Create Consistent Income Being a Virtual Assistant

Create Consistent Income Being a Virtual Assistant 

If you read my previous blog here, I mentioned some of the challenges virtual assistants face, and that post was about getting clients. And this blog is about another one of the challenges, being a virtual assistant and creating consistent income. While some months may be busier than others, it’s important to have a steady stream of work to support yourself and your business. And there are some things you can do to make it more likely to bring in consistent income. A few of these I will share with you are not suggested if you are a new virtual assistant. I will point out to each who it’s best for so you are not left guessing.

Here are some tips for being a virtual assistant and creating consistent income: 

Offer Packages: Offering packages with a set number of hours or services can provide your clients with a clear understanding of what they’re getting and help you create consistent income. In fact, this is the number one way I teach my students to develop consistent income when they are brand new to doing virtual assistant work. If you are unsure where to start, start with three hourly packages. Have the smallest be the least amount of hours a month you are willing to do. Then double that for package two. And double that one for package three. 

Retainer Agreements: Retainer agreements are an excellent way to secure a set amount of monthly work and income from a client. This is similar to packages yet slightly different. Retainers can be based on a certain number of hours, but often it’s a flat fee for specific services. This is better for a more experienced virtual assistant since you need to have the experience to know you are not over or under-charging for retainers. 

Diversify Your Services: Offering a range of services can help you appeal to a broader range of clients and create multiple income streams. This might mean you have a graphic design service, a copywriting service, and a website ensign package. Of course, to offer all these, you must also have those skills. Always remember that you need to enjoy your services, so don’t offer something just for the money; otherwise, it will burn you out!

Upsell: Upselling involves offering additional services to your existing clients. This can help you increase your income without having to find new clients. This is another that is better for experienced virtual assistants. But let’s say you are excellent at creating written business processes. This can be hard to do if you don’t know the business, but once you have worked with a client, maybe you have a Business SOP (standard operating procedure) package that they can buy as needed. Or if you are good at writing, perhaps you offer certain services once you understand a client’s voice and the types of writing they need. 

Specialize: Specializing in a particular niche or service can help you become an expert in your field and attract clients who value your expertise. This is another that is better for experienced virtual assistants unless you are someone with graphic design, branding, or copywriting skills. But an area that is needed for a specialized virtual assistant is Facebook Ads, Inastag Ads, and Tiktok Ads. There are always clients looking for this, and it can be hard to find, partly because social media is constantly changing and partially because those really good at ads are priced so high small businesses can’t afford them. 

Create Recurring Revenue: Consider offering ongoing services and provide you with recurring revenue, such as social media management or email marketing. A great example of this is my developer’s website maintenance package is a small monthly fee. I gladly said yes, so I don’t have to remember each month and worry I will crash my site when updating plugins!  But social media creation and management are very needed! 

Create Passive Income: Consider creating passive income streams, such as online courses or eBooks, that generate income without requiring ongoing work. This can produce great income but be a bit more tricky to start than people think. Online marketing makes it sound like passive income is quick and easy to do, but not so! This is definitely for an experienced virtual assistant; unless you have a background in online marketing and advertising, then this is something you can do sooner. 

Raise Your Rates: Increasing your rates can help you create consistent income, but be sure to do so gradually and provide your clients with value that justifies the increase. What I did when starting was once I had two clients at x rate, then I would up it for my next ones. Once I moved from virtual assistant to online business manager, then it was a much more significant increase. I also got all new clients, so it was a slow transition. I finished up with virtual assistant clients, helped them hire someone to replace me, and during that time, found new clients. There is no set rule on increasing rates, but as you gain experience and grow your skills, you provide more value to clients and will want to increase your rates. 

The eight ways above are great for being a virtual assistant and creating consistent income as a virtual assistant, but they require a combination of strategies. You don’t want to try and do all of them at once. And remember, some are better once you have more experience. By doing some of the above options over a period of time, you can build a stable and profitable virtual assistant business. 

Most importantly, stay focused on providing value to your clients and continuously improve your skills to stand out.

Action Step

If you are a new virtual assistant or still thinking about it, pick 1-2 of the strategies above. And then set a date by which you will have this implemented. Some require planning more than one stop, so if that’s the case, give dates to all pieces needed.

And if you are an experienced virtual assistant, out of the above that you are not doing, pick 1-2 of the more advanced options to implement. 

You may notice by now anytime I suggest you take action, I always advise a period of time to test it. With these, 60 days are good unless it’s something like passive income, which will need longer. Once you’ve tried, reflect on what worked and what didn’t, decide if any changes are needed, and continue on. 

Helpful Links

If you know you are a mom wanting to work from home but have no idea how to get started, grab my free guide, “10 Easy Steps to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant.” And if you are lacking confidence and wondering if you really can do it, If I can do it, living in a small rural town in Missouri with no formal business education or entrepreneurial background, so can you!

Go here to grab the free guide! 

This guide also works for established virtual assistants looking to grow their businesses and bring in more income! 

You’ll also be added to my email list, where I’ll send tips about working as a Virtual Assistant and more business advice.