How To Work From Anywhere As A Pinterest VA

The trend of working from anywhere has exploded in recent years, and for good reason. Many people want more freedom to enjoy their lives and still make a living while working at a computer.

But, can you easily work from anywhere as a Pinterest virtual assistant? The answer is yes, and here’s how.

Decide Where You Want To Work

Do you want to work from home? Do you want to travel and work? Or, do you want a dedicated office in a co-working space downtown?

Whatever you want to do, now is the time to decide. That way, you can then focus on setting up your business and space to fit your needs.

For example, if you decide to work from home, you’ll most likely want a desk. And, many people who work from home have laptops, but actually prefer to use a desktop.

If you’re traveling on the road, a desktop wouldn’t make sense, so you’d need a laptop or tablet to work from.

You avoid the hassle of coming up with space and time on the fly if you decide where you want to work and your ideal place. Yes, you can work from anywhere. But it’s helpful if you know where you’re starting!

Decide On Your Business Model

Next, as a Pinterest VA, there are multiple services and products that you can offer. Of course, some services and products pay more than others, and some require more time and resources.

Depending on where you decide to work (at home or on the road), this may narrow down your business model choices.

But, overall, it’s important to have a list of services and/or products that you offer and do well with.

Here are just a few of the Pinterest services you can offer that will offer you flexibility:

SEO Services

Just like with Google and other major search platforms, Pinterest is a search engine.

Because of this, it wouldn’t fall under the typical “social media” rules.

Instead, you would treat it like a search engine, which is why SEO (also known as search engine optimization) is so important.

SEO plays a huge role in how Pinterest users find pins, and you can help your clients reach more followers and get more views/clicks on their website by learning and utilizing this service.

Account Audits

An account audit allows you to deep dive into clients’ accounts and make a goal to grow their Pinterest, brand, and business.

When you perform an account audit, you create goals with your client based on your expertise, and then you create a plan to achieve those goals.

Keep in mind that with account audits, you’re usually suggesting what you will do personally to help your client grow their account. If you want a more hands off approach, you’ll want to offer coaching.

Coaching

Pinterest coaching is similar to account audits, except for the fact that you wouldn’t personally implement the plan you create for a client.

You would give them a blueprint after deep diving into their account, and they would implement your strategies themselves (or with their team).

This can be a great way to earn money while working from anywhere, because you won’t need to set up a schedule around a client’s needs.

Instead, you’d book coaching services when you’re available, and would be able to take on as much or as little as you wanted too.

Keep in mind though, that because coaching isn’t a done-for-you service, you’ll have to fill up more client slots to keep the money rolling in.

Promoted Pins

Offering to set up and manage ads for clients is well paid and easily marketable skill. No one wants to throw money at ads that don’t convert, but many people don’t have the time to learn the skill themselves.

You could offer promoted pins as a specialty service and charge a set-up fee + maintenance.

Just remember that you’d need to check in on these ads, and be able to make swift changes if needed.

So this service is one where you’d always want to have internet and a regular work day.

VIP Days

VIP days are a newer service that have taken online work and Pinterest virtual assistance by storm.

Basically, a VIP day is when you work with a client one-on-one for a few hours (and up to a whole day), and offer them a service at a premium price.

As a Pinterest VA your VIP days could include account setups, audits, coaching, and promoted pins help. Whatever you want to teach, you could do.

VIP days are also some of the highest paying services. Many online entrepreneurs offer VIP days for upwards of $5,000 – $10,000.

This means you’d only have to book one or a few clients to meet your monetary goals, and can then spend the rest of your month traveling or doing whatever else you want.

There are always other services that you could offer, but these services offer maximum flexibility and are easy to manage with multiple clients.

How Much Money Will You Need To Support Yourself?

The next step is to decide how much money you will need to be able to work from home or work from anywhere. You’ll need to create a budget and see the minimum that your take home pay will need to be.

It’s also important to understand that as a freelancer and business owner, you are now 100% responsible for all of your expenses and taxes. So, it’s a safe bet to save at least 30% of your gross income.

Plus, you’ll still need to pay for health insurance, business expenses, and your regular personal bills.

And, if you want a co-working space or office outside of your home, calculate those costs too.

Based on the expenses and how much you’ll want to take home, you can come up with a rough number of the gross income you’ll need to make in order to live comfortably.

Of course, if you plan on traveling and visiting different states or countries, you’ll also need to calculate these costs as well.

Uplevel Your Skills & Portfolio

While you may start with a few services that are lower paying in order to build a portfolio, it’s important to continue growing in your business.

This may mean upleveling your skillset, offering higher paying services or products, and keeping your portfolio up to date.

First, there are many higher paying services that you can offer as a Pinterest VA, including services like coaching and VIP days.

The average for these services is at least $200 for coaching and $500 or more for a VIP day (usually lasting 4-6 hours). This means you can start earning $100 or more every hour.

But, it’s important to also understand that it takes expertise and social proof (like testimonials and reviews) in order to charge a higher price.

However, if you can showcase why someone should hire you and pay more, you can easily lower your workload and make more money, all while being able to work from anywhere.

Make Sure You Have Internet Connection

Now that you know what it takes to run a business and work from anywhere, it’s also good to note how to work from anywhere from the technical side.

The first part of this is being sure that you always have an internet connection.

Nothing is worse as a freelancer or business owner than traveling to your destination, sitting down to work, and realizing that you can’t connect to the WiFi.

And, if you’re overseas, this can be an even bigger hassle. Here’s how to mitigate the risk of not having internet.

Bring Your Phone For HotSpot

Many phone carriers offer HotSpot as part of your plan, or as an add-on.

This will depend on your carrier and what plans they offer, but this is one of the easiest ways to ensure you have internet.

As long as your phone’s internet works, you can then tether it to your computer.

If you decide to go this route, but plan to travel overseas, make sure your phone plan covers overseas or country hopping travel.

If not, you’ll be surprised when you’re hit with an outrageous bill.

Check For WiFi Before You Leave

Plan on staying at an Airbnb or hotel? Want to travel to a different state or country?

Already have your itinerary in hand? Your next step is to check for WiFi.

Usually, hotels and Airbnbs will include WiFi, or at least offer it for a fee.

And, depending on where you’ll be, you may also be able to walk to restaurants, coffee shops, libraries and bookstores, and more in order to get WiFi as well.

Get A Device

Not sure if WiFi will be available for you? Try a WiFi device. Using a device like Karma will allow you to pay for WiFi as you use it.

And, you can take it anywhere and connect it to multiple devices.

Get A New Service

Another option to make sure you always have internet is to switch your phone plan. There are many plans that include unlimited data and hotspot, plus offer coverage in hundreds of countries.

Fortunately, working from anywhere has never been easier, and many places offer free WiFi or an option to purchase WiFi.

So as long as you keep these tips in mind, and check beforehand, you could easily work from anywhere.

Stick To A Routine

Just because you work from a computer, that doesn’t mean you will never need another routine again.

When you’re working remotely, you don’t have anyone holding you accountable with your work. So, it’s easy for distractions and other to-do’s to pop up.

Instead, set up a routine that you can stick to. You don’t have to build another 9-to-5 schedule. It’s okay to sleep in or work later, or take a longer lunch break.

The key is to set up a schedule that will be sustainable and work for you long term. Maybe that means taking Friday’s off or having a 2-hour lunch break so you can also run errands.

But that way, when it’s time to work, you’re distraction free.

Also, make sure you have other routines as well. A morning routine, starting the work day routine, and night routine can really help you and your body know when it’s time to get started, relax, and more.

Communication Is Key

When you work for yourself as a Pinterest VA, you trade one boss for multiple clients.

Because of this, emails, calls, meetings, and communication will most likely multiply.

Of course, your contract should state your business hours and how you will communicate with clients. But sometimes, you may not be able to completely avoid meetings or deadlines.

This is where communication comes into play. Keep your clients informed and communicate everything, and often.

Late on a project? Communicate that. Need to push back a meeting because another meeting is running late? Communicate it.

You are a business owner now, and you can control your schedule. But you also have to communicate what is going on so you’re not leaving clients confused or even angry.

Understand Time Zones

Although communication is super important when you work from anywhere, you may also want to keep time zones in mind.

For example, if you plan on working while you travel the world, there will be plenty of instances where your time zone isn’t the same as it was before.

To make sure you’re sticking to deadlines and meeting times, you can use a calendar (like Google) to automatically update your time zone. That way, you don’t have to worry about remembering the time zone differences.

When it comes to setting up meetings and deadlines before you travel, all you have to do is look up the time zone on where you’re going to be, and plan accordingly.

And, if you plan on traveling midweek, and won’t be available, block out those times in your calendar so clients are aware of what’s going on.

Host Virtual Meetings & Chats

For some people, working on the road or in their home is a dream come true, and they love not having daily interactions with people.

But if you’re more extroverted and want to still build friendships and have conversations, it’s still possible to do it when you work from home.

While you can always meet up with friends and family in person, this may not be ideal when traveling to different states or countries.

So instead, host virtual meetings and chats. You can set up times to meet with friends, former colleagues, family, and even network with people in your niche and “talk shop”.

Another great way to meet people is to be a part of a mastermind group. This could be for business or personal reasons.

But, the mastermind will match you with people who are similar to you or going through the same things that you are.

And, because you have a common interest, you’re more likely to click.

No matter what you choose, you don’t have to be lonely while working from home or away from home.

There are plenty of ways to meet new people and stay connected to those you love.

Focus On Work/Life Balance

The last important step to being able to work from anywhere is to focus on work and life balance.

While having a routine will certainly help, there are a few other things you can do as well.

It’s important to prioritize work-life balance so that you can enjoy your surroundings, take time for yourself and fit in a workout or some health and wellness hobbies.

We usually limit our workdays to between four and eight hours with a bunch of breaks.

Working remotely and traveling when the rest of your team is elsewhere makes it challenging to visualize that your colleagues’ day has ended, or started.

Relating directly to time management, plan your day ahead of time.

It’s easy to take the morning for a hike or an excursion and promise yourself that you’ll fit an entire business day into your afternoon and evening.

If this will affect your sanity, then choose to schedule a hike on a weekend!

Limit Distractions

It’s easy to get distracted by your phone, to-do list, social media, and other people.

So, try to limit those distractions as much as you can.

Put your phone away, turn it on silent, or turn it off completely.

Work without WiFi if you can, or turn off social media apps so you can focus.

If people distract you, try to close yourself off or work when others are sleeping or less active.

Or, if you can’t separate yourself, get noise-cancelling headphones.

Try To Have A Dedicated Workspace

Something else you can do to set up your work and life balance is to have a space dedicated to working only.

That way, when it’s time to log off for the day, you can do so with ease. And, when it’s time to work, it’s much easier to have a space that gets you in the right headspace.

If you can’t have a workroom, at least try to have a desk or table that is solely used for work.

Working from anywhere can make it easy to work longer than you expect to. But a dedicated workspace can help you from overworking.

Use Productivity Tools

Whether you track your time, block off specific projects in your calendar, or any other productivity hacks, it’s important to know where your time is going.

Using tools like this small cubed timer or just tracking your time with a site like Toggl will help you see if you’re wasting time or truly productive.

Keep Meetings To A Minimum

While meetings with clients will happen from time to time, it’s easy to get wrapped up in them.

Set boundaries and don’t let meetings go over a certain time. And, don’t allow clients to make your schedule for you. Remember, you control your schedule.

Have A Hard Cut Off

Sometimes, you’ll get caught up in your work. But an ideal work day doesn’t mean sitting at a computer for 10 or more hours.

So, give yourself a hard cut off. It’s preferable to keep the work to 8 hours or less, to avoid burnout, eye fatigue, and other conditions that are typically caused by overworking.

Take Care Of Yourself

Last but not least, you can’t work well if you’re not in the right space mentally and physically.

So be sure to also take care of yourself. This means going for your yearly checkups and taking care of yourself everyday, and even seeking out mental or physical services if and when you need them.

Also, it’s important to focus on yourself and your happiness level as well. If you’re traveling, this may mean taking time off to explore and sightsee.

If you work from home, maybe a weekly massage or bingeing your favorite show without guilt once a week will help you restore.

Work/life balance isn’t a myth.

While there will be some weeks where you focus more on work, and weeks you focus more on life, a well balanced life includes both work and life working in tandem.