74: What I’d Do If I Were Starting From Scratch Today (as a New Virtual Assistant)

If I had to start over as a virtual assistant, this is exactly what I’d do first. In this episode, I’m walking you through the three steps I’d take today to build a profitable VA business from scratch — no guesswork, no Googling, no wasted time — and where to go next if you are ready to stop dragging your feet and get your business off the ground.

| LINKS |

✹ Take our FREE Discovery Your Money-Making Skillset Quiz


✹ Want to dip your toes and get some clarity about what becoming a VA could look like for you? Join our 5-Day Monetize Your Skills Challenge

✹ Ready to start your business as a virtual assistant? Join Beginner to Booked VA™!

| RELATED EPISODES |

Episode 73: Your Fear of Being "Salesy" is What You Aren't Making Sales

Episode 71: What Does a Virtual Assistant Actually Do? (And Why You're More Qualified Than You Think)

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

when i started my business as a virtual assistant it was admittedly pretty clunky i knew what a va was and i knew what a va could do because i actually had had a va myself before in a previous business but i didn't know exactly how to get things up and running for myself or how I would find clients and all of the ins and outs of everything. So I turned to Google University and YouTube State, if you know what I mean, which it worked out for me, of course, because I'm here today. But my mission with Your Behind the Scenes BFF is to provide the things that I simply didn't have when I started. Encouragement, education, and mentorship. So in today's episode, we are going to look back at the three things I would absolutely do again if I was starting my VA business from scratch, some of which I did and some of which I didn't, and maybe a little bit that I could have done better. But hopefully all of the things will help you navigate the beginning of your journey and everything that's to come. Let's dive in. Welcome to the Virtual Assistant School Podcast. I'm your host, Kate, a teacher turned entrepreneur, mom of two, and I teach women how to use the skills they already have to make money from home as a virtual assistant. Every Tuesday and Thursday, you'll get step-by-step strategies, behind-the-scenes insights, and hear honest, unfiltered conversations about making money and growing an online business so you can stop feeling stuck and start taking action toward your goals. Whether you're looking for a flexible system side hustle or want to take your business full time, this podcast is for you. Building a business or starting something new can be super overwhelming at times, but here you don't have to do it alone. So grab your coffee or make another cup and let's dive into this week's episode. Okay. So the first thing that I would absolutely make sure that you do is to take inventory of your skills. So listen, I didn't formally do this, but I knew that I had a lot of skills because I had had experience in online business. So I knew it was going to transfer. That's not the case for everyone, right? Like some of you are teachers or nurses or stay at home moms, or you're in corporate or whatever that looks like. And you might be thinking like, I don't even know if I have the skills. Like I don't have any experience in like being an assistant or in online business or whatever that looks like. And first and foremost, I want you to know that you do have the skills that you need in order to become a VA. And I know this because I've helped over 500 women at this point start their businesses as VAs. And I've never once come across someone who didn't have what it takes like ever, but you have to be able to Take inventory of those skills and really uncover what they are so that you can turn those into services and really use them to help you book clients. Now, we just recently did a podcast all about skill set and how you're actually more qualified than you think you are. So I will link that in the show notes and in the description below. But I want you to remember that soft skills matter a just as much, but if not more than hard skills. Okay. So I'm going to link that episode for you to go listen to after this one. But if you're thinking like, I don't, you know, I don't have experience in like these systems that online business owners use, or I don't really know anything about social media, or I don't like, no, stop, stop right there. Okay. Your soft skills matter a in my opinion and in my experience, more than what your hard skills do. So you being a great communicator, you being super organized, you being a go-getter, you being able to be someone that just figures it out, that is so valuable in the role of being a virtual assistant. But you also want to walk through the actual process of identifying your transferable skills. So I have a couple of resources for you for that. Number one, we have our free quiz that it is called the Discover Your Money Making Skillset Quiz. I will link that for you or you can go to yourbtsbff.com slash quiz. And that is actually just it's kind of like, you know, a 17 magazine or a magazine. BuzzFeed quiz where you can just answer questions and we will give you the results. So once you finish the quiz, you'll get a little bit of a result, like a blurb. But if you really want more in-depth response or result, if you just put it in your email, we will send you a results page. So that's the first step in looking at the skills you have and how that translates into becoming a VA and the services that you could offer. But we also have our challenge. So we have our five-day challenge. monetize your skills challenge. And so it takes that quiz to the next level where you're getting five days of coaching and training and really helping you uncover those skill sets, but also showing you how they transfer to services and then what that would look like in terms of how much you could charge, what that looks like in terms of how much you could make, what's the time requirements required for you. Time requirements required. What's the time required for you to be able to make X amount of money as a VA, especially if you're someone who wants to do it on the side or from home or in the pockets of your day and the steps that you need to take in order to do that. So after you take the quiz, I would highly recommend enrolling in the challenge. We are, at the time of this episode, enrolling for our challenge actually starts live next week. And this is the last live challenge of 2025. Now, if you're listening to this podcast episode after this, next week. Um, we have a challenge set up where you can just go to, uh, your btspf.com slash challenge, and you can sign up for the challenge and get those recordings, get the same trainings, the coaching, all that good stuff. It's just not live anymore. Um, and probably until 2026. So there's still an opportunity for you to glean all of that information. Um, It just is, if you listen to this podcast right now, at the time that it's being released, we have a live one starting next week on August 18th. And you can dive in to that live challenge. The recordings are still going to be available. So if you can't be there live, that's okay. But there's still a lot of benefits to the live version. And if you want to be part of the last live version that we're doing of the year, and if not, the recordings is going to be just as good. And it's going to have a little bit of... little bit of extras that we haven't done in the life. So pros to both options, but definitely start with the quiz. Okay. That's linked for you. And then consider jumping into the challenge because that is really going to help you uncover those skills and actually show you how you can make money using them. Okay. Number two thing that I would do if I was starting from scratch as a new VA is was something that I did and I did really well. And I think it really set me up for success. And it's something that I recommend everyone, everyone does, everyone do. I recommend it's a thing that everyone does. Oh my gosh, you guys, grammar today is like, it's so hard. I clearly haven't had enough caffeine. This is something that I would really recommend you do, all right? And that is telling everyone what you're doing, okay? Don't be, this is for my millennials out there, Hannah Montana, okay? Don't have, you can't live the best of both worlds, all right? Can't be Miley Cyrus in the morning, during the day, and Hannah Montana at night. I've been there, I've done that in a previous business, and I learned from that. I want you to learn from me in that way. Visibility equals opportunity, okay? let me say that again, visibility equals opportunity. And I know that sometimes it can feel really hard to be seen or feel seen or put yourself out there, but it is critical to the mission of you seeing success and getting opportunity that normally you wouldn't be able to get. And that doesn't have to look like, you know, posting on social media every single day and, you know, going to a bunch of different events or just like, it doesn't have to be complicated, right? It can literally look like you just telling your friends and family what you're doing. And, you know, hey, if you hear of anyone that needs a VA, would you mind sending them my way? That is actually exactly how I got my first couple of clients. I texted a couple of my friends that were in the online business space and said, hey, I'm going to start my business as a virtual assistant. If you know of anyone that's that is looking for a VA or looking for support in that way, would you mind sending them my way? And it's funny because it turns out both of those people actually needed a VA themselves and I had no idea. And if I would have never reached out to them, who knows, they probably wouldn't have gone and hired someone else, but they didn't. And so that's an example of how visibility and just telling people what you're doing is going to help give you opportunity. People can't hire you if they don't know what you offer. They can't hire you if they don't know what you're doing. So you have to be able to tell people about it. Um, I also, I actually did a, another podcast episode last week that was all about, um, the reason you're not making sales because you know, you're afraid of selling. And I really recommend going and listening to that too, because I kind of dive into this concept even more there. Um, But it's really, really important to let people in on what you're doing because number one, it's just nice to have people supporting you and encouraging you if they aren't a client. And just them knowing what you're doing is great. But also, you just don't know what could come from that. And so showing up and telling people what you're doing is such a great way for you to start getting the ball rolling on what it looks like to... start getting clients and building your business. So a couple of like low pressure ideas for starting to share is texting a friend. right? Um, even just like a casual Instagram story, just throw it up on your stories. Hey, I'm starting my business as a VA. Um, if you decide that you're going to make like a new Instagram account to do that, which that's could be a whole nother podcast episode, make sure you tag that account. You know, if anyone's interested in either following along on the journey or they're looking to hire a VA, or, you know, someone who's looking for a VA, like Here's what you can do. Follow this page, reach out, you know, all that good stuff. Or even posting in like a local Facebook group, right? There's so many like mom Facebook groups out there. There's so many like local neighborhood Facebook groups, right? And so just like sharing like, again, very low pressure. Hey, no big deal. Just want to let you know that I'm here and this is what I do. And if you're interested, let me know. If not, cool, right? You're not being annoying. And that's something that I think comes up for a lot of people. It's like, I don't want to be annoying. I don't want to be salesy. I don't want to fill in the blank. And that's fine. And I think we all have a point in our life where we can kind of feel that way. But it's just it all goes back to if you're not visible, then you can't give people the opportunity to work with you if they don't know what you're doing. OK, the third thing. that I would do if I was starting from scratch is something that I did not do. And to be honest, it was because I didn't know of anyone that did this. It was very difficult to, it just wasn't common or I just wasn't seeing it back then, but it was getting a mentor, getting a mentor and learning from someone that has already gone first. I, like I said at the beginning of this podcast, really just went down the Google and YouTube rabbit hole and got resources and education from different places, which can definitely work. It did for me. You can definitely DIY the start of your business, but it would have been... drastically different if I would have invested in some kind of mentorship and invested in like someone being able to come alongside me and say like hey like here's what I would do you know x y and z because I would have number one gotten started so much faster I would have skipped over a lot of the like questioning and not sure, like feeling not sure. And, um, just like the overwhelm of if this is right, if I'm doing this right, if I should do this instead, like there was just so much information out there. And that's, that's one thing that's really hard when you're kind of trying to DIY it or Google your way through it is there's a lot of information out there that's contradictory, right? Like one person's going to tell you to charge this in this kind of way. And another person's going to tell you to do this in a different way. Um, and, I don't think like, I definitely have my opinions on what's better and what's, you know, what I wouldn't do and like that kind of thing. But there's also a lot of things that there's really not a wrong way to do it, you know, but there's just ways that are better than other ways to do it. And don't get me wrong, there are some wrong ways to do certain things. But, you know, I just think when there's so much information and you're getting pulled all these different directions, people feel really overwhelming versus having a, specific roadmap that tells you exactly what to do, what steps to take, what you need, answers all of those questions, and also gives you accountability and community within that mentorship as well. Just having someone to ask a simple question to could be life-changing because it could be like this one thing that you've been mulling over and you can't figure out. And like, it just is holding you back from getting started. If you had someone in your back pocket that you could ask, Hey, like, what could I do for this? Or what do you think? Or what are you seeing in your experience? And when you did this and all that kind of stuff, um, it just saves so much time. It saves so many headaches and, um, you know, they're really, um, There were definitely mentors out there when I started, but no one I really, I felt like clicked with, you know, and I didn't even really know what options there were out there for actual mentorship. And I also was like, I can DIY this. I can do it myself because I'm just that kind of person, right? But it just, it would have been so much easier. It would have been so much easier if I would have gotten support, if I would have worked with a mentor, if I would have had a roadmap, if I would have just taken the guesswork out of it, I probably would have been able to make a lot more money a lot faster, to be honest. I also would have felt really confident in my business. And I also think mentorship, like credibility comes with mentorship as well. At least that's something we strive for with Beginner to Booked VA is we actually have a certification where when you go through our program, you go through our mentorship, you are getting certified as a You're Behind the Scenes BFF virtual assistant. And so what that means to the outside world is that someone besides you says, hey, yeah, you're client ready. You're ready to bring on clients. You have everything that you need in order to get started. And that sets you apart from people that don't, right? People that aren't going through mentorship, people that don't have a certification. You don't need one, but it sets you apart and it gives you the different things that I didn't have and a lot of people didn't have and we probably wish we would have because it would have just saved us. from so much. And honestly, that's why Beginner to Book VA exists, right? It's something I created because it's something that I wish I had. And I created it in a way that I would have wanted myself. And like I said, mentorship, it's not a requirement by any means, but it is a shortcut. And it can get you to your goals and where you want to go faster. It also gives you some accountability. It gives you that community. And I think that's really important when you're building your business. Okay. So if this is something you're thinking like, you know what, like I've been trying to DIY this, or I've been trying to figure it out. And I just feel like there's so many missing pieces to the puzzle that I'm just unsure about. Um, and you're, you're thinking about joining beginner book VA. We actually are enrolling for our fall cohort starting well, August 25th doors open to the public, but next week on August 18th, we are going to open it up to the waitlist to start getting their seats. And if you're on the waitlist, you're also getting a special little bonus. So I would highly recommend joining the waitlist. If you're thinking about joining beginner booked VA this fall. Um, but if you're also someone that's like, you know what, I just want to get started today. I want to get started now. I don't want to wait for the next cohort. Um, and you don't feel like you need like the live support where we get, you know, you get the six weeks of group coaching, you get a group chat with coaching as well over the six weeks. Um, in an app called Slack. If you're like, you know what, I feel like I can just do this on my own. I just need something to help me answer some questions and make sure that I'm on the right path and get some resources. Then our self-study enrollment option might be a good fit for you too. So, um, and that's something you could sign up with today and get started on your business. So both of those options are available to you. I will link this all in the description and the show notes, but it's at www.yourbtsbff.com slash beginner-to-booked. I really need to change that handle, to be honest, or that URL because it's just... It's a lot of words, but I will link it for you so that you have that option and you can look more into it. And you can look at all the testimonials that we have have on the website and you can look at people's results and their experience. And we would love to see you in either the self-study option or in the live cohort that kicks off in just a few weeks. All right. So those are the three things, three things that I would do if I was starting from scratch as a new VA. I hope that this has helped you in just kind of like Getting started, these couple things that really can make a huge difference by identifying your skills, making sure that you're telling people what you're doing. We're not being Hannah Montana up in here. And also deciding if you are ready for mentorship. And if you are, if you're ready to stop Googling and ready to start doing beginner to book VA is opening up for our fall cohort, like I had mentioned, and we have our self-study option. So you could literally start today or you can start with us in a couple of weeks. And either way, whether you do that or you want to just continue hanging out over here on the podcast, I'm so glad that you're here and I'm rooting for you along the way.