If you’re looking to work remotely, starting a virtual assistant business could be the perfect opportunity for you. Working remotely gives you the flexibility to work from wherever you want in the world, as well as becoming your own boss, choosing the clients that you work with, and potentially earning more money than you do right now. So, how do you start a VA business and gain potential clients? Here, we reveal how to become a virtual assistant from home.
What Is a Virtual Assistant?
So, what is a virtual assistant? A VA essentially provides support to another person or business. However, rather than working with them in an office environment, a virtual assistant performs their required tasks virtually, using digital software and platforms to complete and share their documents. Companies tend to hire a VA rather than a full-time employee as it’s more flexible and less costly.
The Key Duties of a Virtual Assistant
What tasks does a virtual assistant job involve doing? Here are some key duties you may have to perform when working as a virtual assistant.
- Social media management
- Customer service
- Writing blog posts
- Performing administrative tasks, including email management
- Data input
- Dealing with eCommerce tasks, such as stock inventory
- Image editing
- Researching content
- Marketing tasks
- Finance related duties, such as bookkeeping and accounts
- Community management
- Generating leads
- Graphic design
- Video editing
- Project management
- Transcription
- Calendar management
How to Become a Virtual Assistant with No Experience
Here, we reveal how to become a successful virtual assistant without having any previous experience.
Ensure You Have a Good Internet Connection
Before you start to think about becoming a VA, it’s a good idea to ensure your internet connection is excellent and performing at high speeds. Good internet is imperative especially as you’ll be working virtually and will need to contact your clients digitally. Once you’ve got great internet, find a quiet place to work.
Set Up Your Desk Space
Anyone considering working remotely needs to have a place to work. You could set up an office at home, find a co-working space within your town or city, or simply use your favorite coffee shop to work from. As long as you can perform your tasks quickly and efficiently, it doesn’t matter where you conduct your business. What works for one person may not work well for someone else. You may also want to try out different methods until you find a location that suits you. Alternatively, you may want to work in varying places to keep your daily routine feeling fresh.
Contemplate What You Will Offer
What VA services are you going to offer your potential clients? A virtual assistant performs a wide range of tasks, but you may prefer to specialize in a specific area. For example, you may want to solely focus on offering content and writing blog posts. Alternatively, you may want to offer customer service and eCommerce services. Consider the skills you have, any previous employment experience, and any knowledge you possess. Furthermore, think about how many hours you want to work. This will depend on your lifestyle if you have other commitments and your personal preferences.
Create A Website
If you’re going to set up a virtual business, you’ll need to work on creating an online presence. This means you’ll need a website to showcase your skills and help you to attract clients. You can easily create a website via WordPress, Blogger, Wix, or Squarespace. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend upfront, simply use a free option that you can update to a paid version at a later date. With a limited budget, you can just purchase a domain for your business and use a free design theme for your chosen platform.
Get Social
Social media can significantly grow any business, and it can help you to get a new VA company off the ground. Rather than overwhelming yourself with multiple social platforms, concentrate on just one to start with. Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook tend to be the best options for a beginner. However, think about where your potential clients may hang out. If you’re aiming to work with CEOs, you’ll want to try LinkedIn instead. Once you know what platform you want to use, start following people who fit within your ‘ideal client’ bracket. At this point, you’re not trying to attract these people as clients, but simply understand their brand and how their businesses work.
Consider Your Fees
Knowing what to charge is often the biggest challenge for a virtual assistant. You can charge per project or by an hourly rate. In the UK, the average rate for a VA is £25 per hour. However, this will depend on your individual skills. When charging clients, you need to contemplate the lack of sick pay, holiday pay, maternity pay, and job security. You’ll also need to think about a pension too. Typically, many remote workers or freelancers add around 25% to their minimum wage to cover this. So, if you were going to charge £20 an hour, increasing that to £25 helps to cover your tax and extra fees.
Get Legal
If you reside in the UK, you need to notify HMRC once you start earning money. Additionally, you’ll need to decide whether to register yourself as a sole trader or a limited company. If you’ve never worked remotely before, opting as a sole trader can be the easier route. However, it’s always best to do your research before you make a decision. For either option, you’ll be required to submit a tax return each year and pay tax. The personal allowance within the UK is £12,570 which means you’ll only pay tax if you earn above that amount.
Start Connecting with Other People
Networking is essential for finding clients as a VA. Tell people you know that you’re setting up a virtual assistant business. Begin to connect with people on social media, start conversations and create posts that encourage people to engage with you. You should also add your details to business directories and spruce up your LinkedIn profile to show what services you offer and how you can help your ideal client.
Gain Experience
If you have no previous experience as a VA, you may consider building your skills by working for free. This doesn’t mean you have to work for free forever – think of this as work experience. You could simply offer an hour or two for free in return for feedback to use as a testimonial on your website. By doing this, you increase trust with potential clients. Offering your services for free initially could also lead to paid work, especially if that client refers you to other people.
Find Your First Paid Client
How do you find actual paying clients? Using Facebook groups is a good place to start finding clients. Virtual Assistant Jobs and Virtual Assistant Networking Group are just two Facebook groups that you can join to begin getting clients. You can also pitch your services to your ideal clients. That means tracking down your target clients on social media, engaging with them, and then sending them a tailored message promoting your services and how you can help them to boost their business. Another way to find a position is to get in touch with a recruitment agency specializing in admin, PA, and VA roles, such as Oriel Partners. With a well-reputed recruiter, you can be sure of quality placements and sound advice. Check out this VA CV advice that may be handy.
Take the First Steps to Become a Successful VA
Whether you wanted to know how to become a part-time virtual assistant or start a VA business remotely, using our top tips can help you to become a successful VA. Becoming a virtual assistant isn’t a quick money-making job. However, if you’re dedicated, are willing to learn, and are ready to offer the very best service to clients, you can start to earn a decent salary while having the flexibility to work remotely.
About the author
Auria Heanley is co-founder of Oriel Partners, a boutique PA and administrative recruitment consultancy based in Central London. She is extremely passionate about providing the highest quality of service to both clients and candidates. Oriel Partners’ clients range from global multinationals to small boutique firms, all requiring the same personal service and high caliber support.
