How to Become a Virtual Assistant with NO Experience

Do you want to be your own boss, create financial independence, and have more flexibility with your family? If so, then becoming a virtual assistant might be the career or side gig for you – even if you don’t have any experience!

When you’re just getting started on any new path, you’ll have a lot to learn. Be persistent and don’t give up because the freedom that comes from being in command of your own life is well worth it. Whether you want to earn a little side money to contribute to the household income or earn a full-time salary, it’s absolutely feasible to do this as a virtual assistant (VA).

Be aware that many courses and guides out there will make bold promises you can replace your income in 30 days – this is a marketing tactic. So stay alert to those “experts” out there overpromising – they want you to buy their course, or book, or guide. This doesn’t mean there aren’t valuable courses, just be sure to use your judgment and do your own research!

In this post, I’m going to cover what you need to know to get your virtual assistant business up off the ground.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant is a person who provides vital remote administrative and technical services to business owners.

Virtual assistants are highly sought after by online businesses and entrepreneurs who need assistance but don’t want to hire full-time employees at their place of employment. Hiring a virtual assistant can save money and time for companies leading to efficiencies in all areas of business.

The good news for you and me is that the availability of high-speed internet and inexpensive conference calling solutions make becoming a VA attainable. Also, virtual assistants enjoy the freedom and independence of remote freelancing employment, which frequently presents chances for entry-level workers.

According to FlexJobs, a virtual assistant can earn ranging from $15,387 to $65,379 per year. Hourly, virtual assistant pay ranges from $10.16 to $29.49. It depends on your skills, experiences, industry and clients.

What will you do as a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant might perform a wide variety of tasks or roles within a given company. It will also depend on the needs of the customer and assistant’s skill set. Here are some common administrative tasks that a virtual assistant does:

• Calendar management: Coordinate, schedule, confirm, and provide reminders about calls and appointments. Tt can be hard for business owners to say no to someone who wants to meet for a coffee to “catch up.” The virtual assistant can.
• Email and phone management: Answer, monitor, and organize emails and phone calls. Virtual assistants will delete, reply to, forward, or mark emails for their attention in accordance with the standards that customers establish.
• Phone tasks: Answer, monitor, and organize phone calls and transcribe voicemails. When expecting important calls that clients may not be available to answer, calls are forwarded to the virtual assistant.
• Travel: Arrange flights and hotels for business travel. Additionally, a virtual assistant may make arrangements for a special restaurant meeting space or even a concert while traveling.
• Business development: Research LinkedIn and create a list of prospective clients; find the email addresses of potential clients you need to contact; field incoming lead questions and maintaining customer records.
• Data analysis: Help to assemble data for reports, design slides for presentations.
• Human resources: Recruit employees, write or update job descriptions.
• Personal tasks: Make personal restaurant reservations, buy online some gifts, etc.

Other Common Virtual Assistant Services

In addition to administrative tasks, virtual assistants can offer other services such as:

• Social media: If you love the idea of managing social media channels like Facebook pages, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, this niche could be for you. You can create content, design images, and engage with the client’s audience on their behalf.
• Blogging: If you’ve always wanted to start your own blog, working as a virtual assistant for another blogger is a terrific way to get started quickly and make some extra money. In addition to writing blog posts and designing graphics, you can moderate blog comments, improve SEO, and manage subscribers’ emails.
• E-commerce: You can manage customer service (which is super critical) and inventory, track orders, and support the marketing team.
• Finance: If you have finance and bookkeeping experience, you can offer this service too. A few examples are to review and match transactions, and create and send invoices.

Just consider your strengths and customize your offer based on those strengths.

5 Steps to Become a Successful Virtual Assistant

Once you decide to choose this work-from-home job, you will need to set up your business. Below are 5 steps to start a successful virtual assistant business at home:

Step 1: Know yourself

To become a virtual assistant, you must first identify your strengths and interests. A resume that highlights your administrative abilities will demonstrate that you’re qualified to do the job, even if you have minimal experience. You can show the most important skills a virtual assistant needs. For example, computer proficiency, communication skills, time management, and organization.

Additionally, based on your skills and experience, you should decide which niche you want to work on.

Step 2: Know your target market

Next, figure out the types of businesses and markets that interest you and where you can find them.

You can better target potential clients and earn jobs by identifying what tasks you can and are willing to perform. Then you should also determine your fees.

You can choose to charge hourly/daily/weekly rates or get paid per task completed. Some VAs charge monthly retainers which is a fixed fee, generally paid by the client on a monthly basis, for an agreed-upon set of tasks.

Step 3: Pitch yourself

For new virtual assistants, cold pitching daily is a good way to start landing clients. If you feel a little hesitant, it’s totally normal. I’ve struggled with “imposter syndrome” with every new role I’ve ever taken on, and if we’re being honest, I think a lot of us have. The key is to push forward and focus on the success you’ve had in the past and the value you know you can bring!

There are some great websites to find virtual assistant jobs, such as FlexJobs, Fiverr, Upwork, etc.

Besides, you can build relationships with potential clients in other ways, through friends, neighbors, and local networking groups. The best clients are usually a result of strong personal relationships!

Step 4: Make a portfolio

Creating a portfolio or personal website with samples of your work will demonstrate to potential customers what you have done and can accomplish, which is crucial for building your personal brand. You’ll probably be able to get more clients and higher-paying jobs if you create this portfolio. Think about it as your “virtual” CV. You can follow these simple steps to make your own blog and include it!

When you gain virtual assistant experience, ask your clients for feedback and add into your portfolio as customer reviews.

Learn where your prospective customers are on social media and become an expert on one or two channels. Use social media and professional profiles to make yourself visible online, and build relationships with networking.

Step 5: Make clients happy

Do all you can to add as much value as you can after you find your first customer. Full stop. Especially for this first client, try to go above and beyond to wow them.

All you can do for your business is to make your customers happy. It will help you to keep a client for the long term. Besides, a happy client might recommend you to other business owners they know. After that, you’ll have a clientele that will allow you to work as a virtual assistant full-time. It’s a win-win situation since they’ll treat you like a valuable part of their team.

Conclusion

For many moms, becoming a virtual assistant is the most incredible blessing! It allows them to stay home with their kids while bringing in an income in something they (hopefully) are passionate about.

If you have no prior VA experience, just know that it’s entirely possible to get started in this profession! Just be practical about the jobs you apply for and use your past experience to showcase what you bring to the table.

Most importantly, don’t forget to try to balance working from home and your own life. Development and fulfillment are typically the first two things that suffer if you don’t take care of yourself and your business!