The Realities of Being a Virtual Assistant

13 Things They Won’t Tell You

•Your work week generally contains a significant portion of unbillable, unpaid hours.

http://blog.hrusa.com/blog/unpaid-work-time-is-not-offset-by-voluntary-payment/

•The Fee that you charge your client is not what you take home as your paycheque.

http://www.3aw.com.au/news/young-people-being-exploited-while-undertaking-unpaid-work-20170117-gttiuf.html

•It can be daunting, lonely and sometimes pretty challenging to settle into your new independent career lifestyle.

http://www.nexxstepcareer.com/services-career-job-search/executives/executive-job-search-branding-resume/

•Self Employment just doesn’t work for some people. If the role just isn’t working for you, it could be the nature of self employment, not the actual Virtual Assistant role.

http://www.want2geton.co.uk/if-you-want-career-change-first-tell-me-you-career-vision/

•It’s not like the pictures on the websites or in the training manuals- you have to work hard and be persistent to gain a presence and a client base- no one is going to do it for you.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/social-europe-jobs/news/self-employment-seen-as-possible-exit-door-for-jobless-youth/

•Networking is paramount to a start up Virtual Assistant, it must be done constantly and regularly, and this is very time consuming hard work.

http://www.fmgroup.com.au/_blog/News/post/networking-sales-meetings/

•You will need strength, persistence and determination to succeed, and a thick skin for the road to success

https://www.womenonbusiness.com/the-strength-of-approachability-business/

•People will always have an opinion about your job. Generally that it isn’t really a job, and that you don’t work hard because you work from home

https://evoke.pro/articles/200/

•Some days you just won’t be able to muster up the motivation you need to actually start work. It can, and will, happen. Just don’t let it become a regular occurrence.

http://www.howdesign.com/design-creativity/how-to/how-to-overcome-creative-roadblocks/

•Some days you may mentally find yourself miles away from the work that you’re supposed to be doing because you’re deep in a YouTube or Pinterest rabbit hole. Make sure this doesn’t happen regularly either!

http://www.livedealer.org/blog/2013/03/gettin-social-facebook-twitter-pinterest-youtube-google-plus/

•Some days you just have to suck it up and accept the fact that a client is a headache to deal with, and they make your life difficult, but if they are one of the only opportunities around at the time it’s a costly call to lose the business.

https://au.pinterest.com/purge11/bully-dealing-with-difficult-people/

•You need to calculate your hourly rate from the very beginning, don’t just wing it or price in comparison to the competition. Take into account Superannuation, Sick days, Holidays, unexpected time off work and your personal overheads.

•As a virtual assistant you may find that when other industries are typically quiet, you will be especially busy. Wait until you have been operating for a decent while before you plan any breaks or decide to make any changes.

http://www.allegiancestaffing.com/author/jr/page/5/

•There will be times when it will be quiet, or you have had a challenging client push you too far…it’s ok…you won’t always love being a Virtual Assistant but if you persist at it, it is worth it.

•The opportunities for a Virtual Assistant are not only varied in job description, but you also have the potential to create an entrepreneurial empire by starting your own agency

http://blog.intcce.org/is-entrepreneurship-for-you/