If you are an exceptionally organized person who enjoys helping others and wants to work from home, becoming a freelance virtual assistant can be an outstanding career choice.
Of course, as is the case with any type of business, there are things to consider prior to launching your new career as a virtual assistant. In this guide, we will go over how to start a virtual assistant business, including tips and tools that will make the entire process go smoothly with a focus on how VAs actually operate day-to-day (client communication, task tracking, and billing), as well as how the CRM virtual assistant software from HoneyBook can help.
How to start a virtual assistant business
If you are ready to get your virtual assistant business off the ground, the following steps can help you make your dream a reality.
Step 1: Decide what services you want to offer
Virtual assistants are not a “one size fits all” profession. Some of the common virtual assistant specialties include:
- Administrative support
- Social media management
- Bookkeeping
- Customer service
- Content creation
- Answering and monitoring emails and taking phone calls
- Creating spreadsheets
Before launching your own business, it’s important to decide what virtual assistant niche you want to pursue and what services you will offer to your clients, including if you want to work with local companies and firms, or if you want to take on clients from across the country. While you might expand your service offerings over time, it’s good to start with what matches your current skill sets and/or what you love to do.
Unlike general freelancing, many VA roles are ongoing, which means clients often expect consistent availability and structured workflows rather than one-off deliverables. Defining this early helps set expectations and pricing.
In addition, if you have any experience in a specific industry, you might want to use that to help choose your virtual assistant niche. For instance, if you worked in real estate, health care or marketing, you could consider focusing your new business on those types of companies.
Step 2: Create a business plan
After you decide on your niche or specialty, it is important to create a virtual assistant business plan. The plan should include things like:
- Which specific services you will offer
- Market research that looks at who the current competition is for these types of virtual assistant services
- How much funding you will need to get started
- Competitive analysis
- Your mission statement
Your virtual assistant business plan can also include your goals and dreams; for instance, “Sign five new clients within the first year,” or “I hope to be making a profit after 18 months.” Once you get your business off the ground, your business plan will help you to stay on track.
You may also want to outline how you will manage multiple clients at once. For example, using a clientflow platform to track inquiries, onboarding, and active work. Juggling overlapping tasks is one of the most common challenges new VAs face.
Step 3: Decide what and how you will charge
Just as there are a variety of services a business virtual assistant will offer, there are also a number of ways to get paid, as well as a range of virtual assistant rates. Do some research of other virtual assistant businesses to see what they typically charge, as well as how they bill. This can be by:
The hour
This is often the easiest way to charge, especially as you are getting your new business off the ground. You will keep careful records of the amount of time you spend and bill accordingly, either by the week or month.
Typical ranges: $20–$40/hour for general admin work, $40–$75/hour for specialized services like social media or bookkeeping, and $75+/hour for advanced or niche expertise. This model works best early on when you are still estimating how long tasks take.
The project
This is another effective way to bill your clients, but it does require having a good idea of how long a specific project will last. You don’t want to run the risk of quoting a fee and then discovering along the way that the work is taking twice as long as you had anticipated.
Best for clearly defined deliverables like setting up a CRM, creating a content calendar, or cleaning up an inbox system
An hourly package that is paid up-front
Depending on what you charge per hour, you can offer an hourly pricing package deal that offers a discount – maybe 10% or so – if your client buys up 10 or more hours at a time. This amount will be paid in advance, and then you’ll keep track of your time.
Common packages include 10, 20, or 40-hour monthly retainers, which provide predictable income and help clients secure ongoing support.
As you scale, many VAs move to retainers because they reduce admin work and create more stable revenue. Tools like HoneyBook can automate invoicing, track hours or packages, and send payment reminders so you’re not manually following up.
Step 4: Choose your business name
If you’ve been dreaming about being a virtual assistant for some time, you might already have a business name in mind. If not, choose a name for your new business. Ideally, it should be easy to pronounce and spell, as well as give a clear idea of what the business offers. If you are planning on creating a website and/or ordering business cards, you can also work on your logo, colors and design. You might also want to consult with a local accountant who is familiar with small businesses and inquire if you should be a sole proprietor, an LLC or a corporation. An attorney who specializes in business law can also help you with this step.
Step 5: Set up your home office
Organizing your home office can be a really fun and exciting part of the process! Ideally, you will want your work space to be in a quiet area of your home, or at least in a room that has a door. This way, if you are sharing your space with your roommates, spouse, kids and/or a dog, you can reasonably guarantee that you’ll be able to keep any household noises at a minimum so that you can fully concentrate on your work. Of course, this is not always possible, and plenty of successful entrepreneurs got their start working from their kitchen table, so it’s okay if you don’t have a dedicated home office for now.
No matter where you will be working, you will need:
- A desktop computer or laptop
- A smart phone
- A printer that also makes copies and scans
- A reliable internet connection
- Basic office supplies like pens, copy paper, highlighters and notepads
Since many clients like to meet via Zoom or other online meeting platforms, you may want to download this and other apps on your computer and your phone. You could also invest in noise-cancelling headphones to help keep you from getting distracted by any household noise.
VAs often rely on tools to manage multiple clients simultaneously, such as project tracking, shared calendars, and centralized communication. Using a platform like HoneyBook early can help you avoid scattered emails and spreadsheets as your workload grows.
Step 6: Get ready to market your virtual assistant business
You have the skills, the can-do attitude, the business name and the home office all set up. Now, it’s time to go out and start scheduling some customers! You can do this by setting up business pages on as many social media platforms as you can, as well as by creating a business website. If you are focusing on a particular industry, you can also reach out to companies to let them know you are available to help with a variety of tasks. For instance, if you have experience in real estate, some good old fashioned networking with Realtors that you know can go a long way in getting you some clients.
One often overlooked strategy: track every inquiry, even if it doesn’t convert immediately. Many VA clients come back weeks or months later. Using a pipeline tool (like HoneyBook’s lead tracking) ensures you don’t lose warm opportunities.
Step 7: Use a highly-functional client flow management platform
The final step in getting ready to figuratively hang your shingle and open your virtual assistant business is to invest in an all-in-one virtual assistant CRM software program that will make every work day easier. For example, HoneyBook offers an exceptional clientflow management platform that features a number of useful tools that you will use all of the time.In many ways, the HoneyBook virtual assistant software program will become like your very own virtual assistant, handling many of the tasks that are part of owning your own business.
Let’s take a look at how HoneyBook’s features can help with your virtual assistant services:
- Communicating with clients: Instead of sending separate emails, invoices, your contract, and other documents, which may get lost in your inbox shuffle, you can take care of all of your client communications from the HoneyBook CRM platform.
- Keeping track of leads: If an inquiry comes in from a potential client on Facebook, or you get an email from someone reaching out about your services, HoneyBook will take those messages and send them directly to you.
- Customizable templates: Not sure how to craft a work proposal for a new client? No problem! Just use HoneyBook’s customizable proposal templates and add in your specific virtual assistant services that you are offering.
- Keeping track of your projects: The busier you get as a virtual assistant, the more important it will be to keep all of your clients and their projects straight. Rather than using spreadsheets or calendar systems to track your work, you can rely on the CRM platform to manage all of your current work.
- Learning more about your clients: In order to do the best possible job as a virtual assistant, it’s important to know what your client is looking for. Use the platform to create virtual assistant questionnaires that you can send to potential and current clients in order to get all of the information that you need to do a great job for them.
- Avoiding repetitive emails: Rather than typing out the same questions over and over for your clients in emails, the template will save you valuable time by allowing you to send a prewritten message about anything from fees to follow-ups and more.
Get started on your new virtual assistant career today!
Knowing how to start as a virtual assistant may seem overwhelming and time-consuming, but like many things in life, breaking it down into smaller goals can make it seem more manageable. By starting a virtual assistant business checklist, and accomplishing these seven steps one-by-one, in no time you will be set up as a successful virtual assistant who has a growing list of satisfied clients, plenty of positive testimonials and an impressive work portfolio. For more information on how HoneyBook can help turn your virtual assistant goals into reality, please visit Honeybook today.
