What is a Virtual Assistant and How do I Become One?

A Virtual Assistant (VA) is a freelancer who provides services remotely, which means they work from anywhere! If you like to travel, you can bring your laptop along and work on the road. If you prefer to work from home on the sofa, in your home office or at a coffee shop, you can do that too!

WHAT DOES A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT DO EXACTLY?

This question gets me excited! Why? Because as a VA, you can do almost anything! That means you can offer services that you enjoy doing. Exciting, right?

How many times have you sat at your day job wishing you were doing something else? Something you enjoyed? As a VA you can choose the industry you work in, the clients you work with, and the types of services you offer.

You can offer services that are administrative, creative, technical, or a mixture of any of these.

Basically, if you have a specific skill, there’s probably someone willing to pay for it.

What types of services can a VA offer?

• Social media creation and management

• Blog maintenance

• Editing & proofreading

• Writing

• SEO

• Web Design

• Graphic Design

• Newsletter formatting

• Answering emails

• Project management

• Bookkeeping

So if you’re currently an Administrative Assistant, you could probably offer services similar to what you do at your job (that is, if you like what you’re doing). If you’re a writer, you can write and edit blog posts, newsletters, ebooks, or social media content. If you’re creative you can offer graphic design or web design services.

WHO’S HIRING VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS?

Let me ask you this – who do you want to work with? What type of industry do you want to work in? What does your ideal client do? These are important questions to ask yourself because you can choose who you work with!

Are you into healthy eating and fitness? You could work with health coaches and fitness professionals. Do you enjoy fashion? You could work with fashion bloggers or stylists. Do you love to write? You could work with authors.

Here are a few more ideas:

• Business coaches, life coaches and health coaches

• Online magazines/publishers

• Speakers

• Graphic Designers

• Web Designers

• Event Planners

• Artists

• Photographers

• Natural Healers

• Lawyers

• Accountants

• Realtors

Whether you’re right brained or left, there’s an industry out there for you. You’d be surprised how many people need your help.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs all over the world are looking for people to help them with their day-to-day tasks and special projects. Hiring a Virtual Assistant is a more cost effective solution than hiring an employee because the business owner doesn’t have to pay employee taxes or benefits. It’s also a great solution for small businesses that can’t afford to have a part or full time employee and only need someone to help occasionally or only a few hours a month.