To think I could set up as a VA and get paid work.

[Chunkypineapple]

Very long story short. In an extremely stressful job and wanting to leave. Looking to set up as a therapist but this is a work in progress as finishing training etc alongside juggling kiddos.
I would like to find a "family friendly" job/ self-employment which I could do alongside starting my business. Could VA work be a viable option? Am I unreasonable to think that I could make a living doing this?

What’s VA? Virtual assistant?

Yes a virtual assistant

Do you have the required skills?

maybe but there are a few about.
A lot of people outsource VA roles to The Philippines or similar now.
Plus you will have to not only have VA skills you will have to find clients, can you market and sell yourself? If not you will need to get someone to do that for you

I do have admin skills. I also have experience in communications, creating copy etc although a bit rusty! I've been working in healthcare and parenting so I'm not currently in PA/VA job.

Have been a VA for 4 years.

It's definitely a hustle finding clients, so you have to feel comfortable approaching people and marketing yourself. It feels very cringe at times but you have to push through! Even once you find clients you have to keep doing this, as they can leave at any time and you're back to square one.

In terms of the skills, so many are transferrable and there are plenty of people out there looking for exactly your niche- you've not said much but just from what you have said, you could do admin and social media copy for healthcare professionals, for example.

If you've not been self employed before, the tax stuff is a bit complex to get your head around to start with- I'd recommend paying an account to do your tax return (if a sole trader) and to do all your accounts (if a ltd company).

To answer your question though- YANBU for thinking you can make a living, if you are the right sort of person to sell yourself. I live very comfortably and am far less stressed than I ever was in full time salaried employment.

Thank you so much for your great reply. Sorry I've not given too much away! I am actually a nurse but am a little bit broken. My job, unusually, involves a huge amount of admin- basic stuff, diary management, letters, emails. I used to manage a small business for a charity where I did all the finances, social media and all that jazz but it was a long time ago. Having said that I frequently volunteered for charities over the years and helped with communications and the media side of things so I have kept my hand in a bit!

I'm really looking for a lifestyle change and one day would like to set up my own health & wellbeing company so I thought it could be a good precursor to that maybe.

Thank you again x

Making a living as a VA is totally possible but as a PP has said, the biggest challenge is finding clients. However, as you have a healthcare background, I'd prioritise finding clients in that space - there are loads of private doctors/medical specialists who use VAs because they're self employed themselves eg psychologists, occupational therapists etc. They need help but don't want to pay a full time person as they don't need that level of help. And with your background, you will appeal to them because you will have a better understanding of issues and sensitivities and processes etc.

My VA is amazing but if she relied on just me she'd not be able to afford to live. So I think the trick is to have multiple clients and I know that can be challenging when you start out.

I think you would need a website, social media pages. If you haven't used Canva before I would get familiar with that so you can build your promo assets.

Its possible but its also what loads of people are currently trying to get in to, so you are facing a lot of competition.

Its also not something you can do to avoid paying for childcare - you can fit work in flexibly, but you won't get much/anything done if you've got young children at home, and you need to be reliable enough to keep clients happy.

No way I'd work with kids at home! I do a lot of my work from home now as I run remote clinics. I would only work part time but definitely make sure my kids are not anywhere my office- the two don't mix!

If I pulled together a website are there any good platforms to start offering my service?

I meant to add- you will also need insurance and contracts (you will have to purchase a template for these) before you will be able to work for anyone. The VA Handbook is a great website for people starting out, lots of information on what you need and how to get clients etc- I recommend having a good read on there.

You can post for work on places like Fiverr and Upwork, but these are over saturated with VAs from all over the world, so you'll be competing with people in eg India offering their services for £5 an hour.

To maximise your earning potential you would be better off approaching clients directly- work out who your ideal client is, and find them on either LinkedIn or Instagram, and approach them on there. You should be posting regularly on those platforms as well to raise your profile so people know you are an expert.

Do you mean website platforms? Wix and squarespace have great easy templates. I would advertise in local groups, you can also pitch local businesses once you have website etc.

It takes them to set up a new business so it probably won't make you a good wage for a while. However, there loads of free business training that will helpful for when you are a therapist and it means you can have extra income whilst building up your therapy client list.

If you can cope with not getting paid well for a bit or building it whilst working then go for it.

Thank you all. Very useful. And seems fairly reasonable too!