If you’ve got good administrative, technical, or creative skills, and you’re trying to figure out the right career path for you, then you might want to consider becoming a virtual assistant.
Simply put, a virtual assistant is a self-employed individual, who offers one or more of the above-mentioned skills to clients or businesses remotely.
We now live in a digital, fast-paced world, and becoming a virtual assistant can potentially earn you a decent living.
You may be skeptical about this career path, but I urge you not to be. As a confidence booster, I have put together 5 good reasons to become a virtual assistant.
I’m sure you will be convinced at the end!
1. You can be flexible
One of the greatest advantages of being a virtual assistant is that you don’t have to report to a particular office every day, and at stipulated hours.
You can work from the comfort of your home, and at your own convenience. As long as you meet your deadlines and deliver satisfactory work, then there will be no problems between you and your clients!
Being a virtual assistant allows you to work during the times of the day when you believe you are most productive. It could be as early as 5 am, or further into the day by 6 pm.
It also gives you the time to attend to some personal matters which would’ve been impossible if you were working a regular day job. You can go to your kid’s school plays, meet up with your doctor’s appointments, or even catch your favorite TV shows!
The job also allows you to work while you are in transit. You could work on a plane, a train, and on a bus!
You can even work while you’re on vacation!
2. You can earn huge sums of money
Just in case you didn’t know, it isn’t only white collar professionals that can earn tens of thousands of Dollars a year. Virtual assistants can make that much too, depending on the quality and number of clients you have.
According to ZipRecruiter, a virtual assistant can make as much as $70,000 per year while working from home!
Besides the quality of clients you manage to secure, your skill level, and how much you are willing to improve on it, can also prompt you to earn more.
You may not earn this much at the beginning stages, but you can do so over the short and long run. As long as you are able to deliver satisfactory work and retain your clients, then you can renegotiate your fees with them later on.
A client who enjoys your services will love to retain you, and will most likely agree to an increase in pay if you ask for it at the appropriate time.
3. All you need is your already-acquired skills
Another reason you should consider being a virtual assistant is that you can begin right away.
All you need is the skills you already have!
Your writing, designing, management, or any other skill you currently have is good enough to start.
This means there will be no need for you to spend money taking extra courses. Just start with what you have and begin getting paid.
If social media management is your specialty, then use that to find the relevant clients. Those who are in need of your skills will hire you at a good price.
This is not to say you shouldn’t expand your skill set later on. You can, but remember that most courses aren’t cheap or free.
If you don’t have the money to take your desired courses, then you can use the skills you have to work as a virtual assistant, and earn the money needed to enroll.
4. It is in high demand
Today’s world moves ten times as fast as it used to, and businesses have to keep up the pace if they hope not to get outdone by their competitors.
And that is why virtual assistants are in demand, now more than ever.
Entrepreneurs have a thousand emails to go through, many articles to post on their blogs, several graphics to design, and different social media platforms to keep active.
They cannot do it all alone, and as long as you have the skill, they will gladly hire you to execute these bulky tasks for them.
Another reason entrepreneurs are looking to hire virtual assistants is that it is cost effective. They do not need to spend money on renting office spaces for full-time staff, since virtual assistants work remotely.
5. You can offer different services and work for different clients
If you have more than one skill, then you can cash in on them by being a virtual assistant. Be careful not to become a “do-it-all”, as that can affect your productivity.
The good news is, you can offer different services and get paid for them, even if you don’t have the necessary skills!
I know you’re wondering how.
Simple, just establish relationships with other virtual assistants and subcontract them to do the tasks you cannot handle.
As you may have already figured out, make sure you connect with VAs that posses the skills you don’t have. Agree on their fees, and pass the extra jobs to them as they come.
For example, you may be a copywriter who has connected with a client that needs some graphic designs. Since you don’t have the skills to design, sub-contract the job to another virtual assistant who is competent enough to design.
To add to that, you can have more than one client as a virtual assistant, since it’s a remote job that doesn’t require physical meetings with your clients.
Conclusion
There you have it, top 5 reasons to become a virtual assistant.
It is flexible, you can earn a decent living from it, you can offer different services, work with different clients, and begin with the skills you already have.
Virtual assistants are also in high demand, and with the way businesses are being digitized, it looks like the need for virtual assistants will increase in the coming years.
I hope this article was helpful.
Good luck! Source: VA Patrick's Blog |
