How to launch a successful and profitable Virtual Assistant business
There’s no doubt about the benefits of being a Virtual Assistant.
The freedom and flexibility it provides makes it easier to have a successful career on your own terms – whether that means making money as you travel the world or having the option to schedule work around your family.
As a VA, you’re in control and can finally achieve the work/life balance that works for you… but where do you start?
By making sure you have the right foundations in place from the beginning, it makes it easier (and quicker!) to succeed and build your own flexible and profitable business – working how, when, and where you want!
Step 1 – Research and Plan!
There’s plenty of information available on the internet to help you start your own business. A quick google search can bring up thousands of results that will help you figure out what’s needed to become a successful Virtual Assistant.
You can download free resources (like my Starter Checklist or Email Marketing Guide), join groups for VAs (The VA BouleVard), and look through other VA’s websites and social media to see what they’re doing. Once you’ve done your research, you can make a plan or a list of the key things you need to keep in mind or work through.
Check out my other blog posts and The VA Essentials page to get you started with your research.
Step 2 – Think About Your Branding
Your branding includes your business name, logo, website and all those other physical aspects that help people recognise your business.
As you’re an online business, it’s the first thing people see when they look at you so it’s important to represent yourself, but also keep in mind your ideal client and whatwould appeal to them.
What you decide now isn’t forever so don’t worry or spend too much time on this. It’s useful to at least figure out a business name so that you can register your business (more on this in the next step). Again, these things can always be changed in the future.
Step 3 – Make Sure You’re Legally Covered
There’s a few things you need to do to ensure you and your business are legally protected. This is a vital step to creating a sustainable business otherwise you risk it coming back to haunt you in the future and could even face legal action.
Firstly, you need to be registering as self-employed with the government and then make sure you’re submitting your tax return by January every year.
You will also need to register with the ICO to make sure you’re compliant with all data protection laws and think about insurance and client contracts.
Step 4 – Decide on Your Working Structure
You’re most likely starting your own business for flexibility, right? So before you take on any new work or clients, you need toidentify how you want to work.
Despite being called ‘Virtual’ Assistants, this doesn’t mean you need to be remote 100% of the time if you don’t want to. It’s about whatever works for you so identify your preferences i.e. location, working hours, days.
Doing this means you have the foundations to build the business that’s right for you. And once you’re clear on these, it makes it easier to communicate your boundaries and establish expectations with clients from the get go.
Step 5 – Identify Your Business Model
Success means different things to different people, so figure out what your dream business looks like to you – and then put the foundations in place to achieve it.
- Who do you want to work? Who is your ideal client?
- What do you want to offer them?
- How much will you price your services?
- Will you offer hourly rates or packages?
- How many daily, weekly and monthly hours do you want to work?
- Which days do you want to work?
- Do you want time off in the afternoon to pick the kids up from school?
These are all things you need to consider.
Step 6 – Get Yourself Out There!
Now you have the foundations in place, it’s time to market your business.
As a Virtual Assistant it makes sense that your online presence and visibility is key to finding clients and creating the successful and profitable business you set out for.
You don’t necessarily need a website to get started as a VA. They’re definitely useful and make it easier for your ideal clients to find you, but social media is a great place to start. It’s a cost effective way of reaching a large audience and although you may not feel comfortable marketing yourself in the beginning, it gets easier the longer you do it.
You can also join networking groups or go to events and meet other business owners and potential clients that way.
Keeping Your Business Growing!
The most important thing to remember if you want to build a successful and profitable VA business is to keep improving.
As important as it is to focus on your client work, as your business continues to grow make sure you spend time on your own development and review whether you’re still on track for your dream business.
If you are feeling overwhelmed with everything you need to do to get started with your Virtual Assistant business, take a look at The VA Mentor Programme.
It gives you absolutely everything you need to launch your own online business and attract paying clients – in as little as 12 weeks! Click here to find out more.
