Virtual Assistant – THE Blog About Our Industry

About the Virtual Assistant industry for VAs and for clients

Monthly Archives: August 2010

It’s not a ‘get rich quick’ option

I saw a post by a lady the other day who wanted to leave her job and become a VA as an interim step to setting up another business.  She was given some good advice by other existing VAs on what to do but it was obvious within a 24 hour time span she was getting impatient. She didn’t want to spend time networking or building a business. She simply just wanted to earn money as she spent time building up what she really wanted to do.

Is that how some really view our industry?  Has it been so hyped up generally by those ‘not in the know’ that this is a quick way to earn some money?

No business is a get rich quick scheme.  Otherwise that’s what it would be – a ‘scheme’.  All businesses take time to build up. Some businesses provide a quicker return than others, but all have a time frame that needs to be recognised.

For a successful Virtual Assistant business you need a minimum 1 year but I would say at least 2-3 years, to be bringing in a profit that is reasonable.  You need time to develop a reputation with clients before they will refer you to other clients, and for the business to be really successful, those clients need to be long-term. It’s much harder finding new clients all the time rather than continuing to serve those who you’ve already built a relationship with.

In this case, the lady already had a 1 year plan to build something else and was hoping becoming a VA would quickly return her a yield during that time of building something else.  WRONG!  She’s better off staying in her job or doing some temp work that brings in an income, rather than trying to be something that actually requires time and effort on her part to build up. And that’s not going to work if her heart and mind is elsewhere.

Developing Confidence in your VA business

Developing confidence in anything new that we tackle is part of the growing process.  From taking our first walking steps, to learning to recognising letters and words so we can read, to learning maths and the many other things as we grow up, learning and developing confidence in running your own VA business is part of the process.

Did I feel nervous taking on my first clients, quoting for jobs or even that I was in business? You betcha!  But the desire to run a business and be home for my children was much stronger.  Learning to take things on a day by day basis helped considerably but it was also important to plan ahead and look at the big picture.

Setting goals goes a long way to helping you get over that fear.  There is an old saying ‘fail to plan and you plan to fail’. In other words if you don’t have a plan in place to get something happening then it is highly likely that you will fail.

Set your sights on something you want to achieve and work towards it. Take it one step at a time.  Each success will grow your confidence to move onto the next step.

Gaining one client and achieving what they wanted will build your confidence.  The important thing is not to promote/advertise work you aren’t capable of doing.  Only take on jobs you know are within your capabilities and seek advise or help from more experienced VAs in tasks you don’t have experience with. That’s the beauty of our industry.  We can outsource or sub-contract to other VAs.

With respect to making a mistake? Sure, we all do sometime or other. The important thing is to recognise it as soon as possible and then seek to fix it. If you’re not able to, then offer to find the assistance required to sort it out.  For example, quite a few years ago, I had a client wanting me to work on an Access database.  I accepted the job based on the information given but it soon became clear to me that it was out of my depth. I hadn’t asked enough questions to understand what the job was about and I had to admit this to the client. But I did help find someone else for him that could complete the job.

Over time as I’ve gained confidence in what I was doing and as my clients gained confidence in me (through a growing lasting working relationship) I felt I could research those things they wanted done but that which I didn’t have experience in.  But it was important I didn’t do that until such time the client trusted me sufficiently to do that for them.  I still don’t advertise things I cannot personally do but if a client asks then I will ask if they want me to find someone or if they want me to research what’s involved first? If we’ve been working together for sometime already they usually take the latter option – because they know me and are happy to continue working with me.  And that only comes over a period of time.

Employer/Client – what’s the difference?

Well, I sincerely hope you do know the difference or perhaps you shouldn’t be going into business. But it does astound me how many (new) VAs will refer to a prospective client as an employer.  WRONG MINDSET and it’s not going to help you grow your business.

It is so very important to have the right mindset when going into business otherwise confusion can reign in your mind and it will make things difficult for you when establishing boundaries.

What’s the difference?

Employer - sets the rates, the hours, the working conditions and is also responsible for your taxes, work insurances, holiday pay and other items.

Client - you set the rates, your working hours, the conditions in which you work, where you work, how you work, what type of work you do. You are also responsible for your taxes, work insurance, holiday pay and so on.

One of the biggest difficulties I feel a new VA has in transitioning from a job and the ‘working world’ is that mindset of moving from being an employee to that of being a business owner.

Let’s face it. Some people are just not cut out to be business owner / operators.  There is a big learning curve ahead of them and the only way to conquer that is to spend a lot of time reading, learning, mixing and mingling with those others who have already made that transition and being prepared to make the changes required to fit into that new role.

If you are willing to learn from those who have already trodden that same path you will find a place for yourself in the industry and successfully grow a VA business. It won’t happen overnight and it won’t happen in just 3 or 4 months.  Your business will take time to grow with the right nurture and attention paid to it.  Just as it took you some years to gain the experience and skillset you have, it’s going to take some years to grow and develop a successful business as well.

Working with a VA should be a personal experience

I love this industry!  It has allowed me to get to know my clients on a more personal level.

What do I mean by that? Well, I don’t mean that I’ve become friendly with their family and attend family functions (although occasionally I definitely have done that in the  past) but it does mean that in getting to know my clients and the way they operate their businesses, I’ve been able to provide a much more personalised approach in the virtual assistant support I provide them.

Some clients can get impatient in a new working relationship – after all, there is a settling in period (some call it the honeymoon period) where you are getting to know each other and how each other operates. But once that awkward time has drawn to a close, hopefully the VA and their client have a better understanding of work practices and methodologies and they can find the way that works for both.

Some clients prefer email contact, others by phone.  Some prefer you to report back after completing each item, others are happy to accept that the work is being done and will keep sending instruction.  Some have a constant need for regular daily or weekly contact, others simply as the work arises.

Whatever the work and contact needs and methods, once your Virtual Assistant has been allowed time to understand you and your business, a good working relationship can be developed.  Hopefully for the long term.  I have clients who have been with me for a very long time, that is, 10 or more years. But I still have new clients coming on board, as some move on to do other things, or no longer have a need for my support.  And if I don’t have the capacity for a new client then I do have a backup team of VAs to provide that support.