Start a Virtual Assistant Business in a Month

You can even take your laptop on the road if that’s the way you roll. There will be times when you need it, but the ocean, mountain or lake will be there when you set it down.

What is a virtual assistant?

As a virtual assistant, you’ll provide services to businesses while working from home or anywhere you find an internet connection.

The internet has made it possible for the explosive growth of virtual assistant opportunities in the world.

While there are different niches a virtual assistant can specialize in, the job is like what an office manager or admin assistant provides in an office setting.

The only difference is you won’t be able to get a printout from the copier or grab a cup of coffee from the break room at HQ.

What training is needed to succeed in a virtual assistant business?

You are in a good starting place if you’ve ever worked in an office setting or taught yourself social media. But even someone who decided early to stay at home for the family can get up to speed in a hurry with the right training.

After a lot of research, we believe the best course for a newbie VA is found here.

30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Business Success Course

The course modules cover topics like:

• Social Media Management
• General Admin
• Email Management
• Project Management
• Content Production
• Bookkeeping
• How to interview and find clients

Click here to learn more to see more if you are already excited by the idea of being a VA.

There are millions of businesses looking for help from people just like you. You will be ready to help with marketing or handle the day-to-day processes that keep their business moving forward.

What personal skills are needed to start a virtual assistant business?

The most successful virtual assistants already have or consistently focus on these key personal skills:

Virtual assistants should always be open to learning new things

A client might ask you to manage their Pinterest account or use their bookkeeping software.

You might not be too familiar with Pinterest or the software requested. That’s perfectly okay, especially if you have other skills they appreciate and you are open to learning.

You might be asked to read a few articles and do some practice. An employer you have a good relationship with may allow you to charge for some learning from time to time.

You’ll be surprised how few VA’s you compete with are willing to go the extra mile. Many employers have discovered this fact and that’s good for you if you show initiative.

Self-motivation is critical for virtual assistant business owners

The wonderful thing about working from home is that you are your own boss. Yahoo!… right?

Yes, you get to choose how, when, and where you work. You’ll also be able to pick the right clients for you, especially once you get up and running.

But… you have to be self-motivated. While you can decide when and where you work, you’ll still need to meet deadlines.

So be prepared to ask questions. Make sure you understand exactly what the client wants and when he or she wants it. And if possible, meet and beat agreed on deadlines.

Get and stay organized to succeed in your virtual assistant business

The most successful virtual assistants are well-organized. This is especially true when you’re in the early stages of working as a virtual assistant.

This skill is obviously important for the relationship with your client. You’ll also find it is a critical element in your on-going success.

So, do yourself a favor and do whatever it takes to be organized from the start. Get the online and offline calendars you need before your first day of business.

Then get your hands on one of the free or inexpensive project management software options available. This type of resource will show your clients that you are serious about understanding and meeting your obligations.

How much do virtual assistants make?

There are way too many blog posts, ads and websites making crazy promises about how much a virtual assistant can make.

Here’s the thing: You won’t be making $10,000 month or $90 per hour unless you are in the top 1% of virtual assistants out there.

Don’t get us wrong… anything is possible. This is especially true if you are successful and corner a specialized niche area important to businesses.

Your one-person VA business could also grow to the point where you have employees of your own (great thought, right?). In cases like these, the sky's the limit!

Some official stats show these income ranges:

According to ZipRecruiter, the average hourly rate for virtual assistants in the US is $29/hour. On Upwork, freelance virtual assistants charge an average of $18-35/hour depending on skills and experience. Some others say more and some say less.

From what we can tell, most virtual assistants in the US charge between $25-$35 per hour. It is possible to see rates of $40 to $75 per hour for higher-level marketing or financial tasks.

You may need to charge between $20-$25 per hour if you are getting started as a general VA. Here’s an important fact: It is easier to raise your rates if you are consistently providing a valuable service to a client.

The bottom line is you should be able to raise your rates with some confidence and experience under your belt. 

What business areas do virtual assistants work in?

Most virtual assistants work within these categories, though there are usually some overlaps:

General Admin Virtual Assistants

These types of VAs cover the nuts and bolts of running an office. As a General Admin VA, your tasks may include:

• Scheduling appointments
• Responding to emails
• Booking flights
• Data entry
• Setting up meetings

Instead of specializing in one area, they’re responsible for several small but important tasks.

Taking a job as an Admin VA is a great first step to take when you’re learning how to become a virtual assistant with little or no experience.

Social Media Virtual Assistants

Do you already know how to get visibility on sites like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube?

Businesses know social media is important if they want to connect with today’s mobile consumers.

Small business owners can spend 10-20 hours per week on social media marketing. Marketing agencies will spend that and more. Social media VAs help business owners to get back to doing what they are good at and run their business.

As a social media virtual assistant, your tasks may include:

• Creating and staying active on social media profiles
• Finding share-worthy articles
• Responding to social media messages
• Creating monthly reports on social media metrics like engagement and followers

Virtual Assistant Bookkeepers

A lot – if not most – business owners struggle to keep up with their financial records. Between entering expenses, sending invoices, and paying bills – it all adds up quickly.

More importantly? Great bookkeepers are hard to come by, so it’s a major selling point as a virtual assistant.

You don’t have to be a CPA to do this. You just need a basic understanding and a good course to teach you the basics.

As a virtual bookkeeper, your tasks may include:

• Managing basic financial actions
• Sending invoices
• Posting financial transactions
• Keeping a balance

Accounting software like Quickbooks lets a business owner add users to their account. This is important if your VA responsibilities include being a bookkeeper handling everything remotely.

Today’s financial software is easy to learn. It’s possible to focus on being a virtual assistant bookkeeper even if you’re taking the first steps toward growing your VA business.

You just need the right training and anything is possible.

Blogger support virtual assistant

There are a lot of opportunities to be a valuable part of a blogger’s activities.

It’s important to understand this category covers everything from one-person blogs to Fortune 500 businesses with thousands of employees.

As a blogger VA, your tasks may include:

• Scheduling and posting social media updates
• Responding to reader comments and emails
• Creating marketing images for sites like Instagram and Pinterest
• Helping the blogger research new blog post ideas
• Drafting, writing, and editing blog posts

Real Estate Virtual Assistants

Your virtual assistant business might help real estate agents to do what they do best: Sell homes and lease space.

As a real estate VA, you will probably be tasked to handle some or all of the back-end activities.

Your tasks in this niche may include:

• Listing properties online and writing descriptions
• Managing clients contact information
• Take incoming calls/emails from interested buyers and sellers
• Scheduling appointments

You’re not required or even allowed to make sales or negotiate prices with potential buyers and sellers. That’s the responsibility of the licensed agent or broker.

Instead, you handle administrative tasks that fall under the real estate umbrella. This is a great niche to consider if you are interested in the real estate business.

Tech Virtual Assistants

Technical virtual assistants help business owners with technical skills they don’t have time for or the ability to do.

These types of VAs are common in online businesses, where a business owner needs help with the maintenance, design, or creation of their website, blog or sales funnel.

As a technical virtual assistant, your tasks may include:

• Managing WordPress and other website platforms
• Fixing technical errors
• Editing online content
• Updating plugins and software
• Managing automated emails

For this job, it’s beneficial to know your way around hosting platforms, WordPress and other website creation tools. It will also be important to understand basic details about Mac and Windows operating systems.

Are you ready to start your profitable virtual assistant business?

There’s no way around it. Some excellent training and simply being ready to learn the ropes is needed. You could strike out on your own, but you could easily run into some roadblocks along the way.

There is no reason to face uncertainty when a course proven to successfully guide tons of VAs is available. There is a fee attached, but it is a small price to pay with all the lifetime opportunities waiting for you.

30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Business Success

This is the most comprehensive course on becoming a Virtual Assistant available online.

It promises to give you the confidence to know exactly what to do every step of the way and teaches you the skills needed to make money.

You’ll learn topics like:

• Social Media Management
• Email Management
• Project Management
• General Admin
• Content Production
• Bookkeeping
• How to Interview and Find Clients

Gina’s program has 15 modules jam-packed with great knowledge and insights. There is a quiz at the end of each module that checks your progress.

She also outlines at least one action item for you with each lesson. This step-by-step approach means you’ll always know how you are doing along the way.

The course also provides valuable post-course benefits