How to Make Money as a Virtual Assistant

Did you know that you can make money at home as a virtual assistant (or “VA” as people call it)?

If this sounds foreign to you, that’s okay. No experience necessary. 🙂

First, let’s back up and I’ll explain what that even means…

What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?

As a VA, you’re paid for doing a variety of online tasks for someone else. VA work is completely remote, which makes it ideal for job flexibility.

Like freelance writing and blogging, being a virtual assistant is part of making money online.

The reason someone hires a virtual assistant is because she doesn’t have the time to do all of the tasks herself. She needs to outsource simpler tasks, which she can do with a VA.

Examples of tasks a VA does are: 1) schedule blog posts, 2) edit blog photos, 3) post on social media, 4) write and respond to emails, 5) conduct research for blog posts, and 6) anything else that can be done online for the blogger.

So, how much does a VA, you ask?

How Much Is a Virtual Assistant Paid?

A VA is paid hourly, usually. Sometimes, a VA is paid on a retainer.

Hourly rates vary. I’ve heard of VAs who make anywhere from $15–$100+ / hour.

And I know several full-time VAs who make a killing (like six-figures) just from VA work.

As you grow your client base, you can increase what you charge monthly, too.

I have one story I am dying to share with you about this… (spoiler alert – it’s pretty freaking amazing)!

Laura Went From Preschool Teacher to Full Time Virtual Assistant

There’s one VA story that is so inspiring I wanted to share it with you.

Laura Pennington was a 7th grade teacher in Baltimore City, which is a very rough area. She was barely making ends meet and she was miserable working from 5am to 5pm every day (teaching, lesson-planning, grading papers, calling parents, etc.).

At one point, Laura said, “Despite working overtime and doing 50-70+ hours a week, I was living paycheck to paycheck with no savings.”

The struggle was oh so real.

So, after being completely discouraged, Laura picked up some VA work on the side in an effort to make some extra cash.

It wasn’t long before Laura realized that all her office skills translated reallllly well into the world of being a VA. This was the point where Laura decided to bust her butt to get a lot of clients, work over time, and build up her work to the point that she could quit her job.

Since 2013, Laura has worked full-time for herself as a freelance virtual assistant and writer. Pretty freaking awesome.

As a soon-to-be military wife, Laura now works from anywhere, even when her family will have to move on the Navy’s orders.

It’s no surprise that over time, Laura has been able to broaden her skill set and raise her rates, often taking on roles as a project manager for other VAs.

My fav quote from Laura is this: “I had no background as a virtual assistant when I got started. The truth, however, is that most people already have skills in their arsenal that will work really well online! It’s all about how you position yourself.”

Even with no experience, Laura started small and kept going until she was making enough money to quit her job.

To top it off, Laura now teaches other people how to become a VA – just like she did.

How To Become a Virtual Assistant

There are two ways I know how to become a VA.

You can:

  1. Start taking on virtual assistant work on your own (totally doable, but may not be fast or necessarily the smartest move in your situation), or
  2. Take Your Way To VA, which will walk you through exactly how to launch your own VA business and make money almost immediately from it.

Option 1 – Become a VA yourself

If you what to start VA work yourself, here’s what I recommend:

  • Start a website (I can teach you how to start a website here)
  • Brand yourself as a virtual assistant
  • Advertise your services (post on social media and join Facebook groups where you can talk about what you do)
  • Apply for virtual assistant jobs on sites like Freelancer.com, and TaskRabbit.com

Option 2 – Take the course Your Way To VA

If you go with option 2, Laura Pennington will walk you through how to become a VA in her course, Your Way To VA (and here’s a special code for my readers — use the code NATALIEB to get 20% off).

In Your Way To VA, you’ll learn:

  • What a VA Is
  • How to Determine What to Offer
  • Packages To Offer
  • Hourly Vs. Project-Based Payments
  • Firing Clients
  • Types of VAs
  • Invoicing
  • How to Spend Your Time as a VA
  • Where to Find Clients
  • Preparing for a VA Interview
  • Offering Packages as a VA
  • Most Common Challenges VA’s Experience
  • How to Leave Your Day Job
  • How to Use Job Boards
  • Niching
  • Clients to Avoid

Needless to say, if you are serious about making money as a virtual assistant, Your Way To VA is the way to go.

I take blogging courses to hone my craft allll the time – and I haven’t regretted a single one. There’s something about a structured course that helps me take what I’m doing up a notch. So, I can’t recommend investing in this course enough.

A Final Note!

You can become a virtual assistant and make money from home, on your own schedule. Laura’s story is proof of that.

You don’t have to have experience (Laura didn’t). Like most things, hard work pays off.

To get started, learn how to start a blog and take Your Way To VA.