The Bare Necessities of Starting your Virtual Assistant Career

I get it, it’s a lot of information to take in when you first start your Virtual Assistant journey. There is so much information out there but when you go to put it all in place, it seems overwhelming and like you are more lost than you were before finding the information.

If that’s you, then this post was written for you.

While you’re sorting through all of the information and figuring out what to do with it, let’s break down what basics you need to get in order before you land that first client.

1 - A Way to Invoice

First, let’s figure out how you will get paid. 

There are a ton of invoicing options out there so I encourage you to get out there and explore a few of them to get a feel for what dashboard you like, the features you want, etc. Play around inside of these tools and find one you feel at home with. 

Here is something to keep in mind as you explore these invoicing tools…

Will you be taking on a full-time VA career or very part-time? Do you plan on ever taking on subcontractors to scale your business?

If you’re making this a small side gig, you don’t necessarily need some large invoicing tool. 

But if you are building out a full-sized business with the potential to take on sub-contractors, then you will need something that can do more than just invoice. You might need something that can take on bookkeeping as well. 

Honeybook seems to be a fan favorite at the moment.

2 - A Contract

This is a must because it’s a really simple way to protect yourself in these positions. We blindly sign these types of agreements all the time… When we sign an estimate for housework, when our iPhone updates, or when we purchase something online. Most of these we never even read through or see but they keep us and the seller protected.

Now if you don’t have a lawyer on retainer (who does?) or you’re not a part of a Virtual Assistant coaching program, like ours…you may be overwhelmed by the idea of having a contract in place with your clients. That’s okay! 

The basics you need to cover can be found in most contract templates you can find online.

If you aren’t planning on purchasing a template, just do a quick google search for “Contractor Agreement Templates” 

My suggestion is to eventually have it looked over by a lawyer OR save to purchase a pre-made one from a lawyer who specializes in online business.

3 - Your 1-Pager

Finally, once you have the basics in place for getting started, you need to have something to share when you’re networking. It can be as simple as a resume or as complex as a website. But don’t get stuck on either/or, just create what you feel you can be confident in! 

Some ladies will even just create a FB page with a killer about me, some sample work, testimonials, and posts.

Your main goal with this is to give clients a clear picture of who you are. You want your personality to show through so they can feel that initial connection with you.

Once you have at least these 3 things in place, you’re safe to start networking and landing clients. Everything else can fall into place later. Just take these steps to get the ball rolling and as you do, everything else will start to make sense!