How to Become a Virtual Administrative Assistant

Freelancing and online business is growing exponentially right now, which is great news if you have administrative skills and want to work for yourself as a virtual assistant.

Kayla Sloan, a highly successful virtual assistant and creator of $10k VA was kind enough to agree to be interviewed and share her best tips for anyone who is interested in starting a new career as a virtual assistant.

What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?

Virtual assistants do lots of things!

There really is no one size fits all when it comes to offering virtual assistant services. The best definition I can give for a virtual assistant is a freelancer that offers services online.

From social media marketing to travel bookings and real estate services, VAs can do it all. Most often people think of a VA as being the same as an admin assistant in an office (except that VAs work virtually), which can be true but VAs can also do a lot more than that too.

Are Virtual Assistants in Demand?

YES! Absolutely. Like I said, there is a virtual assistant for just about every service you can think of.

And many entrepreneurs and small businesses (and sometimes even corporations) love working with them because they can often be “cheaper” than an employee, even if they’re being paid more per hour.

VAs are flexible, offer expertise in areas employees may not have, and more. Businesses may be able to hire a part-time VA instead of a full-time employee to get everything done that they need in their business.

Plus, they don’t have to provide a computer, office supplies, or office space for a VA, which saves them money and is a great incentive to hire a VA instead of an employee.

What Skills Does a Virtual Assistant Need?

When starting out, you really don’t need many skills besides good communication, determination, dedication, and the ability to stay organized.

If you can do a few simple things, like manage an email account, or a Facebook page, you can be a virtual assistant.

This makes it a great opportunity for people to get started without a ton of formal training since most of us already use email and social media personally and there aren’t really a lot of differences in how you’d use those same tools for business on behalf of your clients.

Once you start getting comfortable with some of those basics services, you may want to move on to more complex (higher paying) services by building more skills.

There are tons of courses for specific skills like email marketing, or you can take courses that help you become a project manager, online business manager, etc.

One perk I offer to Lifetime members of my $10K VA program is the ability to learn new skills and tools to stay up on the latest in the industry with our weekly live trainings. These are at no additional cost for lifetime members. 

Do You Need a Degree to Become a Virtual Assistant?

Nope! I know plenty of VAs who don’t have degrees at all. Others, like me, have a degree in a non-related field, which means it’s not even really being used in a VA business. That’s not to say that you can’t go to college if you want to, but it isn’t necessary. 

Can You Become a Virtual Assistant With No Experience?

Yes, you can. I did. And so did many of the students in my $10K VA course. Some didn’t even really know how to work a computer beyond just the basics, but they figured it out and are now booking clients and making money from home.

How Much Can I Charge as a Virtual Assistant?

When starting out, you could charge anywhere from $15-$20 an hour (or even more, depending on your skills and what you want to learn). As time goes on, and as you increase your skills, you can charge more. Some VA’s earn as much as $50 an hour.

What Equipment Do I Need to Work as a Virtual Assistant?

All you really need is a computer or laptop and a strong internet connection. That’s about it! The rest is really about your own dedication to make it work for you.

How Do Virtual Assistants Get Clients?

Lots of ways. You can pitch to people and companies directly via email or their social media channels. You can join virtual assistant Facebook Groups and pitch when someone posts that they need help. You can also work for virtual assistant companies to learn some new skills.

Note that I don’t really recommend job boards because I don’t like them and they seem scammy, but if you’re okay with weeding through the bad offers, you may find a gem or two. Just be aware that job boards are typically going to be much lower-paying than if you land your own clients with other methods.

How Can I Learn How to Start My Own Virtual Assistant Business?

If you want to go through a course and learn everything you need to know to get started, plus get access to exclusive job opportunities (for lifetime members,) you can always join my program $10K VA.

 If you want to do things on your own, I wrote a blog post on how to become a VA in just a few easy steps. However, it’s really just about figuring out what you want to offer, how much you want to charge, and then starting to pitch people!