Saw a post on a forum where someone posted about VAs developing a niche and he sent a post with the subject heading above and included the following line:
A Virtual Assistant who doesn’t have a clearly defined niche is a poor virtual assistant.
I don’t know about you but I really take exception to that comment.
Perhaps he meant well but he was promoting a 4 week teleseries he provides which is free. I haven’t gone exploring to see what else might be on offer to make it worth his while to get the attention. I expect he’ll have add-on services for people to purchase.
It was a good 3 or more years before I began to even work out what work I really enjoyed doing the most and what type of clients I naturally attracted. Prior to that I tried out several things and gradually culled what I didn’t want to keep doing and built up on what I did want to – always refining and defining.
For those who do know their niche straight away – that’s great, you’re well on the way to getting your business established and firmly grounded but for the rest who don’t yet know their niche, I certainly wouldn’t say they are a poor virtual assistant. They could be good at all the things they do (I felt I was and still am) but just haven’t worked out what they want to concentrate on yet.
I want to encourage all who visit here, particularly those who are new, to know that a line like that may have been said with good intentions, but I don’t believe it to be true and certainly wouldn’t want it to make you feel inadequate.
In the past I have written a series of posts on this blog about developing a niche for your VA business and you can see them here.
What are your thoughts?
virtual assistant, clients, niche, VA business
Kathie is the former owner of VA Directory and is former past President of the Australian VA Association. She founded the Virtual Assistant industry in Australia in the mid 90s, having already been operating a home-based secretarial service. Today the VA industry covers a multitude of office-based services for clients worldwide.
Brandy McElroy says
Kathie, I agree with you. When I was younger I didn’t know what I wanted to do and slowing I grew into my dream job.
My dreams changed and now I am going through that again as I start my new VA business. I know I will find my niche as time progresses. At the moment I am offering services for the things I am good at and later I will redefine those.
Mary says
Kathie: Good point you make! I’ve been thinking lately how defining what exactly I do and who I work with will indeed take 2-3 years to figure out. A VA usually provides administration, and (IMHO) one who doesn’t provide administration is something other than a VA. AND, administration is something an awful lot of different businesses need, because you could define the word as two things: organization and follow-up. Every business relies on this for success. So it’s no stretch to see that there would be people, such as VAs, who specialize in the tasks common to administration everywhere. Many of them may actually thrive on serving a variety of clients. There have always been secretaries: now such office assistants are claiming their rightful place as business owners.
Thanks for defending us generalists!
Karen Cole says
I understand the niche concept and the focus that it brings to marketing one’s services. BUT – for me the niche is a foundation only. I have always loved diversity in my work. I would be bored stiff if I were to be pigeon holed into repeating the same tasks in the same industry day in and day out – might as well have a j-o-b. I also believe that a niche should be evolutionary. Interests, technology, and the market place change over time and the niche shifts. I hope that the writer’s comment was intended as an attention grabber rather than a dogmatic belief. At any rate a buzz has been created.
Kathie Thomas says
Thank you ladies for your comments – all valid and it’s good to see additional information in support of my topic. Like you Karen I like variety and my niches have definitely evolved over time.
And Mary, I agree that all businesses need admin support and that’s how our industry began in the first place – to provide that support.
Brandy – enjoy the process! I did and still do.
Teri Dempski says
When I started my business, I too, was a generalist. As I began getting client and subcontract work I found out what really excited me; so my niche evolved from following my passion. That being said, I still pick up work outside of my niche. No one, aside from my clients, should decide whether that makes me a top-notch VA or the reverse–and even a client’s vote may not always be objective. It really depends on the professional relationship between you and your client.
“A Virtual Assistant who doesn’t have a clearly defined niche is a poor virtual assistant.”
I totally disagree with the author of the statement above! As virtual Assistants, we are business owners and can define our business model to suit our own passions. “Niching” has its place in our indusrty; however, there are plenty of excellent VAs, with a variety of skills, who refuse to be pigeon -holed inside the proverbial box. VAs take a huge leap of faith in themselves and their skills to break out of the corporate mold.
What about creativity? Thinking outside the box? In my humble opinion, these traits are highly sought after and very valuable to business clients.
I create my own future, my schedule, and my business model. That’s what I find so intriguing about the Virtual Assistant Industry, all that talent and creative ways to use it!
Althea says
This was great to read and is very true, I’ve been a virtual assistant for a year now and I started my business by doing things that I have the skills and knowledge to do, which can be alot.
But as your client base grows you discover what skills are more in demand and also discover the areas that you have a passion for working in. This takes time and I am still discovering my passion.
Diversity is the spice of life and business too.
Sue L Canfield says
Having a niche is not vital to being an excellent virtual assistant. Does an in-house administrative assistant have to excel in one industry to be excellent? Of course not! If that had been true when I was in the corporate world, I wouldn’t have gotten where I am now.
Having a niche can help tremendously in marketing. Clients tend to want to know exactly what you do. It’s important to be very clear about what you do and don’t do.