Summary
Highlights
The speaker, Mia (MJ), introduces herself as a full-time virtual executive assistant at Athena Executive Assistant, having started in May 2021. She mentions her background as a part-time wedding and events planner and highlights that she achieved success despite being a college undergraduate and having no prior freelancing experience. The webinar aims to be 'newbie friendly' for those interested in becoming EVAs.
An EVA assists high-level managers, executive directors, or company owners with personal and administrative tasks, prioritizing communication and planning. EVAs are 'Jack and Jills of all trades,' handling various tasks, similar to admin or personal assistants but working virtually for overseas clients. Unlike general VAs who focus on niche-specific tasks and can have multiple clients, EVAs handle a broad range of responsibilities and typically work for one client, often taking the initiative to manage their client's life.
Key skills include Inbox Management (daily sweeps, drafting emails, using email as a task repository, and familiarizing oneself with Gmail, Outlook, and Superhuman features) and Calendar Management (creating events, sending invites, managing time zones, inputting travel and restaurant details, and optimizing schedules to give clients more time).
The discussion continues with Travel Management (searching and booking flights, hotels, restaurants, and completing travel requirements like visas and passports), Events Management (searching vendors, negotiating rates, creating programs, and maintaining budgets for personal or corporate events), Household Management (booking service providers, paying bills, online shopping, and managing birthday/celebration reminders), Meeting Management (creating meeting minutes, scheduling events, and using tools like Calendly), and Basic Social Media Management (creating content calendars, videos/graphics with Canva, and basic analytics reporting).
Essential tools include email platforms (Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Superhuman), calendar tools (Google Calendar, Calendly, Google Maps for traffic forecasts), project management tools (Notion, Asana, Trello, ClickUp, Airtable for automating processes and team collaboration), and Google Drive (Sheets, Docs, Slides, Forms for cloud-based document management). Other useful tools mentioned are monday.com and LastPass for secure password sharing.
Successful EVAs must be: detail-oriented (taking time, triple-checking, fact-checking, reconfirming); resourceful (thinking outside the box, utilizing all available resources); assertive (confident, respectful, accountable, empathetic, proactive in communication and task updates); and dependable (taking ownership, willing to learn new skills, and consistently responsive).
Key online profiles include a concise resume/CV (one-to-two pages, no photo unless required), a comprehensive LinkedIn profile (professional networking, 'open to work' feature), Upwork and OnlineJobs.ph (job search platforms), an intro video (two minutes max, good audio/lighting, scripted), and a portfolio (simple for administrative roles, creative for specialized fields). Starting rates suggested are $5 per hour or $800 per month, with experienced VAs potentially earning up to $45 per hour.
Target client profiles include C-level executives (CEOs), licensed professionals (doctors, lawyers), influencers (up-and-coming), chefs (an untapped market, busy and affluent), and real estate agents (targeting personal tasks). Small business owners are a large market, allowing EVAs to leverage their background (e.g., Mia's wedding planning experience). Clients can be found on Upwork, OnlineJobs.ph, agencies, and various social media platforms (LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Yelp). The roadmap for booking clients involves sending a portfolio, booking a discovery call, sending a proposal, scheduling an onboarding call, and invoicing.
The speaker promotes her paid online course, 'How To Be An Executive Virtual Assistant,' which offers 16 in-depth modules covering topics such as American culture, deep dives into all previously mentioned skills with tutorials, an introduction to cryptocurrency, advanced characteristics, client acquisition strategies, and challenges of an EVA. The course includes lifetime access, downloadable templates, video tutorials (with screen shares), monthly free webinars, and exclusive small group coaching. It's currently offered at a discounted rate of 499 Philippine Pesos or $9 USD, but will increase to 1499 Pesos or $30 USD in a few months.