How It Started

I’m going to share with you how and why I transitioned from my call center job to working online virtually doing internet marketing. If you are struggling to find the time to juggle your 9-to-5 job with your internet marketing career, or are just sick and tired of your outside job, read on… But before I share how we got started in the virtual assistant world, you should note the following…

Earning passive income online with internet marketing takes time. You cannot expect to start an online business and just start earning a lot of money right away. It takes time (months to even years) to accomplish.

Given this fact, the big question is “how does one transition from the outside job world to earning passive income online with an internet marketing business?”

 

The Challenge

One of the biggest challenges I faced when starting out online was how to juggling internet marketing with a 9-to-5 job. Jobs are incredibly time and energy-consuming between commuting, office politics, stress, and the actual work itself. I was working part-time in a call center downtown Chicago for a government agency (see below). The cubicles were extremely small and the work was incredibly boring. Plus, the commute itself on the bus/train took at least 45-min. to 1 hour each way!

 

After my daughter was born in 2015, I took a 2-month (unpaid) leave from work and then had to put her in a daycare nearby. That meant I had to get up at 5:30 am in order to walk 3 blocks to the daycare and then on to the bus stop to catch the bus and get to work by 7:00. After a couple months, I was falling behind on my attendance and the supervisors were starting to notice. I previous had nearly perfect attendance, but now was 15-20 minute late nearly every day. I started to realize that my previous lifestyle was not going to cut it anymore. I knew there had to be a better way… so I began to look for an online position.

 

My First Virtual Assistant “Job”

Because of my call center experience, I landed a virtual position as an appointment setter for a marketing company out of LA (from a Craiglist post). This is when my virtual appointment setting “career” began. I was terrified when I started because I wasn’t used to cold-calling businesses, only medical offices for government purposes. This was a whole different ball-game. I was paid $10 per hour plus $10 per appointment that was kept with the sales team. It turned out to be actually more than I was earning at the call center.

However, I still kept working at the call center while I was doing this part-time appointment setting gig from home. It was EXHAUSTING. I would work for the call center from 7 to 11 am, then go back home and work 4 more hours doing the appointment setting. By the time I picked up my daughter from daycare, it was around 6 or 7 pm. I felt terrible having her in daycare for over 12 hours per day! Eventually my poor attendance caught up with me and I knew I would likely be fired in the near future.

 

Taking A Risk…

I then decided to take a risk and quit my call center job and find a second virtual appointment setting job ASAP. Fortunately, I did find another online appointment setting position that paid $15 per hour, but it only lasted around a month. The managers and I clashed severely and it ended very badly. So then I was very adamant about finding ANOTHER virtual appointment setting role ASAP, and that’s when I found a franchise broker/coach who posted on Craigslist looking for a virtual appointment setter. He was so happy with my work that he referred me to another franchise coach who also need an appointment setter.

 

Continuing With Virtual Appointment Setting

Over the next 5 years (and to this day), I am still doing virtual appointment setting/biz development for franchise coaches and also helping an architect with her business (email marketing, social media, etc.). I work no more than 5 hours per day and earn THREE times what I earned at my old call center job per month. I choose my schedule and set my own rates, as well. At my old call center job, I started at a measly $8 per hour and after three years of dedication and exceeding goals, I was eventually earning $12.50 per hour. As a virtual assistant, I earn more than double that now!

 

How YOU Can Get Started With Virtual Assistant Work

There are SOOO many ways you can earn from home as a virtual assistant and bridge the gap from your outside job to a passive income online career. I just happened to utilize my call center experience for appointment setting. You can take YOUR existing experience from your outside job and turn it into a virtual assistant service you can offer to business owners. Even simple tasks like email management and data entry are very in-demand.

There are virtually NO costs involved to becoming a virtual assistant, but you must have reliable internet connection and computer. When I started working as a virtual assistant, I worked out of our closet in our studio apartment. All I bought was a cheap $15 USB headset! In the US, virtual assistants earn on average between $25 and $50+ per hour!

 

Next Steps

If you’re interested in learning more about getting started, check out this FREE guide on 275+ services you can offer as a virtual assistant. Trust me, you already have skills use can turn into service(s). There are thousands of business owners who need your help right now. You don’t need to have it all figured out, you just have to be motivated, reliable, trustworthy, and dependable.

Virtual assistant work is something you can start THIS WEEK and really change your life while bridging your transition to earning passive income online from your blog or online business.

 

Like this post? Check these out…

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