10 Things That I Loved About Being A Virtual Assistant - youramericanmoney
Author: Michelle
Description: When I decided to quit my job and work for myself, I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do. With that vague idea in mind, I got on the plane and headed off to Hawaii and Australia for two months of rest and relaxation. As I soaked in Sydney and Melbourne, watched […]
Date: 2019-11-26T17:00:00+00:00

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# 10 Things That I Loved About Being A Virtual Assistant

posted on 26 November, 2019

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When I decided to quit my job and work for myself, I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do. With that vague idea in mind, I got on the plane and headed off to Hawaii and Australia for two months of rest and relaxation. As I soaked in Sydney and Melbourne, watched the Australian Tennis Open, and rested my focus soon shifted back to what was I going to do for work when I returned home?

*In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please read my disclosure here.*

## $10KVA

If you’re already ready to get started as a VA and want to avoid:

- Endless research
- Trying to figure out where to find qualified clients who can pay your rates
- How to get paid the right amount for your work

Then, grab the $10KVA course today! With that course you will:

- Have access to qualified clients who will pay your rates and are seeking Virtual Assistants to grow their business.

- Connect with other Virtual Assistants and be a part of a professional community that wants you to WIN!

- Learn about the behind the scenes logistics to running your VA business.

## How I Became a Virtual Assistant

Before I returned from Australia, I started to furiously look for work. My money was quickly running out and I had to find something fast. With that in mind, Craigslist and other online resources soon became my best friend. From across the ocean I was able to quickly find work and of my favorite ways to work at that time was virtual assistant work.

It was much easier than I expected to find organizations looking for qualified people to help them offsite with administrative projects that they didn’t have the time or energy for. What made me qualified to be a virtual assistant?

Well, I worked for 10 years as a high level administrator at a local university. All of the organizations that I ended up working for recognized the organization that I worked for previously. Here is what I liked about virtual assistant work.

## #1 The Ability to Use Transferrable Skills

As a V.A. you’re able to use skills that you’ve developed at your current or previous jobs. If you’re incredibly organized, enjoy handling business (project) based logistics, are known for a certain set of skills or expertise that would benefit a business, Virtual Assistant work may be a good fit for you.

In my previous job, I’d developed an insane amount of transferable skills and the biggest issue I had was trying to figure out which skills I wanted to actually use.

## #2 You Can Choose Your Clients

Sometimes you just want to choose who you work with. I’m talking about making client choices that:

- Help you grow your professional reach based on the projects that they’re developing.
- Allow you to work with organizations and entrepreneurs who are in alignment with your areas of focus and interest.
- Respect you professionally

## #3 Set Professional Boundaries

Virtual Assistant Work Allows you to explicitly negotiate your professional boundaries because you’re running a business. Some boundaries include:

- Hourly vs. Paid per project-Always get paid per project because your clients are paying for your expertise. You don’t need them to nickel and dime you and clock watch you.
- When you’re available. Many new VA’s make the mistake of always being available. Don’t do this, build into your contract the actual hours that you’re available. If you’re not sure about how to do this, the following course $10KVA run by Kayla Sloan will help you with how to negotiate your contract. Kayla developed this course after I stopped doing V.A. work and I wish I’d had this resource at the time.
- If you’re available over the weekend to work. Maybe you negotiate that on a per project basis. Or, that’s a hard NO. You get to decide. You can even decide to charge for short-notice project requests. You know, when a client wants you to do something in 24 hours out of the blue. They will have to pay for it.
- Dictate, to a certain degree, how you’re paid.

## #4 Manage Your Professional Development

Depending on your client, you may be able to get paid training in order to learn a new school. Also, because you’re YOUR boss, you can decide what skills you would like to learn to grow your skills.

Professional development is huge because an entrepreneur’s ability to use those skills translates to current and future income growth.

## #5 Build in Your Raise

If you’re now excited about becoming a V.A. one of the cool things to consider is that with each new client you can build in a raise. Or, you can pivot the type of work that you’re doing for a client and charge accordingly. Become known as an expert in a certain area of focus. Here are some suggestions:

- Inbox Zero expert-I made this one up. But, seriously, I wish I had someone out there who could help me get to Inbox Zero. The thought of it seems so impossible. If you love deleting emails and organizing them, this could be what you’re known for.
- Event strategist-This year I hosted my first in-person event and honestly-I needed some help. It would have been so much better for me to have an extra pair of hands to help handle the logistics of the event.
- Pinterest Expert-As a blogger, I spend a lot of time on Pinterest. Having a Pinterest Expert/Strategist for many bloggers, would be super helpful to them as they generate new blog content.

Defining yourself as an expert immediately raises your rates from being a generalist to an expert in a specific area of focus.

## #6 Manage Your Capacity

One of the biggest reasons why I quit my previous job was that I was being worked to death. Seriously. When I began my position I was working with about 100 students at any given time. As a Student Services Coordinator I worked with adult international students studying at the program that I worked for. It was A LOT of work-and I enjoyed it. By the time I left, I was working with 600 students. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I hated my job working with that many people.

As a VA you’re able to manage your capacity. No one in their right mind would work with 600 hundred people if they didn’t have to. Virtual Assistants can decide how many clients they say “yes” to. How do you figure out how many clients to say yes to? Work your financial numbers, look at your time, and the overall scope of work that is need to do the work. Not sure how to do all this? The $10KVA course and community will help you with that process.

## #7 The Ability to Focus On Wellness

Because virtual assistant work is virtual, you can allocate time towards your health and wellness. Again, this is part of managing your capacity and number of clients. But, you also are able to focus on your health.

If you would like to set a standing appointment with your favorite gym or fitness class-you can. Need to meditate or just wake up naturally? You can.

## #8 You’re Fired!

There’s nothing worse than working with people you:

- Can’t stand
- Don’t respect
- Need to move on from

Because virtual assistants are THEIR boss. They can terminate clients who no longer serve them well. It’s a wonderfully empowering experience to move on from a situation that no longer serves you well-without guilt! I love unapologetically moving on from people and organizations that I’m no longer wanting to deal with.

Bye Phylecia lol!

## #9 The Opportunity to Declare Your Expertise

Attend local professional events and network with potential future clients. Become involved in online communities where there are individuals who will potentially need help with their business. Who in the heck are these people?

- Bloggers
- Podcasters
- Vloggers
- Online Community Creators
- Local small businesses (that are well-established)
- Start ups in various industries-Focus on industries with deep pockets such as finance/financial tech/beauty

## #10 TEACH Your Expertise

Once you’ve become known as an expert Virtual Assistant, diversify your income by teaching other people how to do what you do. Kayla Sloan has done a great job doing this and is a great mentor for future V.A.s It’s my view that many people are unaware of all of the opportunities working online can give them.

Be bold!

What about virtual assistant work is attractive to you?

## Need a Blog for Your VA Business?

If you’re thinking about setting up a blog for your VA Business it’s pretty simple to do and cheap! Start with Siteground and WordPress.org. With this winning combination you’ll own your own website by the end of the day. And, Siteground has easy to follow tutorials to help you with setting up your site. Also, don’t forget to grab 120 Awesome Blog Ideas from Ruth Soukup’s Elite Blog Academy today.

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#### Michelle

I am an obsessive foodie, but not self-righteous with it, love travel, meeting new people, helping you look good, and am freaked out by people who don't enjoying reading...something! Grab a Perrier, read my blog, feel free to drop me a line! Hope to hear from you soon.

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