I have an entire website on how to set up and run a successful Virtual Assistant business, but I recently realised I didn’t have a post that explains what a VA actually is and what they do as I kinda assumed you knew! So, if you were wondering what a VA is and the kinds of tasks they do for clients, here’s a simple breakdown.
What is a Virtual Assistant?
In a nutshell, a Virtual Assistant is someone who helps business owners by doing tasks they don’t know how to do, are too busy to do, don’t want to do, or simply hate doing. Or tasks where it just makes better financial sense to hand them off to someone else.
A Virtual Assistant’s job is to help make or save their clients money and free them up so they can focus on what they’re actually good at. Or sometimes, just to save their client’s sanity.
Every business comes with admin, and as shocking as this may sound, most business owners do not like doing admin.
I know. Weird, right?
Business owners outsource tasks to Virtual Assistants for the same reason that you outsource tasks to other people. For example:
- You hire an accountant because they have a better understanding of tax than you do. They have experience, training and qualifications. They know how to save you money and, more importantly, they ensure you don’t balls up your tax return.
- You take your car to the garage instead of taking a car mechanics course.
- You (could if you wanted to) hire a cleaner to do non-skilled tasks. They charge less per hour than you do, so you have more time to market your business and undertake paid work.
- You hire an electrician instead of trying to wire your own home.
“Why would someone hire me to do tasks they could do themselves?”
I hear this question often, and the answer is simple. It doesn’t make financial sense for a £100 p/h consultant to spend hours on admin or replying to emails when they can give those tasks to someone who charges less.
Also, you could and probably sometimes do groom your own dog, cook your own meals and cut your own hair. But you also take your dog to the groomers, eat at restaurants and visit the hairdressers.
Because there are many tasks that other people can do better than you.
Why do people hire Virtual Assistants?
Business owners receive many benefits from hiring a Virtual Assistant.
- There’s no sick pay or maternity pay to cover, and VAs are responsible for their own tax, National Insurance, pension, office space, and equipment.
- Because VAs are freelancers, there’s no long-term commitment unless both parties want it. This makes hiring a VA a low-risk way to get help as and when needed.
- It also removes the financial and emotional pressure of being responsible for an employee.
- By delegating tasks, business owners can focus on higher-level work like strategy, marketing, and client relationships.
- VAs bring a wealth of skills and experience from working with multiple clients and across different industries.
- If the VA has previous experience in a specific sector, clients gain immediate access to industry-specific knowledge. The VA can “hit the ground running” without needing extensive training.
- VAs are naturally organised and love admin. Most business owners…? Not so much.
Many business owners have more than one Virtual Assistant
Amazing and talented as they are, no Virtual Assistant can do everything – nor should they.
A techie VA will shudder at the idea of formatting a spreadsheet, and a traditional, corporate VA will have no idea how to set up a membership site.
It’s impossible for a VA to do everything a client may want, which is why you should find clients that match your skillset rather than trying to bend yourself like a pretzel to fit the client.
I’ve said this 1000 times already, so I’m not going to labour this point, but it helps to think of clients relationship as you would a romantic relationship.
With romantic relationships, you look for a partner who complements you and matches your personality. You don’t find any old person and try to be what they want you to be.
Well, you do when you’re very young, but that’s before you’ve worked out that it’s a fast track to misery.
So many business owners use more than one Virtual Assistant.
They’ll often have a “regular” VA that takes care of day-to-day things, and hire specialist VAs for one-off techie projects.
A Virtual Assistant’s job isn’t to do every task themselves, it’s to make sure those tasks are completed by someone who knows how to do them quickly and correctly.
What does a Virtual Assistant do?
It can be hard to define exactly what a Virtual Assistant does because there are as many types of VA as there are businesses.
However, a Virtual Assistant’s services usually relate to what they did for a living before they became a VA, because these are the things they know how to do well.
When you first start out, it’s a really good idea to focus on getting clients in the industry you’ve been working in because that’s what you already know.
You understand the industry’s challenges, goals, calendars, terminology, stakeholders, tech platforms, and processes. Knowing this makes it far easier to market yourself and also to complete the tasks.
You’ll pick up new skills over time, either because you teach yourself or because clients introduce you to new platforms, and you can then add these to your list of services or decide to specialise in this area.
For example, I started out offering everything to everyone (which is a terrible business model) as well as event support because that’s the industry I was working in at the time
But, I had a personal interest in social media and new technology, and over time, I became experienced enough to move sideways and have this as my niche.
As your VA business grows, your service offerings will naturally evolve to reflect your strengths and what the market demands. And this is how VAs move from being generalists into specialists who can charge higher rates.
Services Virtual Assistants provide
The services Virtual Assistants offer vary wildly, but roughly fall within these categories:
Admin support
Diary and email management, research, spreadsheet and doc tasks (templates and formatting etc), database and CRM management, generating and writing reports, customer service, minute taking, proofreading and copyediting, and organising meetings and travel.
Many VAs describe and market themselves as Freelance PAs for these services.
It’s also worth noting that VAs with previous career experience in a corporate environment working at board/director-level can command a very high hourly rate.
Social media support
Content creation and scheduling (including making images, researching hashtags and monitoring performance), managing content calendars, and overseeing online communities such as Facebook groups.
Marketing
As social media is a form of marketing, these tasks often blur with social media support as well as tech services and may include writing and editing blogs and newsletters, basic graphic design, SEO, and lead generation.
Tech services
This is a very broad subject, but includes things such as website support and maintenance, CRM management, IT support, software and tool research, podcast or video editing, setting up landing pages, integrating systems, creating digital workflows, and supporting e-commerce and membership sites.
Specialised services
These are tasks that don’t fall under any of the above categories, and tasks such as bookkeeping and accounting, event planning and coordination and project management.
I would also put lifestyle management and concierge services under this category.
This is when a Virtual Assistant undertakes personal tasks, usually for High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI). This is a very hard sector to get into, and the VAs I know that offer this had some kind of connection to HNWIs beforehand.
One VA had previously worked for Formula 1, another for a luxury yacht company, and another for a bespoke event management company in Ibiza.
Here’s my free download of 100+ services Virtual Assistants can offer. Don’t offer them all, though!
Conclusion
Although many people have still not heard of a Virtual Assistant, they are an increasingly popular way for business owners to save costs and avoid the responsibilities that come with having employees.
And being one is great.
You can work from anywhere in the world, on tasks you enjoy, and with people you like.
It isn’t all about working from the sofa in your pyjamas (although that’s definitely part of the appeal), it’s about using the skills you already have to support clients who need your help.
You don’t need to know everything — just start with what you’re good at, and build from there.
There is a lot of info on my site about setting up your own Virtual Assistant business. My advice is to head to the Post Index page or use the categories to find posts that reflect where you are in your journey.
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Ready to set up your own VA business?If you’re tired of reading and just want to get started, it might be time to enrol in my DIY VA course. I’ve trained well over 1000 VAs (many of whom now run agencies), I guide you through the entire process, and I’m always on hand to support you. |
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