Methods to Make £25 an Hour as a Virtual Assistant

Jennifer

nineteenth May 2023

Reading Time: 7 minutes

It’s International Virtual Assistant Day!

The coronavirus pandemic triggered massive changes within the working landscape. Not only are more jobs being carried out remotely now, but more work is being outsourced as well. For a lot of businesses, hiring freelancers and independent contractors for specific jobs, slightly than keeping a bigger variety of employees on the payroll is simpler and cost-efficient. Specifically, this has result in an increasing demand for virtual assistants.

What’s a virtual assistant?

Virtual assistants (VA) are essentially freelancers who work in an administrative role for an organization or client remotely. They hire out their administrative or creative assistance to varied clients and businesses and assist with their needs from home. It’s a win-win situation for each employer and worker. From a business perspective, outsourcing work to virtual assistants means they don’t have to supply a VA with office space, utilities and tools, or contribute some other additional advantages. While a few of the key advantages for virtual assistants include the liberty to decide on who they work with, the power to work more flexible hours, and the potential to earn over £200 a day. Plus, you possibly can do all of it from home without the commute. What’s not to love?

What’s involved?

Working as a virtual assistant can involve a big selection of tasks. It’ll largely depend upon who you’re working for and what they need, but it may well involve anything from simply answering phones and sending emails, to book-keeping, business planning and desktop publishing. Got any area of interest skills? Great. The more specialised your skills are, the more you’ll have the opportunity to charge. For instance, for those who’ve had five years’ experience working within the marketing industry and have extensive knowledge of Microsoft Publisher, you possibly can advertise yourself as a virtual assistant specialising in marketing and desktop publishing.

Do i want qualifications?

Although technically no formal training or qualifications are crucial to be a virtual assistant, most clients will search for a background or relevant experience in secretarial or administration work. For those who don’t have this though, don’t panic! For one thing, you’ll have loads of transferrable skills from other roles corresponding to problem solving, team work, and written communication skills. In addition to this though, the increasing demand for virtual assistants means they’re needed in additional roles corresponding to social media, content management, writing blogs, and online marketing. In these instances, experience in the particular role is more relevant than general administrational experience.

What do i want to get arrange?

To start as a virtual assistant you possibly can actually keep costs incredibly low. Although there are a couple of belongings you’ll need, it’s likely that you just have already got them. At a minimum you’ll need a broadband web connection, a separate phone line, a pc with all of the crucial software, and office stationery. Plus, whilst you’ll already be paying utility bills you possibly can claim some tax back on them for those who’re working from home.

Steps to grow to be a virtual assistant

STEP 1: Sort your skills

Virtual assistants are hired for a spread of skills and expertise. Before you start, determine what your unique selling points are and the way you’ll market yourself.

Here’s a couple of tips to get your brainstorming began:

Do you could have any area of interest skills?
Do you could have any skilled training or qualifications in a specific area?
Is there an area of labor that you just’d prefer to learn, or focus more on?

Keep in mind that that is an industry that’s repeatedly moving forward and developing so you must keep your skills and knowledge up up to now as software and programmes change.

STEP 2: Start

Register what you are promoting

The very first thing to do to start is to register what you are promoting along with your company name. Think twice about what name you select, because it’s the primary impression a possible client could have of you. One popular option is to only operate under your personal name.

When you’ve chosen a reputation in your virtual assistant business, it’s best to check it’s not yet utilized by any person else. You’ll be able to check this with the National Business Register. Plus, you furthermore mght have to check what you are promoting name isn’t trademarked. Whether it is it may well cause you serious legal trouble down the road, so best to search out out before!

Finally, you’ll have to register yourself as self-employed with HM Revenue & Customs which is free, but for those who don’t get it done inside three months of working for yourself you would be caught with a nice. When you’ve registered, they’ll send you all of the relevant information you’ll need about national insurance and tax.

Business Insurance and Tax

As a virtual assistant you’ll need to contemplate an upgrading your insurance policy, as working from home may affect your cover. The Society of Virtual Assistants has a really useful article here on what kind of insurance cover you would like and why you would like it.

While you first begin as a virtual assistant, you most likely won’t need to pay VAT as you’re allowed a £85,000 turnover before you could have to pay it. Nevertheless, in case your taxable turnover is over £85,000 then you definately’ll need to contact HMRC to register for VAT. This’ll also mean you’ll need to comply with the governments recent changes to Making Tax Digital.

Financing and Start-up costs

Initial financing and start-up costs often prevent you from making a profit immediately. Be prepared for this, and take a look at Should You Go Into Debt to Start a Business for more information.

STEP 3: Finding work as a VA

Join to a VA agency

Signing as much as an agency could be a superb place to begin to get work and find clients. Nevertheless, be wary and avoid agencies that may charge you to work for them. When you’ve paid them it’ll be doubtful for those who ever hear from them again. Similarly, avoid anything promoting ‘get wealthy quick’ or ‘make as much as £1000 a day’. Anything too good to be true on the job market all the time is.

The most effective web sites to envision out is the Society of Virtual Assistants. It’s a free service they usually have a great deal of useful information for virtual assistants. You’ll be able to select from two several types of membership: approved and standard.

The usual membership is designed to support those looking into becoming a virtual assistant. It includes some useful tools. You’ll get access to the forum where you possibly can post your queries, the society blog and other resources.
The approved membership is for businesses. You’ll need to conform to a code of conduct, and have skilled quality website and email, which will probably be checked. When you’ve been verified, you’ll be added to the searchable database. They’ll also offer you access to the ‘jobs available’ a part of the forum, which can then hopefully lead on to paid work.

Promoting what you are promoting

While you first arrange any business it’s exertions making your services known and sourcing clients. Our article Finding Freelance Clients has some useful hints on easy methods to advertise and end up clients.

To get your initial clients, you must know what form of people you should offer your VA services to. Make a listing of your key skills, what you’re completed in, and what you enjoy. Then take into consideration what kind of firms would want your services. What form of firms might need you to sort out their emails or phone lines? What firms might need virtual help with their customer support?

Consider what you possibly can offer to enhance their productivity, what the advantages of your service will probably be to the corporate and what makes you stand out from the gang.

Your promoting medium will depend upon your target market. Ask yourself:

What literature do these firms read/use?
Where do these firms network?
What type of media is that this company prone to come into contact with most frequently?

Also, creating your personal website is a superb solution to sell yourself as a virtual assistant. An internet site is a useful place so that you can construct a web-based CV, showcase experience and endorsements, and use it to advertise your services. There are many free tools that make it easy enough. Methods to Set Up a Website For Your Freelance Business is filled with all the data you must start.

STEP 4: Increase your skills, increase your pay

Virtual assistants can make more cash by increasing the talents they provide. Things like book-keeping, web-management and copy-editing are popular ways to extend your attractiveness to prospective clients. Essentially, the more you possibly can do, the more you’re in a position to offer a prospective client and this boosts your probabilities of getting work. A wide range of work is the fantastic thing about being a virtual assistant and the more things you possibly can do, the more you possibly can charge.

How much does a virtual assistant make?

In accordance with Glassdoor, the typical annual salary of a virtual assistant is just below £30,000. Plus, an annual survey conducted by Society of Virtual Assistant, found that the typical hourly rate for a VA within the UK is £27. These figures may assist you with a rough idea, but obviously it largely depends upon what skills and experience you possibly can bring to a job.

There are a couple of essential things you must bear in mind when setting your rates. Firstly, you should determine whether you’re going to charge based on a day-rate, or by the hour. Be wary about charging by the hour though, as you possibly can find yourself working numerous un-billable hours when researching and carrying out your personal admin tasks, that essentially leave you earning lower than you would with a day-rate.

Nevertheless, as a self-employed person you furthermore mght have to bear in mind an absence of:

Holiday pay
Sick pay
Maternity leave
Guaranteed hours
Pension contributions
Job security; and
Provided office stationery and utilities

You’ll have to calculate the indisputable fact that you’re missing out on these advantages into your pricing. Realistically, a further minimum of 25% ought to be added on to your price to make sure your expenses and tax are covered. For instance, for those who were considering of charging £20 an hour, then this could change to £25.

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Methods to Make £25 an Hour as a Virtual Assistant

What’s a virtual assistant?