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Welcome to the world of Virtual Assistance
Beginning a virtual assistance company requires almost zero investment due to the vast amount of open source software online.
Domain Purchase
At most, an individual would need to pay $12-$17 for a domain name that (with some registrars) comes with a domain specific email address.
You can normally find deals with places like NameCheap, Rebel Domains, and others where the cost for the first year is just $1!
Website
The website can be built on free programs such as Wix, Weebly, or WordPress.com. In order to maintain the free tier, you have to either use their url OR allow ads to be used; however, this is still an ideal jumping off point while you determine your niche, branding, and target audience.
MailChimp even offers the capability to create landing pages and website pages within its system under the free plan! Again, you have to use their urls but it does save you upfront cost unless you pay to upgrade.
Social Proofing
All social media platforms are free to use (allowing the individual to build pages where you can promote their services). Do your homework before deciding on a business name to ensure those user names are available. You don’t want to choose XYZ Business to find out every variation has been scooped up (xyzbusiness, xyz_business, iamxyzbusiness, therealxyzbusiness, etc).
CRM and Email Marketing Systems
In terms of client management and email marketing, MailChimp again is a great free program for those starting out and building their list. You could even use programs such as 10to8 and YouCanBookMe for scheduling calls with new clients (and Zoom or Skype for conducting meetings).
Freelancer Sites
If, as newly starting VA, you don’t want to put in an immense about of time or effort – you could completely skip the idea of being discovered by an organic search or social media lead and just look for gigs on sites like Fiverr, Guru, and/or UpWork.
By using these sites versus creating your own “landing page” for prospects, you would only need to create a profile and wait to be discovered (or apply for gigs on the site) and use a free email from Gmail to correspond.
Business Tidbits are normally quick answers to either Facebook group responses, HARO inquiries, LinkedIn conversations, or advise providing in a networking event. If this quick tidbit provided any insight for you at all, please leave a comment.
Image by Luis Ricardo Rivera from Pixabay
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