{"id":9769,"date":"2019-03-22T10:00:41","date_gmt":"2019-03-22T10:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/?p=9769"},"modified":"2024-12-17T14:03:45","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T14:03:45","slug":"become-virtual-assistant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/remote-working\/become-virtual-assistant\/","title":{"rendered":"How do I become a virtual assistant?"},"content":{"rendered":"

So you\u2019ve decided to take the plunge and commit to a full-time virtual assistant job<\/a>. Whether it\u2019s the chance to work flexibly from home, or you\u2019re looking to diversify your workload, a VA job is a fantastic option for administrative professionals.<\/p>\n

However, before you hand in your notice and commit to becoming a virtual assistant in London<\/a>, there are a few things to put in place.<\/p>\n

Branding<\/h2>\n

It may not be the first thing you think of but it\u2019s essential that anyone offering VA services has a strong brand to go with it! The market is quite saturated, so it pays to have a recognisable name and identity before you begin. Think about your name \u2013 will you operate under your given name or will it be something that describes your services instead? Do some research into what\u2019s on the market \u2013 if you choose something that\u2019s too similar to another brand, you will struggle to compete on a Google and social media search.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth thinking about your visuals. Will you have a logo, or rely on images? What colour scheme will your branding be? Getting this sorted before going out to clients will ensure an authentic brand identity from the very beginning.<\/p>\n

Charges and services<\/h2>\n

Before you start quoting on virtual assistant jobs, it\u2019s important to establish a pricing matrix. You may choose to charge by the hour, by the project or as a flat fee, depending on the type of work you\u2019re completing. You need to consider how much you need to charge to not only cover living expenses, but other compulsory elements like tax, National Insurance and pension.<\/p>\n

It is inevitable that some clients will try to bargain with you, so it\u2019s important to know how far you\u2019re willing to drop in order to still make a living. Some virtual assistants in the market do have very low prices, so it may be tempting to try and compete. But, at the end of the day, you need to make every task worth your while!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also important to establish the scope of your services \u2013 as a London-based virtual assistant, what exactly will you be offering? Is it just straight administration, or can you assist with other tasks, such as copywriting or website design?<\/p>\n

\"Hands<\/p>\n

Legalities<\/h2>\n

A virtual PA job in the UK may have its benefits, but one of its pitfalls involves either engaging an accountant or taking charge of your finances yourself. You\u2019ll need to decide whether you want to trade as a limited company or sole trader, what to do with VAT and how to make sure you have all the necessary records come tax time.<\/p>\n

Technology<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s no point offering your VA services if you can\u2019t actually deliver on them. Make sure you have the appropriate technology to keep connected with clients and complete tasks required. This includes video conferencing tools such as a camera and microphone, all Microsoft Office software and a fast and consistent Internet connection. It would also work in your favour to be well-versed in mobile technology so you can work on the go, with access to a wide range of apps.<\/p>\n

This is also the point you can get your website going \u2013 this should include a summary of your services and your experience.<\/p>\n

Business Development<\/h2>\n

You\u2019ve got the brand, know how much you\u2019re charging and are all teched up. It\u2019s time to find your first virtual assistant job! This can be a long process that requires a multi-faceted approach, so it\u2019s worth starting this before you resign from your full-time role.<\/p>\n

Social media is a VA\u2019s best friend so as soon as you confirm your branding it\u2019s time to get networking<\/a>! Start with Twitter and LinkedIn \u2013 these are the two platforms that are most likely attract your target audience. Let your existing network know about your new venture \u2013 they may not require your services in the near future, but could know someone who could.<\/p>\n

On your website, add some blog posts or create short videos \u2013 whatever you think will attract your audience\u2019s attention. You could also build an email list so that you can keep any leads warm. Perhaps consider offering a free service to incentivise signing up?<\/p>\n

Alternatively, consider signing up with a virtual jobs<\/a> agency like Tiger Virtual. They will contact you as and when roles emerge.<\/p>\n

Once you build that base of clients, make sure you ask for referrals or testimonials \u2013 this will allow you to attract ongoing business, reducing the need for proactive business development.
\n—
\nTiger Virtual recruits for virtual PA jobs in the UK. Submit your details today<\/a> to make sure you\u2019re on our database.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So you\u2019ve decided to take the plunge and commit to a full-time virtual assistant job. Whether it\u2019s the chance to work flexibly from home, or you\u2019re looking to diversify your workload, a VA job is a fantastic option for administrative professionals. However, before you hand in your notice and commit to becoming a virtual assistant<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9771,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,16],"insight-type":[13],"class_list":["post-9769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-job-seekers","category-remote-working","insight-type-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLooking to become a virtual assistant? Here are our tips.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you\u2019re looking for the chance to diversify your workload or work flexibly, a virtual PA job in the UK is a fantastic option for administrative professionals\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/remote-working\/become-virtual-assistant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Looking to become a virtual assistant? Here are our tips.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you\u2019re looking for the chance to diversify your workload or work flexibly, a virtual PA job in the UK is a fantastic option for administrative professionals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/remote-working\/become-virtual-assistant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tiger Recruitment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tigerrecruitment.ltd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-22T10:00:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-17T14:03:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PA-on-computer-e1591730856972.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rebecca Siciliano\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@tigerrecruit\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@tigerrecruit\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rebecca Siciliano\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Looking to become a virtual assistant? Here are our tips.","description":"If you\u2019re looking for the chance to diversify your workload or work flexibly, a virtual PA job in the UK is a fantastic option for administrative professionals","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/remote-working\/become-virtual-assistant\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Looking to become a virtual assistant? Here are our tips.","og_description":"If you\u2019re looking for the chance to diversify your workload or work flexibly, a virtual PA job in the UK is a fantastic option for administrative professionals","og_url":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/remote-working\/become-virtual-assistant\/","og_site_name":"Tiger Recruitment","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tigerrecruitment.ltd\/","article_published_time":"2019-03-22T10:00:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-12-17T14:03:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PA-on-computer-e1591730856972.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rebecca Siciliano","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@tigerrecruit","twitter_site":"@tigerrecruit","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rebecca Siciliano","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9769"},{"taxonomy":"insight-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight-type?post=9769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}