Today – How to become a Virtual Assistant
How to Become a Virtual Assistant
Guest post by Emma Ewers – The Internet Marketing VA (Big thanks Emma)
I am a mum of two, Jenny (6) and Keiran (3) and work from home as a Virtual Assistant specialising in Online/Internet Marketing.
I first heard about Virtual Assistants from Jasmine Birtle of MoneyMagpie.com over 3 years ago, whilst carrying child number two. “Super!” I thought “The answer to all my problems, no need to return to work, I have a PC and can type, let’s do it!” And so I started Googling everything I could about Virtual Assistants, what they do, how I could set up the business and naively thought within 6 months I would have a thriving business working for 20 or so clients on a daily basis…
I soon realised after reading into the industry a little more there was much more to it than setting up a website and attending a few BNI Breakfasts, still I was not deterred a little hard work goes a long way, right?
What is the society of virtual assistants
I came across The Society of Virtual Assistants early on in my campaign for new found working freedom, and boy was I glad I did! SVA is run by Caroline Melville an award winning and well respected Virtual Assistant who also runs Virtually Sorted from her Glasgow offices. The site and forum are a huge information source as well as being supportive and friendly place to chat to other Virtual Assistants from different niches and gain valuable business advice from those in the know.
Joining SVA made me realise two things:
- Becoming a Virtual Assistant was not going to be easy
- There was A LOT of hard work ahead in the coming months – although I have a good business head and a wide range of skills, it was clear there was a steep learning curve ahead.
That all seems like such a long time ago now, I now write guest blogs for SVA and have several sticky posts and wrote a short SEO guide for the SVA site!
SVA also put me in touch with some of the most professional people I have come across, all very talented and dedicated to what they do.
Another fantastic support group is Virtual Assistant Support Group or VASG – started by Anne-Marie Mittleman (A Virtual Angel), Dee Uzoka (DeeVAS) and Emily Robe (emilyrobe.virtualassistant) where “Collaboration not Competition” is the ethos. Everyone is very supportive and business relationships are built on mutual respect, honesty and being open. If you need help or need to outsource a job the VAs are there to help!
How do I know if becoming a virtual assistant is right for me?
So is becoming a Virtual Assistant for you?
YES: If you are prepared to work hard, take on new challenges and have the required skills and dedication to make your business work and are in it for the long haul.
NO: If you have a PC and think it is a quick way to make easy money!
If you have been looking for the answer to staying at home and making an income then being a Virtual Assistant could be for you. The most important thing you need to do before making that leap is research, research and a little more research!
Recommended reading:
http://vact.co.uk/ – Virtual Assistant Coaching and Training
http://www.societyofvirtualassistants.co.uk – SVA Website
http://www.vasupportgroup.co.uk – Virtual Assistant Support Group
Emma Ewers runs The Internet Marketing VA specialising in SEO, Social Media, Web Design and can be found lurking on Twitter @emmaewers and Facebook.com/internetmarketingva J www.internet-marketing-va.com
More reading on form how to become a virual assistant
I do hope you have enjoyed this post on how to become a virtual assistant – you might also like my post on working from home – making money online
Hello good post.
A virtual assistant is proficient at executing the same function of a regular assistant does. The only different is, they deal those tasks via internet rather than physically present in the workplace.
As a work at home dad i can only thank people like you that help me with kind of helpful post!
Thanks for your your great help topics. Nice to visit your blog.