If you would like to have the freedom and flexibility to be able to work from anywhere, it sounds like a remote job would be your ideal situation. There are several different types of jobs that you can do from anywhere, as long as you have an Internet connection. One of the more popular remote jobs is being a virtual assistant. Your earning potential is virtually unlimited. Your only limitation is yourself. Once you have a few clients and are able to show results, you can start charging anywhere from $50 to $100 per hour, or more. So, you can have a full-time income and only work part-time. Does this sound good to you? Read on to learn about how you can become a virtual assistant.
No one starts out at the $100 per hour range. In fact, in the beginning, you will likely be earning close to minimum wage. But, if you are good at what you do, it won’t be long before you can begin to charge more and more, and soon clients will be willing to pay the wage you desire based on your track record. So, how do you get your first virtual assistant job? One of the best ways is to sign up with one of the companies that helps employers and freelancers connect, such as Upwork or Freelancer. They do charge a small percentage of your earnings, but it is worth it when you want to get started as a virtual assistant. It is going to get your foot in the door, so to speak.
If you are going to be a freelancer or independent contractor, you need to have your own website. If you don’t, how are people going to be able to find you and hire you? When you have a website, it shows that you are a professional, and you have a place where you can really highlight your best skills. For instance, you can have a blog page on your site, where you will have the opportunity to really show your knowledge on a particular subject, and you can start to establish yourself as an expert on this subject. Make sure that you have good technology, so you can update regularly, even if you are not near a computer. It may be a good idea to sell iPhone gadgets and upgrade to newer ones so you can update your website from anywhere.
Once you have started working for a few clients, you can start thinking about what makes you different from all of the other virtual assistants out there, and how you can establish yourself as an expert in a particular niche. For instance, you may be multi-lingual, which is going to help you to get jobs with overseas clients. Or, you may have excellent skills in researching and compiling information for reports. You may be able to actually do some tasks in person. Look at what sets you apart, and capitalize on what makes you the person who prospective clients should hire.
These days, you really do need to take advantage of social media, but you need to use the right social media. Look at the social media that your potential clients are using. If they tend to use Facebook more than others, then concentrate on Facebook to promote yourself as a virtual assistant. Even if some potential clients do use most or all social media sites, you won’t have time to give to all of them, so you need to find the one that is going to work best for your career as a virtual assistant.
Jane Hurst, writer from San Francisco. Find her on Twitter!