Spread the word!

(Inside: “How do I become a virtual assistant like you?” Today I’m sharing the REAL way to become a virtual assistant to bloggers. Trust me, it’s not what you think!)

“I’m a blogger, virtual assistant, and I sell LuLaRoe” – That’s my phrase whenever anyone asks what I do.

I can’t say just one because they all play a big role in my life and my career. And I’m not one to make up fun job titles like “I’m a biz-tastic-preneur-lady-bossssssss” (though totally more power to you if you are!

So I have a simple phrase that I use. If they ask more about what I do, I’m always happy to explain, but there’s one question I get constantly that I’d like to address with a whole blog post.

“How do you become a virtual assistant?“

The question always gives me pause. Because there are some asking it just to make small talk, but others ask as if it’s also their intention to become a virtual assistant.

That’s who this blog post is for.

So if you know someone like me who is a virtual assistant, maybe you’ve heard about how her husband even works from home now, and you’re thinking to yourself, “hey, I could do that! She just pins for other bloggers and gets PAID!” I’m about to show you the REAL way to become a virtual assistant…

The REAL Truth About How to Become a Virtual Assistant

Because on the surface, all of that is true.

• My husband quit his job about a year ago and now works from home with me.
• I pin for other bloggers, sometimes (I do more than that, but yes, I do sometimes get paid to “play on Pinterest”)
• I make a solid income doing work that I love and I get to do it all from home.

There’s a lot that you don’t see, though, when you just hear about those lovely little details. That’s what this post is for.

But first, let’s dive into what others would probably tell you…

How to Become a Virtual Assistant: What “They” Tell You

Okay, so there’s no shortage of “how to become a virtual assistant” blog posts out there. Just search on pinterest and you’ll get a bunch of “how to make $xxxx as a virtual assistant!” pins everywhere!

But this is the gist of what those posts will tell you:

• Decide what services you’ll offer (social media, writing, editing, email, etc.) and at what prices.
• Set up a website (maybe? some of the posts skip this step even) and list those services.
• Find clients.
• Make a bunch of money!

If they don’t have that list, their post is typically “buy xyz course” that will teach you to become a virtual assistant instead.

Doesn’t that sound awesome? I mean, if that’s how to become a virtual assistant, everyone in the world should be a VA, right?!

Except, that’s hardly reality.

If you throw up a website and say you’re going to pin content for bloggers for $25/hour, you’re not going to find clients. At least not many.

Because there’s a lot more to it than just deciding to be a virtual assistant… Let’s look at how I became a VA…

How I Became a Virtual Assistant

I started a mom blog three years ago. This mom blog, to be specific. But I had it on a program called “blogger”.

That meant that I didn’t even have my own website. I had thisoutnumberedmama.blogspot.com as my domain.

Super professional, right?

Well, after a few months I learned that I should switch over to a self-hosted website with wordpress. (If you want info on this, check out my how to start a blog tutorial here)

Then I spent a year or so learning. and doing. and researching. and doing. and practicing. and doing some more.

See, when I first started I spent hours researching how to do everything. I watched youtube videos, I signed up for webinars, I joined all the Facebook groups known to man. I worked way more than 40 hours a week, and I barely made a cent.

On top of that, I made a ton of blogging connections. I made friends with bloggers that were in the same place I was, and a lot of bloggers that had bigger sites than mine.

Eventually, one of my blog friends talked about how overwhelmed she was, but she couldn’t trust just anyone with her site. She needed someone who could think like a blogger.

GENIUS! I could help her, make some money, and get better at blogging all at the same time!

When I started, I think I charged $15/hour.

As I worked more for that friend, another friend asked for some help. Then another, and then another.

Eventually? I was running a site completely for one blogger, and the content manager for another, while doing smaller projects here and there when I had the time.

I made a comfortable full time income for my family from my VA work alone, and I loved what I was doing.

(This is past-tense because Chris has taken over some of my VA clients. I’m now a content manager for one client instead of doing a ton for different bloggers)

So what’s my point?

I didn’t wake up and decide to become a virtual assistant. I didn’t just say “hey I like to pin!” and become a social media manager. That’s not how this works.

The Harsh Truth About Becoming a Virtual Assistant

So, friend, the harsh truth about becoming a virtual assistant is that it’s work.

It’s work, and more work, and more work, and more work.

Is it fun? Absolutely. Does it still amaze me that part of my job has been to chat on twitter and pin to pinterest and design coloring books? Of course!

But it didn’t happen overnight. It took me two years and three businesses to bring Chris home full-time. It took hours of research and learning and reading and trying and tweaking to become the blogger I am, which is how I became the virtual assistant I am.

I’d also like to add here, I’m not done learning and tweaking and growing as a blogger and VA.

I learn new things every single day. I have a file on my computer FILLED with business resources, ebooks, videos, and more so that I can be constantly improving.

That’s the REAL way to become a virtual assistant.

• Figure out what services you want to offer.
• Do those services FOR YOURSELF free.
• Make real connections with people who need those services.
• Actually do those services for other people.
• Continue to spend HOURS getting better at what you do.

If any of my friends who say they think they’d like to become a virtual assistant made it to the end of this post and still want to become a VA, I’ll gladly help them.

But if you want to be a VA because you think it’ll make you tons of money while you “play” on social media, just stick to your own Pinterest!

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About Kaylene

Kaylene George is an autistic self-advocate, author, and mother of five, including one autistic child. She realized her own autism as an adult shortly after her son received his initial diagnosis. Suddenly the parts of her that seemed so “weird” to society had an answer. Since then, Kaylene has passionately shared about her experiences with autism from both sides of the great divide between parents and autistic self-advocates on AutisticMama.com.