How to Make Money at Home Without Selling Stuff
If you're willing to try something new to make money while working from home, try becoming a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants are in high demand; many business owners prefer to outsource and save money when hiring administrative support. As a virtual assistant, you will provide a valuable service from the comfort of home.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer
- Web camera
- High speed Internet connection
- Software
- Headphones
- Fax
- Phone
- Digital pen and pad
- Office Supplies
Instructions
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Become a Virtual Assistant
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Evaluate your skills. As a virtual assistant, you will work with four or five business owners making phone calls, planning meetings, making travel arrangements, scheduling appointments, writing and editing information or updating their web pages. You will probably help your clients plan and execute not only one, but a variety of projects.
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Start your online search for basic information; the article "Virtual Assistant" (See reference 1) is a good starting point. Apart from giving you a good definition of the occupation, this article does a great job explaining the benefits you will bring to business owners, such as helping them grow their businesses and helping them on ongoing projects. It also explains the benefits for you such as being a pioneer in a virtual job with an increasing demand. Another article you should read is "What is a Virtual Assistant?" published by the Virtual Assistant Chamber of Commerce. This article defines virtual assistants as "solopreneurs" and "administrative experts" who do a valuable job supporting business owners.
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Register for online classes. The Virtual Assistant U is a nonprofit organization that gives a 20-week online program for virtual assistants; the program costs $1,500 and covers a range of topics from doing your business plan to marketing your business online. To register, the candidate needs to demonstrate that he or she has at least two years of administrative experience in his or her area of expertise. The Virtual Assisting Training offers online coaching for a monthly fee that ranges between $200 and $250; this is a good option for those who want to start right away. It also has an eight-week audio training session for $200; its training focuses on developing the candidate's potential in the field.
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Look for a space at home where you can place your office equipment and work far from the noise of children and other distractions. Remember that you will be using a web camera, so choose a space that you can keep organized and neat to convey a professional impression.
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Look for jobs. Look online first; go to Virtual Office Temps (See Resources). It offers to match your business with the right client for free; it hires candidates to do office administration and other virtual jobs. Another job database you may access is Simply Hired; it has a list of potential clients that need to hire virtual assistants. To access the jobs descriptions, you need to fill in your location and email address. Look for jobs through friends and relatives next; chances are you already know someone who needs administrative support to handle his or her business.
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Tips & Warnings
Persevere; remember that it takes time to build a reputation in business.
Choose your schedule carefully
Have a back-up computer when working online
Focus on quality of service to compete
Try not to work with more than four or five clients at a time; remember that you will get deeply involved with their projects.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit secretary image by Barbara Helgason from Fotolia.com
