Overview
With all the sci-fi movies gracing our screens that show robots slowly taking over our homes, jobs, lives, and eventually our world; it’s no wonder there are some who seriously worry that fiction may soon become our reality. Well, if you can’t beat them, join them. The Virtual Assistant (VA) side hustle helps you sort of become a robot so you can keep your hustle safe from their greedy metal fingers since you’ll (for the most part) be like one of them.
As a Virtual Assistant, you’ll provide administrative support to clients from the comfort of your own home. Kind of like Gideon, the interactive artificial consciousness from The Flash (minus the disembodied voice and being kept in a time vault). Companies and individuals can hire you for remote work which you can do using your computer and/or phone. You can find clients yourself by responding to relevant job posts on freelancer platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, or check out the jobs posted on professional sites like LinkedIn.
The work you may be asked to do as a VA varies according to the individual or company that hires you. Typical VA duties and tasks may be one or a combination of the following:
  • Calendar and schedule management
  • Email monitoring and organising
  • Travel arrangements
  • Answering and directing calls
  • Billing and accounting activities
  • Vetting potential clients, projects, and partnerships
  • Maintaining or updating a client’s social media or professional profile
  • File and document organisation
  • Research
  • Data entry
  • Typing services
  • Curating content for social media
 Who Is It For?  Since this side hustle involves interacting with clients and possibly other people in their company, depending on the type of work your client does, you’ll need to have good communicating skills. Time management is also vital since you’ll need to take care of a number of administrative tasks such as typing, research and document organisation. A home office would be a great advantage if you’re thinking of being a VA in order to keep everything organised and in great order. Computer literacy is very important too because a lot of VA tasks are computer based.
 Who Is It Not For?  Clutter-bugs stay far, far away from this one. If you have trouble keeping things organised and in order then, a hustle as a VA will be a real hassle for you. If you don’t perform well under pressure or unsupervised, it’s probably best you skip this one because most VA tasks will have deadlines and your client needs to be able to rely on you to deliver on time, every time.
 How Does It Work?  At a glance, it sounds like just anyone could do this side hustle as long as they have a computer, phone, and remember to say “please” and “thank you.” However in reality, you may need to learn a couple of skills to make a VA side hustle work. You can find some great online courses that are VA related on platforms like Teachable. Getting clients is the hardest part of being a VA but once you’ve established a client base, it’s easier to get more people to hire you based on recommendations from people you’ve worked with and the work you’ve done for them. The client will assign tasks to you and you’re free to discuss terms such as your availability so that you don’t take on more than you can handle. How you execute your duties is up to you, your client, and the kind of work they need you to do for them. If you choose to use Upwork or Fiverr to find clients, all you have to do is register for an account with either site. Registration is completely free. Once you’ve registered, the next steps include:
  • creating your profile
  • highlighting your skills and qualifications
  • specifying your preferred rates and what a customer can expect for the price you set.
With both Fiverr and Upwork, customers post “jobs” and you can filter the jobs you see so you can get whatever is related to your VA skills. If you see a job you like, you can put a bid on it by sending your proposal with details like the time you can take to do the job and your price.
 What We Like? 
  • Your office is in your home.
  • The work and tasks you can do as a VA are very diverse so you can choose a niche to specialise in and target clients and jobs in that niche.
  • You get to interact with different people from various backgrounds and learn new skills as you go. 
 What We Don’t Like? 
  • It can be hard to find a well-paying job that you can also enjoy.
  • Getting clients alone can be difficult.
 How Much Can You Make?  Your earnings from a VA side hustle depend on the tasks assigned to you and the client or company you’re working with. Rates vary from a per hour basis to a per task basis.
 Conclusion  While surviving the robot revolution is a great motivation to try VA out as a side hustle, the diversity that you can enjoy is also reason enough to give this a shot. The option to select jobs to take on also allows you more control on your finances and the kind of work you spend your precious time on. Check out the links we’ve included for some tips on getting started as a VA.