- Apr 23, 2012
- 2,911
- 5,942
Planning to sell your time on BHW?
This little guide should help.
This little guide should help.
Alright, so this was originally posted as a reply to a question asked by another member - here! Since then, a lot of fellow BHWers asked me to post this as thread. I agree that it makes more sense as a thread, so people can search for it and find it.
This thread may be slightly geared towards responding to the OPs request in the above thread. But it's an overall generic guide for everyone
This thread may be slightly geared towards responding to the OPs request in the above thread. But it's an overall generic guide for everyone
Alright, so you have decided to offer Virtual Assistant or some form of skill based service to monetize your time. You have a computer, a good internet connection. You've been online for a long time and are familiar with most things. A little bit of cPanel, some WordPress, maybe a little Canva and Photoshop. Or maybe you're a student who can write or edit things. Or you've been tinkering with Capcut and making these incredible Youtube Shorts.
Point is - everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. Have own websites, social accounts, projects, software that bring in considerable income.
But everyone has to start somewhere. To gain experience and become a better version of yourself you need to have some starting point that sustains you while you learn and upskill.
Everyone needs an income. So skilled people (designers, editors, copywriters, web developers) choose Freelancing. While people who are otherwise smart, know their way around computers and have a basic knowledge of a bunch of things, but with no actual sellable niche, often prefer to sell their time and efforts - as a virtual assistant. Or by providing services that don't conform to any of the above skills.
If you intend to do that for BHW, here's a little guide to help you get started -
Research & Market Analysis
Head to Sheets.new - pop open a new Google Spreadsheet.
You are lucky in that the size of your market is extremely limited. Just the marketplace of this forum.Now go through the marketplace.
In your first iteration, find every thread you can find that offers VA services. Make a note of the following -
- Hourly cost
- Services offered (Create a new column for each service you uncover and simply add "1" if they offer the service under it or "0" if they don't)
- Popularity Metrics (Time since the OP was posted, number of replies)
- Method of ordering (Hosted forms, own website etc.)
- Payment methods accepted
Now move on to your second iteration, this is where you find "service" threads that offer labor tasks.
We're looking for labor intensive tasks, and not skilled tasks - so web design, graphic design, video editing are out of question. Look for task which busy entrepreneurs like to outsource.
- Manual Link Building (Cloud Links, Crowd Links, Reddit/Quora solutions)
- Account Creations
- Social Account Creations
- Script Installations
- WordPress setups + theme configuration
- And more...
Introspection
Now prepare a list of things that you can do. First begin with services that don't require skill and is something you can do.
- Form filling
- Account Creation
- Script Installations
- WordPress Setups
- Any form of Data Entry
- Charting/Spreadsheet related work
Prepare your own samples, install WordPress, set it up some place, apply a nice theme, add some content and pages. Use it as a showcase. Create a bunch of social accounts, use it as a showcase Download a link list, manually create links to a random site, use the report as a showcase.
Remember, these work are actually boring. But at the end of the day, they are getting money in your bank account.
Deciding your Value
You cannot charge a premium hourly, if you're coming in new to this service spectrum. Your pricing depends on your dependability, your familiarity with the tools in question (your skillset), you experience with this, and finally your capabilities to get the job done. So first decide on a monthly income that you deem is comfortable. Take into account the average salary of your country, consider your living expenses, consider any travel/vacation expenses, consider your expense for purchasing hosting, internet, domains, software etc.
Then figure out the time you can allocate dedicatedly every week to working online.
This should give you a fair idea on what is your base figure per hour.
P.S - In the initial days, you will most likely not be able to fulfill all your allocated hours. That's no problem. Account for them and keep husting.
Upskilling
Pick a skill that interests you, and then allocate time daily to upskill yourself in it.
For instance, social is all the rage right now. You can try to learn Canva or Photoshop to create basic graphics. Or you can learn Capcut (it's free) to make shorts and edit videos or make compilations. You can also learn WordPress or Programming/Web Development in general. Or learn AI content creation. Familiarize yourself with tools that offer different kinds of AI content.
The idea is to learn something that people need. And become the best version of yourself in it.
The Launch
Contribute well on the forum. Get your Jr. VIP
Now based on your skill, start a thread offering your VA services.
Be crystal clear on your offers. Explain your skillset. Offer to show samples. Establish proper conversations with clients who show interest. Be extremely polite. But be precise and to the point in your communication.
Offer trial hours to new clientele. Offer discounts to people who can hire you for a long term.
Be honest in your communication. If there's a availability issue, inform the client beforehand.
Don't be a "Yes Man". If you cannot do something, be honest about it.
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As you upskill, you can start more threads offering more targeted services specialising in a niche.
Payments
Get as many payment processor accounts as are available in your country. The idea is to make payment an effortless process for clients. For clients, you can offer a 50% upfront to clients who have been her for some time and have a history of being buyers. For new members, ask for upfront payments.
Try to keep payment related terms within the BHW DM system.
In case, the client wishes to discuss on Skype or Slack or Telegram. Finalise your terms there. Then before doing anything, write a small message and mention the deliverables and the payment terms and any other agreement you guys made and send it to them as a DM on BHW - insist that they acknowledge it there in the DM.
Important End notes
If you're a new user, remember you need to be a member here for 60 days and have at least 100 posts. Once you do that, you can upgrade to Jr. VIP for an annual donation of $147 - this is when you're allowed to launch your thread on the lucrative BHW marketplace.
Once upgraded to Jr. VIP or as a Premium Member, you can also reply to the "Want to Buy" and "Hire a Freelancer" forums. Responding anywhere else, or trying to sell your services anywhere else on the forum is strictly prohibited.
Also remember, if a buyer is interested in purchasing something, they can initiate a conversation with you. But as a seller, you absolutely cannot send UNSOLICITED DMs.
Please go through these threads to understand the various membership levels of BHW - BHW Member Levels | Membership levels, explained
Please read the marketplace rules, then once you're done, read it once more - The Black Hat World Marketplace Rules
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Congratulations on thinking about starting. No time like the present. Remember to show up everyday. That's very important.
If you get stuck, never hesitate to ask. Me or the other senior members will happily guide you.
Good luck
B.
