Virtual Assistants are considered to be one of the most trending jobs right now – and this is all because of the rapid growth of online businesses. There are a lot of companies looking for help virtually. In this article, I will be discussing the ways of starting a Virtual Assistant business.
Keep reading till the end to find out more information about the same!
About Virtual Assistant Business
The first step to learning ways of becoming a virtual assistant is determining exactly what the right position for you is. Virtual Assistants are also called VAs – and this just means you are going to be essentially a self-employed person who does technical, sales, and administrative jobs.
In the majority of instances, the Virtual Assistants provide support for the various business leaders. This also means keeping up with the daily schedule and calendar of a person. You need to make appointments and respond to calls, events, and such.
Steps To Opening Up A Virtual Assistant Business
Here is a list of steps to follow for opening up a virtual assistant business:
1. Decide On The Services To Offer
Virtual Assistant is also sometimes referred to as VA and can refer to a broad range of offered services – whether for an individual or a business. Before getting started with the business you need to clearly define the services which you are exactly going to offer and also the ones that you clearly won’t.
2. Write Down A Business Plan
This rule is to be followed just like any other business available out there. A written plan is a must. Consider your business plan as a living document that needs adjustment as and when needed. Your business plan should include the following points – your offerings and services, mission statement, the way you are going to market yourself, and an outline of the expenses (prediction).
3. Get To Know The Legalities
It is very important to decide how you are going to operate your business. Certain tax and legal obligations get applied mandatorily to any business available out there. You are also going to have to decide the way of operating your business – whether as an LLC or a sole proprietor. You could even choose to operate as a corporation.
Most of the VAs choose the way of sole proprietorship for these types of businesses.
4. Get Your Portfolio
Since the work is solely related to the role of being a virtual assistant – which automatically indicates that the nature of work is going to be remote, having a strong online presence becomes very crucial.
There are various sites like Fiverr and Upwork – where you would be able to get a start on your client base. This step becomes very important for people who are just starting with no prior experience. But just so you know, the third-party sites take up about twenty percent of your earnings – which would essentially cut down your revenue.
To start with, opt for those freelancing sites, and then later on you can create your site – even though that takes a bit of work. After you have built a successful reputation, you will be able to get clients to come to your site for business just as easily.
5. Set Pricing For Your Services
Since the nature of work is such that the VAs do a wide variety of tasks, you might want to offer different pricing services and models. It would be beneficial for you if you decide and set your mind on the type of work that you want to offer and have a set pricing that you want to charge for your offered services.
You would also want to make sure that your clients have full flexibility in the way they are paying for your services.
Try setting up the pricing of your work on the following categories – project-based fees, package fees (includes a lot many related works/projects), and hourly charges.
6. Get Working
When you are done getting your clients, you need to maintain your quality in providing them services. This would be the ideal way of building up a positive reputation. After you get a set client base, you would still need to maintain the quality of your work as the reputation of a business can be easily destroyed in a matter of seconds.
Most In-Demand Virtual Assistant Services
Here is a list of some of the most in-demand services related to this job role:
Taking Of Customer Calls
Many companies outsource their phones as a form of administrative tasks. For this type of job, you are going to get a number and then have to make calls.
Cold Calling
Cold Calling refers to when you call up people and try to get them interested in the services and products that a business is selling.
Social Media Marketing
Every business needs a presence on social media, but rarely any business has time to apply that to their marketing tactics. You will be given the responsibility to promote the products and services of a business on various social media handles.
Customer Scheduling
Small business owners usually hire people who are VAs to help them out with their daily assigned tasks.
To Wrap It Up!
If you are looking towards getting started with Virtual Assistant business then by all means go ahead with it as it is a highly profitable niche. That was all for information regarding the ways of starting a virtual assistant business.
Thank you for reading up till here. I hope you found the information regarding getting started with the Virtual Assistant business useful.
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