6 Steps To Becoming A Virtual Assistant

You might have heard about virtual assistants or seen them mentioned online, but might not know what they exactly do. A virtual assistant is basically someone who offers a varied set of services to business owners in exchange for agreed-upon fees. These services can range from anything like handling their schedules to helping them set up internet connections by looking up Spectrum offers. It is a career opportunity you should explore as it lets you earn well from the comfort of your home.

In addition, if you’re a virtual assistant, you’re not bound to work with just one client. You can work with as many clients as you want, expanding your income opportunities significantly. Therefore, it is the perfect career for you to follow if you want to work from home, and not be bound by conventional workplace contracts and such. Furthermore, you don’t need to have highly specialized skills either. All you need to do is determine what services you’ll offer, work on them, and then get started! Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you make this career jump smoothly.

Step 1: Figure Out Your Business Structure

The great thing about being a virtual assistant is that you can set your own business structure on your own terms. Evaluate what skills you have and what sort of businesses require those skills. This will help you determine what sort of clients you need to target.

In addition, you should also take a look at your personal and financial situation. If you need to balance full-time primary parenting or other such responsibilities with your work, you need to set your work limits and timings accordingly. You’ll also need to determine which time zones you’re comfortable working with in order to create a schedule that suits you.

Step 2: Narrow Down The Services You’ll Offer

Once you’ve made your business structure, you should decide what services you’ll offer. You can offer them as bundles or as individual services, depending on your client, your expertise, and the pricing plans you choose to put up.

However, do keep in mind that you should only list services you can actually offer well. If you try to oversell yourself by listing skills you only know rudimentarily, it will affect your reputation as a reliable virtual assistant. Therefore, be honest, as even a small skillset will get you clients, if you approach them properly.

Step 3: Create A Pricing Structure

This is one of the trickiest parts of the job. You need to offer attractive prices, but still be able to get as much as you can for your skills. You should also keep taxation regulations in mind. As being a virtual assistant comes under self-employment, you’ll have to pay taxes as both the employer and the employer, as per US rules.

Therefore, try to set prices which let you earn a comfortable income, but do not overprice yourself. Otherwise, other contenders will undercut your prices and get more clients.

Step 4: Make Your Online Presence Known

A large part of this career is putting yourself out there. You are your own product, and need to sell yourself accordingly. Make sure you put out ads for your services on the platforms your clients are more inclined to use. LinkedIn is a great platform for this purpose, and you can target the companies you want, so it should be a no-brainer.

In addition, create a website with all the information about your services, along with a testimonial about your positive qualities. You can even post video guides for certain aspects of your business to make sure you look professional and well-versed in your field.

Step 5: Work On Pitching And Networking

Once you’ve made yourself known, work on your pitch and start networking. Talk to your social circle about your work, and they might know of some opportunities. They can also put out the word about your business.

In addition, you should join social media groups and forums relevant for your services, so that you can find potential clients. This will help you get the first few clients, and then boost your reputation for future clients.

Step 6: Establish Good Relationships

Last but not least, once you get clients, you should foster a healthy working relationship with them. This will help you become their go-to virtual assistant and make them more likely to recommend you to others. This will also help you create an impressive client portfolio you can use to gather more business.

In conclusion, anyone can become a virtual assistant. You just need to put your mind to it, and make an effort.