The best part about being a Virtual Assistant is setting your schedule and deciding how much or how little you want to work. So while some of my coaching students plan to turn virtual assistance into their full-time job, many plan on doing it as a side job.
Sometimes, a total career overhaul isn’t an option. Or the right choice at the time. Or even something you want to consider. Whether you’re looking to earn extra income, learn the tricks of the VA trade, or slowly begin phasing out of your current role, becoming a Virtual Assistant on the side makes for an excellent companion to your full-time gig.
But one question remains: How do you get started when your time is even more limited?
If I were to build my VA business from the ground up on limited hours, here are three things I’d do to get started.
Prioritize Strong Branding and Consistent Marketing
Your brand is the baseline of your communications. It includes your colors, photography, business name, and messaging—all things that translate into your digital presence to market yourself online. If you can afford it, I highly recommend investing in branded photography. It will save you so much time and energy down the road, plus you’ll have a beautiful gallery of professional photos at your disposal to use throughout your marketing channels.
Since you’re limited on time, focus your efforts on 1-2 marketing outlets. Maybe you prioritize a strong website and a consistent Instagram, rather than trying to keep up and stay active on every single platform. And the goal is to work smarter here, so if you know your work week is going to particularly crazy, dedicate an hour or two on the weekend to batching content.
Rach’s Resource: How to Market Yourself Online as a VA (blog)
Get Specific on the Services You’re Going to Offer
If you’re doing VA as a side job, it may be best to focus on a specific number or type of service rather than an extensive list that might appeal to a broader audience. If you love to write, offer services that align with your craft. Examples of this include newsletter creation, emails, social captions, and blogs.
A lot of my coaching students feel the need to offer every service under the sun. Hear me when I say you don’t have to do that. Limiting your services, especially when working as a VA on the side, will allow you to refine your skills, attract a specific audience, and eliminate any potential overwhelm on your end.
To get started, think of traditional VA services that you already enjoy doing. Do you like administrative tasks like email and calendar management? Are you a creative at heart looking to design graphics and websites? Do you want to manage social accounts to showcase your marketing skills?
Once you build a solid foundation of services and get a few clients under you belt, then consider adding more if your schedule allows.
Rach’s Resource: Take my free quiz to discover what services you should offer!
Market Directly to Your Target Audience
There’s a common saying in sales: If you market to everyone, you market to no one. To avoid screaming to an empty void, get clear on who you want to serve. Your target audience is going to inform where you market your services and how you speak about them.
If you spend three seconds on my website or Instagram, you’ll see immediately that my target audience is burnt out teachers. I was one, so I know exactly how to speak to this audience. It’s important that you’re able to empathize with your target audience’s frustrations, and you want to market yourself as the solution to them.
Think through these questions when trying to nail down your target audience.
- Who is my dream client? (industry, age, values, etc.)
- Why will they benefit from my services?
- What problems are they currently facing that I can solve?
- Where are they consuming content, and how can I best engage with them?
- What voice and tone resonates with them?
Starting a side job as a VA doesn’t require you to spend endless hours that you just don’t have. To get the ball rolling, focus on a few specific areas and grow and scale as your time allows.
Looking for additional ways I can support you?
