In order to become a great virtual assistant, the key is to learn the job well. You must always be willing to show your creativity and talent to impress your client.
Since most businesses get digitize, virtual assistants are a breath of fresh air to businesses and the corporate world. This outsourcing of professional service has invented pools of specialties and niche service providers around the globe.
Who is a Virtual Assistant?
Virtual assistants also referred to as VA, are great hires and valuable assets for businesses. And as the name implies, they are online assistants who navigate online systems. However, they are not employees but are persons who help simplify and accomplish administrative chores. They are just like an extension of business owners and a culmination of hopes for their personal lives and businesses.
Qualities of a Valuable Virtual assistant
The pursuit of excellence in a career, especially Virtual assistant, might be difficult but achievable. It is unrealistic to assume you know how to do everything. What is required is the ability to find the right information to work with when necessary.
There is no rule book or an all-inclusive list trait that compels you to stick to a specific work routine to be a successful virtual assistant. But few essential qualities can help you stand out among pools of professionals out there.
Good communication
Communicate effectively with accurate spelling and grammar. Excellent communication is not solely based on writing and speaking proficiency, but the potential to relay and convey messages without ambiguities. This theme also cut across the ability to manage multiple means of communication, such as videos, text messages, and several chatting platforms.
Reliability
For you to survive in a competitive market, no matter the qualifications you have, integrity is the primary key. If clients can’t rely on you when given a task, then you are at the risk of losing clients. It is unprofessional to be reminded of deadlines and what to do. Simple work ethics can save you a lot in your virtual assistant business.
Responsiveness
Being responsive connotes receiving instruction and responding to clients favorably. While representing your client, it is imperative to be responsive to sustain the necessity of the clients you earned. A valuable virtual assistant must be a great internet handler, apt to respond to requests and emails.
Time management
Self-discipline in terms of time factor is at the core of a successful Virtual Assistant. What’s more, if you easily lose track of time and have no control over how you spend your time? Time management helps to meet up with the client’s deadlines. That implies you must be organized to handle both your calendar schedule and that of your clients.
Resourcefulness
A successful virtual assistant ensures he moves on top of events happening in both his industry and world of technology at large. Most clients don’t expect you to know everything but presume you are willing to learn from a new industry. You don’t have to know it all but must be equipped with a system that enables you to find everything. With this specialization, you can adapt to any working environment.
Flexibility
Flexibility is what differentiates an administrative assistant from a virtual assistant. In a traditional office setting, an administrative assistant manages and distributes information within an office. While a virtual assistant performs a variety of tasks that range from repetitive tasks to more specialized projects from home or anywhere to ensure accuracy in the routine task. As a VA, you need to be time and work flexibly.
Ability to multitask
To be realistic, you must never allow a client to see your sweat. Funny right, but that is true. Research apparently says it’s inefficient to multitask, but that is what being a virtual assistant is about. Of course, you need to focus on the task at hand, but there might be multiple clients who think they are your most important priority.
Sometimes, you might be muddled in the middle of tasks by different clients, which must be done without a client feeling you are incompetent. These are tasks that demands organization, and efficiency but critical for your success. The basic rule that can help you get along is to work smart.
Consistency and growth
Just like every entrepreneur, Virtual assistant also experiences good and bad times. What is important is how much you give yourself to constant learning and developing interpersonal skills. Adherence to simple work principles and values allows you to enhance your technical competence. In no time, you will realize your list of clients keeps evolving for being committed to personal and professional growth.
What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?
Virtual assistants are originally designed to work remotely but now found on-site based on their choice of work and field of expertise. In today’s world, they are hired to do anything in all facets of growing and operating a business.
Theoretically, they can do almost anything and certainly meet the needs of their client without compromising their quality. Though utilizing modern technologies can help manage businesses, a virtual assistant is more effective in optimizing daily operations and exploring the world market. Interestingly, virtual assistants are flexible, and there is no limit to what they can do.
They specialize in several fields, though they may sometimes be limited due to lack of training and experience in a full range of tasks. But at their core, they help business owners to free up time and manage aspects of businesses remotely.
When people think about being a virtual assistant, what comes to the mind is managing calendars and emails, managing social media platforms, data entry, appointment scheduling, customer service, lead generation, travel arrangements, and online reputation management.
Logically, the functional area of virtual assistants covers humongous expertise because they are widely distributed over different sectors. They do the majority of non-core tasks and drives businesses to grow.
Who Hires a Virtual Assistant, and Why?
There are many diverse backgrounds and expertise in a virtual assistant profession, which has created a space for people from all walks of life. Therefore, those who use their services are business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, freelancers, bloggers, official executives, and persons compelled to do or have a countless number of tasks to carry out daily.
The convergence of pressure prompts most business owners to hire virtual assistants. It helps them to free up their valuable time and elevate their productivity and businesses. They also hire to track their calendar and stay at the top of their social engagement. And for some good reasons, hiring a virtual assistant is more efficient compared to a full-time in-office assistant.
How Much Can You Make as a Virtual Assistant?
It all depends on how much time you spend working as a VA on a day by day basis. Some VA’s only work at nights and some are doing it full-time. According to Indeed.com, Virtual assistants make an average of 16.36 per hour. Others can easily make more than that just like this Virtual Assistant who makes $10.000 per month working from home.
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Steps on How to Become a Virtual Assistant
It is quite difficult and tricky to realize where to begin, especially if you are a newbie. You could be sure you are ready to give it a shot but still feel you have not hit upon the things you ought to have done. Here are simple steps that can guide you to kick start your virtual assistant business.
Step 1: Learn necessary administrative skills
If you want to work as a Virtual Assistant, general knowledge of everything on the internet is an excellent way to start. Although if you have the administrative and clerical skills, it’s a plus, you don’t need to have experience before you become a virtual assistant. Give yourself to learning for you to earn and explore your area of expertise.
Step 2: Discover your skillset and pick a niche
Don’t do anything you are not adept at, the more reason why you should pick a niche. As a starter, you might be urged to do all-purpose, but that might not help you grow. Focus on your skillset and your area of specialties; that is where your strength lies. You can discover your skillset by identifying your interests and passion.
That does not mean you will get a perfect fit but will surely guide you towards the drive within to persevere. Picking a niche helps you to focus on a specific target audience, identify your clients, and figure out profitability.
Step 3: Market yourself
Being a VA simply mean you are also a business owner. What should be on your priority checklist is acquiring clients and generating revenue. The more reason why you should work on letting people know about your existence. One of the best tools to market yourself is your mouth.
Pitch new prospects every day and share with people face-to-face once you get the opportunity. Every other thing, such as family connections, networking, newsletters, and referrals, will follow. Probably, it may take time and effort, but the best way to get clients.
Step 4: Build a vital working relationship with clients
All potential clients crave positive interaction, which is the foundation of every good relationship. A virtual assistant is expected to start a good conversation from interviews, which will enable your clients to build trust. Get to know how they work and set regular check-ins with your client during your projects. Deliver expectations and ask for feedback. Most importantly, understand your capacity and be honest with your client if you have any limitations.
Step 5: Build a portfolio
There is a high level of competition in every niche of businesses today, and if you want to stand out, you must attain a professional qualification. You need not be perfect to perform a task assigned to you, but you must be proactive and versatile. Being a newbie, you might not have a sample of work yet. You can try mock ones. Quality contents are what attracts a potential client, so quality over quantity is the goal.
Step 6: Wrap up a legal agreement
When you hear chilling stories from experienced virtual assistants, you will realize the usefulness of a contract agreement. The reason for the need of a contract agreement is to prevent conflict. It goes through a negotiation process to ensure you and your clients get the best deal.
In a virtual assistant independent contract agreement, you have the liberty to spell out policies, length of engagement, payment terms, and termination provisions. There are agreement templates online that will suite the terms and conditions of your demands.
Step 7: Invest your time and efforts
Ultimately, a virtual assistant is responsible for the efficient and smooth day-to-day operation of their client. Everyone wants to be a game-changer, isn’t it? And for it to be a reality, do things that make a significant impact in your Virtual Assistant business. Expand resources where necessary, and set achievable goals.
Step 8: Create an online presence
If you are going to be providing virtual assistant services, it makes sense that you establish an online presence. Both the website and social media platform are two tools to make you a click away from your clients. It is advisable to search for that one that has your client’s dominance rather than juggle multiple social media platforms. Look for opportunities that channel you towards your prospective clients and never jump into groups or community to promote yourself.
Is Being a Virtual Assistant Worth It?
As a valuable virtual assistant, there is umpteen number of routines and administrative tasks to do. Juggling all these might be nothing short of a nightmare, but the higher the varieties of tasks you can handle, the better. It may seem like a difficult task, but easier if you know the exact thing to do.
The most rewarding part of being a virtual assistant is creating your schedule, meeting, and working with folks from all over the world. You can’t beat that!
Choosing your clients and setting your hours is more fun. And the communication education and cultural value you get from clients you earned are quite incredible.
Ultimately, you can design yourself an amazing way of life and work from anywhere in the world. So, yes, it is worth your time and energy. When you stare at your hard work and achievement, it’s astonishing and magical.
Conclusion
Virtual assistants will remain in high demand as long as business owners need support to keep operating at its highest competency. There are a plethora of things that a virtual assistant can do efficiently, the reason why businesses outsource virtual assistant services. In this era that has the gig economy as one prominent part, being a virtual assistant gives you an experience of everything.
