Virtual Assistant
There was a time when I was presented with the opportunity to become a virtual assistant, me not having any idea of what that was or what they do went and asked my dear friend Google ( obviously), and read how amazing the amount of skills you were able to learn, what a knowledgeable person would be working with that title. I had to increase the income of my family, and getting a regular job wasn’t something I was really looking forward to. So I figured working at my own convenient time was the exact solution and I chose to start working at home. I decided to be a Virtual Assistant and it really changed my life.
What is a Virtual Assistant?
A virtual assistant (VA) is a person that provides services to individuals, companies or organizations, doing must of the work online instead of going into an office.
What jobs can a Virtual Assistant Do?
These days, the internet has made it possible to perform a wide range of things virtually. The range of tasks of VAs is more than just typing. There Is an endless list of what a Virtual Assistant can do. Like:
• Email management
• Consulting / counseling / coaching
• Ghostwriting
• Calendar management
• Graphic design / creation
• Writing
• Bookkeeping
• Web design / development
• Travel arrangement
• Anything else you can do without having to be in the same physical location as your client
• Tutoring
• Researching
• Copywriting
• Audio / video / photo editing
• Editing
• App development
• Transcription
• Project management
• Marketing / Promotion
• Visioneering (people send you photos of their room/house/yard and you offer suggestions for improvement)
• Social media management
• Data entry
• Customer service
• Programming
How to become a Virtual Assistant?
As a Virtual Assistant You should follow some of these basic steps:
• Choose a business structure
• Decide the services that you wish to render to your clients
• Choose and decide a pricing structure
• Create an online presence by launching your website / Social Media Accounts
• Commence networking and pitching
• Establish and build relationships
The importance of Virtual Assistance to Small Businesses
An extra hand is needed to run a small business, somebody to make few sales calls, order low supplies, do weekly bookkeeping and that is one of the reasons why companies need the service of a VA.
With a VA, a business organization or owner can redirect his focus to carry out his or her main objective and leave other jobs to your outsourced professional.
If you have an offline or online small business, you can’t neglect the importance of employing an extra hand to take care of things for you. Below are some ways which the service of a professional assistant can bolster your business to new heights:
• Reduces the cost of operation
• Increases efficiency and productivity
• Strengthens the weak areas of your business
Reduce the cost of operation
One of the best ways to reduce the cost of operation is employing the service of a virtual assistant. Compared to the service of a full time or regular employee, the service of a VA cost less because the employer does not have to pay benefits to the employee.
A Virtual Assistant is usually a sole trader who runs their own business. Like any contractor you hire around the home, a VA works for a client for a fee. jambusinesssupportservices.com.au
Increases efficiency and productivity
Hiring a full-time employee for challenging tasks is a waste of resources when you can just hire a virtual assistant for these tasks that are non-core to your business.
You can free your time to handle core business task and leave the rest to your VA. Your time is one resource that you can’t buy. Small business owners, who are successful, know the value of hiring a virtual assistant and spend most of their time on the activities that are growth hacking related.
Strengthen your weak areas
It’s no new story that nobody is perfect and neither is your business. Businesses face some challenges from time to time. With the use of a VR, you can bridge the skill gap in your small business. a VR can help you manage your social media as well as conduct product research for your business.
Taking advantage of the power of a Virtual assistant proactively and effectively in the supposed manner brings a lot of dividends to your business both in the long and short run.
Tips for Virtual Assistants beginners
- If you have previous experience in the offline field it would be much easier to transition, but for those who are just starting, I would recommend joining a few facebook and LinkedIn groups to soak in all the information that you might want and need. Two of the most amazing groups I have found are: Your Virtual Assistant BFFand Virtual Miss Friday
- Make sure you have enough skills to start a career, some just jump right into it without even preparing for the challenge, being a VA means being multi-knowledgeable and an expert in multi-tasking, for example, you might have a project where you only need to enter some data and also a project where you have to create a landing page for a new product, therefore you need to be prepared, you can find articles, courses, webinars online to help you get there. You can find amazing coaching and information on the at The Association of Virtual Assistants . I personally am a member of the AVA and I find it an amazing community for people who are starting. You can also find other information at VA Directory, Michelle Dale, Tammy L. Lorette
- Believe in yourself! , constantly you might encounter with a few bad months before you get your first client, subsequently, you might get discouraged, try to tell everybody you know what your skills are and what you do for clients, what is your specialty, and even go to your city small business and offer your services. Ask your former employers to leave a recommendation so you can use it as a testimonial on your website and social media accounts.
- Once you get a client do your research carefully about them, what they do and if they’re reliable. Have a 30 mins conversation with them about the project, prepare your proposal and your contract, always make sure the two of you are agreeing with the tasks and charges. You can use Wave for Booking, invoicing and overall managing your profit.- Know your worth, research the normal prices for the tasks the client is asking, set an hourly and a by project rate. One helpful tool is : Nuschoolto help you have an idea of how much you should be charging for a project.
What do you think of this article? Are you planning to become a Virtual Assistant? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter!
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