Tag: Successful Virtual Assistant Business
Use The Caterpillar Method Of Business Growth
There are so many examples in the insect world that can help you with building your Virtual Assistance business. Stretch your imagination for a bit and try to think as if you were a caterpillar.
Have you ever wondered if a caterpillar looks forward to becoming a beautiful monarch butterfly? As a human, we can sit back and thoroughly appreciate this fascinating process.
Even people who find caterpillars icky or creepy, likely find immeasurable beauty in the monarch. Do you find it lovely?
Why should you consider thinking like a caterpillar?
The monarch butterfly has 4 stages of its life. What stage of your Virtual Assistance business are you in? What is your BIG PICTURE goal? I hope that you look forward to creating a business as gorgeous as the monarch (but with a longer life-span).
Phase I – Foundation Continue Reading>>
Achieving Goals Mindset Motivation
Discover Your Fears And 3 Ways To Overcome Them
One of the best definitions I have ever heard for the word FEAR is False Expectations Appearing Real.
It goes without saying that starting and running your own business can appear to be a scary undertaking. For some it is horrifying. For many others, it is a thrilling prospect of creativity and opportunity.
Fear can sap your energy and hold you back from making progress in your business. How though, can you discover whether or not fear has a grip on you?
Start by analyzing your habits. When you have an important task to complete, do you have the habit of diving into the work and completing it as soon as possible? Or, do you put the task off for later because you want to make sure that everything you need is in the right order and perfect.
If you tend to put things off by allowing ‘busy work’ and distractions to overwhelm you, it may be that you have the fear of completing tasks. Just thinking about the work that it will take to get a new client, write a few blog posts, or attend a networking event seems exhausting and complicated. This is a prime case of “ready… aim… wait“! Continue Reading>>
How To Win During the Sluggish Season
As time draws closer to the end of the 2013, I hope that you are not thinking of slowing down in your efforts to grow your business!
NOW is the time to kick your business activity into a higher gear. Rev your engine and step up your Virtual Assistance game. You may ask, ‘How do I do that?’ That is a very important question and I have an answer for you. But, before I answer your question, let me tell you why it is imperative for you to do so.
Why Kick Into A Higher Gear Now?
‘Tis the season for slowing down and getting lazy. It is possible that you as a business owner may feel that this year is finished. That is far from true. There are 46 days left in this wonderful year. You, my friend, should make the best of it. Avoid the sluggishness that occurs in November and December and use the remaining time to light a spark under your business.
Many of your competitors will not read this message and you can get the edge over them. By stepping up your game, you can use the next 6 weeks to build traction and gain momentum as you blaze a trail in January! How will this benefit your Virtual Assistance business? Think about it for a moment. A sluggish November and December leads to a sluggish January. Do you want to start the new year at full speed? Continue Reading>>
Business Management Transition Virtual Assistant
5 Steps To Starting A Virtual Assistance Business
You are likely reading this article because you have a vast array of skills as an administrative professional. In a previous time, you may have been an executive assistant for a large company. Or, you developed your skills supporting a wide range of professionals who needed help with their administrative tasks.
Now, you are looking for another option. The possibility of using your admin support skills to start your own business has become very appealing to you. There are probably 100 reasons why you are interested in started your own Virtual Assistance business.
To name a few, you may desire to:
1. Dictate your own schedule and income
2. Work for the best boss in the world – YOU!
3. Spend more time with family and friends
4. Take better care of an aging relative
5. Retire with grace
The list can go on for miles. The important thing to keep in mind is the motivating force for you. Why are you driven to learn more about building your own business? Your reason is important to me as well. It is so important that I want to share with you 5 keys to keep in mind when starting your VA business from scratch!
The fun part about the steps that I am going to share with you is that you can do them in any order. You have to take the lead and decide which is the next best step for your current circumstances. Heck! You can even do two steps at the same time!
Step 1: Set Up Your Infrastructure Continue Reading>>
3 Things You Fail To Do In Your Business
Have you ever baked a cake? Imagine for a moment that you were baking a red velvet cake. However, you failed to include you flour, sugar and red food coloring. Would the finished product be a success? I don’t think so!
What about your Virtual Assistance business? If you are missing key ingredients, how do you expect to accomplish your goals? Make sure that you do not fail to generously use the following three key ingredients for baking up business success.
Those ingredients are Planning, Focus and Completion.
Planning
If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there. Almost everything conceivable has a vision, action steps and progress. When you decide to bake a cake, you have likely seen the finished product in one form or another. It may have been a picture or you could have tasted the delectable item.
The same is the case with your business. You know what your version of success looks like. One of the easiest ways to measure that is in terms of income generated. Why? Most businesses are designed to produce revenue. The health of the business can be determine by its’ profits. You should already know your revenue goal for the year, for the month and for each week.
Now that you have those numbers written on paper, you will need to determine what activities will enable you to reach these goals. The amount you charge your clients should be clear. The number of clients you need to have each month should be stated. Your marketing strategies for acquiring clients must be recognized. And you need to measure your activity and your results. You should have a detailed plan with a copy of it on your desk for daily review.
Focus
When your cake pan is in the oven, the mixture of ingredients in that pan is ready for intense heat. This is the only way to bring about the finished product; focused, intense heat. Are you putting focused heat into your work? It is one thing to have a plan, but undistracted follow through on that plan is of paramount importance.
Of course you wear many hats as an entrepreneur. Still, a successful business is the result of many projects and tasks being carried out with committed focus. Take a look around your office. How many projects, tasks and follow up appointments are waiting on your attention? After acknowledging these matters, you can progress towards the third ingredient.
Completion
What indicators make it apparent that a baking cake is almost done? Your nose gives you a hint. A better and more accurate gauge is your clock. Likewise, put a time stamp on all of the projects and tasks that you need to complete. Be realistic in your assessment. If you need to get a new website up and running, there is no need to block off three months for this project. Also, when it comes to marketing your business, you should have specific activities noted on your calendar for each month and each week. Note as well, the day and time that you will engage in your marketing activity. Do these to completion!
It is certainly difficult to focus on and complete projects and tasks in this day and age. We live in an era of many distractions and shiny objects. At the same time, if you want your Virtual Assistance business to be a success for you and your family, it is imperative that you know what your vision of success looks like. Plan out the work that it takes to bring that vision about. Focus with intense heat on all of the projects and tasks that will enable you to fulfill your vision. Do not stop working until you have completed every project and task. When you generously apply these three ingredients, your success is certain!
3 Steps For Realizing Your Goals
You do not want to miss the mark of accomplishing your 2013 goals! How are you going to put yourself in the best position to realize your dreams? Think about the 5 most important goals that you want to accomplish this year. Are you having difficulty remembering what those goals are? If so, you don’t have any goals. I remember when I was a young athlete, I heard a quote that has motivated me up to this point, “Dreams are dreams until you write them down. Then they become goals.” I don’t remember whom to credit for those fine words, but they sure are helpful.
I recently read the results of a study that was conducted by Gail Matthews, Ph.D. She is a clinical psychologist who focuses on life transitions and overcoming barriers to success. Dr. Matthews discovered that a specific focus group on average accomplished 76% of their goals. How would your Virtual Assistance business benefit if you accomplished 76% of your goals? I know that you would see a marked improvement in your success as an entrepreneur. But, what did these individuals do who experienced such remarkable results? There were three things they did that I hope you will implement in your business.
- Their goals were written and rated. The rating included the following:
- Level of difficulty
- Level of importance
- Level of skill and resources needed in order to accomplish the goal.
- Level of commitment and motivation
- Their goals had written action commitments.
- They created an accountability system.
If you want to start or grow a successful Virtual Assistance company, you can realize your goals by implementing this same strategy. Here is how you can take action now.
- Write out the goals that are important to your business and to your life.
- Write out the action steps that will position you to complete those goals.
- Create an accountability system by involving a friend or colleague who is willing to help you stay focused. Sharing a weekly progress report with them will give you the juice you need to keep pressing forward.
The process is really simple. However, the activity part may be where you need the most help. The thing that especially fascinated me about this study is that the suggestions are closely related to a goal setting formula that I have been using for years. You can take the information above and create your own system for accomplishing goals or you can just use mine. Email me at Wil@EAtoVA.com and I will send over your Goal Setting Formula.
January is now half over. In the snap of a finger, July will be knocking on your door. Are you ready to stop planning and start taking action on the objectives that you have set for your business? Do not allow another year to go by with you having unfulfilled dreams. Commit to yourself and to the process of setting goals and accomplishing them. By doing so, you will flourish as a Virtual Assistant.
Achieving Goals Business Management Marketing Networking Organization Virtual Assistant
FREE VA Success Strategy Calls
I have something very special and exciting for YOU! One of my favorite past times is to sit in a nice coffee shop, enjoy a nice brew and have good conversation with good friends. So, we have decided to do more of that in a virtual sort-of-way.
Over the past 7 years, Sydni and I have been working with entrepreneurs to help them build lucrative businesses. In the process we have started 4 different companies. One of them being EAtoVA.
You might be asking, “Wil, I thought you said that you had something for me?” And you are correct.
We are taking ALL of the knowledge that we’ve used to build our businesses and share it with you EVERY week. That’s exciting for a few specific reasons:
- We will get to know you by talking on the phone regularly.
- For 10 minutes I will share with you business-building strategies.
- For 20 minutes you will be able to ask questions and we can brainstorm business solutions for you.
- NO selling, NO pitches, NO tricks. We are having a friendly conversation and getting to learn more about one another.
- These calls will be FREE, forever! Isn’t that cool? I really look forward to getting on the phone with you.
CLICK HERE to accept the invitation
Every Tuesday, we’ll discuss a specific topic. Check out the line up for November:
- Nov 06: How to develop a success mindset.
- Nov 13: Skill sets prospective clients are looking for.
- Nov 20: What technologies are successful VAs using?
- Nov 27: Fixing holes in your business foundation.
These are just 4 of the MANY topics that you and I will be discussing. Don’t worry, if you cannot join us live, I will post the recordings here on the blog! We are going to have an awesome time each week!