Do Virtual Assistants Work from Home?

Are you considering hanging your shingle and becoming a virtual assistant? If so, one of the most important things you may be wondering is where they work. Do virtual assistants work from home?

Many virtual assistants work from home. It may also be possible to work from other locations. As long as a virtual assistant has a laptop, a mobile phone, and a reliable internet connection, it’s possible to work from many different places.

Working as a virtual assistant is a great opportunity for many. It’s a legitimate business that is location independent. Many companies are looking for reliable virtual assistants, and you don’t need a college degree or other credentials to land work.

Virtual Assistant Training

Kayla Sloan is an example of someone who now works full-time as a virtual assistant helping companies with many different things. She specializes in doing work for personal finance blogs, although there are many other niches that you can specialize in.

Kayla started her virtual assistant business the same way as everyone else – with zero clients. By consistently marketing her services, she landed her first client, and then her second and third. Over a period of three years, Kayla was able to continually grow her virtual assistant business, and she now makes over $10,000 per month – a six-figure business.

In addition to operating her business, Kayla also teaches others how to start their own virtual assistant businesses in her online course, $10KVA. Just a few of the things she covers in the course include:

• Finding and pitching potential clients
• Pricing your services
• Billing and getting paid
• Building client relationships
• Running a virtual assistant business
• Creating systems for faster work

If you are interested in learning more about the virtual assistant business, Kayla offers a free online workshop where she answers many common questions and talks about her course, $10KVA.

Check out the free webinar to learn more about how virtual assisting changed Kayla Sloan’s life.

How Do Virtual Assistants Work?

What exactly do virtual assistants do? What does a typical day for a virtual assistant look like? Do virtual assistants work from home?

First, it’s important to point out that there is no such thing as a “typical” workday for a virtual assistant. Every day is unique. That’s one of the things that’s so great about this business – virtual assistants with multiple clients work on many different things.

Just a few things that virtual assistants may do for their clients include:

• Responding to emails
• Posting on social media platforms
• Data entry
• Conducting research
• Processing eCommerce orders
• Scheduling calls and appointments
• Screening emails
• Transcribing voicemails
• Booking flights and hotels
• Lead generation
• Bookkeeping
• Taking notes from webinars

This is just a snapshot of what’s possible. There are many other things that virtual assistants can do.

As previously mentioned, most virtual assistants work from home, which can result in big savings on fuel and transportation, eating out, and other work expenses.

Virtual assistants can also do their work from other places. Some people are more productive when they work outside of their homes. Places that virtual assistants can work include:

• Public libraries
• Cafes and coffee shops
• Local parks
• Bookstores
• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Co-working spaces
• Colleges and universities

Working as a virtual assistant can give you incredible freedom in where you work, unlike many jobs that require you to work in an office every day. Because of this, many virtual assistants take their work with them when they go on vacation.

As a virtual assistant, it’s even possible to live out of an RV while traveling the country. How cool would that be? As long as you have a reliable internet connection, where you are physically located is irrelevant.

Virtual Assistant Education Requirements

If you are thinking about becoming a virtual assistant, you may be wondering if you need a college degree or other credentials to land clients and grow your income. Or maybe you already are a college graduate and you are worried that you majored in the wrong thing.

Good news: You don’t need a college degree or other credentials to build a business as a virtual assistant.

Instead of a college degree, what you really need is to consistently market your business and to always do a good job for your clients.

When clients evaluate your virtual assistant services, they usually don’t care about your formal education. You’re a business owner offering a service, not a job applicant. What clients do care about is quality and reliability – how good of a job you do on your work and if you always do your work on-time.

Having a college degree isn’t a bad thing, necessarily. In fact, if you have one, you could use it as a selling point in your marketing. But it’s important not to let the lack of a college degree hold you back in this business. If a client doesn’t hire you because you don’t have a degree – just move on and continue marketing your business to others.

Benefits of Working from Home as a Virtual Assistant

For those who are wondering do virtual assistants work from home, it’s worth taking a look at the many benefits of working from home. Compared to working a traditional job where you have to go to an office every day, working from home as a virtual assistant has a lot going for it.

The following are just a few of the many benefits of working from home as a virtual assistant:

There’s No Commute

If you work from home, you don’t have to worry about commuting to and from a job. This could result in substantial fuel savings and decreased wear and tear on your vehicle. Also, if you don’t have a commute to worry about, there’s a chance you may get to sleep a little later in the mornings.

You Can Dress Casually

Although you may have to dress up a little on occasion if you have a video meeting with a client, most days you can skip the business attire and dress for comfort. If you like wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, you can do that. It’s your call.

You Can Take a Break When You Need To

As a self-employed business owner working from home, you can take a break whenever you want and for as long as you want as long as it doesn’t interfere with your work. You don’t have to ask anyone’s permission. This also means you can go to an appointment somewhere or attend your kid’s school play without having to check with a boss.

You Can Get More Done

Another benefit of working from home is that many people can be more productive when they are working in a comfortable environment than they can when they are at an office. If you want to enjoy some light background music while you work, for example, you can do that.

According to a scientific study conducted by Stanford University, those who work from home are vastly more productive than those who work in corporate offices. The study – which was done on employees and not business owners – concluded that those who work from home had fewer sick days, took shorter breaks and time off, and the employee attrition rate was decreased by 50 percent.

You Can Spend More Time with Family

As a virtual assistant working from home, you may be able to see your family more. You may be able to eat lunch with your spouse or kids, for example, or see them when you take work breaks.

No More Office Politics

If you work from home as a virtual assistant, you won’t have to deal with annoying coworkers anymore. You won’t have to worry about making casual conversation with them during your breaks. You also won’t have to deal with someone constantly adjusting the thermostat.

You Don’t Need Expensive Equipment

Another great benefit of working from home as a virtual assistant is that you don’t need to buy a lot of expensive equipment to get started. In fact, you may already have all of the equipment you need.

As a virtual assistant, you will need a good quality computer. A desktop computer will work, but if you would like to travel or work from other places like a coffee shop, then you will need a laptop.

You will also need a phone. A cell phone will work, just make sure the call quality is good and reliable.

You will also need a way to invoice clients and receive payments. One option to consider when you are just getting started is to use PayPal. With a PayPal business account, you can create and send electronic invoices and clients can pay via credit card or through PayPal. PayPal does charge fees for this service, of course.

You will also need bookkeeping software to keep track of your income and expenses. Quickbooks is one of the most common options. Freshbooks is another option to consider.

No More Boss

One of the best benefits of being a virtual assistant who works from home is that you don’t have to deal with a demanding boss all day long. As a business owner, if a client doesn’t work out, you don’t have to continue working for that person. You can fire the client and concentrate on your other clients or market your services to land new clients.

Virtual Assistants Work from Wherever they Want

Many virtual assistants work from home. It’s one of the best benefits of this business – a benefit that most other businesses and jobs can’t offer.

The virtual assistant business is a great option for many to consider. It has very low startup costs, you have incredible work flexibility, there’s no commute, and you are the boss. It can also be more secure than working a traditional job. Losing a job can be financially devastating, but if you lose a client as a virtual assistant, you may have others to fall back on.

Check out Kayla Sloan’s free webinar to learn more about the virtual assisting business.