Summary notes created by Deciphr AI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lluybP6rPY4The webinar, hosted by an expert virtual assistant, covers essential topics for aspiring virtual assistants, including an introduction to American culture, crucial characteristics for success beyond skills, and the importance of establishing a professional online presence. Key points include understanding American work culture, time zones, and the necessity of constant communication. The session emphasizes the importance of creating a niche specialization to stand out in the competitive market and offers practical advice on pricing, networking, and continuous learning. The host also highlights the significance of professionalism, adaptability, and resourcefulness in the virtual assistant role.
"The different modules that we're going to talk about is an introduction to American culture, characteristics that you need to have as an executive VA, and then establishing yourself as a virtual assistant so that you can attract client as well as the different virtual assistant job or roles that you can dive into."
"You need to know who your clients are and since our clients are mostly Americans, we need to know their culture."
"There are four time zones in the US: Eastern, Central, Pacific, and Mountain time."
"Americans are always on time. When you set up a meeting with them, they will really be there at the scheduled time."
"You have to invest in a really good coat and a blazer because even if we're working virtually, professionalism is still very important."
"You need to have constant communication with your client because we are working virtually."
"Skills are not enough to make you successful in this role. You need to have the proper characteristics to be able to succeed."
"You need to learn how to do inbox management, calendar management, travel management, data entry, household management, events management, and meeting management."
"You also need to learn to use the tools that will help you deliver your output for each of the skills that you need to learn."
"Establishing yourself as a virtual assistant means how to create your brand, your portfolio, how to market yourself to attract clients."
"One of the trends right now in 2024 is hyper-specialization, meaning you need to find out what you are really good at and you need to highlight that."
"We are going to talk about the different virtual assistant jobs or roles that you can specialize in so that you can stand out amongst others."
"If I'm going to apply as a virtual assistant, I will definitely highlight, for example, a ClickUp specialist since I'm very good in ClickUp already."
Resourcefulness
Essential for tasks like inbox management and research.
Ability to think outside the box and not rely on a single source for information.
Identifying and using legitimate resources to avoid misinformation.
"No matter how good you are in inbox management, if you are not resourceful in researching, it's not going to give you that edge with your client."
Communication
Crucial for building rapport with clients.
Balancing good communication skills with high-quality output is necessary.
Enthusiasm and willingness to learn are valued over just technical skills.
"If you are not able to communicate well during the interview or do not know how to build rapport with your client, you’re not going to get that role."
Adaptability
Ability to adjust to different situations, such as being available during emergencies.
Creating systems to show clients that you can adapt to various scenarios.
"When my client is traveling, I make myself available over the weekends if there is an emergency."
Organizational Skills
Importance of arranging files properly and being detail-oriented.
Using tools to compensate for weaknesses in memory or organization.
"You have to make sure that you arranged all of your files properly when using Google Drive."
Proactivity
Identifying client needs before they realize them.
Offering solutions proactively to enhance client satisfaction.
"My client mentioned she cannot vote because her license is still registered in another state. I told her I can apply for her license to be changed online."
Time Management
Essential for balancing work and personal life, especially when working from home.
Implementing time blocks and to-do lists to stay productive.
"You should also practice time blocks for your own calendar to help you be productive throughout the week."
Confidentiality
Using password-sharing tools and security features like VPNs to protect client information.
Ensuring clients feel secure sharing sensitive information.
"You have to learn how to use password sharing tools such as OnePassword or LastPass because confidentiality is very important for our clients."
Business Owner Mindset
Understanding that you are providing services as a business owner, not an employee.
Selling your services and managing your brand to attract clients.
"You are providing your services in terms of inbox management, calendar management, travel management to your client. You are not an employee; you are a business owner."
Creating a Professional Online Presence
Importance of having profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Using social media to market your services without necessarily showcasing your personal life.
"You need to have a LinkedIn profile, a Facebook page, and an Instagram page to create a professional online presence."
Stresses the significance of an online presence in attracting clients and marketing services.
"You can post a picture of a computer and then you can just put there what you did for your client."
Different Platforms
Creating profiles on Upwork, OLJ, JobStreet, and Fiverr.
Understanding the nature of each platform, whether for permanent or project-based work.
"For Fiverr, those are just mostly project-based profiles. If you're looking for permanent work, go to Upwork, OLJ, JobStreet, and LinkedIn."
"This is very important just like a small office for your home so that you can focus focus focus on work and focus on what you're doing."
"Understand time zones especially when it comes to meetings and Google Calendar or calendar management."
"What gave me a lot of interviews and a lot of referrals are my network."
"Start joining lives, start joining communities through Facebook, through Instagram, through Discord and then you can start building your own community of virtual assistants."
"Even clients that I've worked with, networking for them is very important because their Network can be their investor."
"Right now I can say safely $5 per hour is a starting rate."
"You already have the skill, you already have the experience, you just have to transfer them in a virtual setting."
"Aside from being paid $5 per hour, your mindset will change into thinking that my client is paying me this much so then I have to produce quality work."
"Always try to close a deal with a client on a monthly rate instead of hourly."
"You can charge $800 for one month of work starting, and then if you already have experience, you can increase your rate."
"Always invest in professional development."
"If you do not invest in learning and upskilling, you are not going to improve in being a virtual assistant."
"You need to have hyper-specialization."
"For example, you can dive into becoming a medical virtual assistant if you have a background in nursing."
"You need to be able to hyper-specialize your skills."
"For example, I'm a social media manager targeting the beauty industry."
"There's a lot of competition already."
"You have to be able to create a good portfolio and profile that can attract the clients that you are targeting."
"Do clients prefer VAs with experience? It really depends."
"Try to also include in your portfolio the different courses that you took so that you can also bank on that."
"If it's a direct client, as long as you are able to market yourself well, you're good in communicating well, you impressed your client in the interview, then there is a possibility that even if you don't have a virtual assistant experience, you can get hired."
"I interviewed an aspiring virtual assistant who did not have any VA experience before, still studying, didn't have any work experience before, but he enrolled in a course and learned the skills and the tools, and when we provided him with different scenarios during the interview, he was able to really stand out."
"You can highlight customer service, you can highlight that you know how to communicate with foreigners, and then just identify your transferable skills from your call center experience."
"If your client requires you to fill out a W8-BEN, that's fine, but if you have your own BIR or you have your own DTI, then I don't think you need to have W8-BEN."
"Just practice, practice every day, stop talking in Tagalog. If you are someone who's from the Philippines, try to look at Manny Pacquiao. He grew up in the slums, doesn't know how to speak English, but when he started to focus on becoming a senator and a politician, they all practiced, and now he's really good in his communication skills."
"PPC or Pay-Per-Click, Facebook ads, and SEO are niches that are not saturated yet. You can also look at bookkeeping and social media marketing."
"When we say social media marketer, you don't just focus on posting; you are actually strategizing for your client. When you're a marketer, you also look at ads."
"Use Google Drive, SharePoint for Outlook, and Dropbox, and then use VPN regularly, especially when you are purchasing something for your client."
"MacBooks are less susceptible to getting viruses compared to Windows."
"Use a new account, don't use your personal account. Always separate your personal from your brand virtual assistant brand."
"For LinkedIn, it's very important that you post a professional photo for your profile, but for your resume, you don't need to put in your photo there."
"We are going to have a raffle for an exclusive round table with me. I decided to create what we call a round table exclusively for COD go."
"If you're going to enroll today, you will have a 10% discount. Just use the promo code PAYDAY2024 to save 10% off of our course."
"Introduction to Virtual Assistant Basics consists of 44+ videos, all of those videos I've created personally. It's perfect for beginners, you can access it anytime you want because you have free lifetime access to this course."
"The Executive Virtual Assistant course is more complicated. Some of it are advanced tutorials, but the general virtual assistant basics course is very nice for beginners."
"If you are on TikTok, click the link in my bio and the Discord Channel link will be there. We also have an exclusive WhatsApp group where I communicate with the people within the community."
"Please take advantage of our discount to enroll in a more detailed version of this free webinar. Thank you so much everyone and thank you so much COD go for letting me host this webinar."
"Enjoy the rest of your night, enjoy your dinner, and have a great weekend."