How to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant

Lessons from a Digital Marketing Virtual Assistant Who Actually Does the Work:

I am in quite a few online groups for virtual assistants and it’s amazing to see so many people taking advantage of this remote work opportunity!!! There is a ton of work to be had and endless skill sets that can be utilized for VA work.

In these same groups, I keep reading this question over and over from the newbies… “How do I start?”

They know, like you, that NOW is the time to develop online business skills and jump on the job opportunities.

So let me share with you my solid advice for how to get started…

*This blog may contain affiliate links for programs, tools, and courses that I recommend. If you purchase these programs, I could receive a small commission. Thank you! I only recommend vetted programs and tools I use myself! Please check out my tool & resources guide here.

When you see this stock image of a coffee cup I bet you cringed. But it’s true. You have to stop whining… and start doing. You have to BEGIN. And sometimes you begin without a paycheck. Sometimes you begin very simply.

What’s your ONE THING?

You don’t start off knowing it all. I know most of my clients want that Unicorn VA who knows everything … but that person is hard to find. So let’s start making you into one now. So where do you start? You start with that one thing you already excel at. Maybe it’s an educational background … you studied XYZ in trade school or college. Maybe it’s work experience in XYZ. Maybe it’s a valuable characteristic … you’re extremely artistic … organized …or friendly.

I can think of a ton of online job areas where people with these traits are needed. We just need to adapt whatever we have… that talent… those smarts… that knowledge… those qualifications… that work history to an online VA job.

How to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant

Step 1: Pick that one thing. Dig deep. Own your strengths.

What kind of VA should you be? Take the Quiz.

I wrote a personality quiz to help you take what you’re good at and show you remote-work possibilities. Take the quiz here to find out what you should do with your services!

Step 2: Elevate it. Tweak it to fit into what business owners need and desire in their teams. What are the buzzwords in that industry? How can you update this for the online world now? Be relevant.

Step 3: Tell your circle of influence, friends, family, co-workers, social media friends, random strangers (when it comes up) exactly what you are good at and what you are trying to do with these KSAs. Sound smart. Use those buzzwords. Marketing 101 is to talk about what you are doing and selling!!! Sound excited about it. I guarantee you someone has a friend who is looking for help.

Step 4: Educate yourself. Take that course. Watch the free videos. Sign-up for the freebies from the experts to help you. If you want to be a copywriter… take that course from the best sales writer online! If you want to learn photography… I know there’s a class in your current location. There are tons of free and paid-for online courses, workshops, tutorials, etc. No excuses here. Be a self-starter. (Of course, I have to mention, the course for Unicorn VAs is my Unicorn Digital Marketing Assistant School and you can get on the waitlist here.)

Step 5: Learn by doing. You have to have the hands-on experience to be competitive these days. So how do you get experience without paying customers? You learn and play for yourself. You volunteer to do it for free. Build up your abilities, street cred, portfolio and reviews. And in an interview, you don’t have to say you’ve never gotten paid for performing job tasks, the potential client just cares that you can do it! And by this point YOU CAN!

Step 6: Time to challenge yourself. If your client says they are looking for an Instagram scheduler or someone who can write blogs or transcribe videos or write sales pages or so something random… OFFER TO DO IT! Even if you don’t know how. Learn that next thing. Don’t charge the client for your clumsy rookie learning… if it takes you 2 hours and you can only charge for 30 minutes, so be it. You just got smarter and one step closer to being a Unicorn VA!!!

What I’ve noticed

I think a lot of people are afraid to start because they feel inadequate when they don’t know everything. And if this is you, be kind to yourself. Even if you were to take a job in a field you knew… you’d still have an on-the-job learning curve!

I’ve been at it for six years now and I don’t know everything. It helps that the tech and the algorithms are always changing. But I’m honest with my clients, if it’s a new email marketing platform they want me to use, I tell them I’ve heard of it and have been wanting to learn it. And then I do.

Side Note: I have always wanted a client who uses InfusionSoft so I can play with that one.

But really, clients are looking for that VA who can help them get organized… or that VA who can help with and respond to their customers… or that VA who has an eye for design… or that VA who can write… or that VA who likes analyzing data. Someone out there NEEDS YOUR HELP!!!! Start with your strength and build from there.

Let me give you my example.

My most recent full-time work experience was in public relations… like 10 years ago. I really dove deep into the online world when a dear friend saw a business owner was looking for help with her media kit. It was just a random Facebook post. My friend was thinking of me and my skillset. Jackpot! I have never created a media kit for a blogger before, but I knew the PR basics behind it and I am a decent writer… so I studied my butt off and learned everything about online media kits, from how to design it, what stats need to go in, how to get those stats and how to write for it.

I got the job done, I made it happen. And I worked on updating her media kit for the following years. And every time this client needed help with something else, she came to me FIRST. I made myself invaluable. And every time I was willing to learn a new thing.

In fact, all of my clients were doing this with me. I was learning all kinds of online business tactics and applying my knowledge and tech skills to help different clients. I was a sponge. I became a Unicorn VA. But I still don’t know InfusionSoft!!!! And all of that came from me doing all of my steps from above.

How do I start????‍

I talked about this last week in my free Unicorn Digital Marketing Assistant Lab FB Group. If you missed it, just click on the image and it will take you over to Facebook. I’d love to know what is your ONE THING!!! And maybe I can help you go from there!

I put my Unicorn Digital Marketing Assistant School together to help you jumpstart your journey as a well-rounded Unicorn VA. I teach everything I’ve learned from the past 10 years and put it in order so you don’t have to waste time figuring it out yourself. If this sounds like your thing, great!!! Get on my waitlist here and I’ll let you know when we open for new students. If you have your eyes on another course, this is me giving you the push to take it. You’ve got to learn this stuff to get hired!!!

Not a course. A collective for marketers already doing the work.

Our Digital Marketer’s Workgroup is a vetted peer community where marketing specialists get real business support and talk shop with people who actually get it. Applications are open now ⬇️

The Takeaway

You gotta put yourself out there. Learn the thing. And tell people what you are trying to do or already doing. I’ve had so many of my leads come from un-salesy conversations. People find out I know about SEO… and they are already referring me to their friend or neighbor business owner.

Good luck starting!

Further Reading

4 Things You Need to Start a Digital Marketing VA Biz

5 Must-Have Tools for Your Freelance Digital VA Business

The One Thing I Should Have Done to NOT GET FIRED

Create a Services Guide with Virtual Assistant Packages to Book Better Clients

How I became a VA {Virtual Assistant & Social Media Sidekick}