How To Become a Virtual Assistant (and Work From Home)

Do you dream of making a full-time income while working from home as a stay-at-home mom? And because you love organizing and managing tasks someone said to you that you would be great at one of those virtual assistant mommy jobs online. But, now you’re wondering how to become a Virtual Assistant so that you can actually make money working from home, right? Then you’re in the right place.

Because in today’s interview I chat with Abbey Ashley who is the Founder of The Virtual Savvy and together we dive deep into what you need to do to not only become a Virtual Assistant but a booked-out one!

Abbey started her own virtual assistant business in 2013 and was able to double the salary from her full-time corporate job, working only 20 hours a week… in just 30 days while on MATERNITY LEAVE! She’s since gone on to grow a multi-six figure business and retire her husband ALL from her at-home business. It’s now her passion to help others start their own VA business so you can taste the freedom and flexibility while enjoying motherhood and staying home with your kids. 

If this has got you excited then don’t forget to check out Abbey’s FREE virtual assistant training where she teaches you how you can quickly earn 100k+ working as a virtual assistant.

Here are other questions you might have:

• What do I need to become a virtual assistant?
• How do I start a career as a virtual assistant?
• Do virtual assistants make good money?
• Do you need schooling to be a virtual assistant?

That’s why now Abbey helps aspiring virtual assistants launch and grow their own at-home business from scratch. And in this interview, she reveals exactly how you can become a Virtual Assistant and start making money while working from home.

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And with that, I’ll hand it over to you, Abbey.

1. Welcome Abbey! Please tell us why did you start your Virtual Assistant business? What was the reason for it?

I started my own VA business in 2015 while pregnant with my first child.

My husband had just got a huge pay cut and we were really hurting financially. I tried out a few different jobs – but they just didn’t work out well for me!

One day a friend of mine told me about virtual assistance and said I would be really good at it. So that same night, I went home and looked up everything I could about becoming a VA. (Thanks Google!)

Only one month after I started my business I was already booked out with clients! It was pretty phenomenal.

As a result, I ended up having so many people asking me, “Abbey, how did you do this?” that I decided to launch an online course to teach other people how to become a virtual assistant. And the first time I launched it, I had 16 people sign-up!

It was pretty cool because I led them through starting their own service-based business with the same process I used and they were actually successful!

That was my “aha” moment and I realized- wow this isn’t a fluke.

So, I kept launching the course over and over and now thousands of students have gone through that same program!

2. What exactly is a Virtual Assistant (VA), what is a typical virtual assistant service and who do you work for?

Virtual Assistance is best understood as an umbrella term.

And under the umbrella of Virtual Assistance exist an incredible number of services.

There are even specialists inside of each service.

For example, Virtual Assistance covers the service of Social Media, which in turn covers specialists like:

• Pinterest Managers or
• Facebook Ads Managers.

This umbrella covers:

• administrative
• creative
• design
• financial
• management
• marketing
• personal
• social
• or technical skills, among others!

Some virtual assistants may offer a variety of services, and some may choose just to specialize in one or two services.

But Virtual Assistants can also choose to “niche down” by industry, like the wedding, construction, or photography industries.

That means they may have a range of services or one specific service. And their services may change over time.

Or they may call themselves a Virtual Assistant or something else.

As you can see, there are a LOT of nuances – but all in all…If you’re working remotely and providing a service to another business owner, your business technically falls under the Virtual Assistant umbrella.

3. What does your average day look like when you started, before you had your team? How would a typical day look for a new beginner VA?

Some of my first tasks as a VA were simple.

For instance, I performed tasks like:

• Data entry
• email/calendar management
• appointment setting phone calls
• and customer service emails.

You can learn more advanced skills in the future, but you can start TODAY with what you already know.

So, if you already have a competitive skill, like web design, graphics, or Facebook ads, that gives you an even bigger edge in the VA world.

4. Do you think it’s possible to start a VA business for a busy mom who is trying to balance a family? Any advice you want to give fellow working moms?

My best advice is, just start!

Because if you have a dream of starting your own business or even just having a “side hustle,” know that it is possible for you. 

I know what it feels like to be a working mom and have financial hardship.

I get it.

And starting a business can be really scary! BUT, if I can do it so can anyone else! I’m not a “special case.”

I would just say to do the best you can with what you have – even if that means starting small. But the important thing is, to start somewhere.

So many moms are in a position where they want to contribute to the household, but they don’t want to leave their kids in daycare…and the beauty of virtual assistance is that you don’t have to choose.

You can literally run your own business and still be there for your kids. It’s such a relief to not have to worry about leaving your kid in daycare and going to clock in at a job you hate!

And it’s also a HUGE relief to not have to worry about getting fired because you’re your own boss!

5. How much money can you make when you’re starting out as a VA? I know you help your students to make $100K+ quickly. But do you think that’s possible for someone just starting out?

Yes! Virtual assistance has excellent earning potential.

That means if you’re well-versed in general admin tasks, design, or marketing skills (data entry, social media posting, simple graphics, basic calendar management, etc), the going rate for that type of work is $25 – $40 per hour.

And if you have advanced skills in creating graphics, making WordPress edits, writing optimized content, or course creation for example you can easily charge $30 – $50 per hour or more!

Additionally, any specialized skills like web design, SEO, advanced social media strategy, or email marketing should really be no less than $50 per hour.

As you advance in your skills you can definitely raise your prices.

6. How do you get clients, especially as a new VA? What Virtual Assistant tools do you use?

We have a marketing module in our SavvySystem course that provides all the ins and outs of marketing your business and where to find clients!

For anyone who is interested in learning more about virtual assistance, we do have a free training you can check out at “Become Booked Out” which it’s perfect for you if you want to learn more about Virtual Assistance and are just getting started.

Here are a few testimonials from current and past students.

“I took Abbey’s program in August of 2018. I quit my full-time job in November of 2018 and now I run a Virtual Assistant Agency that supports female entrepreneurs, creatives, and coaches. I have a team of 5 women and am about to hire 3 more team members in August. I got to take 3-month maternity leave and my business still ran seamlessly and I paid myself consecutively a large salary all while spending precious time with my baby and learning how to be a momma. Abbey’s course does work and I am so thankful I found her!” – Sadie built a team and gave herself a paid maternity leave.

“Guys! literally freaking out right now. I just signed an ongoing client for almost $1000/month. That’s my biggest one since starting my biz 6 weeks ago!!” – Stephanie Blake

“I can’t believe it, y’all! One year. One year ago I quite literally stumbled upon Abbey Ashley and found out about virtual assistant businesses. Now a year later and I run a VA and OBM agency. Like WHAT. I seriously always tell my family I had no clue this is the path I was going down, but HERE WE ARE, SIS! Someone pinch me! Literally living my dream life. Just thought I would post in the group that has helped me in so many ways. Thanks, Virtual Savvy!” – Kayleigh now runs an OBM and VA agency.

“Leaving my career after 15 years to start my own business as a Virtual Assistant was huge for me. I am approaching the one-year anniversary of when I decided to start this journey and I can absolutely 100% assure you that I wouldn’t be where I am without this program and the amazing people I’ve met. Since starting the Savvy System, I’ve been fully booked, I’ve expanded my services, AND now, thanks to all of the education and knowledge sharing, I’m embarking on the next step of my entrepreneurial journey and entering a Director of Operations Program. 

I could go on and on about Abbey, her amazing team, and the incredible community she’s built, but I’ll sum it up here and just say this… Joining this program was THE BEST first decision I made hands down!  There’s no way for you to truly know upfront all the value that comes along with your financial and mental investment in this program. Literally, it was THE BEST first decision I made… I hope you make the same choice and if I can help in any way… I am always available.  Love you guys!” – Lynette is fully booked after leaving a 15-year career!

And there’s also Melanie, who’s a single mom who completely replaced her income.

7. What are some of the most important skills a Virtual Assistant needs to possess?

Honestly, if you have a computer, reliable internet, and a little bit of what we call “figure-it-out-ness” – that’s really what it takes to start.

And what I mean by that is – if you’re the type of person who is easily self-taught, you can Google things and you catch on quickly…virtual assistant can work for you!

Because you don’t have to start knowing everything right away.

8. How to become a Virtual Assistant with no experience? Do you think that’s possible?

Yes! For anyone who is interested in learning more about virtual assistance, we have a free training they can check out at “Become a Booked out Virtual Assistant”.

9. What are the challenges you see the new VA’s struggle with and how can your free training help someone overcome that?

When I started out as a VA, I pretty much had to figure everything out myself.

And I can’t tell you how many hours I spent on Google scrolling one blog post after the next.

That’s why I wish I had something like SavvySystem to walk me through everything – it would have saved me SO much time!

10. What’s the one secret that makes your VA business a success?

What makes us unique is that we are a people-centered company. We really value our students and look to implement our company values into every single thing we do! 

Those values are:

We serve first!

We respect all people at all times.

We creatively carve our own path.

We practice irrational generosity.

We value action over perfection.

We actually have an entire channel in our company slack group where we celebrate these core values! And any time we see that someone on our team has implemented them, we will write in there and share the win. It’s become a part of our company culture and I just love it!

Also, here at The Virtual Savvy, we offer two different trainings.

The first is our signature SavvySystem training where we teach students step-by-step how to start their own virtual assistant business. It’s a self-paced course, and it literally walks you through everything you need to know from how to make a website, to finding clients and handle your taxes.

It’s pretty much a business in a box. And many of our students become booked out with clients before they even finish this course!

Our second training is a subscription-based membership where we offer over 50 different tech trainings on programs for your VA business or your client’s business.

That means we cover tools like Canva, Pinterest, Planoly, and Asana.

There are really so many! And I love that we can offer this second option to our students though – it’s a great asset for those who already have their business set up and want to refine their skills! You can find more about this training here: SavvyVault.

Thank you, Abbey!

Wow, mommies, I hope you’ve enjoyed this jam-packed interview with Abbey Ashely, founder of The Virtual Savvy. In particular, I like Abbey’s “figure-it-out-ness” attitude as a good skill set to possess to help you start a VA business.

Don’t forget to check out Abbey’s virtual assistant training that teaches you how you can quickly earn 100k+ working as a virtual assistant – completely for FREE!

What about you?

Let me know in the comments if you’re thinking about becoming a Virtual Assistant and work from home!