How much can you make as a virtual assistant?

[EcoConsciousMom]

My father-in-law's new wife (so step mother-in-law?) is looking for work and she was a big business project manager. She is used to making a good income, I'm assuming over $50,000 minimum. I mentioned being a virtual assistant to her as an idea, but don't know what is realistic for her to expect.

What should an experienced project manager expect to make by being a virtual assistant? And where do you go to find these jobs?

Thanks,
Brianne

[WAHMK]

What type of industry does she work in? and is the environment viable at home? It would not be totally unthinkable for her to gross a high salary, however $50k might be a little unrealistic to start. If she is looking to be a VA and take on clients she will need to outline her services very well, and find a specific niche, which will utilize her services well.

Can you tell us a little more about what she did at her last position?

[EcoConsciousMom]

I don't know exactly what she did in her last job. It was before she married my father-in-law so we don't talk much about it. I just thought I'd get some information for her to help as she is looking for work.

The information you gave I think will be a good start to give her and I'll see if I can learn some more about what she did exactly. I just know she was a project manager and owned/operated a trucking company for a while.

Thanks again.

[FreeElectricity]

A couple of good sites to find work from home is Elance.com and Guru.com. I don't know about her particular industry but anyone from professors to programmers to CPA's and more can find work on these sites. They have a free version and also a paid version. Works very much like Ebay - you bid on jobs, winner gets the job and then gets rated (as does the "buyer"). You build your reputation and possibly get more work if you are looking for it. The paid membership gives you more bids per month and then they also take a smaller percentage of your pay. I generally start working with someone for a couple of weeks and make sure we can trust each other and it's going to work out - and then I have them pay me via paypal because paypal takes less.

Also tjobs.com is a good site. They are like a newspaper subscription in that they are $15 a year to access the jobs. However the jobs at tjobs are like applying for the average brick and mortar job....you put in an application/submit a resume and then hope they call you and go through the interview process.

Best wishes to her!

Theresa

[EcoConsciousMom]

So I talked with my step-mother-in-law and she has looked into this. However, she said everyone was paying so little it wasn't worth it. She is used to running projects and bigger companies, so I think she's looking for $20/hour or more... I don't think she's interested anymore in this idea, but thanks everyone for all your help. I appreciate it.

[angienewton]

Oh she could absolutely make more than $20/hr. I am a VA/business manager for a few clients and it's definitely doable (can't talk about my personal income, sorry) but just wanted to pipe in and let you know.

I don't know that you could make that much via elance or those types of sites but as a virtual assistant for independent companies you can.

My friend Tawnya has a great virtual assistant network site that you should look at.

[EcoConsciousMom]

Originally Posted by angienewton

Oh she could absolutely make more than $20/hr. I am a VA/business manager for a few clients and it's definitely doable (can't talk about my personal income, sorry) but just wanted to pipe in and let you know.

I don't know that you could make that much via elance or those types of sites but as a virtual assistant for independent companies you can.

My friend Tawnya has a great virtual assistant network site that you should look at.

Thanks Angie. I'll send her the link. She kept finding things for under $12. She was competing against kids and the businesses weren't willing to pay for her experience.

I think she is going to try and start a website/advertising magazine now, but I'll let her know about that link anyways in case she's still interested.

[gvsridhar171]

Is she very particular about becoming a Virtual Assistant ? Is she open to new ideas ? Can she open up a Web Shop promoting various affiliate products ? Logistics would be taken care by the companies and she will just get commissions on sale of products through her website. She has to spend a little on paid advertisements to drive traffic to her website. If she is willing to work hard, then there are plenty of free methods to drive traffic to her web shop. Details can be worked once she expresses her interest in this. What do you say ?

[nkellerm85]

Originally Posted by EcoConsciousMom

My father-in-law's new wife (so step mother-in-law?) is looking for work and she was a big business project manager. She is used to making a good income, I'm assuming over $50,000 minimum. I mentioned being a virtual assistant to her as an idea, but don't know what is realistic for her to expect.

What should an experienced project manager expect to make by being a virtual assistant? And where do you go to find these jobs?

Thanks,
Brianne

That amount? Wow it's too great!

As for me, I'm just earning too low. Hmmm about $10 per hour. Well it's part time because I'm having a business of my own too.

[DARMAR]

If she is still interested in looking seriously into Virtual Assistance as a career, she may want to check the forums at VAF- Virtual Assistant Forums | Work at Home Resources They have tons of info in the forums. If you register, you can get access to some forums that are closed to non-registered people. I even recently won a copy of their VA ebook. It is an excellent book! There are many VA's that make good money-comparable to $50,000. Doesn't happen overnight, but with hard work and persistance, it can be done. HTH