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 fave 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:
- 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
- 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.
A good VA is SO valuable. I think people underestimate how much value prompt responses and excellent organization can be to someone who is incredibly overwhelmed.
Stefanie O’Connell recently posted…What Millennials Need to Know About Net Worth
Amen to that!!
Hi Natalie!
I am amazed of all this information, I can’t believe this kind of work really exist. I am from Costa Rica and live in Costa Rica, I would love to do something like this. This is something that I do most of the time for myself or for friends and family. I love be surfing the internet looking for new information about anything, most of the time I look for things about healthy and beauty, I stadie Executive secretary bilingual, but I never had the opurtunity of work in this. I would like to know if this is somenthing that I can do here in Costa Rica. How could I get paid for my work? If most of the blogs are for other countries.
Hope you can let me know or guide about this?
Thank you,
Pao.
That’s great, Paola! I recommend taking Your Way to VA that I link to above. That way you can go “all-in” and really start making money asap.
This is Great! I will be taking advantage and looking into becoming a VA. I’m a single mom and my income is the only income. I little extra money won’t hurt. In fact it will allow me to invest further into my daughters future and activities. Yay! Thank You Natalie for yet another awesome post.
-Berenice
You’re most welcome, Berenice! Sending you lots of good luck!
Thank you Natalie, I’ve been searching for just such an opportunity. This will help me feel more confident.
I’m so glad, Caroline!
Hey Natalie
I’m definitely mulling over doing something from home. I really want to start my own business and website but I’m stuck on what it is I should do!! I am currently in mat leave and scheduled to go back to work soon and I really don’t want to
Thanks for the inspiration:)
Sending you lots of creative thoughts! I hope you think of something soon – it’s absolutely worth it!
Hi Natalie,
I’m really intrigued by this offer and opportunity!
One question, can I be a VA while living overseas?
I live in France but do not speak French.
How can this work for me?
Thanks! Renee
Yes! I know it’s pretty common to do VA work while not in the same country as the blogger.
I am really interested. I need to make an extra income .
As I have become the main breadwinner for my household.
Any advice or guidance I can get I would truly be grateful for.
Your Way to VA is probably the best advice I can give. I would just take the course.
I have been doing VA work for a little over a year casually. I have been searching for a course to take because I’m ready to take things to the next level. So glad I’m on your email list so I didn’t miss this! 🙂
Erin @ Stay at Home Yogi recently posted…Why Pregnancy Is Not The Time To Make Excuses!
Oh, I’m so glad, Erin! Let me know how it goes!
I’ve heard so many wonderful feedbacks about Laura’s course; I definitely have to enroll in it.
Thank you, Natalie, for motivating.
Jill
Jill recently posted…11 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Virtual Assistant for Small Business
I am very interested in becoming a VA. I am a retired Soldier and spent most of my time working in Human Resources. I have a plan to live overseas (travel) but my Army retirement is not enough. Being a VA would help. Do you still believe there is room for more VAs or is this industry getting saturated?
I think there’s more room than ever for VAs right now because more and more people are building businesses online and need that help.
Hi Natalie,
I’m registered with freelancer.com and I’m a little leary to make agreements with people. I know that you get paid through PayPal and I’m very comfortable with that. Any tips?
Thanks!
Hi Ashley! I get paid all sorts of ways, one of which is PayPal. I think the bigger the brand or company, the easier it is to feel comfortable making arrangements for payment. Also, start small — do one article or project and ask for payment, instead of several before getting paid. That way you’re only out one small project if they didn’t pay. I’ve never had someone flat-out pay, but sometimes there has been a delay longer than I would’ve liked. Also, get everything in writing!