Shadowing Practice: How to Start a Virtual Assistant Business in 2026 (Step-by-Step Free Training) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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I'm gonna walk you through exactly how to start your VA business from scratch.
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I'm gonna walk you through exactly how to start your VA business from scratch.
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By the end of this video,
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you will know what services to offer,
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what to charge, how to build a portfolio with no prior client experience,
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and how to land your very first client.
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You've probably wondered whether AI is going to make virtual assistants irrelevant,
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but the answer is actually the opposite.
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The VA industry is making more money than it ever has before.
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It's already hit $6.5 billion in sales in 2026 and it's grown 25% year after year.
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So no, AI is not making us irrelevant.
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Businesses are increasingly reliant on VAs as essential strategic partners rather than temporary admin help.
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And thanks to AI, we can work faster,
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deliver more, and charge more than we ever have before.
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Let's talk about what a VA actually does because the role has changed quite a lot.
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A virtual assistant is still someone who provides remote support to business owners, entrepreneurs, executives.
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That support can look like 1 million different things.
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It can look like managing someone's email.
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It can look like handling their social media.
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It can look like doing heavy research or writing content or managing customer service or bookkeeping.
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Sky is the limit.
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And that's part of what makes working as a VA so genuinely exciting.
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Every day can look a little bit different than the day before.
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The other thing is your clients can be located anywhere in the world.
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You are not limited to working with people in your city or even your own country.
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The income is often dollar or euro dominated,
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or of course, whatever currency works best for you because your clients are global.
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I have students in Nigeria,
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Kenya, in the Philippines, in Colombia,
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in South Africa, and they are working with clients in the US,
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the UK, Canada, Australia.
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The geography does not matter it's your skills that do.
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Now, the other thing that's worth knowing is that even though there's no single definition of a virtual assistant,
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you do not need to do everything.
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It's actually more helpful if you pick one lane and stick to it.
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So this is exactly what step one is all about.
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The biggest mistake that beginners always make is trying to do everything for everyone.
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They call themselves general VAs and they wonder why nobody hires them.
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Well, clients do not hire generalists in 2026 anymore.
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They hire people who can solve specific problems.
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Here's how you can pick your first services.
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And we're going to do this through three simple questions.
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Question one, what sellable services have you already done?
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Even informally, we all have these services, I promise.
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Have you managed somebody else's social media?
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Have you always booked trips and travel for family and friends?
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Have you helped a friend or family member with deep research?
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Have you helped anyone with their schedule before?
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Have you answered customer emails at an old job?
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Literally all of that counts.
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Question two, what do you enjoy doing on your computer day after day?
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If you love researching about the best travel apps or luxury destinations,
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you may want to explore luxury travel niches.
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Conversely, if you hate certain things,
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like you hate spreadsheets, you hate numbers,
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you hate money, you should not offer bookkeeping.
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You will resent every client every day, I promise.
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Okay, so don't even entertain the services that you hate to do.
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And question three, this one's my favorite one.
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What are some things that you've noticed that small businesses struggle with?
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And ideally, these are businesses that you interact with.
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So do you frequent a local coffee shop that has terrible social media presence?
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Or do you buy from an Etsy shop that has a terrible customer service?
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These are already potential clients that might need your help.
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You do not need to pick services for forever.
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Okay.
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You just need to pick services for now.
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So I recommend starting by choosing one to three services that connect to something that you already know how to do,
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even a little, you can do it well,
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and you genuinely enjoy doing.
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Okay.
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Specificity is what gets you hired nowadays.
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Let us talk about money because this is where a lot of new VAs sabotage themselves before they even start.
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There are two types of underchargers,
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my friend, and you do not want to be either.
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The first group undercharges because they're new to freelancing.
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It feels uncomfortable and charging real money feels a little like overstepping.
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The second is someone who undercharges out of fear,
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fear that a client will say no,
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Fear that they are not yet worth it.
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Fear that somebody else will charge less.
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Both of these groups of thinking will keep you broke, overworked, and underappreciated.
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So instead, let me give you some realistic beginner rates based on the US.
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20 to $30 an hour is a good rate if you are just getting started and still learning.
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30 to $45 an hour is a good rate if you have a defined skillset and you can show proof of work.
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I wanna repeat that these are just starting points and not ceilings.
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Some VAs I have trained have gone from $20 to $60 an hour within their first year.
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And it's not because they got lucky,
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but it's because they raised their rates as they got better and more confident.
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So the goal for your starting number is that it should feel slightly uncomfortable in a good way,
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but is not so low that you either resent their work
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or is not so high that the fear of rejection stops you from even sending out any pitches or proposals.
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Package pricing is also worth considering at this stage.
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So instead of offering $30 an hour,
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you could offer those in a monthly package.
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So 10 hours of luxury travel booking gets you $300.
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Clients often prefer flat rates because it feels more predictable for their budget and they're typically more comfortable paying that.
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One of the most common questions that I get from VAs as a VA coach is,
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how do I get a client if I have no portfolio?
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Or you could think of this as,
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how do I build a portfolio if I don't have any clients?
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Listen to me right now.
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You do not need client work to have a portfolio.
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You just need proof that you can do the work.
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Option one, and this is my favorite option,
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is to create sample work.
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If you want to go into social media management,
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create a mock content calendar for a fictional business.
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Show your strategic thinking behind it.
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Okay, you just have to show your strategic thinking behind the calendar.
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If you want to offer sales outreach, write sample emails.
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Make your sample cold pitches sound warm and inviting and less salesy.
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If you want to offer deep research,
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write up a sample research report.
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These are real deliverables.
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They both demonstrate your skill and your thinking,
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and that is something that clients will find of value.
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Now, if that doesn't catch your attention,
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option two is to do one or two small projects in exchange for a testimonial.
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However, do not offer free work.
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Never, never, never, never offer free work.
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Free clients will never, ever,
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ever turn into paying clients.
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Why would they?
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They're getting you for free.
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They're not about to start paying you.
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So pick someone in your network already.
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This could be a local small business.
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It could be a friend who sells stuff on Etsy.
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It could be a friend who's uploading a lot of content to Pinterest.
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It can be a nonprofit that you admire.
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Offer them one specific service for a limited amount of time and potentially add a discount.
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But again, never free.
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And definitely limit your time
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because you don't want to find yourself working for three months
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kicking your butt for a client who has no intention of becoming a real full-time client at a higher rate.
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Option three, and yes, there is an option three,
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is to use your past experience even if it was not paid.
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Okay, so think about volunteer work that you've done in the past or academic projects that you've done.
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Jobs where you did similar tasks also count.
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If you managed emails for a past employer.
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That is inbox management experience.
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The goal of your portfolio is not to prove that you are an expert.
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It is to prove that you are capable of work and that you are a professional.
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A one-page PDF with three to four samples is more than enough.
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Keep it tool agnostic so that it speaks to all sorts of different clients,
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regardless of what software they use.
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This is the section that most people are here for.
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How do you find your first client?
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And I'm going to give you something that you can do today, not someday.
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The most reliable place to find your first client is within your existing network.
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Not job boards, not cold emails to strangers, your network.
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I want you to think about every business owner,
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every manager you've ever worked with,
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every entrepreneur you've come across in your personal life.
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I want you to think through friends,
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family members, co-workers, your friends of your family.
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Think about the person who runs the hair salon that you go to.
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That one guy from your old job who started this new thing.
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The woman in your church who sells handmade jewelry online.
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These people need help and they need help today.
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Most small business owners or independent owners are drowning in tasks that they do not have time for.
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And they probably don't want to hire a full-time employee for either.
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So here's your one concrete action plan for the day.
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Write a simple message to five people that you know who run a business or work with business owners.
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It should not be a lengthy sale pitch.
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It can literally be as simple as,
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hey, I just launched my own virtual assistant business and I'm offering support in things like social media and scheduling.
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Do you know anyone who could use my help?
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Send that message to five people in your network today,
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like now, like at the end of this video.
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Do not wait until you have a website.
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Do not wait until you have a portfolio full of samples.
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Send it today.
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Now, if you're feeling like an overachiever,
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there are of course options beyond your network of family and friends.
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You could look to platforms like Fiverr.
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Okay, Fiverr is legitimately a solid starting point.
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However, this comes with a caveat.
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You absolutely must optimize your profile to one specific service.
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You must optimize your bio that speaks directly to the type of client you are trying to land.
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And you must be ready to apply to five to 10 to 20 jobs a day with specific customized proposals
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that talk directly to the person who is looking for the gig.
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Fiverr is definitely more about customization because you are pitching a stranger.
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Whereas most freelance VAs tend to find their first client through friends and family.
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But like I said, both are viable options when you're getting started.
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One of the most overwhelming parts of starting a VA business
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is feeling like you need to learn every tool on the planet before you are ready.
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You do not.
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Here's the list of tools that matter the most when you're just getting started.
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For communication, It is all about Gmail and Outlook, baby.
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We are sending emails and we want to make sure that they are concise.
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You know how to send attachments and maybe even add a customized signature.
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In terms of videos, Zoom is still king.
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Microsoft Teams is making a pretty good push into the market.
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For scheduling, Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Calendly.
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Figure out how to create new events,
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how to add people to the calendar invite,
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how to color code them.
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And we'll show you how they like to use certain tools.
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Social media, Canva for graphics, no contest.
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And you can either look into platforms like Buffer to schedule posts,
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or what I recommend doing first is looking into each of the platforms individually
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because most of these have the option to schedule later on the platform itself.
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Create a fake graphic in Canva,
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go to LinkedIn, figure out how to schedule it for later,
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rinse and repeat on other social media platforms that you're already using.
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You do not need to be the master of all tools.
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You need to be competent in the tools that your clients specifically use,
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and you will learn those by doing.
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So don't stress yourself out about having to know everything everywhere all at once.
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Have you seen my tattoo, by the way?
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One thing I want to flag about tools is that not every tool has the same accessibility globally.
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Okay, so if you're outside the U.S.,
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sometimes billing or subscription setups can be really tricky.
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So I always recommend for everyone to check out free tiers first.
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If a tool does not have a free tier,
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don't worry about it, move on.
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And if you want to deep dive into specific tools,
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peruse this YouTube channel because I have hundreds of tool tutorials.
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So you now have a complete roadmap.
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You know what services to offer.
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You know what to charge.
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You know how to build a portfolio without prior experience.
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You know how to connect with your first client.
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And you know what tools to focus on.
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The only thing now that is standing between you and your first client is execution.
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If you want to fast track that execution,
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get on my waitlist for my program which reopens in August of 2026.
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My blueprint program walks you through the entire setup process.
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There's live coaching sessions where I answer all of your questions,
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and I help you get your first pitches and proposals out the door.
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The link to my website is in the description box below.
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It costs you nothing to get on the waitlist,
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but it will save you months of figuring out things alone.
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I hope this video was helpful.
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Thank you guys so much for joining me,
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and I will catch you on next week's video.
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Context & Background
The video titled "How to Start a Virtual Assistant Business in 2026 (Step-by-Step Free Training)" offers a comprehensive guide for aspiring virtual assistants (VAs) who want to build a successful business from scratch. The speaker emphasizes the growing relevance of VAs in a technology-driven world, countering concerns that artificial intelligence may render their roles obsolete. Instead, it is highlighted that the VA industry has experienced significant growth, reaching $6.5 billion in sales and increasing in demand as businesses seek specialized skills. This context is essential for English learners, as it provides practical vocabulary and phrases used in entrepreneurial discussions, aiding them in improving their language skills through shadow speech techniques.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “The sky is the limit.” - This phrase emphasizes limitless opportunities in the VA industry.
- “Pick one lane and stick to it.” - A recommendation to focus on specific services instead of being a generalist.
- “Clients do not hire generalists anymore.” - Underlines the modern market preference for specialists.
- “Your skills that do.” - Highlights the importance of skills over geographical location.
- “What sellable services have you already done?” - A guiding question for identifying potential offerings as a VA.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To effectively utilize the information from this video and improve your English speaking skills, follow this structured shadowing guide:
- Watch and Listen: Start by watching the video attentively. Focus on the speaker’s intonation and pronunciation. Note how phrases are constructed in context. This helps you grasp both vocabulary and the rhythm of natural speech.
- Pause and Repeat: Use a shadowing app to pause after key phrases or sentences. Repeat them aloud, mimicking the speaker’s tone and pace. This will reinforce your understanding of the language used in entrepreneurial scenarios.
- Practice with Context: After shadowing, try to create your sentences using the phrases you’ve learned. For example, explain how you would help a client with a specific task. Incorporate the shadow speech technique by recording yourself.
- Discuss with Peers: Partner up with fellow learners or language exchange partners to discuss the VA industry. Use the top phrases for daily communication in your conversations, showcasing your new vocabulary in practical contexts.
- Reflect and Adjust: Record yourself discussing your VA services or the content of the video. Listen to your recordings to identify areas for improvement in pronunciation and fluency.
By following this guide and engaging with the video content, you’ll not only improve your English but also gain valuable insights into the virtual assistant business—a practical application of your language skills in the real world.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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