The question asked by many new VAs is: Do I have to have a niche?
I see this discussed on various forums and while the intentions are good on behalf of those VAs who respond, I find that sometimes their enthusiasm for what they feel is right may be holding others back.
The following is my answer:
I think as your business grows and develops you eventually discover a niche that’s right for you but unless you really do know what you want to do at the start, I don’t feel people should be limiting themselves. Some are very lucky and do know this but the majority don’t.
I was a generalist to start with and to some degree, still am. However I tend to focus on WordPress blogs and sites, web hosting, database and shopping cart management today. It was bookkeeping many years ago and for a 10 year period it was association management – something I fell into by accident but discovered was the perfect fit for me for that period of time.
While I agree it is good to find your niche, I’d hate for new VAs to feel like they cannot progress and move their businesses forward because they’re hung up on trying to work out what their niche is. At the start they should stick with what they do best and if that service provision covers a lot of different types of people and industries (such as word-processing for example) then so be it. Eventually they’ll discover they’re either attracting the same type of clients (i.e. authors or Thesis students) or they will find there are particular types of work they enjoy (such as transcriptions).
For more articles on developing a niche for your VA business, why not read these?
Developing a niche in the virtual assistant world
Be careful what you offer on your site
Developing your niche (My story)
Tiffany says
Excellent Post! I totally agree with you. When I began I never would have considered my greatest passion would be working with start up businesses and business planning strategies. I am a start to finish kinda gal and I like getting in on the ground floor.. it’s the activator in me 😉 Thanks for the Post Kathie!
Lisa Olinda says
I was listening to something earlier today talking about find your niche and really downing those who do not have a niche.
I am a generalist who leans more towards social media and blog maintenance. I still market myself as a generalist. As a virtual executive assistant I feel like that would be the same as looking for work and saying I will only look for work in a banking office, a doctors office or a lawyers office. There are many other work venues out there and I don’t want to narrow myself down to only one category of work.
Thank you for sharing!
Mary H Ruth says
Your points are well-taken, Kathie. But I wonder about the definition of the word, niche. Seems there’s so much confusion about it. To me, word-processing could indeed be your niche, and your target market, then, might be lawyers or doctors or whatever. But the important thing is to know and promote what you’re really good at. If you advertise that you’ll do anything, isn’t that a lot harder to sell than saying, I’m really great at word processing?
But it’s also true that virtual assistants are well-rounded helpers in all kinds of ways: for the most part, we are people who enjoy being the background all-round support for an entrepreneur or other leader. So, indeed, a VA implies the skills of a generalist.
The issue is an important one for all of us VAs!
Lorraine Grout says
One of the reasons I’m a VA is that I tend to get bored in traditional roles, no matter how varied and challenging they are – same boss, same environment, same politics. So I’m avoiding finding too restrictive a niche because I love the variety of the work I do. Having said that, I am passionate about words and a stickler for correct punctuation and grammar and have developed a reputation for being a good proofreader as a result. Consequently a lot more of that sort of work is coming my way which I very much enjoy but I won’t give up the other work I do because I also enjoy that and it makes a welcome change.
Yelena says
Kathie, thank you so much for your post and for your comments on the VirtualAssistantsForum.com site. I wholeheartedly agree with you. You brought up some excellent points for not pressuring VAs to “define and stick to a niche”. I’d like to add something here:
One of the reasons we see so many new VAs in the last few years is because of the economy. These are accidental entrepreneurs who got laid off and couldn’t find another job. Many decided to start their own business doing something they already know or at least something that can be learned with only a small investment of time and money. By not selecting a narrow niche these new VAs minimized their risk and shortened their “time to market”. (And I’m speaking from experience here). But as they get established, they gain more freedom to narrow their offerings.
Here’s another point to consider – VAs are not employees pigeon-holed into their job descriptions. They are entrepreneurs and have considerable freedom in choosing to do what they are interested in and passionate about. As interests and passions change, VAs might re-focuse and change niches.
Finally, being a generalist does not mean a VA lacks marketing focus. A generalist VA can have a very focused marketing plan with well-defined niche clients. On the other hand, a VA offering niche services might try to cater to anyone and everyone.
Jeannette Tibbetts says
Wow, your post is so pertinent to what I have been dwelling on for the last 3 months…and I’ve blog about my own thoughts on “niche” (which means “nest” btw).
And then today, I’ve had 3 inquiries for press releases–a service that *may* be my niche–from completely different potential clients (I don’t have a target market either–I work for 2 educators, 1 contractor & a hair salon; these 3 new potentials are a publisher, a nonprofit and web designer; go figure!)
Thanks Kathie for your thoughts–it helps me feel comfortable in my current position!
Kathie Thomas says
I’ve obviously touched on a hot button and I’m so glad to see that. Also glad that I can help others in this simple way of sharing my thoughts and my experiences. Thank you everyone for contributing to this conversation – it is very much appreciated as it helps affirm my thoughts.
Virtual Office says
good points made and I agree unless you have a very specific skill set that would only appeal to a certain client you shouldn’t pigeon hole yourself.