Become A Virtual Assistant In 30 Days and Make Money Online With These 5 Simple Steps

Have you been thinking that it's time to become a virtual assistant? 

Let’s face it.  You need to make more money one way or the other, but working for peanuts on an hourly salary just doesn’t appeal to you (me either).  Maybe you need to make a dent in your student loans or credit card debt, or you recently found yourself out of work (global pandemic anyone?).  Maybe you are planning to travel the world one day or just want to stay at home with your family more.  Whatever the case may be, you are committed to working online, working for yourself, and finding a way to create the life you really want to live.  

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I have been in situations exactly like you are now.  I needed to make some extra cash while having the FREEDOM to work from wherever there was wifi.  I completely get it!

I understand being in that tight spot where it's now or never, and suddenly you are willing to do what it takes to make it happen.

At one point, I worked five jobs just to pay all of my bills and have a little bit of money for fun.  I know a thing or two about hustle and I’m glad that I went through it, but back in those days the work I was doing to get by was not healthy.

If you are ready to do something similar to what I did, reading this post will hopefully help you save some time and pain.

A lot of my friends and family have asked me for some legit ways to make good money online because they know that I have been doing this for 5 years now.

I'm finally in a really good place where I can spend a bit of time sharing what I've learned.  I mean...

I really feel like in this day and age it's time to be generous with this knowledge so that you can get to that "good place" where you want to be too!

Here is where I would start if I had zero online skills, zero tech knowledge, and I could go back and do it all over:

I would become a Virtual Assistant.

With so many businesses rethinking digital strategies, they are going to be searching for help to manage their online operations.  

I know a thing or two about digital strategies and how businesses use these to operate from my past experience as a corporate IT Business Analyst so listen up!

When I first learned about virtual assistants, I pictured someone wearing a headset while sitting in front of a computer in a giant call center somewhere overseas.

That is NOT the kind of virtual assistant that I am talking about here.

There are so. many. ways. I’ve seen virtual assistants learn simple online skills, gain experience and knowledge that is highly valued in the online business space and go on to make more than they make in their day jobs.  Oh, and if you absolutely love to organize things for people and help them keep their lives straight, you are going to make an excellent virtual assistant my friend!

The Time I Hired A Virtual Assistant

I hired a virtual assistant once to do simple things for my business.  Things that I knew were simple tasks that I just didn’t want to spend time doing, but also knew were tasks essential to marketing and gaining leads.  When I interviewed her, I learned she was somewhat new to being a virtual assistant but already had a few other clients.  I could tell that she picked up what I was putting down, and she also had a great attitude.

We agreed based on her experience her rate would be $500 per month.  If she had just 5 clients like me, that’s already $2,500 per month or $30,000 per year (gross income).

What did she do you might be asking?

She sourced and posted photos.

Wrote captions for Instagram/Facebook.

She answered comments.

She styled my instagram feed.

We had one call per month.

And that was about it.

👉 Do you already know how to do those simple tasks?

👉 Do you know how to press ‘Post’ on Facebook or ‘Save’ on a Pin to a Pinterest board?

👉 Do you know how to write and send an email?

Someone will pay you to do that stuff simply because as a business owner, they don’t need to spend their own time or brain juice doing it.   Are you listening now? 😃

Reasons You Might Fail

Here’s the deal - the only reason you might fail at this is if you don’t have these two things:

• A wifi connection
• A simple portfolio (emails you’ve written, social media posts or accounts you’ve managed, Excel spreadsheets you’ve created)

(ok there’s three things)

• The drive to ask people if they need help with their business online instead of waiting for them to ask you.

 In other words, the only things I have seen hold people back from becoming a virtual assistant are fear and doubt.

Are you ready to start a new online career, build new skills and enjoy life?

Let’s do it.  I know you can do it.  I am going to show you how.

Also, it's worth mentioning that as a virtual assistant there is a lot of room to grow and make more money. 

For me, over the past 5 years now I have consistently earned a sizable income online with additional technical online marketing skills in my side hustle.  I have clients that I have helped with my skills and strategies that have seen their first $30k months - all in online sales, so stick by my side and I will show you the ropes too!

Before we dive in, if you want to fast-track your way to starting an online, work from anywhere business as a virtual assistant like I did, head on over and check out my affordable Build Your Virtual Assistant Business Bootcamp!

I do not want you to miss out, so here comes step one!

Step One.

Identify Any Online Skills Or Knowledge You Already Possess

There is a really good chance that you already know about one type of industry, have some skills or ability that you can transition to using online.

The first day, sit down and make a list of anything and everything that you can think of.  You need to have a few ideas because in the coming days you will be putting a lot of feelers out there for leads.  If this takes you five minutes, great!  If it takes you an hour, that’s ok too.

Don’t overthink it.

Don’t ask yourself “what type of business would be willing to pay me and for what?” - we will get to that!

Don’t tell yourself that you don’t have any skills that you can take online.  Even if you don’t, you can quickly learn some simple skills that a business owner would pay you to do.

Remember, I am going to show you!

Step Two.

Identify Resources That You Can Use To Learn Any Additional Skills That You Want To Learn.

One thing to notice here is that I said “want to learn”.

Don’t force yourself to learn something new just because it will help you make more money (been there, done that chica and you will still end up hating life).  Everyone who is just starting out needs resources depending on where they are headed.

Resources include:

• Books on the industry you would like to work with or topic you want to work with
• YouTube Channels or Videos that show you how to do things online such as edit photos and videos, create and manage social media content, email lists, Pinterest boards, or blogs.
• Facebook groups with active members who are also learning what you want to learn.  Learning is more fun when you learn together!
• Online articles like this blog!

#protip: Start a Pinterest board for all of your resources so you can keep them in one place!

Spend only a few hours on gathering these at most.  Don’t fall down rabbit trails that will lead to nowhere.

Click here for my list of 10 FREE online blogs and other resources to get you started!

Step Three.

Create Your Own Virtual Assistant Brand

Warning: do not get stuck on step 3 which is where tons of online business owners get stuck for weeks, months, and years before they start actually making money!  Seriously do not overthink this. 

To help you get started, I have created a free, five day email course about the highlights of visual branding for online entrepreneurs!  Just fill out this quick form to get 5 great tips to get you set up delivered straight to your inbox!

I recommend simply naming your business with your name and maybe tacking on “Virtual Assistant For…” as the tag line so that it is clear that you are a VA.  <- I just used that abbreviation “VA”.  You will often hear online business owners use that acronym!

Infuse your personality into your brand, but remember, your brand, or the look and feel of your business is all about attracting the clients that you want to attract so make sure you keep in mind that you are setting yourself up to appeal to them!

When working with my clients, I refer to this as a visual brand asset.

You can easily get started with a free logo template from easy-to-use design tool Canva and you don’t necessarily need a website. If you are going after leads that you do not know personally already, you will need to polish up your online presence to be a little bit more professional in appearance.

Apart from the visual tips and the items in the email course, make sure you understand the types of business owners you would like to work with.  They do not have to be an online business, in fact my best clients have been small business owners!

Step Four.

Make Your Business Official

Even though this may be a side hustle for you to make some extra cash each month, the more you treat this like a business, the more successful you will be. 

You can still keep it fun and low key while doing the following things:

• Register your business with the government for tax purposes.  If you have questions specifically about this, there are tons of resources out there.  Tax policies vary for each state and country.  I am not an expert on taxes, but when I set up my business, finding resources was easy.  If you are really serious about your business at this stage you could set up an appointment with a CPA who may be able to help personally guide you.  
• Open a new business bank account and set up payment methods so you can get paid! 

Invoicing

You can use PayPal for business which allows you to create and send professional invoices for a minimal fee.  Remember, payment processing is not free.

I really enjoy using Dubsado for my business because it also allows me to simply and seamlessly create and send contracts, proposals, and invoices to each of my clients!  My affiliate link will get you a 20% discount on your first month!  It is SO worth it if you love staying professional and looking organized.  Click here for 20% off!

You might also like Stripe - this payment processor is amazing for online payments and can be used with Dubsado quite easily.  I have used Stripe for 5 years now.

 Contracts

Now, let me mention contracts in this step as well.  By now you should know the main services you will offer as a virtual assistant, have your business name, know how you will process payments and be well on your way to finding clients!

You need to make sure that you have a contract in place with your client even if they are the friendliest of sweet souls.

You can create a simple agreement that each of you signs and that is that.  If you are planning to go all in on your business, I highly recommend purchasing a Contract from The Contract Shop! This is where I procure my contracts from.  Christina Scalera is a lawyer who specializes in online businesses and just checking out her website will make this topic super helpful for you as you get started in the virtual assistant world!

I go way more into detail about how to avoid getting stuck working with nightmare clients in the first place in my mini-course Build Your Virtual Assistant Business Bootcamp, but having a contract at the very least will cover you in the situations where that client you thought was a dream turns into a nightmare.

Once you have procured your contract, if you are using Dubsado, you can set it up, or simply email it to your client and have them review and sign it before you start any work for them.  Which brings us to, how to find clients!

Step Five.

Find Your First Clients!

Ok now comes the fun part!  You’ve probably come up with the idea to become a VA and the first thing that popped into your mind could be, well how would I find clients?

This is a common thread in business no matter what industry we are talking about - for the owner to grow the business to greater heights faster and with less stress, if they are smart, they will hire team members who are better than they are at the every-day tasks that it takes to run the business successfully.

Local Clients 

• The first thing I would do is tap into the connections you may already have.  Do you have a good friend who has been in business for a little while and has some tasks that she can’t handle by herself anymore?
• Identify people you know that have a business and want to run the business by being an owner and who know that growing a business means having a team.  You can ask questions like:

“I see you would like to spend more time with your kids - have you ever thought about hiring a Virtual Assistant?”

“Are you interested in getting your weekends back?  I think I can help you do that as your Virtual Assistant!”

Finding Clients Online

Eventually, you may decide to start looking for clients online.  There are several ways to go about this:

🌟 You could create a profile on Upwork, which is a freelancing website.  I have personally never used Upwork, but many of the freelancers I know of do use it.

🌟 You could join Facebook groups for entrepreneurs and even join according to the industry you would like to work with.

🌟 Make sure to engage with the group by posting tips and tricks for organizing, project management, writing emails, and other things you know about.  You never know who might resonate with the content you post and ask if you are taking clients!  Often, the admins of the group will allow promos for your own services on certain days.  I LOVE this method.

🌟 Start up a social media account and/or blog where you post your top tips and tricks.  Create content aimed at helping other business owners. Maybe you could start a YouTube channel if you enjoy communicating through video and want to reach a large audience.

🌟 Create some posts on LinkedIn if your potential clients are more the corporate world type.  There are many avenues for marketing yourself online these days.

My advice would be to just pick one that you enjoy the most and commit to learning and creating content there consistently!

How Do I Get The Client To Sign With Me?

The best thing you can do here when you receive a message for more information about what you do is invite the potential client to hop on a quick discovery call with you.  That is the call where you get to know what they are looking for in a VA and they can ask you questions about your skills.

If the client seems to think you are a good fit for them and you think that they are a good fit for you, then you need to ask them if you could present your pricing options to them.

Sometimes the client may already know that they want to work with you, but I highly recommend getting on a call with them first to make sure it really is a good fit.

This is a two-way street and you don’t want to end up with a client-zilla as your first client!

Discovery Calls are fun!

🌟 By following these pieces of advice, there’s no doubt you’ll land your first few clients as a Virtual Assistant within 30 days!

Be persistent and show up consistently as you go about these activities.  ALWAYS remember your ‘why’ for getting started.  When unexpected bumps in the road occur, just keep trucking on towards your goals! 

Ready to get started?

Pin this post to your business planning board on Pinterest and by the way, I created this Calendar Template to help you manage tasks each week to keep you on your way to your first client! 

I would also love to see you in the new for 2022 Build Your Virtual Assistant Business Bootcamp!  Click below to learn more.

To your success! 🎉

XOXO,

Leisha