How to Know If Being A VA Is Right for You

If you’re considering starting your own business then being a VA is a good choice. It’s a service that is in demand. And the demand seems to be growing. More and more people are realizing the value of outsourcing their administrative needs. It’s a career choice that promises variety, daily challenges and the freedom of being your own boss. However, it’s not the right choice for everyone.

Here are a few questions to help you determine if being a VA is right for you.

Are You Good at Managing Your Time?

As a Virtual Assistant you’re going to have to balance a lot of tasks. You’ll balance client work. You’ll balance managing your business. You’ll also want to market and grow your business. And of course the day to day responsibilities like laundry don’t go away either. There will be a lot of demands on your time, energy, and attention.

If you’re good at managing your time, then great. If you can focus and be productive you have what it takes to be a VA. If time management isn’t your strength, there’s still hope. Start adopting habits right now to better manage your time. Learn to schedule and prioritize. Learn how to focus and be productive.

Are You Motivated and Enthusiastic?

Being a VA takes a lot of positive energy. You’ll want to be able to get up every morning and be able to focus on your business. Of course there will be low energy days. Everyone has them. However, in order to succeed as a VA, you’ll want to be brimming with energy and enthusiasm to start, grow, and manage your business.

Are You Organized?

In addition to organizing your own business needs, tasks and information you’ll need to organize your client’s. That’s part of your job. Your clients need your help getting and keeping them organized. And the more organized you are, the more productive you’ll be. Not organized? Start creating systems right now. You can still be successful. However, you’ll have to pay careful attention to your systems and practices. Make yourself be organized.

Are You Social?

Okay, so you don’t have to be a social butterfly to succeed as a VA. However, you will want to be easy to communicate with. Clients and prospects will communicate with you via email and the telephone. Make sure you’re comfortable talking with strangers. Also, the more social you are, the more clients you’re likely to meet online and off. It’s easier to build your business when you’re delighted to talk about it with others.

If you don’t have all of these skills or personality traits, it’s okay. Most of them can be learned. You can even learn to be motivated and enthusiastic. If you want to start a VA business that desire is the first step. The rest will fall into place with a little help from our training courses, webinars and tutorials.

Stay tuned to find out more information our webinar series on “How to get your site up and running in 24 hours”

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Three VA Opportunities and Where to Find Them

As a virtual assistant you have a choice. You can specialize in a particular task, for example transcription. Or you can provide a variety of services. There are pros and cons to each. Regardless of your approach, in order to make a living you need clients. Here are three potential virtual administrator opportunities and ideas on how to get them.

Transcription

Transcription is a specialty skill. It’s even more specialized if you have medical or legal transcription skills. If you have this specialty skill you might consider submitting a resume to ideal clients. For example, if you have medical transcription experience submit your resume to a health management company. They likely manage several hundred medical practices and could use your services.

Consider also searching virtual administration job boards. This type of freelance job board will list transcription opportunities. If you have excellent proofreading and editing skills then you offer an additional value.

Finally, don’t forget to network both online and off. Attend meet-up groups. Join your local Small Business Association. Consider looking specifically for people who speak or are active interviewers. They can turn their speeches into print content for their website and customers. You can help them by transcribing.

Blog/Website Management

Most blog or website management is pretty straight forward. The problem is that it can be time consuming. Often a business owner just doesn’t have the time they need to manage their blog or website. This is where your skills can be a valuable service. Membership websites and forums both require a good deal of time.

To find a blog or website management position consider participating on marketing forums. There you’ll find a number of internet marketers who may need your services. Again networking pays off. You can also search freelance job boards and virtual administration job boards specifically. When you’re searching make sure to check out the “technical” job postings. Many people place website management positions under the technical category.

Proofreading/Editing

If you have an eye for detail and a way with words then this VA opportunity is right for you. A proofreader generally looks for spelling and grammar errors. An editor may also offer content suggestions to polish a book, article, or report. If you’re interested in this type of opportunity networking helps as do job boards. However, you may also want to contact writers individually. Many writers and content providers use editors. If you can find a few writers to partner with, you can have a full schedule.

These are just three possibilities. As a virtual administrator you really do have an unlimited variety of opportunities to choose from.

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