How to Start a Virtual Assistant Business At Home

More and more businesses are turning to online freelancers to help fulfill their business staffing needs. One of the most popular and versatile roles is that of the virtual assistant who can be a receptionist, a personal assistant, and many more things all in one.

So, if you are a mom looking to start an at-home business this year, being a virtual assistant could be the perfect solution.

But how do you start a virtual assistant business at home?

Why People Need Virtual Assistants

Before we dive into the how, let’s take a moment to consider why you might want to start as a virtual assistant. Sure, there are thousands of roles out there that can catch your attention, but what makes this one an excellent path to follow?

Here are a few key reasons:

• Virtual assistants have loads of transferrable skills that can be used in almost any type of business.
• The role exists to help small businesses that often can’t afford a full-time (or even part-time) employee.
• You can get super specific about the tasks you take on or remain more of a generalist.
• You become that key right-hand person that a business owner needs to succeed in their business. 

How to Start a Virtual Assistant Business

Before you start offering services or looking for clients, there are some foundation pieces to add. 

First, there’s the mindset. You need to clearly picture what you want to do and the drive to do it. You also want to try and have a workspace in your home, even if that’s a walk-in closet! When you are there, you are at work and in work mode.

Next, you want to decide what areas of virtual assistant work you are well placed to do. This might mean that you choose a specialized area where you have previous experience and want to expand on this. 

Or you may choose a few simple areas where no previous experience is needed, and you can learn on the job.

Thirdly, think about your business model. Do you want to work entirely online, which is common as a stay-at-home mom? Or do you want to offer some in-person services to businesses in your local area? If you do the latter, you need to know if the work is flexible around your childcare needs. If in doubt, stick with virtual only.

Legal and Financial Stuff

As you start looking at these areas, you’ll begin to get some ideas about the kind of services you want to offer. Then, you need to line up two significant areas before embarking on your business – legal and financial.

Legal Stuff

Legally, you need to look at where you live and what needs to be done to create a business for yourself. 

This might be registering as self-employed, as a business, or some other legal company entity. You may need to register to pay business taxes. It is vital to check all regulations applicable to where you live to see what this looks like and get it in order.

Financial Stuff

Then there’s the financial stuff. Can you afford to go freelance? Or do you need to earn a certain amount of money before you can quit a full or part-time job? Maybe you are simply looking to supplement your income and don’t have a certain income level needed. 

Whatever your situation, it is crucial to understand this before you start. It will help you understand how hard you need to push for those new clients and what you need to charge.

What Services to Offer and What to Charge

Now you are in a position to really start fine-tuning what you will do and what you’ll charge for it. Don’t worry; you can change this later, but you want a clear picture to start with. Then if a potential client asks if you offer a particular service, you have an answer.

Everyone talks about having a niche, but that can be a few things. A niche can be:

• The kind of services you offer
• The types of people you work with
• The industry you work in
• A combination of these things

Again, it isn’t set in stone you keep with these things, but it is important to have a clear idea at the start. This will influence where you pitch your services to find customers.

Pricing Questions

Deciding what to charge is always a tricky question and one no one can answer for you. But it can be a good idea to look at what others offering the same or similar services are charging. 

Do you have skills or experience that are on par with them? Then you could charge similar or even more. Not as experienced? Maybe keep the price the same but add more to the package or service.

Marketing Your Business

Once you know who you work with, what you do, and what you charge, you can start marketing your services and looking for clients.

For many, a simple website is the best starting point. You can create services pages, contact forms, and an “about me” page to showcase your experience. But it isn’t the only option. You can also use a Facebook Page, a Google Business page, or even a LinkedIn page as a way to reach out to people and look for work.

Finding the Right Tech

Create systems for everything as you build your business. This includes marketing, customer relations, and even emails. This will help you stay organized and spend the time working on client stuff and looking for new clients as you grow. 

Having the right tech from the start is great, but don’t be afraid to make changes if it isn’t working either.

Once you have these pieces in place, you are ready to start marketing your business. Be clear on who you help and how and you can convey this to clients. Start asking for testimonials from the people you work with and use these on your website or Page to showcase your abilities. Then structure your time to get that balance of client work and marketing in place.

Need More Help Starting a Home Based Virtual Assistant Business?

If you still need help with starting a virtual assistant business at home, you can go here to sign up for a mini-course on how to jumpstart your VA business.

Learn how to start a virtual assistant business at home, what you need to do to start your business, and what makes being a VA a good choice for stay-at-home moms.

Interested in Finding Work at Home VA Jobs?

If you aren’t quite ready to start your own virtual assistant business, but you’d like to work as a virtual assistant from home, you can go here to see a list of companies that hire work-at-home VAs.