Picture the scene. I’m 17 years old, it’s around 8.45 in the morning and I’m on a bus on my way to work. It’s one of my very first jobs out of school, I work from 9 to 5.30 every day in a huge airless room at a faceless call centre in a massive building with hundreds of other people. As I look out of the window, the bus passes a tree in the park… and it suddenly hits me.
As you don’t need any formal qualifications to become a Virtual Assistant, there’s often confusion and misunderstanding in the VA Handbookers Facebook group around what being one entails. Because I sometimes see it described as an “easy side hustle”, I want to explain what it actually means to be a Virtual Assistant.
If you’re a new Virtual Assistant or thinking of becoming one, I’m sure you’re worried about how you will get new clients. So to help you get an idea of who could be that elusive and exciting first client, I asked members of my VA Handbookers Facebook group a load of questions about their first one including how they got them and what tasks they needed help with.
Although you may really want to set up your own VA business, stepping into the unknown can be quite scary. Because I know that going freelance will change your life in so many fantastic ways, I asked members of my VA Handbookers Facebook group what the best thing about being a Virtual Assistant was. This is what they said:
Although the types of tasks you’ll be given by clients will obviously vary depending on what your services are and what these clients do for a living, I thought it might be a good idea to give you three examples of different Virtual Assistant tasks so you can get a basic idea of what to expect.
Another popular question from new Virtual Assistants is what services they should offer their clients. Obviously, this will depend on numerous things such as demand, your niche, your skill set, your interests, your previous career and your location, but here are 30 different VA services you could consider offering to start you off.
Many of you are still in the research stage and finding out whether this whole VA thing is something you want to do, but if you definitely know you want to be a Virtual Assistant and are still in the process of setting up and getting ready to launch whilst in full-time work, there are many things you can do to get ready. Here are just some of them:
Most Virtual Assistants will tell you that working for yourself is wonderful and will bring you unbelievable satisfaction and freedom. But what they often won’t tell you is that it’s also often confusing, scary, frustrating and stressful. Existing VAs will hopefully read this article, laugh and nod their heads with recognition – and new ones will get an insight into what’s coming!
Setting up your own Virtual Assistant business may seem like hard work, but I’m sorry to tell you that it’s actually the easy part. Being a good VA isn’t simply about helping someone with their admin, a large number of personal qualities are required to be a successful business owner and you should be aware of what they are before you start.
Testimonials are important for Virtual Assistants because people are way more likely to hire you if they can see you come recommended – so a testimonial page or a WordPress quote rotator widget as I have on my own PA site is vital if you want to show how good you are. But how do you get testimonials when you’re just starting out and haven’t done any work yet?
