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Chances are, you’ve seen a lot of virtual assistant businesses popping up over the last couple of years. However, why is that, and should you try it out too? Maybe you’ve thought about it for a while, but you’ve been on the fence about taking the plunge. Or perhaps this is your first time hearing about this business type, and you’re interested in learning more about it. In either case, this blog post is for you! Although there are literally hundreds of reasons why you should become a virtual assistant, I’m going to share nine reasons why you should create a virtual assistant business in 2023. So, let’s hop into it!
9 Reasons Why You Should Create a Virtual Assistant Business
I’m all about teaching women how to achieve time and financial freedom, and this business type is one way to accomplish that. Check out these nine reasons!
#1 You Can Use The Skills You Currently Have
One of the main reasons people are flocking to become virtual assistants is because you can use the skills you already have. Every single one of us has a unique set of skills and experiences that someone would pay for right now. You might’ve read that sentence and started second-guessing yourself, but I’m very serious. I’ll give you a few examples.
Stay-At-Home Mama Example
Let’s say you’re a stay-at-home mama with minimal work experience. You might feel defeated, like no job would hire you, but sis, you can create an opportunity for yourself! Think about it. Often, you’re responsible for tasks like setting up your family’s doctor appointments, meal planning, ordering gifts, and keeping the home organized. Lady, there are people out there who would pay you to do that from the comforts of your home. Some of the clients my company has assisted include CEOs who are just too busy for that type of stuff, and they’re looking for someone with your experience to help them!
Medical Assistant Example
Medical assistants are trained to complete administrative and clinical tasks in various healthcare facilities. But what if driving back and forth to work is just becoming too much? Or maybe you no longer like doing the hands-on clinical stuff. Could you take your current medical assistant training and become a virtual assistant? You sure can. From home, you could still help patients schedule appointments, assist with billing, verify insurance benefits, and more. Small and large practices need exactly what you’re trained to do. You just need to know how to reach them.
Call Center Representative Example
Are you a call center rep with excellent customer service and problem-solving skills? As you might imagine, this is another area where you can take the skills you already have and become a virtual assistant. Customer relations is a huge part of business, and it’s an area where a lot of busy business owners drop the ball. As a result, many of them decide to hire a VA to remedy this issue. You could help them resolve customer complaints, provide product recommendations, respond to emails, and so much more.
#2 You Don’t Need A College Degree
I went to university and don’t regret my experience at all. However, I didn’t need a degree to form a virtual assistant agency. Some companies prefer hiring individuals with a college degree, but several business owners don’t care about that. Therefore, don’t fret if you don’t have a degree because I’ve seen social media managers who never went to school for digital marketing. I’ve also seen tech VAs who never went to school for technology, but they can easily integrate software programs in a tech stack. The key is being willing to learn whatever it is that you’re interested in.
#3 There’s No Cap On Your Earnings
Isn’t it frustrating when you excel at your job, but your employer doesn’t properly compensate you for the value you bring? If so, this is definitely another reason why you should create a virtual assistant business. I recall a time during my career when the department I was working in lost employees left and right. When a manager in our department left, I was asked to take on their job functions at a facility almost 40 minutes away a few days a week. This frustrated me, but I took on the responsibility.
Next, the previous manager’s quality person left, and I was again asked to take on their responsibilities. So, now I was doing my original job and two other positions. Despite this, they didn’t want to give me a raise and said I had reached my income cap, even though my job functions had changed. I quickly felt undervalued, and my morale tanked. I soon left.
Today, with my VA agency, I decide how much I want to earn and put processes in place to achieve that. As a result, I don’t feel undervalued, and there’s no cap on my earnings. You can experience that as well, and you definitely deserve to!
#4 You Can Work From Anywhere
Working from anywhere probably sounds too good to be true, but it’s definitely possible. I’ve worked in many cities, including Atlanta, Phoenix, Miami, and more. I’ve also done some work out of the country. As long as I have a Wi-Fi connection or data, as well as my laptop or tablet, I’m good to go! So if you like traveling and don’t want a job that restricts that, this is another reason why you should create a virtual assistant business.
#5 You Only Need a Phone and a Computer To Start
One of the beauties of starting a VA business is that you don’t really need a lot to begin. You don’t need a brick-and-mortar location or a bunch of equipment to get started. Truly, a phone, computer, and stable Internet connection will suffice. I can remember when I didn’t even have a desk or a dedicated space in my home to call an office. I’d work from the kitchen table, my couch, and even my bed. As more income came in, I could invest in different software to reduce my workload and hire people. But seriously, you can start with the basics.
#6 You Can Create Your Own Schedule (YAY Flexibility!)
Listen, 9-5s don’t work for everybody, and that’s okay. I remember how challenging it was to schedule dental and doctor’s appointments when I had a job. I also remember having a job that occasionally required mandatory overtime, which would throw off my entire day. Another job I worked had a blackout period, and employees couldn’t take PTO. This all made me feel like I had no control over my day, and it was so frustrating to me.
If you desire flexibility and having the ability to design your own schedule, you’ll like having a virtual assistant business. If night shifts are better for you, you can work your biz while your family sleeps. Do you want to keep your 9-5 and make some extra money on the side? You can build something like this into your schedule too. Are you wanting 4-day workweeks where you only work 4 hours per day? You can do that as well! The flexibility you get is a huge reason you should create a virtual assistant business.
#7 Businesses Big and Small Need a VA
I’ve worked with solopreneurs, and I’ve worked with large companies with hundreds of employees. And guess what? They all needed a virtual assistant to help with something. There are tasks in every business that could be outsourced. Typically it’s a task that someone doesn’t have time to do or simply doesn’t know how to do. In some circumstances, people have the time and are knowledgeable on how to do it, but it’s not a good use of their time, so they hire a VA to maximize their productivity.
Therefore, if you ever wonder who actually needs a VA, It’s practically every single business out there. There is more than enough room for more VAs, but you must know how to stand out. In my course, the Imperative VA, I show you the blueprint for how to make that happen.
#8 It’s Very Scalable
Scalability is a word you’ll see a lot in the entrepreneurial world, and that’s for a very good reason. When a company is scalable, it can grow and make money without being held back by poor processes or a lack of resources. A VA business, especially one with proper processes, is a bit easier to scale than some other business types. Why? Because you don’t have to purchase a bunch of equipment or inventory and buy or rent a building to scale. Some businesses require a ton of capital to expand and grow, but that’s not the case here.
Honestly, with a VA business, it could look a bit like this. You might start off doing the work yourself, possibly with 2-4 clients. Then one day, you realize that leads are contacting you, but you don’t have the capacity to take on any more work. So instead of turning clients away, you hire a VA subcontractor to take on some of your workload. The cost of doing this isn’t nearly as expensive as it could be if you had another type of company, and it allows you to earn more while doing less. Slowly, you could add another subcontractor and another one; before you know it, you have a Virtual Assistant agency. Seriously, you could eventually get to a point where you personally only work a few hours per week.
The scalability here helps you achieve time and financial freedom, which is honestly a major reason why I think you should create a virtual assistant business.
#9 Large Firms Are Shrinking Their Employee Workforce and Outsourcing
If you watch the news, read magazines, or even scroll social media, you’ll hear about companies shrinking their employee workforce. One reason they’re doing this is that it’s expensive to have employees, especially considering the cost of benefits and taxes. In addition, large firms are investigating employee productivity. One study found that employees are only productive for about three hours a day during an eight-hour workday. That means they’re losing large sums of money on employees checking social media, reading news sites, and discussing non-work-related topics with coworkers during work hours.
Another reason companies are downsizing is that technology is constantly evolving. As a result, some tasks no longer need to be completed by a human. If they can pay for software that automatically completes a job instead of an employee who sort of works 8 hours per day, they’re going to choose the software.
After downsizing and automating tasks, companies may then outsource various duties to a virtual assistant firm. By doing that, they don’t have to worry about providing office space, equipment, utilities, etc. This is good news for aspiring virtual assistants!
So What Are You Waiting For? Create a Virtual Assistant Business!
Although there are definitely more than nine reasons why you should create a virtual assistant business, I find these to be some of the top ones. Other reasons include being able to do work that you actually enjoy. It’s very fulfilling being a VA because you get to help someone else grow something they’re passionate about. You also learn a lot, so you’ll stay on your toes. I’ve been doing this for over seven years, and I haven’t gotten bored yet! In addition, the virtual assistant community, as well as the entrepreneurial community as a whole, is great to be a part of. As a matter of fact, join our Facebook Group to interact with other aspiring and/or current VAs!
If you’ve read this and think becoming a virtual assistant might be worth a shot, I say give it a try. Check out the resources on our website, purchase VA tools you might need, and see where it takes you. Remember, it doesn’t have to be something you jump into full-time. Heck, you can decide never to make it a full-time thing. It’s okay if you just want to do this to make some side money while keeping your job. As the economy shifts, it helps to have options for making money!
