Your Successful VA Business: Why 2024 is Your Year

Explore the possibility of becoming a virtual assistant. Here are the how-tos of starting a virtual assistant business with minimal risk and maximum support.

Remote and virtual work will continue to thrive in Australia’s post-pandemic workforce, making virtual assistants (VAs) increasingly valuable. Take advantage of this time to explore the possibility of starting your own virtual assistant business.

Becoming a VA in 2021 is a smart move for those looking to transition into a flexible, fulfilling, self-determined career. As remote work grows due to the circumstances, VA services will be in demand now more than ever.

As a VA, you are your brand. Your personality, skills and ability to sell your services make up your potential to attract clients. Establishing your business plan, identity and mission is critical when starting a successful virtual assistant business.

Some questions to ask yourself include:

• What’s your business’ name?
• What skills and virtual assistant services are you offering?
• How can clients find and contact you?
• How will you market your business?

Your business’s digital presence is one of the first building blocks of a successful VA business.
You’ll need:

• An organised, well set up backend
• Clear copy with a good web design
• Good SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

The VA Institute focuses on helping its students set up their business’s digital presence to ensure they walk away ready to start servicing clients straight away. Whether it be for administrative duties or even bookkeeping, the more people who find your business’ site, the more chance you’ll generate potential client leads.

Lauren found VA Institute’s focus on her website’s backend creation allowed her to tailor the front end — this helped draw attention to her business and land her first client.

How you choose to initially launch your business is dependent on your business goal. Are you looking to do this full-time from the get-go? Or, are you starting out as a side business? How much money are you willing to invest in marketing?

Many VA businesses, like Lauren’s, choose to adopt a ‘soft launch’ approach. It’s budget-friendly, low-risk and allows you to tailor your business operations accordingly.

A soft launch relies heavily on your networking and communication skills. Key people to help you spread the news of your new business include:

• Family
• Friends
• Previous (or current) colleagues

“I had all my family and friends around and told them all about the business I was launching. Did a big email out to all my networks. And because I’ve noticed in the last year that to grow a VA business, referrals are your best source.”

A soft launch’s main objective is building your business’s most valuable marketing strategy — word of mouth.

In this competitive market, more and more people turn to their friends and families’ opinions when trying to choose a product or service provider. Personal referrals build trust and confidence in your business’ capabilities, leading to more new clients.

Lauren focused on these core groups of contacts to naturally build a broader network of connections.

It’s not possible to provide a timeline on when you’ll land your first client. But it’s important to remember that it takes time. Be patient. You’re building confidence in your own skills, and you’re still figuring out how much time you can dedicate to this new venture.

If you’re starting part-time, don’t be intimidated by how long it may take to land your first client. For Lauren, running her business as a side hustle saw her wait three months before landing her first client.

“I was working full-time at the same time as launching this VA business. But it took me about three months.”

Choosing to continue to work full-time while starting your VA business means some sacrifice. Not every client that approaches you in the first few months will fit your capabilities and schedule. According to Lauren, honesty is the best policy for building transparency with potential clients to ensure they fit her business mission.

“From the get-go, I’m very open and transparent with all my clients… I think just having confidence in my skill set and being so open with my clients… I think they’re really appreciative of that.”

Some actionable steps to follow to start generating leads include:

• Emailing local businesses offering your services.
• Creating a social media ‘shout-out’ deal with other small businesses or relevant bloggers
• Ensuring your website is ranking well, looks good, and shows your contact information.
• Effective social media management (this includes LinkedIn).

Deciding to take your VA business full-time is a big, exciting step. However, when you choose to do this is entirely dependent on when you feel comfortable — you take on the project management role when you move to the full-time business owner.

Some questions to ask yourself to help evaluate your business’s readiness for this next step are:

• What’s my income goal? How much do I need to be making to make this transition comfortably?
• How much of my income is savings, and how much is active income from my VA business?
• How many clients do I need to have to do this full-time?

Building your side business to a full-time job, however, comes with sacrifice. While juggling multiple commitments, your working days become longer and may disrupt your weekends.

As life slowly takes a turn for a new normal after the year 2020, Australia’s post-COVID workforce will look a little different. A traditional workplace is no longer a viable option for many industries, leading to many business owners looking to outsource services when they need more help, but not another body on location.

Businesses worldwide are catching on to the economic benefits of outsourcing certain skills to VAs. According to the Intuit Future of Small Business Report 2020, the global workforce will increasingly move from “full-time to free-agent employment”.

Why? Because it’s cheaper.

Building teams of contingent workers help minimise the labour costs of businesses. After the global economic disruption caused by COVID-19, many companies are looking to minimise operating costs for the foreseeable future.

In some cases, hiring a VA can save corporations up to 78% in operating costs compared to hiring a full-time in-house employee. This is because remote workers, like VAs, only charge hourly rates for the time they’re productive.

Productivity is another reason companies are choosing to outsource. According to the Small Business BPO Survey 2019 by Clutch, increased efficiency in business operations is one of the main reasons corporations choose to outsource to freelancers. This productivity in VAs may come from their higher professional satisfaction levels compared to their full-time counterparts.

The McKinsley Global Institute states that 97% of contractors are happier than full-time workers. Working remotely can leave you with more time for your loved ones and hobbies, providing a better lifestyle balance — much needed after the year that was 2020.

Becoming a VA in 2021 could be just the thing to kick you back into gear and get you excited for your career again. Getting started doesn’t have to be daunting or hard with the right guidance and help.

The VA Institute can help you build confidence in your skills and business structure, all the while helping you set up the nitty-gritty details of your business. Remember, 2021 is your year.