Did you know you can make a full time living working from anywhere in the world as a virtual assistant? And you don't need a ton of experience to get started!
This can be a lucrative remote side hustle that offers tons of benefits anyone would appreciate.
In this post, I'll explore how to become a virtual assistant with no experience, some tips and tricks you can do to beef up your portfolio, and much more. Let's get started!
- Start by deciding what services to offer
- Offer a few services at low cost to get your first few clients
- Build your portfolio and slowly raise your prices accordingly
What Is a Virtual Assistant?
A virtual assistant is a freelancer who works with clients online to take care of varying tasks in exchange for money.
Many people think a virtual assistant is some faceless person overseas who just handles admin tasks – but that couldn't be farther from the truth!
Virtual assistants work in every industry you can imagine. Popular industries include social media, writing, travel, graphic design, and more.
Check out the video below to explore a day in the life as a VA!
What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?
Since virtual assistants work in every industry imaginable, the list of services they provide are almost limitless!
The services that you offer will all depend on your current skill sets and your interests! Here are some virtual assistant service ideas that are in high demand.
- Social Media Page Management (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn)
- Community Moderation and Management (like Facebook groups)
- Graphic Design (Even creating shareable images and quotes for IG and FB! Or YouTube video Thumbnails, etc)
- Transcription (Like typing a podcast episode into a blog post)
- Email Management (Managing a busy business owners inbox for them)
- Customer Service (Responding to emails, working a live-chat, or by phone)
- Freelance writing (Writing for blogs, websites, emails, or social media posts)
- Designing Websites
- Amazon Store Assistance (Creating product listings, researching competitors, etc)
- Real Estate (Setting appointments, organizing contracts, calendar management)
- Calendar Management
- Editing (videos, podcasts, blog posts, etc)
This list can go on forever.
220+ Virtual Assistant Service Ideas
Virtual assistant service ideas for many different industries including social media, ecommerce, real estate, and so much more!
The beautiful thing about being a VA is that you're not bound to one service or one set of services. And if you start out with something and change your mind, you can always switch!
The services I started out offering are nowhere near what I'm doing today.
As I learned new skills and got better at what I was doing, I started offering new services. This enabled me to make more money and charge more, because the new services were of higher value.
I started out managing a Facebook page for a friend who owned a business.
I created images and quotes to share on the Facebook page and engaged with the followers and people who commented. Eventually, I was managing her Instagram accounts and Facebook group too.
As I learned more about Facebook marketing, I started learning how to run Facebook ads.
Then, I started offering Facebook Ad Management as a service – making over $1,000 per month for each client.
Since then, I have worked as a Pinterest Virtual Assistant, a WordPress Virtual Assistant (after I learned how to make my own blog), and now my main services are writing and editing.
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How Much Do Virtual Assistants Make?
I'm gonna be honest with you – this is entirely up to you! There are some VAs who make upwards of $10k a month, and that's not an exaggeration.
Virtual assistants have the unique opportunity to decide how much they want to charge for their services, how many hours they want to work, and how many clients they want to work with.
Many VAs charge package rates, but some charge hourly. The low-end starting rate is $20-30 an hour.
On the high end, you can be charging $1,000/mo per package or more.
What Skills Do You Need to Be A Virtual Assistant?
There's a common misconception that if you want to work online, you have to have specialized skills, degrees, or certifications.
That couldn't be farther from the truth!
The only skills you need to get started as a virtual assistant are:
- Ability to read and write
- Ability to use a computer and the internet efficiently
- Open-mindedness and desire to learn
- Dedication – you need to be dedicated to succeed!
Other skills that will help you as a VA include:
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to self-manage and stick to deadlines
- Self-discipline
- Being a problem solver and quick thinker
Why Become A Virtual Assistant?
If you're at all interested in being able to work from anywhere you want: at home, at a coffee shop, while traveling, etc., then being a VA is perfect for you!
Learning how to become a virtual assistant is the quickest and easiest way to become location-independent… In my humble VA opinion.
There is a very low barrier to entry – meaning it doesn't cost a lot of money or require a lot of specialized knowledge to start.
It's super flexible. You get to set your own hours, your own pay, and decide who you work with. So, essentially, you decide how much you make.
You get to choose your own services, and you don't have to stick with them! If you start out doing one thing and decide you don't love it, you can always change direction.
How To Become A Virtual Assistant With No Experience In 5 Steps
Learning how to become a virtual assistant doesn't have to be hard or overwhelming. Here I've broken it down as simply as I can so you have a great foundation to begin with.
Carrie's beginners VA course, the Virtual Assistant Accelerator, goes much more in-depth on these points and more.
1. Choose Services to Offer Based On Your Skills and Interests
You may not think you have skills that you can use to be a virtual assistant. But I promise you, you do.
If you know how to use and post to Facebook, that's a skill right there!
Download and check out the list of 220+ virtual assistant ideas to get you started. This list is chock-full of ideas in many different industries, and most are beginner friendly.
Don't feel pressured to pick out a ton of different services – I would recommend choosing 1-3 services and focusing on them. It is best if the services relate to each other somehow or can be bundled.
In Carrie's course, she teaches in depth how to discover your skills and hidden talents and how to use them to choose the best services for you as a virtual assistant.
2. Establish Your Requirements
When you start thinking about becoming a virtual assistant, it always helps to begin with the end in mind.
Do you want to become a full-time virtual assistant so you can be fully location-independent? Or is this just a side hustle?
In either instance, you need to decide on exactly how much you want to bring in per month. You also need to decide how many hours you'd like to work.
This will help you create your packages and set your prices.
You want to create a sustainable income – not one that you struggle to meet each month. And you don't want to overwork yourself and risk burnout just to meet your goals.
3. Package and Price Your Services
After you've decided what services you want to offer, you will then need to decide on a package and pricing structure.
To package your services simply means to organize and explain them in a way that if you were talking to a potential client, they'd know exactly what they were getting. A package includes all tasks you will perform related to the service.
Not all services need a package, but many do. Packaging can help justify your pricing when a client sees all the things they are getting when they choose to work with you.
Pricing your services and packages depends on your services and your clients. For some things, like Facebook Page management, a monthly package price works better.
For other things, like monitoring a customer service live chat for X amount of hours, an hourly pricing might work better.
4. Update and Establish Your Social Media Presence
You will want to have a polished social media presence when you get ready to start working with clients. This isn't hard to do and will help loads in the long run.
You don't want a potential client snooping you on Facebook and finding embarrassing party photos you shared 4 years ago that you don't have set to private!
In addition to cleaning up and locking down your Facebook, you should have a polished LinkedIn presence. LinkedIn and Facebook can actually be great places to find clients.
In Carrie's beginners course, the Virtual Assistant Accelerator, Carrie teach exactly how to set up your social media profiles. Students also learn how to land clients using social media alone!
5. Get Clients and Get To Work!
There are many ways to get clients. As a beginner, the best ways to get clients are through networking and even using gig websites like UpWork.
Now, UpWork isn't the best to create a long-term sustainable income from in my opinion, but it will help you get some experience under your belt.
How To Get Your First Client as a New Virtual Assistant
It can feel daunting to get clients as a new virtual assistant.
I mean, how are you supposed to find people to pay you when you don't have any previous experience or testimonials?!
Getting the first client is always the hardest – but don't let that scare you away. Seriously, if I can do it, you can do it.
Sometimes your first client comes in the most unexpected of places. Mine was a friend!
Consider letting your close circle of family and friends know what you're doing and see if they (or anyone they know) might be able to use your services.
Another thing you can do is offer to do a short-term job for free in exchange for a review.
Alternatively, you can use job board websites like UpWork or FlexJobs to land your first freelance clients.
Online Virtual Assistant Course for Beginners
This article outlines how you can become a virtual assistant with no experience. These are the exact steps I took when I became a virtual assistant. They're the exact steps anyone who becomes a VA will take!
If you want to learn more about becoming a virtual assistant, I encourage you to check out Carrie's course: The Virtual Assistant Accelerator.
This course is a step-by-step journey to becoming a virtual assistant for beginners.
In the course, you will learn how to:
- Assess and identify skill sets you ALREADY have
- Learn how to use those skills along with your interests to choose services to offer
- How to narrow down your service ideas based on learning how profitable and in-demand they are
- Learn how to cope out your competitors to come up with profitable packages and pricing ideas
- How to create your packages and set your rates – with examples
- Learn how to get clients
- How to market yourself
Bonuses include:
- A List of 45 Facebook Groups for Networking and Getting Clients
- Bonus Lesson: Getting paid
- How to Avoid Scams: A Checklist
- 20 Websites to Find Virtual Assistant Job Opportunities
- Bonus Lesson: Learning New Skills to Charge More Money
- & A Private Student Facebook Group
As a student, you get instant access to the course and you will have lifetime access. This includes access to all future upgrades and additional lessons I will be adding in the future for no additional cost.
I've been told that I'm crazy to offer this course for just $37… but I really want it to be accessible to anyone who wants to become a virtual assistant.
Of course, there are many other VA courses out there. But the ones I've found charge anywhere from $199/mo to a 1-time payment of $397, $497, or more. I'm sure the courses are amazing, but those price points are out of many people's budgets.
Learning How to Become a Virtual Assistant
You don't have to take a course to become a virtual assistant. It's not a requirement, it's just a helpful stepping stone. If you follow the steps I laid out here in this post and are prepared to do your own research, you can totally be successful.
A course is a helpful tool to get access to training and information you wouldn't have otherwise. And, to be able to be in direct contact with people with experience for guidance and answers to questions.
The Virtual Assistant Accelerator is great if you are just starting out and need help learning what skills you have, what services you should offer, how to price them, and how to get your first clients. If that's what you're looking for, then join me inside!
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