How To Get Started as a Virtual Assistant (I spill the tea)

Written By Adrianne Reelie

“She sets her mind on things above, not on earthly things.” // Colossians 3:2

I get asked all of the time: How did you get started as a virtual assistant?

I sat on this thought for such a long time, trying to create this perfect and graceful response.

Truthfully, I just woke up one day and decided to start dreaming, and start creating! The process was messy, but I always say: done is better than perfect.

As you know, it took me some time to find what I was good at, and how to really create something for myself! There are some hard truths to being a virtual assistant, but I genuinely love it!

Here are my steps into getting started as a Virtual Assistant!

Ask yourself: What am I good at?

I have some questions you should really sit down and ask yourself! There is absolutely no wrong answer to any of these questions. It will help you determine which niche you want to dive into, and where to focus!

  1. Do I enjoy writing, reading, editing, organizing, talking, communicating?

  2. What is my expertise when it comes to online duties? (book keeping, messaging, managing emails, organization, content creation, phone calls, booking in clients, paper work.)

You can “niche” down into any area of virtual assistant work. Here are some speciality ideas.

  • Engagement virtual assistant: AKA starting and having fun conversations in Instagram DMs to boost engagement and visibility for your clients. (Start at $25/hr and can sometimes get commission on sales)

  • Admin virtual assistant: think of a secretary… but from home. Managing emails, customer service, organizing documents, occasionally for some businesses there are phone calls. It isn’t often! (Start at $25/hr)

  • Systems and project manager: are you incredible with managing teams, projects, or creating systems such as email, content, or CRM? This is HUGE! (Start at $50/hr.)

  • Social media manager: do you enjoy social media: writing content, engagement, and social media growth? Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and Pinterest are HUGE platforms. (People pay at mininum $40hr for this support!)

Who is your ideal client?

You need to be able to connect with your ideal client on multiple levels. This includes: having an understanding on how their brain works, how to assess and redirect conversation with them, and know how to deliver a service to them!

The biggest part? Ensuring they are a lucrative or active business ready to hire support where they are struggling.

Truly dig into you dream client! Dream of this individual, and pretend you are in a perfect world. You can create the most amazing work experience, and hand pick every trait of this client! What does this all look like?

  • Are they a mom? Single? Married? Woman or male?

  • Who do they serve? Can you connect with their ideal client if you are writing their content?

  • What is their personality like? How do you compliment them?

  • What do they enjoy doing? How can you leverage the fact you taking work off their plate allows them to do more of that.

  • What are important morals and values to share?

  • Are they someone you would go to coffee with, without dreading it?

Let’s chat: pricing.

Most new VA’s make between $15- $30 an hour. The more focused you are with the services and the more transformative outcome you can deliver, the more you can charge.

Example: if you write content that will turn into leads, or if you are a lead generation virtual assistant and can make sales in the DMs no problem, you can charge more than just doing miscellaneous tasks.

That being said, why are you worth as much as you charge? Let’s dive into some questions to gain clarity and address this!

  • Why should someone invest in you and your services, compared to the next VA?
    There are hundreds of people doing this role, leverage your unique experience, knowledge, and perspective on the world to support them investing in this space.

  • Do you have experience? If not, start on the low end of the spectrum.
    For every positive client experience AND written review, you can begin increasing your pay between $2-$5 per hour for each contract. I suggest starting between $17/hr for NO experience, $20/hr for little experience, and $25 for basic understanding of the industry. Serve your client to the fullest, and repair mistakes without charge to ensure a positive client experience in the beginning.

  • How much do you need to make a month to live a life you love, and how many hours a month are you willing to put in?
    Ex. You can work 5 hours a week, and need to make a minimum of $100. You need to charge at least $20/hr to hit your goal!
    Note: you cannot charge $100/hr and work 5 hours a week just because your goal is $2000 a month. Be realistic about the average wage, what you are offering, and why your pricing is worth it. There are instances where this pricing is appropriate if the outcome for your client is compatible with this investment! I have clients that pay thousands per week based on the breakdown of the container. Make the investment match the outcome.

How to actually land a client…

This part is as easy, or as difficult, as you decide to make it!

There are TONS of groups on Facebook that allow you to connect with others who post job ads! I am not joking, type: Virtual Assistant Jobs and boom. Your first group will pop up. Pitch yourself to your dream clients, tastefully, utilizing these groups!

Outside of these groups, don’t be afraid to reach out to local places. You see a local coffee shop that has the cutest shop, but not a lot of customer traffic? Offer to be their social media assistant. See a local mom + pop’s store that doesn’t get enough credit, even though you know they could double their sales just with social media? Pitch yourself!

Here is a few of my favourite groups to land leads:

BONUS: 6 Hard Truths About Being A Virtual Assistant

It is NOT always pretty

It sometimes looked like scheduling our walks and park dates around when my tasks were due.
Other times it looked like getting up at 4am before the kids to work on tasks, and then working after they were in bed until 11pm to get things done.
And an occasional time it was fingers crossed that a movie would do the trick until I could get all the important pieces out of my brain, onto paper, and ready for that night.

Being a work at home mom meant doing all the stay at home mom duties, plus working at the same time, and fitting into your 24 hour day, but also taking care of yourself.

I have had to break up with my clients

It hasn’t happened a ton, but some clients were very unruly and disrespectful with boundaries and my time. I would redirect them, establish boundaries, and have clear communication in a polite email.

I have a 2 strike rule.

  1. Reaffirm what the boundaries and expectations are in case there was an assumption made or a misunderstanding

  2. After I have reaffirmed if it happens again, I will refer them to someone I think could benefit from this individual, but 9 times out of 10, I don’t feel comfortable referring anyone to them because the way they treat partnerships isn’t appropriate

  • If it is because they want me to do more tasks or projects than agreed, I always let them know my price and the invoice incase there was a misunderstanding and then we go from there.

Breaking up with a client doesn’t have to be ugly like a relationship break up. I am very to the point, professional, and simply state that I am not the right fit for their individual needs. Even if it isn’t completely true, I take the blame on not being a right fit so that I can keep up a good reputation, and so I don’t leave a sour taste in their mouth.

You are not an employee, you are an independent contractor and work WITH your client.

You are not going to be demanded to do tasks. This is a 2 way street, and you need to confirm whether you are comfortable with certain tasks, or redirect how you run your virtual assistant services. Sometimes it is extremely uncomfortable, but it is part of growth and setting boundaries for yourself/

This is your business, and you run it how you intend. You should be enjoying work, truly loving your clients, and not be avoiding work.

I think there is a huge mindset shift between contractor and employee, and there are business owners willing to treat you more than a puppet. I promise you, so do not settle for less!

Not everyone understands that when you are on your phone, sometimes you are genuinely working.

I remember taking my little ones to an indoor playground that was completely enclosed, with staff that ran a preschool I 100% trusted, and rarely busy. It wasn’t a “secret” indoor playground, but it was more so for moms with younger kids, and I live in a smaller community.

I would let my kiddos play around at all the “stations”, 100% toddler and baby friendly, while I did Instagram engagement for my clients.

I got the comment from a mom one time: “Must be hard to get off your phone for 5 minutes to play with your children.”

Once I explained what my job was, and that I was currently being paid and my children were safe and having a really fun time, she apologized.

So many people are quick to judge on why you’re on your phone or computer, and consistently have something negative to say about this generation, but how amazing is it we get the opportunity to work this way!

It is more than just hanging out in coffee shops.

Although I love adventuring new locations and am usually more productive when switching my scenery, sometimes I just do not have the luxury. I wish I could go to a coffee shop every single day and work on my projects, warm cup of coffee or a London Fog in my hand.

The matter of the fact is I work during odd hours so I can be a stay at home mom to my children, then be a working mom in between hours. The time I work is typically when coffee shops are closed, so I rarely get that experience unless I hire a babysitter.

The job requirement does not include coffee shop at the title!

You have to truly know your services and how to deliver them.

Knowing that you want to be a virtual assistant is amazing, yes. But you need to know what you want to do for tasks.

You will be told time and time again: niche down and you will clients easier.

Here is an example of what to niche down to:

  • writing- copy writing, content creation, captions, ghost writing, blog writing, novel writing, editing, SEO comparability

  • social media- engagement, content creation, graphics, ad campaigns, email campaigns, analytics

  • website- design, website building, SEO research, analytic

How to tastefully pitch yourself via email 101

  1. Introduce yourself super briefly. “Hello, Elizabeth! I hope you are having a wonderful day. My name is Adrianne! I am a virtual assist who loves to serve CEO women by taking admin tasks of their hands. I am over here [INSERT SOCIAL LINK}, I love lattes, and I am a mom to 4 incredible kiddos.”

  2. Actually state what you genuinely love about their product, service, location, or personality. (This part depends if it is a coffee shop, clothing boutique, individual, etc.!)

  3. State how you could genuinely help them.
    Ex. Create engaging social media posts to create more traffic + knowledge about location. This could potentially increase their sales!
    Ex. Manage and organize emails and inboxes, reply to messages on behalf, and create relationships with current or future customers and clients. This creates mores space for them to focus in other areas of their business.
    Ex. Organize any and all finances. This can give them an outline of where their spending habits are going wrong, give them the space and time to focus in other areas of business, and take a task off their plate.

  4. Tastefully end the message.
    “I am extremely excited to hear back from you!”
    Feel free to leave your website or Instagram handle for them to get to peek at the “real you”!

NOTE: I typically do not send out emails, but I know first starting out can be tricky to get your foot in the door and sometimes getting a foot in the door is awesome!

Adrianne Reelie
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