Being a virtual assistant is an incredibly popular work from home job!
If you’re looking for something you can do to earn money from home that has a high income potential and doesn’t require a ton of experience, being a virtual assistant could be a great fit for you.
If you haven’t heard of a virtual assistant or aren’t sure if it would work for you, I’ll give you all the details. I’ll explain what it is, how much you can get paid, and I’ll also share 15+ companies that hire virtual assistants!
And for the ambitious ones reading this, I’ll also share how you can go into business for yourself as a virtual assistant, and where to find clients.
I’ll cover it all!
What is a virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant is someone that provides virtual services and support to businesses and business owners.
I know this sounds a little vague, but that’s because there are tons of a services that a virtual assistant can offer!
For example, there are general virtual assistants that provide services like email inbox management or scheduling services, and there are also virtual assistants that specialize in things like Pinterest management.
Equipment Needed to Be a Virtual Assistant
Depending on what services you plan to provide to clients, you will need a computer with internet (of course!), a place where clients can contact you directly (this can be a phone number), and some knowledge of things like the Gmail, Excel / Google Sheets, etc.
If you plan on offering more specialized services (like email marketing help), you may need to brush up on other apps and software.
What services can you offer as a virtual assistant?
As a virtual assistant, you could offer almost any service you can think of to clients! Here are some of the more common services:
- Email Inbox Management
- Email Marketing Help
- Facebook Management (Groups and Business Pages)
- Facebook Ad Management
- Graphic Design
- Instagram Marketing
- Pinterest Management
- Pinterest Ad Management
- Transcription
- Video Editing
- Writing (Blog Posts, Ad Copy, Etc)
If you’d like even more ideas for services you can offer as a virtual assistant, check out our [10 Types of VAs (And 40+ Services You Can Offer)] resource.
How much can you make as a virtual assistant?
There are plenty of people who make a full-time income as a virtual assistant, and there are quite a few people that even make a six figure income!
Your income potential depends a lot on how many hours you work and what services you offer (some services require more expertise – which means you can charge more!).
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average Administrative Assistant makes $19.16 per hour (or $39,850 a year).
How much should you charge as a virtual assistant?
This part is for virtual assistants who want to work for themselves (by getting their own clients).
Well… It depends. Sorry, I know that’s not what you wanted to hear.
But I’ll help you figure out how to come up with your own rates.
I’d say most virtual assistants are paid in one of two ways: hourly or project-based.
Usually one-off or simple as-needed services are charged hourly, and bigger or project-based services are charged as one overall rate.
If you’re able to bundle your services (like Pinterest pin design AND Pinterest management) you could earn a lot more money! Definitely keep this in mind as you set your rates.
Another thing to keep in mind is that if you decide to get your own clients or work as a freelancer / 1099 contractor, you will need to pay for taxes and your healthcare. So don’t pick a rate that’s too low, especially when it comes to hourly work!
I wouldn’t go lower than $15 for hourly work (this will leave room for taxes!).
If you have a specific yearly salary that you’d like to make, you can use this “Your Rate” calulator to figure it out, you can even pick how many hours you’d like to work per week, and how many weeks of vacation you’d like.
Once you have that rate, don’t forget to add 20% for taxes!
How to Increase Your Earnings as a Virtual Assistant
There are a few simple ways you can increase your earnings as a virtual assistant:
- Raise your rates – This one is probably the easiest! Once you have some experience with being a virtual assistant, you can (and should!) raise your rates.
- Learn new skills – By learning a new skill (like email management),
- Find more clients – If you have time in your schedule you could find more clients
- Create digital products – You could create templates or workbooks (or anything really!) that could help your clients and other business owners with their work. This could also become a passive source of income, woooo!!
- Create an agency – If you’re very ambitious and you’ve created systems for your business, you could look into creating a VA agency!
Where to Get Training to Be a Virtual Assistant
If being a virtual assistant sounds interesting to you, there are a few places where you get training:
Companies That Hire Virtual Assistants
If you’re interested in working for a company (instead of finding your own clients), here are over 20+ companies that hire virtual assistants:
99 Dollar Social
99 Dollar Social hires virtual assistants to curate content for their clients social media. They do provide training.
Employment Type: N/A
Pay: N/A
The Admin Center
The Admin Center (also called The Centr) hires virtual receptionists to work full-time and part-time.
They expect their receptionists to be available to work anytime between 6am – 7pm during the week and 8am – 4pm on Saturdays (MST).
Employment Type: Independent Contractor
Pay: $11 – $11.50 an hour.
Assistant Match
Assistant Match is a service that helps match virtual assistants to clients who are looking for certain services.
Employment Type: Independent Contractor
Pay: $12 – $25 an hour depending on skills.
Belay Solutions
Belay hires general virtual assistants, virtual bookkeepers, web specialists, and social media strategists.
They look for VAs who are available during business hours and prefer VA’s who have at least a bachelor’s degree and a few years of experience with working remotely.
Employment Type: Independent Contractor
Pay: The average hourly rate for virtual assistants at Belay is $15-$20 an hour.
Boldly
Boldly hires virtual assistants for a variety of different roles: executive assistant, marketing & social media specialist, project manager, legal assistant.
They expect virtual assistants to be available for at least 20+ hours a week.
Employment Type: Employee
Pay: You can earn between $20 – $22 an hour depending on your skills and experience.
Byron
Byron hires virtual assistants to complete tasks on a on-going or one-off basis. The tasks might include data entry, marketing, bookkeeping, writing, research, and more.
To work at Bryon you must be over 18, live in the US, and have at least 3 years of professional experience.
Employment Types: Independent Contractor
Pay: You could make $12-$15 an hour depending on your experience.
Contemporary Virtual Assistance
Contemporary Virtual Assistance (or CVA) hires virtual assistants that have some experience with Google applications, Microsoft Office, and social media.
They currently have a part-time position open.
Employment Type: Independent Contractor
Pay: Starts at $10 an hour
Equivity VA
Equivity hires experienced VAs for a variety of different part-time positions.
They are currently looking for VAs who have a bachelor’s degree, who have experience with email platforms, microsoft office, and experience with research. Experience an assistant is a plus.
Employment Type: Employee
Pay: $13-$19 an hour depending on skills and experience.
Fancy Hands
Fancy Hands hires general virtual assistants to work on a task by task basis.
You will be doing tasks like:
- Making phone calls on behalf of people.
- Scheduling appointments (doctors, business, etc)
- Tracking down the best price for something.
- Finding hotels that meet certain criteria.
- Data entry.
One of the best things about Fancy Hands is that they hire beginners!
Employment Type: Independent Contractor
Pay: $3 – $7 per task. Payments are made every other week on Tuesdays.
Firegang
Firegang is a dental marketing company that occasionally hires virtual assistants for part-time positions.
Employment Type: N/A
Pay: N/A
Gabbyville
Gabbyville hires virtual assistants to do things like call answering, call routing, outbound calls, appointment setting, and more.
Employment Type: N/A
Pay: N/A
NS Virtual Services
NS Virtual Services hires virtual assistants that have some of the following skills:
- Administrative Support
- Customer / Client Support
- Social Media Management
- Website Management / Development
- Multilingual Support
- Translations
- Transcription
- Digital Marketing
- Research
- SEO and Link Building
- Email marketing
- Graphics/Design
- Technical Support
- Blog/Article Writing
- Ad Campaigns/Analytics
- Bookkeeping
- Presentations
- Project Management
Employment Type: N/A
Pay: N/A
Paragon Planners
Hires part-time schedulers to set appointsments. Assistants will be working 15-32 hours per week.
Paragon hires virtual assistants in AZ, CA, CO, FL, ID, IL, KS, KY, MI, MO, NC, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, and WA.
Employment Type: Independent Contractor
Pay: $12 – $14 an hour.
Perssist
Perssist hires general virtual assistants.
Employment Type: N/A
Pay: N/A
Profit Factory
Profit Factory hires virtual assistants for a variety of positions (depending on the client’s needs).
They are currently looking for a virtual assistant / business manager that will help manage calendars, conduct research, and answer inbound communication.
Employment Type: Employee
Pay: $22 an hour
OkayRelax
OkayRelax hires college educated virtual assistants to complete different tasks.
Employment Type: N/A
Pay: N/A
Smith A.I.
Smith.ai hires virtual receptionists to take calls and answer chat messages for businesses across the US.
They hire part-time and full-time receiptionists and have cash bonuses and paid training.
Employment Type: Employee
Pay: The starting rate is $10 an hour and $11 an hour for bilingual agents. Pay is weekly.
Team Delegate
Team Delegate hires general virtual assistants.
Employment Type: Independent Contractor
Pay: N/A
Time Etc.
Time Etc. hires virtual assistants to work on a flexible, part-time basis. You will be providing basic virtual assistant services like scheduling help, and email management help.
If you have 5 years of work experience and you’re available during the day, Time Etc. could be a great fit.
Employment Type: Independent Contractor
Pay: $11 an hour to start
Trusty Oak
Trusty Oak hires general virtual assistants.
Employment Type: Independent Contractors
Pay: N/A
VA Sumo
VA Sumo hires experienced virtual assistants. They also offer paid training.
Employment Type: N/A
Pay: N/A
Virtual Gal Friday
Virtual Gal Friday is a virtual assistant agency that helps clients find virtual medical assistants, virtual executive assistants, virtual paralegals, and virtual receptionists.
Employment Type: Employee
Pay: On the application you can select an hourly rate between $5 – $15
Virtual Office VA (Now REI Assistants)
Virtual Office VA (which is now REI Assistants) hires virtual assistants to work in the real estate industry.
Virtual assistants will do things like outbound calls, help with any incoming calls, and/or work on marketing and web services.
Employment Type: Independent Contractor
Pay: $9+ an hour. They pay weekly.
Zirtual
Zirtual is currently hiring full-time virtual assistants (to work from 9am – 6pm EST).
You must have at least a bachelor’s degree.
Employment Type: N/A
Pay: N/A
Other Places to Find Virtual Assistant Jobs
Here are some other places where you can find virtual assistant jobs:
- Upwork
- Remote.io
Conclusion
If you’re interested in becoming a virtual assistant, you can get started by getting some training from Pocket Business, or you can jump right in and try to find work from some of the companies that hire virtual assistants.