Should you’re a extremely organized particular person looking for a solution to earn a living from dwelling, you could wish to look into changing into a digital assistant.
Digital assistants are sometimes used to carry out administrative work for a enterprise, as many companies have discovered that outsourcing administrative duties to unbiased contractors can get monetary savings on operational prices (to not point out time).
On common, a digital assistant can earn about $27 an hour for work that may embody buyer help, bookkeeping and managing e mail, social media advertising, web site and e-commerce storefront administration.
Nonetheless, some digital assistants could make much more than that — as much as $60 an hour.
Not like normal digital assistants, having a digital assistant area of interest means you provide a extra granular service that requires in-depth expertise — and which means you may cost extra. Should you’re a graphic design professional or an internet design guru, you may provide these providers and ask for extra money in alternate.
9 Digital Assistant Niches That Pay Nicely
Undecided what niches are on the market? Take a look at this listing of digital assistant niches and see if any of them suit your expertise and talents.
1. Administrative Digital Assistant
Repetitive administrative duties might be time-consuming to enterprise homeowners, and that’s the place a digital administrative assistant — also referred to as digital workplace help — is useful.
These VAs deal with duties like buyer care, calendar administration, billing and accounting, making and receiving cellphone calls, managing emails, dealing with information entry, coordinating journey and lead administration.
Pay: Common of $25 an hour, in accordance with Glassdoor.
2. Transcription
Are you able to sort quick, pay attention effectively, do analysis and write and converse effectively? If that’s the case, you may provide transcription providers as a VA.
A transcriptionist makes a speciality of changing audio to textual content. You possibly can area of interest down and select between normal transcription, medical transcription and real-time transcription.
This information will enable you get began as a transcriptionist.
Pay: The imply hourly wage is $17 per hour, in accordance with ZipRecruiter.
3. Graphic Design Digital Assistant
A graphic design digital assistant helps companies with brand creation, enterprise playing cards, web site pictures, social media graphics, infographics, flyers, brochures, picture modifying, animation, e-book covers, ebooks, and print design.
Right here’s how one can get began in a profession as a graphic designer.
Pay: The typical base charge is $21.82 an hour, although graphic designers common $64,500 a yr.
4. Digital Digital Advertising and marketing Assistant
Digital advertising is dynamic, and new tendencies come up day-after-day. And since most companies lately use the web to generate leads and gross sales, a savvy digital advertising VA is in excessive demand.
A digital advertising specialist’s duties can embody weblog administration, and advertising through e mail, engines like google and social media platforms. Otherwise you would possibly completely be a social media digital assistant.
Pay: $34 an hour, on common
5. Technical Digital Assistant
A digital technical assistant focuses extra on the technical elements of operating a enterprise. This could embody duties like updating WordPress, e mail automation, scheduling content material and search engine optimization. When you have the talents, you may even provide video modifying.
This submit affords extra details about the sorts of providers tech VAs can provide small companies.
6. Buyer Care Digital Assistant
A buyer care/digital help assistant helps a enterprise improve buyer satisfaction by responding to buyer emails, cellphone calls, responding to buyer critiques, dealing with messages on dwell chats and dealing with outbound calls. This area of interest requires essential considering and stellar communication expertise.
Pay: About $20 an hour
7. Journey Digital Assistant
Executives have their palms full, so sitting down and making journey reservations is usually a trouble for them. As a journey digital assistant, you may present that service whereas making an honest sum of money. (Being a journey VA might be very profitable.)
A journey VA’s duties will possible embody researching journey locations, planning itineraries, reserving flights, researching reductions and journey affords, reserving lodging and planning excursions.
Pay: $21 an hour, on common
8. Language Translation Digital Assistant
Should you’re bilingual, you may provide language translation as a digital assistant. You’ll possible translate paperwork or transcripts from one language to a different to assist companies attain extra prospects in numerous languages.
Right here’s how one can flip your second language right into a aspect hustle.
Pay: Distant translators make round $24 an hour, in accordance with ZipRecruiter.
9. Digital Bookkeeper
Are you an accountant by career, love math and have laptop expertise? As a digital assistant, you may present accounting providers to companies and maintain clear books.
Right here’s what you have to know to start out your personal digital bookkeeping enterprise.
Pay: On common, ZipRecruiter says digital bookkeepers make $24 per hour.
The Advantages of Working as a Digital Assistant
A number of the potential advantages of working as a digital assistant embody:
- Working from dwelling (or anyplace) — which implies no commute!
- Versatile working hours, which is especially nice for stay-at-home dad and mom and different individuals who want a versatile schedule.
- Requires little capital, though you have to purchase a couple of instruments, like a laptop computer and software program.
- Getting to decide on your shoppers, the providers you provide and your charge.
Methods to Get Began as a Digital Assistant
You don’t want loads of expertise to get began as a digital assistant. Nonetheless, you do want glorious group expertise, time administration, quick typing and demanding considering. You additionally want to grasp the way to use the instruments generally utilized by VAs in your specific area of interest.
- Study extra concerning the VA business. A number of digital assistant blogs provide in-depth details about the business, together with Kayla Sloan, The VA Handbook, Absolutely Booked VA and The Digital Savvy. You too can take digital assistant programs that provide a whole blueprint on being a digital assistant.
- Learn some ideas from the professionals. Management at BELAY Options, an organization that focuses on hiring VAs for small enterprise homeowners, shared some insights about distant work with The Penny Hoarder.
- Get the precise instruments. Take into consideration what you’ll must be environment friendly and productive each in your digital assistant enterprise and for shoppers. Analysis accounting and tax instruments, like QuickBooks or TurboTax. Do you have to monitor mileage with an app like TripLog? What sort of scheduling and calendar instruments will you want? Do you have to brush up your mission administration expertise or take some classes on the way to use social media instruments like HootSuite? Take note of the job description and concentrate on the talents and instruments you’ll want primarily based on the job’s necessities. Â
- Discover digital assistant jobs. This listing of websites the place you’ll find work as a digital assistant will enable you get began. Additionally, think about speaking with an organization that gives VA providers in case you are critical about working as a VA. Signing with an organization can alleviate the necessity to hustle by yourself. They are going to interview you, then join you with a enterprise proprietor or firm who would profit out of your VA expertise.
Charity Jerop is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder. Senior author Robert Bruce contributed to this text.
This was initially printed on The Penny Hoarder, a private finance web site that empowers hundreds of thousands of readers nationwide to make good selections with their cash by actionable and inspirational recommendation, and assets about the way to make, save and handle cash.