Time.

It’s the most precious resource we have and one of the very few that cannot be replaced. For Virtual Assistants looking to create a highly successful, lifestyle-focused business it is essential that we use the gift of time well so that we can achieve our goals.      Continue Reading »

“Do you know a good…?”  That simple question is the beginning of networking!  How often do we look to others for a solid resource that will improve our lives?  This is at least a weekly if not a daily occurrence.  “Do you know a good Vegan restaurant… a good hairstylist… a good mystery novel… a good dentist?  The list is infinite!  Either we ourselves or someone we know is looking for a reputable something or someone. Think about it, if that recommendation is followed through, someone just gained a new client. When situation is appropriate, that someone could be you! Continue Reading »

Do you know that you are possibly sitting on a gold mine!  Whether you are new or experienced as a virtual assistant, it is important for you to tap into your warm market.  “What is my warm market?” you may ask?  I’m so glad that you asked that question because it is a great topic for discussion. Continue Reading »

If you have felt “stuck” with where you’re at in your VA business, especially as it relates to accomplishing the goals you’ve set for yourself,  I want to assure you that it is possible to get “un-stuck,” break through the challenges you’re facing and get back in gear.

How? Continue Reading »

What is your answer to the question in the title of this blog post?  If your answer is, “I don’t know”, this post is designed for you.  If you do already have a target market, you will get some helpful reminders as to why it is imperative for you as a business owner to focus on serving that market. Continue Reading »

At EA to VA we have conducted several surveys over the past several years.  The most popular question that we receive is, “How do I get clients and run a successful business?”  This is a very important question.  If you belong to the EA to VA community, you know that there are many resources available to you that will teach you how to run a solid Virtual Assistance business.  We encourage you to keep following the blog and post comments and questions when they arise.  Also, take advantage of the many resources within the weekly ezine. Continue Reading »

Having a good relationship with your clients is critical if you want to have a successful Virtual Assistant business. It all begins with laying a strong foundation. You’ll need to have best practices firmly in place so that when a new client says “Yes I want to work with you,” you’ll have everything ready to go and get off to a great start.

Taking time to establish the groundwork will give you a strong foundation, which will help your business stand out. Not only will a new client continue to use your VA services, they will refer others to you as well. The following tips will help you to develop a strong relationship with your clients right from day one: Continue Reading »

By Sydni Craig-Hart

When you’re out networking or talking to your family and they ask you, “What do you do?” or “What is your business all about?” what do you say?

Do you freeze?  Stammer?

Or do you apologetically and quietly say, “I’m a VA" or "I’m a Virtual Assistant.”

And then, you get the blank stare.  You know, the deer in the headlights look that says, “I have no idea what that is.  I still don’t know what you do.  And I don’t think I need that.”

The truth is, saying you are a Virtual Assistant doesn’t mean anything because people still don’t know what you do.  Just like there are different types of lawyers, there are different types of VAs.  All have different specialties, expertise and knowledge.

So, what you need to do is really focus on a descriptive one liner that tells people exactly what you do.  For example, “I help real estate agents manage their tasks so they can focus on selling properties.”

By having a descriptive sentence like this, you’ve accomplished three things:

1. You’ve identified your target market:  real estate agents.
2. You’ve described what you do and show that you solve a problem:  you manage tasks so they can focus on selling properties.
3. You’ve opened the conversation for more questions about what you do; targeted questions that will allow you to showcase your expertise.

Whether you work online or offline, one of the keys to your success and having a full practice is networking.  In order to network effectively, you have to do two things really well:  1) you have to build relationships so that others feel comfortable talking to you and referring your services to their friends, family and colleagues, and 2) you have to market yourself so that people know who you are and what you do – without questions or hesitations.

So, now that you know you shouldn’t just tell people you are a Virtual Assistant, you need to work on your presentation.  Some people call it an elevator speech, others call it a 30 second intro.  Whatever you call it – make sure it’s descriptive, make sure it’s effective and make sure it’s easy to say.  Talk about the problems you solve and the pain you eliminate in a way that a young child would understand.  (What would you say if your child asked you , “Mommy, what do you do?”)  When something is easy to say, it rolls off your tongue and you don’t worry about it.  You exude confidence, which tells people you’re ready for business.

And THAT is highly client-attractive!

YOUR ACTION PLAN FOR THIS WEEK:

• Get clear on EXACTLY who will best benefit from your services and who you are meant to serve.
• Brainstorm about the benefits and results your clients enjoy when working with you.
• Combine these two points into ONE succinct sentence: I help [GROUP] [ACCOMPLISH SPECIFIC BENEFITS & RESULTS]
• Leave a comment below and share what you came up with!

One of the most important lessons I learned in my business, early on, was how important it is to have and maintain a strong foundation in your business.  In order to support your growth and efforts to achieve your goals, your business needs a solid infrastructure on which you can build.  If this infrastructure is not in place, you could find yourself in a position where you are growing too fast too soon and not serving your clients nearly as well as you should be.  This in turn will create unnecessary stress and frustration, which equals a not so happy Virtual Assistant who is working harder and making less money than she should.

So, it’s important to take stock of your business periodically and see how your foundation is holding up and what improvements you need to make.  And if you’re just starting out, you’ll do yourself a HUGE favor by setting up a strong business foundation from day one.  This is the perfect time of year to consider these points, as we are heading into summer.  If you set aside time now to analyze your business operations and start making adjustments, you’ll be primed and ready for fall 2011, while most everyone else is still trying to come back from summer vacation.

The following are my top five tips for assessing your business and strengthening your foundation:

1. Review and revise your business plan – Many times business owners create a business plan when they are first starting out, get excited about it, but then file it away and never look at it again.  Sometimes new entrepreneurs don’t even take the time to develop a simple business plan.  This is a BIG mistake!  Going through the steps to create a business plan is a terrific way to get all of your ideas down on paper and to create a roadmap to follow to grow your business.  It’s easy to think one can keep all of their ideas, goals and strategies locked safely in their memory.  But there are two things wrong with that.  1) You absolutely can’t remember all of the details and 2) you’ll have a more difficult time working towards them because you haven’t committed your thoughts to paper.  So schedule time on your calendar NOW to review and revise your business plan. Think about all that you’ve accomplished thus far in 2011 and map out your goals for the rest of the year and then how you’ll achieve them.
2. Take stock of your financial situation – For some this can be the least “exciting” part of running a business - having to deal with all of the “number stuff.”  But, most of us start our companies to make a profit and support our families – not to unintentionally be running a non-profit organization where we work for free.  You won’t know which category you fall into if you aren’t clear on the financial state of your business.  If you are not already doing so, ask your accountant or bookkeeper to start running monthly reports of your expenses and income so you can see how profitable you REALLY are.  You may be surprised to find out which of your services are actually most profitable and then start focusing more attention on those.  Also, you’ll see clearly how your expenses are affecting your bottom line and what adjustments need to be made.
3. Review your business standards to see if they are still working for you - One of the things my coach helped me to do when I was first starting out was to create a set of standards for my business.  This included the hours I would work, my fee structure, how I would handle different clients, different situations, illness/vacation, etc. – basically ALL of the details of how I would run my business.  I highly recommend that you take the time to outline your standards as well.  It’s your business, so the way you work and operate your business should be reflective of and work for you.  After doing this you’ll be clear about your boundaries and can then easily (and tactfully) share them with your clients to ensure that you are supported and protected to do your best work.
4. Fine tune your marketing systems - Some Virtual Assistants have a bad habit of only marketing their business when they need a new client.  That is a big no-no!  As a business owner, you should only be spending your time on two things – 1) serving your clients and 2) marketing your business.  If you don’t have a marketing system in place – meaning a strategic plan for how to consistently present your services/solutions to your ideal clients and enroll them in your practice, then now is the time to implement one.  You should be regularly attending networking events where your ideal clients hang out, following up on leads, engaging in social media and pursuing other effective marketing strategies.  Map out a plan of how you will market your business for the remainder of 2011 and then commit blocks of time on your calendar to work on your marketing efforts.  Marketing your business will be a lot easier (and much more effective) if you consistently and comfortable share what you have to offer instead of operating from panic mode because you need a new client.
5. Start implementing systems in your business - You likely do some of the same tasks over and over again in serving your clients.  At the very least, each week/month you’re doing bookkeeping, marketing, reporting to your clients on project progress, etc.  As such you should be developing systems for every aspect of your business.  A system is simply a list of guidelines or instructions about how to handle a particular task or project.  It’s a way for you to implement quality control into your Virtual Assistant practice so that you consistently deliver high quality results for yourself and your clients.  It’s a way to save time, because you won’t have to think about or try and remember how to handle a particular project.  And it’s a way to make more money.  “How so?”, you may ask.  Because you can easily delegate certain tasks to someone else, freeing up your time and mental energy to pursue your high-payoff activities.  The more you systematize your business the more organized and profitable you will be.  So, start today in outlining the steps you take to operate your business and serve your clients.  Compile the instructions into one central document or binder and create your own operations manual.  As you continue to grow you’ll have all of the information you need to run your business right at your fingertips.

Likely, you set out to be a Virtual Assistant because you wanted to pursue a career that would give you more control over your schedule and earning potential.  So make it easier on yourself to achieve your goals, by taking steps to tighten up your foundation and get clear on your goals.  Running a successful business obviously takes effort and dedication.  And having a strong infrastructure and a solid plan to follow will ensure that you are spending your time and energy on the activities that will get you the results you want!

YOUR ACTION PLAN FOR THIS WEEK:

1. Pull out your business plan and schedule time to review and revise it by June 1st..  (If you’re just starting out, set aside time to create your plan by the same date).
2. Pull year-to-date reports on your financial situation and review them with your bookkeeper or accountant to see what adjustments may need to be made.
3. Outline the details of how you will run your business so that it is working for YOU, not the other way around.
4. Review the strategies that have been most effective in marketing your business and then create a plan around how you will consistently implement these tactics to attract new business.
5. Start creating systems for EVERYTHING you do in your business and compile the information in one central location.

Virtual Assistants tend to be really good at creating lists. We create to-do lists for ourselves, our clients, our families, the housekeeper, etc. These lists are created as a method for getting things done. But, how often do you go back and review your lists to see if “what” you’re doing is yielding the right results? In other words, is how you’re spending your time supporting or detracting from the life and business you want to create?

If perhaps you aren’t making the money you want to make, or you’re working with clients who drain your energy, or you find yourself working far more hours than you’d like, it’s time to step back, take an honest, objective look at your VA practice and decide what adjustments need to be made. Just as you would create an action plan for your clients, you need to create one for yourself. The first step is to answer this question, “Are you making these 3 common mistakes?”

1. Is my own mindset getting in my way? Have you ever gotten frustrated with how things are going in your business and thought, “I’ll never work with high-quality clients who happily pay my fees,” or “I guess I’m destined to discounting my fees if I want to stay in business?” If you answered yes, then that’s exactly what you’ll get. This element of the Law of Attraction is simple and it applies to EVERYTHING you do. Whatever you tell yourself is ABSOLUTELY true. If you put out negative energy that is what you’ll get in return. But if you consistently focus on positive, abundant thoughts, you’ll begin seeing ways to create the results you desire—and the opportunities you need will find their way to you. (Not to mention a positive attitude is highly client-attractive!) If your tendency is to have a negative attitude toward your business, stop! Make the decision to change your thinking, starting TODAY. If you consistently attract non-ideal clients, ask yourself: “What can I do to attract my perfect client?” Look into upgrading your services by taking new courses that expand your knowledge and justify higher rates. Participate in social networks to explore what kind of support your ideal client is looking for—and place yourself directly in front of your target market. Also, be honest about where YOU are standing in your own way. What fears do you have about your business? What limiting beliefs are you holding onto? Put forth the effort to stare your gremlins in the face. Then make the decision to start thinking differently from today forward. All these activities will help you tap into a new group of clients and move you closer to your goals.

2. Do you only market or advertise your services when you need more clients? This is one of the biggest mistakes that Virtual Assistants make. And it is an area where they struggle needlessly. Some may feel hesitant about marketing thinking they have to be pushy and sales-y in their approach. That is certainly not the case. Marketing is simply a matter of sharing solutions with people who were already looking for them. The most effective marketing strategy for Virtual Assistants is to get clear on what you offer, embrace the value you bring to your clients’ lives, get to know your ideal clients REALLY well so you know what their urgent needs and compelling desires are and then put yourself in front of them as THE solution to their problems. You should be marketing your business every week, bare minimum. (Ideally you should be doing SOMETHING to market yourself every day.) There are countless ways to market your services. Attending networking events and industry events has always been highly effective for me. Blogging about the benefits and results you create for clients is another. Publishing an email newsletter, getting involved in social media, and sending a letter to EACH person in your network explaining your services also yield positive results. The list goes on and on. The goal is to be consistently attracting new leads to your business and keeping your pipeline full. Even if you find yourself at full capacity, when potential clients contact you about your services, you can still have your introductory meeting with them to determine what their needs are. If their needs exceed the support you can provide at that time, just let them know your practice is full. Then, offer them the option of going on a waiting list or refer them to another Virtual Assistant. Either way, you keep the lines of communication going. And, if you have an opening, you now have a “warm market” list to contact. This will keep you out of “feast or famine” mode with your finances.

3. Is your business foundation solid? Building a business is like building a house—it needs a solid foundation. If you don’t have an effective bookkeeping method, your office and paperwork are a disorganized mess and you don’t have a marketing plan to follow, you do not have a solid foundation for your business. If you struggle meeting deadlines because you can’t find everything required for a project, it’s time to stop and get organized. Nothing is more important than a solid foundation for your business for it to grow and prosper. This means treating your business like a business, NOT a hobby. Outlining your standards, boundaries and operational guidelines clearly on paper will give you a roadmap to follow to successfully run your business for years to come. Remember, the best compliment a client can give you is to refer your services to a colleague. Make sure you earn that referral by being a competent business owner.

If you are making any or all of these three common mistakes, there is good news! You know now what they are and can take action to make improvements. Spending time assessing, planning and implementing proven solutions will help you to upgrade your business in short order. It will also boost your confidence, decrease your stress and move you that much closer to having the business you dreamed of when you first started.

Action Steps For This Week

1. Schedule one hour on your calendar to sit down and honestly assess your business. Make a list of what is working and what is not. Pat yourself on the back for having the courage to stare your business in the face and acknowledge that some improvements need to be made.
2. Once you’re clear on where you’re at, it’s time to get clear on where you want to be. Set a few specific, measurable goals for improving your business and assign a deadline to each.
3. Break down each goal into a series of projects or action steps. Schedule time on your calendar over the next 2-3 months to work on these projects and get your business affairs in order.
4. Reach out for help if you need it! No one who is successful in business has created that success alone. NO one. So, don’t be afraid to ask for help. You and I can work together one-on-one if you like. (Simply email me at Support@EAtoVA.com to schedule an appointment for us to chat.) You can register for a mentoring program. (www.SuccessfulVA.com or www.FullPracticeVA.com). Plus you can reach out to other VAs for ideas and support. (Check out my group on LinkedIn.com) Whichever option you choose is fine, but set yourself up with the support and accountability you need to take your business to the next level.
5. Leave a comment below and let me know how this business overhaul is working out for you! I love hearing about your successes (no matter how “small” you think they are) and celebrating with you!