9 Vital Lessons For Aspiring Virtual Assistants
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9 Vital Lessons For Aspiring Virtual Assistants
The satisfaction that comes with making money right in front of your laptop is next to none.
And…having to cut off daily commute to the office, or coping with a boss that breathes down your neck all the time could be a dream come true for some people.
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There is a new way to work in 2024.
Can you multitask, stay focused, work with no supervision, and deliver excellently on a task?
If you answered “YES!”, then you might want to consider working from home as a “Virtual Assistant”.
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Key Highlights
🎯 The demand for virtual assistants is still on the rise as small and mid-size businesses constantly request for virtual assistance.
🎯 The cost per hour for virtual assistants in countries like Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom continues to trend upwards.
🎯 The competition in the virtual assistance industry is also getting intense as top skills get retained.
🎯 Perseverance, excellence, and good social skills distinguish virtual assistants all over the globe.
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A virtual assistant (VA) gets paid to assist in administrative services or other technical tasks for his/her clients from a remote location, usually a home office.
Typical, the basic tasks a virtual assistant might perform include scheduling appointments, making phone calls, making travel arrangements, managing email accounts, etc.
More technical tasks may include web development, data science, graphics, email marketing, sale funnels, blockchain development, etc.
Even before the outbreak of Covid-19, the demand for virtual assistants has been on the rise and the average virtual assistant monthly salary continues to surge globally.
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These figures show that new talents are in high demand with the cost per hour also trending upwards.
If you’re considering aligning with the “new normal” way of work, then you possibly need to get in on the action quickly.
Many small and mid-size businesses that have online presence request virtual support with more than 26 industries demanding virtual assistants constantly.
But this demand breeds competition due to the widening of the market and the available rates are also competitive.
To succeed and stay at the top in the VA market that’s continuing to grow, you must continue to put your best foot forward.
I will outline and explain seven important lessons I’ve learned in my virtual assistance journey and perhaps you too can learn from them.
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1) Develop Your Core Skills
Your core skill is what gets you hired. This comes first and must be pruned alongside your social skills. I will talk about social skills much later.
Apart from knowing your way around your laptop or desktop, virtual assistance requires more than just the basics.
I will recommend developing skills that come more naturally to you, something you won’t struggle with. Some of these skills are innate and still in their raw form.
If sketching images or analyzing data resides within you, these underdeveloped skills could point towards graphic designing and data science respectively.
The reality is, there are no skills that are not in demand these days.
Surprisingly, a marketplace like Fiverr has a section for counseling. This may look awkward…but this appears to be what a buyer searched for on Fiverr and the company decided to include the keyword as a service on the platform.
Secondly, not all skills are “fast-sells” so take note of that. For instance, selling therapy on Fiverr or any other marketplace may be a good idea, but traction on such gigs may prove difficult unless you invest in targeted Ads.
Develop core skills that are in demand. Some examples are graphic designing, web & app development, blogging, social media management, data entry, content writing, etc. Check this post to see the Ulitmate List of Side Hustles that Trends in 2022.
2) Get into the Virtual Market
A core skill that is untapped, unutilized, and unpaid for dies over time.
You wouldn’t want this to happen to you, I wouldn’t either. The challenge for aspiring entrepreneurs is getting the very “first client”.
With no sale or job completed, there are no reviews to build a trust bank for more jobs to come in. So you need to push hard at this phase of your VA career by reaching out, offering free samples of your product or service, and sometimes cutting down your price to get your first deal.
A lot of people may disagree on cutting prices because that makes you look cheap and possibly make it look like you’d be delivering a substandard service.
The point is that you want to get your first client fast in a crowded marketplace with no reviews or a trust badge to your name.
You need to entice them one way or the other. Reviewing the prices of your gigs lower is just one way that has worked for me on Fiverr to get inquiries from clients in the first place.
Expanding your reach and getting into the market, join bustling platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, PeoplePerHour.
Be intentional about it, reach out to users through their inboxes, you could be lucky and get your first client early than you think.
3. Leverage on the Power of Referrals
Business deals don’t come on a platter of gold and as such strangers rarely get the deal.
What this means is that opportunities circulate within a closed group.
Have you ever wondered why a certain class of people keeps getting jobs, contracts, etc?
It’s the power of referrals.
Once you can break into the closely knitted group, you are certain to get referrals.
I’m also not insinuating that one should join a secret or fetish group, what I’m saying is that your expertise would speak for you when you make good use of opportunities that you’re given.
Always ask your clients to refer you to their friends, this goes a long way in keeping you in their minds when opportunities come up. You could see this post on ways to get high-quality referrals.
4. Paying Attention to Details
This skill is crucial when you are expected to work remotely and get the done delivered excellently.
Clients love it when their VA interprets their requests and execute them properly without having to correct them over and over again.
Clients will be very specific when it comes to describing how they would like things done and you must follow their instructions exactly as described.
While this job is flexible in many ways, attention to detail is an area where you’ll need to tighten up the screws to get your clients coming back to you for more jobs.
5) Proficient Social Skills
Busy Entrepreneurs are looking for someone who is friendly yet professional and who they can count on to respond when they need them.
Taking phone calls, emails and other messages in a timely and respectful manner is an easy and simple way to show your potential client you are a good candidate for the job.
While you may want to answer the phone, for example, you should avoid casual compliments It’s important to stay professional (this is your job remember!) And your tone should reflect that you are serious about assisting your client.
Always go the extra mile, your clients will love you for that and would come back to you when the need arises.
6) Getting Organized
This is key to meeting up with a schedule, managing pressure, and delivering your task excellently.
Virtual assistance tasks could also include helping clients set up meetings, conference calls, or events. You might be able to help them organize their data or content to increase their efficiency and accuracy.
The chances are that you have more than one client you do daily tasks for, how do you then manage your calendar and timing to meet up, it’s all about getting your day organized.
Your future clients need to spend their precious time focusing on their skills and passions, so they need someone like you to help them keep everything in order.
You are responsible for the efficiency in their job or business and you should take the responsibility by ensuring a proper organization of their work life.
An excellent organizational skill can significantly reduce errors, missed deadlines, loss, etc.
7) Commitment
Being committed is having a positive mindset and the commitment to achieving your VA career goals.
Being an average virtual assistant just means accomplishing what was simply asked without taking the initiative to go beyond.
Commitment means owning the work done, controlling projects, giving feedback on how things might be improved, and pointing out anything that requires attention. It is more common now that virtual assistants are expected even to assume managerial responsibilities.
As work-from-home schemes have become the norm to many, virtual assistants are no longer confined to minor tasks.
More businesses have now promoted virtual assistants to decision-making positions, transforming them from assistants to remote managers.
8) Time management
When you get hired as a virtual assistant begins, you may not anticipate how busy your new role will be. Working as a virtual assistant has several benefits, but it also introduces new challenges.
You must manage time and do what really matters first.
When work piles up, you must be ready to take on new tasks. You must have time management strategies to organize your busy schedule.
The main reason most business people hire a virtual assistant is to get more tasks done within the shortest time possible.
Time management is very crucial as it will unveil your professionalism.
Below are tips that could help in ensuring proficient use of time.
- Schedule tasks according to priority.
- Work in a conducive place.
- Set a time for each task.
- Stick to the schedule.
- Take a regular break schedule.
- Keep a work journal.
9) Self-determination and Discipline
Determination and discipline personality traits virtual assistants need to stay long and succeed in the market. Discipline is required to get up early and be ready for work even though you might be at home. Determination drives one to deliver high-quality results and be the best in the job.
It is most frustrating, especially in a virtual work environment, for team members to miss deadlines and screw up the overall organizational timeline. But this scenario can be avoided when virtual assistants keep to timelines.
To achieve high productivity, one must be driven and disciplined enough to avoid distraction.
Final Thoughts
Becoming a Virtual Assistant could be life-changing and a dream come true for a long of people that pursue it correctly.
Working as a virtual assistant comes with a lot of advantages, like a flexible schedule, the ability to pick your services, and unlimited earning potential. However, it also comes with disadvantages, like the necessity of constantly finding clients and needing to be motivated and driven enough to succeed.
With this style of work being the new normal, virtual assistants still have a load of benefits awaiting them in the long run as the cost per hour continues to rise.
