So You Want to Be a Virtual Assistant: Now What?
Working from home, working from a coffee shop, working on my daughter’s mommy-and-me class, working from my phone: these all sound too good to be true, right?
The reality is that the workforce is changing. More and more people are finding freedom from their desks and the strict office schedule of 8-5. With the assistance of programs like Google Hangouts, Trello, Slack and many Customer Relationship Management systems we are finding ways to break the traditional work habits.
Virtual Assistants have a unique opportunity to not only create their own schedule and find their passion but to create hope for business owners to get back to the bottom line of growing their business. Perhaps you want to be a virtual assistant for a side income or maybe you want it to become your primary income so you can focus more on your family or hobbies. Whatever your reason there are a few things to consider. Here are the top five things to think about as you venture into Virtual Assisting.
Find Your Strengths
When offering yourself as a Virtual Assistant, it helps to have a list of specific skills you can provide your potential client. Going into it blind will only cause burn out. Here are some ideas of skills that are highly sought after:
- Blogging and web writing
- Website maintenance (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, etc)
- Inbox management
- Marketing assistance
- Social media management (Plannable, Hootsuite, etc)
- General administrative assistance tasks
- Executive Assistant tasks
All the Money Stuff
Creating a business plan, finding your structure, securing needed permits and licenses—the list of tasks to start your own Virtual Assistant business can go on. Unless this is your idea of a fun Saturday night, look into joining an already existing company like Trusty Oak that has already done all of this for you. The pay structure isn’t left to guesswork, the company is already established and has a great track record. Save yourself the time and find out more about who we are and what makes Trusty Oak special.
Find Your Clients
To be an assistant, you need someone who wants an assistant. This can be the tricky part. If you ask any freelancer or Virtual Assistant who doesn’t work with a company, you’ll hear that finding clients is one of the toughest parts of the gig. Where do you even start? There are two options: first, after you create your list of skills and strengths, you can find the industry you believe your skills are best suited for and beginning looking for clients there.
Or (and this is the better option) you could find a fantastic company like Trusty Oak who does all this for you. Let a coordinated sales team spend a great deal of time finding leads and pairing the perfect client with the ideal Virtual Assistant. This eliminates a lot of guesswork for both the client and the assistant.
Internet, Computer and Workspace
To get started as a Virtual Assistant it is essential to have a few basic things. A good laptop or computer, access to the internet and phone are at the top of the list. A few other things to consider are a regularly quiet workspace, a headset, and if possible a camera for video conferencing with clients.
Time Management
Often as a Virtual Assistant, you will work with multiple clients at the same time. It is essential to make every client feel like they are the most important client. To do this, use management tools like Trello or Airtable. Having a calendar and a schedule can ease some of the stress that may come with balancing all of the requests that may come through.
Hopefully, these five ideas can help you to plan your next steps into becoming a Virtual Assistant. The career is gratifying and can bring great freedom to your schedule when done correctly.
Interested in joining Trusty Oak?
