Page Contents
Why Becoming a Virtual Assistant
Have you been considering becoming a Virtual Assistant for various reasons? Got tired, and bored of being a full-time employee, and feel like this is the best time to try yourself as a freelancer? Got office background, and skills you could support other businesses with? Want to work for yourself, mostly on your schedule, remotely? With the start of the pandemic, a growing number of companies are seeking virtual assistant help to date.
All you need to start is a good Wi-Fi connection, a computer, cell phone, and a simple work example you have done earlier. Many people wouldn’t take their chance to become a Virtual Assistant for fear they aren’t good enough, and doubting themselves. Overthinking it could put out your fire, and diminish your chances to work in this field. If you sit down and create a list of your greatest assets and capabilities
You have to start from a place of believing that you have useful skills, and experience to offer to potential clients. Also, you can learn the necessary additional skills online. Make sure, these are new skills you are interested in and would be happy to work with them in the long run. It can happen, and you don’t want to have such regrets. You could use many resources, webinars, YouTube channels, videos, or even books.
Essential Skills You Want to Get
Besides basic administration, you need to have a thorough understanding of how to create videos, manage social media business accounts and content, etc. if you need to learn this information, you could do so in one to three months before you could start working as a VA. If you don’t yet have a Pinterest board, it could be very useful to start one and pin the resources you want to learn from.
Always remember your goal! You don’t want to stay stuck in just learning for a month or even a year, before starting applying your knowledge, and getting work! Too many people make this mistake. Never do things slowly, or stay in one place for too long, not moving forward! Just do what you can, and don’t overanalyze! You can start by creating your brand along with a simple logo on the Canva platform.
Your personal brand will give you a professional look, which can greatly help with new clients. Identifying your niche based on your skills, your offering, and potential future skills is the most important thing you must clarify. You could start with something like Virtual Assistant for healthcare providers. You need to plan and tailor your brand in a way that best matches the needs of your clientele, to appear as a potential candidate.
Attract the Best Clients for You
Your images, content, and related skills must be top-notch to attract your best matching clients! It helps to keep it both professional, and lightheartedly so you don’t get burned out while earning a living. Having an open mind could help you a great deal! You could think of ideas to help promote your business. If possible, you might want to make appointments to meet your clients or their staff members in person.
To get paid, you need to open a business bank account and set up payment methods. Setting up your PayPal business account can help you deal with your invoices, you can create and send professional invoices, and their commission is low. Some other platforms also allow you to create proposals, contracts, and invoices all in one document, which could help you simplify your administration.
You may want to check some of this software: Dubsado, Hello Bonsai, Bloom, Plutio, 17hats, Freshbooks, Salesmate, Elorus… After listing your main services, setting up your business profile, and choosing your payment system, and methods for online money transfer and additional tasks, you are ready to look for your first client!
No matter what your relationship with your clients is, you always need to have a contract with them! When you create your contract, you can email it to your clients, and don’t forget to make them sign it, before they start working with you!
Getting Your First Client
Having in mind that you need to take it easy and enjoy the process, and the intention of helping your potential business partners save time is crucial. You will have a key role in running their businesses smoothly on a daily basis. The way virtual assistants get work varies. You could create your profile on the global freelancing platform Upwork, which brings together businesses and employees. It can be a good place to start freelancing.
There are also many Facebook groups you could join, you should check a few of them to find the people you want to work with. Other networking groups you may want to visit, are online entrepreneur groups, and groups in your specific niche. You always have a chance to meet someone online in these groups who could help you gain more insight, or even guide you to potential clients!
By contributing, offering tips, and engaging in post comments, people may reach out to you for help. Also, try posting your services in as many business groups as possible. You could also attract clients through content. If you have a blog for instance or an Instagram account, you could post an everyday topic you can talk about that might interest others. The most important thing is to be consistent in showing up and posting!
Being Consistent Is Key
The way you find your clients, the platforms or techniques you use, should be consistent! When you have a client interested in your services, you should invite the person for a quick video call. You need to see if you are a good match to work together. They need to find out about your skills, and you should ask questions about their needs.
It is very important to work for someone you have good chemistry with, and is reliable. The last thing you want to do is accept something you cannot deliver, even if you partly aren’t sure how to do it, or the deadlines are too tight for you. You don’t want to end up feeling like it is a nuisance. So you should think of this call as exploring.
Summary
Identify your key skills and the type of work you want to do. Think about what you are most talented at, also what you would enjoy doing long-term. List the potential resources you could learn from to develop additional skills you feel you should advance. Create your personal brand quickly, in a few days the most, make sure not to waste weeks! Make your business official by having contracts, a bank account, and an online payment platform.
You need to make sure you get paid in an organized way and keep things separate. When you are set up you can go and look for clients! Depending on what you prefer, you could look for local clients, or search for clients online. Don’t forget to choose something that best matches your skill set, and you enjoy doing it! None of us want to do something we dislike.
Leave a Reply