Defining Your Skills as a Virtual Assistant: The First Step to Building a Business You Love

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do” - Steve Jobs

Clearly defining your skills as a virtual assistant can help you start a business you enjoy. While embarking on a career as a Virtual Assistant (VA) may seem overwhelming, let's approach the process step by step.  Define your abilities first, then consider marketing, customers, or pricing. One simple yet effective action will help you in all areas.

Having been where you are, I know this. With 28 years of administrative professional experience, I constructed my VA agency using the knowledge I had acquired over the years—skills derived from practical experience, on-the-job learning, and course-based honing of my expertise.

As a VA, your success depends on doing what you love. People show up differently when they love something. You thoroughly enjoy what you do, so you contribute enthusiasm, energy, and a dedication to perfection.

Let's first identify your competencies and focus on two of your strongest ones that have the potential to grow into profitable businesses.

First Step: Review your work experience and history

Consider your employment experience both now and in the past. You already have great skills, whether your field of employment is corporate, customer service, marketing, administration, education, healthcare, or another.

Get a notebook or open a file on your computer and address these questions:

• In previous employment, what tasks have I performed regularly?

• People often ask me for help with what?

• Through experience, what abilities have I grown to possess?

• What tools or programs do I know how to operate?

• Of all the chores, which ones appeal most to me?

My Personal Journey:

I never considered my abilities strategically when I started working as an assistant. I simply performed my duty. But as I grew more experienced, I discovered some jobs came easily to me. I loved planning, scheduling, building systems, and simplifying tasks for others.

I developed these abilities over time by:

• Learning new tools to remain current

• Taking classes I need to do my job efficiently

• Regular everyday practice and honing in on my craft

Eventually, when I started my VA agency, I developed my offerings around the abilities I loved working on and were already rather strong.

Second Step: List the skills you are most enjoying using.

While it is easy to concentrate on what you can achieve, let us also pay attention to what you are enjoying doing.

Consider the work that brings you enthusiasm, energy, and in-your-zone awareness. These are the abilities you should center your VA company on, as you will be naturally good at them, enjoy working on them every day, and provide outstanding service because you love it.

Review the abilities you listed in Step 1 and underline two you enjoy most.

• When you enjoy developing schedules, managing projects, and making sure seamless execution of systems, you can provide executive assistance or project management services based on organizing and structuring skills.

• Writing & Revising: You can offer copywriting or content administration services if you enjoy revising documents, blog postings, or emails.

• Social Media Management—Social media management could be your specialization if you enjoy working creatively, interacting with audiences, and content strategy development.

• Customer Support: Offering customer service as a VA can be rewarding if you enjoy answering inquiries, supporting others, and giving first-rate experiences.

• Tech & Automation: You can provide tech-based VA services if you like learning new programs, configuring automation, or running websites.

My Personal Journey:

I concentrated on my greatest and favorite skills—organization and administration—when I first launched my VA company. I enjoyed organizing anarchy, working on projects, and building effective processes. My clients valued my work as I thoroughly enjoyed it and trusted me with even more significant responsibilities.

Third Step: Hone in on and strengthen your skills.

You now need to hone two of your selected skills.

Consider this:

• How may I improve further in these areas?

• Which tools or programs should I pick to learn?

• Are there courses or training that will enable me to become proficient in them?

💡 Strategies for Perfecting Your Skills:

✔ Take a Course To hone your abilities: Search for courses in our VAAEN membership, LinkedIn Learning, and HubSpot Academy.

✔ Practice Daily: Apply your knowledge in real-world scenarios even before you start attracting clients. Create examples of work, offer assistance as a volunteer, or help a friend.

✔ Keep Up-to-Date: Stay connected in our VA communities, follow industry blogs, and always be learning about the newest technologies and methods.

My Personal Journey:

I worked hard to raise my competency level instead of stopping at just knowledge of my abilities.

• I enrolled in business classes to learn VA agency operations.

• To boost my productivity, I picked up fresh software tool knowledge.

• Before starting paid clients, I volunteered for free, assisting small business owners.

• Developing my abilities gave me more value to clients and confidence.

Fourth Step: Evaluate your skills.

It is time to start using your refined abilities once you have them.

Here's an easy workout:

• Discover how you might apply your talents right now

• Plan a project, offer to assist a friend, or complete a practice activity.

• Record your work.

• Track your work to be able to present to possible clients.

Get comments—find out from a business owner or mentor what they think of your work and areas for improvement.

My Personal Journey:

I helped a few business owners for free to use my abilities before formally beginning to charge client. This built my confidence, the feedback helped me to improve, and experiences were invaluable.

Last Thoughts: Get Started Right Now!

The basis of your VA business is your definition of your skills. Starting with what you already know and enjoy doing is far more significant than learning everything at once.

Write out your present abilities; pick two skills you enjoy most; then find ways to hone those two skills.

✔ Work on them and test them.

Success comes easy when you base your business on what you love. 😊