A virtual assistant is a self-employed worker who provides technical or administrative assistance services for business. Virtual assistants (VA’s) are everywhere today. They offer cost-effective solutions to help business owners so that they can focus on growing their business.
Due to the fact that online work is to be done, the virtual assistant can work from any place in the world. Thanks to technological improvements such as broadband Internet and document sharing, remote working has become a reality.
What qualities should any virtual assistant have?
Being a good virtual assistant is making your customer’s life easier. In a sense, you are delegated to take charge of the tasks which will be entrusted to you.
You need to give your client the feeling that he can leave you unattended while achieving exceptional results. Here are some of the most appreciated qualities in a virtual assistant:
Reliability
Reliability is a must-have of a virtual assistant. Whatever your qualification or the cost of your work, you will lose customers if they cannot count on you.
Rigor
Rigor is very important. People are human and mistakes can happen. But you should avoid unnecessary errors like typos, and missing deadlines. They make seem like small details, but definitely can be a deal breaker for folks who hire VA’s.
A kind and sympathetic personality
You need to balance business and personal feelings toward your employer as a VA. Having a great relationship with your customer will take you further than you could imagine. Some clients are easier to work with than others. Try your best to stay optimistic, no matter how the client behaves.
Help develop the client’s business
If you can grow a client’s business and it increases their income, you will have a job forever. The extra income you provide to the client will make you an invaluable member of their team. And in the end, you will get more business as a result of helping their business grow.
Ensure impeccable follow-up
Stay in charge of each job, even if your client is not. Minor jobs can often fall through the cracks, but it’s your duty not to let that happen.
Work well under pressure
Never let a customer see you sweat. It’s a joke, but it’s true in more ways than you might think. You want every customer to feel that they are your only customer, regardless of your workload. While it is easier said than done, those that can perform gracefully under pressure are the ones who get more work. Their clients may not acknowledge it, but they appreciate you making their lives easier.
Can you multi-task?
If you can take on multiple tasks at once, get them done on time and budget, you will always be working. It takes organization, efficiency, and proper planning, but it’s essential for success as a virtual assistant.
How to launch a virtual assistance business in 6 easy steps
Now it’s time to take action and start your business as a VA. This multi-step process will help you see more clearly to get started.
To create your successful virtual help desk, you will need to go through several steps:
- Choose your offer
- Set your prices
- Find your ideal customers
- And much more…
I will show you step by step the essential points to get started, be sure to take these 7 steps seriously.
1. What services are you going to provide?
You now know that you can offer hundreds of services as a VA. You can do it all, from writing to sending emails, calendar management, accounting, marketing, social media, etc. Concentrate on the skills you have that you like doing. There is no reason to scatter yourself, especially at the beginning, when you have a lot to learn!
But if you are a 1 person operation, indicating that you specialize in 15-20 areas is a disconnect to potential employers. Find your niche. It might be social media, content generation or a variety of tasks. Find several of them and be really good performing them. More importantly, be ready to show social proof of your ability when a prospective client asks to see your work.
2. Set your prices
Now that you know what services you are going to offer, you need to set the prices for your services. You have to be competitive without selling yourself off to win customers, but then how do you set the right price?
This is what we will see; you should know that most of the virtual assistant offers fall into four main price categories:
- Hourly Rates: Your client pays an hourly rate, and you are paid for the time you work.
- Project-based: Your client pays a fixed amount for a one-time project (creating social media accounts, designing a website, etc.)
- Hourly rate plan: Your client pays for a specific amount of hours to use over time. Depending on your contract, they may expire after a specified period, for example, 6 months or a year.
- Monthly: Your client pays you monthly for a set of tasks or a specific number of hours.
The easiest way to determine the value of your services is to do some research on what other virtual assistants charge.
You can do a search on Google, go to freelance sites, or search on forums, Facebook groups and just ask the question.
Average the rates you find, and you will get a clearer picture of the prices you can charge a company in your area of expertise.
Important: Also take into account the experience you have in your field, you cannot charge the same price if you have 10 years of experience or if you have just trained.
Also, don’t severely underprice your services. While there is such a thing as “buying the business” when you first get started, when you price much less than the lower end of the range, potential employers tend to think you don’t know what you are doing.
3. Know your ideal client and target market
Once you have determined the services you offer and set your prices, you MUST ABSOLUTELY determine the type of clients you want to work with.
If you don’t take the time to know your ideal client, then you will be unable to target them. By knowing it at your fingertip, you know exactly what it needs. Therefore, you can offer him the perfect service.
Be as specific as possible and try to get into the mind of your ideal client:
- Are they small business owners? Start ups?
- Do you work a specific type of business? (Legal, construction, etc)
- What are their points of frustration?
- What types of services are they likely to need? (Insurance companies are going to have much different needs than an online marketer for example.)
Ask yourself if the work they do is interesting or if it is an area in which you are comfortable. You should also write down how you can help them and why they should choose you over another VA. This step is essential because it will help you develop your marketing plan afterwards.
5. Create your website and set up a marketing strategy
If you want to work as a VA, then most likely, you will work remotely. It is, therefore, essential for you to have an online presence; the best way to present your services and skills is to have a website.
Think of it as your business card, a website will let your potential customers know if you are the best choice for them. There are simple and affordable solutions to create your professional site, Here at Social Media Dudes, we are huge believers in WordPress.
Social networks are also an essential part of your business; it can be a good source of traffic for your website. What platforms are your target employers using? Are they on Facebook? On Instagram? Or even LinkedIn? Communicate with them to show them that you understand their need.
That is where you should be putting some of your marketing efforts towards.
You don’t have to be everywhere: learn where your ideal customers are and master one or two social media platforms.
6. Network with other virtual assistants
Working from the comfort of home can, from time to time, become an isolated job. You will always need a support group, someone who understands you and can help you with advice, or just someone you can share with from time to time.
Find Facebook blogs and groups that are in your niche. Find a group of individuals who share your goals and work alongside them to build a prosperous business.
Leverage your relationships! If you are a great content marketer and someone else is fantastic at social media management, perhaps you can work together on projects. Don’t isolate yourself from other VA’s and profits!
7. Under promise and over deliver
Making your customers happy is the greatest asset of your business.
Once you have found your first customer, do everything you can to provide them with quality service; do not hesitate to always deliver a little more.
A satisfied customer can recommend you to other business they know, and you only need a handful of customers to earn a full-time income as a virtual assistant!
Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback.
Ask your customers if there is anything you can improve and take into account everything they tell you. Use each positive review as a testimonial and ask your best customers if you can use them as references. This will go a long way in helping you get more customers.
Finding Virtual Assistant Jobs Online and Offline
Now that you have determined the services you are going to offer, how much you are going to charge for your services and that you have created a website, it is time to find customers.
Finding customers is often the toughest part for any new business, and you will need to be proactive at the start:
- Send emails to companies
- Register on freelance sites (Upwork, Freelancer, etc)
- Use your family and professional network
- And much more…
Fortunately, there are a few places where you can find more success than others.
Try freelance websites
It is relatively easy to find virtual assistant positions on websites for freelancers like Upwork, Malt or even offered microservices on sites like Fiverr or 5euros.
This is a good way to get started, but you don’t decide who you want to work with and why.
You accept all requests that reach you; therefore, you compete with other VAs and do not have complete control over your business.
But the best way to find clients and get paid for what you are worth is to identify and contact the clients you want to work with.
Call on your family and friends
Don’t be afraid to ask family or friends directly that you are looking for work, tell them what you are doing exactly and how you can help.
You may be surprised to find out they someone who is looking for help and who can put you in touch.
If it turns out that they know someone who is looking for someone with your skills, they will be happy to help and give your contact.
It is a simple method that is successful because you come through a personal recommendation.
Partner with other freelancers or entrepreneurs
You can join Facebook groups of entrepreneurs and participate in networking events. Partnering with other freelancers is a great way to get a job. There are two means to make it workable:
- Suggest outsourcing: When they are overworked or looking to outsource certain tasks, you can work for them.
- Partner with a service provider – Team up to offer a broader range of services than you can offer alone. For example, a copywriter and designer can team up to provide all-in-one sales pages.
It’s a win-win method, you both get to work, and it also expands your network.
Direct prospecting
You now know your ideal client and target market, so you can directly contact the clients you want to work with.
It is one of the best methods to get new customers if you have done the work upstream to find your ideal customer.
It is then easy for you to contact him is to explain the services that you offer by pressing on these points of frustration.
Become a VA and get started working from home
If you want to work from home and be independent, the job of a virtual assistant may be for you. It is a business that you can start without a big investment; you only need a computer and an Internet connection.
Having a website is a plus, but it is not essential to start. With a little networking, you will find that it can be quite easy to find your first customer. I hope you have found this safe guide on how to launch and grow as a virtual assistant useful.