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A Virtual Assistant (VA) business is a seamless and low-cost venture to open. If you are interested in learning to start a business from home, becoming a Virtual Assistant is a fantastic foray into the online business world. To start a Virtual Assistant business is a seamless way to start because you can offer services in exchange for a set rate.
A Virtual Assistant’s job can cover a wide range of services, niches, and specialties. Virtual Assistants offers services that businesses need. More business tasks like appointment management, billing, email communication, document preparation, and project management are happening online. No longer is there a need to be restrained to an office or desk.
Virtual communication has always been and will always be a reality for assistant positions, and most Virtual Assistants work with professionals who are constantly on the go. Many virtual assistants start out offering administrative skills like assisting with data entry projects or answering customer service emails.
Beyond the usual administrative services, you could:
Think of the unique skills you have, what value they can add, and market yourself. A Virtual Assistant doesn’t necessarily have to have prior experience as an assistant or administrative role. If you want to start a Virtual Assistant business, it’s a very low-risk and low-cost venture to begin.
If you know you’re ready to start a Virtual Assistant business, here are the main steps you’ll need to take:
It is recommended to start as a general administrative Virtual Assistant. A general administrative Virtual Assistant can handle email, calendar, customer service, data entry, filing, organization, etc. You can specialize as you discover what tasks you do and do not like. You can choose a niche to specialize in along the way as your venture evolves into a growing and thriving business.
There are three levels of general services you can offer when you want to start a Virtual Assistant business:
You can learn new skills as you work in general administration for other clients and as you grow your business. You also don’t need to know everything, so pick one thing you enjoy doing and become the expert. Virtual Assistants should always look at different training programs to further expand their knowledge.
New Virtual Assistants are constantly trying to decide how much to charge. It is recommended to begin with an hourly rate or package your services by the hour. You won’t know how long tasks will take, and the hourly rate protects both you and your client(s) from spending too much time or too much money on tasks. This also helps you have more control over what services you offer and to which clients.
You can charge per hour, but the easier plan is to create different types of packages. You can choose to package your hours, charge a monthly retainer, a one-time fee, package a specific service and deliver value-based results, or charge per project. Your starting rate will vary widely depending on experience, confidence in your services, location, and who your clients are.
Starting a Virtual Assistant business has little to no overhead. There is such a high demand for Virtual Assistant services that this is one of the most attractive businesses to start.
The two things you need to start a Virtual Assistant business are:
Once you’ve successfully got your first client and have a bit of money coming in, it is recommended to re-invest that money back into your business. You have a larger margin to invest in tools that will help automate your Virtual Assistant business and help it run smoothly.
There is our breakdown of how to start a Virtual Assistant business. Did you use any of these tips or have others you think are helpful? Follow CanScribe on Instagram to share your thoughts and ideas with us!