Top 3 Services for Virtual Assistants in 2021

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Abbey Ashley

Raise your hand if you’ve heard the term virtual assistant, but aren’t exactly sure what it is? 🙋 Read on my friend.

In this blog post, I’m going to break down what a virtual assistant is and three main types of services you can offer working from home in 2021! 💃💃💃

What is a virtual assistant in 2021?

First, let’s break down what a virtual assistant (VA) is.

I like to refer to virtual assistance as an “umbrella” term. ☂️

 

That means under the “umbrella” of a virtual assistant, there are different types of jobs you can do.

All of these services usually fall under one of these three categories:

  • General administrative services
  • Creative services
  • Technical services

The key here is all of the services performed are TOTALLY remote–making it one of THE BEST jobs to have in 2021! 🔑👏

 

General Administrative Services

General administrative services include things like calendar management, email management, customer service, creating simple graphics, or posting to social media platforms like Facebook.

(If you’re interested in finding out more about the easiest jobs to offer as a beginner, you can check that out 👉 HERE)

Creative Services

The second type of service you can offer as a virtual assistant is creative services.

Do you have an eye for design or want to put your creativity to work? There are SO MANY things you can do to embrace that creativity using tools like Canva.

In case you’re unfamiliar with Canva, it’s a cloud-based design tool with amazing drag-and-drop features. It’s truly a designer’s wonderland and comes jam-packed with stylish stock photos and pre-made templates. Did I mention, it’s also free?


You don’t have to be a professional designer to use Canva either!  Canva has an excellent learning center with all the tutorials you need to master the platform. If you can figure your way around the computer, it’s super simple to pick up on how to use it. (Also, if you’re a SavvyVault member you have access to our branding and design training.)

There are a few other reasons why I love Canva too. Like, 

  • You can create eBooks, social media images, flyers, video clips, AND MORE with the click of a button.
  • They have a built-in scheduler, so you can post directly to social media (without downloading A THING)!
  • They have Pro and Enterprise plans with more advanced features if you decide you need something more robust.
  • The learning curve isn’t that crazy compared to more advanced design tools like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop.

Canva design is an AMAZING service to offer as a VA in 2021. So many businesses are going virtual, and they need visuals for their marketing. 

Another option to consider if you want to go down the creative path is social media management! You can also be someone who specializes in designing digital products like PDFs or eBooks.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to what you can offer under the creative umbrella!

 

If you are just getting started, then check out my Virtual Assistant Checklist and Starter Kit.  This is the same step-by-step process that I used when starting my own virtual assistant business.
 

Technical Services

Who here totally nerds out over building pretty websites or beefing up blog posts with SEO?

If that’s you, then you will LOVE the services you can offer as a tech VA!

Being a tech VA is PERFECT for the data-savvy, engineer-like brains.

Here are a few ways you could get started:

  • Manage WordPress websites for busy bloggers
  • Offer SEO to online business owners
  • Use your data skills to scale ads on Facebook, Pinterest, or Google
  • Set-up email funnels for course creators

These are just a few ideas, but there are many, many more ways to jump into offering tech services!

And…with so many businesses going virtual, this is a great time to get started as a virtual assistant in 2021!

You’ll come to realize some categories of VA services will cross over one another.

This happens with Pinterest management. A Pinterest manager creates beautiful, click-worthy pins AND reads the account analytics to improve the page traffic. 

Whether your specialty is more administrative, creative, or tech-based…it all still falls under that “umbrella” of virtual assistant work. (Doesn’t being a VA sound amazing??)

Back-story

You might be thinking wait, hold it there! 🛑 Who’s this Abbey Ashley anyway? 🤔

If you haven’t met me yet, I’m the founder of The Virtual Savvy and I’m pretty much OBSESSED with helping people launch, grow, and scale their own VA business from SCRATCH. 

My signature course, The Savvy System has already helped 2,000+ people and counting. 👊👊👊 But not before starting my own successful business as a VA in 2015.

Let me take you back for a minute, and tell you where I started from.

My husband and I were newly married, newly pregnant, and…totally broke.

I don’t mean just regular broke either.

I’m talking about ancient-freezing-cold-apartment-with-an-oven-so-tiny-we-had-to-cut-our-frozen-pizzas-in-half-before-we-could-bake-them kind of broke.

It. Was. Hard.

Before starting my VA biz, I tried my hand at different jobs but NONE of them worked.

I tried being a nanny. I sold jeans on eBay. I started a business where I would make freezer meals for people. It just wasn’t working.

After trying and trying though, I stumbled upon virtual assistance.

That’s when I struck the gold.

I googled “virtual assistance” and realized I was already qualified to do this! 

I was already emailing about kids’ appointments, getting them to where they needed to be, and calendar management. I was doing administrative work already!

That first “aha” moment was CRUCIAL for me–it’s when I thought, I CAN do this!  I can actually make money from home with skills I already have. 

By the way, I’d love to know… have you had a similar experience? If so, what was that moment like for you? (Let me know in the comment section!)

So much has happened since those humble beginnings. 

I’ve been able to buy a house, retire my husband, and lead over 60,000 people in my Facebook community on having their own VA business. 

By the way, if you want in on that community, click here to join!

Now, you probably have more questions about virtual assistance, but don’t worry–I’m not going to leave you hanging!

One of the most common questions I get asked is how to set rates. I have an entire video about that you can check out HERE

Spoiler though: VA work can be really lucrative! When I had my VA business, I replaced my income by working only 20 hours a week! 👏

Getting Started as a virtual assistant in 2021

So, how do you even get started doing virtual assistant work in 2021?

In all my years of experience, I’ve found it all boils down to these main steps:

  1. Understand what a Virtual Assistant is. Hint: you’ve already done that by reading this blog post! 
  2. Choose a name for your new VA Business. You don’t want to get too caught up on this step, but you will want to take some time to think it through.
  3. Choose your services. There are TONS of services you can offer as a VA. Choose the ones you know and enjoy doing the most. 
  4. Set your rates. One of the best ways to do this is to work backward. Start with how much you need to make each month, then divide that by the number of hours you are available to dedicate to your clients. That will give you a goal for the hourly rate you should be setting. 
  5. Market your new business! Be your own cheerleader here. Go and tell everyone you know that YOU have started your OWN business. There are plenty of free tools on the web that you can use to get yourself out there. Facebook groups are personally one of my favorite. 

Virtual assistance is truly an AMAZING business! Not only is it so easy to get started, but you can set your own rates and hours. 

You literally have the freedom and flexibility to make your own rules!

If you’re loving this idea, and want to learn even MORE, I lay out all of this information in more detail during my very special training, ‘Become a Booked-out Virtual Assistant,’ which you can watch HERE.

Now you’ve learned quite a bit about what virtual assistance is in 2021. Does it sound like something you’re going to try? Let me know in the comments what kind of services you might want to offer!

 

AbbeyAshley3-21Print-5033

Meet Abbey

Abbey Ashley is the Founder of The Virtual Savvy. She helps aspiring virtual assistants launch and grow their own at-home business from scratch. She's since gone on to grow a multi-six figure business and retire her husband ALL from her at-home business. It's now her passion to help others start their own VA business so they can taste the freedom and flexibility of entrepreneurship as well.

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23 Comments

  1. Filip on April 8, 2021 at 12:56 pm

    Thanks for this awesome guide and info! It’s rare to find people like you (your team) that is so supportive and down to earth.

    I have to say I understand what you’ve been through, it made me laugh cause I’m in the same situation now with my fiancé, except for the fact that we are, have-the-oven-but-not-the-pizza kinda broke… 😆

    We’re just starting out our VA journey so we hope to get some clients as soon as everything is set.

    • Abbey Ashley on April 9, 2021 at 8:22 am

      Thank you so much! I am SO glad that we can be helpful and support you on your VA journey ✨✨✨

      • Younique on April 10, 2021 at 11:55 am

        How can this work for someone in the Caribbean?

        • Abbey Ashley on April 15, 2021 at 1:38 pm

          The same way it would work for anyone else 🙂
          VA work is remote, so you can work from anywhere in the world! We have students in our program located in many different parts of the globe.

          • Fahima on October 8, 2021 at 3:23 am

            Hi Abbey,

            Do you perhaps have a student from Indonesia? I am from Indonesia, and I am looking for some information that I can get on how it works here, especially aa an Independent contractor ( u know in terms of the contract, tax and payment)… I am more excited on building my own biz than working under agency like upwork etc. Thank you abbey, look forward to hearing from you.



          • Abbey Ashley on October 8, 2021 at 10:34 am

            Hi Fahima! I don’t have information specific to Indonesia as far as laws and taxes. My team and I mainly help teach others about the business aspect of virtual assistance. The principles we teach are being used by VAs all over the world, but as far as local laws you will have to find a resource in your city that can help with that. I HIGHLY reccomend posting your question in my free Facebook group HERE. It’s likely there may be VAs in your country that could give you some advice!



  2. Lezell Markus on April 8, 2021 at 1:19 pm

    General Admiin Service

    • Abbey Ashley on April 9, 2021 at 8:22 am

      That’s AWESOME! Go for it Lezell!!!!

      • Jaci on April 13, 2021 at 7:39 pm

        Would bookkeeping or related fall under general? Thanks!

        • Abbey Ashley on April 15, 2021 at 1:42 pm

          Bookkeeping has EXCELLENT potential!!! It is analytical and therefore can fall under “tech services.”

  3. Lindiwe Rapola on April 10, 2021 at 11:26 am

    Hey Abby

    Thanks for the great information.

    I started my business in January as a VA while I’m working full time. I have advertised in different platforms like Google my business, LinkedIn and Facebook. No luck as yet in getting clients. I think working full time limits my focus on the business.

    How do I get clients and quit working full time. My goal is to become a VA FULL TIME.

    • Abbey Ashley on April 15, 2021 at 1:37 pm

      Have you checked out my free video training? I have a lot of good tips there regarding how to book clients and marketing your business! You can check it out here: thevirtualsavvy.com/bbo.

      • Labog ,joyce on April 29, 2021 at 10:38 am

        Anything about virtual assistant..do we need to pay just like others qho offer jobs.

        • Abbey Ashley on May 4, 2021 at 4:20 pm

          Sorry, didn’t fully understand your question! What exactly is it you’re asking if you need to pay for?
          You don’t need to pay for job offers–you can find many great opportunities by searching Facebook or other platforms. We have a large community with over 60K professionals that you can join by clicking here.

  4. Phil on April 10, 2021 at 4:02 pm

    I can do all of these!

    • Abbey Ashley on April 15, 2021 at 1:38 pm

      That’s awesome!!! I say GO FOR IT!

  5. Carryn Johns on April 12, 2021 at 11:42 pm

    Admin services with added canva creative services

    • Abbey Ashley on April 15, 2021 at 1:39 pm

      I love that!!! Admin and Canva is a GREAT place to start. You can do this!!!

  6. Ann Pimentel on April 13, 2021 at 9:08 am

    Hello Abbey, I love the content and bless you and your team in helping people who would also like to quit their 9-5 job (ehem, like me!) I was a Service Desk in a BPO company, and I am currently a Supervisor. I can say that what I am earning (still thankful I am receiving salary every month, but I couldn’t save, all the bucks go to the precious bills). The services that I can offer as a VA (hopefully I can start soon) are the 3 mentioned categories: General Admin Services, Creative Services and Technical Services.

    Again, thank you!

    • Abbey Ashley on April 15, 2021 at 1:40 pm

      That’s awesome Ann!! Have you checked out the free training video yet? It will help you out in getting started: thevirtualsavvy.com/bbo.

      I believe you can do this!!!

  7. Brittany on April 28, 2021 at 10:52 am

    Hey Abby! You are one of the good ones (out here helping people pursue their dreams)! Question: where would I start if I want to do all the things? LOL You mentioned a lot of VA services do intertwine. I want to be a creative VA (branding, content, copywriting), but I want to be able to offer the tech stuff (like posting the content to SM) as well. I feel like it would be beneficial to clients to have one person create the brand, create content around the brand, and post it. That also sounds like a lot of work once I say it out loud! HAHA Good thing I’m not afraid of hard work!

    • Abbey Ashley on May 4, 2021 at 4:16 pm

      That is awesome Brittany!!!! You got this!!! Creative services are a great way to start if that is an area you are strong in. To answer your question…YES you can offer both creative and tech if you really want to. It’s totally up to you and what you’re comfortable with!

  8. Fidela C Jacobo on June 17, 2021 at 7:17 pm

    Thank you for this awesome guide. I’ve never known Canva before until I trained as a VA. It is an amazing site for incorporating graphic designs and pictures in your needed output.

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