Great Question!
The answer is going to be different for everyone and only you can answer this based on the level of risk you’re willing to absorb and whether the benefits of becoming a virtual assistant outweigh these for you.
You have certain rights as an employee that you lose when you become a business owner and starting from scratch can mean losing a reliable income.
If you can’t afford to lose the stability of employment, you may want to consider both!
Both? What?!
Many VAs are full-time employees who are building up their client base after hours.
They make the leap when the timing works for them.
Some resign completely once they have enough clients, while others work on transitioning to a part-time role with their current or new employer.
As your VA business grows, you can work on transitioning to a part time role with the same or new employer.
If you land a client you don’t have the capacity to take on and you aren’t quite ready to give up your employment, you can consider outsourcing to another virtual assistant to share the client work or take on all of that client’s work under your brand.
Did you know that we have VA Lead Network members who are applying with the leads we post AND those same members are also posting VA roles for other network members to join their team? You can do the same thing, or you can just refer businesses to this page when you don’t want to take any more work on.
As for whether setting up a VA business is worth the effort… YES!
Firstly, the overheads of setting up a VA business are very low.
I’m now responsible for budgeting and saving for my own super, tax, insurances and holidays. I had to build my website, work out what services I would offer and start my own marketing… I had to get agreements and business processes in place (and be ready to constantly evolve). I have to negotiate rates and regularly invoice my clients. …. AND I’VE LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.
Every step you take while you build your own Australian virtual assistant business will:
- Help you understand Australian business owners and some of the struggles they’ve had to deal with (and for many, still are), so that you can talk to the pain points you want to solve in your own marketing.
- Give you an understanding of the tasks you loved, and those you would outsource if you could >>> this helps you to determine what services you want to offer and which you will definitely not be helping your clients with
- Force you into professional development for the areas you have no experience in so that you will have a well-rounded knowledge backed by real experience when you’re talking to leads (potential clients).
Becoming a business owner doesn’t just mean you’ll be able to relate to your clients better -you will also find it easier to call the shots.
I’m a people pleaser… and when I was an employee, I would take on everything that was thrown at me… I’d work long hours when needed to meet deadlines without getting paid overtime or having my salary increase.
Now that I have clients instead of employers, it’s so much easier to:
- Get paid for every single minute that I work
- Say ‘that’s not a service I offer, but I can help you find another australian virtual assistant’, or ‘I’ve decided to stop offering that service so I can specialise in [different service I’d prefer to get paid for]’
- Determine the days and hours I will work so I can work when I’m at my best
- Be there when my kids need me
- Make ambitious goals and go after
We want to make building your VA business as easy as possible, so we’re currently working on a step-by-step guide for setting up your VA business.
[[[ UPDATE – IT’S READY! Check out: From 0-10 Clients: Setting Up a Profitable & Fulfilling VA Business ]]]
Our collaborative venture “Rogue Monday” is also going to develop cost-effective website and branding templates designed specifically for Australian virtual assistants. We’ll be offering exclusive and generous discounts to our members.
I’ll be emailing you personally to ensure you get my response and when you’re ready to build your VA business, I’d be happy to jump on a call to provide some guidance on the area you’re struggling with most.