What Being a Virtual Assistant for 30 Days Is Really Like

If you’ve ever considered becoming a VA, here’s everything you need to know about how to find work, what it pays, and whether it’s worth it.

I tried becoming a virtual assistant for 30 days.

I was on this kick where I wanted to do these case studies/experiments using myself as the guinea pig. I tried a bunch of different things, one of which was trying my hand at being a VA.

Why did I pick virtual assistance?

Well, virtual assistance has been a popular and growing industry over the years, projected to grow by around 12% between 2021 and 2025.

You basically help a client like a personal assistant but working online.

I always thought being a VA was about doing the grunt work that business owners didn’t want to do, for like $8 to $12 per hour.

Surprisingly, you can fetch as much as up to $60 to $100 per hour doing VA work, with many VA’s earning up to six figures per year, like Kayla Sloan who does $140,000/year.

A lot of them do so well in the VA field that they start teaching their craft and coaching others, like this VA Jessica Hawk, a college dropout who turned her business into a multi-six-figure enterprise.

Anyway, I had never been a VA before.

My experience was in the e-commerce, digital marketing and the digital publishing space. I dabbled in a little graphic design too, if you count graphic creation on Canva, but I would not call myself a graphic designer.

So, I decided to go all-in and give it a try.

How I got started?

First, I picked my target group.

I thought about what niche I wanted to work with and that was creatives (i.e. creators, artists, writers, etc.).

Next, I decided to do some client hunting.

I did this without a portfolio of past VA clients, without a personal website for VA, and without any social media presence for virtual assistance.

I hit up Facebook.

There are tons of Facebook groups where you can snag work as a freelancer.

All you have to do is join the right groups, hang out a while and you’ll see people post from time to time asking for help.

Some examples:

There are also industry-specific groups on Facebook where clients and freelancers hang out. Freelancers can pitch their services that clients can respond to and clients will post their job they’re hiring for.

My results?

It took a few days and I snagged 2 clients.

I worked for $900 total for the month, getting a 50% deposit upfront and 50% final payment at the completion of the project.

One client needed help with overall organization. She wanted to put some tasks on autopilot and needed help on the social media side.

The second client needed website help including some small touch-ups and organization with her site and a logo.

I worked both jobs and after 30 days, I was glad I wrapped up both projects and was done.

What I learned

I consider this experiment successful.

Two clients were booked and I made money.

Here are some things I’d recommend if you decide to do this yourself or do some freelance work.

1. Have a contract

A contract is an agreement between you and the client that clearly defines expectations, including timeline, compensation, etc.

This eliminates any confusion, miscommunication, and protects you and the client.

I did not have a contract. The result was only being able to collect 50% of the agreed payment from one client and being ghosted after completing initial tasks. This job was worked for about 2–3 weeks out of the 30-day period.

2. Open lines of communication

Pick a communication channel and be mindful of timezones. This can be Skype, Zoom, Facebook DM, Instagram DM, email, Telegram, etc. There are so many different ways you can communicate.

Be aware that your client may not be in your timezone so make sure you account for lags in communication if you’re in the U.S. and they’re in the U.K., for example.

One of my clients was not U.S.-based which meant late conversations after 10pm and big gaps in replies. I think being more organized and setting a time for communication would have helped here.

Would I be a VA?

My overall experience was okay. I would rate it a 5 out of 10. This is just my personal experience.

I try my best to underpromise and overdeliver. I was surprised that I was ghosted from one of my clients. I guess it happens sometimes.

I didn’t like the work I was doing, if I’m being honest.

I guess it would be the work I personally wouldn’t want to do for my own business and choose to outsource yet, I was doing those same tasks for clients.

Being a VA comes with working with all kinds of clients, being flexible and rolling with the punches, doing the “dirty” work that you may not like doing, while practicing amazing customer service and really catering to your client.

It can come with a lot of hand holding and some unplanned events like taking a conference call at 11pm on a week night.

But, at the same time it can be a rewarding experience. You’re helping someone else and you can get paid handsomely for it.

Would I be a VA again?

Nope, it wasn’t for me but, if you’re curious about giving it a try, go for it.

If you’re currently a VA, working with one, or have an opinion about this, please comment below. I’d love to hear your take.

To read more about some of my trials over 14–30 days or longer, check these out: