Podcast: What You Should Know Before You Become a Virtual Assistant

Listen to the full episode of the Assistants In Mind Podcast - “Episode 1: Chris and Monica” to hear Chris’ successful journey in her career as a VA.

Since Covid hit in 2020, the workforce has experienced an undeniable transformation that meant that a lot of people were made redundant, and a lot of companies moved from working in person, in the office from Monday to Friday 9-5, to a more blended working week. A week that for the large part of 2020 and 2021 meant working from home.

The evolution of the Work From Home culture has elicited more lucrative ways to earn money. Many people began to work for themselves, as more companies became virtual, opening up the opportunity for people with a certain skill set to start a side hustle.

And today we will be discussing the Virtual Assisting world, the nature of the industry, and all that you need to know to get started.

First, it is important that we underscore the value that a Virtual Assistant provides to a client. This is essential for understanding the foundation of your work and services, value is at the centre of what you do. Chris in the episode states that the value she brought as a Virtual Assistant was the wealth of her experience.

Always ensuring that you are constantly improving on your skillset, always learning and keeping that part active in your business is integral for growth and will lead you to become an expert in your specialisation.

Learning can be done through taking classes, online courses and watching videos. But the number one way to learn is through experience. Taking on tasks and learning on the job will accelerate your knowledge more effectively. You should never feel intimidated if you don’t have a certain skill set. Take this as an opportunity for growth and learn it. The more you know the better and the more confident you will feel.

Before becoming a Virtual Assistant, or even when you have already started, it is a good idea that you choose a niche. A niche that relates to the line of services that you provide and does not necessarily mean the type of clients that you serve. This can be Customer Support, Email Management, Project Management, Social Media Management services. The more specific you are with your services allows for you to have the chance to specialise and eventually grow into an expert in your field. This in turn will lead to higher client retention, as well as the chance to charge more.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about the Virtual Assisting industry, as a lot of people often equate it to the generic role of an in-person assistant. You know the jobs where you are expected to take notes, orders and bring all your colleagues’ coffee. Where your day consists of being away from your family, the stress of the morning commute, and the traffic hour.

Being a Virtual Assistant however alleviates all those challenges, and you become in charge of how you work, when you work, and for how much.

Since it is your own business, there are some things that you simply can no longer do that you previously did in a 9-5. For instance, the sweet joy of clocking out at the end of the day. You can never truly ‘clock’ out. What you can do though is choose when you work.

And as you grow, you can add people to your team and delegate tasks to people you trust. Which will leave you with more time and freedom to do whatever you want.

However, do not assume all the benefits of becoming a Virtual Assistant will come to fruition right away. In the beginning, there is a lot of work required, in the setting up of your business - when it is only you who is working.

Working on building an online presence, networking, selecting the right business structure for you, deciding what services you want to offer as well as your pricing structure. Are amongst the many tasks you will be faced with aside from completing the actual client work. To which a high degree of quality is required to maintain client retention.

Building trust is another key way to ensure client satisfaction. Which can simply mean keeping your client informed on the big things that are happening and assuring them that all the little things are taken care of.

Chris’ final piece of advice for people thinking about becoming a Virtual Assistant is to simply just do it! If you have the skill set, that is great! But if you don’t, then learn it.