Today’s virtual assistants have become freelance contractors, who provide creative, technical, and admin services remotely. Most business owners are today seeking virtual assistants, especially when they want extra assistance, but they don’t have the capacity to hire in-house employees.
The advancement of technology has caused massive growth in this career, making it possible, for virtual assistants and their clients to meet, share work, and conduct businesses remotely. However, you should note that virtual assistant jobs do vary, and this depends on individual skills, as well as the client’s needs.
With this, comes one question—how can I become a virtual assistant? The following are 5 steps to guide you when starting your career as a virtual assistant.
Define the services you’d like to offer
When working as a virtual assistant, you’ll be in charge of the tasks and projects allocated to you by your clients. Therefore, you need to decide what services you will offer. Do you want to manage social media accounts or blogs? Or, are you searching for admin assistant opportunities? Or, are you searching for e-commerce store opportunities?
Well, whatever service you’d like to offer, you’ll definitely find the right clientele and audience. You only need to make the decision, and then get out to search for your clients. With virtual assistant jobs, you have the freedom to improve or change your services. However, it is advisable that you start with a wide range of services—and then start narrowing down the services that you enjoy providing.
Set your price
Now, since you’ve already defined your services, created a profile, and a contract, it’s time to set the price for your services. Typically, most virtual assistants charge an hourly rate. The average rates range between $15 and $30 per hour. However, seasoned or specialized virtual assistants can charge more than $30 per hour.
However, you also opt to create a package, that is, charge a certain price for a particular amount of time. Also, you can go for project-based pricing or retainers. But, if you’d like to earn more when starting up as a virtual assistant, avoid hourly jobs. These jobs will require you to work for more hours in order to earn a considerable amount of money. Rather, you should opt to go for project-based pricing or retainers.
Get the right tools for the job!
Although you don’t need a lot of tools when starting your careers as a virtual assistant, you’ll require a number of things. For instance, a laptop or computer, headphones, internet, and also a blog or website and email address.
You will need your prospective clients to contact you. Moreover, you will need to build your profile in order to attract prospective clients. Getting these resources and tools can assist you to get started.
Start marketing your skills
According to experts in virtual staffing Allshore, you will need an application kit and captivating resume. You should note that this is your first impression that you shall be presenting to your clients. You will need to show them that you are experienced in your area of expertise and that you possess the necessary skills.
Moreover, you will need to create channels for clients to find you. Therefore, ensure that you have a LinkedIn and a Facebook page, showing what you do.
If possible make sure that you also have Twitter and Instagram accounts, and even a website. While these are not a necessity, they will make you look professional. Lastly, don’t forget to optimize all your social media accounts to give them a professional appearance.
Start searching for client
Since you’ve got everything set up now, it’s time to get your first client. However, there’s one challenge that virtual assistants face when starting their careers—how to get their first client. Today, there are several ways to get clients—so it will depend on what you are comfortable with.
The following are a few ways that you can use to secure clients as a virtual assistant:
- Cold pitching – if you find a client with whom you have the interest to work with, you can contact them directly. Therefore, make sure that you have a cold pitching template—this will allow you to know what to say if you want to secure clients effortlessly.
- LinkedIn – most clients use this platform when searching for virtual assistants. Moreover, they are willing to pay top dollar for skilled virtual assistants, regardless of their location.
- Facebook – today, we have lots of Facebook groups for virtual assistants. When starting your career, join a few of these groups and post your resume. You never know who will get interested in it.
- Network with your peers – if you have friends already working as virtual assistants, start networking with them. Interestingly, this is how most virtual assistants get their first clients.
