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How to become a Virtual Assistant in 2024 (Tips, Tools & More)

ビクターミラー

Being a Virtual assistant is among the most sought-after careers today.

Especially during the pandemic outbreak, people don’t want to expose themselves outside. That is why they transition from being office workers to full-time virtual assistants.

Who would not love working from home and being your own boss? Being a VA is a wonderful career opportunity that gives work-life balance. It also offers flexibility and continuous upskilling.

If you want to be one, this article will guide you through the ins and outs of being a virtual assistant.

仮想アシスタント

仮想アシスタントとは何ですか?

A Virtual Assistant (VA) is a person that works for a client. VAs supports the client’s business from a remote location.

Being a VA entails that you are a self-employed person performing various tasks. These include administrative, technical, sales, or marketing tasks for a company.

This means all you do for a client or its business is done online. Thus, permitting you to work anywhere you want as long as you are connected to a reliable internet.

In most instances, VAs provide support for business owners. That means they maintain their clients’ calendars and daily schedules.

They also respond to emails and gather data on sales targets before meetings. Furthermore, they do tasks like ordering food for their employees on-site.

Some virtual assistants wind up doing technical tasks. This task includes running many programs to locate leads and business possibilities. This also involves planning social media postings, email campaigns, and monitoring marketing data.

You can choose your niche or specialization. But, before applying for a job as a VA, you should have an idea of the tasks you feel comfortable with.

What Skills should Virtual Assistant have?

A client can delegate any tasks to a virtual assistant. If you’re a VA, you may sometimes carry out a few particular duties only for the owner.

In other situations, you could be an essential component of core business operations. You could also have a sense of belongingness to the team.

Being a virtual assistant enables you to be adaptable. Explore various tasks and challenges before specializing in the ones you prefer. But, the tasks assigned to you would also depend on your skills.

If you’re a VA or planning to be a VA, here are some of the key skills you need to have.

1. コミュニケーションスキル。 A VA should have exceptional communication skills because most clients only speak English. Outstanding oral and written communication skills are essential to have.

This is because as a VA you will be handling emails, reports, and presentations. You do phone calls which are all key ways in which businesses converse with clients.

Knowing how to write well is always going to be an amazing skill to have.

2. Good Decision-Making. Since virtual assistants frequently have to make quick decisions, decision-making skills are fundamental.

A VA will have to decide on the best course of action or think outside the box to come up with a workable solution.

If the company owner is not available to address queries or concerns, the VA comes to the rescue. If an issue emerges, a VA may also need to think. This showcases their ability to digest information quickly.

3. カスタマーサービス。 A virtual assistant should have exceptional customer service skills. This skill helps VA to better work with clients and customers.

Thus, a VA should maintain composure in all circumstances. They should perform well under pressure.

Additionally, a VA should communicate clearly over the phone or via email. They can go above and beyond to make a welcoming experience for both the client and the business.

4. Computer Skills. Since computers are used in every VA work, it’s essential that every VA have more advanced computer skills than the bare-minimum. being able to switch on a computer and run a few programs is insufficient.

Clients need VAs to have an excellent working knowledge of software applications. They need to learn Microsoft 365, Access, Excel, and Powerpoint. If you are an aspiring VA, you have to study these tools.

Additionally, having access to the internet and the ability to conduct online research are both crucial. Virtual assistant tasks frequently develop into providing project support.

This can be done by looking up contacts, companies, and other information that will help the business.

Sometimes clients need maintenance and help for their business website or database system. In that case, they need advanced internet abilities.

Having these skills may increase the value of virtual assistants. This skill is also typically specified as a separate skill need.

5. Love For Continuous Learning. As a business owner, your client aspires to reach the point where a VA can work with less supervision. And to do that, a VA should be able to show that they are eager to pick up new skills.

According to a proverb, no matter how hard you work, if you don’t love what you do, you won’t prosper. With this mindset, you’ll have the chance to take on more precise jobs.

A virtual assistant who seeks out new learning opportunities can succeed in his chosen niche.

仮想アシスタント

Here are some of the most common specializations or services a VA provides:

General Administrative. If you’re a General Admin VA, your tasks include managing a calendar or sorting emails. You may also take phone calls, schedule meetings, and perform other duties.

プロジェクト管理。 Some VAs manage projects for company owners. You will arrange meetings and gather updates from the team.

You will write reports on the project’s development. You can also be in charge of making sure projects are completed on schedule and within budget.

簿記。 Every business needs financial support. Smaller businesses may need help with processing payments.

Tasks include confirming expenditures, payroll, and developing monthly budget statements. This can be a nice place to start if you’re strong with statistics and business.

コンテンツライティング。 Some VAs are also tasked to write content for the business’ site such as blog posts. Additionally, VAs can also be tapped to work on writing web pages and other related content.

Eコマース。 Virtual assistants are frequently used by e-commerce businesses. Tasks include helping with managing existing orders. VAs may also work on locating customer tracking numbers, and managing inventory.

ソーシャルメディア。 Social media management includes scheduling and posting on social media. Tasks are responding to comments and assuring the company’s good online presence.

In this niche, VAs are also required to have the basics of graphic editing to be able to edit photos well.

Additionally, as a VA, you may be also tasked to do social media marketing campaigns. In this task, you set expenditure limits for campaigns.

You choose ad targets or take ad campaign reports. Furthermore, compile the necessary information for your boss.

Do you need Training to be a Virtual Assistant?

As long as you put in the effort, you can be a VA. You just have to learn on the job and have the ability to get better.

There is no formal training needed to succeed in a VA career. But, some specialized industries might mandate VAs to take more online courses.

This helps to better equip them to handle the particular difficulties of the work.

仮想アシスタント

Tools and Resources for Virtual Assistant

If you’re a VA or an aspiring VA, you need to have tools that help you manage your daily workloads.

You should have resources that will help you get more productive each day. It’s essential that you have the appropriate tools for the work as a virtual assistant.

First of all, the phrase “Virtual Assistant” refers to a wide variety of jobs. Even yet, the majority of the top VA professionals may optimize their productivity utilizing the same tools and resources.

タイムトラッキングツール

It’s likely that you work from home if you’re a virtual assistant.

Traditionally, businesses would track your daily log-in and log-out activities using biometrics. But now that you work remotely, your client needs the means to know how many hours you’ve spent on projects.

If you work as a freelancer, you may want to be paid on an hourly basis. But, if you work for a BPO firm, you’ll typically get a fixed bi-weekly salary.

You also need a time tracker that includes a task tracker. Additionally, the app needs to support exporting reports in case users want a backup.

Accounting and Financial Tools

If you are a VA specializing in accounting and finance, you need tools to do tasks like invoicing. Some of these said tools are QuickBooks & FreshBooksは.

Tools for Documents

In any business, documentation plays a vital role. Proper documentation is important. This is to safeguard all the important facts and information of clients’ businesses.

Thus, VAs should have tools that could quickly edit, process, and distribute papers.

These tools include but are not limited to Microsoft Office Programs, Googleドキュメント, シート, スライド, HelloSign.

グラフィックデザインツール

Clients may occasionally request basic graphic designs. This can be for their websites, online stores, or other purposes.

It’s likely that you are already familiar with these tools if you work in the graphic design niche.

One of these tools that are gaining popularity nowadays is Canva. What makes Canva the best is its free feature.

But, if you want to use other features, then you can upgrade your account and just have to pay a small premium fee. But, mostly, everything you basically need to edit a graphic is present in its free version.

SEO Tools for Virtual Assistant

VAs are writers too. If content writing is your niche, then these SEO tools are a must-have. This helps in optimizing your output for Google’s Search Engine.

Although SEO might seem overwhelming at first, it will get easier as you pursue learning.

The most fundamental rule for SEO is a working knowledge of keywords. You can do this by utilizing tools like SEMRush, Ahrefsまたは MOZ. You must pay a monthly charge to make use of these products’ full features.

To get suggestions for long-tail and short-tail keywords, you can also use free plugins like どこでもキーワード.

How to Market Your Skills to Get More Clients?

There are various ways to get clients. You may want to create an account for アップワーク & Fiverr. These two platforms are the most popular and are commonly used by VAs around the world.

In creating your account, you can include a video of yourself, specifying your past experiences and your skills.

You should also include your portfolio. You can also get more clients at フリーアップ & OnlineJobs.ph. Make your profile appealing and of course realistic to catch clients’ attention. Take note that you do not have to lie to get clients.

Honesty is always the best attitude a VA should have. In marketing your skills, that’s where honesty starts.

Expert Virtual Assistants on how new VAs can get new clients:

Sonnie

“New VAs have to equip themselves with skills that are valuable in the field or niche they chose and be able to clearly present what they can do to help the client.”Sonnie Lyn Contreras

“Continue to develop your skills so that you can solve client’s problems. You can also get new clients by explaining how you can add value to the company. When looking for clients, don’t just focus on one platform.”Fredeliza Espiritu

Fredeliza Espiritu

How to Keep Clients Happy

A happy client is a happy gain.

どうして?

If you make your client happy, that simply means you were able to help him in his business and that is both a gain to you and your client.

Below is a list of simple ways that will help build strong client relationships.

  • 絶え間ないコミュニケーション
  • Understanding Their Business Needs and Goals
  • 上に行くと超えて
  • Working With Honesty and Integrity
  • Valuing Your Client’s Point of View
  • 信頼関係の構築
  • 適切な時間管理
  • Taking Decisive Action
  • Establishing Unique Relationships

Expert Virtual Assistants on how to keep clients happy:

Sonnie

“Identify what they need and the problem, and help them fix it. Always try to go above and beyond the client’s expectations.”Fredeliza Espiritu

“Be proactive and solution-focused! Clients hire VAs because they need help.”Sonnie Lyn Contreras

Sonnie

How to Charge Clients so you Earn what you are Worth?

Let’s go right to the point here. Everyone wants to have a job they love. But, it’s much better to have a job that pays the bills. And of course, lets you go on vacations without emptying your pocket!

How much money do virtual assistants actually make?

Salary and hourly rates for independent virtual assistants might vary considerably. You can expect to start out in the $5–$12 per hour range for many entry-level positions and skills, such as data entry.

But you can always raise your pay as you specialize.

For more complex work like customer support, email handling, WordPress maintenance, and other tasks, VAs can charge $15 to $25 per hour.

Higher rates for independent administrative VAs range from $30 to $35 per hour.

That said, your earnings will vary on what niche you are in.

At the start of your VA career, if you are not making enough, you can always check other ways to make money online till your career gets on a steady path.

Working with an Agency vs. Going Solo

ビジネス owners can have a difficult time deciding whether to hire a VA directly from a VA agency or look for an independent VA to assist them.

The virtual assistant market is growing. The gig economy continues to thrive and more and more people find themselves exploring a remote work lifestyle.

You may have made up your mind that you’re done with the 9 to 5 job where you’re chained to a desk.

But now, you have to choose whether to start your new career as an independent VA or with an agency. Of course, each has advantages and disadvantages, so let’s examine them all to choose which route is best for you.

If you are an independent VA, you are your own boss. That means you run the show. You can set your own time and rate depending on your and your client’s agreement.

You will get 100% of what you earn. But, you’ll have to possibly enrol yourself in specialization courses at your own cost.

If you work for an agency, that means they can provide free training and specialization courses for you. They will help you find a client as well.

To compensate for that, most agencies take 20% of what you earn. For example, if you earned $1000 in a month, you will only receive 80% of it which is equal to $800.

If you are new to the VA world and haven’t gotten enough resources yet, going to an agency may benefit you.

Working as a VA gives a level of freedom and independence that you just can’t get within the walls of a regular office structure.

Determine which path is best for you by assessing your needs and future aspirations, and then take the path where you belong!

手短に

How to become a virtual assistant is the most significant question you’ve asked yourself.

Fortunately, the VA world is highly known and in demand, making it simpler than ever. After creating your profile and résumé, browse for businesses that need a VA’s support.

Because there is such a strong need for excellent VAs, it is that easy. And you enjoy all the advantages, like the freedom to work remotely and the chance to meet potential clients where you wish to work.

Highlight your abilities, flaunt your communication skills, and show that you are ready to get to work right away.

We hope this article guides you in finding your first virtual assistant career. It will also help in taking the initial step toward working as a Virtual Assistant.