Can one earn a good living as a virtual assistant?

henrysy · 11-03-2009, 04:53 PM

Hi,
I'm 60 years old living in the Philippines and I'm seriously thinking of quitting my fulltime job by the end of this year and just work from home perhaps as a virtual assistant to IMers. I've been involved in Internet Marketing for over 6 years now and I believe my knowledge and experience in this field will be of great benefit to any one who'll hire me as his/her VA.

That said, can someone please tell me if one can make a good living working as a VA and how much can he possibly earn in one month? Also, how do I go about finding people to hire me? I'm good at designing graphics and websites using popular graphics and web design programs and I'm very comfortable at building wordpress blogs. I'm quite good at writing email correspondences, write/rewrite articles, and other IM related tasks as well.

I'm really looking for a way to earn a decent amount of money online to replace my current salary working at home.

Your advice and suggestions will be very much appreciated.

Thank you in advance!
Henry

Scott Ames · 11-03-2009, 05:01 PM

You should be able to do that. You could post here for those wanting a VA and do it on a per job basis, or get someone to hire you full time.

There are also sites that list VA's available for hire. You tell people what you can do and list your salary desired. If you listed there you would not have to quit your job until someone offers you a position. Just make sure those hiring you are real and have the money to keep you employed for a while. You don't want to get hired, quit your job, then find out you only have a job for a month.

Abledragon · 11-03-2009, 05:22 PM

You need to work out how much you need on a monthly basis to pay the bills and cover your expenses and then work out how much you need to charge on an hourly basis.

Remember that being a VA is not scalable (it takes your time and although you can have lots of customers you can only talk to one of them at a time!).

You then need to make an estimate of how many hours a month you're going to be able to charge for - initially it won't be a lot, which is why Scott's suggestion above is a good one.

As your number of customers builds up so the number of chargeable hours will build up.

I suggest going through that kind of analysis and seeing what it looks like.

Cheers,

Martin.

SteelDanno · 11-03-2009, 05:28 PM

I hope this is within the warrior forum guidelines (if not, admins please delete msg kindly and accept my apology) but ...

HenrySy can you please send me a privae message with your email address so we can get a conversation going. I may have some work for you coming up. Thank you.

Jonet Bradley · 11-03-2009, 05:32 PM

Hi There Henrysy,

I am currently working on launching my own Internet Marketing VA business and from my research (from several reputable sources) the average IMVA charges around $20-$40 p/hr could possibly earn more based on training,certifications, etc. How much you make on a monthly basis is entirely up to you-- as far as how many hours/clients you want to take on. Many VA's list their services on places like Odesk, Guru, etc. to help gain additional clients.

I have found the vanetworking forum to be extremely helpful for those interested in the VA industry and it's a pretty active forum so hopefully you will find more info there.

Best of Luck,

abbadox · 11-03-2009, 05:32 PM

Only you can decide how much you need to make a good living Henry, figure out what you would need to be happy and then post it and see what kind of response you get.

henrysy · 11-03-2009, 05:35 PM

Hi SteelDanno,
PM sent. Thanks!

Henry

henrysy · 11-03-2009, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonet Bradley

Hi There Henrysy,

I am currently working on launching my own Internet Marketing VA business and from my research (from several reputable sources) the average IMVA charges around $20-$40 p/hr could possibly earn more based on training,certifications, etc. How much you make on a monthly basis is entirely up to you-- as far as how many hours/clients you want to take on. Many VA's list their services on places like Odesk, Guru, etc. to help gain additional clients.

I have found the vanetworking forum to be extremely helpful for those interested in the VA industry and it's a pretty active forum so hopefully you will find more info there.

Best of Luck,

Hi Jonet:
Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it very much.

Regards,
Henry

henrysy · 11-03-2009, 06:12 PM

Thanks for all your responses and kind suggestions. I try to avoid posting my responses here to thank everyone as I don't want to be accused of trying to increase my post count. For people who'd like to learn more about me, please visit my two sites below:

We Build Websites That Really Sell!
Designs By Demand - Home

Thanks again to you fellow warriors and to the warrior forum!

Regards,
Henry

AceHazel · 11-03-2009, 07:38 PM

I think so, being a VA could really help. I know someone from the Philippines who makes a living as VA. Aside that you could help financially, you can expand and share your knowledge to others.

Good luck on your venture.

KimPup · 11-03-2009, 09:45 PM

Hi Henry,

I highly reccomend joining this Virtual Assistant forum, you will find EVERYTHING you need to know here!

Virtual Assistant Networking Forum (VAnetworking) (Powered by Invision Power Board)

The amount of sharing knowledge and comraderie there is astounding!

Good Luck!
Kim

MJGrae · 11-03-2009, 09:48 PM

VAs can make a VERY comfortable living for themselves. But just as any other 'job' you'll need to prove yourself to employers before you get that higher end pay. But with your background in IM, I'd imagine that wouldn't be very hard for you!

11-03-2009, 04:53 PM	#1
henrysy Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 73 Thanks: 19 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Can one earn a good living as a virtual assistant? Hi, I'm 60 years old living in the Philippines and I'm seriously thinking of quitting my fulltime job by the end of this year and just work from home perhaps as a virtual assistant to IMers. I've been involved in Internet Marketing for over 6 years now and I believe my knowledge and experience in this field will be of great benefit to any one who'll hire me as his/her VA. That said, can someone please tell me if one can make a good living working as a VA and how much can he possibly earn in one month? Also, how do I go about finding people to hire me? I'm good at designing graphics and websites using popular graphics and web design programs and I'm very comfortable at building wordpress blogs. I'm quite good at writing email correspondences, write/rewrite articles, and other IM related tasks as well. I'm really looking for a way to earn a decent amount of money online to replace my current salary working at home. Your advice and suggestions will be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance! Henry

11-03-2009, 05:01 PM	#2
Scott Ames I'm getting fat War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: West of Rockies Posts: 4,808 Thanks: 194 Thanked 301 Times in 168 Posts	Re: Can one earn a good living as a virtual assistant? You should be able to do that. You could post here for those wanting a VA and do it on a per job basis, or get someone to hire you full time. There are also sites that list VA's available for hire. You tell people what you can do and list your salary desired. If you listed there you would not have to quit your job until someone offers you a position. Just make sure those hiring you are real and have the money to keep you employed for a while. You don't want to get hired, quit your job, then find out you only have a job for a month.
	http://www.kiva.org/

11-03-2009, 05:22 PM	#3
Abledragon HyperActive Warrior Join Date: May 2007 Location: Hong Kong. Posts: 442 Thanks: 0 Thanked 47 Times in 42 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Can one earn a good living as a virtual assistant? You need to work out how much you need on a monthly basis to pay the bills and cover your expenses and then work out how much you need to charge on an hourly basis. Remember that being a VA is not scalable (it takes your time and although you can have lots of customers you can only talk to one of them at a time!). You then need to make an estimate of how many hours a month you're going to be able to charge for - initially it won't be a lot, which is why Scott's suggestion above is a good one. As your number of customers builds up so the number of chargeable hours will build up. I suggest going through that kind of analysis and seeing what it looks like. Cheers, Martin.
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11-03-2009, 05:28 PM	#4
SteelDanno Awful Guitar Player War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 112 Thanks: 5 Thanked 20 Times in 12 Posts Social Networking	Re: Can one earn a good living as a virtual assistant? I hope this is within the warrior forum guidelines (if not, admins please delete msg kindly and accept my apology) but ... HenrySy can you please send me a privae message with your email address so we can get a conversation going. I may have some work for you coming up. Thank you.
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11-03-2009, 05:32 PM	#5
Jonet Bradley Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Can one earn a good living as a virtual assistant? Hi There Henrysy, I am currently working on launching my own Internet Marketing VA business and from my research (from several reputable sources) the average IMVA charges around $20-$40 p/hr could possibly earn more based on training,certifications, etc. How much you make on a monthly basis is entirely up to you-- as far as how many hours/clients you want to take on. Many VA's list their services on places like Odesk, Guru, etc. to help gain additional clients. I have found the vanetworking forum to be extremely helpful for those interested in the VA industry and it's a pretty active forum so hopefully you will find more info there. Best of Luck,
	-Time will either promote you or expose you.

11-03-2009, 05:32 PM	#6
abbadox Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 69 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Contact Info	Re: Can one earn a good living as a virtual assistant? Only you can decide how much you need to make a good living Henry, figure out what you would need to be happy and then post it and see what kind of response you get.
	Carpet cleaning seattle Carpet Cleaning

11-03-2009, 05:35 PM	#7
henrysy Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 73 Thanks: 19 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Can one earn a good living as a virtual assistant? Hi SteelDanno, PM sent. Thanks! Henry

11-03-2009, 06:12 PM	#9
henrysy Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 73 Thanks: 19 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Can one earn a good living as a virtual assistant? Thanks for all your responses and kind suggestions. I try to avoid posting my responses here to thank everyone as I don't want to be accused of trying to increase my post count. For people who'd like to learn more about me, please visit my two sites below: We Build Websites That Really Sell! Designs By Demand - Home Thanks again to you fellow warriors and to the warrior forum! Regards, Henry

11-03-2009, 07:38 PM	#10
AceHazel HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 124 Thanks: 1 Thanked 16 Times in 16 Posts	Re: Can one earn a good living as a virtual assistant? I think so, being a VA could really help. I know someone from the Philippines who makes a living as VA. Aside that you could help financially, you can expand and share your knowledge to others. Good luck on your venture.
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11-03-2009, 09:45 PM	#11
KimPup HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Temiskaming Shores, Ontario, Canada Posts: 102 Thanks: 38 Thanked 14 Times in 11 Posts Social Networking	Re: Can one earn a good living as a virtual assistant? Hi Henry, I highly reccomend joining this Virtual Assistant forum, you will find EVERYTHING you need to know here! Virtual Assistant Networking Forum (VAnetworking) (Powered by Invision Power Board) The amount of sharing knowledge and comraderie there is astounding! Good Luck! Kim
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11-03-2009, 09:48 PM	#12
MJGrae HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Illinois, USA Posts: 101 Thanks: 12 Thanked 11 Times in 11 Posts	Re: Can one earn a good living as a virtual assistant? VAs can make a VERY comfortable living for themselves. But just as any other 'job' you'll need to prove yourself to employers before you get that higher end pay. But with your background in IM, I'd imagine that wouldn't be very hard for you!