I do believe that if you have chosen your path in life, you take on a journey of self discovery. This is how I see my life as a Virtual Assistant or as an Online Freelancer. I journeyed the long path; the road that is not often taken. Took some stumbles and fell on great setbacks. But because this is the path I consciously chosen for myself, I went on so in the end I can be the VA I want to be.
If I were a baby inside the womb, I would say am 8 months right now – excited to spring free and provide the service I always want to provide. But not yet as this is me, I have to be complete, feel complete.
If this is how it is for you or if you can visualize yourself following this career as a Virtual Assistant for a long haul, then this blog post is for you. Understand that following a career, whether it is online or with a company offline, is like shaping who you are. You are going to spend most, if not all, of your lifetime here. So choose well. Remember, if you love what you do; really passionate about it; then you are living your life to the fullest.
But enough of that, let’s get on to where you should start? Well, I talked about my beginnings here as an online content provider https://earnfulltimeincomeonline.wordpress.com/2012/05/. The truth is that, I just stumbled on this career and at the beginning, I don’t have a step by step procedure how I got started. Fortunately for you, my friend has one and you can check his website if you are serious about starting to earn online (check down below).
But, with my three years experience as an Online Freelancer, here’s my take if you want to get started.
- Evaluate your skills. Know what you can do currently that you think you can offer to people who need it. For me, I started out writing articles for blogs, submissions, BMR etc… I had good two years of providing web content and I still do it right now on the side. Only that my focus right now is leaning towards the marketing side of the content. So, what skills you need to know as a VA? I bought an ebook about it and you can check it out here: http://www.virtualassistantcareerguide.com/. Check out my skills list here too to see if you have the same skills as mine.
- Set time. Don’t let go of your day job yet, if you have one. If you don’t, then this shouldn’t be a problem. Set time where you can focus on working. Give at least two hours a day to set up your profile online to prepare yourself when prospect clients check on you. Then set four hours a day where you can focus on working.
- Set up your online profile. You can start with setting up profiles on odesk, elance and freelancer. I started selling gigs on fiverr and that went well for me. I was working as a full time college instructor back then and writing on the sides through fiverr. This is a good platform if you are good with graphics design or skills that can be chopped into bite size. ( for the lack of better words )
When setting up profile on these job sites, be sure that you are following advice. Read tips and really understand how each job site works. You can also network with other virtual assistants and ask some tips on how to improve your profile, how to bid for a job etc… I will certainly share the how’s here so you can also watch out for it.
Hope I am able to help you out get some more clarity on starting your online career. If you need to reach me out, just comment below or like me on my Facebook page. You can ping me there and I am more than glad to help you with your online journey the best way I can.
P.S. Here’s a good site to go if you are starting online as a VA! http://onlinejobslifestyle.com/
Empowered Professional Online 