Is It Possible To Make A Living As A Virtual Assistant?

The short answer is yes. People often ask me what I do for a living and I use to say "I am a Virtual Assistant". This response usually was received with blank stares and quizzical looks.  Some people would often be brave enough to ask "What's that?".  While the Virtual Assistant industry is a million possibly billion dollar industry it is still very much a mystery to most people.  Many people even are fearless (or just rude) enough to even ask me how much I make. My response always is "enough to pay for the life I want"!

Don't let me mislead you though. Working as a freelance virtual assistant/bookkeeping/customer service representative/office manager/writer/marketing professional/ etc. etc. (the roles are endless) is not an easy ride. This is not a get rich quick venture! Time, energy, hard work and money go into making you successful! Even working from home you have expenses such as Internet, computer hardware and software, a telephone is a must, cell phone, and advertising.

On top of performing tasks and projects for your clients you also have to manage your own business. In the beginning I probably worked 10-12 hour days but only a portion of that was actually billable to clients.  In the first year my company was anything but profitable. I barely made enough to cover my expenses, but I continued to push through and the second year was much better. The thing about being a contractor is that you could lose business at any time for any reason - even if you perform perfectly - you could still lose a client or two at any given moment and this could greatly effect your own finances.

Other factors contribute to the success or failure of your organization too. As more and more people are out of work due to our current US economy and job market and more people choose to change their work environment and freelance in order to have a more flexible schedule the market is being flooded with competition. Competition comes from all over the world too and sometimes it's amazing to see what people are willing to work for creating difficulty for skilled professionals to make a decent living.

As I hang in there and continue to be productive though it is a choice I am glad I made and over the last couple of years have shown a small profit (even though it was invested right back into my company).