A boss can’t function well without a secretary who takes care of his calendar, emails, phone calls, and follow-ups. A virtual assistant does a wide variety of jobs, from menial data entry, typing, and transcription to social media management, e-commerce assistance, and website maintenance.
You can become a virtual assistant if you are resourceful, dependable, multitasking, and proactive. If you want to know how to become a virtual assistant, you’ve come to the right place.
Table of Contents
What is a virtual Assistant?
A virtual Assistant (VA) is an independent self-employed individual or a full-time employee of a VA company stationed remotely to assist businesses in performing their daily tasks. Virtual assistants are primarily part-time employees, but some companies can recruit them for long-term contracts.
Virtual assistants assist businesses in performing daily tasks and ease the workload. Companies can focus more on more significant ideas than everyday menial work.
What does a Virtual Assistant do?
A virtual assistant is one of the most in-demand jobs. People are shifting from employed to self-employed and small business owners. With the more new business, the demand for virtual assistants is growing.
But what does a virtual assistant do?
Virtual Assistants do anything and everything. They help businesses with administrative, technical, sales, and marketing tasks.
VAs can perform menial jobs (by menial, it means tasks requiring no advanced degree or skills) or advanced and technical works. Most of these tasks are repetitive and essential. The following are some of the functions that VAs perform.
- Maintaining spreadsheet, data entry, and research contents
- Managing invoices, bookkeeping, and keeping records
- Call handling and email organization
- Book travel arrangements and maintain schedules & Calendars
- Customer support and services
Some of the VA tasks that require skills and training are:
- Social media management, email marketing, and running ad campaigns
- Generating content and leads
- Keyword research
- Transcription
- Running a blog or assisting its technical aspects
- Graphics design
How Much Do Virtual Assistants Make?
The virtual assistant is a pretty decent job. You can earn between $12 to $15 an hour on a fundamental level. With unique skills, the rate can go up to $60 an hour.
According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual VA pay for those working from home is $58,057. It equates to $27.91 an hour. However, the pay range varies based on location, expertise, and experience. There is an opportunity to grow in this industry.
Nebraska and California are the States that are on the top of the list of highest-paying Virtual Assistant jobs.
| City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
| Atkinson, NE | $72,929 | $35.06 |
| San Francisco, CA | $72,629 | $34.92 |
| Bolinas, CA | $72,629 | $34.92 |
| San Jose, CA | $68,230 | $32.80 |
| Frankston, TX | $68,162 | $32.77 |
| Jackson, WY | $67,284 | $32.25 |
| Diamond Ridge, AK | $67,284 | $32.25 |
| Hayward, CA | $66,125 | $31.79 |
| Barnstable Town, MA | $65,958 | $31.71 |
| Seattle, WA | $65,936 | $31.70 |
A small data entry virtual assistant job pays from $8 to $12 an hour. A mid-range technical job requiring basic technical skills can earn up to $15 an hour. If you want to make over $30, you have to learn industry skills and technical certification.
How to Become a Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants perform a wide variety of tasks. Most of these tasks are time-specific or meticulous. Therefore you must be willing to pay attention to details if you want a career as a Virtual Assistant.
The VA work can be overwhelming but follow the simple steps to become a virtual assistant. These steps will also help you before a virtual assistant without any experience.
Determine Your Interest And Skills
If you’re looking for a career in virtual assistant, you should pick the industry of your interest. It also applies to any other job. If your job aligns with your interest and skill set, you have a better chance to grow, advance your career and increase your pay. You’ll not only get the job done but also will enjoy doing it.
You should find what you’re good at and never get tired of doing it. You may be attentive to details, great at communication, or good with computers. You should find your passion and pursue a similar VA subcategory.
Take Training
Training helps build knowledge and improve skill sets. We should always be learning and evolving in our industry. Training will help you get your boots on the ground, and through experience, you excel.
You should get training for your daily tasks as a virtual assistant. Having a certification through training shows one’s dedication and willingness to learn. It sets you apart from others and will ultimately help you get hired.
Know Your Worth
We all must research and know the actual value of our knowledge and skills. Knowing what you’re worth helps you negotiate for compensation. A quick research on the job posting online will give a basic idea about how much you can charge for your services.
You should never sell yourself short.
Structure Your Business
Most virtual assistants are freelancers or independent contractors. They are self-employed and do their taxes. Whether doing this as a side hustle or your full-time income, you should consider it a business. And it would be best if you structured it as a business.
And it is a business!
You have to document your expenses and do your taxes. You’re responsible for your insurance. Therefore, it’s best to structure your virtual assistant business from an early phase.
Setup Online Presence
Nowadays, everyone and everything is on the interweb, so it should be your business too. Setting up an online presence helps get you and your services noticed. That’s how a potential client finds you.
You can create a custom website about your services and promote it on Social media. You push out content related to your industry and what you offer. You should also follow the businesses that you’d like to get work for as a virtual assistant.
Job Hunt
Freelancers are expected to hit 865 million by 2027 in the US. Therefore, the demand for virtual assistants is growing. You can see many virtual assistant job postings on Indeed and Zip recruiter almost daily.
You can start your job search online through Zip recruiter or indeed.com. LinkedIn is also an excellent place to showcase your expertise. Recruiters will reach out to you if you’ve set up your LinkedIn profile correctly. Career fairs, friends and family, and business outreach will help you find a virtual assistant job.
Go Above And Beyond
You should go full force once you land your first job because the first impression is the last.
People are always appreciative of a job well done. If you go above and beyond on your first job, it will guarantee the renewal of current contracts and acquisition of future contracts
Taxes
Taxes are always saved for the last minute when they are due, but as a small business owner, you should always consider taxes from day one. The best time for tax planning is the beginning of the year.
Proper tax planning helps you keep most, if not all, of the money earned. You’re still required to file (disclose) taxes even if you didn’t make anything. Therefore, always log your expenses for tax deductions.
The Bottom Line
A virtual assistant may seem like a low-key career, but it has the potential to earn six figures. Climbing up the ladder may not be easy, but it is possible. People would want to hire you if you’re motivated, enthusiastic, and go above and beyond with your service. The business will pay extra if you let them believe you are worth every penny.
The steps to becoming a high-paying virtual assistant may not be easy. Still, if you follow the simple steps of choosing the proper pay, training, and professionalism, you’ll land the perfect VA position you’ve ever dreamt of. Now go on and start working on your skills. I wish you all the best.
