How To Become a Virtual Assistant

A very hot career you can do from home, if you learn how to become a virtual assistant, you can earn a nice living. There are many benefits to becoming a virtual assistant. However, before you learn about the benefits, it’s best to learn what this career path entails.

Job Duties of a Virtual Assistant

As a virtual assistant, you will likely handle many different jobs and tasks. It’s common for this type of assistant to work for multiple clients and provide the following:

• Help make travel plans
• Schedule appointments
• Answer phone calls and emails
• Make cold calls for lead generation
• Collect and organize data
• Do research
• Create content for social media
• Write blog posts or other types of content
• And more!

As a virtual assistant, you can do just about anything the client needs you to do. Of course, it will depend on the client and what they think you can handle. Basically, anything that can be done online can be done by a virtual assistant.

Benefits of Becoming a Virtual Assistant

Work from Home

One of the biggest benefits of being a virtual assistant is you can work from home. As long as you have a computer and an internet connection, you can do this job from home.

Set your Own Schedule

Whether you like to work at night, during the morning, or a regular 9-to-5, you can set your own schedule as a virtual assistant. Even if you only want to work part-time, you can, as a virtual assistant.

Unlimited Income

While you can only earn as much as you can work, you decide how much you work as a virtual assistant. If you want to work a 60-hour week, you can. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you want to work, you get to choose, which means you can choose how much you make, too.

No Experience Necessary

You don’t need any experience to become a virtual assistant. Beginners can start without any training. Then, you can actually take a simple online course and learn everything you need to become a virtual assistant.

If you have skills in data entry, editing, writing, social media, or anything else online, you can easily become a virtual assistant.

Grow at Your Pace

If you become a virtual assistant and work for yourself, you can grow at your own pace. It’s even possible to run your own business and hire a few virtual assistants to work for you.

There are many different benefits to becoming a virtual assistant. If you decide to go down this career path, you can gain plenty of benefits.

How To Become a Virtual Assistant in 5 Steps

Step #1 – Research this Type of Career

Before you choose to become a virtual assistant, take the time to research the career. This will help you to figure out if it’s the right career for you. It will also allow you to figure out what you will need as far as skills and equipment.

Step #2 – Gain the Necessary Skills

You will perform many tasks as a virtual assistant. Gaining the right skills can help you better serve your clients. You want to consider the tasks you will accomplish for clients and gain skills that fit with handling those tasks.

Becoming skilled with social media, email programs, and other computer programs can help you become a better virtual assistant.

Step #3 – Consider Getting the Right Training

There are plenty of great training courses out there for virtual assistants. Some will help you become successful in as little as 30 days. Others will take a bit longer.

With the right type of training, you can become a successful virtual assistant. If you want to go into this career, consider the different training options and choose one that will suit your needs the best.

Step #4 – Work with a Virtual Assistant Company

You don’t have to work for yourself as a virtual assistant. There are plenty of companies that hire virtual assistants to help you get the experience you need.

Some of the top companies that will hire virtual assistants include:

• Profit Factory
• Boldly
• BELAY
• My BTLR
• Equivity
• VaVa Virtual Assistants

There are plenty of other options to gain some experience, too.

Step #5 – Work for Yourself

After gaining some experience, you can go out on your own as a virtual assistant. The best virtual assistants tend to work for themselves. This is one of the best ways to make more money and set your own rates.

However, you can still make a nice income without working for yourself, if you prefer.

Common Skills Needed to Become a Virtual Assistant

If you want to become a virtual assistant, you will need the right skills. Some of the common skills include:

• Technology skills – You will need to have an idea of how to use many computer programs. Some clients may need you to answer emails, while others might need assistants to create spreadsheets.
• Multitasking – You will likely need to multitask as a virtual assistant, too. Often, you will need to jump from one task to another quickly.
• Organizational skills – Virtual assistants need to be very organized. This type of position requires you to take care of multiple clients and keep everything straight.
• Communication skills – You will need to communicate with clients and others over the phone and by email.

Many other skills can be helpful to you as a virtual assistant, as well. For example, if you’re skilled with social media and other online marketing, you can help clients in many different ways.

Frequently Asked Questions About Becoming a Virtual Assistant

How much can a virtual assistant make each year?

As a virtual assistant, your earnings are unlimited. However, your salary will be based on whether you work for someone else or your work for yourself. When you choose to work for yourself, you can build a business and make even more. However, working for someone else as a virtual assistant comes with an average yearly salary of about $41K.

The top virtual assistants will make closer to $70K per year. Those working part-time or just starting might make less than average, however.

What type of work hours do virtual assistants keep?

As a virtual assistant, you will likely set your own hours. You can work any hours you prefer. However, you may need to handle last-minute tasks for clients on weekends or in the evenings.

What will the work environment be like for a virtual assistant?

Most virtual assistants work from home. You get to choose the work environment. However, it’s often helpful to have a home office or a space dedicated specifically to your work.

Is the demand for virtual assistants high?

While virtual assistants are not in high demand, it’s still a popular career choice. However, this career is expected to decline over the next ten years by about 9%. Part of the issue with the stats on the job outlook of virtual assistants is the lack of good information. Many work for themselves, which makes the stats a bit hard to decipher. This may be a growing position with more and more companies allowing people to work from home.

Do I need to be certified to become a virtual assistant?

No, you don’t have to be certified or even have experience to become a virtual assistant. You can get training online, but you can also become certified. In addition, some companies will certify you with specific types of educational training before you work as a virtual assistant.

You might even find a community college that offers a certification program. Some online schools also offer virtual assistant certification programs.

What are the requirements for becoming a virtual assistant?

You will need a high school education, in most cases, or equivalent. It’s also necessary to have great verbal and written communication skills. If you have experience as an administrative assistant, you will likely fit in well as a virtual assistant.

Computer literacy and proficiency in Microsoft Office. You may also need to be skilled in other computer programs and highly organized, as well.

Where do virtual assistants find jobs?

You can work for one of the top employers listed above. However, there are other ways to find virtual assistant jobs, too. Fiverr, Upwork, Time Etc., Indeed, Freelancer, and People Per Hour are a few other great places to find virtual assistant work.

You can also find clients yourself. This can be done with different types of online marketing. It’s even possible to email business owners to find clients.

How long does it take to become a virtual assistant?

Most virtual assistants can start working in just a week or two. However, some who choose to go through the right training can have a full client list within one month.

Jordan Fabel

Covering different 'paths' that people's lives can take. Creative, foster parent, ticket dismissal, you get the idea. Exploring the requirements, certifications, exams, and obviously, approved courses along each path.