Make Money From Home Working as a Virtual Assistant (VA)
How to Make money from home working as a Virtual Assistant?
2020 has finally ended. Phew, what a year! Still, the changes it made will probably be there forever. On the bright side, the pandemic has positively impacted the nature of work worldwide.
The lockdown paved the way for virtual assistants by forcing employees to leave the office and work from home. This worked for some, while wasn’t as handy for others.
However, if you can’t decide which side to take yet, it’s okay. The following infographic will aid you to weigh the pros and cons of working from home vs. in an office.
The number of virtual assistants is growing everyday more and more. The concept of virtual assistance definitely flourished due to the full-time employees who chose to follow the same path.
So, virtual assistance is now a big thing to look forward to if you don’t prefer working in an office.
But first, what is the exact meaning of virtual assistance?
What is virtual assistance?
A virtual assistant is a remote self-employed individual who provides assistance for different companies and clients, businesspeople. Virtual assistants are a famous job among CEO entrepreneurs, businesswomen and people with title as heads of conglomerates.
Recently, all types of businesses resorted to virtual assistance for its promising benefits.
From the companies’ perspective, virtual assistants save tons of money spent on facilities and regular maintenance as they work from home.
Companies benefit from the flexibility to contract for specific tasks or services without paying any extra taxes.
From virtual assistants’ perspective, you get to work from home, pick your client and set your price, so it’s a win-win.
To back up the belief, 91% of virtual assistants reported feeling more productive when work from home, according to a TINYpulse study.
What does a virtual assistant do?
Well, think about it and you’ll find that there are dozens of jobs that could be done virtually. Yet, specific jobs are more popular than others.
“Personally, hiring a virtual assistant has allowed me to dispense with some simple tasks — such as scheduling events, answering some emails and scheduling meetings — and give more attention to those that require my continuous presence,” Kevin Leyes, Chairman of Leyes Enterprises and the CEO of Leyes Media, an SMM and PR agency, and Team Leyes, an urban jewelry company in an article for Forbes said.
The above are a few to name. Also, here’s a short list of the most common virtual assistance jobs:
- Administrative Assistance
- Content Creation & Blogging
- Social Media Management (Also, check DigiUTM’s article on social media marketing)
- Graphic Design
- Bookkeeping
- Photography (Also, check DigiUTM’s article on ways to make money by taking photos)
- Marketing services
- Paraplanning
- Data Entry
How to become a virtual assistant?
Now that you knew the various fields of virtual assistance, this infographic gives you tips on how to have an ideal work experience at home.
Ultimately, establishing your virtual assistance business isn’t a piece of cake. It requires constant persistence in order to achieve success and financial stability. But at the same time, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the situation.
First things first, decide on the type of service you want to offer to your target customers.
Second, believe it or not, not everyone who is on the top today got there with success after success. In fact, they work hard to conquer the obstacles they face on the road.
This is why the process of self-development goes hand in hand with studying the competitors which eases planning your own strategy.
Thus, you’ve to be good at what you’re doing. Nah! Not just good. You’ve to be perfect to stand out in the crowd.
Education plays a vital role as some clients tend to build their evaluation merely on the education level.
If you choose to work in a field you didn’t acquire a university degree in, it’s recommended to foster your knowledge through online courses available by community colleges and companies such as LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and Udemy.
As most of your work interactions will be online, you better be teach-savvy. Familiarize yourself with the necessary software and programs you’re going to use to avoid any technical problem on your side.
This won’t only facilitate your everyday work, but will also enhance your professional image to potential clients.
VA Traits & Ethics
Besides having the necessary skills, have you ever thought that you need to instill in yourself particular traits and ethics for a flawless work experience?
Virtual assistants are all about ethics. For instance, most of the time, the clients neither have the time nor the skill to double-check whether you cheated in any way.
Since you’re your own guard, here’re 5 basic traits and ethics for any virtual assistant.
Resourcefulness
Finding the necessary information isn’t always as easy as it may seem. Being resourceful is an intrinsic part of being tech-savvy. In other words, you need to be fluent in google to be well-prepared for any issue, in addition to staying up-to-date.
Self-Motivation and Discipline.
An average full-time employee is only productive 2 hours and 53 minutes during the typical 8-hour workday, as Inc.com stated.
On the other hand, your client trusts you to finish the task within the provided time-frame. Although working from home is, oftentimes, distracting, it’s inevitable to train yourself to produce the highest quality in the less possible time.
Integrity
You’ll be surprised to know how many people believe that the end always justifies the means. No matter what ethical standard your fellows maintain, you should stand to yours which is the real acid test in virtual assistance jobs.
Integrity guarantees long-term success, earns you reputation and builds self-confidence, while deception doesn’t.
Friendliness
It makes sense that being friendly breeds a deep-rooted network of clients. Even if your work is one of a kind, clients evert whenever they’re uncomfortable.
It’s exhausting to stay positive and upbeat in stressful situations, but it does pay off.
Communication
Goes without saying, communication is the linchpin to success in the modern era. For virtual assistants, you should update the client whenever you can as remote work already hinders communication.
How to learn to become a virtual assistant?
Ensure that your workspace is a comfortable working environment. All you need is a fast internet connection in a quiet place, plus any essential equipment or tools.
Though, here are 5 steps to consider when starting a virtual assistance business.
1. Focus on your offer
Devote your skills toward a specific field you want to excel in it. Don’t distract yourself with too many unnecessary tasks. Eventually, there’s plenty to learn and you don’t want to waste your energy for a dime’s worth of difference.
2. Set up your business
If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. Take all the time you need to prepare for your next move. Seeking consultation from professionals in the field is an underestimated step you should never ignore.
Also, decide whether you want to partner up and form a whole team or you prefer solo work.
3. Create a website and social media accounts
Your online profiles are what define you as a virtual assistant. You should be precise in the amount of information you want to provide your future clients. Too much data could be overwhelming and vice versa.
Marketing yourself is a big deal and time-consuming. Nevertheless, social media presence guarantees exposure. You don’t need to have accounts on all platforms, but you do need to maintain your image and clarify your services through them.
Thanks to LinkedIn! It made it easier than before to advertise your services without getting lost among the other types of posts on other platforms.
Furthermore, creating a website or a portfolio is essential to showcase samples of your work.
Contently, Journoportfolio, Behance and many more allow you to build and customize your own portfolio for free. Check them out.
4. Make your clients happy & ask for feedback
Customer satisfaction is the cornerstone of any new business. Always deliver your best work, ask for feedback and show gratitude to your clients in order to grow your services.
Snowballing will get you most of your future clients, so you don’t want your existing ones to be upset.
5. Find friends in your niche
The ridicule of peers and the animosity of society are tiring to be dealt with alone.
Hence, you should surround yourself with a support system of friends who understand what you’re doing. There’ll be a time when you need advice, feedback or simply someone to keep you company.
If you fail to find any, don’t worry! Facebook groups do expand to each and every field around the world. Just do a basic search and it’s expected to find at least 2 or 3 groups within your georgical area.
To sum up, in a gig economy, virtual assistants, subcontracted and freelancers are becoming the solution for many companies.
Virtual assistants are gaining more popularity nowadays and it’s your chance to pursue your dream job without all the hassle of full-time jobs.
After doing all the preparation, sign up for Freelancer, Upwork, or Fiverr to find your 1st client.
Hooray! What are you waiting for? Take a leap of faith into uncharted waters and start your virtual assistance business TODAY!
Still not sure? contact us to teach you how to work as a VA!
