How to become a Virtual Assistant in 2024

Before we get into how you can become a virtual assistant in 2024, let’s start with what a Virtual Assistant is?

Well, it could be YOU!

Put in the simplest form - A virtual assistant is anyone who offers an online service to other business owners from a remote location (usually a home office or a co-working space) in exchange for an agreed upon fee.

See I told you it could be you!

Who can become a Virtual Assistant?

Virtually anyone (pun intended)

Now that we have addressed what a Virtual Assistant is lets go through how to become a Virtual Assistant in 2024.

To start with, there are a few skills you need to become a virtual assistant in 2024.

Obviously, if you’re planning to work online, a general understanding of how to use a computer and a good understanding of how the internet works is a great start.

Having some specific skills and experience will make getting started easier and it’ll help with landing the first few clients.

Your experience could include any variety of business activities — both online and offline. At the same time, it’s important to note that a lack of skills should never be a deterrent. A high degree of motivation and good communication skills and a desire to learn are equally, if not more important.

We know you are probably asking yourself, am I eligible?

Absolutely!

If you have a skill that you can offer another business owner, and you can perform that task virtually, you are on the right track to start.

Next you are probably wondering, “What businesses could I work with?”

Almost any business can work with a VA. The question should be around what the benefits of working with a VA are & if that business would benefit from working with you.

It is proven that a key element to business success is nailing your ideal client &  building your business around WHO this person is.

Who is your ideal client you ask? In a nutshell your ideal client is the type of business owner you would like to provide services for, this could be a niche industry for example, like you might want to work with online business coaches, perhaps you are from the allied health space and would like to work with allied health professionals, your ideal client is who you would like to work with and provide services for.

When you are starting out, think about the skills and experience you have and who you would like to work with, then start writing down where are they located, do they live close by, would you like to offer your services Australia wide? Would you prefer to offer your Services all over the world?

You could say well my ideal client is anyone that owns a business and needs my support, but you really need to break it down and go deeper into who your ideal client is based on your service offerings.

When you've nailed this, you will attract the right clients to you,  and then you can position yourself as the expert, you can charge based on value rather than time, you will stand out from the crowd, if you want to up-skill you'll know which areas you should focus on based on the needs of your ideal client, you will create packages & services that they really need & you'll really enjoy working in your business.

Now we know you are now thinking, what services could I offer as a VA?

The perks of being a Virtual Assistant are basically endless, as are the lists of services you could offer your ideal client.

You get to work from home, or anywhere really, which means, you don’t have to travel to work, sit in the same office day in and day out, you can pick your own schedule, your income isn’t limited to the hours you work, you can choose who you want to work with, you get to work towards your own dreams instead of someone else’s & the list goes on!

I get people coming to me all the time thinking that they don’t have the necessary skills to be a VA but in fact, there are so many skills that you likely already have that you can leverage to build a successful business!

While some of the more specific skills are learned on the job or through certain experiences because all businesses use different systems and have different processes and overall operations vary, there are tonnes of skills that you already have that would make you an awesome VA!

Here is a list of Services you could offer:

1. Email - I think it’s safe to say that ALL businesses must deal with emails, they’re important but at the same time, they are time consuming, so this is a super common task for business owners to outsource.
2. Organisation - Another element relevant to all businesses is the requirement to be organised, for you as a VA this could mean you can help them arrange meetings, organise events, organise their data, content & online files.
3. Creative - If you’re a little on the creative side you might be able to put your skills to use in creating social media graphics, writing, or repurposing content, writing blogs, designing advertisements, assisting with email marketing, creating e-books & lead magnets.
4. Facebook group moderation - there are SO many businesses who host Facebook groups, as a VA you could be responsible for scheduling posts, replying to comments, accepting member requests & help with the overall engagement & organisation of the group.
5. Research - if a common phrase for you is “I’ll Google it” than you may be able to assist your clients with researching topics, tools & information. Being a “figure-out-able” type person is helpful as a VA, no one expects you to know everything, that’s impossible, but it’s important to be able to jump on to Google, YouTube or a community forum or Facebook group to try and find the answer.
6. Communication - this is up there with the most important skill to possess as a VA, it’s important to manage the relationship between yourself and your client as well as your clients’ stakeholders. If they can count on you to respond professionally & respectfully to their clients/members/customers than you will become a trusted & integral member of their team.
7. Technical - bit of an IT guru? Businesses are always looking for ways to automate, systems that are going to improve productivity & customer experience - there’s always new online tools being released so if you’re a bit of a tech whiz than consider yourself fully booked already.
8. Attention to detail & initiative - most business owners really value your initiative to fix something that you find is broken, speak up (respectfully) when you feel there is a better way to do something, checking over links & spelling before sending work off to them is a simple yet very important step to take in your dealings.

The skills you have already can be used as a VA - I always recommend starting with what you know & up-skilling if you want to down the track.

Now on to the fun part, how do you get started?

If you are ready to go all in and take the leap and launch your very own Virtual Assistant business,  then our signature VA Launchpad course is for you. Our VA Launchpad course is a complete step-by-step, proven system to take you from unsure and overwhelmed to confidently booking new clients!

Plus with the inclusions of all of the templates and systems setup tutorials, you have everything you need ready to customise and get started!

Feeling overwhelmed?

You're not alone!

Trying to piece together information  without any real direction is really overwhelming, that's why we created VA Launchpad.

If you're keen to start a successful VA business with the entire process mapped out, tools, support to launch confidently and start working with clients than we would love to invite you to not only join our training, but become part of the Seed family so that we can support you every step of the way.