Media Management
- Web Designing
- Live Chat Agent
How do I hire a VA?
There are plenty of platforms from where you can hire a virtual assistant. One of the most famous ways of hiring a virtual assistant is through a freelancing website. Other ways are by posting your job advertisement on Facebook groups, LinkedIn, Indeed, contacting a virtual assistant agency, or by directly contacting virtual assistants through their website.
Hiring someone online can be risky that is why always make sure that there is a contract signed between you and the virtual assistant that you hire. If it’s your first time hiring a virtual assistant then it’s best to use a freelancing website. I would recommend posting your job ad on Upwork, it is easy to use and has a lot of great Freelancers.
Here is the link: https://www.upwork.com/
How to start a Virtual Assistant Business
Starting a virtual assistant business is affordable and does not require a lot of time to launch your business. However, like any other business, it does require a lot of hard work, and consistency. Anyone can start a virtual assistant business; it does not matter where you are located as long as you have the equipment to launch your business. All you need is a stable internet, and a desktop/laptop. The first step would be deciding on a list of services that you would like to offer. Some of the services are bookkeeping, data entry, translator, web designer, podcast manager, etc… You can select one specialized service or multiple services. Once you have decided on a service then you should select a niche that you would like to work in. Some famous niches are Real Estate, Coaching, E-commerce, Amazon FBA, and Web Development. After that, you will have to decide on a price for your service. You can either offer per hour pricing or package-based services. Once that is done, you will need to market your new business and look for clients.
Can you start a Virtual Assistant Business without any investment?
If you are on a tight budget you can just pay for the business license to start your business. Once you get a client, I would highly suggest creating a website. You do not have to pay anyone to create a website for you. Website creation is extremely easy now since you can just pick a pre-made website through WordPress. Domain names costs around $11-17 yearly and if you host your website through Bluehost their cheapest plan costs $3.50/monthly (at the time this article was written, it may be different now). I would recommend Bluehost because their customer service is amazing, especially if it’s your first time creating a website and their plans are cheap. You can contact them through their live chat and they will answer all of your questions in depth.
You can register for Bluehost below, please note that it is an affiliate link. https://www.bluehost.com/track/hustlebustle/VA
Disclaimer: The link above is an affiliate link. I will receive a small percentage if you decide to purchase a plan through that link.
How to Become a Virtual Assistant with no experience?
There are a few services that you can start offering right away even if you have never worked in an office. Some of the services that you offer are Data Entry, Transcription, Cold Caller, Email management, and Customer Service. Check out this article about 5 Virtual Assistant Services that Anyone Can Offer.
If you feel that being a virtual assistant is something that you will enjoy then go for it and start your own virtual assistant business. More in-depth articles related to starting your Virtual Assistant business will be posted soon.
