How to Start Making an Extra $1,000/Month From Home This Summer

Jul 6

What if there was a way that this summer, while you are playing at the pool with your kids, camping in the mountains with your family, and getting an extra R & R time in the sun, you could also be making extra money from home working in the pockets of your day?

Well, that it exactly what is possible when you use the skills you already have to become a virtual assistant and in this blog post, I’m sharing exactly what it would look like to make an extra $1,000/month from home this summer (and how to do it in just 1-2 hours per day!!).

What Is a Virtual Assistant?

First things first, let’s get on the same page about what a virtual assistant even is!

A virtual assistant is basically what it sounds like – . It is someone who assists other people (in this case, usually other business owners) but virtually. Think personal or executive assistant, but everything can be done remotely or online!

But if your mind went to The Devil Wears Prada… it’s not that.

However there are really three big distinctions between what you might picture as an “assistant” and a virtual assistant:

They work virtually (we have established that)
They are typically more behind-the-scenes (so you aren’t interacting with clients often unless it’s answering emails, messages, etc)
They own their own business (aka they are not employee)

These are all really important things to note because unlike a lot of people's experience with an assistant, you aren’t on the clock for someone, you aren’t taking calls (typically), and you get to make the rules because your client is not your boss.

Now, your client is your collaborator in this partnership, which we will talk about in a moment, but one of the reasons that I think being a virtual assistant is the best side hustle or ways to make money online is because you get to decide what it looks like for you.

You decide how many hours you want to work.

What tasks you do or don’t do.

What your rate is.

All of these are huge perks for becoming a virtual assistant!

What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?

Now that you know what exactly a virtual assistant is, let’s get into what a virtual assistant does.

Like mentioned, a virtual assistant is more behind-the-scenes, which means they do a lot of different tasks that a business owner either doesn’t want to do, doesn’t have to do, or isn’t doing because they simply don’t have time.

This looks different for every single client because tasks vary based on the clients industry and what they are looking for in terms of support.

To give you an idea, here are 3 of the clients I work with, their industry, and what I do for them:

Life and Business Coach

Upload and schedule YouTube and Podcast episodes each week

Turn the transcript of the podcast into a blog post and email to send to her email list
Pull a clip of the recording for a reel
One off projects like helping create freebies and graphics as needed

Occupational Therapist/Content Creator

Answering Instagram DMs
Sending links to digital products if her automation doesn’t work
Creating product listings in various locations like her website, Teachers Pay Teachers, etc.
Formatting PDFs, graphics for digital products, etc.

Video Content Marketing Expert and Agency Owner

Inbox management (aka answering emails!!)
Formatting and sending out the weekly newsletter
Following up on leads
Repurposing content from YouTube to Instagram
Communicate with agency clients as needed (to schedule strategy calls, etc)
Create team meeting itineraries

Now don’t panic if you are reading this list and you think, “wait, but I don’t really know how to do any of these things…”

This is where SOPs, or Standard Operating Procedures, come into play! I like to think of an SOP like a recipe! It is the instructions on exactly how someone would want you to do something.

So your clients will give you the process and expectations for how you want to do the task they want to hand off to you. No matter how experienced you are as a VA, you should still be asking for SOPs from your clients. Even as someone like myself who has worked with many clients over the last 4 years, I still need SOPS to do my best work because I need to know exactly how the client would like the work done!

Think about it this way: I could have two clients who want me to do the exact same task (lets say inbox management for example!!) but how they actually want the task done is different.

Maybe they have different folders they want me to sort emails into, they may have different response time requirements, they may have specific templates they want me to use in certain cases — the task is the same but each client's process is different!

This is one of the many reasons why I think becoming a virtual assistant is actually the best way to make money from home because your clients are going to show you exactly what you need to do in order to execute on the work they are giving you.

How to Actually Make Money as a VA

Now that we’re clear on what a virtual assistant is and what a virtual assistant does, let’s talk numbers (probably the real reason you are here, huh 😉)

This is the question that SO many people ask when talking to me about potentially becoming a virtual assistant: how much can a virtual assistant make?

And honestly, it depends! It depends on the client, the tasks, and the number of hours you’re working.

Generally speaking, a very reasonable starting rate is $25/hour. So let’s say you work just one hour a day. That comes out to about $750 per month. What could you do with an extra $750 a month? Pay off debt, cover a car payment, save for a family vacation… I am sure you could find a place for the extra $$.

Now bump that up to two hours a day at $35/hour (because yes, your rate goes up as you gain experience, of course), and you are now looking at around $2,100 extra per month.

And if you have up to three hours a day? You're bringing in close to $3,150 a month — from home and in the pockets of your day!

Quick note: These hours that you work do not have to be consecutive. I worked about 2-4 hours a day in the beginning and because I didn’t have childcare, I was just doing it in the pockets of my day – during naptime, after my kids went to bed, etc.!

Think about where in your day you could find an extra 1-3 hours, even if it’s 15 min here or 30 minutes here — you might be surprised!!

I know it is really basic math, but I don’t think people realize how truly life-changing it can be until you see the math right in front of you! And the best part is that this business gets to look exactly how you want it to look!

We have people inside our Beginner to Booked VA® program who simply wanted to make an extra $500 a month — and they did it. We also have people who have gone on to build six-figure businesses. YOU get to decide!

Ready to become a virtual assistant?

If you’re sold on the idea of becoming a virtual assistant, but you truly have no clue where to start, you’re in the right place!

As a Virtual Assistant Coach, this is what I’m alll about and the best place to start is my Beginner to Booked VA Program®.

Inside the program, you get:

✍🏻 A step-by-step curriculum with pre-recorded modules that walk you through exactly how to start and grow your VA business
🗂 Done-for-you templates including emails, social media posts, an attorney-drafted contract, client workflows, and more
🏆 Earn your Your Behind the Scenes BFF® Certified Virtual Assistant certificate and stand out to your dream clients
💻 Group coaching for 8 weeks, including weekly calls and a private group chat, so you’re never stuck, overwhelmed, or figuring it out alone

It’s truly the one-stop shop for building your VA business from scratch!

CLICK HERE to learn more and join the waitlist for the next cohort →