For the last five years, I’ve been working from home and bringing in a steady income. With little professional experience, I started working as a freelance writer in 2013.
Five years later I’m still making a steady income that helps me stay home with my kids and yet still support them. Luckily, freelance writing isn’t the only business you can run from home.
Along with many other work-from-home options, you can also become a virtual assistant and work from home. In fact, some virtual assistants, like Money Peach’s own virtual assistant Kayla Sloan, make more than $10,000 a month!
At this point you might be wondering: What is a Virtual Assistant? And how can I become one? Well, my friend, this is your lucky day.
In this article, I’m going to tell you exactly what a Virtual Assistant is. And I’m going to show you how you can become one and start making money from home too.
If you’re looking to run a successful business from home; one where you can:
- Create your own working schedule
- Design your working hours around your “real” life
- Determine your income
- Make a difference
Then you might like working as a virtual assistant. Read on, and see if working as a Virtual Assistant from home might be your dream job.
What is a Virtual Assistant?
You might be wondering what exactly a virtual assistant is and what one does. Well, simply put, a Virtual Assistant assists people with their online and brick-and-mortar businesses.
When you start working as a VA, your goal will be to help people run their lives more efficiently. So, are you great at being a support person and helping others wade through their to-do lists?
Do you have a knack for being organized and helping others organize their lives? Then keep reading for more information on exactly what a Virtual Assistant does.
How Much Money Can I Make as a Virtual Assistant?
One of the great things about working as a Virtual Assistant is that the money you’ll earn is often well above minimum wage.
In the United States, it’s not uncommon to earn $20-$30 an hour, or more, working as a VA. Virtual Assistants who have established a reputation for being great at what they do can earn much higher wages.
When you first start your VA business you may need to take a lower wage in order to sell yourself. Consider asking for $15 an hour, for example, to attract clients to give you a chance.
If you don’t live in the U.S. you can certainly still work as a Virtual Assistant. People hire VA’s who live outside of the U.S. all the time.
If you are a resident of another country, expect to earn an hourly wage that is consistent with your country’s income earnings.
What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?
A Virtual Assistant can do any number of tasks designed to help people with their businesses. When you start your own VA business, you can customize the business to do the types of tasks that are best suited for your skills and interests.
Here is a list of some of the types of tasks you might be asked to do as a VA.
- Data Entry
- Website design and/or website management
- Customer support tasks such as processing orders and/or refunds
- Graphic design tasks
- Content creation or management for blogs
- Schedule management for business owners or individuals
- Bookkeeping
- Social media management
- Content research
- SEO research or management
- Video creation or editing
And more. The list of items you may be asked to do as a VA is pretty long. However, the good news is that when you start your own VA business, you’re in charge.
You get to decide which tasks you’ll do as a VA and which you won’t. And you can customize that list based on your own goals, skills and talents.
If you’re feeling uncertain about your ability to work as a VA, don’t worry. I’ll share a list of skills that can help you determine if working as a Virtual Assistant is right for you.
What Skills do I Need to Have to Become a Virtual Assistant?
Depending on what types of services you offer for your VA business, the necessary skills you need will vary. Here are some examples of skills that work well with being a Virtual Assistant.
- Organization skills
- Customer service skills
- Administrative skills
- Technical skills
- Communication skills
Now, let’s break down each of these skill sets a little further so you can get a better idea of what you need to know.
Organization Skills
Organization skills are an essential element to being a successful Virtual Assistant. Many people who hire VAs do so because they lack the time or skills to run their businesses in an organized manner.
As a Virtual Assistant, you’ll be helping people bring calm to their life or business’ chaos. For instance, if you work as a VA for a blogger, you’ll help them run their blog more efficiently.
You might review and edit articles, and schedule those articles for publication on the blog site. If you work as a VA for a public speaker, you might help them organize speaking engagements and other commitments.
Or, if you work for a VA for a company president, you might help him or her keep track of meetings and other tasks.
Depending on what type of business owner you’re working as a VA for, your tasks will vary. But on some level, most of those tasks will require you to be able to organize them successfully.
Not organized by nature? No worries: organization is a skill set that can be learned. However, you will need to take time to learn and implement organization skills if they don’t come naturally to you.
Now let’s talk about the customer service part of being a Virtual Assistant.
Customer Service Skills
A successful VA also has great customer service skills. I’ve heard it said that good customer service skills are defined by this one skill:
The ability to make bad things that happen to a client go away quickly.
While this is definitely a true definition of good customer service, there is also another aspect to it. Good customer service skills lie in your ability to ensure life runs smoother.
A Virtual Assistant needs to be committed to providing good customer service to their client. And they often need to be committed to providing good customer service to their clients’ clients.
As an example, that might mean helping ensure your client’s customer gets their order quickly and correctly. Or making sure the customer gets a fast refund on a product they returned.
In the case of providing good service to your client, you may need to help ensure your client’s deadlines are met. Or you may need to help him or her retain travel plans.
If you have a service-oriented heart – one where client care is a top concern – you’re on the right track.
As a person who’s won several corporate awards for good customer service, I can tell you this:
Providing good customer service requires a very others-focused view in life. A successful VA has a goal of ensuring the lives and businesses of his/her clients run smoothly.
That might mean taking on tasks that aren’t your client’s strong area of expertise. Or putting out fires that come up in the form of unhappy customers or missed deadlines.
In short, good customer service means in a lot of ways that you are responsible for being a detective of sorts. You look for ways to help your clients run life more efficiently.
Then you help those same clients implement a system to make that efficiency a regular part of their life. Next, we’ll talk about some potential administrative skills you may need as a VA.
Administrative Skills
Administrative skills are another important part of being a successful Virtual Assistant. Here is a list of some of the administrative skills it might be helpful to know as a VA.
Planning and Scheduling Skills
Virtual Assistants are often responsible for assisting clients in planning a work or daily schedule. For instance, you might coordinate speaking engagements or team meetings. Or, you might coordinate sales meetings with potential new clients.
Depending on the type of business you’re helping a client run, scheduling duties may vary.
Calendar Management Skills
VAs also might help a client with calendar management. For instance, a client will want you to schedule in regular gym workouts around client or team meetings.
They’ll ask you to find a way to fit in all that they have to do. This might require working with other people to find coordinating openings in schedules.
Record Keeping Skills
Record keeping is often another important job for Virtual Assistants. You might be asked to organize documentation of client sales or of meetings with potential clients. Or, you may assist a client in processing and tracking client payments or balances due on bills.
In short, you might be asked to keep the paperwork part of a client’s business in good order.
Staff Management Skills
Many Virtual Assistants are also responsible for staff management. Our own Kayla Sloan, who is the VA for Money Peach, is responsible for designating writing assignments to the team’s writers.
Other VA positions might have you coordinate conference calls or team meetings. Or, you might be responsible for training new staff on how things are done at the company.
Depending on the what your client needs, your staff management duties will vary. These types of skills can help increase your earnings as a VA.
Research Skills
Research can be another part of a Virtual Assistant’s job. For example, Kayla might be asked to research article ideas for Money Peach that readers would find interesting.
A blog client might ask you to do the same. Conversely, a client who runs a retail store might ask you to research ideas for products to sell.
As a VA you need to be willing to take the time to find what your client needs you to find.
Technical Skills
Technical Skills are another part of many Virtual Assistant careers. For example, since you’re working remotely, you’ll need to have basic computer skills.
You’ll need to know how to work with Word, with Excel and with similar software programs. You may need to learn how to work with task management systems such as Asana or Trello.
Or, you may need to know how to operate the various social media outlets such as Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. This is because many clients hire VAs to help with social media management.
If you don’t have these skills now, don’t worry; they can be learned.
Communication Skills
Good communication skills are another important part of a successful Virtual Assistant business. Since you’re responsible for managing your client’s business in many ways, you’ll need to be able to communicate to the team what needs to be done – before it needs to be done.
For instance, Kayla has set up a communication system where our writing team gets advanced notice of articles due. When I have an article due for Money Peach, I’ll get several notices reminding me of the due date.
This helps me as a writer stay on top of my assignments. And it helps Peach ensure new articles are published in a timely and consistent manner.
The more services you are able to offer as a VA, the more clients you can gain. Luckily all of the services a VA offers can be learned.
Working as a VA also requires a bit of intuition. You need to have the ability to see what your client needs before they know it. Contrary to popular belief, this is a skill that can be learned as well.
Why You Might Like Working as a Virtual Assistant
So, what are some of the benefits of working as a VA? Let’s talk about them here.
Flexibility
First and foremost, working as a VA can be a very flexible business. Since you’re working from home, you can do many of your tasks in your pajamas in your home office.
Many VA jobs have a large list of remote tasks, which means you can complete those tasks at your convenience.
For instance, a client might say “I need you to complete this data entry task by Friday at 9 a.m.” Whether you complete the job at 3 in the morning on Thursday or 5 p.m. on Wednesday is up to you.
Variety
Another great thing about working as a Virtual Assistant is that the business usually involves quite a bit of variety. Since you’ll likely be doing many different tasks, you’ll never be bored.
Control
As a Virtual Assistant you’ll be considered a contracted worker. Basically, this means you’ll be responsible for keeping track of your business expenses. You’ll also be responsible for paying taxes on the income you earn.
Bonus: you get to choose what types of tasks you offer as a Virtual Assistant. Since you’re technically self-employed, you can choose to offer services that best fit your skills and interests.
Although there are some extra aspects of work as a business owner, the control you have is nice. You can designate nearly every aspect of your work and plan as you please.
Higher Earnings
Another positive about being a Virtual Assistant is that your hourly wage could potentially be higher than it would if you were working for a company.
When you work as an assistant for a company, they take part of the profit. However, when you work as a self-employed Virtual Assistant, the money is all yours.
Kayla was working as a credit analyst for a small town bank before she started working as a VA. Her income today is four times what it was working as a credit analyst!
When you have your own VA business you don’t have to split the income with anyone you don’t want to. How does that sound?
Ready to learn more? Let’s talk about some steps you can take to start your own business as a Virtual Assistant.
How to Start Your Own Virtual Assistant Business
So, you know what a Virtual Assistant does. Another very important question lies ahead. How do you get started in a career as a VA?
When Money Peach’s Virtual Assistant, Kayla, started her business, she had to start from scratch. It took her years to learn important aspects of a Virtual Assistant Business, such as:
- What services you should offer – and what services you shouldn’t
- How to get the best clients and earn the most money
- Tips for running your business with optimum efficiency
- How to negotiate a contract
And more.
But the good news is that you don’t have to start from scratch. When Kayla learned to optimize her business, she grew her income to over $10,000 per month. She knew she could help others do the same, so she created a course to help you do exactly that.
Her program help people like you skip the tough up-front work and go straight to earning money.
With Kayla’s program, $10K VA, you’ll have all the tools you need to start your own Virtual Assistant business.
Bonus: Depending on where you’re at in your work-from-home journey, Kayla’s $10K VA course has three separate options for you to get started with.
The Basic Starter Package
The $10K VA Basic Starter Package requires a small investment of only $197. This course will teach you everything you need to know from the basics to the advanced. You’ll learn how to start and scale your business to reach your income goals and beyond!
The Standard Package
Kayla’s $10K VA Standard Package is a $297 investment. This course will teach you everything from the Starter Package, plus you also get access to a Bonus Video Module where Kayla interviews other successful VAs who share their insider tips and tricks from their own successful businesses. She also brings on guest experts each month to help you learn new skills so that you can offer new services to your clients!
The Pro Package
The $10K VA Pro Package is for those who truly want to make their Virtual Assistant business into an established and flourishing business. The Pro Package requires a pleasingly affordable investment of just $397.
The program offers much more than the other two courses, including one-on-one coaching sessions with Kayla to get all of your questions answered, plus an exclusive group where you will get actual leads from Kayla’s network of business owners who are looking to hire a VA. These leads will more than pay for your entire investment!
BONUS: The Money Peach Discount!
As you can see, Kayla’s $10K VA course offers much more of a return on your investment than other courses do. You’ll only pay once to get Kayla’s step-by-step blueprint on starting and operating your own successful Virtual Assistant business.
But because Kayla is Money Peach’s first virtual assistant, Kayla’s offering a special additional discount for Money Peach readers.
When you type in the promo code PEACH, you’ll get $50 off whichever course you choose. What an incredible deal! If you’re serious about making money as you work from home, this is your opportunity.
Everything you need to know about starting your Virtual Assistant business can be found in the Pro Package. And since the course is self-directed, you can work at your own pace. You can finish up as quickly as you want. Or, you can take your time and learn as your schedule permits.
Kayla’s course will teach you how to start and how to scale your business. You’ll even learn how to add your own VA to help you with your business for if it grows too big for just one person to run.
And, you’ll have lifetime access to Kayla’s business running wisdom. You’ll also get access to free, downloadable worksheets for everything you need to run your business.
In addition, you’ll earn other important aspects to owning and running a Virtual Assistant business, such as:
- How to choose a business structure
- Tips to find clients
- How to network efficiently
- Deciding on a pricing structure
- How to raise your rates so you can continue to earn more money
- How to start your business website
- The basics of contracts and invoicing
And more!
Kayla has proven that she knows how to start and grow a successful business as a Virtual Assistant. Now, let her teach you to do the same.
Kayla regularly has to turn clients away due to her busy workload. This means there’s more than enough clients for you to choose from in your own VA business. In other words, Kayla’s happy to share the Virtual Assistant wealth with anyone who wants to earn it.
Being an Employee as a Virtual Assistant
Know that you do have the option to be employed with a company as a Virtual Assistant. There are some business owners and companies that seek out VA’s as employees.
However, there are pros and cons that you need to know about if you choose to be an employee.
The Pros
You won’t have to keep track of income and expenses as an employee in a VA position. Your employer will do that for you and you’ll just collect your check.
Another pro of working for someone in an employee capacity is that you won’t have to grow your business. Once you’re hired you will keep your job – as long as you’re good at it.
A person who is employed with a company as a VA has a steady income. Your paycheck will be the same every week. Some people prefer the stability of that.
However, there are downsides to working as an employee in a VA job or any job.
The Cons
If you work as an employee in a VA position, you likely won’t be able to make your own work schedule. The company will likely have certain days and hours they’ll want you to work.
Also, if you’re employed by someone else you won’t be able to control your earnings. When you have your own VA business YOU decide how much money you’ll earn.
Similarly, if you’re employed by someone as an employee you don’t get to choose the services you offer. You simply show up and do what you’re told to do.
Final Thoughts
If you decide you want to generate income from home as a Virtual Assistant but don’t want to start your own business, being a virtual assistant employee does come with some benefits, like a predictable paycheck, and the ability to just show up and do the work without worry about the other aspects of owning a business.
However, as someone who has had their own freelance writing business for five years now, I have to say that I love the freedom it provides.
Working for yourself has so many wonderful benefits. You get to choose your work schedule, your job duties and your income level.
You don’t have to worry about working for people you don’t get along with. If you end up with a client that’s difficult to work with, you simply stop providing services for them.
When you work as a Virtual Assistant in a business owner capacity, you have choices. Choices that aren’t available to many people who work in an employee capacity.
If you like the idea of helping people in an administrative capacity, and like the idea of business ownership, consider working as a VA.
Yes, it will take some work to get started and build an established business. Kayla’s $10K VA program can certainly help speed up the growth of your business.
However, you have to take the initiative and commit to working the course and your business. Are you ready to stop being tied to dismal earnings and mundane jobs? Tired of other people telling you what to do and when?
Or tired of being away from your loved ones while you sit at a desk? Consider working as an independent Virtual Assistant. Like Kayla, you might find more freedom than you ever imagined possible. And the pay…well, it’s a great way to make a living. 😉
One Comment
I’m starting to love this online marketing career of working on my own schedule. Lots of work but a labor of love. I wish I knew this stuff 20 years ago. 🙂