The Ridiculously Good Virtual Assistant Show: Recent Episodes
Tracey D'Aviero
The Ridiculously Good Virtual Assistant Show will help you find Virtual Assistant training and resources you need to stand out from the VA crowd. You'll learn to run a profitable and successful VA business by working more organized, managing your time better, improving your business mindset and business relationships. Become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant means working with the best clients, commanding the best rates, and providing the best service for your clients!
Today I want to talk about marketing.
VAs tell me, "I know I should be marketing my business... I just don't know what to post."
Business owners tell me that too!
If you've ever said that, it's not just you. It's a big reason that business owners - and definitely VAs - stay inconsistent and invisible on social media.
They sit down, open Facebook or LinkedIn, stare at the screen for a few minutes, can't think of anything brilliant to say... and close the app.
Or worse they sit there for an hour and waste their time, still not really posting anything that will work for them.
They promise themselves they'll do it tomorrow. Tomorrow becomes next week. Next week becomes next month. Before they know it, they've practically disappeared.
And then what happens? They panic because they don't have clients!
They know they have to do marketing, so they spend an entire Sunday trying to create content, update their profile, redesign their graphics, and suddenly become visible again.
Guess what? Marketing doesn't work well when it's something you only do when business is quiet.
It works when you make it a habit. When you take daily actions.
If you need help figuring out your daily actions, reach out to me.
Maybe you can jump in to our Get Your First (Or Next!) Great Client live workshop! It's taking place on August 19th and you can register at the early bird price of just $50 right now!
Check it out at https://YourVAMentor.com/first-or-next
Stop struggling, just learn what you need to do to start connecting with your best clients - and start signing them!
That's all I've got for you this week, I'll see you next time!
Today we are talking about package pricing.
Packages can completely change your VA business - your confidence, and even the type of clients you attract.
Now, if you've been following me for any length of time, you'll know I'm a huge believer in charging by the package instead of by the hour. It's one of those mindset shifts that can feel scary, but once you make the transition, it's very hard to imagine going back.
When most VAs think about package pricing, they only think about how it benefits them. They think about making more money, avoiding timesheets, or not feeling guilty when they work efficiently.
Those are all great reasons.
But today I want to flip the conversation around.
Let's talk about why your clients actually benefit from working with a VA who charges by the package.
Because when you understand the client's perspective, selling packages becomes a whole lot easier.
At the end of the day, package pricing isn't about charging more. It's about creating clarity for everyone. Clients just want their problems solved, their work completed, by someone they trust.
If you need help creating your packages, go to YourVAMentor.com/links to see how we can work together. I'd love to help you make this change to your VA business!
That's all I've got for you today - thanks so much for tuning in! I'll see you next time!
Today's episode is a little different because we are doing an AMA, an Ask Me Anything episode.
Over the years, I have had thousands of conversations with virtual assistants. I have answered questions inside communities, during coaching calls, through emails, in workshops, and in conversations with VAs who are just getting started and VAs who have been in business for years.
And there are certain questions that come up again and again.
Questions about getting clients. Questions about pricing. Questions about confidence. Questions about what services to offer and whether they are actually ready to call themselves a virtual assistant.
So today I picked five questions that I hear all the time, and I'm going to answer them the way I would if you asked me during a coaching call.
And as always, I want you to remember that there is no magic formula for building a successful VA business.
There are strategies, systems, and things you can do that will absolutely make the process easier, but the biggest thing that separates VAs who build sustainable businesses from those who stay stuck is usually confidence and consistency.
It is knowing what steps to take, and then actually taking them. That last part is pretty important!
The 5 questions in this episode:
How do I get my first client without any VA experience? How much should I charge? Do I need a niche? Why is my marketing not working? And am I ready to call myself a VA? We can get you to where you want to go. Quickly, as a matter of fact. All you have to do is be willing to make decisions and take action. You need a client? We can do that. You need to set your rates or create packages? We can do that. You need to get better at time management because you're blowing your budget with your clients all the time so you can work more efficiently and make more money. We can also do that. Whatever you need, I can help. It's the only reason I'm here at all, guys, is to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant. Check out how we can work together at yourvamentor.com/links and connect with me on social media, please, and tell me where you're stuck. Let's get you moving in the right direction. That's all I've got for you today. I'm Tracy Daviero, the Confidence Coach for Virtual Assistants, and I want to thank you for listening into this episode. I'll see you next time!
Today I want to share one of my favourite little systems. It's something I teach my coaching clients, and once they start using it, they rarely go back.
I call it the 20-Minute Meeting.
Now before you think I'm suggesting you cut meetings short just for the sake of it, that's not what this is about.
This is about recognizing that a client meeting doesn't end when you click "Leave Meeting."
It ends when everything that came out of that meeting has been documented, assigned, communicated, and organized.
Unfortunately, many VAs don't account for that part.
Here's what typically happens.
You schedule a 30-minute meeting with your client. The meeting runs right until the 30-minute mark. You say goodbye, jump straight into your next task, or maybe your next client call.
Your notes stay scribbled on a notepad. The project management system doesn't get updated until later. The follow-up email sits in your inbox waiting to be written. Action items don't get assigned until the next day. Sometimes they don't get assigned at all.
And if you're honest, how often do you end up doing all of that admin work later in the day without charging for it? You're still working because of that meeting, but the client's timer has stopped. You are working for free.
That's where the 20-Minute Meeting comes in.
Most client meetings don't need the full 30 minutes of discussion. All they need is direction.
Sometimes it's the smallest systems that make the biggest difference in your business. The 20 Minute Meeting is a sample of one of those systems.
When you focus on doing the right things in the right way, you get both. And you stop losing money by working for free.
If you want help mapping out a great agenda that will help you work more efficiently, host shorter meetings, and deliver a polished summary and action steps to your client shortly after your meeting ends (without using AI), get in touch with me and we can book in one of my Quick Win private coaching calls.
All you need is the framework and you can create the right agenda for each of your clients - I used to have a different agenda for every client, because they all had different things to focus on for their business.
And we did the production meetings in 20 minutes! Even for my 6 and 7 figure business coaches.
You can do it. It works. I hope you try!
Thanks so much for tuning in to this week's episode of The Ridiculously Good VA Show.
If this episode gave you one practical idea you can use today, I'd love it if you'd subscribe, leave a review, or share it with another VA who could benefit from it.
And if I can help you take a step forward, reach out to me. Send me a DM or book a Quick Win coaching call today. Get in touch with me or book your call at YourVAMentor.com/links
Let's help you become the ridiculously good virtual assistant you want to be.
I'll see you next time!
Today we are talking about something that you will no doubt encounter at some time, in some form in your VA business: the messy client.
To be clear, a messy client is not a bad person - or even a bad business person. They are not "wrong" or impossible. But they are a client who brings a level of disorganization, inconsistency, or emotional overwhelm into your working relationship.
And that can quickly impact your time, your energy, and your confidence if you do not know how to handle it.
This episode is about helping you recognize the signs early, understand what is actually happening underneath the mess, and respond in a way that protects your business while still serving well.
Get clear on how your clients need to work with you, and tidy up your messy ones.
I can help. It's the only reason I'm here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
We can work together to identify and fix your messy client relationships through private coaching - check out the ways you can work with me by going to https://YourVAMentor.com/links
Thanks so much for tuning in to the podcast today. I'll see you next time!
Today we are talking about something really important when it comes to getting clients... Conversations.
A lot of VAs I talk to think getting clients is about posting endlessly on social media, or obsessing over your website, or redesigning your Canva graphics for the fifteenth time.
But it's the conversations you are having - or probably avoiding - that are often the biggest factor in whether clients are coming into your business.
Clients rarely appear out of nowhere. Most of the time they come from some kind of connection.
They come from conversations that build trust, create visibility, and help people understand what you actually do.
VAs assume that getting clients means they have to become a salesperson. That's one big reason that they shy away from actually talking to people. But the best client conversations usually feel very natural. They don't feel pushy or awkward or like a pitch. They just sound confident.
When you are confident that you can help someone, the words flow easily. It's an actual conversation. In this episode, we will talk about the kinds of conversations that actually lead to clients, why most VAs are having the wrong conversations, and how to start showing up in a way that creates opportunities without feeling fake or uncomfortable.
If you are ready to get some help to start having real conversations with real clients, get in touch with me at https://yourvamentor.com/links
Confidence is not built by waiting for people to come to you. It's built by starting to show up where they are - and help them.
Stop avoiding the conversations - that's the message for today.
Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of The Ridiculously Good VA Show - reach out if you need help! I'll see you next time!
Today we're talking about something that might sound a little fancy, maybe a little corporate … but honestly it's one of the simplest things you can do to feel more organized, more confident, and more in control in your VA business.
I'm talking about creating a simple weekly CEO routine.
Now before you tune out because you think this means color-coded spreadsheets, complicated planning systems, or waking up at 5am to journal and meditate for two hours… that is not what we're doing here.
This episode is about creating a realistic weekly rhythm for your business so you stop feeling like you're constantly behind, constantly reacting, and constantly wondering what you should be focusing on next.
Because a lot of VAs are technically business owners… but they're operating like overwhelmed employees inside their own business.
The shift into what we call CEO thinking usually isn't about doing more. It's often about doing less. It's about creating simple habits that help you lead your business instead of chasing it around all week.
So today I want to walk you through a very simple weekly CEO routine that almost any VA can start using immediately, even if you only have a few hours a week to work on your business.
Your business will grow when you lead it consistently.
If you need help, you know where to find me: https://yourvamentor.com/links
I'm here to help - it's the only reason I'm here at all - to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
I'd love to help you get a good routine in place that works - and we can do that with a quick win private coaching call.
This is fundamental stuff. It's super simple. You can do it. And if you do it, I promise you. you will see the results very quickly.
You'll see what is working well, what you need to fix, and you will be on the way to that success you dream of with every step.
Thanks so much for tuning in to this week's episode. I'll see you next time!
Today we are talking about something that I het a lot of VAs don't even think is a problem.
That is, staying stuck at low rates.
I'm not talking about VAs who are getting started. A lot of us started with rates lower than we should have. (If this is you, sign up for my $97 Getting Started as a VA self study program to get the right foundations under your business right now!)
When you are in that awkward getting-started phase where you are figuring things out, it can be easy to set rates that are too low.
So I'm talking about VAs who are years into business and still charging beginner rates, still feeling nervous about increasing their prices, still attracting clients who question every invoice, and still wondering why things feel so hard.
If that sounds like you then take a deep breath. This is fixable!
I just this is a really important conversation because I think a lot of VAs assume low rates are just a pricing problem.
Like their rates are set and they can't do anything about it. Wrong.
Like there aren't clients out there who will mean more. Wrong.
Like they have to change what they offer to charge higher rates and get new clients. Wrong again!
Low rates are usually connected to confidence, positioning, habits, boundaries, fear, and the way you see yourself as a business owner.
And if you do not deal with those things, you can stay stuck for a very long time.
I have seen incredibly talented VAs charging far less than they should while newer VAs with less experience are charging significantly more. That tells you right there that this is not just about skill level.
So today I want to talk about why some VAs stay stuck at low rates for years, what is actually happening underneath the surface, and what you need to shift if you want to finally move forward.
You do not have to change everything overnight.
But you do have to start making intentional decisions instead of operating on autopilot.
Because the VAs who grow are usually not the ones with perfect confidence, they are just the ones willing to make a decision, to take action, even if they don't feel fully ready.
You need to work in your brilliance. Do what you are great at.
I've told you before 'What comes easiest to you is what you should be charging the most for,' and I mean it every time.
You will SHINE when you help your client with your own expertise.
If you want help polishing that up, join me for the Booked and Busy Bootcamp. It's a 3 month group coaching program where we will figure out what you do best, and price it appropriately, and find the people who need your help. It's as simple as that.
Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of The Ridiculously Good VA Show.
If you are ready to stop playing small in your business, start charging more confidently, attract better clients, and build a VA business that actually feels sustainable and profitable, get in touch with me to talk about how I can help you do just that.
I'm here to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
I'll see you next time!
If you are not getting inquiries about your VA services, it's usually not because you're not good at what you do. I mean, for sure that's not the reason.
It's because of how you're talking about what you do.
And I want to be really clear here.
This is not about becoming a better salesperson in a pushy, uncomfortable way. This is about clarity. This is about confidence. And this is about making it easy for the right people to see themselves in what you offer.
So if you've ever felt like you're posting consistently, you're showing up, you're talking about your services, but nothing is really happening, this episode is going to help you shift that.
So if you've been feeling frustrated because things aren't clicking yet, I want you to take a look at your messaging first, because that's usually where the gap is. Once you start closing that gap, everything else gets easier.
More conversations. More inquiries. More opportunities to turn those into clients.
And if you want help with this, if you want to actually sit down and refine how you're talking about your services so that it connects and converts, that's exactly what we do inside my programs.
We don't just talk about what services to offer. We talk about how to position them, how to communicate them, and how to build a business around them that feels clear and sustainable.
So if that's something you're ready for, I'd love to support you.
You can jump into the Booked and Busy Bootcamp and get this done right now. Or you can message me and we can talk about other ways I can help you uplevel what you are doing - the clarity with your messaging - talking about the right stuff, more often.
For now, take a look at how you're currently describing your services and ask yourself one simple question: Would a potential client read this and immediately understand how it helps them? If the answer is no, that's your starting point.
Sometimes you need someone else to read it for you, but either way get that done. Because that's where the real progress begins.
Let's circle back to today's quote: The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits them and sells itself.
That's literally all you have to do.
I want to tell you one thing - when you start doing this, because you understand it - you will find it so much easier to not just do your marketing and social media, but you will also feel more relaxed in conversations.
And all of that leads to the inquiries that you want.
That's all I've got for you today. Thanks so much for tuning in.
I'm Tracey D'Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs - and I'm here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
it's the only reason I'm here at all. So reach out, connect with me. If I can help you right now, I'd love to talk about it.
I'll see you next time!
Today we're talking about something that I see all the time with virtual assistants, especially once you're past that very beginning stage.
You're working. You're showing up. You've maybe had some clients, or you even have clients right now. But your business feels scattered. A little all over the place. A little unclear. Like you're doing a lot, but not really building anything solid.
You're feeling constantly busy, but at the end of the week, you're not totally sure what you actually moved forward. You might even look back and think, hmm what moved forward this week?
And if that's you, I want you to understand something. It's not because you're doing something wrong. Well, not entirely. You are missing something very important though. And once you figure out what that thing is, everything starts to feel a lot simpler.
If you listen to this episode and thinking, "Yes, this is exactly how my business feels right now," then this is exactly what we focus on inside Booked & Busy Bootcamp.
This is not about adding more to your plate. It's about simplifying what's already there.
We take all of those moving pieces and bring them together into something that actually makes sense for you.
We help you get clear on your services, create a plan for getting clients, and actually start building momentum in your business marketing. So you're not just busy… you're growing. And you're doing it in a way that feels manageable and doable, not overwhelming.
Booked and Busy Bootcamp is a 12 week program, so yes we are going to work together for a while. We don't overwhelm you with 10 things to do at once and then expect you to walk away and get it done. We will ramp up to make sure you are ready and get your moving.
You'll have to make decisions. You'll have to move out of your comfort zone. You'll have to TALK to people (ahh!)
Send me a DM if you are wondering if this program is right for you. It's coming up in a few weeks, and it's reasonably priced.
It's a no brainer, guys. If you need clients, let me help you get on the path to get them.
Let's start using your time smarter, and actually getting you what you want from your VA business.
Check out Booked & Busy Bootcamp and let me know if you are IN! Registration is open now!
Thanks so much for tuning in this week. I'll see you next time!
Speaking is one of the most powerful ways to tell your story, share your expertise, and connect with potential clients in a way that written content just can't always do.
When I say speaking, I don't just mean getting on a big stage in front of hundreds of people. I'm talking about all forms of speaking. Small workshops. Guest trainings. Podcast interviews. Networking events. Even showing up live in someone else's community. Especially showing up in someone else's community.
It's one of the most powerful ways to position yourself as an expert, build trust quickly, and attract higher quality clients. And the best part is, you don't need a huge audience to make it work.
So if you've been relying mostly on social media posts, or waiting for referrals, this episode might just open up a whole new lane for you.
If you want support with this, whether it is choosing your topic, structuring your training, or building the confidence to actually put yourself out there, that is exactly the kind of work we do inside my programs.
I help virtual assistants not just build a business, but show up in a way that attracts the right clients and opportunities.
So if that is something you are ready for, come and work with me.
Getting visibility is about getting as many eyes and ears on your business as possible. And speaking is a great way to do that.
It's marketing - and I can definitely help you with that.
Go to YourVAMentor.com/links to connect with me and let's chat about how I can help you get clients.
If you have been looking for a way to stand out, to build confidence, and to attract better clients, speaking is something I highly recommend you start exploring.
You do not need to wait until you feel ready. You just need to start.
I'm going to stop here for today. Thanks so much for tuning in.
If you're ready to take the next step in building a more confident, profitable VA business, be sure to check out my programs and resources at YourVAMentor.com/links.
I'm here to help. I'm Tracey D'Aviero, and I can't wait to help you attract better clients, raise your rates, and grow a business that truly reflects your skills.
Until next time, keep showing up, taking action, and being ridiculously good at what you do.
Today we're bringing everything together from the last couple of episodes.
You've been thinking about why your business isn't growing the way you expected. Hopefully you've started to see how important it is to have a plan instead of just trying things and hoping something works.
But there's another layer to this that might be quietly slowing you down, and it's something I want you to really see clearly today.
It's not just about what you're doing. It's about how you're making decisions, whether you have the right support, and whether you're actually following a plan that works for you.
If you've been feeling stuck or inconsistent, I want you to come back to these three things.
Are you making clear decisions, or are you staying in the questioning phase? Do you have a written plan that actually guides your actions, or are you deciding what to do day by day? And are you trying to do all of this on your own, or do you have the kind of support that helps you move forward more easily?
Because when you bring those three pieces together - decisions, a plan, and support - everything starts to feel different.
You stop second-guessing yourself as much. You take action more consistently. And you start to see progress, which builds confidence naturally.
This is exactly what we focus on inside Booked & Busy Bootcamp.
Over 90 days, you'll make clear decisions about your services and direction, create a simple plan that actually works for you, and get the support you need to follow through consistently.
So instead of trying to figure everything out on your own, you have a clear path and someone walking alongside you as you build your business.
If that's what you've been needing, then check out the details of the Bootcamp at YourVAMentor.com/bootcamp.
Reach out to me to apply if you are ready.
Let's circle back to today's quote: " A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan executed next week." - George S. Patton
What does it mean? It means now is the time to get going on what you already know you want.
There is no need to wait any longer. Booked and Busy Bootcamp is here for you!
Thank you so much for being here with me today on The Ridiculously Good VA Show. As always I truly appreciate your listening in. And remember, your business grows when you make decisions, follow a plan, and allow yourself to be supported along the way. That's what I'm here for. To help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
That's all I've got for you this week, I'll see you next time!
Today we're continuing the conversation around what actually helps your VA business grow.
In the last episode, we talked about why your business might not be growing right now, even if you're putting in the effort. And one of the things I touched on was the idea that a lot of VAs are busy… but not necessarily moving forward.
So today, I want to go deeper into that, because there's a specific reason this happens, and it's something I see all the time.
Most VAs don't actually have a simple, clear plan for their business.
They're trying things, they're learning, they're taking action in different ways, but it's not connected. It's not structured. And because of that, it's very hard to build real momentum.
It can even keep you stuck, or worse, moving backwards - because trying things can lead to shiny object syndrome, and that's what we need to avoid to make sure we are moving forward.
So in this episode, we're going to talk about the simple plan most VAs are missing, why it matters so much, and how having one can completely change the way your business feels and grows.
If you've been feeling like you're doing a lot but not seeing the results you want, I want you to consider this:
It might not be about working harder.
It might be about having a clearer, simpler plan that actually guides your actions.
Like I said, a plan that allows for high energy days and lower energy days. I think that part is SO important!
Because when you have that, everything starts to feel different.
You spend less time overthinking. You take action more consistently. You start to see progress, which builds confidence, which leads to even more action.
And that's how momentum is created.
This is exactly what we focus on inside Booked & Busy Bootcamp.
Over 90 days, we take all of the guesswork out of what you should be doing and give you a simple, structured approach to growing your VA business.
You'll get really clear on your services, take consistent action to attract and connect with clients, and build confidence along the way. Not in theory, but through real actions and r3al progress.
So instead of trying to piece everything together on your own, you have a plan that actually works and support to help you follow through.
If that's what you've been needing, I'd love for you to join me in this group.
It's learning, it's practicing, it's networking, it's taking action, it's getting feedback and improving, it's accountability, and it's fun!
And it's very affordable. You can check out the details at YourVAMentor.com/links.
It's called Booked and Busy Bootcamp. 12 weeks of weekly training and coaching to get you moving to where you want to go.
If you have questions about whether this group is for you, DM me and let's talk about it!
Thank you so much for being here with me today on The Ridiculously Good VA Show.
And remember, your business doesn't grow because you try more things. It grows because you follow a clear plan, stay consistent, and build momentum over time.
Thanks for tuning in today. I'll see you next time!
Today, we're talking about whether becoming a virtual assistant is actually the right fit for you.
If you are here listening it is probably because you are teying to figure outbwhether becoming a virtual assistant is the right decision for you.
Because the truth is, it's an incredible opportunity, but it's not for everyone. And my goal today is to give you the clarity you need to decide.
There are a lot of things to think about, and I hope to cover all the most important ones today!
Now, if we haven't met before, my name is Tracey D'Aviero. I am The Confidence Coach for Virtual Assistants, and I've been working from home for over twenty five years. I've been training and coaching VAs since 2010, helping people just like you start and grow their businesses.
And through all of that, what I've really become known for is helping VAs build confidence. Confidence in their services, their pricing, their marketing, and their ability to actually run a business.
Because here's what I've learned. Most people don't struggle with ability. They struggle with belief. And that's what keeps them stuck.
Most of the VAs who come to me for help don't need to learn anything new, they just need to know why someone should work with them. They need the confidence to connect with the clients who need them, and to make good decisions in their business.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves yet. You need the confidence to believe that you CAN do this (you can!).
So today, we're going to walk through a few key things. What a virtual assistant actually does, what you need to know before you start, what you don't need to know, and most importantly, how to decide if this is right for you.
Now, if you're feeling excited about this, but also a little overwhelmed, that's completely normal.
And it's exactly why I created my Getting Started as a Virtual Assistant program.
This program walks you through everything we talked about today in a clear, simple, step-by-step way. It helps you create your business plan, set your rates, define your services, and start finding clients.
It's designed to help you stop overthinking and start taking action.
And one of the things I'm really proud of is that it doesn't just give you information. It helps you build confidence as you go.
Because again, that's the piece that makes the biggest difference.
So if you're ready to move forward, I would absolutely love to support you inside that program.
It's just $97CAD. It is a self paced program that you go through at your own speed. You can do it quickly if you have some decisions made already. You can take your time if you are just starting.
By the end of the program you will have the framework you need to start your VA business.
And if you're not quite there yet, that's okay too.
Take what you learned today. Think about it. Reflect on your why. Look at your skills. And ask yourself honestly, is this something I want to pursue? It is a big decision to start a business.
But if the answer is yes, you don't need to have it all figured out.
You just need to take the first step. And the first step is picking up my Getting Started as a VA Self Study.
It has helped hundreds of VAs just like you get their business off the ground, confidently and quickly.
Go to GetStartedVA.com to register today!
And if you still aren't sure if being a VA is right for you, get in touch with me to talk about it.
I'd love to chat with you soon!
In today's episode I want to talk about something that I know so many of you are experiencing right now.
You're putting in the effort. You've started your VA business, or maybe you've been at it for a little while, and you genuinely want this to work. You like the idea of having your own clients, making your own schedule, and building something that actually fits your life. But despite all of that, things just aren't growing the way you expected. Or the way you want.
Maybe you're not getting consistent clients. Maybe the clients you are getting aren't paying what you'd hoped. Or maybe you feel like you're doing all the right things, but nothing is really clicking yet.
And that's frustrating. It can also be really discouraging, especially when you start wondering if you're missing something that everyone else seems to understand.
If you're anything like I was, you don't talk yo anyone about it. You just beat yourself up. You keep trying to find your own way. And that makes it even harder.
So, I want to walk you through a few of the real reasons your VA business might not be growing right now. Not from a place of judgment, but from a place of clarity. Because when you understand what's actually going on, you can start to fix it in a way that feels doable and realistic.
If you listen to this and recognize yourself in some of these areas, I want you to know that this is normal. It doesn't mean you're failing. It doesn't mean this isn't going to work for you. It simply means that you've likely reached a point where you need more clarity, more structure, and more intentional action.
You don't need to do more. You need to do the right things, in the right way, consistently.
And that's exactly why I created Booked & Busy Bootcamp.
This is a 90-day program starting in April, where we focus on helping you clarify your services, start attracting better clients, and build real confidence through action. Not by overwhelming you, but by giving you a simple, structured approach that you can actually follow.
So instead of spinning your wheels and wondering what to do next, you have a clear path forward and the support to keep going. I'll be sharing more details about the program very soon, and I would love to have you in it.
Working together for 12 weeks can help you get where you want to go, where you should be!
I'd love to help you move those feet forward. It's the only reason I'm here at all, to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant!
I appreciate you tuning in today. I'm Tracey D'Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs. I'll see you next time!
Work with me: https://YourVAMentor.com/links
I'm Tracey D'Aviero, your Confidence Coach for Virtual Assistants, and today we're talking about a question I hear all the time:
"Where do I find good clients?"
Not just any clients. Not the draining ones. Not the $25-an-hour ones who question every invoice.
The best clients.
The respectful ones.
The ones who value what you do.
The ones who pay properly and stick around.
I'm going to say something that might surprise you. It's not about the platform. It's about the positioning.
Let's talk about it in today's episode.
A lot of VAs think there is a secret place where all the amazing clients are hiding.
They think: If I just get on the right job board… If I just join the right Facebook group… If I just sign up for the right freelancing platform…
They ask in the VA groups where do I find clients (and they really do mean tell me where to go to find them)
Then want that magic place named, and then they think suddenly the best clients will appear.
I'm not making fun of you if you have asked this question before, but it's important that if you have asked this question in the past that you lean in and listen to this episode.
There are good clients everywhere. And there are bad clients everywhere.
If you keep attracting low-paying or difficult clients, it's not because that's all that exists.
Even if you feel like that's all there are out there. I have heard Virtual Assistants that the market is saturated with VAs. Like the whole market could be! Impossible. Because there will always be more business owners than there are VAs. And every single one of those business owners should be getting support for their business - many in the form of a VA.
f you are newer in your VA business and you want help setting up your services properly, pricing confidently, and positioning yourself so you attract quality clients from the beginning, my Getting Started as a Virtual Assistant self-study program walks you through that step by step.
If you are already in business, the Getting Started program is still very beneficial because it helps you get those basics, that foundation in place, to build the VA business that you visualized when you first got started. The one you dreamed about that you haven't quite been able to build yet.
And finally if you are stuck, or don't know how to fix some of those things that we talked about today, please feel free to book a Cut to the Chase call with me to talk about it. I'm here to help! Grab a time in my calendar here: https://yourvamentor.com/links
Today we're talking about how virtual assistants get the best, long-term, high-quality clients. And keep them.
Getting hired is one thing. Getting kept on long-term is another.
Because there are a lot of virtual assistants who can land a client. But far fewer who keep that client long term, grow the relationship, and become the VA the client never wants to lose.
That's what we want. High quality clients that we can work with for a long time.
What is different about the VAs that the clients never want to lose?
They're not necessarily more talented. They don't know more tools or stuff. They don't work more hours.
The difference is how they show up once the contract is signed.
So today I want to walk you through the difference between a VA who gets hired and a VA who gets kept long-term, and more importantly, how you can start positioning yourself as the second one.
Long-term clients don't happen by accident. They happen when you build your VA business with structure, confidence, and clarity from the beginning.
That's one of the reasons I created my Getting Started as a Virtual Assistant self-study program.
It walks you through how to set up your services properly, position yourself professionally, and attract the kinds of clients you actually want to work with. Not just whoever says yes first, as tempting as that may be!
Whether you want to get started the right way, or stop all the guessing and uncertainty and start building your VA business the right way, check it out.
Check out the program here: https://getstartedva.com
Start strong. Build smart. And set yourself up to work with clients who stay.
That's all I've got for you this week. I'm Tracey DAviero, The Confidence Coach for Virtual Assistants. Thanks so much for tuning in. I'll see you next time!
Here is our fourth and final episode in our four-part series on rates.
And of course, it is about how to raise yours if and when you need to … or want to!
Raising your rates does not require a dramatic announcement, a bold personality shift, or a confrontational conversation.
If you are stuck charging a rate you aren't happy with, you probably feel all three of those things.
And if so, then I'm glad you are listening in today.
Today let's talk about how raising your rates can feel calm, professional, and grounded when it is done from the right place.
Over this mini series, we have talked about:
- Why your rates are not the real problem
- What clients actually think about your pricing
- The hidden cost of undercharging
- And now, how to raise your rates without burning bridges.
If pricing has been a recurring struggle for you, this is your sign to start looking at yours.
For a sustainable business you need solid rates.
So now is the time!
If you have been taking lots of notes throughout this four-part podcast series, that should tell you something important!
I want to remind you too, that just because you are struggling with rates it doesn't mean you are doing something wrong.
All it means is your rates don't match your services. Or your level of expertise.
That's why I'm running a live Packages Workshop in a few weeks.
In this workshop, we're going to work on your actual rates. Your best services. How to price those so you can speak really confidently to clients about them. So you can sign them.
If you're ready for pricing to feel simpler, clearer – and much more in line with the value you provide to your clients, you need to register for this workshop.
You can find all the details right here - or drop me a DM and I'll send you the link.
I'm here to help – it's the only reason I'm here at all – to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
I'll leave you here for this week, thanks so much for tuning in. I'm Tracey D'Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs - and I'll see you next time!
This is the third episode in my four part series on rates. Thanks for tuning in. If you haven't listened to the other two yet, make sure to jump back and do that!
Are you simply tolerating what you are earning as a virtual assistant?
Most VAs don't intentionally tolerate a low rate of pay. Most often they don't even realize they are undercharging - or tolerating it - until someone like me questions them on it.
You are probably just trying to be practical, maybe cautious, and limely realistic. And you also might be undercharging.
And undercharging has a cost. And that cost is much higher than most VAs realize.
So today I want to talk about what undercharging is really costing you, beyond the number on the invoice or in your bank account.
Not charging enough affects more than just today. It delays your growth, your confidence, your specialization, and your ability to attract the high-level clients that you can really support well.
It's time for you to grow!
And guess what? You can change your rates TODAY. I changed mine in a day. I went from charging $25/hr one day to $50/hr the next – because I was able to define who I helped and specifically I helped them – and then I got in touch with those people and signed them. I was aligned with that decision. Of course I got help from my business coach to do it.
And you don't need to double your rates, but you might be able to if yours are really too low!
The point is you can raise them and get ready to build the business that you really want to have.
In the next and final episode of this four part rates series, we are going to talk about how to raise your rates without burning bridges, losing clients, or second-guessing yourself.
Most VAs don't struggle with rates because they're doing something wrong. They struggle because their pricing no longer matches the level of work they're actually doing.
That's why I'm running a live Packages Workshop in a few weeks.
In this workshop, we're going to work on your actual rates. Your best services. How to price those so you can speak really confidently to clients about them. So you can sign them.
If you're ready for pricing to feel simpler, clearer – and much more in line with the value you provide to your clients, you need to register for this workshop.
You can find all the details right here - or drop me a DM and I'll send you the link.
I'm here to help – it's the only reason I'm here at all – to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
I'll leave you here for this week, thanks so much for tuning in. I'm Tracey D'Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs - and I'll see you next time!
This is our second episode in our four part series about your rates.
Today, I want to talk about what clients really think about your rates, and why so many virtual assistants are worrying about the wrong things when it comes to pricing.
Most VAs tell themselves stories – maybe not out loud, but they are there, in the back of their minds. Clients are worried about price. Clients want the cheapest option. If I charge more, they will say no. If they hesitate, that means my rate is too high.
We are always so worried about the client and what they think, and we don't want to ask them what they think. People tell us not to worry about what they think. It's this carousel of thoughts, and they aren't really based in anything real.
These stories feel logical. They feel protective. They feel like they are helping you avoid rejection. But most of the time, they are assumptions, not facts. If this sounds familiar to you, these assumptions are probably shaping how you show up in your conversations about pricing.
In the next episode of this mini series, we are going to talk about the hidden cost of undercharging, and why staying at "safe" rates may be costing you far more than you realize.
If pricing has been coming up for you as you listen to this mini series, that's not an accident.
Most VAs don't struggle with rates because they're doing something wrong. They struggle because their pricing no longer matches the level of work they're actually doing.
If that's you, check out my Packages Workshop that I'm running in February.
In this workshop, we're going to focus on turning your services into clear, confident packages that make pricing easier to communicate and easier for clients to say yes to.
This is a hands-on workshop with your actual services – not templates.
Together we will create packages that reflect your experience, set clear work scope and boundaries, and help you stop feeling awkward around price discussions.
If you're ready for your pricing to feel simpler and more aligned, I'd love to support you inside that workshop.
You can find all the details and register here! Or send me a DM and I'll send it over for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, I'll see you next time!
If you are struggling with your rates as a virtual assistant, it probably feels like a pricing problem.
Naturally. We are talking about rates so it seems like that's the culprit if things aren't going right.
You might be thinking you need a better number, a better structure, or more proof that you are allowed to charge more.
But ... your rates are not the real problem.
They are a symptom. And until you address what is underneath them, no pricing strategy will ever feel solid or sustainable.
It starts with figuring it out, then understanding it, and finally totally believing it.
It helps to have the first client say yes, of course, but you've got this! I'm here to help. It's the only reason I'm here at all, to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
In the next episode of this mini series, we are going to talk about what clients really think about your rates, and why most VAs are worrying about the wrong things entirely.
Because once you understand that, pricing conversations become a lot less scary.
If pricing has been coming up for you as you listen to this mini series, that's not an accident.
Most VAs don't struggle with rates because they're doing something wrong. They struggle because their pricing no longer matches the level of work they're actually doing.
That's why I'm running a live Packages Workshop next month - check it out here: https://YourVAMentor.com/va-packages
In this workshop, we're going to focus on turning your services into clear, confident packages that make pricing easier to communicate and easier for clients to say yes to.
This is not about templates or scripts you have to force yourself to use.
It's about creating packages that: ✓ reflect your experience ✓ support sustainable income ✓ set clear boundaries ✓ and help you stop undercharging without feeling awkward
If you're ready for pricing to feel simpler and more aligned, I'd love to support you inside that workshop.
You can register here or drop me a DM for more details!
I'd love to have you join me.
That's all I've got for you this week. See you next time!
Last episode we talked about planning before goal setting, and that's so important. I hope you got some good takeaways and got your own lookback process done for your VA business.
The new year brings a lot of emotions - a mix of excitement and pressure. Big promises. Big goals. Big declarations.
But confidence does not come from making bold statements. It comes from trusting yourself to follow through in a grounded, realistic way.
This episode is about setting goals that build confidence rather than erode it.
Because the wrong goals do not just fail. They chip away at your belief in yourself.
I am all about helping you build your confidence so you can do the work you want to do with the people you want to work with, and make good money doing it.
This is how confidence is built. One decision at a time.
This is what I help VAs like you with all the time.
Figuring out what you want, how to get it, and what you need to do to start taking those steps toward it.
Goal setting comes first, then the strategy. Let's talk about your goals! Connect with me at YourVAMentor.com/links.
I'm here to help. It's the only reason I'm here at all – to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
I appreciate you tuning in so much - every single week. I love talking to you and hearing that you love the podcast.
It's my favourite way of connecting with you, and I would love for that to translate into a conversation for us too.
I'm here when you're ready.
Thanks so much for tuning in this week.
If I haven't talked to you yet, Happy New Year to you and your loved ones – I'll see you next time!
There is a lot of pressure at the end of any year to rush straight into planning. New planners. New goals. New intentions. New versions of ourselves.
As a matter of fact my to-do list has exactly that type of stuff right at the top of it right now.
What do I want to do? What do I need to plan it? What exciting new things will I do?
But reflection is the part most people skip.
And when reflection is skipped, the same patterns quietly repeat themselves.
This episode is not about fixing anything. It is not about setting goals yet. It is about slowing down long enough to actually see what this year gave you, what it took from you, and what it revealed about how you operate as a business owner.
Because clarity does not come from pushing forward harder. It comes from looking back honestly.
I have a lookback process that I have done with my clients that walks through a lot more than just how much money you made or whether you liked all your clients and work or not.
Looking back at what you have done can show you the bad stuff that you don't want to repeat, but also all the good stuff that you might not have even realized happened.
This past year probably stretched you in ways you did not expect. Some of those stretches were good. Some were uncomfortable. Some may have felt disappointing.
Instead of labeling the year as good or bad, successful or unsuccessful, this is your invitation to look at it as information.
Information about how you make decisions. Information about how you handle uncertainty. Information about where your confidence showed up and where it disappeared.
And use that information to make this year better!
Get help when you don't know how to do something. It could be a simple coaching call, or a short course, or maybe you do need longer term help with accountability.
Whatever it is, know that there are options and you can move forward when you invest in getting help.
When I work with VAs one of the things I tell them is that I teach them things ONCE, that they can continue to apply over and over again. They are fundamentals. So if you need help with some fundamentals, reach out.
Connect with me at YourVAMentor.com/links and let's chat.
In the next episode, we will talk about setting goals that actually support who you are becoming, not who you think you should be.
But for now, let reflection do its quiet work.
Pause. Then plan. It's a much better way to do it.
Thanks so much for tuning in this week. I'm Tracey D'Aviero, The Confidence Coach for Virtual Assistants. I'll see you next time!
In this episode, we are talking about a really important mindset shift you must make as a virtual assistant.
It is also one that will directly affect how much you earn, the kind of clients you work with, and how your business grows. See? Important, right!??
We are talking about clients who gladly pay premium prices for the support they need.
Not the budget shoppers. Not the tire kickers. Not the people who say they want help and then disappear when you send your rates.
We are talking about the clients who appreciate expertise. The ones who value your time. The ones who understand return on investment. The ones who want their business to grow and will pay well for the right support.
And yes, there are many of them.
Even if you haven't found any yet, don't make the mistake thinking that they aren't out there. Because I guarantee you - they are.
Today we will walk through why premium clients exist, what they are really paying for, and how you can position your VA business to attract them.
If today's episode helped you rethink who you are meant to work with, I would love for you to share it with another VA who needs this message too.
And as always, if you want support in stepping into this version of your business, my programs and workshops are designed to help you make confident, sustainable progress every single week.
You can connect with me at YourVAMentor.com/links
I'm here to help. It's the only reason I'm here at all - to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
That's all I've got for you this week. I'll see you next time!
Today let's talk about something a lot of VAs wonder about ... and some even ask questions about out loud.
That question? Can a coach actually help me land clients?
If you've been asking yourself that question, you are not alone, and it's a really good question.
Coaching is an investment - not just financially, but also mentally and emotionally. And before you decide whether it's right for you, it helps to understand what parts of the process belong to you, and what parts a coach can truly make easier.
So in this episode, I want to try to give you a simple way to evaluate where you are right now, and whether working with a coach would help you move forward faster… or whether there's a bit of groundwork you may need to do on your own first.
My private coaching clients tell me every day how I helped them see things more clearly. How I explained what they didnt understand, so that they did understand it.
If you love this podcast, you know how I can help you. I understand what you do and I can help you get where you want to go. I haven't walked the exact path that you have, but I have walked my own path, doing loads of things wrong. And I have worked with hundreds of other VAs and helped them reach their goals. I'd love to help you.
Connect with me and if you are ready, work with me here: https://YourVAMentor.com/links
Thanks for being here with me this week! I am Tracey D'Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs - and I'll see you next time!
Today we are talking about something that every virtual assistant needs… but very few actually take the time to build properly.
Standard Operating Procedures - better known as SOPs.
Okay so maybe it's not entirely true about very few building them properly.
But there are a LOT of VAs that I have talked to that do not have anything documented. If that's you, then I'm glad you're here listening in today.
How detailed does an SOP need to be when it's for something you specialize in?
This question comes up all the time in my coaching calls, in my mastermind group, and in conversations with newer VAs who feel pressure to write SOPs that are either way too complicated or not detailed enough.
So today I'm going to walk you through what your SOPs should include, how to know the right level of detail, and how your SOPs actually make you more confident and more valuable to your clients.
SOPs don't just help you deliver great work. They help you feel more confident about the work you're doing, and they help clients feel more confident in hiring you.
If you want to get some help creating SOPs for your VA business, or you want templates you can start with right away, reach out to me anytime.
You can get in touch with me at YourVAMentor.com/links
I'd love to help you get some standards into your VA business so you can work more efficiently, get more done, and love your VA business again.
That's all I've got for you this week - thanks for tuning in to this episode of The Ridiculously Good VA Show. I'll see you next time!
Today we are talking about something I think is both fun and maybe even eye-opening.
We are going to look at how you can take the skills you already have from any past job or career and transfer them into the VA services you offer.
So many new and growing VAs assume they have to reinvent themselves or learn an entirely new set of skills before they can statt their business or get clients. That is not true at all.
Most of the time the work you have already done in your life, whether it was in corporate, health care, hospitality, retail, education, or anything else, already set you up with abilities that clients need.
Your confidence grows when you realize you are not starting from scratch. You are simply repackaging what you already know, and then learning how to deliver it to clients in a business setting.
Today we will talk about how to do that, how to think more creatively about your strengths, and how to look outside the box so you can see what you are actually best at.
So today is about YOU. And how amazing you are!!
If you want to grow as a VA and step into higher level clients, better rates, and more confidence, this is where it starts. Stop assuming you need to learn more or learn something different to get started. You already have plenty to begin. You already have strengths that clients will pay for.
Your job is simply to uncover them, trust them, and build your business around them.
There is no one path to becoming a Ridiculously Good VA. But every path becomes easier when you realize you already have the foundation.
If you want some help doing this, please connect with me at YourVAMentor.com/links.
And if you haven't picked up my Skills Inventory yet, you can do that right here.
You are not lacking skills. You are simply learning how to use them differently. And that is the real shift.
Thanks for listening today. I'll see you next time!
Today, I want to talk to you about something that can feel like the hardest hurdle in this whole business: getting your first client.
If you've been trying for a while and it's just not happening, I get it.
It can feel discouraging.
You start second-guessing everything - your services, your prices, even whether you should be doing this at all.
But here's what you need to know: landing that first client is rarely about changing what you offer.
It's about changing how you connect.
So, let's talk about how I got my first client, and what I learned that can help you get yours, too.
Your homework this week is simple: talk to people. Talk to one person, or two people. Actually talk to them.
The more you do it, the easier it gets. The easier it gets, the more confident you feel. And the more confident you feel, the faster your business grows.
That's the truth.
Thanks for tuning in to The Ridiculously Good VA Show. I'm Tracey D'Aviero, and I help Virtual Assistants build the confidence to get better clients, charge higher rates, and create a business that feels amazing.
If you're ready to get out there and start building those connections, I'd love to help you do it. You can learn more about how we can work together at YourVAMentor.com/links
Until next time, keep showing up, keep talking to people, and keep moving forward, one confident conversation at a time.
That's all I've got for you this week, I'll see you next time!
Market research. Target market.
Market research isn't just for big companies with budgets and focus groups. It's one of the smartest and most confidence-building steps you can take as a VA business owner.
Because when you understand who your target market is - what they care about, what they struggle with, and what they'll happily pay for - you stop guessing. You stop throwing out random offers and hoping something sticks.
Instead, you start building a business that actually fits your people.
Let's dig into what market research really is, how to do it simply, and how it helps you find your target market as a VA.
You can spend hours scrolling through Facebook groups or sending out surveys, but nothing replaces real conversation.
Talking directly with people in your potential market is where the gold is. That's where you discover what they truly struggle with, how they describe their challenges, and what kind of help they're actually willing to invest in.
And like I said off the top: most VAs shy away from that step. They worry about bothering people or not knowing what to say. But the VAs who build real confidence, and real businesses, are the ones who actually have those conversations.
If you're ready to get past the hesitation and learn how to connect with your target market in a way that feels natural and comfortable, I can help you with that.
This is one of my favorite things to work on with my private coaching clients. Helping you make real market research connections so you can identify your niche, your audience, and your value with confidence and clarity.
So if that's something you know you need, let's talk about it.
You can connect with me at YourVAMentor.com/links.
Let's chat about where you are right now, and what you need to do to move forward.
Because once you understand your target market on a personal level, everything about your business starts to click: your pricing, your messaging, your confidence, and of course, your results.
Don't be shy to reach out for a chat. I'm here to help.
It's the only reason I'm here at all, to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
That's all I've got for you this week. I'll see you next time!
Let's talk about burnout.
It's something that most virtual assistants eventually face - are you there right now?
You know that feeling when you've been pushing hard for too long, saying yes to too many things, juggling client work, admin, marketing, maybe even your family or another job …
And suddenly everything just feels… heavy?
You're exhausted, unmotivated, maybe even resentful of the work you used to love. That's burnout.
And it's something confident, successful VAs work hard to prevent, not recover from.
Burnout isn't a badge of honour.
It's a sign that something deeper in your mindset, boundaries, or systems is out of alignment.
So today we're going to talk about:
- The real reason burnout happens (it's not just because you're busy or tired).
- How to identify the specific things that drain your energy (and what to do about them).
- And the daily mindset habits that help you stay calm, clear, and in control (even when your business is growing fast).
If you're ready to grow your VA business in a way that feels sustainable, without losing your spark, your sanity, or your patience, I'm here for you today!
When you build systems, say no with confidence, and create daily habits that support your energy, your business becomes lighter, smoother, and more fulfilling.
And if you're ready to go deeper into building that kind of business, one where you grow confidently without burnout, I'd love to help. Reach out to me at YourVAMentor.com/links to chat.
It's the only reason I'm here at all, to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Protecting your energy isn't selfish. It's smart business. Your clients do it. Their clients do it. And you need to do it too.
When your energy is strong, everything else flows better - your work, your results, your confidencez and then of course your income.
So unplug when you need to, protect your peace, and keep building your business with that calm, clear confidence that you know is in there.
You have to shine a light on it every day to see it!
Protecting your energy as a VA isn't about doing less, it's about giving yourself permission to pause, reset, and create systems and boundaries that keep you from burning out.
When you step back to recharge, you come back more focused, more confident, and far more effective. That's what sustainable success really looks like.
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of The Ridiculously Good VA Show.
That's all I've got for you this week. I'll see you next time!
In this episode we are talking about a topic that brings up a lot of emotions for VAs - raising your rates.
Now before you brace yourself for a wave of anxiety, take a deep breath. We're going to talk about how to raise your rates without the fear spiral — because this isn't just a numbers issue. It's a mindset and a boundaries issue.
When you move into higher-level work, your clients expect to pay higher rates.
Clients who value expertise don't want "cheap." They want reliable, proactive professionals who bring results.
The fear doesn't disappear the moment you send that email or update your pricing page. You might still second-guess yourself. You might worry about whether a client will respond negatively. You might even be tempted to backtrack or offer a discount just to make the discomfort go away.
That's totally normal.
But it's also exactly where your confidence muscle starts to grow.
If this episode is making you go yep, that's me - and if you're ready to grow your income without the fear spiral, I'd love to invite you to connect with me to talk about it.
We can work together to go deeper into pricing strategy, packaging your services, and building the confidence to attract - and keep - higher-level clients who value what you bring to their business.
Find me at YourVAMentor.com/links.
Confidence in your pricing comes from clarity in your value. You've earned the right to grow, and it's time your rates reflected that.
Let's do it together! I'm here to help. It's the only reason I'm here at all is to become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
I'll see you next week for another mindset episode, this time about boundaries and burnout.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks so much for tuning in - I'll see you next time!
Hey there I'm your host, Tracey D'Aviero, The Confidence Coach for Virtual Assistants, and today we're talking about one of my favourite topics: systems.
We're going to talk about how to stop trying to reinvent the wheel every week, and how setting up systems can help you grow your business with confidence and consistency.
Because here's the truth: being busy is not the same as being productive. And for too many VAs, those two things get mixed up.
Not just VAs, actually. But yes, us too.
Let me start by defining what I mean by reinventing the wheel, in case I'm aging myself and you are saying what the heck is she talking about??
Reinventing the wheel means trying to find a new way to do something that has already been established. That exists and that works.
You don't have to create something new for each aspect of your business. There are strategies that work. Checklists that exist. Platforms that help your automate. You aren't starting from ground zero every time you do something new in your business.
The wheel has been invented already, and it works!
Assess what you need to plan or automate, and get it done.
You deserve to run a business that feels smooth, predictable, and scalable, because that's how you step fully into your role as the CEO of your VA business.
Let's revisit today's quote: You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Doesn't this just make so much sense?
Your systems can make or break your- so don't overthink it all and just get them in place. Use them, follow them, and grow your VA business.
Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. Stop trying to figure out new ways to do stuff if there is already a good way in place. Stop running and identify where you can slow down and still get more done.
Stop rushing through client tasks and saying yes to everything, and step back and check, is there an opportunity here for growth?
I guarantee you when you take that step back you will see where your path is.
I can help! It's the only reason I'm here at all, to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
If this episode resonated with you, take a minute to share it with another VA who could use a little systems sanity.
If you are ready to get some help, jump over to YourVAMentor.com/links to connect with me, to pick up one of my VA resources, or to work with me.
And don't forget, your challenge this week is to audit one area of your business and find one process to automate or document.
You'll be amazed at the confidence that comes from even having one small system in place that wasn't there before.
See you next time!
Hi I'm your host Tracey D'Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs, and today's episode kicks off a brand-new series all about growth.
This is not beginner basics, but the real mindset, systems, and boundaries that help you go from simply working as a VA to running a business that works for you.
And to start things off, we’re tackling one of the most important shifts you’ll ever make in your business - the shift to being a CEO.
This is all about thinking like a business owner, not a task taker.
It’s the difference between just doing the work and leading your business.
When you step into the CEO mindset, you’re not just building a business, you’re building your future.
And if this episode is hitting home, and you’re ready to really step into that next level, the one where you’re not just getting clients but choosing the best ones, charging what you’re worthand what you want, and running your business like a successful business woman ... then I’d love to invite you to work with me to get there.
I offer private and group coaching for VAs who are ready to stop thinking small, who want to get confident about their value, and who want to grow their business strategically.
I'm here to help. It's the only reason I'm here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Next week, we’ll be talking about systems that make you scalable. How to set up your business so you can grow without burning out.
Until then, remember: you are not just a VA. You are the CEO of your business. Act like it, believe it, and build from there.
That's all I've got for you this week. I'll see you next time!
Work with me: https://YourVAMentor.com/links
Today, I want to talk about something I see so many VAs struggle with: marketing.
More specifically, why so many VAs feel stuck or frustrated when trying to get great clients, and how the solution often isn’t working harder, it’s working consistently in small, daily ways.
You guys know I tell you this all the time. Small daily actions will help you make progress in any area than booking in huge amounts of time less often.
Marketing isn’t about the one big launch, the perfect social post, or chasing clients. It’s about showing up every single day in ways that attract the clients you want and deserve. And today, I’m going to break down why that’s true, what it looks like in practice, and how you can start implementing daily marketing actions without feeling overwhelmed.
Consistency beats intensity every time. Showing up regularly, even with tiny actions, is what creates trust, builds relationships, and attracts the clients you want.
If you want a step-by-step plan and support to implement this in your business, get in touch with me. I can help you create yours.
It's the only reason I'm here at all - to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Being confident is promoting your services can be a real stretch with all that imposter syndrome and stuff that pops up for us. If it's keeping your stuck where you are, it's probably time to get help.
Great clients aren’t found in a single post or a viral launch. They’re found by showing up consistently, taking small daily actions, and building trust over time.
Start today. Pick your actions, commit to them, and watch the momentum build. Your future clients are waiting for you, and daily marketing is the bridge that takes you right to them!
I'm here to help you get where you want to go.
That's all I've got for you this week. Thanks so much for tuning in. I'll see you next time!
In this episode I want to talk about a very important topics for VAs ... identifying what type of VA you are.
This is something I see so many VAs struggle with, especially when they’re starting out, but also even years into business. The question comes up again and again: What services should I offer? Should I niche down? Should I just try to learn something that’s in demand?
Today I’m going to walk you through some of the thought processes that can help you get clear on this, without giving you a one-size-fits-all answer. Because the truth is, the “right type of VA” looks different for everyone.
Now, if you’re listening and thinking, “Okay, I get this, but I still don’t know how to put all the pieces together”. Don’t worry, I’ve got something for you.
I created a fun and easy quiz called What Type of VA Are You? It’s designed to help you identify your natural strengths and figure out how those can shape your VA business.
It only takes a few minutes, and you’ll walk away with some results and cool info that give you clarity about the services and direction that are the best fit for you.
So after you finish listening to this episode, head over and take the quiz at YourVAMentor.com/quiz. I can’t wait to hear what type you get!
Remember, the best VA business is the one that’s built around your strengths, your passions, and the clients you most want to serve. That’s what I tell you every week and I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Thanks for listening. That’s all I’ve got for you this week. I’ll see you next time.
Let's talk about something kind of exciting, and incredibly practical: content creation using AI. Chat GPT to be precise.
Now before you roll your eyes and think, I’m not a tech person, I don’t want robots writing my stuff, or I don’t have time to learn another tool… I want you to know this episode is for you.
This is about working smarter, not harder. It’s about getting support with your content creation so you’re not staring at a blank screen every week. It’s about using tools like ChatGPT to help you show up consistently, confidently, with content that connects and converts.
So if you’re a VA who struggles with marketing, or content planning, or you’ve just been winging it when it comes to what you post… this episode is going to change how you look at AI. And how you use it to build your business.
Now, if you’re listening to this and thinking, “Okay Tracey, I want to try this but I’m still not sure how to get started…”, I’ve got just the thing for you.
I’m running a live workshop called Create Content with ChatGPT, where I’ll walk you through exactly how I use it to brainstorm, structure, and draft content every week.
You’ll get:
· My favorite ChatGPT prompts for content creation
· A plug-and-play content workflow you can use in your VA business
· Live demo of how to tweak and personalize Chat GPT output
· And of course , time to ask questions and get real support
Whether you’re creating content for your own business or for your clients, this workshop will help you feel more confident, more consistent, and more creative, without adding hours to your schedule.
The workshop is happening in November, if you’re interested in registering send me a DM. I’ll share details for registration soon at YourVAMentor.com/links
That’s it for today’s episode! I hope this has helped you see AI as a tool for your creativity, not a threat to it.
You don’t have to do content creation alone. You don’t have to burn out trying to be original every week. You just need the right support and the right strategy to show up confidently.
If this episode sparked some ideas for you, come tell me! I’d love to hear how you’re thinking of using ChatGPT in your business. You can DM me on social media, or drop a comment on today’s post.
And you should sign up for the workshop. It’s going to be ridiculously good! :)
I’m Tracey D’Aviero The Confidence Coach for VAs. I’ll see you next time!
Today we’re talking about something that I know so many of you are dealing with right now: how to start your virtual assistant business while you’re still working a full-time job.
This is a very common question I get from aspiring VAs.
Maybe you’re working 40 hours a week, maybe more. You’ve got responsibilities, a family, and let’s face it, life is busy. How can you fit more in?
But you also feel this pull toward building something of your own, something that gives you freedom and flexibility. And that’s where your VA business comes in.
So today we’re going to walk through how you can get started, even if your schedule already feels packed.
We’ll look at the mindset shifts, the practical steps, and the strategies that will help you balance both worlds until you’re ready to take the leap into working for yourself full-time.
And if you listen today and think, “Okay Tracey, I’m ready to do this, but I need a clear path to follow,” that’s exactly why I created my Getting Started as a Virtual Assistant Self-Study Program.
This is a step-by-step program that walks you through setting up your VA business the right way, without the overwhelm, and without wasting months trying to figure it out on your own.
You’ll learn how to choose your services, set your rates, get the right systems in place, and start finding clients. And the best part? You can work through it at your own pace, in the time you have available, even with your full-time job.
It’s only $97, and it will save you so much time, energy, and second-guessing.
So if you’re serious about getting your VA business off the ground, head to YourVAMentor.com/links and register today. That one small step could be the start of something completely life-changing.
Remember, starting small is still starting. Every step you take brings you closer to the business and the life you want.
You can do it, and I'm here to help! It's the only reason I'm here at all, to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
I'm Tracey DAviero, the Confidence Coach for VAs. I'll see you next time!
Today we’re talking about a question I get all the time from both new and experienced virtual assistants:
What are the best services to offer as a VA?
This question usually comes up because VAs want to stand out, they want to attract clients who are excited to work with them, and they want to know they’re building a business around services that will actually sell.
But sometimes it comes up because VAs are looking to see what’s popular (that doesn’t matter, fyi).
In today’s episode, we’re going to look at what makes a service “the best,” how to choose what fits you, and I’ll also share some of the most in-demand services right now in the VA industry. I’ll leave space for you to reflect on your own skills and preferences as we go through this.
So, if you’re ready to stop trading hours for dollars and start attracting clients who value what you do, you’ll want to sign up for my Packages Workshop. It’s taking place in November. You can visit YourVAMentor.com/links to get details when they become available.
That’s it for today’s episode, the best services to offer as a VA. We talked about why choosing the right services matters, the categories of services available, how to decide which ones fit you best, and the importance of packaging them in a way that your clients understand.
Remember, the “best” service is the one that matches your skills, your interests, and your clients’ needs . It’s about what you do and what you love to do. And of course when you package it well, you’ll stand out in a crowded VA market.
Thanks for tuning in to The Ridiculously Good VA Show. I’m Tracey D’Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs. That’s all I’ve got for you this week. I’ll see you next time!
If you're moving away from hourly work and toward packages, or if you're already doing project work for clients, this episode is going to give you practical things to think about when it comes to managing your time well and delivering excellent results.
We'll break it all down today, including: why time management is basically a whole different ballgame with packages and projects. We'll talk about the most common time traps VAs fall into with this kind of work, how to shift your mindset and plan your days differently, and how your own time management directly impacts your confidence and client relationships.
If this episode resonates with you and you’re ready to build packages that are clear, valuable, and manageable from a time standpoint, then you’re going to love my upcoming Packages Workshop.
I’m doing a series of live monthly workshops this fall and you can join one or all of them.
The series is $397, and each workshop on its own is $129.
Last week I told you about my Marketing Workshop. It’s called Clients on Repeat: Simple VA Marketing Strategies. That’s taking place in September.
This one on Packages is called From Chaos to Clarity: Package Your VA Services. We’ll do it in October.
In this Packages workshop, we’ll walk through:
- What services to include in your packages
- How to price based on the value and your actual time
- How to structure your week so you can deliver confidently
- And how to set boundaries that protect your energy and schedule
This isn’t theory. It’s hands-on, practical support to help you stop winging it and start feeling in control.
I’ll tell you about the others in the upcoming episodes.
DM me if you want to know what’s coming up or how to register for one of these episodes. Or go to YourVAMentor.com/links to get details as they become available.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week.
I’m Tracey D'Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs. Thanks for listening. I’ll see you next time!
If you’ve been avoiding marketing because it feels intimidating, time-consuming, or like you have to become this whole other person just to “sell yourself,” this episode is for you.
I’m going to walk you through how to keep your marketing simple, effective, and doable, without spending hours creating content you never post, or chasing clients who don’t even value what you do.
And yes, I’m going to share how you can start marketing in a way that actually works, without making it your full-time job, because, let’s be honest, your full-time job is working with clients.
Marketing doesn’t have to be overwhelming, exhausting, or fake. When you simplify it, it becomes something you actually want to do, because you can see the direct connection between your actions and your results.
If you want to learn how to create a simple, effective marketing plan that actually works for your VA business, I’m hosting a Marketing Workshop in September that you won't want to miss.
In this live session, I’ll walk you through:
- How to choose the right marketing method for your personality and schedule
- How to identify and attract your ideal clients
- How to create a weekly plan that keeps you visible without eating up your time
You’ll walk away with a clear, doable marketing strategy you can start using the very next day.
If you're interested in the workshop, DM me to get the details.
Marketing can be simple... you just need the right plan and the confidence to show up. I’ll help you build both in the workshop.
It's the only reason I'm here at all, to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
I'm Tracey DAviero The Confidence Coach for VAs. That's all I've got for you this week. I'll see you next time!
Let’s talk about a mistake that I see far too many virtual assistants making. It’s one that can significantly slow down your business growth and keep you stuck working with the wrong clients, or even no clients at all. That mistake is: avoiding networking.
A lot of VAs underestimate the value of building relationships and connecting with others, both peers and potential clients, because they think that networking is just about sales, or that it’s only necessary if they’re “desperate” for clients.
In this episode, we’re going to talk about why avoiding networking is such a huge mistake, what happens when you rely solely on passive marketing, and how to shift your mindset around connecting with people so that networking becomes something you actually enjoy as part of your regular business routine.
I’ll also share some of the most common myths about networking that I see holding VAs back. And of course, I’ll plant the seed for how you can work with me if this is an area you want to get better at.
Ask yourself this: where do I need to show up more? Who can I reconnect with this week? What small networking habit can I build into my routine?
If you need ideas or want some support making networking feel natural and easy, I’d love to help. Come find me on social at https://YourVAMentor.com/links, or better yet, jump into one of my live trainings where we can work on this together. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all is to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Because you never know where your next client - or your next GREAT client - might come from.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week. I’m Tracey D’Aviero the Confidence Coach for VAs – and I’ll see you next time!
Today we are talking with co-founder of Kirmada Rik Yapp.
Rik and his partner Adam created Kirmada as an all in one solution for Virtual Assistants to manage their business and client work easily, without opening a million browser tabs.
Kirmada combines all of the technology that VAs need - workspaces, time tracking and management, team task organization, file management and social media, in an all in one system created JUST for VAs.
Tune in to learn about:
- Why this system was created
- What it will help you do
- Why it's an essential tool for VAs to run their business
- Why it's a no brainer to start using
- And a whole lot more!
To get in touch with Rik at Kirmada, connect with him or book a demo here:
Website: https://kirmada.com
About Kirmada: Adam Engberg and Rik Yapp met for a virtual beer (the beer was real, the meeting was virtual) to discuss “Project Kirmada”. Rik, with a brain the size of a planet, challenged everything, and after a gruelling couple of pints it was decided we should see if we could do it.
We brought in another brain, Max Paukovs, overseer of our crack coding team of Kristaps, Ritvars, Martins, Atis and Valdis. They worked on proof of concept code.
The code worked.
We moved on.
Over the next two years, we raised investment, both institutional and private, launched and tested the beta version, got things wrong, made them right, got more things wrong, heard feedback (some harsh, some amazing) and developed Kirmada to become the app small businesses need to organise their client workloads, boost productivity, and increase billable revenue.
Everyone who saw the concept during development “got it” and we were able to build an impressive cap table of investors which includes an Australian investment fund and the legendary ex-CFO of Google, Patrick Pichette.
Now our team has grown to include Fran, Genevieve, Tim, Callum and Mills and we’re pushing ahead with an exciting development roadmap to deliver our goal of the ultimate business and personal productivity tool.
Enjoy!
We are back with another mistake that Virtual Assistants make. This one often happens in the early days, but honestly, sometimes even years into their business.
It’s not defining their services clearly.
And when I say “clearly,” I don’t mean just listing a few tasks on a website or profile and hoping clients will figure out how they can use you.
I mean really understanding what you offer, how it helps, who it’s for, and how you’re packaging it and positioning it. Because when that isn’t clear, nothing else in your business works the way it should.
Let’s talk about why this happens, what it causes, and what you can do instead.
When you can define what you DO, you also define what you won’t do.
Clarity is key, and making the choice to do this and not that is what is going to help you set yourself apart from other VAs. Your clients will notice and will find you because you do that.
And I’m here to help you. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
Let’s talk about how you can get clear on the services you offer your clients. Go to YourVAMentor.com/links and connect with me or reach out to chat about it.
I’m Tracey D’Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs. That’s all I’ve got for you this week. I’ll see you next time!
One of the things that keeps us stuck MOST as VAs is trying to get it all right before putting yourself out there. At every stage of our business. But it’s the one thing that will keep you from the success you deserve.
One of the biggest mistakes I see virtual assistants make (and something I’ve also wrestled with in my own business) is waiting until everything is perfect before taking action.
Now let’s be clear right away: perfection is a lie. It’s a delay tactic. It’s fear dressed up as being responsible or professional. And if you fall into this trap, it will keep you stuck for far too long.
In this episode, I want to talk about this extremely common mistake and cover why striving for perfection is holding you back more than helping you. And I’ll share what you can do instead to move forward confidently, even when things feel a little messy or uncertain.
And of course, if this episode hits home, I invite you to work with me. I can help you stop overthinking and start doing. With a plan, with clarity, and with support.
You’ve got this. And if you want help getting out of the waiting game and into momentum, you know where to find me.
If you’re tired of waiting and want a plan to move forward with clarity and confidence, let’s work together. My coaching programs are designed to help you simplify your business, stop second-guessing yourself, and take consistent action. No perfection required.
You can find links to all of my trainings and coaching at YourVAMentor.com/links.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all is to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I’m Tracey DAviero The Confidence Coach for VAs. That’s all I’ve got for you this week, I’ll see you next time!
Mindset isn’t just some fluffy concept reserved for self-help books and vision boards. It’s the foundation of your business. Your beliefs, your self-talk, your expectations.
These are the things that shape your actions every single day. And in turn, those actions determine the results you get.
In this episode, I want to talk about the one mindset shift that I believe every VA needs to make in order to grow a truly successful business. Not just a side hustle. Not just a bit of extra income. But a sustainable, fulfilling, well-paying VA business that you’re proud to run.
Most of the VAs I work with already have the knowledge. They’ve taken the courses, they’ve learned the tech, and they’ve even started putting themselves out there. But they still find themselves playing small. They second-guess everything.
I help VAs just like you shift into that confident business owner mindset, and combine that with practical strategies to attract clients, price your services, and grow sustainably. If that’s something you know you need, reach out to me. I’d love to support you.
I’m here to help – you know that’s the only reason I’m here at all – to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
Remember, you don’t have to wait until you feel confident to act like a business owner.
Confidence comes from taking action. From showing up. From deciding that you’re done playing small.
The shift starts with a choice. And you get to make that choice today.
If I can help, let me know.
In the meantime, be sure to connect with me on your favourite social media platform. Find my links at YourVAMentor.com/links.
That’s all I’ve got for you this time. I’m Tracey D’Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs and I’ll see you next time!
I want to get back to basics a bit today and talk about your virtual assistant website.
Whether you have just started your business, are just getting your website together, or have been around a while and want to update yours, in this episode we talk about what you need to focus on to make yours work best for you.
It can feel overwhelming at any stage but that’s the important thing – is that it actually does what it’s supposed to do.
So many VAs either avoid building a website entirely, or they slap one together just to say they have one. But here’s the truth: your website isn’t just a business card. It’s a trust builder, a lead qualifier, and, when done right, a quiet salesperson that works 24/7.
Today, I want to walk you through what your VA business website should actually include. No fluff, no filler, just the essentials that will help your visitors feel confident enough to take the next step with you.
And of course, if you're not sure what your next step should be, you can always work with me on this. Helping VAs build strong, simple websites that speak directly to their ideal clients is something I do often—and it doesn’t have to be complicated.
If you’re in a place where you’re updating or building your website and you’re not sure if it’s doing what it should, I can help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all is to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant!
If you want to work with me or learn more about my coaching, courses, or membership programs, just visit YourVAMentor.com/links. You can start by connecting with me on your favourite social platform.
You don’t have to do it all at once. You just have to make sure that your site is working for you. It’s a marketing tool, not a burden.
When you get really clear on what you do, who you help, and why it’s important for them to get your help, the website part is actually pretty easy. It’s just there to tell them.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week. I’m Tracey D’Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs and I’ll see you next time!
You’re a virtual assistant. You’ve invested time, energy, and money into your business. But here’s the reality: The VA market feels crowded. It feels competitive. Sometimes it seems like everyone’s offering the same services, the same skills, at the same prices.
Doesn’t it?
So how do you rise above all that noise? How do you stand out in a way that attracts your ideal clients and lets you build a business that’s both profitable and fulfilling?
That’s exactly what I want to unpack with you today.
Because the secret to standing out isn’t about trying to be the loudest or cheapest. It’s not about having the flashiest website or the most complicated service packages.
No, the secret to standing out is much simpler. And it starts with confidence and clarity.
Let's talk about 4 secrets to standing out.
Standing out in a crowded VA market isn’t magic or luck. It’s about showing up with clarity, confidence, and value. It’s about leaning into who you are and what you do best.
I know you can do this. I’m here to cheer you on and guide you if you want. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
If you want to work with me or learn more about my coaching, courses, or membership programs, just visit YourVAMentor.com/links. You can start by connecting with me on your favourite social platform.
But if you want me to help you create a tailored offer or craft your marketing message? Let’s do it. Remember, standing out starts with one step. Take that step today.
That’s all I’ve got for you today. Thank for tuning in, I’ll see you next time!
That phrase “I have no experience” can stop you in your tracks. It’s a very common question that I get asked when women are looking to start a VA business, or are struggling after having started.
But today I want to shift that story for you.
You don’t need years of VA experience to land your first client. You don’t even need to wait to “be ready.”
What you do need is a smart approach, a clear offer, and the confidence to show up and communicate your value. Even if it’s not backed by client testimonials or a big portfolio.
And yes, this actually works. My clients have done it. I’ve done it. And if you’re listening, you can do it too.
Today we’re breaking down:
- Why “no experience” isn’t the dealbreaker you think it is
- 5 specific things you can do today to attract your first client
- The mindset shift that turns “newbie” into “advantage”
- And how working with me can help you get there faster and easier
If you’re listening and thinking, “I want to do this, but I’m scared I’ll do it wrong”, that’s exactly where support makes the difference.
I’ve helped so many new VAs move from stuck and spinning to landing clients, building confidence, and finally making money doing something they enjoy.
If you want help, with your service, your offer, your mindset, or your plan, come work with me.
I’ve got resources, programs, and simple steps that meet you exactly where you are, even if you think you are starting with “no experience.”
Let’s turn that into your first client together.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously VA.
Drop me a DM to chat about where you are stuck. I’m on all the social media channels, so find me where you are. Or go to YourVAMentor.com/links to connect with me.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week. I’m Tracey D’Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs - and I’ll see you next time!
Referrals are one of the most powerful and trustworthy ways to get new clients.
Not only are they easier to close than cold leads, but they often come with built-in credibility and urgency. It’s someone saying, “You’ve got to work with Tracey, she’s exactly what you need.”
People often ask for referrals at the exact time that they are looking for help, so the urgency comes into play there.
And what’s even better? You don’t need to have been in business for years to benefit from referrals.
You can start generating them no matter what stage you’re at.
In this episode we'll talk about why referrals are gold, what makes a virtual assistant 'referable', 3 referral sources to tap into right now, and creating a simple system to collect referrals.
If visibility and getting clients is something you’ve been struggling with, I can help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously VA.
Drop me a DM to chat about where you are stuck. I’m on all the social media channels, so find me where you are. Or go to YourVAMentor.com/links to connect with me.
Let’s get your message clear and get you in touch with people who can refer you to the people they know, that need you.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week. I’m Tracey D’Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs - and I’ll see you next time!
Should you offer discounts or free work as a virtual assistant?
It feels like a strategic move at first, doesn’t it? You think maybe offering a free trial or a discounted rate will help you land your first few clients.
You imagine those clients being so impressed with your work that they’ll stay on, pay full price later, and send you referrals.
But does it really work like that? What do you think?
Time to look at this with a fresh perspective - in this episode I want you to get a clear, confident answer to this question - and more importantly, a pricing approach that supports your long-term success, not just your short-term comfort.
Because that’s really what wanting to work for free is all about.
Confidence comes from charging what you’re worth. It comes from setting boundaries. It comes from building a business that actually supports your life. It comes from a strategy and daily actions that work to get you clients.
And if you don’t know how to do that yet—that’s okay. That’s what I’m here for.
If this is something you’ve been struggling with, if you’ve been offering free work, undercharging, or second-guessing your prices, let’s fix that together.
If you need support to move faster and with more clarity, I’m here…
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously VA. Drop me a DM to chat about where you are stuck. I’m on all the social media channels, so find me where you are. Or go to YourVAMentor.com/links to connect with me.
We can work together to look at your pricing, packages, and positioning, and we align everything to the business you want to build.
No guesswork. No fear-based decisions. Just clear steps and real confidence.
And great clients!!!
You deserve better than “just getting by.” Let’s build something stronger for you - and for your clients.
I’m Tracey D’Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs - and I’ll see you next time!
What is the illusion that readiness creates?
Let’s get something clear right from the start: “Feeling ready” is a myth. It’s not a real thing. It’s a feeling.
But it’s not a milestone you suddenly arrive at. It’s not a box you check off. It’s not something you get handed after watching 10 webinars or reading a few books. It’s an illusion. And the longer you wait for it, the longer you stay stuck.
What you actually need is courage and a decision. That’s it.
It’s easy to think you need more training, a better website, more confidence, or even more time before you can truly start your business or move it forward.
But what you're actually doing is using “not ready” as a shield. A form of protection. If you never launch, you never fail. If you never promote yourself, no one can judge you.
But the flip side? You never grow. You never help anyone. And you certainly don’t build the VA business you say you want.
I’ve seen it over and over again with the VAs I coach, and I’ve experienced it myself.
I remember struggling to have the VA business that I wanted.
I took every course I could find (free of course), and I kept adding to my arsenal of learned stuff.
I didn’t really set goals, because I didn’t feel ready.
I didn’t do any networking, because I didn’t feel ready.
I didn’t promote my business, because I wasn’t quite …. ready.
Well, I’m here to tell you now that the longer you stay your own little secret, the more you will struggle.
Stop waiting, and start being a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
If you need support to move faster and with more clarity, I’m here…
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously VA. Drop me a DM to chat about where you are stuck. I’m on all the social media channels, so find me where you are. Or go to YourVAMentor.com/links to connect with me.
Let’s talk about something that’s not acknowledged enough in the VA world, but that’s almost always at the root of the biggest struggle new and growing virtual assistants face.
You’re not getting hired. Not because you’re not talented or capable. But because your confidence hasn’t caught up to your potential yet.
There’s a reason this episode is called Confidence First, Clients Second.
Because it’s the truth. Your confidence is the foundation and everything else flows from that.
Without it, you’re going to hesitate, procrastinate, and undercharge.
You’ll be afraid to promote yourself, unsure how to talk to potential clients, and second-guess every decision you make.
And when that kind of energy shows up in your business, it’s also what potential clients pick up on, even if you don’t realize it.
Now, I want to be really clear here. This doesn’t mean that you have to feel 100% confident before you can land your first client. That comes with experience.
But if you’re stuck in a place where you’re doing all the things... posting content, scrolling job boards, applying to RFPs, and nothing is working, the issue probably isn’t strategy. It’s probably YOU.
If you’re struggling to get clients right now, I want you to take an honest look at how you’re showing up. Are you confident?
Clients are secondary. Confidence is the starting line. That’s the shift that turns effort into results.
Believe in you and your clients will too.
Remember that quote we started with: With confidence, you have won before you have started. Approach each conversation you have as that winner! That's your key.
If you need help finding your confidence I can help.
It's the only reason I'm here at all is to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
Reach out to me on social media to chat. Let’s have that conversation where I can make that light bulb come on for you, to remind you of how amazing you are!
And if you want to work with me, check out all of the ways you can do that, from free stuff to private coaching options at YourVAMentor.com/links
Thanks for tuning in this week, I’m Tracey D’Aviero The Confidence Coach for VAs - I’ll see you next time!
Let’s talk about money. More specifically, your rates. If you’re still charging the same hourly rate you started with, this episode is going to give you the confidence boost you need to raise your prices and own your value.
You’ve likely heard this quote before. Warren Buffett said, “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” And that mindset is exactly what we’re digging into today.
We'll begin with something that might be hard to hear.
When you undercharge, it hurts more than just your bank account. It affects how you show up. It chips away at your confidence. And it attracts the kind of clients who don’t really see the value in what you do.
When you price yourself too low, it sends a message — not just to clients, but to yourself. That message says, “I’m not sure I’m worth more.”
And over time, that becomes a belief. A belief that you’re only capable of earning a certain amount. A belief that clients won’t pay more. A belief that you have to hustle harder just to stay afloat.
In this episode we talk about how to reframe the way you think about your prices, and how to communicate an increase to your clients.
I can help you through this whole process.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Reach out to me on social media to chat. Make me one of your daily conversations this week! I’m exciting to help you get to where you want to go.
And if you want to work with me, check out all of the ways you can do that, from free stuff to private coaching options at YourVAMentor.com/links
Thanks for tuning in this week, I’m Tracey D’Aviero The Confidence Coach for VAs - I’ll see you next time!
That’s it for today. Now go raise those rates.
Today I want to talk about what to focus on in your first 90 days as a VA - and what to ignore (for now!).
And even if you are already in business, this episode will serve as a reference to you to ensure that you are focusing on the right things.
When you're just starting out as a virtual assistant, everything can feel urgent.
You might have a mile-long to-do list, a dozen tabs open in your browser all the time, and your mind might be spinning - trying to figure out where to begin.
It’s really easy to fall in the trap of doing all the things, all at once, but that’s exactly what can slow you down.
Let’s walk through what your first 90 days should really look like.
Because there are just a few things that matter in those early weeks, and a whole bunch that can absolutely wait.
The biggest mistake new virtual assistants make in those first 90 days: focusing on the wrong things.
In this episode we'll talk about what's important to get you started, get you moving, and what will help you start to get great clients.
I can help you set up your plan to get it done.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Reach out to me on social media to chat. Make me one of your daily conversations this week! I’m exciting to help you get to where you want to go.
And if you want to work with me, check out all of the ways you can do that, from free stuff to private coaching options at YourVAMentor.com/links
Thanks for tuning in this week, I’m Tracey D’Aviero The Confidence Coach for VAs - I’ll see you next time!
Resources:
Rate Calculation Package for VAs
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering why you keep landing clients who don’t value your skills, your time, or your expertise, you might need to revisit how you position yourself, how you communicate your value, and how you negotiate your role in your client’s business.
That's why today I want to talk about what high-level clients actually look for in a VA. And I’ll tell you right now, it’s not what you think.
It’s not about being the fastest or the cheapest.
It’s not about saying yes to everything or being available 24/7.
It’s definitely not about how many software tools you’ve used or whether you’ve done the exact same thing for someone else.
It’s about something deeper.
Something that, once you understand it, can completely change the types of clients you attract and the way they treat you. And it starts with knowing the difference between low-end clients and high-level ones.
Let’s start there!
And if you’re looking for more support in building a confident and profitable VA business, check out my programs and services on my website - the link in in the show notes but you can go to YourVAMentor.com/links for everything I do.
Thanks for tuning in to this episode - be sure to share it with a VA colleague if you think they would find it valuable.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week. I’ll see you next time!
First things first I want to say welcome to episode 150!! I'm so proud to have started this podcast back in July 2022, and I've come to you at least once a week since then. I've only missed a couple! So yay me and yay you too, I so appreciate you continuing to tune in every week. If you weren't here, I probably wouldn't be either!
Today I want to talk about attending business events to grow your VA business.
Getting out to business events is always going to be the number one way for you to get clients, become a better business owner, and even just enjoy your business more!
Now, when you hear the word “event,” you might immediately picture an expensive conference at a hotel, or maybe you think about sitting in a virtual Zoom room with your camera off, feeling awkward.
But here’s the thing. Events come in all shapes and sizes. Whether they’re virtual or in-person, free or paid, big or small, they can give you a real energy boost and a clear path to grow your business.
So in this episode, we’re going to walk through why attending events matters, how to choose the ones that are worth your time, and how to make the most of them once you’re there.
And if you’re looking for more support in building a confident and profitable VA business, check out my programs and services on my website - the link in in the show notes but you can go to YourVAMentor.com/links for everything I do.
Thanks for tuning in to this episode - be sure to share it with a VA colleague if you think they would find it valuable.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week. I’ll see you next time!
In today’s episode, we are jumping in to an unexpected source of business wisdom - The Pitt, the new medical drama on Max, or Crave here in Canada.
It’s one of our indulgences, and as I always tell you, look for business lessons in your everyday life - so that’s where this is coming from.
Are you watching The Pitt? It’s the new medical show starring Noah Wyle who was Dr. John Carter on ER. It’s super fast paced and exciting - well, maybe exciting is the wrong word to describe it, but it is interesting, shocking, sentimental and a whole lot more, all wrapped up in one.
If you aren’t watching it, you have watched medical dramas before, I’m sure. So you can liken these lessons to the show that you did watch - but if you aren’t watching The Pitt, you should check it out- I highly recommend it!
I know, you might be thinking, “What does a fast-paced emergency department have to do with running a virtual assistant business?” Well, surprisingly, quite a lot!
Just like in the ER, as VAs, we need to be adaptable, focused, and always learning. Okay I do understand that it’s not life and death, what we do, but there are still some very important lessons that we can draw on from the two industries.
So today I’m going to break down 10 lessons from The Pitt that you can apply to your VA business right now. Let’s get into it!
Which of these lessons resonates with you the most? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Send me a message or connect with me on social media.
And if you’re looking for more support in building a confident and profitable VA business, check out my programs and services on my website - the link in in the show notes but you can go to YourVAMentor.com/links for everything I do.
Thanks for tuning in to this episode - be sure to share it with a VA colleague if you think they would find it valuable.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week - But really, go check out The Pitt. It’s so good - and season one is nearly over!
I’ll see you next time!
Today we are talking with Operations Strategist Faith Morris about how she got started in her business Remote Operations Partner, the services she offers her clients, and what business owners should know about working with someone remotely.
Faith is an Operations Strategist for high-achieving entrepreneurs drowning in ideas but stuck in execution. She helps business owners who feel overwhelmed by the day to day grind. She helps her clients focus on what they do best and ensures that everything else runs smoothly. She has a unique story and a fun personality that she will share on the episode.
Tune in to learn about:
- How everything you have done before is important to your business now
- How she went from Australia to here and carved her own path as an entrepreneur
- Why knowing what you do best is essential to getting the right clients
- Why showing up in your community is the key to success
- How to say no to business owners (and why!)
- And a whole lot more!
To get in touch with Faith, connect with her here:
Website: https://faithemorris.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faith-morris-8556a5152/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@remote.ops.partner
About Faith: Hi, I'm Faith Morris, and with over 8 years of global travel under my belt, I learned to adapt, strategize, and problem-solve in dynamic environments. Upon returning to the U.S., I put those skills to work managing operations and marketing for my family’s masonry business—securing a fully booked, nine-month schedule. That’s when I realized my knack for transforming chaos into clarity.
Now, I partner with business owners who feel overwhelmed by the day-to-day grind. If your to-do list feels endless or you hesitate to delegate because “no one will do it like you would,” I’m here to bridge that gap. I’ll help you focus on what you do best while ensuring the rest runs smoothly.
Whether I’m experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, paddling out on the water, or creating a cozy, organized home, I bring the same balance of creativity and structure to my work. I thrive on identifying inefficiencies, creating streamlined solutions, and ultimately, giving you back the time and headspace you deserve.
Enjoy!
I remember a time when I was convinced that if I just listed all the amazing features of my services, people would immediately see the value and sign up.
I would outline every detail, the number of sessions, the worksheets included, the email support, thinking that surely more information meant a stronger case.
But instead of drawing people in, I often got a polite "I'll think about it" or, worse, no response at all. It was frustrating because I knew I had something valuable to offer, but for some reason, my message wasn’t connecting.
That’s when I realized something crucial: Selling isn’t about listing features.
It is about creating an emotional connection and solving real problems in a way that resonates with people.
If you have ever struggled to get people excited about what your VA services, it is not because your service isn’t good enough. It is because facts alone don’t inspire action.
Today, we are going to talk about why we naturally lean toward selling with features, why that approach doesn’t work, and what you should do instead to truly connect with your audience and get clients.
It’s a different lens to look through but it makes everything so much easier!
That’s all I’ve got for you this week. As always, if you are looking for more resources to grow your amazing VA business, connect with me on my website YourVAMentor.com/links is where you can find all of my trainings and resources and link to connect with me on social media.
Thanks for listening - I’ll see you next time!
If you have ever had a client who constantly checks in, questions every step you take, or struggles to trust you to do your job, you are not alone. This is a common challenge, and the good news is that there are strategies to manage these situations professionally and effectively.
By the end of this episode, you will understand:
- How to recognize micromanagement and trust issues in your clients
- Why some clients behave this way
- How to set clear boundaries and expectations
- How to have a professional conversation to shift the dynamic
Micromanaging clients can be frustrating, but by setting clear boundaries and communicating effectively, you can turn these situations around. You are a business owner, not an employee, and you deserve to work with clients who trust and respect you.
If you found this episode helpful, I’d love for you to share it with another VA who might be struggling with the same issue.
If you want more support reach out to me on social media for a chat. I’m on every platform, so just find me where you are and let’s talk about it.
I’m here to help - it’s the only reason I’m here at all, to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
I’ve helped hundreds (and hundreds) of VAs get unstuck from the things that are holding them back from creating the VA business of their dreams - and I can help you too.
Together we can find the issue you are struggling with and help move you through it. I have a lot of different ways you can work with me - private coaching, group coaching, live workshops, self study courses. Check them out at yourvamentor.com/links. Let’s talk about which one might be the right option for you.
I’m Tracey D’Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs, thanks so much for tuning in to this episode. I’ll see you next time!
Today's Quote: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” - Peter Drucker
If you’ve ever wondered where to start with marketing or how to connect with the right clients, this episode is for you.
I know firsthand how overwhelming it can be to figure out what’s working and what’s not when it comes to marketing.
I’ve been where you are. I’ve cruised job boards, classified ads, I’ve sent direct mail, I’ve done cold calls, I’ve spent hours on social media trying to network. I’ve written thousands of pieces of content to market my business.
When you are just looking for any old client, you can run yourself ragged doing all the things.
But if you seek out only high quality clients, then it becomes so much easier - you get clarity, you get confidence, and you get clients.
So, let’s break this down step by step and help you build a marketing strategy that fits your skills and attracts the clients you truly want to work with.
So, let’s circle back to today’s quote: The best way to predict the future is to create it. - Peter Drucker
Are you creating your future? You can, you know. It just takes some planning, some confidence, some focus - and action. Nothing happens until you take action.
Now, here’s your action step for today: Take 10 minutes to write down a description of your ideal client. Then, look at your current marketing efforts and ask yourself - are you speaking directly to that type of client? If not, what can you tweak?
If you want more support in building a client-attracting strategy that really works, reach out to me on social media for a chat. I’m on every platform, so just find me where you are and let’s talk about it.
I’m here to help - it’s the only reason I’m here at all, to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
I’ve helped hundreds (and hundreds) of VAs get unstuck from the things that are holding them back from creating the VA business of their dreams - and I can help you too.
I’m Tracey D’Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs, and I want to thank you so much for tuning in to this episode. I’ll see you next time!
Let’s talk about growth!
Because let’s be real, running a business isn’t just about getting clients and completing tasks. If you want a sustainable, thriving VA business, you need to be growing every single month.
The good news is that growth doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You don’t have to change everything overnight.
Today I’ll share five simple ways you can grow as a business owner every month.
They are strategies you can implement right away, and act on consistently - and you will begin to see results in your confidence, in your skills, and ultimately in your success.
I’d love to see you implement at least one after this episode.
Growth doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By taking small, intentional steps every month, you’ll see incredible progress in your skills, confidence, and business success.
And like I always tell you just 15 or 20 minutes a day of doing something for YOU and YOUR business, can make a really big impact in a month, or two.
I’d love to hear from you! Which of these strategies are you already using, and which one will you commit to this month? Email me or drop me a DM.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you become a ridiculously good VA.
Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Work with me: https://YourVAMentor.com/links
Too many virtual assistants struggle with marketing because they feel like they have to present themselves in a certain way - like they have to be polished, super-professional, or more like someone else in their industry.
But really, your best marketing strategy is authenticity. When you show up as yourself, you attract the right clients - the ones who actually align with your values and work style.
In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about why authenticity matters, how to apply it to your marketing, and how being yourself can actually make marketing and attracting your best clients easier.
I’ll also give you some tips to take action on right away to help you market your business in a way that feels natural and comfortable.
Being yourself in your marketing isn’t just about making things easier for you. It’s about building a business that feels aligned and attracts the right people. The clients who appreciate you, respect you, and want to work with you specifically.
So, what’s one way you can start showing up more authentically in your business today?
Send me a message or comment—I’d love to hear from you! And if you are ready to get help with your VA business, definitely email me or DM me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all - to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
And I wanted to leave you with a remind of today’s quote: Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.
You are unique and you are amazing. There are clients out there that you are a perfect fit for - there are clients who really value you and need you. Go find them.
Thanks for joining me today. I'm Tracey D'Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs - I'll see you next time!
Today let’s talk about something that is crucial for your success as a virtual assistant, your mindset. If you want to attract the best clients, the ones who respect you, value your work, and pay you well, then it all starts with what is going on in your head.
If you have ever struggled with setting your rates, dealing with imposter syndrome, or feeling like you have to take on any client who comes your way, this episode is for you. I am going to walk you through the mindset shifts that will help you stop settling for just any clients and start bringing in the right ones.
Get your mindset where it needs to be. (hint hint, think you CAN!)
If you want to attract the best virtual assistant clients, you need to:
- Think like a business owner, not an employee.
- Believe you deserve to be paid well.
- Set and enforce boundaries.
- Show up with confidence.
- Be selective about who you work with.
Now, here is my challenge for you. Take a few minutes today to reflect on where your mindset might be holding you back. Are you undervaluing yourself? Are you working with clients who do not respect your time? Are you hesitating to raise your rates? Pick one mindset shift to work on this week and take action.
Don’t settle for any old client. Go find your best clients!
And if you need support in building your confidence and finding the right clients, I would love to help. I am here for one reason only, to help you become a ridiculously good VA. Send me an email or DM me on social media to chat about what you are struggling with, and talk about what your next step needs to be to move forward.
Thanks for being here with me this week. I’ll see you next time!
Networking isn’t just about talking and pitching yourself. It’s about making meaningful connections, and one of the best ways to do that is by being a great listener.
In this episode, we’ll talk about why active listening is such a powerful tool for virtual assistants, how to develop it, and how to use it to build stronger business relationships.
Today’s quote: When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen. - Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway is right - listen to the next conversations that happen around you. Listen to how people talk, how the people they are talking to listen (or don’t).
Watch what people type in social media comments. It’s alarming to see how when someone says they are looking for VA help for instance, and they say to email them, that some VAs say ‘DM’d you'. They aren’t listening.
Or when someone says on Threads I’m so excited, I’ve decided to hire a VA this year, and then their comments and DMs are filled with pitches. That’s not the response to that conversation starter (all social media posts are conversation starters, did I say that?)
Now, I’d love to hear from you! Have you ever had a networking experience where active listening made a big difference? Share your thoughts with me on social media or in my VA community—I’d love to continue the conversation.
If you found this episode helpful, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review. And if you’re looking for more strategies to build your VA business with confidence, check out my coaching programs and resources at YourVAMentor.com.
I am here to help - it’s what I always tell you, it’s the only reason I’m here at all - to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Thanks for tuning in, I’ll see you next time on The Ridiculously Good VA Show!
Not all social media platforms are created equal, especially when it comes to marketing your VA services.
Choosing the right platform isn’t just about where you like to spend time—it’s about where your ideal clients are spending their time.
If you’re putting all your effort into a platform where your audience isn’t active, you’re working harder than you need to.
Before we get into specifics, consider these key questions:
- Who is your ideal client?
- Where do they hang out online?
- What type of content are you comfortable creating consistently?
Your answers to these questions will help determine which platform makes the most sense for you.
The best social media platform for your VA business isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer—it’s the one where your ideal clients are most active and where you can show up consistently.
Focus on cultivating relationships, not on promoting your VA business.
So, I challenge you this week to do a little research. Look at where your past or ideal clients are spending their time online, and decide which platform you want to focus on moving forward.
When you focus on the relationships you are going to go much farther, much faster. It’s about the people. You don’t need hundreds of connections to get one client, or 10 clients. You need just enough. Think quality over quantity, every time when marketing your VA business.
I’d love to hear your thoughts! Which platform has worked best for you? Connect with me on Threads or Instagram, or drop a comment in our Facebook VA community: The Virtual Assistant Lounge
And if you’re looking for more personalized guidance on growing your VA business, be sure to check out The VIrtual Circle. We are currently on winter hiatus but we pick up the group again in March and I’d love to have you join us.
It’s the only reason I do this, folks, is to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
I’ll see you next week!
Today we are talking with VA Jacki Hollywood Brown about data organization, data management and records management.
Jacki is an organization specialist who helps her clients by designing structures and procedures to help them improve their efficiency and productivity.
Tune in to learn about:
- Mistakes VAs (and business owners!) make with data and records management
- Why your brain should not be a storage facility
- How to turn data into usable information
- Privacy and security best practices
- Password management
- And a whole lot more!
To get in touch with Jacki to discuss your support needs, connect with her here:
Website: https://productivelyorganized.com LinkedIn: https://[https://linkedin.com/in/jackihollywoodbrown or book a discovery call with her here: https://productivelyorganized.com/contact/
About this episode: Jacki Hollywood Brown is a military spouse and professional organizer-turned Virtual Assistant, and she brings her outstanding organizational skills to her VA clients by offering boutique VA services. I spoke with Jacki about the importance of creating and updating procedures and processes in our business (and in our client's businesses). We also talked about what you should have in place to protect your business data, and so much more.
Enjoy!
Whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your VA business to the next level, you’re in the right place.
Today, we’re diving into a topic that I get asked about all the time: how to find clients for your virtual assistant business using Instagram.
Now I’m going to let you know that I am not an Instagram expert, but I do know some things that will be helpful and that’s what I want to share with you in this episode.
Instagram isn’t just a platform for sharing pretty pictures; it’s a powerful tool for networking, building relationships, and landing clients.
If you’ve been unsure how to use Instagram effectively for your business, you’ll get some actionable strategies today that you can implement right away.
Here's where you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virtualassistant.coach
After you listen to this episode, then it’s your turn.
Take one of the steps we discussed today and put it into action. If you have specific questions or want to share your progress, send me a DM or tag me in your post. I’d love to cheer you on and help you get where you want to go!
Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of The Ridiculously Good VA Show.
If you found it helpful, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your fellow VAs.
Until next time, keep taking those confident steps forward!
One of the biggest mistakes I see VAs make is trying to do everything at once. Social media posts, cold emails, joining every networking group, tweaking their website… sound familiar?
You’re not alone - I do the same thing!
While those are all great strategies in the long term, they can dilute your energy and results when you’re looking for a VA client quickly.
The key is choosing one strategy and going all in. Why? Because focus brings clarity, and clarity brings results.
By narrowing your efforts, you can:
- Give your strategy the attention it deserves.
- Track your results effectively.
- Avoid feeling overwhelmed.
So, what strategy should you choose? That’s up to you and your strengths, but I’ll guide you through an example here to help you decide and take action.
I hope this framework gives you the focus and confidence to find your next client. Remember, it’s all about taking consistent, intentional action. You’ve got this!
You CAN get a client in a week. When it’s your main focus and you do the right things, it’s easier than you think.
If you want to get really focused and move your VA business forward in just a week, you should join me for my 5 Day challenge From Consults to Clients that starts next week! Register at https://yourvamentor.com/5day!
Thanks so much for being here this week, I’ll see you next time!
I’m thrilled to bring you something extra special as we wrap up the year. As we kick off the new year, I thought it would be the perfect time to highlight my top 5 episodes from 2025. These episodes resonated the most with you, my listeners, and I’m so excited to revisit them today. If you’re new here or missed any of these gems, this is your chance to catch up. And if you’ve heard them before, consider this a refresher to inspire your next steps.
So grab your favorite beverage, settle in, and let’s dive into these game-changing episodes.
We recap the episodes in THIS episode - and below are the links to listen to the full episodes:
- How to Find a Virtual Assistant Client in a Week (listen here) 2. Essential Skills Every 50K VA Must Have (listen here) 3. How You Can Stand Out in the VA Industry (listen here) 4. 5 Social Media Content Tricks for Virtual Assistants (listen here) 5. Master Your Communication Skills to Be an Elite VA (listen here) Each of these episodes tackled a key challenge or skill that virtual assistants face, and they’ve all been pivotal in helping you grow your business and thrive in this industry.
If any of these episodes spoke to you or if you missed one, I encourage you to go back, re-listen, and take action on what you learn. Growth doesn’t happen by chance; it happens when you show up and put in the work.
Today’s quote: A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better. -Jim Rohn
If you are struggling, I’m here to help. If you are doing okay, I’m here for you too! Let’s work together to make your VA business all you want it to be.
I want to thank for continuing to listen, and I look forward to bringing you even more awesome episodes in 2025.
Be sure to subscribe, leave me a review, and share the podcast or specific episodes with your friends and colleagues.
Here’s to your success and being a ridiculously good VA - I can’t wait to help you become just that!
In today’s episode, we’re tackling three crucial areas that can make or break your success as a VA: mastering boundaries, confidently setting and increasing your rates, and fostering strong, healthy client relationships. These are skills that require courage, clarity, and a whole lot of practice.
Confidence is the foundation of every successful VA business. It impacts everything you do—from saying "no" to an unreasonable client request to quoting your rates without hesitating or negotiating. When you show up confidently, people trust you, value your work, and respect your time.
But here’s the thing: confidence isn’t something you’re born with—it’s something you build. Every time you stand firm on a boundary, communicate your worth, or handle a tricky client situation with grace, you’re building confidence.
Confidence isn’t something that happens overnight, but with each boundary you set, rate you own, and client relationship you nurture, you’ll see it grow. Remember, you’re not just a virtual assistant—you’re a business owner, a professional, and someone who deserves to be respected and valued.
If you need help mastering your boundaries, your rates, and your client relationships, I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call.
You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
As the new year approaches, it’s time to reflect, plan, and gear up for an incredible year ahead. Hopefully it will even be your best year yet!
Today, we’ll talk about setting clear goals, streamlining your systems, and building the confidence you need to elevate your VA business.
By the end of this episode, you’ll have actionable steps to take and the motivation to get started.
Get ready to take some notes, and don’t forget to share this episode with a fellow VA who could use a little extra inspiration for the new year!
Efficiently implementing the actions it takes to run your amazing VA business means planning - and all that means is knowing what you need to be doing and when - and why your are doing it. What leads into it and what happens next.
When you are really focused on success, these things are important and necessary. Clarity will show you the path and you will be able to walk it easily and efficiently.
I hope you’re feeling inspired and ready to take action. If you need extra support, check out my monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants - The Virtual Circle - or book a call with me to talk about how I can help you grow your VA business.
I’m going to leave it here for this week, but I do hope to hear from you. I’d love to have you in the mastermind group - success will follow!
I’m Tracey DAviero, Confidence Coach for VAs and I’ll see you next time!
I’m so glad you’re here today because we’re diving into a topic that’s close to my heart and one I think we all struggle with from time to time: how to tackle those big, overwhelming tasks that make us feel like we’ll never get ahead.
You know the ones I mean—whether it’s launching a new service in your VA business, planning a big client project, or even something personal like organizing your home office. Those giant tasks can feel so intimidating that sometimes we don’t even know where to start.
But here’s the good news: breaking large tasks into smaller, manageable pieces is a game-changer. It’s not just about making the work easier; it’s about boosting your clarity, motivation, time management, and even your problem-solving skills.
Today, we’re going to explore exactly why this strategy works so well and how you can apply it in your business and life. I’ll share practical tips, leave room for you to reflect on how this can fit into your world, and give you action steps to implement right away.
You have to take the first step to your success. I can help! It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings.
If every morning you hit the ground running, or take a huge breath in to figure out what the heck to start with - and you keep pushing stuff off to the next day, it’s time to get your big stuff under control.
Time management needs to be mastered, and it takes time to do that - but you can start by breaking down your tasks into smaller pieces. I can teach you to do that. Book your Cut to the Chase call with me today to talk about how I can help at YourVAMentor.com/chase.
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Today we are talking about social media, and I already feel tired just saying that.
How about you??
I know how overwhelming social media can be - we put so much effort into and it and we don’t see the results.
Social media is a very important part of your online presence.
We work virtually and so a lot of our clients need to build trust before they will work with us.
You have to get really clear on what you are trying to use your social media for - often it’s getting clients, but think about the overarching strategy that you are trying to put into place.
Yes, you need visibility. You want to build your authority and showcase your expertise. You want to grow your audience, You want to get clients.
Doing each of these things requires a slightly different strategy.
That's what we are talking about it today's episode.
If you need help taking a step forward, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I am hosting a full day content creation workshop for VAs on Dec 6 and we are going to help VAs just like you create their content strategy - and it doesn’t mean posting 10x a day to Tiktok or making 5 Instagram reels. It is about doing what works for you and making it cohesive and more effective.
'That starts with knowing who your target market is - your ideal client - and what kind of content the find helpful or interesting or inspiring.
Check out the workshop and join us if it's right for you:
https://YourVAMentor.com/workshop
If you aren't sure, DM me on Facebook, Instagram or Linked In to chat about it.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Today, we’re diving into two of the most important aspects of running your VA business: setting your rates with confidence and finding the clients who value your expertise.
It’s important to understand how to price your services, and also how to attract quality clients.
I do lots of trainings on these two things regularly, but it’s an important message to keep on sharing so today we will talk about how the two fit together!
Have you heard my story about how I doubled my rates overnight and then booked out my VA business?
The two things really can go hand in hand.
When you make a bold move like increasing your rates higher than your current clients are paying, and you start connecting with more of your ideal clients, you can blow the lid off your business easily.
Why? Confidence is one of the driving forces. Value is another. We’ll talk about those and more in today’s episode.
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live 50K Group Coaching coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. Register here now: 50K Bootcamp for VAs
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
So this isn’t an episode where you will learn about mindset, or time management or marketing your VA business. Not really, anyway.
In this episode I want to talk about your VA colleagues.
A supportive network is vital in any industry, but I really think having a solid community around you is essential for Virtual Assistants.
Over the years I have obviously connected with hundreds, maybe even thousands of VAs personally.
I have met a lot of VAs - at all stages of their business.
When I was a VA myself, we used to connect online in forums and attend live events that the associations ran, as often as we could.
We really wanted to get to know one another.
We needed to get to know one another.
It’s not that it has to be lonely to be a VA - but it often is.
You are not meant to do everything on your own when you work for yourself - and by yourself.
You still need community.
And I don’t mean surfing the local VA Facebook group for job opportunities.
I mean really connecting with people.
How many VAs do you actually know and talk with on a regular basis? That’s what I’m talking about in today's episode.
You don’t have to go far to find your people. We are right here!
I am right here. I can help.
It’s time. I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving forward. I offer private coaching, and a variety of group and self study training and coaching options that help them get there.
Take the first step to join The Virtual Circle today. Membership starts at just $49 per month and you will get the support, training, resources and community that you need for your VA business.
Check it out at YourVAMentor.com/TVC and drop me a message if you want to chat about how to join us.
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Every VA journey is unique. Yours is different than mine was, and mine was different that hers was.
We try to learn everything we can, and yet still some things don’t go the way we want them to, or the way we expected them to.
There can be tough moments.
Your job is to figure out a way to get our of them - and not repeat them again.
Tough situations help us learn how to do things better.
Let’s talk today about a few things that might go wrong - and how to fix them and move forward.
Failure will happen, things will go wrong, and it’s how you bounce back from those failures that will help you grow in your VA business.
Obviously we hope nothing ever goes wrong - but sometimes it does and we need to handle it.
Learning to deal with things in a professional manner, without letting one walk all over you, is resilient.
It’s the much better way to be!
What have you experienced that has made you feel like throwing in the towel, or running away to hide, or dumping a client, or even is just giving you stress of any kind?
Fix it. And move on. That’s the advice. Jane says you can do it, and I agree with her. You deserve everything you dream of.
Let’s circle back to today’s quote by Sheryl Sandberg: Resilience is not about overcoming, but becoming. It is about finding yourself in the process.
Staying in business long term means building that resilience. And it’s not about overcoming things, really, it’s about you finding yourself as a business person. Not just a VA, someone’s helper. But a bona fide expert in helping others. That’s you!
Seek out support if you can’t do it on your own. It will be money well spent.
You can do this. I know you can. I can help.
It’s time. I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group The Virtual Circle, my group coaching program 50K Bootcamp, and my self study trainings like my Getting Started program, my monthly email membership The Virtual Toolkit, and more. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
A lot of the marketing for your business will occur when you aren’t even talking directly to someone - on social media or in other conversations.
But you still can control what is said, when you leverage social proof.
Social proof leverages the opinions and feedback of other people to talk about how great your product or service is.
For your Virtual Assistant business, being able to share social proof can really help build the know, like and trust with those people that haven't worked with you before.
What do I mean by social proof?
Wikipedia: Social proof (or informational social influence) is a psychological and social phenomenon wherein people copy the actions of others in choosing how to behave in a given situation. The term was coined by Robert Cialdini in his 1984 book Influence: Science and Practice.
Social proof comes in many forms. Some you might have thought of before, and some you may not have. But all of them are effective ways to get the word out about your services.
We'll talk about how to collect, create and use social proof in your VA business so that clients will feel more comfortable making the decision to work with you!
I’d love to help you get there.
It’s time. I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group The Virtual Circle, my group coaching program 50K Bootcamp, and my self study trainings like my Getting Started program, my monthly email membership The Virtual Toolkit, and more. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. Register here now: 50K Bootcamp for VAs
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
The number one thing that VAs come to me for help with - and the ones that don’t come to me also want to know this …
...where to find clients?
We have this sense that when we build it they will come and that is so not the case when we start our VA business.
We struggle trying to perfect our website, our social media like our IG grid, our branding - and then when we finally deem all of that to be perfect and ready, we have no idea how to get clients.
To have a VA business, you need to have clients. Without it, you have a hobby - or a job that pays like crap.
So you have to prioritize learning how to find clients in order for your VA business to be successful.
And that starts with where to look, which is often the most important part.
In a nutshell, you have to find the places where your people are hanging out, and then go hang out with them there.
That’s it, that’s the advice. You know I tell you exactly this when we talk - when you ask for advice, that’s what I tell you to do.
To find the place, or places, you need to know who your people are - and then where they go.
Today I will tell you 8 places to look for clients.
Business can be hard if you don’t. Once again, it’s not about getting somewhere quickly. It’s about having the right plan, with the right steps - and moving towards it every day.
Find your people, find your places, and get clients.
I’d love to help you get there.
It’s time. I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group The Virtual Circle, my group coaching program 50K Bootcamp, and my self study trainings like my Getting Started program, my monthly email membership The Virtual Toolkit, and more. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. Register here now: 50K Bootcamp for VAs
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Like anywhere you are trying to go, you need to know the way to go.
You can call it a roadmap, a plan, a pathway, whatever you want - but basically it means you need step by step knowledge of the way from here to there, clearly mapped out, before you start.
When I tell you that you need to set your VA service rates, there is a process to do that the right way. You can’t just pick a number out of thin air.
When I tell you that you need a target market, it’s because you need to know who you are talking to and where you need to go to find them and talk to them.
When I tell you that you need to know how long everything takes you to do in your VA business, you need to actually do it and time it and set parameters about how you will do it again moving forward.
Before I did any of these things in my business, I did the wrong things.
I picked a number out of thin air. My business made no money for years.
I marketed to everyone. I had all kinds of different clients and did whatever they asked, and I never knew how to get a new client when I needed one.
I worked with open ended times for tasks. I wasted so much time doing things, and without processes I always had to try to remember to do something when I went to do it again a few months later.
Managing your time is so important as a VA, but being able to follow proven ways of getting things done matters too.
Not only do you work happier, you avoid burnout, you get more done, you make more money, and you deal with much less anxiety in your VA business when you have a roadmap.
It’s not about getting somewhere quickly. It’s about having the right plan, with the right steps - and moving towards it every day.
One step at a time will get you there faster than you even realize.
I’d love to help you get there.
It’s time. I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group The Virtual Circle, my group coaching program 50K Bootcamp, and my self study trainings like my Getting Started program, my monthly email membership The Virtual Toolkit, and more. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. Register here now: 50K Bootcamp for VAs
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Today I want to talk about marketing - but not just advertising your business, or getting visibility - I want to talk about why you need to do things a certain way to get better results.
It's easy to do marketing. But to do it well? You need to understand why certain things work.
If you tuned in to my interview with Alicia Croci of Wildly Creative Studio, you will know that she mentioned the psychology of sales. That’s the reason that people say yes, or say no, or engage or don’t engage with you.
There are certain things that you need to realize about sales, about marketing, and about business - that will help you get better results from everything that you do.
I’m going to talk about 10 of them in today’s episode.
Marketing is an essential part of getting clients for your VA business. You have to do it or you won’t have a VA business soon.
So take some of these tips and implement them today. Or better yet, let me help you build your system and help you get clients.
Let’s circle back to today’s quote: Marketing’s job is never done. It’s about perpetual motion. We must continue to innovate every day. Remember this, and remember that taking just one step every day is perpetual motion. You can do it!
It’s time. I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Here's how I can help you:
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. Register here now: 50K Bootcamp for VAs
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
There are a lot of reasons why you might stop marketing your VA business.
Usually, it’s because you get a few clients and then you get busy working with them.
Sometimes it’s because you have taken an actual break in your business.
Or sometimes it’s because you get burned out from trying all the wrong things, and you give up.
In any case, let’s talk about how to restart.
’ve stopped and restarted my marketing a lot over the years that I’ve been in business. I’ve also helped a lot of other VAs get started again - it just takes a few steps.
And you should not feel bad if you haven’t done anything in a while. We will just start now!
Today we’ll talk about reframing your mindset, refreshing your online presence and profiles, and rekindling past connections - and then talk about how I can help you put your plan together to move forward.
It’s time. I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. Register here now: 50K Bootcamp for VAs
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Today we are talking with Energetic Business and Sales Coach Alicia Croci, from Wildly Creative Studio.
Alicia works with driven women who are looking to choose their wealthy - I love this!! - because not all of our businesses are the same.
Your wealthy might look like having three day weekends, or working with high level clients, or making a lot of money, or working less and making more.
Your 'wealthy' is yours alone! What does it look like for you?
Tune in to learn about:
- The role energetics plays in your VA business
- Why strategy is key to growing your VA business
- Why unfollows aren't a bad thing
- How to start building the business that suits your lifestyle
- Your next step to living your brand
- And a whole lot more!
To get in touch with Alicia, connect with her here:
Website: https://wildlycreativestudio.com Not Your Average Embodiment Workshop: https://wildlycreativestudio.myflodesk.com/embodiment-workshop Ready, Set, Grow: Ready Set Grow Program Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildlycreativestudio | https://www.instagram.com/aliciacroci/
About this episode: Alicia Croci is an energetic business and sales coach. Four years ago, her corporate job tried to push her back to the office, and she said “fuck that,” starting her own online business. She now helps women across the globe market their business, stand out, sell out launches, and free up space in their calendars.
As a mom and business owner, she gets it—business isn’t for the weak. But with the right strategies, it CAN feel simple when you focus on what lights you up.
After burning out in corporate, managing 80+ social media accounts for pennies, she built her own business. In just 12 months, she was making $8k+ months serving ONLY 8 clients at a time.
In September 2023, she found out she was expecting her first baby, and knew her business model had to change. So, she burned it all to the ground, retired her highest-selling offer, and created a whole new offer suite for her DFY agency & added on coaching. And it was the best thing she ever did.
Now she helps women define what “wealthy” means to them, simplify their business, and truly help them build a legacy business that allows them the space to do whatever they want with their life.
Enjoy!
Networking is always going to be the solution that I mention when it comes to finding clients.
But networking is also how you grow your business. Your contacts. Your audience.
Connecting with the right people can lead to the best clients. Collaborations. Awesome learning opportunities.
When it comes to your VA business, the people you know can help you grow in every area.
I used to travel to events to network with my clients and their colleagues. And yes it cost me money, but I made much more money from the clients that I picked up there than I ever spent.
Luckily we have much more opportunity locally and online now to network but it’s all networking.
How do you feel about networking?
Today I want to talk about how to start networking with new people.
It's easy, and it's something that I can teach you to do.
It's time. You know it. It's time for you to take a step forward so you can build that VA business that you dream of.
I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. Register here now: 50K Bootcamp for VAs
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
One of the things I help Virtual Assistants do is to change the way they approach their relationship and their role with their VA clients.
In order to not be a task taker or a girl Friday, you need to step up.
You need to change how you act and how you talk to them, so that they see you as the expert that you are.
When you change how YOU see you, you can elevate your service offerings, charge higher rates, and more confidently support your clients.
Today I want to share 4 really simple ways to change how you do things - I promise you it will make a huge difference!
And if you want to become a part of my VA communities, let me know. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. LAUNCHING SEPTEMBER 2024, stay tuned!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Today I want to talk about improving and expanding your skill set as a VA.
Quote: Education is not the filling of a pot, but the lighting of a fire. - W.B. Yeats
How awesome is that quote? I just love it. Education is the lighting of a fire - that is precisely how I want you to think about it!
So because I really love this quote that’s where I want to start today.
Education is not the filling of a pot, but the lighting of a fire.
When we first start our VA business, there is much to learn.
Most VAs I know love to learn, so that’s usually a good thing.
Until you get stuck in the learning and you don’t move forward.
But that’s another conversation!
Here we are talking about fire.
When you got your VA business started, you had a fire in you.
You felt passionate about what you were doing, why you were doing it, and you were voraciously reading and learning everything you could about it so you could make a go of it.
Then you started your business and either did well or struggled.
But in either case, you probably settled down into the day to day and stopped learning.
I know for me I got so busy with client work that I really didn’t do much for myself anymore.
Maybe it’s the same for you.
But when we learn something new, there is a light that goes on - I think it’s that fire - and we see new possibilities, and new pathways to where we want to go.
You didn’t start your VA business to give yourself a job, you started it to help people. To help yourself and your family.
So I want to talk today about how to light that fire - that spark - and get you moving again.
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. LAUNCHING AUGUST 2024, stay tuned!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
In this episode we go over all of the details of my new group coaching program: Earn 50K as a VA: The Bootcamp for Virtual Assistants.
Are you struggling to attract clients or maintain consistent income in your VA business?
Do you feel like you're working endless hours without making the money you deserve?
If you’re tired of the 'feast or famine' cycle and want to break free from trading time for money, this bootcamp is designed for you.
When you first started your VA business, you were had that fire in you, you were passionate and you KNEW you were going to make a go of it. But running a business is tougher than it seems. The good news? Success in your VA business is just a few key steps away—steps you’ll learn to master in this program.
It’s time to kick your VA business into gear!
Earn 50K as a VA: Bootcamp for Virtual Assistants
Group starts September 25th!
In this 12-week bootcamp, you will focus on mastering the essential skills that will transform your business. These aren’t just strategies for now—they are foundational elements you can apply over and over as your business grows.
Here’s what you’ll master:
- Business Planning to map out a clear path to consistent income
- Time Management to increase productivity without burning out
- Services and Rates to attract high-paying clients with confidence
- Marketing to stand out and be seen as the expert in your niche
- Client Acquisition to consistently fill your calendar with the right clients
- Confidence to level up your services and increase your rates
Special LIVE session price! $897 (payment plan available)
Register here: https://50kvabiz.com
You’ll not only learn the strategy behind each of these areas—you’ll also gain practical, actionable steps to implement them right away.
What’s in it for you?
- Freedom: Design your VA business to fit your lifestyle and your goals, whether that's earning more while working less or scaling up to $50k and beyond.
- Consistency: Build a business model that attracts clients consistently, so you can leave 'feast or famine' income behind.
- Growth: Learn how to increase your income by adjusting your services, rates, and business model—without needing to work more hours.
- Confidence: Gain the skills and mindset to position yourself as a VA expert, enabling you to charge premium rates and attract dream clients.
- Support: Access ongoing support from an experienced VA coach (me!), a private Facebook community, and personalized check-ins to help keep you on track.
What will you learn?
Here is a taste of the brainy/strategy stuff you will learn:
- Build your business model to suit the lifestyle you want to live
- Set short term and long term goals, and hold yourself accountable to reach them
- Set up the financial end of your business so you make a profit
- Plan for support in your business (subcontractors, outsourcing, assistance, coaching) so you can grow it easily when the time comes
- Brainstorm new ideas for services offerings and programs
- Price your service offerings so you make money and your clients are happy
- Package your services easily so you can specialize and become the ‘go to expert’ in your field
- Plan to learn new skills and even change your niche or area of expertise if you want to
- Network more effectively with people so they can become clients or strategic partners
- Craft your marketing message so your clients know they want to work with you
- Position yourself as an expert in your field, so your network (and you!) recognize your value and expertise
- Turn a consultation into a sales conversation – and conversion!
and loads more stuff …
Resources you will receive:
- Easy yet complex exercises to help you understand the concepts of each section of the training
- Done for you templates and checklists to help you incorporate the new things you learn
- Resources and reference sheets to help build your procedures, systems and more
- On demand technical information you need (shopping cart? collaborative software? website stuff? Whatever you need for your business, we will find together!)
- Marketing planning and strategy tips
- Content planning and writing system for blogging or marketing
- How to do the ‘math’ behind successful networking
and a lot more …
Why invest in this bootcamp?
By the end of this bootcamp, you will have everything you need to build a thriving, profitable VA business. You’ll understand how to attract clients, set your rates, manage your time, and confidently grow your business, and a whole lot more.
Special LIVE session price! $897 (payment plan available)
What would a $50,000 a year work-from-home virtual assistant business help you do?
It could help you do whatever you want, like the practical stuff:
- Pay off your mortgage faster
- Contribute to the household as much (or more) than your significant other
- Ease your stress about money when bills come in the mail
- Put your kids through college
- Save for your retirement
- Help you afford private health insurance
or the fun stuff:
- Take a family vacation (or get away without the family!)
- Spoil yourself with your favourite toys
- ‘Me’ time stuff like regular massages or trips to the spa
- Hire a housekeeper or a gardener
- Go out for dinner more often
- Home renovations! (my favourite!)
Take this opportunity now to build the lifestyle you want.
This isn’t just another course. It’s a complete transformation of your business.
JOIN ME for this AMAZING BOOTCAMP – the next live session starts on September 25th!
https://50kvabiz.com
HERE ARE THE COURSE DETAILS:
Module 1 – Orientation
Orientation and Introductory Lesson – Setting Expectations Lesson 1 – Business Reporting Kit Lesson 2 – Goal Setting and Strategy Lesson 3 - Time Management and Productivity Lesson 4 - Standard Operating Procedures and Task Efficiency
Module 2 – Business Planning
Lesson 5 – Business Plan Lesson 6 – Business Models – Income Calculator Lesson 7 – Doing the Math – Tracking Income and Expenses Lesson 8 – Setting Financial Goals and Forecasting Revenue
Module 3 – Services and Rates
Lesson 9 – Skills Inventory/Choosing Your Best Services Lesson 10 – Training and Education Lesson 11 – Features and Benefits Lesson 12 – Pricing Your Services Lesson 13 – Packaging and Specializing Your Services Lesson 14 - Planning for Subcontractors and Team Members
Module 4 – Finding Clients
Lesson 15 – Finding Your Best Clients Lesson 16 – Effective Networking Lesson 17 – The Sales Conversation Lesson 18 – Handling Objections Lesson 19 – Responding to RFPs and Job Postings Lesson 20 – Contracts, Policies, Procedures and Business Documentation Lesson 21 - Onboarding and Communication
Module 5 – Marketing
Lesson 22 – The Marketing Cycle Lesson 23 – Your Marketing Message Lesson 24 – Marketing Planning and Strategy Lesson 25 – Blogging, Copywriting, Video Marketing Lesson 26 – Editorial Calendar and Content Creation (Manual and AI)
Module 6 – Putting It All Together
Lesson 27 – Branding and Professionalism Lesson 28 - Confidence and Crushing Imposter Syndrome Lesson 29 - Putting It All Together Lesson 30 – Assessment and Adjustment Lesson 31 – What’s Next?
Register here: https://50kvabiz.com
NOT SURE IF THIS IS THE PROGRAM FOR YOU?
Feel free to email me at tracey@yourvamentor.com and I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have!
Today I want to talk about how to confidently close high ticket VA clients.
The title of this episode really says everything most of you talk to me about in your VA business.
Confidence - you might not have this, either you feel it or I can tell when we talk Close - getting the client is often one of the biggest struggles you tell me you are experiencing. Sales feels icky. Closing a client feels icky. High-Ticket - everyone wants clients who pay well, somehow it seems easier to book out your business when the clients pay you more Clients - any size, we al want and need clients, or we have no business
So imagine my delight at being able to talk to you about all of these things in one episode!
How do you do it? Tune in to this episode to learn how!
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: https://yourvamentor.com/TVC . We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. STARTS SEPTEMBER 2024!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
This episode is the fourth in a series of four episodes that I want to share with you as a lead up to my 50K VA Group Coaching program that is launching in the next couple of weeks.
Today I want to talk about creating systems to scale your VA business.
Having strong systems in place helps to make sure that your business runs smoothly and that when you are ready to scale, you are able to. Effective systems are the backbone of business growth, and will help you stay in business a very long time!
Being able to scale your VA business whenever you want means being able to bring in new clients whenever you want, make more money whenever you want, take time off when you want, or travel, or make a big purchase, you get the picture.
Scaling is the way you grow, and it’s much easier to get yourself set up for growth than you think.
A report by Small Business Trends says that 66% of small businesses that do not adopt automation and advanced digital systems as part of their productivity, fail to do so because of ineffective systems and a lack of proper organization.
Think about it - we offer our clients organization, time management, productivity, and efficiency - but many of us don’t do it for ourselves... for our own VA businesses.
You have to treat your business just like your clients' businesses. It’s important, it needs structure and strategy. And it needs systems.
When you are organized and efficient, you can handle new clients easily. you can invest in training or support when you need it.
We weren’t meant to do everything ourselves. Even thought we are solopreneurs as VAs, there are things that others are better at than we are. There are things that others should be doing, instead of us.
Again, it’s all the same stuff we tell our clients. Some things are out of our area of expertise - and yet we struggle through them.
VAs tell me every day that they are learning to build their own website, learning how to do FB ads, learning how to use every CRM system out there in case a client needs them to know it.
We need to be able to identify when it’s important for us to learn or do something in our VA business, and when it’s more efficient or just smarter to outsource it
Today we are going to talk about the importance of systems in your VA business growth.
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: https://yourvamentor.com/TVC . We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. LAUNCHING AUGUST 2024, stay tuned!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
This episode is the third in a series of four episodes that I want to share with you as a lead up to my 50K VA Group Coaching program that is launching next month.
High-Value Clients – we are talking about this because it’s your missing link.
It’s the thing you don’t have right now, that you want. That you need.
It’s the whole basis for my 50K VA program that is launching soon.
You are struggling right now because you are not in contact with the right people.
It’s really as simple as that.
If you were networking or in a community with a whole bunch on entrepreneurs who had money, who were doing the stuff to grow their business, who were successful, but who didn’t have any VAs, would you be able to help them?
Yes you could! You can. And you will.
Instead you are eking through on social media with people who are starting their business, who are feeling the challenge of doing their admin while serving their clients too – and not doing it well.
So they hire you because they can’t afford an in house admin, and then they nickel and dime and micromanage everything you do because they are struggling to afford your services anyway.
Sound familiar?
Well maybe it’s not all that bad, but it goes down that path really quickly if you’re not paying attention.
If your clients are choosing your lowest package, or asking you what you charge to do this or that (okay then we’ll just do this), then you are going to struggle to build the business YOU want. That will help you live the lifestyle that YOU want.
And your business …. Quite frankly, it’s about you. It’s for you.
If you just wanted a paycheque, you could go and get a job.
You started your business because you want freedom, flexibility, and all that good stuff that goes with being a business owner.
So it’s time for you to find the clients that really need you – the ones that value you – high-value clients will help you build a high-value VA business.
And that’s what we are going to talk about on today’s episode.
If you are looking to build the kind of business I’m talking about - a 50K and beyond VA business, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
What's Next for You?
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. LAUNCHING AUGUST 2024, stay tuned!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
This episode is the second in a series of four episodes that I want to share with you as a lead up to my 50K VA Group Coaching program that is launching next month. And today we talk about getting the skills you need to do it.
What essential skills does a VA need to have to earn 50K a year or more? And why is it important to develop these essential skills?
Because they make up the foundation of what your business is - why it is better than the VA's beside you.
You become a better business owner, a better VA, and you will attract premium clients and manage your business effectively.
When you develop competence, your confidence becomes so much more apparent. Talking with clients about how you can help them is easy.
When you demonstrate professionalism, clients see it. High level clients seek out VAs who can handle all the balls they have in the air, without micro managing them.
When you showcase your essential technical and soft skills, you position yourself as a capable and reliable VA who can deliver what they promise.
Your essential skills are: technical skills and soft skills. You need to master both kinds to build your 50K VA business. Let's get to work building yours!
In the 50K VA program. I will show you how to uplevel your professionalism, marketing, communication and so much more.
If you are looking to build the kind of business I’m talking about - a 50K and beyond VA business, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
I'm going to leave it here for today but don’t miss next week’s episode when we dive into “Building a High Value Clientele as a VA”. We will define who those clients are and where to find them, talk about how to network and create proposals and a whole lot more.
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Today I want to talk about mindset, but not just any mindset. Your 50K Mindset.
This episode is the first in a series of four episodes that I want to share with you as a lead up to my 50K VA Group Coaching program that is launching next month. Hold on! What? :)
Okay, so let’s first define what I mean by mindset.
Your mindset is what you think, what you believe, about yourself, the people around you, the things that are happening around you, and the circumstances you may find yourself in.
It’s about what you think of all of those things.
Notice that I didn’t say anything about it being a reality.
Often your mindset is not real.
It’s your perception - your belief - and that’s why we can shift it when necessary.
You can always change how you think about something. Many of us don’t, but when you are in a place where you are not being successful, it’s definitely worth looking at it.
It could just be you. Your thoughts. Your beliefs.
About yourself, about others.
I’m going to say if you are blaming others for anything that is happening to you, you could need a mindset shift.
It’s not as simple as flipping a switch though.
Yes, Tracey, just be happy. Just be positive. And you will become weathy.
No, it’s not like that.
But a positive mindset can help you go very, very far - very quickly - because you are looking for the positive in everything around you.
In this episode we talk about how to make those shifts. Let's go!
If you need help shifting your mindset to one of growth and possibility, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: https://yourvamentor.com/TVC. We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. LAUNCHING AUGUST 2024, stay tuned!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Today, we're diving into an essential mindset shift for every VA out there: realizing that you are your client's equal, not just their assistant.
This episode is all about empowerment, confidence, and understanding your true value in the VA-client relationship.
The Traditional VA Mindset
For many virtual assistants, especially those just starting out, it's easy to fall into the mindset of being "just an assistant."
This often stems from the traditional view of assistants as support staff, there to handle the mundane tasks while the client focuses on more "important" work.
It’s not the way it is when you become a VA. Virtual Assistant.
I always like to think of it as the descriptor, so that people can identify who you are. Like consultant, or bookkeeper, or marketer.
When you say you are an assistant, people understand that. They get a sense of what you do. Except now you are virtual so you don’t work in the other person’s office.
You are someone who provides administrative support, from your own office.
That’s what Virtual Assistant means to me.
But the mindset of being just someone’s assistant can hold you back.
Let's explore this on today's episode.
If you need help shifting your mindset from assistant to partner, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. We have one group training call and one group coaching call each month that will help you set goals and plan and implement the action steps to achieve them. There is also a VIP level of TVC that includes a monthly private coaching call, if you want a little extra personal attention. Check it out here: https://yourvamentor.com/TVC. We’d love to have you join us!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I’ve created TONS of amazing resources for you – from business foundations and building resources (financial stuff, calculators, productivity, tech tips and tools, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, client acquisition, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist, seo checklist, client management) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, networking, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you’ll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Are you charging your clients by the package yet?
It’s a big topic with VAs - and there are arguments for and against doing it.
I’ve never been a supporter of VAs moving away from charging by the hour, like a lot of other coaches.
You can charge your clients any way you like.
If you want to charge by the hour, no one can tell you it’s wrong.
However, when you reach out to me and say you aren’t making enough money, it’s going to be something we look at.
Just like if you reach out to me to say you want to start charging by the package, we are going to look at that too.
In this episode we'll talk about the good reasons to create packages for your VA services - AND the bad ones, or the things you should consider anyway.
If you need help taking a step forward so your VA business is filled with amazing long-term clients, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
What To Do Next:
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. We have one group training call and one group coaching call each month that will help you set goals and plan and implement the action steps to achieve them. There is also a VIP level of TVC that includes a monthly private coaching call, if you want a little extra personal attention. Check it out here: https://yourvamentor.com/TVC. We’d love to have you join us!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I’ve created TONS of amazing resources for you – from business foundations and building resources (financial stuff, calculators, productivity, tech tips and tools, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, client acquisition, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist, seo checklist, client management) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, networking, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you’ll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Client retention is more than just getting a client and keeping them.
It’s about building a great relationship that helps you grow as a VA, and helping your client grow too.
Strong, long-term relationships with our clients helps us build a stable and profitable business.
One of the most important pieces of building your long term relationships with clients is mastering communication.
When communication is clear, it helps to avoid misunderstandings, but it also helps you efficiently work together.
In this episode, we'll talk about a few simple things you can do to in your business that focus on working with your clients long term.
If you need help taking a step forward, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase.
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. We have one group training call and one group coaching call each month that will help you set goals and plan and implement the action steps to achieve them. There is also a VIP level of TVC that includes a monthly private coaching call, if you want a little extra personal attention. Check it out here: https://yourvamentor.com/TVC. We’d love to have you join us!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I’ve created TONS of amazing resources for you – from business foundations and building resources (financial stuff, calculators, productivity, tech tips and tools, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, client acquisition, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist, seo checklist, client management) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, networking, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you’ll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Growing your VA business is something that we talk a lot about but not all VAs do it well.
It takes strategy and planning, and I think it also takes support.
When we work alone all the time, it is really easy to let ourselves off the hook to do things that we know we are supposed to do.
We might have the best intentions but then when it comes down to it, we can put something off when something else comes along.
A lot of VAs I know actually put client work above their own business work - and while that does make sense - I mean the client is paying for your time - it’s also really important to prioritize your own business so that you succeed.
Growing your VA business is important to consider.
Who doesn’t want to make more money? Raising your rates is essential when you are in business, so that you can take trainings and systems to automate your business and even bring on team members if you want to. After I doubled my rates while working with my first business coach, i was able to bring on subcontractors to help me with client work because my rates actually supported paying them - they sure didn’t before.
Who doesn’t want to grow their services into something that you have learned and love to do? My business changed so much over the years, and I was really happy to be able to take training to change what I was doing for clients as my knowledge and experience grew too. I started doing client care which lots of people think is a lower value VA task (it’s not). I progressed to being an online event manager. I set up and ran all of my clients' online events like meetings, conferences, group coaching programs and more.
So how can you make sure you are doing this … growing thing?
Tune in to this episode to find out!
If you need help doing any of the things I mentioned today - finding new clients, revising your rates, finding your community, networking, marketing, speaking, mastering time management, get in touch with me to talk about joining The Virtual Circle. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private, self study, free and paid trainings. I have lots of ways I can help you. Just reach out so we can talk about what you need. Thanks again so much for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
I have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business - and it doesn't require you to be on social media! It's an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you'll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I've created TONS of amazing resources for you - from business foundations (financial stuff, calculators, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you'll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Building an amazing Virtual Assistant business is not technically a difficult thing to do.
You find a client, you do great work, they tell their friends about you, and you get more clients. Right?
That’s the dream - we don’t have to market our business, we don’t really have to network, we just keep getting referrals.
This is what happened to me in my VA business. But it didn’t happen ‘just because’.
I made strategic decisions and moves to get my business to that point.
I doubled my rates, found a business coach, joined a mastermind group, and became a part of a high-level community of business owners who needed my services.
And you can too. Listen to how I did it in this episode.
It’s time for you to create the business you love. Create the freedom that you are dying to have.
I can help you do it.
Let’s look at your business together and make some changes that will really impact what you do, and what your VA business does for you.
We can work together in my group coaching mastermind The Virtual Circle to get your plan in place.
It takes some honest assessment, a plan, a commitment to do the work, and then you have to show up and take the advice.
I blew the doors off my VA business when I joined a mastermind group and did the work to make changes in my business that were long overdue. And strategic.
You can do it. It’s time to evaluate your business, and make those changes. You know I can help you do it.
I’m going to leave it here for you today but first let’s circle back to today’s quote: If the only reason your clients come to you is your price, you need to evaluate your business.
If you need help breaking through that barrier to find the great clients that really need you and value you, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private, self study, free and paid trainings. I have lots of ways I can help you. Just reach out so we can talk about what you need. Thanks again so much for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Getting advice about your Virtual Assistant business is such an important thing to do, and to plan for.
Two heads are better than one they say and I agree - in most circumstances, I think.
For whatever reason when we are a solopreneur, we think that means we have to do it all alone.
But I’m here to tell you that all of the best business people have help.
Why would you want to do it alone?
Because you think you should be able to is definitely not the right answer.
When we suffer, or make mistakes, there are solutions. There is always a solution to whatever has gone wrong.
Usually we don’t want anyone to know that we failed, or that we did something stupid, so we keep it to ourselves.
We think no one will understand, that no one else could possible have done the same dumb thing that we did.
But they have.
And the biggest issue is that if you don’t know how to fix the problem, then you will struggle even more on your own.
If you keep everything to yourself, you probably not make it in business.
Not only will it be much harder for you, but it will be lonely.
Not to mention, what will you do when things actually go well??
Who do you have to celebrate with?
You need peeps! Peeps who understand, and are there for you.
No one expects you to do anything on your own. Let alone everything.
There are people who can help you with your business stuff. People you can get advice from. Get support from.
We'll talk about that in today's episode. Let's go!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
I have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business - and it doesn't require you to be on social media! It's an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you'll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I've created TONS of amazing resources for you - from business foundations (financial stuff, calculators, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you'll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
I talk a lot about good habits and the importance of routines in your time management and general VA business success.
And they are important.
I want to talk about the most important thing, though, and that is actually doing them.
How many of you have created lovely routines or procedures, but then you never actually do them?
You aren’t alone if that sounds like you.
It’s the discipline of doing what you know you have to do, that will help you be successful.
Like Jim Rohn says, it is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.
Goals are great - you know where you want to go, you even might know the steps you need to get there.
But if you never take any steps, your goals will stay just goals.
The idea is to accomplish the goal.
And you do that by taking action. Probably lots of actions.
That takes discipline. And habits and routines. We’ll talk about all three in this episode.
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
I have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business - and it doesn't require you to be on social media! It's an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you'll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I've created TONS of amazing resources for you - from business foundations and building resources (financial stuff, calculators, productivity, tech tips and tools, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, client acquisition, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist, seo checklist, client management) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, networking, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you'll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Starting your Virtual Assistant business comes with so many things that you don’t know how to do.
Maybe you aren’t sure what to offer as your services.
Maybe you aren’t sure what to charge.
Maybe you aren’t sure where to find clients.
But many of you are also aren’t sure about how to do the actual work you need to do - and how to charge properly for it.
I see Virtual Assistants every single day who post in the groups asking for advice … ‘a client needs me to do this (or that), how would you charge for something like that?’
I cringe every time I read that, honestly.
First off, if you don’t know how to do something for a client, you shouldn’t be doing it.
At least not if you are just getting started as a VA.
Don’t get me wrong, you can learn on the job, sure, but the issue with this kind of post is the not knowing how much, or how to charge for it.
That’s the thing that makes me cringe.
Why? Because you are operating a business - offering services. You need to know how much the services will cost the client in order to run your business professionally.
If you don’t know, you aren’t ready to work with clients yet (for that task).
Harsh, perhaps, but I have GOOD news too - of course!
You CAN figure this out pretty easily. So you can work with the client.
Listen in to figure out how.
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
I have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business - and it doesn't require you to be on social media! It's an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you'll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I've created TONS of amazing resources for you - from business foundations (financial stuff, calculators, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you'll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Social media is one of the best tools you can use to promote your Virtual Assistant business.
And yet, many VAs use it incorrectly, and end up seeing little to no results, and/or spending way too much time trying to.
In this episode I want to give you 5 tricks to using social media smarter, so you can showcase your services and get clients to notice you.
Let’s get right to it!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
I have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business - and it doesn't require you to be on social media! It's an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you'll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I've created TONS of amazing resources for you - from business foundations (financial stuff, calculators, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you'll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Work life balance.
Some people will tell you there is no such thing.
That's kind of sad if they think that.
Don't believe them.
There absolutely is work life balance. It is, however, up to you to make it happen.
Let's talk about what balance means to Virtual Assistants. Or more specifically, moms who are VAs.
It's no secret that not all VAs struggle with balance.
If you are young, or single, or married but have no kids, or retired, you may not worry much about balance.
Moms almost always ask me for help finding balance.
I think balance means being able to do what you want when you want.
We don't need equal amounts of work and home, we need to be able to adjust when the balance is thrown off.
How can we do that?
Boundaries.
In this episode, we'll talk about how to use boundaries to get the balance you need in your VA business and family.
If you need help figuring out how to bring balance into your VA business and home life, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private, self study, free and paid trainings. I have lots of ways I can help you. Just reach out so we can talk about what you need. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Every VA starts their business by deciding which services to offer and then trying to find clients.
It’s not all the time that we consider the client, though.
We think, we have a service. You need this service. Hire me.
It might be more candy coated than that, but you get my drift.
We start to focus on getting clients, and we forget that we are a service business - in business to help the people that need us.
Maybe we know that in theory, but our tactics to get the clients too often forgets that.
And then guess what happens? We struggle to get clients.
So then what do we do?
We try harder.
We post everywhere and anywhere that we need clients. We run a special deal. We offer our services for free or a trial project.
And all that does is make us look desperate.
You probably don’t think you are, but you are. Everyone sees it, except maybe you.
So, what can we do to stop acting desperate?
Tune in to this episode to find out!
If you need help figuring out how to do any of what you learned in this episode, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
There are very few Virtual Assistants that I have met that don’t like to learn.
In fact, it can be one of our biggest downfalls as business owners - we get distracted by all the new shiny stuff that comes along that we want to learn.
So I thought in today’s episode I’d talk about learning - and how to do it well. while you are running your VA business.
We know that the VA industry is growing at a rapid pace, and has been for many years.
There are so many tools and apps and programs and platforms out there that helps us work better with our clients.
It’s awesome, but if you don’t keep on top of what’s going on in our online world, you could quickly find yourself behind others.
I don’t probably have to tell you to learn … like I said, so many VAs I know love to learn.
But it is important to be able to learn the right things at the time. That’s what we’ll cover in today’s episode.
If you need help figuring out how to find training or budget for it, or implement it, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
When I first decided to do a podcast for you (and for me, truthfully!), I did a lot of research. I knew what kind of content I wanted to provide, but was that something you would tune in to hear every week?
That’s what I needed to know.
After doing 100 episodes, I can honestly say that yes it is something you enjoy. I appreciate every single one of you, and the time you take to learn from me.
And with that I want to actually start this episode by referring to our quote:
It’s from Albert Einstein and the reason I chose it is that a) it talks about education which is what I try to provide you with every day, and b) it showcases what I think is so important about learning.
It’s not the facts you learn, but realizing that you are capable of anything - when you just think, and ask the right questions, and then take the right action.
Training of the mind to think - when we learn to do that, we carve the right path. We focus on the right things. We make better decisions. We communicate better with the people around us.
Sound familiar? It’s kind of all the stuff I teach you in this podcast. And in my business.
So many VAs I know are voracious learners, and that’s a good thing. In the ever-changing online world we need to be able to learn and adapt what we do, how we do it.
We need to be willing to stay on top of trends so we don’t get left behind the others that do.
We need to be able to help others do the same. There is always another new platform or app coming along that can change what we do and how we do it.
The key is to monitor those things and learn only what you need to learn right now - so you can implement it.
Are you implementing what you learn in this podcast each week?
I know the topics are different every week, but if you can take just one thing from each podcast episode that you can implement into your business right away, then you have learned - and you have trained your mind to think.
Look at that!
So today I want to showcase my top 10 episodes of the podcast so far, as a continuation of my reaching 100 episodes last week.
I’ll share the podcast title and some info about it.
If you did listen to it, what did you implement from it?
If you didn’t, be sure to tune in and make some notes so you can uplevel your business one step at at time.
You can find links to all of the top 10 episodes in my blog:
https://www.yourvamentor.com/blog/2024/05/podcast-my-top-10-podcast-episodes-for-you-to-check-out/
If you need help doing one thing, or many things, better in your VA business, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
First things first, yes, today’s episode is my 100th episode of The Ridiculously Good VA Show and I’m thrilled to be marking this milestone with you.
When I decided to do the podcast back in 2022, I did it so that I would have a central hub of content for my audience of VAs just like you.
I found that I was creating content in about 5 different places and it was hard to keep up, and keep it all fresh and unique.
The podcast serves as a way to share my expertise with you wherever you are, and you can listen to it anywhere you like - on my website or blog, on your favourite podcast service, or on Youtube. It’s not a video podcast, just audio, but I appreciate all of my new Youtube followers and listeners!
I love to do it every week, and I love to hear that you are enjoying it and getting good information from it.
There are very few VAs that I speak with in my cut to the chase calls, or via DM, who have not heard of my podcast, and that’s exactly what I was hoping for.
So, happy 100th anniversary to me - thank YOU for being here - let’s keep it going!
Today I want to talk about mastering communication in your business.
Communication is something that I have worked very hard on over the last 25+ years and it’s something that I find myself teaching often, and that’s why I chose it as the topic for this special podcast episode.
Some of the things I’ll talk about today you can also use in your personal life.
But for sure, if you can get better at communication in your business, you will soar high above a lot of other VAs who just aren’t doing it well.
Today we’ll talk about why it’s so important to communicate well - what it impacts in your business (and your client’s business), and some tips to help you do it better if you are challenged by it.
If you need help mastering your communication, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
So today we are talking about the very common question ... how to bill your Virtual Assistant clients.
There is a misconception that billing by the package is better and smarter.
But that's not always the case.
Why do VAs want to charge by package? The main reason is they want to stop tracking their time.
But you still need to track your time with packages!
Well, in a manner of speaking anyway.
Which is better, charging by the hour or by the package?
The answer can be … either … it really depends on what services you offer and what kinds of clients you work with, and how you want to work.
In this episode, we'll talk about what the differences are between the two strategies, what you need to do for each, why you might choose one over the other, what your clients need to know, and more.
If you need help creating your billable rate or packages, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Resources:
Here is the other podcast episode I mentioned this week.
If you need more help with estimating the time it takes to do your client's work and how to work with their budget to help them get things done, tune in to this episode:
Estimate VA Client Work Needs and Work Within Their Budget
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Before a Virtual Assistant client signs on the dotted line, they may ask you for some kind of proof that you can, in fact, do what you say you can do.
I have talked to lots of VAs who seem to get offended by this.
Often because the request comes in the form of asking for references or for a resume.
They stick their nose up and say they don't want to do those things because they are not an employee.
I talked in last episode about what exactly we are asking of our clients when we ask them to invest in our services.
The monetary exchange can be substantial. Never, ever take that for granted.
They are paying you a lot of money to help them. We need to always recognize that.
And sometimes they aren't quite confident that we are the right ones for the work.
Whether a client is paying you $500, $1000 or more every month, multiply that by 12 to get a sense of their financial commitment to you.
They need to feel like they are making the right decision, and if that hasn't come from your discovery call then they are well within their rights to ask you for more 'stuff' to back up your claims that you can do what you say can do.
Or, in some cases, they might ask for proof before they even talk to you. like in a job posting.
First things first, relax. Don't get offended. It's okay!
Let's talk about the kinds of things clients might ask for and how to handle them!
If you need help showcasing your expertise and your VA business, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Learning to do marketing is one of the most important skills you can master with your Virtual Assistant business.
But sometimes we get overwhelmed by what we should be doing to get the word out about our business.
Let's talk about it.
What does marketing mean to you?
To me, when I was starting out, it meant advertising. Promotions. Getting customers.
Marketing is not selling, although it does produce that outcome when done well.
Marketing is not advertising what you do, not really anyway.
Marketing is about creating a system that works to do that. for you to get the word out about your VA business to people who need your help.
There are a lot of keys to good marketing but I want to focus on three today.
If you can master the basics, you can get eyes on your business easily.
If you need help figuring out how to market your VA business easily and effectively, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Starting a VA business is pretty simple.
It’s a service business, so there isn’t a lot of startup cost involved - I always say if you have a contract and a way for your clients to pay you, you can start taking on clients.
Of course there is more to it than that, but essentially that’s all you need.
So many women get stuck on allllll the details and never get started.
But if you have admin experience, you can say yes to a client today. You are ready.
Today, though, I want to help you get set up the right way - with the right plan.
In this episode, we'll talk about the five pillars I think you need to get in place to start your VA business the right way.
If you need help making your ideas happen - and getting your virtual assistant business started right now, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Finding high paying clients.
It’s what we all dream of when we think about starting our Virtual Assistant business.
I know I did, when I first got started.
You probably did too.
We have these dreams of getting paid well, doing things we love, being in charge of our own schedule, being there for whatever our family needs.
So we start our VA business.
Then the other shoe drops.
It’s harder than we thought.
We face a growing lack of confidence as we realize we don’t know everything, and things aren’t so easy.
I’ve been there.
If you’re there too, I want to help you get out of it.
I promise you can!
If you need help creating that business for yourself, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
If you can find one client you can find many clients.
It’s a fact.
Once you figure out how to get one client for your VA business, you can get as many as you like.
And yet, the one thing that many Virtual Assistants fail to do is to learn how to get that ONE client.
They fail to focus on what it takes to get a client, relying instead on luck.
You can’t build a business with luck. Well you can, but you can’t do it proactively.
Today we will talk about how to get just one client in a week.
If you are ready to get some help getting a strategy in place to find VA clients, that’s where I come in. I am here for one reason - to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
I get so many questions from Virtual Assistants about how to help our clients find us and notice us.
The idea with marketing your VA business is to get noticed - get visibility.
Yes it’s about getting clients but what we really need to do is to get ourselves and what we do to help our clients ‘out there’.
Getting clients usually comes from having a conversation with someone who has heard about us.
Marketing is the act of getting them to hear about us.
So what I want to talk about today is how to stand out - to get noticed, ahead of other VAs.
In this episode, we cover five simple changes you can make to how you do things that will make a big difference in how your clients see you, find you, and trust you to work with them.
If you are ready to implement some simple changes to your VA business that will make a serious change to your income, that’s where I come in. I am here for one reason - to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
So many Virtual Assistants make business too hard.
We start by thinking we have to be someone else - a business person.
Someone who speaks a certain way, who learns certain things, who does certain things.
But I remind VAs every day that we are service business professionals.
And that means that our product is ourselves.
Us. So why would we need to be anything other than ourselves?
First of all, it’s hard to try to be someone else. It’s often not even natural.
And second, it can make it really hard to build our confidence - and make decisions. How can we know for sure that something is right for us if we are trying to make a decision to fit someone else?
That’s why today I want to shift your mindset a little bit - maybe a lot - and talk about how to take business lessons from life.
Real life.
Things we do every day.
Why?
Because when you realize that you are perfectly capable of being a business person because you do it every day in other places in your life, you will find that YOU is enough for your clients.
I've got a few tips for you today to help you understand just how much you already know and how amazing you already are at business.
The proof is the things you do in your everyday life. Let's go!
If you are ready to take a step forward (or many steps forward, actually!), that’s where I come in. I am here for one reason - to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to shift your mindset get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Finding Virtual Assistant clients online is not hard. In fact, it’s very simple.
If you are struggling to find VA clients online, then you are probably missing one or more important pieces of the puzzle.
Today I want to talk about some simple things that you can do to find your best clients online.
Everyone will tell you that the demand for VAs is increasing - they are right. Since the pandemic, the word of virtual working, or remote working if you prefer that term, has really boomed.
It seems that more and more workers want to dictate their own terms - and some of them are able to do that, working from home in a hybrid schedule, etc.
Enter VA businesses - we get to work remotely. And we get to set all of our own boundaries and rules up.
It’s the best of both worlds.
Except that one thing … the customers.
When we are working remotely, we have a job. A steady paycheque. A boss. An endless list of tasks that are tied to our job.
So while they want our lifestyle, we want their steady work without all the fuss.
Getting clients who will pay us to do their work can be challenging.
But I really think that a lot of VAs make the client acquisition process much more difficult than it needs to be.
It’s quite simple to get great clients.
It may not be easy every day, but it’s much easier than you think.
I have 5 simple tips for you today that will help you put yourself out there and get great clients that will value you and pay you well- and that’s really all we want, isn’t it?
If you are ready to get some help to start your VA business, that’s where I come in. I am here for one reason - to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
I tell you all the time that time is money for Virtual Assistants.
Literally time is money. Your time. Your client’s money.
So everything you do - and how you do it - is costing the client a certain amount of money.
And, you are also doing a lot of things. Possibly for a lot of clients
Doing a lot of things at once for a lot of different people means that we can often get overwhelmed. Or busy.
So many times people will ask me how my business is doing, and then they say ‘busy, eh’? I say oh yes, ‘busy’.
We have created a world where busy sounds good.
At the minimum, busy means good - people are hiring us, they are working with us. That’s good!
So yes, busy can be good. It has good connotations, anyway.
But if WE feel busy, that sometimes isn’t so great.
Busy also denotes a state of having too much to do, or at least that seems to be the word we use to describe being as such.
And that’s when we want to make sure we are making changes to how we work to handle that better.
Productivity!
Being productive or working productively takes these five things:
- prioritizing your tasks effectively
- managing time well
- automating what you can
- using technology where possible
- self-care and boundaries
And these are the things I want to talk about in today’s episode.
If you are ready to get some help to manage your time and your workload better in your VA business, that’s where I come in. I am here for one reason - to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/15-min
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
There are a lot of questions I answer on a regular basis - over and over and over again. So hopefully this episode will serve as an FAQ for those of you who are just starting to look at the VA industry as an option for you.
Tune in to hear the answers to these 20 questions:
Can I really make a living as a VA? How much money does a VA make? What skills do I need to become a successful virtual assistant? How can I find clients for my virtual assistant business? What kinds of clients needs VAs? What tools and software do I need to run a virtual assistant business? How much should I charge for my virtual assistant services? Do I need any specific certifications or training to become a virtual assistant? How do I set up my home office for maximum productivity as a virtual assistant? What are some common tasks that virtual assistants typically handle for clients? Should I offer a discount to clients when I am just starting out? How can I effectively market my virtual assistant services to potential clients? How do I manage my time effectively while juggling multiple clients as a virtual assistant? What are some strategies for building long-term relationships with clients as a virtual assistant? How do I handle billing and invoicing for my virtual assistant services? What are the biggest challenges I might face when starting a virtual assistant business, and how can I overcome them? Are there any legal considerations I need to be aware of when starting a virtual assistant business? How can I stay organized and keep track of tasks and deadlines as a virtual assistant? How do I stay updated on industry trends and developments as a virtual assistant? What resources are available for ongoing learning and professional development in the field of virtual assistance?
If you are ready to get some help to start your VA business, that’s where I come in. I am here for one reason - to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Welcome back to another episode from my VA Snapshot series of The Ridiculously Good VA Show, where we talk about the specific services that Virtual Assistants can offer different target markets.
When you choose a target market, you learn about what they do in their business - how they find their clients, how they work with their clients, and what kinds of things they need help with in their business. After learning the ins and outs of what they do, you can speak very clearly sbout how your services will support them.
Why? Because you know how their business runs and what is important to them to keep it running smoothly and growing - and you know precisely the services you can offer them. Lots of them. That’s the key to working with a target market. That you find large groups of clients that all need the same services - and then you can get clients easily.
I am Tracey DAviero, Virtual Assistant Coach and Trainer and in this series, we are will dive into 25 or 30 different industries and professions that use Virtual Assistants, and I’ll share what kinds of tasks you can do for them.
Then you can decide who you want to work with, and start connecting with them!
In this episode we are talking about services for Business Coaches.
If you are stuck and need help creating a service package for Business Coaches, I invite you to sure to book your complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me so we can talk about the ways I can help you do that. Book your call at Yourvamentor.com/15-min
In this episode we talk about the various phases of being a VA. From the research phase to working with clients, you will probably find yourself in one of these phases. It's a pretty simple concept. No matter which phase you are in, you need to move forward so that you can succeed. If you need more clients, or more money, or if you need to be better organized, you'll need to make some changes, and this episode can help you identify what to do next.
Check out the episode transcript here:
https://www.yourvamentor.com/blog/2024/02/podcast-the-evolution-of-virtual-assistants-navigating-the-three-phases-of-success/
If you need help getting unstuck and moving forward, be sure to get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me to discuss what might be the best option for you.
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
In this episode we talk about the challenges faced by Virtual Assistants (VAs) in balancing their work and personal lives. We emphasize the importance of self-care and setting boundaries to maintain the balance that we need. We talk about managing multiple clients, household responsibilities, and leveraging technology to streamline tasks. You'll get lots of tips on how to manage your communication, time management and more.
Check out the episode transcript here:
https://www.yourvamentor.com/blog/2024/02/podcast-balancing-act-your-va-business-and-home-harmony/
If you need help setting your priorities, and managing your time, and balancing your life you’re your VA business, be sure to get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me to discuss what might be the best option for you.
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Today we are talking with VA Jacki Hollywood Brown, about how she got started as a VA, the services she offers her clients, and what business owners should know about working with a VA.
Jacki is an organization specialist who helps her clients by designing structures and procedures to help them improve their efficiency and productivity.
Tune in to learn about:
- What expertise she brings to her clients
- How she went from military spouse to offering boutique VA services
- Why processes are essential in your business too (not just your clients)
- What you need to do to start getting your structure in place
- How you should be protecting your data from loss
- And a whole lot more!
To get in touch with Jacki to discuss your support needs, connect with her here:
Website: https://productivelyorganized.com LinkedIn: https://[https://linkedin.com/in/jackihollywoodbrown or book a discovery call with her here: https://productivelyorganized.com/contact/
About this episode: Jacki Hollywood Brown is a military spouse and professional organizer-turned Virtual Assistant, and she brings her outstanding organizational skills to her VA clients by offering boutique VA services. I spoke with Jacki about the importance of creating and updating procedures and processes in our business (and in our client's businesses). We also talked about what you should have in place to protect your business data, and so much more.
Enjoy!
Today I want to talk about marketing your VA business. Specifically, about using Facebook to market it.
Quote: Giving a brand personality is what separates your brand from the status quo. - Pam Moore
Hey that quote doesn’t mention Facebook - I know, right? It’s because the vehicle you use to gain visibility doesn’t really matter - it’s about what you put out there. Here’s what I mean. Let’s go!
We talk a lot about getting more eyes on your VA business, in order to get clients.
And a lot of VAs that I know want to know what the formula is to get that visibility.
The interesting thing is that there is no formula. At least not one that works for everyone.
Service business like VA business are very unique.
It’s the first thing I tell Virtual Assistants who are looking for the pathway to success.
It’s not that there isn’t a framework you can follow, but because our businesses are service-based, it means that the client is, in fact, purchasing US.
And that means that the way we market ourselves can be quite different from someone else - even if the offer the same or similar services as we do.
We all have the same places to reach our clients - but the way we do it and what we put out there might be different from another VA.
So … let’s talk about why I picked the quote for today - it’s about personality. Your personality.
Whether you are an introvert, or an extrovert, your personality IS going to enter into your VA business.
It will come through in the way you present yourself, in the way you network, in the way your messaging comes across, in the way you communicate with people, and in the way you work with your clients.
Introverts and extroverts are not the only different kinds of VAs.
There are very organized VAs.
There are techy VAs.
There are detail oriented VAS.
There are research VAs.
There are task master VAs.
There are strategic VAs.
And as many VAs as there are, there are as many different clients out there.
With a service business, we need to have the right fit.
We need to attract the right clients.
And that’s where visibility comes into play.
Not only do we need to promote our business where our potential clients are hanging out (we tell you that all the time when we talk marketing), but we also need to be attractive to them so they will feel that we are the VA for them.
Okay so now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about how to get the visibility you need by using Facebook.
Building visibility takes time, so be patient and persistent in implementing these strategies. Get the basics in place, and then show up every day where your people are. Be yourself, and help them.
You are your business’s product. Put yourself out there and get clients!
If you need help setting up your marketing plan, be sure to get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Today I want to talk about rates. It’s a common topic of discussion with VAs at all levels of their business - and we all struggle with it at times.
Quote: Don't fall into the irresponsible trap of setting low prices. It will kill your business cold. Low prices attract cheap customers with luxurious demands. ― Mac Duke The Strategist
How awesome is that quote!? I love it - I think it’s so important to recognize that most of us set our rates too low - and when we do, we struggle with those who can ‘afford’ us. Let’s go!
We talk often of setting rates in our Virtual Assistant business.
I see lots of you posting questions about how to charge for this service or that service, and I always come in with the same advice.
Do the math for how much your services will be - don’t just pick a number out of thin air.
When you ask someone in a group how much you should charge for a particular task or service, you are picking a number out of thin air.
If your business is going to be successful, you need to make sure that what is coming in will cover what is going out, and then of course you need to leave room for some profit as well.
As a service based business owner, we can often make the mistake that what we charge is what we make - and then we don’t leave room for the things that we need to run our business well.
You don’t need to gauge customers, but you do need to run your business like a business.
So let’s talk about a few of the problems that VAs have with setting rates properly.
If you need help setting your rates properly for your VA business, be sure to get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Hey there, welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to wish you a very happy new year - 2024 is here! - and i want to focus on the possibilities that lie ahead for you this year.
Quote: The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written - Melody Beattie
It is true that we are the master (or mistress, if you prefer) of our own destiny. The decisions we make will help us build a successful business, or not. Let’s go!
If you need help doing any of these things for your VA business, be sure to get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Here we are the end of another year and it’s time to reflect back on what we did well in our VA business, what didn’t go so well, and what we want to do differently in the coming year.
It’s not that we need a huge shakeup, but it is a good time of year to make some decisions.
i teach a process I call my Lookback Process, and what that does is helps you identify first of all what you did, second how it worked out for you, and finally, what you can do to equip yourself to achieve your future goals.
I do that by talking about a number of different areas: success, money, clients, networking and marketing.
You can watch my full training and pick up the handout here:
Lookback Handout
Pick up my handout in the show notes of this episode and you can do a monthly summary for each month of last year.
Fill it in to the best of your ability - especially the results you go.
Then do your analysis.
What is working for you. What can you change? What should you change?
How can you plan to change it?
Do your review so you can build a solid plan for the coming year.
You can do it!
Using this process helps you identify your areas of strength and weakness, so you know how to get better results in the future.
Lets circle back to today’s quote: If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan, not the goal.
You know what you want. Set your plan in place to get it and then work like hell to get there. Get help when you need it.
If you need help getting your plan in place for your VA business, be sure to get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
It seems like Chat GPT is everywhere these days.
People are talking about it online - and because we spend so much of our time in various places online, we see it. Everywhere.
What is it, and why should we be using it for our VA businesses?
Simply, Chat GPT is a chat software that allows us to do research that gets more intelligent, or more specific, the more information we provide for it.
Think about Google for a second - our usual go-to for our research. At least it always has been for me!
With Google, we have to use certain, short, parameters, and in return, we will get a list of websites that contain the information that we are looking for.
In the past, we would have seen only those websites, and the ones that showed up in the top of the search were the ones with the best SEO.
It’s still like that, to a point. But now you will also see sponsored content at the top of the page, and video and image content as well. That is progress.
Also, instead of ‘page one’ consisting of 10 top results, it seems that the scroll never ends.
Google is still a great search engine to find what you are looking for - if you are looking for a source.
But Chat GPT is fast becoming a research tool that can give you great examples and even write content as well.
In today’s episode I want to talk about how to create better marketing content, more easily, and by using ChatGPT you can do that.
If you need help creating or implementing your marketing plan for your VA business, be sure to get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Several years ago I was invited to submit a chapter for a book collaboration. We were 20 business owners who were part of a group and we published a book called Thought Leaders: Visionaries and Influencers.
While at the time I didn’t believe myself to be any of those things, I was looking to become that.
Someone that VAs like you, and business owners alike, would come to for advice, support, and guidance for their business.
I have done that, I feel, and I decided that I would love to share my chapter with you today on my podcast.
I hope you like it!
I’m very proud of it. And I am very proud of you too. I know that you are getting a lot of support through my podcast (you all tell me every day how much you love it) and I know that you can jump off that chair lift if you just stop getting into your own head.
If you need help jumping off your chair lift, be sure to get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
You know the type. That client that is always asking you to do something now, urgently, last minute, whatever.
What do you do?
How do you handle that?
If you are like most Virtual Assistants, you will probably go ahead and do it, even if you are grumbling under your breath the whole time.
It’s hard, because we are literally in the business of helping our clients. We are service professionals. We do what they need us to do.
It’s what we think we need to do.
Our clients need something, and it’s our ‘job’ to do it.
Well, I’m here to tell you that’s not the way it works at all.
Yes … they are paying you.
But they are not your employer.
You don’t work for them. You work with them.
They are your client. You are a business owner.
There are a lot of reasons to remind yourself of this fact, but this is one of the biggest.
Your work schedule is yours. You get to determine. You are managing the work tasks and expectations of all of your clients.
And yet, we say yes.
But here’s the most important part - we don’t say yes because we are being nice.
We say yes because we think we have to.
And that’s exactly what the issue is.
For some reason Virtual Assistants far and wide think that we have to do whatever our clients ask us to do.
Not all VAs, of course, but most of us have gone through this stage. Some of you stay in this stage.
It’s very natural of course when you are starting your business to have this kind of mindset.
Maybe natural is not the right word, but it feels like the right word.
It’s not wrong to have this attitude when you first start. We don’t know how to do business when we start out.
If you have never run a business before, it’s new.
We have to learn how to be. We have to learn how to act. We have to learn how to communicate.
I give new VAs this advice all the time: when you first start working with a client, don’t respond to them immediately. Don’t turn tasks around fast. Don’t do same day work!
Did I do that? Yes, yes, I did.
But I expect you not to do it? yes, yes I do.
Why? I’m not a hypocrite - I’m trying to save you from making a big mistake that is very hard to break away from.
It’s why a lot of us veterans, or teachers, or coaches teach you anything we teach you.
Because we want you to go down the right path - a different one that maybe we took.
When we give you advice about how to handle something in business, or what boundary to put in place, it’s usually because we know from experience that you will need that boundary eventually, and we are suggesting that you think about it sooner than we did!
Anyhow let’s get to it.
You will see from the three examples I’ve described in this episode, that boundaries is the key to avoiding burnout and unhappy clients.
Managing the expectations of your clients is going to be an ongoing task - and the better you get at it, the happier everyone will be.
Burnout is a reaction to being overworked.
That happens when we don’t manage our days well.
Take control of what you do and when you do it, and you will be happier. You will be more productive.
And you will have happier clients too!
I’m going to leave it here for today. If time management and setting boundaries and policies is something that you need help with, be sure to get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
In this series we are talking about how to think about your services from the perspective of you clients.
It's easy enough to say that you provide email support, but how do your clients think about that?
How much importance do they place on that thing?
Why is it important for them to get help with a particular service?
And how do they actually use that service, or describe it?
When you really look at things like your clients do, your messaging will be so clear to them that they will know you understand their needs. And... they will want to work with you!
So let's talk about startups and the services VAs can provide for them.
When someone is starting a business, there is a lot to do, and probably not a huge budget to bring on help, but that’s what can make working with a VA so appealing.
For the VA, new stuff is exciting, and can lead to some really interesting projects, setup, organization research, and that kind of thing - things that VAs always tell me is the stuff they love to do.
Startups need a variety of administrative support: email management, calendar management, document formatting and preparation, data entry, and even travel arrangements.
There is often a lot of correspondence and connection that needs to happen as they start to get the word out about their new business.
Creating presentations and reports is a great service to offer as well - the client can provide the nuts and bolts but they don’t have to spend time doing the whole thing.
As customers come into the business, onboarding and communication are really important. Especially if the company is new, the first batches of customers need to have excellent support - and that isn’t something that the guys in charge should be doing themselves.
It’s very common to have a customer service support system for online businesses, so that customers can get fast answers or help with things that they need access to or information about.
And of course, feedback is essential for any business, but definitely for startups as they may need to change course in the early day to ensure that they are delivering what their customers needs. Established businesses should also collect feedback, but when you have a proven product or service, this gets done a little less. Very important with startups.
Almost every VA’s favourite service seems to be research! And startups need support in this area. Whether it is market research for industry trends, competitors or finding pools of customers, research can be a really valuable and essential service to offer to clients who are early in their business journey.
Bookkeeping and accounting always comes into play for business owners. It can be time consuming and even confusing when it’s not your area of specialty and so it’s often an area that gets outsourced first.
If you offer bookkeeping services, you should never be struggling to find clients!
Helping clients get the word out about their business is, again, always important - but even moreso with a new business like a startup.
Being able to assist with managing social media pages, updates, comments, engagement or even communities is an excellent way to get ongoing work that really impacts the client’s business.
That’s one of the things I often try to make sure VAs are clear on - the real benefits that the client will get from bringing you in to help them.
We tell them all the time we save them time and money, but we don’t really.
So we need to find the real benefits - like I just mentioned with marketing, support in this area really impacts their business - why? because it can actually help bring in clients, or help clients make that decision to say YES, or retain clients that have already purchased.
Those benefits are the ones that you want to recognize from the services you offer.
When we can see HOW the client really actually benefits from working with us and outsourcing some of the tasks they need to do, or have done themselves in the past, that can help them make the leap to hiring us.
With marketing also comes building their audience - getting more eyes on their product or service, and getting their name out there to the people who will be their customers.
That means marketing outreach, email campaigns, subscriber lists and generating leads.
Being a market VA can help you show the return on investment a client will get by working with you.
Moving right along, you can provide virtual meeting support, project management and collaboration. So many services these new companies need.
If you are tech savvy, website and IT are a great service offering. And let’s not leave out SEO. Being found in searches is dependent on creating content and posting it to your website or blog, and that’s more ongoing work that you can count on.
Don’t forget we are always looking for the repeatable tasks that we can do for a client. We don’t always want to be doing projects with a stop and start. If we do, that means we will always be looking for new clients, which can be challenging.
But if we find clients that we can do a little bit of work for on an ongoing basis, that means a long term client.
And because startups will often tell you they don’t have a huge budget (until their product or service goes viral!), it may be a tough sell to get a big client. But small clients are just as good!
I know when I see anyone starting up a new business, the task list is never ending - long, and always being added to.
They need to be focusing on generating revenue, and that often takes a lot more time when they are just getting started.
Even better if they have accessed start up grants to fund their business, actually, but be mindful that budget will often be an issue for businesses in their infancy.
So even more reason to bring in a VA for a few hours a week, to get all the other bits done.
If you can provide specialized services for them, even better. Many hands make light work, and like I always tell clients, I work very quickly, so that means that we can increase the productivity that they would have on their own, at least by 2x and very often much more than that.
And like I said, if you have tech skills, or organization skills, or just plain old cheerleading skills, that can be a really good connection for your startup client to have in their corner.
We need to get the word out to startup business owners that VAs can be very valuable assets to their team. This support enables entrepreneurs to focus on the strategic aspects of their business, fostering growth and innovation, which is critical at the beginning stages - and beyond.
So, do you want to support startups? There is so much opportunity for VAs in that community.
Put together an attractive package of services for startups today and start connecting with them.
And be sure to tune in to the other VA Snapshots in this series to learn more about other industries that might be a good fit for you.
Thanks for tuning in to this snapshot from The Ridiculously Good VA Show. Now it’s your turn to choose your target market and get out there to connect with them. Let them know that you understand their business and you are THE best VA to help them with their business needs. You are awesome. You can do it. Now, get out there and find your clients!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Getting the word out about your Virtual Assistant business takes time.
But it shouldn't take all of your time.
And yet a lot of VAs I talk to are spending hours and hours preparing their marketing stuff.
There are a few reasons for this.
First, we often struggle with what to put out there. So it takes more time to come up with ideas for content. We spend too much time making lists and finding inspiration.
Second, we are perfectionists. Yes I'm looking at you, but I also have my hand up here so don't worry! So we work hours on graphics or content before we ever post them.
And third, we try to 'be' everywhere. All of the marketing professionals will tell you to master one channel before moving to others. But we have FOMO so we do 't listen to that advice.
So all that to say, it takes us a lot of time.
When you don't have a lot of clients you have a lot more free time, but you should not be filling it with marketing.
Networking, yes, but not content.
To do this part efficiently takes planning and strategy ... and that's where an editorial calendar can be extremely helpful.
It is your planning tool to help you decide what to put where, and when.
Content marketing is much more than just posting stuff.
You have to know why you are there, who you want to see it, and what you want them to do after seeing it.
To create an editorial calendar, you need to know what you are promoting.
Are you looking for more visibility and exposure for your VA business?
Are you looking for clients?
Are you looking to introduce a new service?
When you know what you want to talk about, then the calendar comes into play
I suggest doing your editorial calendar for one month.
It will help you with time management, but also helps you with focused content, creation process, simpler research, and helps your audience to see that you are really an expert in these things, because you’re not all over the place every single day.
Oh and as a completely random note, you can also reuse content! Just because you posted an image last month doesn’t mean you can never use it again. Content is not one and done. Just be careful of posting the same thing to different platforms at the same time.
If people are connected to you in more than one place, they don’t need to see the same thing posted everywhere. Strive to keep things different in different platforms.
Set your calendar up in Google Drive, or a project management system, or a content marketing system. I use Metricool and I simply love it.
Take 15 minutes or so a day to connect with the people in your groups or social media platforms - ask questions, answer questions, like, comment and share.
That goes a long way in building trust with your community.
And remember those goals - what are you looking to do with this month’s content?
If content marketing is something you have a lot of trouble with, get some help with it. I can help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
One of the things that slows Virtual Assistants down in business is the struggle to make decisions.
I know this because you tell me. You all tell me. Every single day.
And some of you don’t tell me.
I like to think that is mainly because you don’t realize that’s the problem.
But when we talk about what you are stuck on in your VA business - whether it is getting clients, networking, making money, your mindset, or your time management … the root of the problem can very often be traced back to not making a decision.
And like I said in today’s intro, I don’t mean making the right decision.
Sometimes we make the wrong decision and we get scared to make another one. That happens. That’s when you should go and get some support to move forward.
But I digress.
What I am talking about is simply not making a choice about something and then expecting to move your business forward. It’s nearly impossible.
So today we will talk about making choices and overcoming the common obstacles that hinder our ability to decide.
If you've ever found yourself stuck in the paralysis of indecision, afraid to make the wrong choice, you're in the right place. Let's go.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Being able to get where you want to go with your VA business takes getting out of your comfort zone.
Sometimes it takes a lot of that.
We feel scared because we have never been where we want to go - and we don’t realllly know if we can get there.
We think we can, we hope we can, we try to plan to get there.
But we don’t really know - and that alone can make us freeze in our tracks.
So we don’t do the things that we know we need to do to get there.
I know I give you a lot of advice about how to grow your business - and a lot of that is mindset work, that you have to push yourself - and we don’t like to do that.
But as Eddie says in our quote - although you think you are comfortable where you are … you’re not. That’s why you are looking for ways to do things differently.
Like listening to this podcast, or taking trainings, or doing endless research online about how to be better, and do better.
What you need to get comfortable with is taking steps that don’t feel so easy.
The best way to do that is to do it with support, of course.
Getting someone to help you through the hard stuff is THE best advice I can give you.
I have to say that the first step is always the hardest.
After that things do get easier. I promise.
But it can be hard to take that first step.
I work with VAs all the time who have that trouble, and we work together through it.
How? Listen in to find out!
You know you want to move out of where you are right now.
So let’s help you do that. Let’s help you grow your VA business by challenging yourself to do the hard things .. .at your own pace. You can do it! I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Today we are talking with VA Wendy Harris, about how she got started as a VA, how she helps her clients, and what business owners should know when choosing to work with a VA.
Wendy works with clients in the health and wellness space, as well as course creators.
Tune in to learn about:
- How Wendy got started as a Virtual Assistant
- What services she provides for her clients
- How she finds her clients
- What expertise she brings to her business connections
- How networking figures into building her business
- And a whole lot more!
To get in touch with Wendy to discuss your support needs, connect with her here:
Website: www.virtualassistantsolutions.ca LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-harris-virtual-assistant-solutions or book a complimentary consultation with her here: https://calendly.com/wendyharrisva/30min
About this episode: Wendy Harris is a Virtual Assistant who helps her clients get back valuable time so that they can build their business. I spoke with Wendy about how she decided to start her own VA business, what kinds of services she provides for her clients and how she works with them, and what clients who are looking to work with a VA should know.
Enjoy!
How to Work With Tracey: I am here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through challenges just like yours, and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of. That you dream of.
I’d love to do the same for you.
Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It’s a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
One of the words that VAs like you use when they first start talking to me about a problem they are having is the word STUCK.
I remember being in a coaching group once and one of my colleagues said that she got her clients ‘unstuck’, and our coach didn’t like that word because she didn’t think it defined what my colleague actually helped her client with.
But it IS the word her clients used. Just like my clients - VAs like you - use.
And it’s really important to talk about, because if you are feeling stuck - and if you are describing it as stuck, then its because you are stuck - and you don’t know what to do about it.
Whew!
So here we are.
What does it mean to be stuck? It means you can’t take a step forward from where you are, for one reason or another.
And the solution to being stuck is to move.
But the problem is that we often don’t know what to do next, and so we stay with our feet firmly planted where we are.
I want to talk about how to get moving on today’s episode, but to do that first we need to talk about some real examples.
Let’s look at why you might be stuck:
If you need help, let’s talk. I am here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in my monthly mastermind group, or in my group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
What do we do when something goes wrong?
How do we react to it?
How do we respond to it?
I’m not talking about something that you are doing for client - making a mistake with their work, and so on.
What I want to talk about in this episode is what happens when something unexpected happens.
It’s kind of funny that I chose a Tony Robbins quote for today because I’m not a huge fan, but it’s so perfect for this topic.
Without problems we would not grow. How do we know how to create a procedure or a boundary or a process, if it doesn’t go wrong to being with?
Problems are important - the solving of them of course.
How do you handle it when something goes wrong?
I think we are all the same - at first we are upset with ourselves, and then we try to move forward.
But if we are dealing with a lot of other stress, sometimes it magnifies things that aren’t so bad - or that can be fixed easily.
Let’s talk about real stuff. Here are a few examples of the kinds of things I’m talking about:
I Messed Up A Discovery Call I Can’t Pay My Expenses or Myself I Lost Some Work and/or Wasted My Time
We'll talk about these and much more in this episode.
I can help you find clients. I can help you manage too many clients. I can help you with time management.
I can help you stop losing time or work, I can help you pay yourself and set your rates properly. I can help you get better at discovery calls.
I am here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through challenges just like the ones you are having, and helped them grow their business and build the lifestyle that they dream of. I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, in my monthly mastermind group, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have plenty of options to help you get where you want to go. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
One of the first things I ask VAs that I coach is how much money they want to earn in their VA business.
So many of them can’t tell me that.
They say they don’t know.
We don’t like to talk about money, I get that, but if you can’t tell me what your expectations are from your VA business, then that’s where we need to start.
Do you want to replace your corporate salary? How much is that?
Do you want to make enough to pay bills in your household? What bills? Mortgage, groceries, car? How much is that?
Do you want to earn the fun money - savings, vacations, clothes and tickets to concerts or sporting events? How much is that?
You have to quantify what you need to earn in order to figure out how to earn it.
When I ask them if 5K is something that they strive for, many of them say yes for sure. That’s a happy amount of money.
Oh,, so you do know how much you want to earn (and yes, it can be more than grocery money!)
Earning 5K usually means that you can pay yourself 1K a week and pay all of your expenses too.
Remember that not all of the revenue your business brings in is yours. Paying yourself first is a great concept but what it means is that you need to set your rates at a place where bringing in x dollars means you can pay yourself y, and still have enough left to pay expenses of z.
So now that we know we want to earn 5K a month, how do we do that?
Like I said earlier, it takes some mindset shifting, some math, some confidence, and a plan.
Tune in to this episode to learn how!
If you are working towards squeaking by - by not doing the work, by not spending what you need to spend, by letting clients nickel and dime you, then you will stay at your minimum-wage level.
Your work ethic has to exceed what you have ever done before - doing the right things, thinking the right way, and always always moving in the direction of your goal - in order to reach it.
Want 5K months? You need to map it out. You need to learn what you don’t know. You need to take daily actions. You need to get help when you are stuck.
Don’t be the VA who wishes for 5K months. Be the 5K VA who easily gets them every month.
I can help you get there. I can help with your mindset, boost your confidence, help you do the math, and help you create your plan.
I am here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through challenges just like yours, and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of. That you dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, in my monthly mastermind group, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have plenty of options to help you get where you want to go. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Today we are going to talk about the services a VA can offer to podcasters.
A virtual assistant can be a key asset for podcasters, helping them streamline various aspects of their business and improve their efficiency, time management, professionalism, and reach.
In this episode, we'll cover a whole bunch of ways a virtual assistant can assist podcasters!
So, do you want to support podcasters? It’s a fantastic, growing target market!
Put together an attractive package of services for podcasters today and start connecting with them.
And be sure to tune in to the other VA Snapshots in this series to learn more about other industries that might be a good fit for you.
Thanks for tuning in to this snapshot from The Ridiculously Good VA Show. Now it’s your turn to choose your target market and get out there to connect with them. Let them know that you understand their business and you are THE best VA to help them with their business needs. You are awesome. You can do it. Now, get out there and find your clients!
We are back with part three of struggles VAs face, and how to fix them.
A quick recap if you haven’t listened to the other two episodes yet - a few years ago I hosted a VA conference in Calgary.
I asked the VAs in the room to privately share with me their biggest struggle in their VA business (they filled in a form at their table that got collected).
Usually the reason I ask for this at my live events is so that I can tailor the content of the event to help them the most.
This was eye-opening because most of the responses (seriously most of the 56 responses!) were not about getting clients.
To contrast this, when VAs answer the questions I ask to allow them into my FB group, or when I post in the group asking what their issue is, they say getting clients most of the time. Overwhelmingly actually.
I think the reason the answers were different at the conference was that it was confidential.
VAs struggle with a lot of stuff. And we don’t talk about it enough. I think that’s why I got such awesome shares, because this was a confidential ask.
So I wanted to dedicate an episode or two of my podcast to helping you with the struggles you may be facing but not talking about.
When I know what you need help with, I can help.
Today I’m going to focus on 3 more things that VAs struggle with - that ARE NOT RELATED to finding clients or getting clients.
Tune in to check them out (you won't want to miss the last one!)
After this, I’ll leave this series off for a bit now and come back to it, but if you are dealing with any of the 10 things I have covered, let’s hep you move through them.
You can do it. I have complete faith in you and I’m so proud of you!
Let’s circle back quickly to today’s quote. It’s Oprah. Speaking of confidence. Where there is no struggle there is no strength. You gain your strength from the things that you figure out. That you work through. That you research and learn from. And many times that means getting support to get through it.
Let’s find your strength!
I am here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through challenges just like yours, and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of. That you dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, in my monthly mastermind group, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have plenty of options to help you get where you want to go. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
We are back with part two of struggles VAs Face,and how to fix them.
A quick reminder, a few years ago I hosted a VA conference in Calgary.
I asked the VAs in the room to privately share with me their biggest struggle in their VA business (they filled in a form at their table that got collected).
This was eye-opening because most of the responses (seriously most of the 56 responses!) were not about getting clients.
To contrast this, when VAs answer my FB group entry questions, or when I post in the group asking what their issue is, they say getting clients most of the time. Overwhelmingly.
I think the reason the answers were different at the conference was that it was confidential.
VAs struggle with a lot of stuff. And we don’t talk about it enough. I think that’s why I got such awesome shares, because this was a confidential ask.
So I wanted to dedicate an episode or two of my podcast to helping you with the struggles you may be facing but not talking about.
When I know what you need help with, I can help.
Today I’m going to focus on 4 more things that VAs struggle with - that ARE NOT RELATED to finding clients or getting clients.
Let’s circle back quickly to today’s quote from Jodi Levine: Find a great mentor, someone who has already been through the many challenges of being an entrepreneur.
That’s me. I have struggled. I have succeeded. That’s why I know you are struggling with something - and I am here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through challenges just like yours, and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of. That you dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, in my monthly mastermind group, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have plenty of options to help you get where you want to go. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Today we are going to talk about the services a VA can offer to non profits and associations.
A virtual assistant can be a valuable asset for non-profits and associations, helping them save money instead of bringing on full time staff. VAs can also scale their workload up and down as need be, around fundraising events and projects. VAs also offer specialized expertise without the need of hiring multiple staff members. Focusing on their core mission is always the most important thing for non profits, and having qualified VAs look after the routine tasks, the leadership and staff can spend more time and energy dedicated to strategic planning, program development and stakeholder relationships.
I’ve done some work with non profits an associations, but it was never my specialty, so I want to just put a caveat in here that there may be different or other services they also require. These episodes are designed to give you ideas.
Non profits can absolutely benefit from hiring one or more VAs to help them with their business. Cost effectiveness is one of the key factors, and getting great support from VAs when they need it can help them control their operational budget much more easily.
And they can access a wide range of skills without the need for full-time hires. Win win for everyone!
Put together an attractive package of services for non profits today and start connecting with them.
And be sure to tune in to the other VA Snapshots in this series to learn more about other industries that might be a good fit for you.
Thanks for tuning in to this snapshot from The Ridiculously Good VA Show. Now it’s your turn to choose your target market and get out there to connect with them. Let them know that you understand their business and you are THE best VA to help them with their business needs. You are awesome. You can do it. Now, get out there and find your clients!
A few years ago I hosted a VA conference in Calgary.
Before COVID hit, I planned to host one every fall there. But it was not to be after the first one, as we could not travel, and getting together in person was shunned upon for a few years.
I asked the VAs in the room to privately share with me their biggest struggle in their VA business (they filled in a form at their table that got collected).
The reason I ask for this at my live events is so that I can tailor the content of the event to help them the most.
Some people wrote a couple of things. I ended up with 56 struggles in that room.
Usually I would expect to hear ‘getting clients'. It’s the most common issue that I hear VAs say they need help with.
But in this simple request, I got so much more.
VAs struggle with a lot of stuff. And we don’t talk about it enough. I think that’s why I got such awesome shares, because this was a confidential ask.
So I wanted to dedicate an episode of my podcast (maybe more than one) to helping you with the struggles you may be facing.
When I know what you need help with, I can help.
Today I’m going to focus on 4 things that VAs struggle with - that ARE NOT RELATED to finding clients or getting clients.
I know you are struggling - and I am here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through challenges just like yours, and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of. That you dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
What Should You Do Next?
We can work together privately, in my monthly mastermind group, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have plenty of options to help you get where you want to go. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
In this episode we will be talking about tradespeople, or as I refer to them, contractors.
What do tradespeople need to focus on in their business? First, what are tradespeople? For the purposes of this example I’m talking about your general contractors, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, landscapers, snowplow operators, HVAC technicians, tree trimmers, painters and so on.
The people who work usually independently or with a small crew, doing physical work and also needing to connect with customers and potential customers.
By working with a virtual assistant, tradespeople can manage the business aspect of their business easily while they are at the top of a ladder!
A virtual assistant can help tradespeople streamline their business operations, reduce costs, improve customer service, facilitate business growth, and achieve a healthier work-life balance, ultimately contributing to the success and sustainability of their business.
So, do you want to support tradespeople? It’s a super target market!
Put together an attractive package of services for a carpenter, plumber, electrician, landscaper, or other contractor today and start connecting with them.
And be sure to tune in to the other VA Snapshots in this series to learn more about other industries that might be a good fit for you.
Thanks for tuning in to this snapshot from The Ridiculously Good VA Show. Now it’s your turn to choose your target market and get out there to connect with them. Let them know that you understand their business and you are THE best VA to help them with their business needs. You are awesome. You can do it. Now, get out there and find your clients!
If you need help creating your services or your strategy to connect with tradespeople, I'm here to help!
That's literally the reason I am here. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through challenges just like yours, and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of. That you dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, in my monthly mastermind group, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have plenty of options to help you get where you want to go. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Where did you get your first client?
If you’re like me, you likely started doing VA work for your old boss.
A lot of us start out that way, and it’s awesome.
We start our business, we have work immediately.
This is going to be great, we think.
Then maybe we find another client as we start to talk about our business to people we know. Awesome!
But at some point, our immediate contacts will run dry and we are left wondering what to do to get new clients.
That’s why creating a strategy to get clients is so important.
In this episode we talk about how to create a strategy that works for you.
Think about what your strategy could look like. If you need help, reach out.
It’s important to me that you know I can help you do this stuff in your business. That's literally the reason I am here. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through challenges just like yours, and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of. That you dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, in my monthly mastermind group, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have plenty of options to help you get where you want to go. Check them out in the show notes for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week!
Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Welcome to my VA Snapshot series of The Ridiculously Good VA Show, where we will talk about the specific services that Virtual Assistants can offer different target markets.
When you choose a target market, you learn about what they do in their business - how they find their clients, how they work with their clients, and what kinds of things they need help with in their business. After learning the ins and outs of what they do, you can speak very clearly sbout how your services will support them.
Why? Because you know how their business runs and what is important to them to keep it running smoothly and growing - and you know precisely the services you can offer them. Lots of them. That’s the key to working with a target market. That you find large groups of clients that all need the same services - and then you can get clients easily.
I am Tracey DAviero, Virtual Assistant Coach and Trainer and in this series, we are going to dive into 25 or 30 different industries and professions that use Virtual Assistants, and I’ll share what kinds of tasks you can do for them.
Then you can decide who you want to work with, and start connecting with them!
In this episode we will be talking about speakers.
What do speakers need to focus on in their business?
They are the talent. They need to focus on delivering their craft - speeches, talks, events - and growing their speaking business. By working with a VA, speakers can save a lot of time doing the legwork it takes to get great gigs and make great contacts.
Let’s talk about what speakers do in their business – and what they services they might place value on and outsource to a VA.
Speakers – good and busy ones – have lots of moving parts to their business. I have 15 service suggestions in this episode that you can provide for speaking clients.
It’s your turn to choose your target market and get out there to connect with them. Let them know that you understand their business and you are THE best VA to help them with their business needs. You are awesome. You can do it. Now, go get some clients!
I can help...
Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It’s a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
You probably hear it all the time. As a Virtual Assistant, you should be blogging.
You need to be posting on social media every day.
Your clients need to see you to know about you, and know that you can help them.
Many VAs struggle with creating content that helps to get their VA business in front of their audience.
I bet if you added up all the time you spend 'marketing', it's more than 5 or 10 hours a week.
Are you getting clients from what you are doing?
If not then you need to make some changes to your strategy.
If you aren't blogging, I'm going tonfirst suggest that you start ... even thkugh it isn't the only way you can create content.
There is really one main skill you need to develop to get lots of content created for your marketing.
It’s called repurposing content. Repurposing content quite simply means to reuse something you have already created in a slightly different way. I’ll explain how to do that.
First things first, usually the thing that stops you from creating content is not knowing what to write about.
VAs who say they hate to blog probably don’t hate to write – they just don’t know what to write about.
What To Write
To figure out what you need to write, you first need to know what your audience wants to read about, or learn.
If you are a bookkeeper, your audience wants to know how to do their part better. So you can write about tax tips, organizing paperwork better, software to use, apps that are new, actual methods to categorize or post expenses, and so on. You are not trying to teach them to do their own bookkeeping. That's what you want them to hire you to do. You are trying to showcase your knowledge and expertise so that they might want to hire you.
All VAs can write about online tools to use to build or grow your business, or work/life balance, or organization and productivity, and so on.
You need to figure out what it is that your audience wants to read about, that supports the services that you offer.
Choose two or three categories of topics to start with and then you can grow from there. Start simple and develop good content creation habits.
Repurpose
Ah here we are!
Repurposing content means to reuse it in other ways, so you don’t have to create something new every day.
For example, if you write one blog post, you can turn that into a number of pieces of other content. Here are 10!
- Put it in your newsletter and send it to your email list.
- Post it to your blog.
- Post it as an article on Linked In .
- Turn it into a Facebook Live
- Upload the Facebook live video to your Youtube channel.
- Transcribe your video, or take notes from it as you talked
- Go through the blog post and transcript to pull out short social media postings for whichever platforms you are on.
- Pull out advice from your videos or blog post that can be used to create custom images
- Post your custom images to Instagram (or any of your social media platforms).
- Look in the transcript for opportunities to expand on any areas – thus creating another blog post that you can link back to.
Do you get the idea?
One article gives you at least 10 other ways to use one blog post to create more content. And everything is about things your audience wants to read about.
Or Don’t Write
When creating content, it’s important to choose a delivery method that you enjoy. If you like to write, then blog. If you don’t like to write, try doing video.
Facebook Lives are easy. video in general is easy when you get started.
If you prefer doing video, then start there and use the transcript to create a blog post.
Look at your blog posts or videos so far. Have you written something once, posted it, and thought that was enough? It’s not.
I challenge you to take an existing blog post and repurpose it using the steps above.
One thing it will do is show you how much of your efforts you are missing out on.
The other thing it will do is let you figure out your favourite way to create content – so you can do more of what you like!
We all have the same amount of time to market our business. Wouldn’t it make sense for you to make the most of your time to do yours?
Daily content
Everything is content. This is truly great advice- and so true.
When you struggle to create content, you have to look at things differently. And when you do, you need to find the business lessons or the common thread to advice that you can use as a comparison to your business.
People can relate to daily activities and interactions – and while I don’t suggest you write all your content this way, it can be a great boost to adding your personality and some much needed relatability to your content.
Here’s what I mean.
I told a story recently of how I went to Costco and had a crappy customer service experience. Long story short, they told me the debit machines were down as I entered the store, but said they took cash and credit. So I went ahead in, did my shopping, and tried to pay with my Visa or Amex. Nope. They actually only take Mastercard, which the girl at the front didn’t tell me. So I had to find a bank machine and get cash to pay for my stuff. This is relatable, and you can link it directly to how you would have handled the customer service, if that’s a service you offer (even if it’s not – I always give my customers the right information).
When you go to the bank, they spin their monitor around and show you all your stuff and they tell you about the options they have for you – and they recommend what they feel is the best one for you. That’s how you can help your clients decide the best option to with you.
Laundry – we sort it to wash it, and we adjust the water temperature and spin force for different clothing. I also sort it to fold it. This shows people how you organize yourself – how your mind works, and how you use processes.
Client stories are great things to use in content. Tell people what the client was experiencing before they started working with you and how you helped them. The more clients you have, the more you can use this kind of content. You can even inject your humour into these, as a show of how you build relationships and get along with your clients.
I was recently talking with a client about repackaging and repurposing content. I had suggested that it would be a good idea to take an audio from a teleclass and repackage it into several other pieces that the client could use in her marketing.
She didn’t understand why I would suggest doing that – the audio itself was content so why didn’t we we just blast the link out for everywhere so people could opt in to it and therefore get the material – no extra work required.
It’s important to realize that people take in their information in all different kinds of ways. In order to reach them you need to find the way that speaks directly to them.
I love chocolate. But I’m not like most people. I like milk chocolate the best. You can give me the best Belgian chocolate you can find on this earth, and I will just think ‘meh’ … and still prefer a Mars Bar. I actually don’t like dark chocolate at all. Even though they are all types of chocolate, I prefer the more common kind versus the higher end, better quality, more expensive type.
I do not like cinnamon. I don’t like cinnamon buns, I don’t like it in apple pie, and I don’t like it any other way most people use cinnamon (I really can’t comprehend enjoying cinnamon hearts, cinnamon gum OR cinnamon toothpaste, but I digress … !). Having said that, I always put a pinch of cinnamon in my turkey gravy when I am cooking, and I do really like the Cinnabon cereal bar. (I don’t know why I like that and not cinnamon buns, but I do – it doesn’t seem to burn like the other things do). So again … repackage your cinnamon and I can actually say I like it.
These are silly (but true!) examples of how to look at something from another angle to see it through someone else’s eyes.
In the quest for our ideal client’s attention, we have to be aware that not everyone is looking for the same thing, but if you package it differently they might hear what you are saying and like it.
So it you take that audio and break it down into 6 blog posts, or 1 article, or 3 videos … it’s still the same content, but it’s a different way for someone to find it.
My client’s thought of sending the audio out more places was a smart idea – but by putting it into 3 or 4 new formats, we could reach people in different ways, and that could just make them jump up and pay attention. Try it yourself – and be sure to measure your results so you know what your audience is responding to (don’t just do things for the sake of doing them!)
Chocolate, cinnamon or marketing materials – they are all the same thing – give your audience something that appeals to them and you may just open a door that one of them has been looking for and make a sale.
Let's circle back to today's quote from Rebekah Radice. You get a higher impact and more bang for your marketing dollar. Make your marketing time work better for you.
And you won't have the same content everywhere. You can use your categories and have the same theme across your platforms.
You don't even need to do 10 things. Gary Vee's staff creates 100 pieces of content from one video every day.
Bring your personality in to your marketing too. Be personable and relatable. Create regularly and work with a strategy.
I don’t know everything - and I get help in my business all the time with the things I don’t know.
You can too.
I want you to know that I can help you do this stuff in your business. That's literally the reason I am here. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through challenges just like yours, and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of. That you dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about it. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get there.
Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It’s a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.
Is your energy attracting VA clients or chasing them away?
What you put out there is what comes back to you.
When you are in business, your energy is an important thing to focus on.
It’s not a woo woo type of thing, your energy. And I’m not here to tell you that having a positive attitude will get you VA clients.
Negative energy will chase them away.
Your energy is truly one of the most important things that drives your VA business.
Your clients will be attracted to you when they feel good about who they will be doing business with.
If you give them the sense that things are not so great, they will not have the confidence to decide to work with you.
Even more than that, keeping clients that you are already working with also depends on your energy.
If you are struggling in your VA business, you might think that no one notices.
You probably think you are doing a great job of covering it up.
Or maybe you just aren’t putting yourself out there are all so that people won’t notice.
You might think that it’s just the way business is supposed to be. I mean everyone knows business is hard, right?
But it’s not supposed to be THAT hard!
If you are having a tough time, don’t just accept it as the way it’s supposed to be.
Figure out what the plan is to make things better.
That starts with the energy you are putting in to the GOOD things.
Let’s talk first about how negative energy affects everything you do in your VA business:
You second guess your pricing You let clients cross your boundaries You misunderstand clients or take what they say personally You take longer to do things because you just aren’t feeling it You rush through tasks just to get them done You lack creativity because you are in a fog You feel exhausted
Those are the obvious ones … but how about these …
You keep to yourself and hope no one notices you are failing You create content that talks about all the wrong things You abandon your target market and start trying to find any clients at all You agree to do work that you don’t love You let your client set your rate or tasks you do because you don’t want to turn down money
If you are feeling any of these, you need to get your energy in check.
Let’s do it together!
Business is hard, yes. But it doesn’t ALL have to be hard.
And you don’t just need to fake energy to make things look good. We need to really find them.
Today I’m going to help you find the things you need to focus on. Trust me, they are there!
You are amazing. You are ridiculously good. And your clients (and potential clients) need to know it.
Let’s start by talking about four reasons that positive energy in your business is so important:
1 Client attraction
So I don’t believe that clients will flock to you if you put on a happy face, but client attraction is a real thing.
When you are in the right frame of mind, you show up every day and exude confidence. You freely share advice and opinions. You invite and participate in conversations. You actually show up and are part of the communities where your clients are.
The client attraction part happens because people see you, and they hear you, and they trust you. They see your confidence and they believe that you can help them. You know the words to tell them to help them believe that.
They might not even be feeling very positive themselves, and you can help them to see that there is a light at the end of their dark tunnel. We help people, it’s what we do. So how do you help them? Talk about it!
Confidence is one of the most important qualities you can showcase to your audience, and it starts with feeling positive about your abilities.
When you believe it, and share it with others, they will see it and want to work with you.
And that obviously will boost your energy too!
Getting clients means putting yourself out there and confidently describing how you can help your clients.
I had a private client once who really struggled with getting clients, well I’ve actually had a lot of those, it’s one of the things that VAs come to me with all the time, but this one in particular really had trouble with understanding who they could help.
So they spent all day online, job sites, rfp boards, in VA groups, just waiting for clients to say yes. It was exhausting. And it brought down their energy if they didn’t get the client.
We worked together and got really clear on what they could do and who need those services. We developed a plan for them to connect with those people and guess what? Within 3 months they were hiring a subcontractor because they had too much work.
Client attraction exists because when you put the right energy out there, you find the right people. And you have conversations that lead to people saying yes.
I can help you to put together the plan you need to use every day to find great clients.
2 Confidence
If you don’t believe that you are the best person to help your clients, they won’t believe it either.
It’s kind of a catch-22 though. If you are struggling to get clients, then you might feel like you aren’t the best VA for them.
So measuring our confidence is a really important thing to do.
A lack of confidence in your abilities to either find the people you can help, or charge them accordingly, or do the things they need, is really common when things aren’t going so well.
The funny thing is that you might not even realize that you are putting it out there. But I can assure you that you are.
Take some time and look in the VA groups for the conversations that are happening in them.
When we are struggling, the language we use to describe our situation proves that we have a lack of confidence.
And you know I have told you before that the brain needs to hear 5 positive things to counteract just one negative thing. So even if you aren’t saying things out loud, you are dragging your confidence down by thinking these things.
You need to believe in yourself before your clients will believe in you.
When I work with you privately, we record your sessions. We talk. And this really cool thing happens when you get to your sweet spot.
If you have done private coaching with me you will know what I’m talking about.
When you start to talk about something with confidence, your whole demeanor changes.
When we dive into what you do for your clients and I ask you about something that you know really well, that confidence comes out. Your voice changes. I hear it and I love it!
I tell you after the call to ‘go back to the 3 minute mark and listen to the change in your voice'. It’s something we never do, get a do over, so the session recordings are really useful.
You settle in, you start to use all the right words, no tripping over words, you add all the right details … the confidence just comes shining through.
That’s good energy - and that’s what your clients need to hear!
If you aren’t sure how to change the language you use - and find your confidence, I can help you with that.
I have so much confidence in your ability to be great, and I’d love to help.
3 Communication
Did you know that one of the most common problems that VAs and their clients have is a communication problem?
We work virtually, of course, and so we rely on online methods of communication - and there are so many opportunities for us to have misunderstandings, or leave too much to the imagination.
In fact, the majority of the complaints that I see VAs making about their clients is due to a lack of communication.
It starts because we are not used to being on equal ground with our clients. We still think the clients get to call the shots. Newsflash, they don’t.
And so we do whatever they say, and sit back feeling more like an employee than a business owner in our own right.
Your clients can crush your energy like no one else, and it happens all the time.
I could spend all day giving VAs advice who have let their clients treat them badly.
It’s not always the client’s fault - they have probably never worked with a VA as a partner or an equal before either - and truly, if you are acting like their employee, then that’s how they will treat you.
But getting a handle on your communication is something that can turn your energy like nothing else.
It’s not personal, it’s business.
Get GREAT at business communication - leave emotions out of it, and your energy will sky rocket!
I am pretty active in VA groups, and of course I work with my own VAs who are clients in my monthly mastermind group or through private coaching. But you will see my comments in many VA groups, and a lot of them are giving examples of how to change the words you use when you communicate with clients.
Business is business and it’s so important to articulate what you want to say in business words.
You don’t have to be someone you aren’t, you can totally be yourself - but just state the facts in your communication.
Instead of explaining things with a million words and apologizing and asking if that’s okay … stand behind what your boundaries and rates and things are, and create a way to describe those to people. Use those words all the time to be clear and concise, and in charge. That’s great communication.
I can help you with this. It’s something I have always done exceptionally well, and it’s my pleasure to help you gain the confidence that you need to keep your energy high.
4 Credibility
Before we get a full roster of amazing clients, we have to build up credibility as an amazing VA.
To do that, you need to put yourself out there, and the energy you project is what will affect your results.
Like I’ve said, your audience needs to believe that you are the best one to help them - that’s the point that they will make that buying decision, and say yes to working with you.
Credibility comes from what you put out there, and what others say about you too.
You know your expertise, but are you confidently sharing that with people? In your social media posts and your networking conversations?
You are probably the best kept secret - even though you don’t think you are.
We have this notion that when we go into business - when we publish our website, or post on social media - that the entire world sees it.
But they don’t. We have to work strategically to put ourselves in front of the people who will potentially be our clients.
That’s not ‘everywhere’.
If you don’t have the right energy in your content or your networking, it’s going to come across super obviously to your clients.
How many times have you posted ‘I have a special on, I have an opening for a client, I am looking for someone to barter with.' Or even just discounting your rates in general.
Dropping your price for any reason screams desperate. Well maybe not screams, maybe states is a better word.
And guess what? It’s not just you! If your clients respond to the word ‘discount’, then they are probably putting out the same energy that you are.
That’s probably going to be a recipe for disaster at some point. Starting a relationship with a client for less than what you want to earn is a serious issue.
Don't sacrifice the money now for the money you WILL earn when you do things right.
Find your best clients, do amazing work with them, earn what you know you are worth (and need to earn) and your credibility will speak for itself.
I tell you all the time that my clients were 6 and 7 figure business coaches. That was a conscious decision. They also had to be working with a coach of their own for me to work with them. You can define these things!
Don’t work with just anyone. That is one of the things that can really mess with our credibility. What if you say yes to a client that can not afford you, and then you don’t get them the results they want? Or you end up fighting with them about money? That will be a client relationship that ends badly … doesn’t really matter which way you look at it.
I advise VAs to find the clients that can afford them, that need them, that value them, and do great work with them. Those clients will praise you from the rooftops.
VAs who are earning what they want to earn and working with clients that they love (or at least doing work they love for great clients) … that’s who we want to be!
That’s how you build up your credibility. And obviously it’s amazing for your energy levels too!
So there are four reasons that positive energy is so impactful in your business.
Now how do we get there … and stay there?
You have to give yourself all the help you can get.
1 Define what success means to you
When you have a clear understanding of what you need to feel successful, you can help yourself confidently get there.
I did a vision board a long time ago, my first one. I didn’t know what a vision board was and mine sucked compared to everyone else’s, but I stuck on pictures of things I wanted and places I wanted to go, that kind of thing. I stuck on words that I wanted to feel in my business and my life.
And I recently did a big office cleanup and I found it. At first I laughed, it was totally falling apart, but then I noticed something really cool. I had achieved a lot of the things on that board. I didn’t realize it. I didn’t use the board, like at all. But I did put the right things on it.
Success to me meant going those places and getting those things. And I have. I didn’t need a vision board to follow. They really were the things I wanted. And I have built my business to get them. You need to define what it means to you, and start to help yourself get them.
2 Success routines
Set yourself up with routines that will instill success in your business. Figure out how you get clients, and do it every day. It’s not luck, you can’t leave it up to luck. You have to decide what your system is, and buy into it. Following a strategy that you know will work 4 out of 5 times is the surest way to be confident and to stay positive.
If you don’t know how to do it, it’s time to work with someone who can help you map out that plan. You don’t need to follow someone else’s plan or path. you need to follow yours. Ask for help. Invest in help. And then you do the work. You will get to where you want, I promise!
I would be nowhere if I didn’t work with a business coach. Many of the VAs who have taken my Getting Started as a VA self study program say they would not be where they are without that program. You invest what you can afford and you DO THE WORK. Every day.
3 Seek out positivity
Don’t do it alone. I’ve said it before. Business is hard. But you know what? Other VAs have had the same thoughts as you - probably right at the same time as you. Your problems are yours, yes, but you are not alone in having them. Find your people. Let them help you.
Surround yourself with people who lift you up - and who you lift up too. Did you know that when you are helping others, that gives off SO much positive energy?
I have an accountability partner and we talk every second week. Without even realizing it, we lift each other up. We also hold each other accountable for what our results are, but we do it in a positive manner - like if I share something that did not go well, my partner will honestly tell me why - what I didn’t do, or should have done differently - but then just naturally she will tell me why I CAN do it. And both of our energy levels go up.
Like instantly. I know the same things about her. Find your partners, your people, and ask them for help, and give them help.
4 Banish negativity
Be really aware of what you are saying to yourself, and where you are spending your time. I know I talk often about what you say to yourself in your head, but another place that I see so much negativity is in the VA groups. We wallow in our pity when others agree with us. If we tell them that a client was mean to us, and we get all of our colleagues patting us on the back telling us, ‘yes they are mean!’ then we buy into it. But it’s negative and it’s not good for you. Get yourself out of there and go and network with the entrepreneurs who need you to be THEIR support.
And lend positivity wherever you can. Every single day. Look for it, sow it yourself.
5 When you’re in it, get out of it
Am I telling you that you need to walk around in a good mood every day?
Hardly.
If I knew how to do that, I’d bottle it!
But you need to be able to identify when you are in it, and get out of it.
So to do that you need strategies that will help you.
I follow an ADHD coach of sorts on Instagram and she has put some really cool stuff into perspective for me that I think is relevant to so many of us.
She talks about energy levels as being sort of the bar for our output.
What I mean by that is that we can have habits and routines that we intend to follow every day (I encourage it!) … but what if we are having a low energy day?
We can’t just toss what we need to do aside. We need to adjust it.
And that’s what Melanie teaches - to have processes for both scenarios. If we are suffering from low energy, we still need to do stuff - but what is the bare minimum that we need to do to be effective?
That’s what I love! On a low energy day you ‘just' need to do x of xyz.
Let’s circle back quickly to Willie: once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results. Happy people seek out happy people. Your clients will seek you out when you are positive.
Assessment time.
Let’s take stock right now.
How are you feeling? Are you struggling? Are you feeling down? Are you stuck?
It’s time to get out of your head and write this down these 3 things:
What do I want?
Why do I want it?
How can I get it?
We all know what we want. That’s the easy one.
But why do you want it?
If you want clients, it’s probably so you can make money. So you can pay for stuff. But really why do you want it? So you don’t have to go back to a job? So you can work part time? So you can be more present for your family?
It’s really important to attach the WHY to what you want. It helps you to remember why it’s so important to get what you want.
And of course the last part of that is how to get it.
And I’m guessing that if you are struggling - and if you made it this far in this episode, that you don’t know how.
That’s okay, that’s what I’m here for!
I don’t know everything - and I get help in my business all the time with the things I don’t know.
You can too.
I want you to know that I can help you do this stuff in your business. That's literally the reason I am here. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through challenges just like yours, and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of. That you dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about it. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get there.
Have a great day!
It's not what you are that holds you back, it's what you think you are not. - Denis Waitley
We are back with part two of Kick Imposter Syndrome to the Curb.
Last episode we talked about what imposter syndrome is and how it can show up for us. How is does show up for us. And how it shows up for 82% of other people too - what a crazy stat was that! I think I’d love to be in the 18% (but I’m not ha ha).
We also talked about adjusting your inner monologue, focusing on the value you bring to your clients and their businesses, and knowing your stuff.
This week I want to go a little deeper into it. Let’s go.
Talk About What You Can Do
We talked about creating content in the last episode, and how your brain seeing valuable content on a daily basis is a good thing.
Your valuable content, of course. Sometimes we get stuck in the scroll, and we read other people’s words, see their images, their videos, and we don’t think to create our own stuff.
And we also talked about saying positive things out loud. That’s what this tip is about.
Talk with people. Every day.
I always encourage you to have real conversations with business owners every day. Not to sell them something they don’t want or need, but to make those connections.
When you talk about what you can do what happens? You get better at talking about it for sure. I remember going to a business breakfast meeting every week and practicing my elevator pitch in the car on the way there. I would record it on my phone and then play it back to hear if it sounded okay. I would re-record if it didn’t. It often didn’t.
You may know that I hate elevator pitches. But they are good for forcing you talk out loud!
What I want you to do is to talk to real people. Have conversations. Ask them what they need help with in their business. Tell them how you can help, if you can.
Talking about what YOU can do builds up that positivity and value muscle that you need to keep imposter syndrome at bay.
If you hear yourself saying ‘I can help you with that. That’s exactly how I help my clients.', that’s the serotonin you need to stay positive.
And of course, the more conversations you have, the more clients you will get. It’s just a matter of numbers.
Find your people, talk to them. get clients. I assure you, imposter syndrome doesn’t stand a chance when you are not struggling to find clients!
Oh and just a final note on this, I see it in the VA groups too - when someone asks a question, do you feel like you don’t have the experience to answer their question? You do! Maybe that’s the challenge you set for yourself this week - speak up. Contribute! It really helps those positive brain thoughts!
Share Your Feelings
Okay are we getting back into the woowoo here? not really.
BUT once of the most valuable things you can do for yourself and your business is to not try to go it alone.
Get help from someone you trust. Maybe lots of someones.
An accountability partner is one of the best things you can have to walk through new processes, talk through issues.
Getting someone else’s perspective that you trust - and that understands your VA business - especially when you are struggling, can be really helpful.
And in terms of imposter syndrome, it doesn’t even let you go there. If you are having a tough time, jump on the phone with someone and talk it through.
You will soon realize that others have many of the same problems as you - VAs or otherwise. And that definitely helps you realize that not everyone is way better off than you.
Again, on the flip side, can you be that person for someone? For many people? Maybe you join TVC like I always tell you. You will learn in a supportive group like that, that you have really valuable contributions.
Putting yourself into a situation (regularly) where you can give and get advice automatically helps you shed imposter syndrome because you get the support you need and you also give back. I highly recomnend it!
Learn to Like Yourself
Well, this one might be a little harder to do - especially if you are having a tough time.
But if you learn to like yourself, then you will want to help yourself. We tend to help people we like!
I use this exercise all the time when my VAs are struggling to figure things out in their business.
Do it for someone else. Pretend you are doing that research for someone else. Pretend you are trying to find a solution for a client or a friiend. How would you talk to that other person if they were going through what you are going through? Or if they were hearing what you are saying to yourself?
You have to trust yourself to be in business. You have to believe in yourself. You have to be confident in your abilities and your expertise.
And yes, you have to like yourself.
I know that if I told you to do that exercise for someone else, you would pull out all the stops without hesitation.
You would say ‘oh yes, I can do that’ and jump into action. But trying to do the same thing for ourselves isn’t as easy sometimes.
It should be - and you have to treat yourself the same way - that’s why having a support network is so important. You’re not alone in having trouble with this one!
Realize No One is Perfect
We all look at other people and think they have it all together. Social media can be such a bad thing, because everyone only posts the good stuff on it and that’s the stuff we see every day. Most people never post the negative stuff that we all go through.
No one is perfect. And you don’t have to be either.
We think we are an imposter because we measure ourself against someone else - or against many others. But measuring properly isn’t possible when you don’t have all the facts. You aren’t comparing apples to apples.
Recognizing that everyone else has their own ‘stuff’ too is a good start to helping you simply not be so hard on yourself.
In my research for this podcast topic, I saw some detailed kinds of imposters. I won’t detail them in here for you because, well, it’s not my content - but also because I want to get you OUT of yours, not help you identify with it further haha.
But just know that no one is perfect, everyone is fighting some kind of battle, even if they don’t show it on social media.
Stick to your issues and figure out how to work through them so that you are done, but don’t aim for perfectionism. It’s exhausting, it can keep you stuck, and no one really ever expects it anyway!
Celebrate Your Successes
You guys laugh when I tell you to start a success journal.
It seems silly to write down things that went well today. I get it, it seems trivial.
But how do we remind ourselves of all of the good things that we do every day, especially when we are having a bad day - or even just a bad hour?
We need a reminder, and we don't always have someone sitting beside us to do it for us. Your success journal is the tool to help remind you of all of the GOOD you are doing every day.
What should you put into it? Things your clients say (use their words), things that helped someone else be better or do better, things that you finally did right, things that you always do right, anything that you consider a success. Some will be big, many will be small.
But it's all about YOU and how you helped other people - or how you helped yourself. Give yourself the tools you need to keep that top of mind.
And don’t forget to own your accomplishments. Have you won an award, been invited to speak somewhere, been asked for advice from someone?
All of those things are successes. And again, writing them down helps you
Articulate Your Strengths
If your client or your partner asked you to make a list of things that they were amazing at, you would sharpen your pencil and get to work on that list.
It would probably even come easily to you, just like I mentioned earlier.
I tell the story often of a client of mine who was working with me on her marketing message. She was struggling to talk about herself and how amazing she was at the services she offered. So I flipped the conversation and asked her instead to tell me why someone should work with her husband, who was a tradesman with a business of his own. She could easily tell me exactly why clients should hire him. And then I told her that she could do the same for herself. You know your own strengths. Get out of your own head -- and way -- and write them down so you can share them too.
Not sure what your strengths are? Get someone help you with the list. When we are struggling with self-esteem or self-confidence issues, we sometimes need help to see our value. So ask someone. I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what they say. Maybe ask them anyway!
So that’s it, like 10 things maybe that can help you kick your imposter syndrome to the curb.
Get rid of it.
Let’s circle back to today’s quote: It's not what you are that holds you back, it's what you think you are not. - Denis Waitley
We have proven with every tip in this two part podcast that you are in total control of moving yourself and your business forward. You can change the way you think (easily, I might add).
It’s not what you are. It’s NOT what you are.
You are a smart, capable, skilled, educated, experienced professional.
I feel like I am reciting the line from that movie The Help - You is smart. You is kind. You is important. You is!
No, really, though, you are.
You deserve success, you deserve happiness, you deserve the recognition of others. Go get after it!
I want you to know that I can help you do this stuff in your business. That's literally the reason I am here. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
This is what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you create success, teaching you how to fix what isn't going right in your VA business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - every service business is unique. Your VA business is unique.
I will help you clearly understand what your biggest issues are, and help you walk through the strategy and plan to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through challenges just like yours, and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of. That you dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at [www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC] (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Have you ever said these things to yourself - or out loud?
I'm a fraud
Who am I to be doing this
What if I get found out
I don't know what I'm doing
I just got lucky
I'm not an expert, I'm not even good at this
I have no idea what I'm doing
I'm not good enough
Everyone else knows what they are doing, except me
I can't do this
Why does anyone want to hear my opinion on this?
Is today the day someone finds me out?
This won't last, I better enjoy it now
I can't charge someone for this
I just want to help people
These are all statements that get dumped into the idea of Imposter Syndrome.
We feel like we are not good enough to do what we are doing, to charge what we charge, to work with who we work with, to speak out loud about how good we are.
It's a real and very common feeling. As a Virtual Assistant, many of us are women who came from secretary-ish roles where someone else was the boss.
Someone else got paid more than we did to do the important stuff, and we just looked after their back end stuff.
There was always someone higher up than us in every company.
So now as a business owner it can be a hard transition to see our own value and to showcase it to others.
We are the highest up in our own company and it is a new place for us to be!
And we can have feelings of inadequacy - maybe just sometimes, maybe often.
Make no mistake, we are qualified to do what we are doing.
You are a smart, capable, skilled, educated, experienced professional.
So why does it feel like everyone is going to 'find you out' one day and it will all be over?
Why is it that you look at others and think 'they have it, they know what they are doing, they are smarter than me'.
They aren't any smarter than you. They might look like it on the outside, but how do you know that they aren't feeling the same thing as you?
I'm here to tell you that it's not just you.
Imposter syndrome is CRAZY common. I found a study on Hubspot that says 82% of people have suffered from it at one point or another. 82%!!!
It doesn't discern - women, men, young, old, experienced, brand new.
And it even affects people at different stages of their business. If you are growing, you might feel it. If you are struggling, you might feel it.
It can cause fear, anxiety, depression, self-sabotage, self-doubt, and a whole host of other icky feelings.
It's exactly as Dr. Chan puts it. I'm so aware of all the things I don't know. We focus on what other people know that clients seem to want or need. I am so aware of what some other people know that I don’t know - as I’m sure you are too - but that doesn’t mean that we need to learn that thing.
She also says that there are an awful lot of people out there that think I’m an expert - that think YOU are an expert. And you know what? They are right!
So how then, do we kick imposter syndrome to the curb?
Well it starts by not being the only person that you talk to every day.
For some reason, we seem to think that being a one-woman show means doing everything ourselves.
Even though we teach our clients that they need help, we somehow don't think we are supposed to get help.
And flying solo definitely impacts how we think of ourselves.
As a matter of fact, I found so many ways to help banish imposter syndrome that I am actually going to do this in two part.
So here we got with the first few tips!
Adjust Your Inner Monologue
I came across this quote and I loved it so much I knew it was how I wanted to start off.
I wish someone would invent a tape recorder that we could attach to our brains to record everything we tell ourselves. We would realize how important it is to stop this negative self-talk. Ariana Huffington
What you say to yourself matters. Keeping an eye on what you are saying out loud is easy - but you also need to be mindful of what you are saying in your head.
If you are anything like me, I can look at the clock at 2 pm on any given day and realize I haven't said a word out loud.
Just working. No meetings. No words spoken aloud.
But boy, let me tell you about the hundreds of conversations I have had in my head!
All damn day I talk to myself. And some of it is not kind.
We don't do it on purpose, it just happens.
I remember reading that it takes the brain hearing 5 positive thoughts to crush a negative one. Five!
Our brains are one of the most powerful instruments on earth. If the brain can not think positive on default, how do you suppose you can?
It's why the positive thinkers of the world tell you to speak affirmations, or stick up positive post it notes where you can see them daily.
Your brain will react to the positivity, but being able to help it along makes a huge difference.
It's manifesting without the woowoo!
Focus On Your Value
What we do comes easily to us, right?
I know what I do does.
You have heard me say that a business coach of mine used to say what comes easiest to you is what you should be charging the most for.
An awesome idea. It is your expertise that you should be selling.
But so often we don't recognize the true value of what we are doing for our clients.
We think everyone knows how to do what we do.
They don't.
Not our clients, not even other Virtual Assistants.
We are unique, and we know what we are doing. You know what you are doing.
If I asked you right not what value your clients get from hiring you, what would you say?
So many VAs struggle with this whole concept. They simply can't articulate it.
Did you know that if you were creating regular marketing content, the words would come much more easily to you?
Think about it. What do you write in your content? How you specifically help your clients. Why it is important for them to get support. How they can work with you and how you make it easy for them to do that.
All value! And remember your brain will also hear it when you are creating content like that every day.
A super easy way to focus on your value. Create great content!
Know Your Stuff
That goes hand in hand with the next thing .
What do you know how to do?
What can you do for your VA clients?
Document your expertise. Write it down.
Seeing, concretely seeing, what you are capable of in writing helps to reinforce it for you.
You can see your skill sets, your expertise, your value.
You can't showcase it to others if you don't truly know it yourself.
If you have done my skills inventory, you will have done this. Think about every job you have had, every training you have taken, every volunteer opportunity.
What have you learned? You know much more than you talk about every day, that I can guarantee you.
A lot of VAs think only about their last job or role when coming up with their services. But the list goes way beyond that.
Write it down, reinforce for yourself and then tell others about it.
Writing it down will also show you the gaps. What don't you know? Learn it.
Now that doesn't mean learn social media if you don't have clients yet, it means learn how to se a CRM that your audience is using if you offer executive admin services.
Remember we are talking about Imposter syndrome here. Nothing robs your self- confidence more than trying to learn social media, not being totally sure what you are doing, and charging clients for it.
Work with what you know already. Your Stuff. Do the best you can at it and shine!!
Now, I'm going to leave it here for this week but I have so much more to share with you on this topic of Imposter Syndrome.
And I want you to know that I can help you do this stuff in your business. That's literally the reason I am here. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at [www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC] (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. - William Penn
This quote seems mean but it's not. None of use every moment of our time wisely. But if you are strategic with some thing in your VA business, you can use that time very wisely. And by doing so, you actually get more done. And make more money.
I am going to talk today about how you can save time while you do VA work.
Now, I am not talking about speed. I never tell you to work faster.
Well that's not entirely true.
I do talk about keeping a good work pace. I'll get to that later.
But there are 4 simple things you can implement in your business that can help you work more efficiently. And working efficiently helps you save time.
Efficiency helps you use the time you have as wisely as possible.
Productivity means getting things done.
Efficiency means working smart.
Like William Penn says, we all want more time. Why is that? Because we are spending too much on things and we are running out of it when we don't need to.
For a VA, time is literally money. Your clients pay you to do work, often by the hour.
But you physically take the time to do the client work, and that is how you charge them. So your time is their money.
And in order to earn as much money as you can, you need to be productive and efficient.
Here are some things you can do to help you do that:
1 Checklists
I am a huge advocate of using checklists.
You can set them up in Google Sheets or Trello or a project management t system or even printed on paper.
Where they are doesn't matter, as long as they detail the steps that you need to take to complete any task.
And they need to be checkable. Like I mean you can check off the tasks as you go.
I have done this a number of ways.
Some things I printed on paper and put in a transparency sleeve. I would check things off with a dry erase marker. Wipe it clean and reuse it next time. Really, I did! Simple is always best and at the time I used several checklists that way.
I have also made simple shareable spreadsheets. When I needed to share with client, it made it easy to detail all of the steps to do a project, and we could also add in deadline dates and who was responsible. It was easy to see the project status at a glance and what was coming up next.
Now I use Trello but I have also used many other project management systems. Online checklists are great, as long as everyone uses them.
But Tracey I hear you ask ... why do I need a checklist for things only I do? I know the steps. I don't need a checklist.
Well, yeah you do.
The brain saves soooo much time when you don't have to think about where you stopped and where you need to begin again.
You can also look at a checklist and do just a couple of things on it if you have some time now. You don't have to sit down and do a 2 hour task all at once.
I love it for my podcasts. I have 20 steps on my podcast creation checklist. I do a podcast every week .. of course I know how to do it. From doing my research to creating images, writing my script, recording it, editing it, many steps.
But every week I use the checklist. Because it means I don't need to do it all in one sitting. I can do my images one day if I have some time, or just feel like it. I can look for quotes for 10 upcoming episodes if that' what I feel like doing. By checking it off the checklist I know what needs to be done for each episode at a glance. Efficient!
I can help you design checklists for everything you do in your business. If you don't already have procedures for everything you do, we can start with those. Get more time back in your schedule!
2 Templates
The next thing that will help you with efficiency is templates.
Newsletter templates, email templates invoice templates, image templates, onboarding templates, rfp response templates, task and project templates.
You name it, you can probably create a time saving template for it. And if you can, you should.
Creating templates for your client work helps you churn out more stuff for them.
You can do a month's worth of newsletters faster. You can create eye catching and branded social media graphics with templates.
It is about more than efficiency and speed.
I love templates. I think everyone should use them.
Why do you want to recreate the wheel every time you sit down to create a social media post?
Now again I'm not talking about speed. At least not directly.
I'm going to back up just a bit here to talk about task pricing. Deliverable pricing. It's how I teach you to bill your clients. Why? Because when you bill your client for the deliverable, it doesn't matter how fast you do it. The faster you do it, the more you get paid.
I have an episode about billing by deliverable, so I'll tag that in the show notes below, but suffice it to say I teach you to bill that way because then you are billing for your expertise, and you don't lose money by being more efficient.
It helps you FIND ways to do things more efficiently because you can do more in less time (but the client pays the same).
Anyway I digress...
By creating templates you can get more done in less time. But still get paid for your expertise.
I don't teach skill stuff like Canva, but I sure can help you define where you can implement templates in your business to increase your work flow probably tenfold.
3 Habits and Routines
Next comes how you work every day. Your habits and routines.
Oh yes, you guys know I love to talk about this stuff!
Why? Because it works!
If you have ever read the book Atomic Habits, you will know about habit stacking which I think is really cool.
It means stacking a new habit on top of an existing one, and it's a great way to create an efficient routine.
My husband takes his daily medication after he brushes his teeth, and he never forget to take it. I should take a page out of his book actually ha ha.
But the point is that is a great example of habit stacking.
If you have trouble forming new habits, try doing it that way. Add on one thing at a time to something else that you always do anyway.
How many days do they say it takes to create a new habit? 21? So do it for 3 weeks and then it should become a habit. You can move it to anywhere you want then. And maybe stack other stuff on top of it too!
A great example of creating a new habit is taking 20 minute every morning to do your social median check ins. I actually challenge you to start this today.
I firmly believe that a lot of VAs spend wayyyy too much time on social media, and they don't have specific objectives for what they are trying to achieve with it.
What are you trying to do? Get clients. How do you get clients? Daily business conversations. That should be your daily objective on social media, so make it a habit, part of your morning routine.
Take 20 minutes and decide which groups you will go to, or which platforms. Connect with how many people. How many likes, shares, comments? Be strategic. Do it daily. Stop after 20 minutes.
I promise you, you will get better at it with practice, and you WILL get clients from it. In 20 mins a day. Yes, 20 strategic minutes.
I can teach you what to do and say in those 20 minutes that will get you the clients.
And the last thing you can do to save time in your VA business is
4 Regular Cost Benefit Analysis
This is a tricky one. How much automation do you bring into your business? What about subcontractors? Getting help to do what you do is the last time saver for today's episode.
Doing a cost benefit analysis is easy. Basically you are looking to see if paying for a person or service to help you with your work makes sense.
You compare the cost to the benefit.
Here's an example
- You manually create social media post captions for your clients every week. It takes you 3 hours each week to create the captions, and then to repurpose some of it for social media images.
- You then use Canva to create images with that content. Another 90 minutes.
- You then download each image from Canva, name it and store it in your shared folders. That takes another hour.
- Then you post the content to your planner and schedule each post to go out. That takes another 90 minutes.
So we are looking at 7 hours to do that task. If you are billing the client at 40/hr, that is $280 a week.
What could help you do it more efficiently? Post planners that can pull in csv files of content with image urls, for one.
A sub to help with the Canva part maybe, for another.
Templates for Canva images, definitely.
Weigh out what these things might cost versus how you are doing it now.
Sub doing Canva work means you can pay out 2.5 hours at say 25/hr $63.50, and you can then take on more clients to do the other steps. Would that make sense for you?
Bringing on more clients brings you in more top line revenue and helps you get more work done.
Anyway that's just one example, you see how cost benefit works to help you make decisions.
Analyzing your revenue and workflows regularly is an excellent way to save you time as you get busier.
How does that all sound??
Time Saving? I promise you it will be, give some of it a try.
Especially that 20 minutes a day connection time. It truly is a game changer!
I'm going to leave it here for today, so I save us both time ha ha!
But I want you to know that I can help you do this stuff in your business. That's literally the reason I am here. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
This is exactly the kind of stuff I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at [www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC] (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today we are going to talk about why you should consider having your clients prepay for your VA services.
Quote: A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. - Dave Ramsey
Now this episode is not about budgeting of course but fyi when you google prepayment services you basically get a bunch of funeral ads. Of course you do! So instead I went for prepay quotes and Dave Ramsey cane up. And it is an important factor in today's episode, budgeting. So I'm using it! Let’s go!
To prepay or not to prepay?
It is a very common question in Virtual Assistant circles.
Some VAs start off getting their clients to pay up front. Some VAs make the switch at some point. Some VAs always get paid after work is done.
What you will do is up to you. It's your VA business. I can't tell you what you should be doing.
But I will tell you today why in my opinion it is better to get payment up front.
There are a lot of good things that can come out of getting paid for your services ahead of time.
I am only going to cover three today, but I bet they will help you decide that it's right for you.
1 Assurance of Payment
The first reason that it is a good idea to collect payment ahead of providing services is, well, so you will be sure to get paid.
One of the reasons that some VAs move to prepayment is because they got burned. It is part of the reason the I moved to it, I have no problem admitting that.
We often introduce policies and boundaries to our business as a result of things going wrong.
Chasing money is wrong. When your clients work, they get paid. You need to have that same expectation. You have plans for the money you earn.
When you get prepaid, the client pays you before services are rendered.
It's not unusual, especially these days. You have to pay ahead before you get a lot of stuff. Amazon, Ticketmaster, and even McDonalds.
Not all service providers require prepayment, but think of it as the client reserving time in your schedule for the coming month, and they need to lay to reserve it.
I can tell you a lot of sob stories about VAs doing work and then not getting paid for it. Way too many as a matter of fact.
There might be a lot of reasons why that happens but make no mistake, it sucks. It has happened to me more than once, and it could happen to you.
Protecting yourself is one of the best things you can learn to do as a business owner.
Making sure you are going to get paid is really is what I consider to be the main reason for you to change your policy around billing today.
2 Set Expectations
You are a business owner. You are not someone's assistant. Well you are their Virtual Assistant, but you are not their employee.
When you set the terms for payment, especially prepayment, you are asserting your position as the client's equal.
You get to tell them when to pay you. They don't get to decide that for you. They get to do that for their own business.
Imagine if you had a client whose customers prepaid them, and one of those customers tried to tell them they would pay afterward. Red flag! Your client would never say yes to that, and you don't have to either.
Setting expectations is important is everything you do in your VA business, but when it comes to money, it is even more important.
Your client will know that you are a business operator and that you are in charge of what happens with your policies and terms.
The one thing you have to do is be confident in your decision to collect payment in advance. If you are wishy washy about it the client will not have those expectations set.
Just like setting your rates, providing task estimates, and setting and holding all of your business policies, terms and boundaries, it's up to you! You set your rates and decide which clients to work with based on what they are going to pay you.
I can help you with setting your rates properly and setting your business policies, and even help you with what language to use to communicate money stuff with your clients.
3 Getting the Work
The last reason I'll cover today is simply a workflow reason.
When a client pays you in advance there is a better chance of them sending you the work you need to do.
How many times have you heard that a client needs so much help, and then it is like pulling teeth for then to send you anything?
Always remember that when our clients hire us they are usually overwhelmed, and we might be adding to that overwhelm as we try to get started.
It's another reason that I suggest getting ongoing important work tasks to do from the start.
When you are doing ongoing admin or marketing, you will need to communicate with them at least a few times a week. With projects, a week or more can go by and you don't create any kind of work flow that way.
Getting the work can be helped by them already having paid for it.
And on that note, don't roll over time. Don't let clients use hours over more than a month. If they don't need 20 hours a month yet, don't bill them that.
Start with 10 and then increase it. Only bill what you know you will use for their work. Use their budget wisely and in the best way possible for them.
All right. Are we getting it? Understanding it? Ready to do it??
Okay... so, prepayment. How does it work?
Your client can purchase a block of hours (that will be used in the coming month!) or they can buy a package of services that will be delivered in the coming month, or they can buy a project which starts this month.
They pay, you get to work.
You keep track of time or tasks and you give them weekly updates to let them know how you are managing their time. Not detailed time reports, just a summary update.
All clients want to know that you are managing their money well, keep them informed.
If you start running short tell them immediately. Turn down work or defer it till the next month instead of billing them a second time in the same month. If you are doing what you both agreed to at the frequency you both agreed to, you should be able to complete it on budget.
I will talk in another episode about what to do if things go off the rails, but I think you get the gist!
I also talk in another episode about how to estimate a client's service needs and how to bill properly for them. I'll tag that episode in the show notes. Be sure to check it out.
I'm going to leave this episode right here for you but I want to circle back to today' quote from Dave Ramsey.
A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.
When you ask for prepayment, your client is budgeting their work with you. You agree that xyz needs to be done this month. You agree that will cost the client this much. That becomes the budget for both of you to work with.
It makes things so clear for both of you. I highly recommend doing it.
And I can help you get it detailed out for your VA business. Services, rates, packages, client estimates, time management ... It's all part of doing this well.
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at [www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC] (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today we are going to talk about what it takes for you to build a referral VA business.
Quote: People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted referral influences people more than the best broadcast message. A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising. - Mark Zuckerberg
This quote is great for today's topic because not only is it true, but it is easy to understand by anyone who hears it. Trust is something we talk about a lot in business and marketing, but in terms of getting referrals it is one of the most important things for you to build. Let’s go!
When you first start your VA business, the dream is to work with amazing clients and get people referring business to you all over the place.
It can’t be that hard, can it?
I’m sure there are very few VAs who ever give marketing a second thought.
I know when I started my VA business I did not know how to get clients.
But that didn’t stop me from starting.
And I bet it didn’t stop you either.
There are two ways to find clients … well, maybe three actually.
One … job boards, postings, VA groups, jumping on every potential posting that you see and hoping that you are the first past the post. These methods of getting clients are all very competitive. They can be lucrative, of course, but many jobs that get posted online are looking for the cheapest VA they can find, or like I said, the first one to respond. I don’t recommend growing your dream VA business using job boards. I don’t discourage you from using them - just not as your only source of finding clients. It can be really depressing to waste so much time just hoping.
Two … marketing. I teach marketing, so I know it works. When you find the right people that you can help and you become a part of the community with them online or offline, you can get lots of great clients. But of course it takes the proper strategy and plan, and takes work too. I can help you with your strategy and plan of course .. and I do highly recommend learning to market your VA business well. It is worth the work, and when you find your people you can get lots of GREAT clients this way (not just any old client).
And that brings me to Three, which is what I want to talk about on today’s episode. Referrals. One very underused way to get GREAT clients is to find some great people to refer business to you. Having a great source of referrals is one of the best things you can do for your VA business.
Let’s talk about what you need to do that.
1 - Choose a Target Market
Tracey you always tell us to choose a target market! For everything! Yeah, I do.
Because it is one of the most important things you can to grow a ridiculously good VA business.
Choosing a target market when you are looking for referrals is even more important. How can people send you referrals if they don't know who you can help?
You have to be able to tell them who would be the best clients for you. Not all referrals are good ones. And just because someone sends you a referral doesn't mean they will be a a good fit for you.
So think about who the people are that you can help best. Whether that is because of the industry they are in, or the area they live in, or the services they need, pick one. amd stick with it!
2 - Define What You Do Clearly
The other piece of getting a good referral is making sure that the people you are communicating with (and looking for referrals from) understand what you do.
You can say general admin, or social media, or event planning. And you may have a clear understanding of what that entails. But unless your referrer is a VA, they may not understand what it means exactly.
So it's important to be able to define it well. totally about who you help, how you help them. For general admin that could be saying helping them get organized or sending their emails out or managing their schedule. For social media that could be saying you help them get their business in front of more people using Facebook or LinkedIn. That type of thing.
Clearly defining what you do is not just important when seeking referrals. It's important for your own marketing too. So it's hugely beneficial to figure it out. and yes, I can definitely help you do that.
3 - Find Your Community
One big part of getting one or more referrals sources is becoming a part of a community with them.
You don't want to just ask people for referrals and that's the end of it. You want to connect with them regularly.
Staying top of mind is important to get people to think of you when the opportunity arises.
Finding a community that you can spend time with on a regular basis is a genuine and fun way to keep in touch with people who can help you grow your business.
That could be an online group, it might be an in person group, or it might be a regular event that you attend.
And keep in mind that it might not be the same place that you are networking with your potential clients. There is an important distinction. Find the best communities you can for your business.
4 - Give Referrals
I always say it... the best way to get a referral is to give one first.
Becoming an active part of your community means that you will learn about the other business owners in it too.
Be genuine, always, don't force referrals (or requests for referrals), it never works well that way.
Also, just because someone sends you referrals does not mean that it has to be a two way street. I learned that a long time ago that people can be a one way referral.
How does that work?
Simple ... there are people that need you after they have worked with someone else ... say a business coach who has taught them strategy to implement. They then need you to implement that strategy.
And there are people that need someone else after they are working with or have worked with you. Say those same clients need a website developer or a branding expert, or a social media expert.
In both cases, you can get referrals too. The business coach can refer their clients to you, and so can the web developer. Make sense?
5 - Do Great Work
And the last part is so easy. Do great work.
The best way for people to want to send others your way is to do a good job. A ridiculously good job, as a matter of fact.
Just do what you are great at, and this part will be the easiest!
Do what you love, what you are great at, network with awesome people, be honest if someone comes along who is not a good fit for you. Everyone learns that way.
Building a referral VA business just takes making a few decisions, making the right connections, and doing good work. How simple is that!?
And it really is that simple. I did it, so I know it works... and how easy it is.
I built my referral only VA business exactly this way.
I worked with a business coach to clearly define who I helped, what I did, and how I helped them. We created simple packages that helped me showcase that.
Then I connected with those people and their colleagues every day. Online. In person. At events. I became known for what I did.
And I got referrals. I was highly referred and on a waiting list all the time. I grew my business with 4 subcontractors who helped me provide amazing services to my clients. And their clients!
A little bit of trust goes a long way with referrals, just like Mark Zuckerberg says in today's quote. Be genuine, be helpful, do good work. That builds trust in business!
I did it. I honestly did it really easily.
And you can do it too. Start building a referral VA business today.
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at [www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC] (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today we are going to talk about what you should put in your Virtual Assistant contract.
It is important for you to get your clients to sign a contract prior to working with you.
Having a contract sets you apart from other VAs, it details what you are going to do for your clients, and how much it is going to cost them, tells them how to work with you and how to stop working with you.
Professional VAs ... yes, ridiculously good VAs, use contracts.
They should include the standard stuff, client contact info, yours, but there are a few other things you should make sure to include as well. I will share those things in this episode.
But first, I want to quickly talk about putting dates on a contract. Some VAs feel the need to lock the client in to a contract with dates on it. I never did this. I actually don't recommend it unless you are working on a project.
It may feel like security for you but it really just locks both of you into something and it can be scary for the client to commit.
Some VAs do it without issue, but I prefer an open ongoing contract that you can update at a specific time (ie annually).
So let's go. What should you include in your contract?
Scope of Work
This is where you tell the client what you will do for them. Don't just put general admin. You want to describe in detail what you will do.
Name the tasks, describe the frequency you will do them.
This is one of the most important parts of your contract. Set the client's expectations by being as specific as you can. If you write down client care or customer service, what does that entail? You don't have to write a paragraph, but a few words to describe the task.
Include every task or deliverable you will provide.
And add in one last point that indicates you will also do other tasks as agreed upon by both of you. So you can expand or change what you do. And keeping an eye on this part is what can help you to know when yo revise your contract with that client.
Communication
You will want to set boundaries for communication with your clients. You have to, or they could start treating you like their employee.
How do they communicate with you? How do you coordinate work to be done? How often do you respond? How much lead time do you need for things?
I used to communicate with weekly production meetings and then via email the remainder of the week, so that went into my contract.
The clearer you can define your communication boundaries from the start, the better for both of you.
Schedule
When will your contract begin?
How much time are they getting from you, or what are their expectations around that? Weekly ongoing work is best!
What are your business hours, and when will you be off or away? How muchbnotice do you give before taking time off?
These are all important considerations for your contract as well.
You can have more detailed conversations with your clients about turnaround times and lead times once you start working together but schedule stuff is important to include in your contract.
Payment Terms
This is probably the next most important part of your contract.
I always say your clients want to know what you can donfornthem and how much it will cost them.
So in your contract, that refers to your scope of work and your payment terms.
How and when do your clients need to pay you? I highly suggest getting paid in advance, or taking prepayment for your services.
It makes lots of things easier, but certainly it protects you from doing work and then maybe not getting paid.
What happens if a client pays late? You should indicate that in the payment terms as well. Be clear from the start. Then if the client doesn't hold up their end of the bargain, you can handle it quickly.
Also indicate what happens if they go over budget or finish a month under budget. Do you roll hours over? Do you have a use it or lose it policy? Put it all in here.
Confidentiality
A confidentiality clause helps you let the client know that you will protect their stuff.
Tell them that you won't disclose or discuss their company info and data with anyone. Let them know how you manage secure things like their passwords or shared access files and programs.
This is called nondisclosure. It takes the place of an NDA, that's what you are covering by detailing this in your contract. Sometimes clients also ask you to sign their NDA which is also fine in my opinion.
The other thing your clients might ask of you is something called a non compete. This often means that you agree not to work with similar businesses. You do not have to agree to this and you definitely do not need to have it in your contract. Your VA business is your business. If you have a client who is worried that you will work with their competition, they might not be a good client. Some businesses need noncompetes, there are places for them. But as a service business operator an NDA is all you need.
And the last thing you need to out in your contract is
Dissolution clause.
What does that mean? It just means how you dissolve the contract, or end the relationship with that client. I include two things in this part. First is how to end it in the first 30 days. Sometimes things just aren't a fit. So give yourself and the client an immediate out. What happens if either of you want out after you have just begun?
And second, how do either of you out after that? My contracts always indicated that with 30 days written notice, either party could end the agreement.
Don't be scared that a client will leave you. If you are working well together, they won't. Do your best and you will enjoy longterm relationships with your clients.
The dissolution clause is there to help you both.
And 30 days is enough time to find a new client to replace them if you break up!
Of course, have a lawyer look over your contract to make sure it protects you and reads correctly. But you don't have to give your clients legalspeak. You can use normal business language and still have it legally sound.
That's it! That's all you really need in your contract.
I hope I have helped you see that it's not crazy technical, amd why each of these sections are so important.
Your contract is an essential document in your business. Do not do business without it.
And do be sure to review the contract at least annually with your client, or when your work scope changes significantly.
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at [www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC] (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today we are going to talk about how I became a fully booked out VA - and how you can too. It’s really not as hard as you think!
Quote: In the business of referrals, trust is the most important reason a recommendation is made and, conversely, lack of trust the single greatest reason referrals don't happen. - John Jantsch
Now of course we aren’t operating an MLM here, but a service business grows easily when others send you more clients. And that’s what we will talk about in today’s episode. Let’s go!
Building an amazing Virtual Assistant business is not a difficult thing to do. You find a client, you do great work, they tell their friends about you, and you get more clients. Right?
Become a booked out VA is something that we all dream of - and strive for - when we start our VA business.
The most difficult thing you will do in your business is find great clients.
I talk often about finding great clients because running the business you love is all about the quality of clients you work with.
When we start our VA business, we will work with anyone who asks us to. And that’s not a bad thing. We need money to run a business, and when we are starting out it is totally okay to work with anyone.
But … as we build our business, we want it to be sustainable … profitable … fun … and fulfilling.
And that means finding the best clients we can.
It means finding a lot of them. And it means finding their colleagues, and getting referrals.
Today’s quote tells us that trust is one of the deciding factors of whether to pass along someone’s name or not. You know it yourself, you give a referral for someone when you think they can take care of your friend. Our clients are no different.
Becoming booked out is a term that a lot of VAs are jealous of - especially if they aren’t booked out.
But it’s what we all work towards. So let’s talk about how you can do it.
I’ll set the stage a little for you, about how it all happened for me.
I started working for myself in 1998 just before I had my son. I was 7 months pregnant and I was leaving my job at the head office of a hospitality company. I didn’t intend to go back to that job, and I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do, but for a few reasons I knew I wasn’t going to be going back there.
First, I didn’t like the job. I liked parts of it, but some of what I was doing was kinda dull.
I definitely didn’t like the office life. Commuting, rush hour, figuring out what to eat for lunch every day, constant interruptions in my office … it just wasn’t my vibe.
I loved my coworkers, but I found corporate life to be really a bore.
Oh, I suppose I should mention that I had only worked at that position in the company for a couple of years. Prior to that I had been a kitchen manager in the company. So definitely not an office job!
Some quick background: I never really knew what I wanted to do. I started working in high school in hospitality and then quickly moved on to several different admin jobs. I worked in the government, private sector, community newspaper, as a courier, a sales rep, and many other jobs until I realized I didn’t love any of them. I thought about what I wanted to do and it was hospitality - so I went back to school for my catering management diploma and stumbled into the company I ended up working 8 years for. When I was in the kitchen there was a lot of admin, and I naturally gravitated to that. I loved cooking but I was really good at the admin, so I moved to corporate office. There now you’re caught up ha ha.
Anyway, I met my husband at restaurant (he is still a chef) and we got married and have a 25 year old son now (who is also a chef). When I was leaving on mat leave I knew I wasn’t going back, that’s where we were.
I again thought about what it was I wanted to do, and actually my boss answered that question for me.
He asked me if I could contract to do the important work he still needed (the stuff I loved) after the baby arrived. I told him I didn’t know how, and he said ‘We’ll communicate by email, meeting if necessary. You do the work, count your hours and send me a bill at the end of the month.' Voila, I was a freelancer.
Why was I a freelancer? Because my boss trusted me with the work he needed done. In fact he had done the work before me. So he knew it was valuable, and he knew he wasn’t doing it anymore, so he had to suggest a ways for me to do it.
And so we began. That was great, and I did it for a lonnnnng time!
The problem was, it wasn’t a lot of money to start, just working for one client … and I had no idea how to get other clients.
So the second part or the story is my struggle.
I did everything I could think of to find clients. Fiverr, Upwork (they were called other things back when I was there), classifieds, local bulletin boards, yellow pages, cold calls, direct mail, job boards ,… who knows what else I tried.
I worked my butt off trying to find clients. Did I find some? Sure I did. But I heard a whole lot more NOs than Yesses. I heard them every day.
I thought that’s the way business was supposed to be.
But it’s not.
If that’s what you are going through right now, I want you to pay really close attention to the next part of this episode.
Business doesn’t have to be hard. At least the getting great clients part doesn’t.
I tell you every day. Find your people. Connect with them. Get great clients.
Why do I tell you that? Because it’s the key to having a thriving business that you love - with more clients than you know what to do with.
I did it. And you can do it too.
It’s not hard. I tell you that all the time. And I’m not lying.
Did I struggle? Oh yeah.
Did I fail? You bet!
Did I learn? Yep … and that’s the key right there.
To find the best clients for you … you need to learn how!
I use the term ‘great clients’ all the time. You probably have noticed that. Because not all clients are equal.
Are they all great people? Probably! But they are not all great clients.
A great client is someone that needs the services you love to provide. They have a growing business that depends on your support to make it fantastic. They value you and your business. And you work well together. And they want you to succeed as much as you want them to succeed.
Great clients need us, appreciate us, value us, and PAY us.
Those are the clients I want you to work with. The clients I want you get BOOKED OUT supporting.
Don’t fill your VA business for the sake of filling up your week.
Set your rates where they need to be for you to earn good money. Work only with the clients you want to work with (no more micromanagers!). And do only the things you love to do every day.
How did I get there?
Easy. I worked with my first business coach in 2008. Now if you’re paying attention to the years in my story, that’s a full 10 years after I started working for myself.
TEN. YEARS.
I didn’t struggle the whole time but I sure wasn’t flying for a long time.
And then when I got introduced to my business coach (through one of my clients), I learned how to find clients.
I actually joined their high-level mastermind group (which cost me $750 at the time … probably at least 30% of what I was billing at the time)
I learned a strategy, and system that worked for me.
I found the people that I could help.
I hung out with them.
I talked to them and their colleagues every day.
And … I doubled my rates overnight.
My business coach looked at what I was doing, asked me what my revenue goal was (I didn’t even know!) and we made the necessary changes to put a plan in place to get me there. Within months I was booked out and on a waiting list.
I raised my rates and I focused on the services that I loved to do - that I was terrific at - and that my clients really needed. I started offering packages and prepaid retainers. No more hourly billing, no more unused hours to roll over. No more waiting on clients to send me stuff to do.
I became proactive and talked to them about ongoing work. Things they needed to have done regularly - weekly if possible. I held weekly meetings to keep us on track. I was no longer a task doer, I was a required part of their business and I kept all of their balls in the air.
I also created a high ticket service that I was able to offer my clients on a project basis, and that was a great thing for my business too. My clients referred their colleagues to me, and I was able to attend networking events and live events where all of their colleagues were.
Getting known in the community of people that I knew I could best support, that could allow me to build the business I wanted, was the key to being booked out.
And it happened fast! Once I knew what I was doing.
But the bottom line was that before that, for 10 years! I had nothing in place to build my own success. Nothing.
I was flying by the seat of my pants every day and just hoping something would stick.
I needed a plan and I got the help I needed. I learned what I didn’t know, and I got to where I wanted to go. FAST.
I didn’t do it alone, and you don’t have to either.
I can help.
I’ve been helping VAs for 13 years. Two years after I made all my changes, I started teaching VAs how to do the same. It was at that time I launched my Getting Started as a VA program that continues to help VAs today.
When people trust you, they love to do business with you. That’s also part of the reason I do so much free training - including this podcast. I want you to trust me to help you with your business. I have been where you are. It’s not a fun place to be. I don’t like to struggle and I don’t want you to either.
You don’t have to. I can help you get out of where you are and create a plan that will work for you.
I’m going to leave it here for you today after this quick recap:
How do you become a booked out Virtual Assistant?
- work with a coach
- set realistic rates (do the math)
- create packages
- find your people
- network every day, attend events
- ask for referrals
And of course the most important (and easiest!) part - do a great job for them!
Gathering testimonials is secondary to people talking to their colleagues about you. When you are a ridiculously good VA, your clients' colleagues will ask how they are doing so well - and they will mention you!
Becoming booked out means you being an important part of many clients' businesses. An indispensable part. The need you, They value you. They will pay you what you are worth, because they are confident that you are worth it.
Don’t wait 10 years like I did. You don’t have to. I can help you TODAY.
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at [www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC] (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of. And I promise you, it won’t cost you $750 a month! It’s only $129.
If you want even faster results, private coaching could be the option for you.
Let’s talk about it. I’m here to help you. If you’re stuck, reach out.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Hey there, welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today we are going to talk about what you should be sharing with your VA clients and what you don’t have to share. Now I don’t mean personal stuff or what you talk to them about - I’m talking about how you actually do the work you do for them. You’ll see what I mean.
Quote: It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do. Steve Jobs
This quote is for our clients again. Hire smart people. That’s us, the VAs. Then let us do what you hired us to do. Micromanagers need not listen to this episode (or maybe they should!) Let’s go!
This will be a short episode today because it's pretty much to the point!
I want to talk about what you be sharing with your clients versus what you shouldn't be sharing, or what you don't need to share with them.
Because we work virtually, there are certain things that our clients need access to.
But sometimes the lines get blurred, especially when the client requests something from us, and we aren't quite sure what the right thing to do is.
So let's start with what you need to share with them.
Their files. Any of their own files you should be sharing with them. They need access, and you do too, but anything that is theirs should be theirs.
Set up a Google folder or a Dropbox folder or whatever you use, and create a simple filing system so they can find what they need when they need it.
If you do use Google, make sure to make the client the owner of the folders and files even if you create them. It makes it easier at the end of your relationship if you do that as you go along.
Their CRM. The information that comes in through a client's CRM is theirs, and you should have their own account set up for it. Same with e-commerce stuff. You should never be setting up CRM, email or bookkeeping systems and then adding your client and their info to yours.
Anything they require to run their business should be paid for by them and updated in their own systems. Then you get access, preferably with your own login and password.
There are liability issues if you don't, of course, but it is also simpler when you stop working with them to extract yourself from their stuff rather than move it all somewhere else for them.
Their passwords. This is important as well. Anything you use to help them should have a password for each of you if possible. But they definitely need password access for whatever you do for them. Using a password manager like Roboform or LastPass can help you keep all of that stuff safe and secure.
Pretty standard stuff. There are probably other things that you need to share with them, but you get the point I think.
So let's move to the other list!
What do we not have to share with them?
Step by step instructions on how to do everything.
This is the big one, and the basis of this episode.
Your clients are paying you for your expertise. You do not have to teach them how to do what you do.
Some will ask. You can say no.
In fact you may find yourself replaced with someone cheaper if a client has step by step instructions to do the things you do.
Now ... if they have provided you with those instructions then it's fine to update them when necessary. But if you have created them, you don't have to ever give them access.
If you do have a client who insists on you creating videos or writing down all the steps, you can decline. politely if you like.
To me that client is a micro manager and I would let them go.
They don't need to know how you do it, or be able invite anyone off the street to do it. They are paying you to make sure it gets done.
And they might also be able to tell you what steps not to miss(ie SEO in a blog post) but if they want to do your tasks they can learn how to on their own.
And if they want to hire someone else they need to find someone qualified.
What I have done for clients in the past is to give an overview of the task (ie create newsletter, update subject line, update content, images are found or created here, links are found here, send a test email to check all, schedule to send) etc.
This is not a process that someone off the street could complete (like click file, click open, click on subject line, update it, etc)
The person taking over had to know what they are doing. I think those processes are okay to share.
But not writing down everything you know for them.
So that is step by step stuff.
You also don't have to share your processes with them. Like how you do things or create them or research them.
Again, they are paying you for the deliverable - to get something done. So that's what they get.
Collaboration is essential so you need to define everyone's roles. What do they have to do, and when, and how does that fit in with or affect timelines, deadlines, and other people's work progress and pace?
Processes are important from a team standpoint, but not for the work you do on your own.
Content creation does not have to be shared. They may have their own Canva account, and that's fine, but it is not necessarily something they need layered access to.
That might surprise you but again they are paying for a deliverable, the completed image presumably, so draft stuff doesn't matter..You can do their work in your Canva account (though I still prefer for them to pay for their own).
Use their brand colors and fonts and create templates to make it easy to create their stuff, but still only deliver the final images unless they pay you for some templates.
And finally strategy.
This is a touchy subject for some VAs because they feel like they should be charging more for giving a client advice or strategy around the work they do.
You don't have to share anything with them unless you want to.
And it should be billable (I won't talk about you having just one billable rate today but you should only have one).
Just because you work with clients who do podcasts, doesn't mean you should be giving your client advice about where to market theirs. Doesn't mean you can't, just saying podcast support does not have to include strategy. It's one of the 'you don't have to do this just because a client asks' tasks.
There you have it.
What do you need to share with a client? Their stuff.
What don't you have to share? Your stuff. Your intellectual property, your processes, your training and expertise, your advice or strategy.
Clients will ask. You can refuse. Remind them that they are paying you for the deliverable ... to get the stuff done ... and that's what you will deliver for them.
Our clients need to remember what Steve Jobs says! Hire smart people (VAs) so they can tell you what to do. They don't need to learn what we know. They don't need to teach others what we know.
They need to stay in their lane and work in their brilliance.
Anything less, to me, screams cheap. They are looking to stop spending the money they knownthey need to spend to have you help them.
So if you think a conversation about NO will be uncomfortable, think about giving it all away and then losing that client anyway.
I choose NO every time!
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at [www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC] (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Starting a service business like your VA business is relatively easy, because there isn’t a lot of startup cost, but let’s see how much of a shoestring you need. Let’s go!
I like a bargain. I check prices when I grocery shop.
I look for ways to save money on things that maybe others don’t.
I’m not afraid to admit that I am cheap. With some things.
My husband and son tease me all the time about some things that I save money on.
But I also know when I have to spend money on something.
So, this is definitely a podcast episode about starting your VA business on a shoestring - as the title indicates.
I’m not baiting and switching you, I promise!
I do tell Virtual Assistants that service businesses can be opened relatively easily - and you don’t need a huge startup fund to get going, but what I’m going to talk to you about in this episode is the following:
what you need to have to start professionally
what you will need to plan for down the road
what you may never need
and what you need to prioritize.
Need to Have
- cell phone
- internet
- office software
- dropbox account
- time tracking software
- paypal or other online payment option
- password manager
- social media accounts
- social media scheduler
You must have a dedicated space to work as well as dedicated equipment to do so.
Although you work from home and people may know that you have children, you want to keep business business as much as possible.
Yep, I said it … keep your kids away! No matter what age they are. Don’t share computers, don’t share space.
In order for you to maximize your work time, you need to not be distracted.
Time is money for your clients, and if it takes you 3x as long to get their work done because you are getting distracted, they will soon move on to someone else who can things turned around faster, or who charges them less for the work being done.
If you truly want your business to work, make it a huge priority.
That means your own cell phone, your own computer, your own desk and office space, with a door!
You also need high speed internet access. I probably don't need to say much more about that, but there ya go. A strong and stable connection will help you get your work done efficiently. If you waste time because you lose connection or because your speed is slow, once again that is your client' money you are wasting.
You will inevitably need office software like Microsoft 365 which I find well worth the low monthly price. I can access all of my files and work from my phone or other devices as I need to. You can also look at Zoho office or Open Office, but being that most of your clients will be using Word or something like that, you should be sure to pay for an annual subscription.
Cloud sharing is really important so our clients can find what they need when they need it. Dropbox is a great option - as is Google drive. Also if you are working for someone as a sub, they may require you to have access to one or both of these to share work. So just set it up when you start.
Time tracking software is essential and there are a lot of free options. Even if you don't want to work by the hour (it's pkay to do this) or give your clients detailed billing (please don't do this) you still need a way to track your time so you know what you have spent your time.
One of the biggest problems VAs come to me with is not knowing how their monthly billing is so low when they feel like they work all the time. They are not managing their time well, that's usually the big issue.
So track yours, so you know. It's not about working fast, it's about working efficiently.
PayPal is a great way to receive client payments. Your clients can use a credit card to pay you easily without you setting up a merchant of your own.
Yes there are fees associated with PayPal, but that is true about any online payment option (and they aren't always that much less than Paypal). The fees are a business expense deductible for you, so work them into your rates and you won't even have to think about them. You should be setting your rates covering all of your expenses anyway, but if you are wondering what you might incur, 5% should more than cover it. Usually a merchant will charge you 2 or 2.5 and sometimes a transaction fee on top of that. Paypal is on the higher end at 3% but again if you are using it, charge for it and claim it. And PayPal also allows to send and receive money in many different currencies.
Online payments are a convenience worth paying for. EFTs are an option in Canada but a US client can not pay you with one in Canada.
A password manager is essential for your VA business. If you are logging in to your client's accounts, you need a safe way to do that. There are lots of options, some are free. All are cheap. I use Roboform and I love it. I have one master password to access my list of passwords, but each password in the system is unique and can be changed at any time. I can access all of my passwords from any device I have and that makes it easy to never have to remember anything.
You will need social media accounts, and yes those are free. Figure out where you need to be and what you want to use each for. I always suggest Facebook and Linked In for sure. You don't need to use your personal FB profile for your business. I don't. I don't friend business acquaintances or clients. I join groups with my profile but that's it. Anyone who wants to connect with me on FB does so through my page and my groups (and any groups I have joined).
Set up a page for your business. That's what you will need on Facebook so people can check you out. Then link that page to your profile so that when people go to check you out, they can see your business page where they can follow you with a click.
LinkedIn is also a good place to be because it's all business. It is a great place to find VA clients.
You should also have a way to schedule posts on social media so you don't have to physically be going online all the time to post content. Scheduling also helps you to plan what you will post better, which is part of your time management.
I use Metricool and it's free!
That's all for what I think you need to have to start out. Pretty decent list and it's very reasonable.
Plan For
What about what you should plan for?
Scheduling software - this will save you lots of back and forth with clients and potential clients. There are reasonably priced options that send reminders, work with Google and iCal. It is professional and easy for clients to get into your calendar. Calendly is what I use, there is also Acuity and many others.
Graphics software - Canva is by far the most popular. There is a free version but the paid version allows you to do so much more for about $15/month.
Website - while you don't need a website to get started, you should plan for one. A hosting plan can run you $100 a year for your first year, and maybe beyond too. Some companies offer a very cheap first year to get your business. One caution, you do not want to be moving your website every year, so budget for the cost of the second year from the start. And take the discount the first year. Other than hosting, design is the other thing. If you are not offering website creation as a service, it makes the most sense to have someone else set up a simple site for you and then learn on your own time to add to it and adjust it as necessary. That doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars, but it will save you hundreds of hours of time if you try to learn it yourself. I’m not even kidding.
Backup software - whether you use an external hard drive or a service like Carbonite for $60/year, it is well worth it to make sure you back up your documents files, programs and more.
Project management - you may be able to manage your work without a project management system. If It's just you and your client, you can use email and dropbox if you like, but it sure helps having checklists and stuff to keep everything organized. For $10/month Asana is a great option. Trello is free if the visual layout works for you.
Bookkeeping software - makes things easier than doing it all manually! Quickbooks Online is a great option for about $25/month.
Training - you will inevitably take training to improve your skills or business. Budget for it and plan to implement what you have learned asap to make the most of your ninvestment.
Coach - because you know you want to work with me! The fast path to your goals.
Insurance - business insurance is not mandatory for VAs but it is a good idea if you are working with sensitive information of your clients, or managing their reputation, or accessing their client data, and and and.. Plan for it as early as you can afford it.
Taxes - plan for your taxes, because you will have to pay them! Save at least 30% and then plan for as many deductions as you can.
May Never Need
- website
- project management
- bookkeeping software
You may never need these but if you budget for them and set your billable rate accordingly, you can have them and your business will be more professional and efficient!
Prioritize This
Finally, what should you prioritize as expenses?
- Dedicated workspace and equipment
- Help with what you don’t know
- Time management stuff
- Security for your client’s data and info, and yours
I’m going to leave it here for today … I could literally go one for hours about how to set up your VA business, run it professionally and efficiently!
I know I covered a lot, but look at all the time I spent on what you need that isn’t going to set you back tons of cash. Not too much expense, eh?
But let’s circle back to today’s quote: A business without a path to profit isn't a business, it's a hobby. - Jason Fried (Basecamp)
If you want to run a solid, profitable business, you need to spend money. You need to know your expenses and manage them well - and don’t be afraid to invest in stuff. It’s your path to success.
That's what I want you to know today. What is most important.
I hope you have a good list going right now!
I can help you with advice just like this about all areas of your business!!
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at [www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC] (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
It's simple fact that you will eventually come up a challenging client. What we will cover today is what you need to learn from that client, and how to proceed moving forward if you get into the weeds with someone. Let’s go!
We love our VA clients don't we!
Sure we do. they pay us to do stuff we love.
But in many cases these people that we decide to work with are brand new to us. we don't know them from Adam, and so we have to get to know them through the work we do together.
And sometimes it goes well. We click. We communicate well. We work well together. Everything is great. If we have any issues, we sort them out easily.
But sometimes it doesn't go well.
We struggle.
We don't communicate well.
We don't sort issues out easily.
So let's talk about what to do when you have to deal with a difficult client.
Actually, first let's figure out what we consider to be a difficult client.
A difficult client is:
One who micromanages your work.
One who doesn't pay you on time.
One who pushes your boundaries.
One who does everything last minute.
One who communicates poorly.
One who treats you like an employee.
One who never sends you the work you need to do the work you need to do.
One who complains all the time.
One who thinks they know better than you.
That's probably enough examples. You get the picture. It's super frustrating to even go through that list.
These people exist though, and we need to learn how to deal with them.
I think the first thing I want to tell you is that none of this is okay.
Clients don't get to do any of this to you or with you. Just because your clients are paying you, it doesn’t mean that they get to be difficult.
I'm totally team YOU here, but I'm about to tell you something that you might not like.
If you have difficult clients, it may not be them that is the problem (yep, so that means it could be you!)
So we will start there and then I'll tell you how to fix any of these problems if you are having them.
Yes I am sorry, but you are a big part of the problem if you have a difficult client.
The reason is super simple: you teach people how to treat you.
If a client is treating you poorly, it is because you are letting them.
So the first thing we have to do is fix how you handle yourself in your VA business.
You are a business owner.
You own your business, and you get to make allllll of the decisions in it.
You get to decide your rates, services you offer (and services you don't), communication methods, payment terms, lead times, scheduling ... every little bit of it!
Clients get to decide all of those things for THEIR business.
Not yours. Theirs.
Do their clients tell them when they will pay them, or what the rate will be? Or how they will communicate with them?
No they do not!
I’ll give you an example to illustrate what I mean:
Can you imagine calling your dentist and saying I need to come in tomorrow at 1:30, and I need you to give me some full veneers, and I will only pay you $20.
Of course you can't. You are contacting another business and booking their service.
You need to find out when they have time in their schedule, if they even offer the service you need, and then how much they charge for that service.
It is exactly the same for your VA clients. They need to find out all of those things from you.
May seem like a silly example, but it illustrates how you need to reframe your mindset around being a business owner in your own right, and how you need to change your thinking... especially if you have difficult clients.
This is why policies are sooo important to create starting out. Your clients need to understand that you call the shots and that they are hiring you to provide a service, but that there are expectations that need to be managed about how that happens on a daily basis.
Okay so let's get into how to fix some of these issues if you are experiencing them.
Micromanagers - you are not their employee. They do not get to manage anything about what you do. They can tell you what needs doing, perhaps the way they would like it done, but then it is your responsibility to keep the task on track and keep the client up to date on status. Sometimes people micromanage because they aren’t sure the status of something. It is your responsibility to keep the client current so that they don’t need to micromanage. Provide regular updates or a place to get updates to make them feel better.
Late payers - switch them to prepayment. If you have not been paid, cease work immediately until you get paid. Once you have waited on payment, you will find it easier to ask new clients to prepay you. Don't worry, you’ll get there at some point in your business. It will likely be after the first time someone pays you late. It’s a policy you need to set and hold. Of course this is about repeat offenders.
Boundary pushers - you set boundaries for a reason, office hours, communication methods, response times, lead times, etc. If your clients break any rules and getting away with it, that's on you. If someone sends you a text, and that's not a comment option, respond by your correct comm method. Bad habits form quickly when you let clients cross boundaries, so hold them any way you can.
Last minuters - the only way to get away from doing last minute work is simply don't do rush work. if someone is supposed to give you xx days of lead times hold them to it. No rush fees, no ‘okay just this once’, it's a no. Of course this would be after you send reminders for the proper lead time. Setting the client expectation that the work can not be completed at the last minute is a simple way to get them to handle stuff on time.
Crappy communicator- You may need to teach this one. If you are doing way too much back and forth because they can't tell you what they need, Streamline your process (maybe a form or a checklist?). Or maybe they phone you every day instead of going through your project management system. Only do scheduled calls, and keep them very short and on topic. Spending your week on endless meetings isn’t a good use of your time, and will eat away at your time to do actual client work.
Boss employee guy - Quite simply you are not their employee. Don't act like one.. Don't respond like one. Make sure they know that you are not their employee. Every day.
Where's the stuff - If you are constantly asking your clients to send you stuff and they don't, walk away from. them. Seriously, you can't care more about their business than they do. Get them to hire you for ongoing work that is essential, and then they will send you what they need to send you because it matters. I used to work with clients (business coaches was my niche) who were enrolled in a program with their own business coach - that meant that they had an agenda and a plan and I knew that they would value and prioritize the work they needed me to do. If you are always fighting or rushing last minute, stop caring so much until they do.
Complainers - Negativity sucks. If all your client does is complain about you, someone else, or themselves, cut ties. Especially if they complain about you and it is not founded.
Smart guy - Your clients are hiring you for your expertise. If they think they know better than you, you will continue to encounter challenges. Now I have been a great VA and I know a lot about how I think things should be done, but I trust VAs to do my work once I've said my piece. You need to help your clients feel confident and cared for, but at some point they have to accept that you know what you are doing. Like my housecleaner!
How's that for getting help with difficult clients??
I think it is super important to get your difficult VA clients under control (or fired) as soon as you can.
Like Bill Gates says, your most unhappy clients should be the ones you learn the biggest lessons from. And trust me, if you have a client you consider to be a difficult one, they are not happy. You are not happy. It’s time to learn from them.
So learn, and adapt - and implement new rules and boundaries where you need to. Today!
If you started and got into some bad habits, correct them now. And be sure that any new clients you bring in are not being allowed to do any of this difficult stuff.
If you haven't experienced any of this yet, create your policies for all of the above and make sure your clients know about it.
Change your policies, hold your boundaries, adjust your mindset and run your business.
Fire clients who don't fit or who don't adapt.
Your business will thank you, and it will flourish when you set and keep all the rules!!
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at [www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC] (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Rates are a tricky thing, and trying to jam everything a client wants into our schedule often leaves us feeling like we need to charge them less because they need our help.
And they are willing to hire us if we can do what they need.
But today I’m going to talk about how to break down your tasks, time them and track them, and use that information to work within your client’s budgets.
Let’s start with breaking down your tasks.
Everything we do has a length of time it takes to complete.
I’m talking about picking up or managing emails, scheduling an appointment, creating a newsletter, creating a Powerpoint, making a travel arrangement, writing social media, running reports for KPIs … everything.
And it’s your job to figure out how long everything takes to do.
Does that sound exhausting? Ha ha it doesn’t have to!
There are two kinds of tasks: one with a clear start and finish (I call these ‘set’ tasks), and one that I call ‘open-ended’ - that could take 10 minutes, or could take an hour, depending on the volume of ‘stuff’ involved.
For a clear start to finish task - like, say, a client newsletter, we can time it.
We know when we start and we know when we finish. Easy to time track, eh?
But time is money as a VA and we need to make sure we are working more efficiently.
With recurring set tasks, getting procedures in place is easy - but often something that VAs don’t bother doing.
I suggest you do!
One of the things that VAs tell me so often is that they don’t know how to charge for a task a client needs.
This is becuase they have no idea how long it takes them to do it.
How do you know how long something should take to do? You do it! and time it!
Here’s how:
Do the task, start to finish.
Document every step and time it as you go.
Do it again, and this time follow your process document.
Check your work time against your original times. Any changes?
Why or why not?
Figure in what ifs - is your internet slow today? did you get distracted? did you program or software force you to update and restart your computer before you can keep going on your work?
Settle on an average time for that task. Done!
Oh … then multiply the time that task takes by your billable rate.
There is the cost you bill your client, every time you do that task.
I used to do this for newsletters. A client would pay me $50 for every newsletter they needed to send out. That was an hour of my time, based on me pulling it together from they sent me. But I didn’t bill them an hour, I billed them for a newsletter. Task time.
So once you have your rate per task figure out, that’s what your client gets charged every time.
Revisit your time often to ensure that the timing is still correct. If it is longer than your estimate, you need to make changes to reflect that. If it is shorter than your estimate, you just got a raise.
Set tasks are easy to time and cost. They are the same steps each time, so they are easy to document and set.
And that’s how you do it!
Now let’s get to the open-ended stuff.
But Tracey, what about things like checking email, or doing research, or creating a Powerpoint? I have no idea how long these might take me.
Well, it’s your responsibility to know!
I’ll share a story of open ended task going wrong in a bit, but here is basically how you should be handling these.
It’s start and stop times, gang. You know, those buckets of time that I always tell you to use to manage your time better?
They come right in here for your recurring open ended tasks.
Let’s take email management as our example.
If you are looking after email for your client, and you are checking it all day long, stop doing that. It’s not efficient or effective.
Instead, decide how many times a day you will check it.
Two is great - three is standard - four is probably acceptable for a very high volume client.
Set a start and stop time to check it. 15 minutes, 30 minutes max,
These time slots should be short because you are managing your time - not letting the email dictate the length of the task (which can often go off the rails).
So let’s say 15 minute time slots for a client that doesn’t have high volumes of email. 30 minutes at a time for clients who have lots.
You can process a LOT of email in 15 minutes. or 30 minutes.
How many times a day are you checking? 2? 3? Add up your total daily time - 15 mins? 30 mins? You are charging the client for the check in and processing. That’s why the frequency is so important. I often find only twice a day is lots - that is 30 minutes to 45 minutes of time which is plenty even for the busiest clients. But you aren’t going in every day and trying to account for two minutes here or there.
And this is about quoting the client a daily rate for that task.
So back that that. Multiply your daily time by 20 or 22 for the business days in the month. 15 mins a day works out to about 5 hours per month for email. 30 mins a day works out to about 10 hours per month.
Multiply that by your hourly rate - $40? That’s $200 per month for email or $400.
That’s how you bill your client - again, not by the hours, but by the billable task rate.
Then it is your responsibility to process the client’s email in 10 hours per month, by checking on it twice every day. No one needs their email tended to every hour, unless they are in the middle of a huge launch and it’s customer service email. Trust me!
Set the client expectation, get the work done and everyone s happy.
It’s about working with averages for your open ended tasks - and it takes some practice, but once you set that process in place, you will free up so much of your time and you will be very happy!
Time is money - for you and for your client. Use it wisely.
Quick story: I once hired a VA for a 10 hours to help me do a project. It involved research, creating a spreadsheet to track the research, and then some initial follow up from the research contained in the spreadsheet. Simple enough right?
She got to work, and I was happy that I didn’t have to do all that work. I didn’t instruct her on how to do it since I hired her = she should know, right?
Well, she did not. Well … at least she didn’t know how to use my budget of 10 hours.
After the first week I hadn’t heard from her and I didn’t see any updates in the spreadsheet we shared. I reached out to ask her how it was going, and she told me that she had used 6 hours of research already but she hadn’t gotten too far. Um .. what? She wasn’t finding what she needed … or what I needed, I guess … but she still kept at it. Spending my money. Instead of reaching out. Of course I was not happy! We had used more than half the time already, and had very little to ‘work’ with, which was the point.
Because I was a VA myself, I knew how I would have handled this. And how I handled all research projects - If a client gives you a budget of 10 hours from start to finish, then you need to work within that budget. 20% in, check in!
She should have done 2 hours - and then reported back to me. Is this what we are looking for? Or, I am having trouble. I could have helped! But 6 hours without saying anything? No, not good.
So … research. An open-ended task LOL! And one that I want to describe for you.
How do you price it?
Simple. Start and stop times. Those buckets of time that I always tell you to use in your business.
Have a research project? Set an amount of time to get it done … and then get it done in that time.
Communicate super clearly with the client if you are struggling to get something done in a decent amount of time. You are the expert, never forget that!
For research or open ended projects it’s fine to give the client an estimate if you don’t know what you might be up against.
Like I said, work with averages - get an idea of how long something should take (we give our client’s estimates all the time) and then work within those.
Yes there will be extenuating circumstances sometimes, but for the most part averages work.
Next step is to write all of this down (as you are doing it, of course)
Procedure documents are important so that you can do that detailed time estimates - so what do I suggest, doing it 3x and writing it down. Then referring back to it every month or quarter or whatever, to ensure that your timing is still accurate.
But one step further is working with your client budgets - and that’s the final step today!
If your client has a budget of $750 in mind, but they want you to do all of the things they need, your instinct might be to give them a deal because you want the client, and you know they need your help.
Let’s get back to today’s quote - the concept of which I like even though it says you’ll get less if you pay less. I don’t want you to think of it in that way. I don’t believe if you pay less you get less quality - you can simply give them less WORK.
Working within a client’s budget is easy. Okay you can pay this? Then we can only do this, this and this.
Clients don’t get everything they want unless they pay your rate.
But you can do things less frequently for them if their budget is lower than you expect.
Two newsletters a month instead of four.
Email - check it once a day instead of 3x a day.
A research project that they can have done in 2 hours instead of 10.
What does that take to do? Often they need to do more legwork on their end. Frequency of tasks done goes hand in hand with the client’s budget.
You know how long something takes - with a set task, you can do it less often to fit into the client’s budget. With an open ended task, you can adjust the time you spend doing it to fit.
The client still pays your full billable rate, but for less time or less work.
Mastering this time process and costing will pay you in dividends - it works!
I still do it. And the client just gets told $$ instead of hours, which is another great thing.
Your quote or estimate for them is super clear and based on deliverables, not on hours.
I hope you implement this in your business today! You’ll see a huge change in how you manage your time.
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at [www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC] (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Time management is something that so many Virtual Assistants struggle with.
Time is literally money for VAs and other service based businesses, and so making the most of the time you spend doing client work is essential to your profits.
The big thing I see VAs doing that is impacting their time management is very simple: doing too much, for too long.
I’m going to repeat that. Doing too much, for too long, is what VAs do wrong - and that’s what eats away at their day, their client’s budgets, and their profits.
Write that one down!
Whether we are working with a couple of busy clients, or lots of little ones, whether we are doing one-off tasks or ongoing ones, whether we are incorporating our own business tasks into our regular day or after hours, we have a lot to do.
Running any business is hard and requires a lot of ‘doing’. We. Do. A. Lot.
The to-do lists seems endless, the new work keeps coming, and we still have to run our own business stuff too. It’s a lot.
But today, I want to talk to you about doing less to get more done. Really!
First let’s talk about why it’s so important to be able to buy into this objective.
Here are 4 reasons that managing your time well is essential to your success as a VA:
Better Clarity and Focus
Many of the tasks we take on for our clients are ‘full’ projects. We manage things from start to finish - whether it’s client care, marketing, social media, bookkeeping, creative work - usually a VA is hired by a client to look after the whole thing.
And many of the things we do have lots of steps to complete them. It’s part of why we are valuable to our clients - because we have the expertise to manage their projects and keep everyone on task and on deadline.
By using a project management system that the team can access we can break things down into all the steps that need to get done, assign each a deadline and the person who is responsible to do it on time.
Everyone can see the status of the project is and what needs to get done next.
The reason that doing less helps you do more is that it helps avoid extra back and forth communication or even status meetings that are a waste of time for everyone. The PM system does that work and everyone can peek in when it's convenient for them.
Increased Motivation
When we are organized it helps us get more done.
But when we break our tasks down into smaller chunks, we can do them in shorter bits of time, and everything we do still helps us get closer to completing the whole project.
It is much easier to get motivated to do something for 15 or 20 minutes, than it is to try to find time to do a 90 minute project. Chunking your work down into more manageable pieces helps a lot with that.
Who doesn't like to check things off of a to-do list? It gives us a sense of accomplishment, and can even inspire us to keep going, maybe on the next task. That creates momentum.
The reason that doing less helps you do more is that momentum - when you get going because you are seeing progress and you feel like you are moving forward, it’s a lot easier to keep at it, or do one more thing.
Better Time Management
Working efficiently takes a few things, and efficiency comes when you map out the steps to complete any task. You can estimate the time required to complete each step, and therefore schedule your own time or other people's time better.
Prioritizing work is important to keep every project moving forward, and making sure you aren't spending too much time doing one thing is very important.
I suggest setting start and stop times for every tasks... then once you have estimated that, it is your responsibility to complete the rtask in that length of time.
The reason that doing less helps you do more here is that you are literally managing your time - and getting things done in less time than you might if you weren’t paying as close attention.
Better Problem Solving
Collaborating or even just coordinating projects and client work also gets an advantage when you manage your time better.
Sometimes we need to find the best way to get something done, and breaking the project down into the steps we expect it to take can help us make sure that we are doing everything in the most efficient way possible.
You can brainstorm solutions and implement them step by step and that can help keep overwhelm at bay, especially if something you are working on has a lot of steps.
Staying calm and organized is an excellent skill to build as a VA, and will definitely help as you start to work with more clients.
Whether you are managing large projects for your big clients, or managing a lot of small tasks for several smaller ones, being able to recognize that the better organized you are the better.
The reason that doing less helps you do more is that seeing the big picture helps you to avoid roadblocks or things you weren’t expecting.
Understanding that every large project can break down into multiple small tasks is something that every VA should focus on.
If you are one of those VAs that blocks in 2 hour blocks of time for client work, you need to try blocking in smaller time slots.
Identifying the time it takes to complete tasks is the other really important part of managing your time well.
Like I said earlier, if you know how long something 'should' take to get done, that means you really know your stuff.
And it also means that you can work to get every task done in the estimated time - that is the definition of good time management.
You will also know whether your estimates are right, and how you are doing in terms of workplace and profitability.
Time is money for all VAs and even though you may not (or may not want to) bill your clients by the hour, it is still really important to monitor how much time you are spending doing their work.
We will get into work pace and packaging your services in other episodes, but know that the more you master your time management, the more money you will make in your VA business.
Now let’s circle back to today’s quote: Break down the unreasonable into little reasonable chunks. A big goal is only achieved when every little thing that you do everyday gets you closer to that goal.
When we think of our business, our own marketing, our own networking, this quote takes the principles of actually doing tasks and time management with our client work and shows us how to make it work for us.
We’ve talked a lot about chunking your work, small tasks, and managing your time around those.
But that last part is what I want to reference - a big goal is only achieved when every little thing you do gets you closer to that goal.
This is something I did myself a few years ago. I set a big goal, and then everything that I did to grow my business pointed in that direction - my connections, my copy writing, my marketing, my newsletters, all that stuff.
Everything I did moved me in the direction of that larger goal, even though they were smaller tasks or goals themselves.
It is amazing how quickly your business can grow when you focus your efforts in that way.
I loved that quote and it fits so closely with time management and today’s lesson that I wanted to share that part of it too.
I hope I’ve helped you see that doing less can help you get so much more done. Stop booking long periods of time to do anything, and start working in shorter spans of time. You will gain greater focus, get more organized, manage your time much better, and literally get more done than you realized. I can help!
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at [www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC] (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today I am going to talk about why VAs don’t work for free. This episode is for VAs and business owners alike - and it’s just the simplest concept ever. When someone does work, they should get paid for it.
Quote: I don’t just sing for free. It’s my work. You’re paid for what you do. And I work hard. - Celine Dion
Yeah Celine! There’s a fire in my belly over this one, folks. Let’s go.
This week I saw a post in a VA group asking the group members if they were interested in a 3 month unpaid internship.
You would work 15 hours a week for 3 months (!) to ‘learn the ropes’ of a variety of marketing tasks for a private company.
The OP called it great experience, something to add to your resume, with a potential for some paid time 3 months from now.
And it would be great experience. But it’s pretty much illegal.
What??
Yep. In Canada you can’t be an unpaid intern unless the internship is tied to an educational institution. I’ll get into the specifics of that in a bit, but here’s the thing …
Someone is posting what appears to be an opportunity. So many VAs get excited because they can LEARN!
And so come the replies... I'm interested, PMing you now, this is my jam, I would love to learn from you, and so on.
And the VAs have NO idea that it’s against the law.
Not even the OP knows that it’s not allowed, clearly (if they do it's even worse, butI'm pretty sure this one honestly didn't know!)
Now I’m not trying to call out this person who posted this in that particular group. I want to use it simply as an example
I gave her the info that she clearly didn’t have, and she removed the post, but the problem is that this kind of damage is done DAILY to our industry, because we just don’t know any better.
And that’s what gets me riled up.
You must know! You need to learn what's right. It is your obligation as a small business owner.
I actually bumped my regularly scheduled podcast episode to create this one for this week because I really want to know that you have the right information - at least where to get it - before you make these kinds of decisions in your VA business.
You have to know what the legalities are of what you are doing in your business. It’s 100% your responsibility to learn what you don’t know, and to do things the right way.
I’m not a lawyer, I don’t play one on TV, and I bow the experts .. .every single time.
But I’ll tell you, one quick Google search will show you that you can not have someone do work for you and not pay them, claiming that they are getting an advantage or that it’s good experience for them.
Just because you both agree to something doesn’t make it legal. write that down!
Now, have I ever bartered work? Of course I have!
Have I ever hired interns? Yes I have!
Have I ever done free work for someone? You bet I have!
But NOT for 3 months at 15 hours per week.
And NOT for nothing else in return except the actual work you ‘get’ to do. Come on.
Let’s break down the math on this …
If you work 15 hours per week for 12 weeks, that is 180 hours of free work you are giving someone.
Presumably, they are getting paid by their clients for that work, so they are earning money for the work getting.done.
And yet you are not. They are getting free labour. It is as simple as that.
If you charged the bare minimum VA rate, $25 per hour, that is the equivalent of $4500 worth of work for no pay. Most VAs bill $30, so that’s already over $5K. Five thousand dollars you are giving someone!
If they paid you minimum wage in Ontario, which is currently around $16 per hour, it’s $2880. Almost $3000. interns are legally required to be paid minimum wage.
Why would you agree to this? Because you are learning something? Because you are getting experience?
Let me ask you this.
If I offered you a marketing course that taught you how to do a few marketing tasks, would you pay me between $3 and $5K to take it?
Of course you wouldn’t. That is exorbitant.
That’s red flag number 1 - never mind the legalities!
What is the tradeoff for you?
I'll tell you one thing, it is absolutely not as much as the person providing the ‘opportunity’ is getting.
If you decide that you want to trade services with someone (ie barter) or if you want to do work with people for no money (volunteer), then here is what you should be doing instead.
Bartering
If you plan to exchange services with someone, do it properly.
Decide what you will each do that is equal in value.
For me, I bartered with my first business coach. $750 worth of my VA work for $750 worth of their coaching services.
We BOTH got equal value, and we helped each other.
Bartering is a good way to get experience, but you aren’t just ‘getting’ the experience. You are trading something else that is of the same value. I was a part of their mastermind group, I got training and coaching and it made me a better business person.
They got client care and marketing support for their business, we built procedures, and we even expanded their team when things got going.
The key with bartering is to have a contract in place - and a short time frame. As soon as possible, you want to start paying each other, don’t let it go long term.
You can trade VA services for learning ... just make sure they ARE of equal value.
Free Work
Volunteering is one way to get experience that isn’t against any laws. But it’s not usually something that you do for 60 hours a month. And it’s definitely not called an internship.
Volunteering is something you do for a non profit organization, charity or public service if you want to, and not because you are getting them to teach you something. You work in your expertise and you provide a service, like maybe bookkeeping or marketing and you do it in kind for them - like your church or a business association or group. You are helping them because you want to and because you can.
So volunteering is not usually to get experience but it could benefit you by expanding your community of people who recognize your value.
Internship
An internship is a legal relationship or position that has rules attached to it.
In terms of unpaid internships, they are simply not legal. An intern has to get paid at least minimum wage (in the example I gave you that would be almost $3K for the work requested).
Unpaid interns are only allowed as part of an education institutional program (college or university etc), or through the co op programs. What does that mean? If your business isn't a college or university, no free interns!
I'm not an expert guys.
This information is readily available on the Canada.ca website. I Googled it, and you can too.
As I said, I’m not a lawyer or a tax specialist, and I never give legal or tax advice, but I do tell you where to go to find it.
It’s soooo simple folks. Go to your Government website pages. They have all of the information you need to do things the right way.
They tell you the rules, they tell you what the consequences are, and they can be severe.
It is not good enough to say ‘I didn’t know'.
It’s your responsibility as a business owner to learn what you need to learn to run your business where you live.
On the intern info page you will also learn about misclassifying employees as independent contractors, which is another BIG issue in the VA industry, but not one that I’m going to cover in this episode (essentially if you are working with just one client, you are their employee … you can’t be called a contractor if you don’t have multiple clients … and both of you can get caught! Bet you didn't know that either... but now you do!)
Protect yourself when you are getting started, or when you see what appears to be a great opportunity - investigate it.
Don’t assume that the other person knows what they are talking about.
Here’s what to do instead:
Learn for free, don’t work for free. There are umpteen thousands of free places to learn what you want to know online. Don’t do free work for someone else to learn - especially if they are being compensated. You need to get paid at least minimum wage as an employee, or your minimum rate as a VA.
Subbing for other VAs is a great way to learn on the job. They get to do all the marketing and business running, and you just need to help them with the work. I subbed for a great VA for 4 years because I just kept on learning more stuff from her (that is a great perk for a lot of VAs who run teams), but I got paid for every single hour I worked.
And quite frankly, trust yourself. Offer services that you know how to do NOW - if I wanted to hire you today, what could you do for me? Those are the services that you need to be out there getting clients for. Don’t try to get clients doing something you’ve never done - it’s much too hard.
Once you have revenue coming in, then you can take some training and change your service offerings. I started with some bookkeeping and finance type of work because I could do it (but I didn’t like it) and as soon as I got a few months of revenue in, I joined Freelance University and learned how to do digital marketing.
I found my target clients and started marketing my new services to them (I wasn’t a new VA anymore, I just had new services). My business exploded because I did what I knew.
I didn’t need to intern with anyone and I certainly never worked for free - never mind knowing whether it was against any laws or not, I just knew that I was getting paid to do THIS at a job, and therefore I was getting paid when I did it for anyone as my client.
So there ya go.
That’s my rant. I had to do it.Now back to your regular schedule program! ;)
PLEASE learn what you need to know - don’t sell yourself short, and do NOT work for free. Just ever.
And to those business owners who think they can get VAs to do free work, just do better. Pay someone to help you. If you don’t have a large budget, work within it. Value your VAs. They are soooo valuable to your business.
Now in the interest of transparency, you heard me say earlier that I did hire interns - so I want to be clear on that. I did not pay my interns at the time. (gasp!). I bartered with my interns. They got trainings in return for the work they did for me - and they did 3 months of work for me during their internship. But it was for up to 10 hours per month (or 2 hours per week) - up to a total of 30 hours. Which amounted to about $600 of work I got, to their $600 of VA training.
One of the things I bartered was my Getting Started as a VA training self study program - which is 10 hours of training and resources to help you start your VA business. They got immediate access to that and could easily get their business plan and business started within a few days if they went through the program and did all the homework.
During their internship, they also got access to me as a coach and could ask questions, talk to me about setting up their business, which I only offer as private coaching services. It’s valuable.
So I know I did right by the few women that I hired as interns. It was a barter. And like I said bartering can be very valuable to both sides. The key is to offer very clear terms, a contract, and a stop date. And be reasonable with what you are trading - if someone needs 15 hours per week of support, they have to have revenue to support that.
All right I’m jumping off my soap box now.
The bottom line is there are right ways to work with people and there are wrong ways. If you find yourself in a wrong way, fix it.
Value the people that you work with and who do work for you.
If you have any admin experience whatsoever, you do not need to work for free. If you need to learn to set up your business or run it, then learn that. If you need to learn how to get clients, then learn that. If you need to learn to upgrade your existing skills, then learn that.
And then when you have revenue coming in, learn something new and you can change the course of your business.
Value yourself above all. I do!
I am your advocate, and I need you to know that!
Be Celine! You work hard, just like she does. Just like I do. Just like your clients do. They get paid for what they do. You need to get paid for what you do too. Celine gets paid!
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Having lots of clients is a good thing, but if you can't manage your workload then it can be really stressful for all of you.
There are many times when having too many priorities comes up, but handling your workload well on a regular basis helps you manage that better.
Let’s talk about your first clients - we get excited, and then we get into the habit of answering their emails quickly, finishing their tasks quickly, and basically giving them really fast service.
That’s not a bad thing - I mean they are paying you, right?
But the problem with that is that it’s not sustainable as you gain more clients. Which you will if you are a successful VA.
Imagine being the client who got same day service in the beginning and then all of a sudden gets slowed right down, and being told ‘I’ll do that on Thursday’.
Doesn’t feel very good - does it?
And that’s one of the biggest problems that new VAs face.
Like Vince says in today’s quote - it takes months to get a great client, and seconds to lose one.
Very true. We work SO hard to get our clients - it’s really important to work with them in a way that helps them feel valued and also so that we can make sure they value us.
So how to manage it? Well for starters, you want to make sure that you work smarter from the get go.
Which can be a real challenge because you often have nothing else to do - but you have to handle the client as though you have a full schedule.
If you have already started, you are probably going to have to have a conversation with your client or face that disappointment that I described earlier.
I know it well, I’ve had that conversation with clients.
They don’t like being downgraded from being your highest priority.
So you have to build your business with the intention of managing the tasks of many clients.
I bet you never really thought of it till now did you?
I know I sure didn’t!
So let’s talk about how you can do that.
First you have to be able to tell your clients that they are not your only client. They can’t treat you like you are their assistant. You’re not.
You are a VA that they have hired to do their admin work (whatever that is), and they have to treat you like any other business that they would outsource to.
Part of working with a target market is looking for clients who are GREAT - and that means clients who value you and understand that you are working together, that you are not working for them.
If they think you are only working for them (or that they are your highest priority because they are paying you), you will run into problems regularly.
So … start with that! Have that conversation. Let them know that you are in charge of your own schedule. They can let you know what they need done, but they can not dictate when you will do it. Only when it is ‘due’.
There are lots of ways to do work for multiple clients. They all require the use of your schedule.
Use Your Schedule
Some VAs will set aside large blocks of time to work on stuff for client A, client B etc.
But I am not a big believer in blocking off large blocks of time in any given day.
If you have 5 clients, and you book 2 hours today to work for client A, then what happens to the other 4 clients?
My preferred way of working with multiple clients was to block off short blocks of time - 30 minutes or less. You can always circle back to client A’s work later in the day if you need to.
Break up all tasks that you do for your clients into smaller time buckets For instance if you are working on their newsletter don’t try to sit down and produce the newsletter within the hour.
Break your pieces of what needs doing into much smaller tasks so you can do them a little at a time. For the newsletter, there are multiple steps that you need to ‘do’ to get it.
And make sure you factor in breaks to your day - burnout is real and it can rob you of valuable time.
The short blocks of time help you with that too - long periods of time working are bad for many reasons.
One of the main reasons is that the longer you give yourself to do something, the longer you will take to do it.
You also need to be sure that you are planning the right amount of time to complete every task - if you go over on your time regularly, then you have to revise your estimate.
Use Checklists
Instead of booking in an hour and starting from scratch, create a checklist of everything that you need to do to, to get it done. Then look at how long each of those steps takes to complete - and book THOSE times into your calendar.
Think about it - how many 15 minute or 30 minute time slots do you have in your day?
Lots! And it’s easier to fill those by doing something that takes 15 to 30 minutes, and then move on to something else.
Breaking up your tasks into smaller time buckets makes sense when you have a lot of things to do.
It also makes it easier to mix up your day.
I love to create checklists for all the things that need ‘doing’ - they not only help you make sure you don’t miss steps, but they help you to work very efficiently too.
One of the things that checklists do is to stop the need to remember where you left off, or think about what the next step is.
It seems like something that is so simple, but it really frees up that brain space, and it honestly saves you time.
Communication
Another really important piece of managing multiple clients is communication, It’s actually one of the most important parts.
If your clients have to wonder about the progress of their tasks, that’s not good.
They can become anxious - whether they tell you or not - and it can lead to being unhappy with your work.
So communication is always key.
Let them know that you received their work request or email or message.
Let them know when you are going to be able to take care of it or work on it or complete it for them.
Let them know the status of it, whether you are on time or not.
Let them know if anything goes wrong that they have to fix or approve or know about.
Let them know what kinds of lead times you need for all of the tasks you do for them.
Let them know what they need to provide for you in order for you to get their work done efficiently and on time.
Bill them for all communication, and keep it tight.
Set a method of communication and hold them to it. Production meeting once a week and email the rest (or pm system). If they can access you in more than once place you are spending more time on their communication than you should.
Production Meetings
Book a weekly production with all clients so that you can keep the rest of the week’s communication going via emails or project management system only.
Meetings are a waste of time almost all of the time. The more time your clients keep you in meetings, the less time you can actually dedicate to working on their tasks.
A good production meeting helps you keep on top of the priorities for everyone, and gives you that once a week touch point with your clients so you can build a relationship with them.
Mondays are good days for production meetings - and when you can keep them to 20 minutes, you can be done by noon and have the rest of the day to do actual client work.
For instance - if you have 6 clients, book them in every 30 minutes starting at 9 am.
Keep a strict agenda and keep the meeting to 20 minutes. Once you finish the call, take another 10 minutes to put your notes into the project management system.
Bill the client the full 30 minutes (not just for the 20 min call).
The key is making sure the client is aware that it’s a productivity session - and that means a high level overview of what is going to happen in the coming week only.
Create an agenda and stick to it.
Some smaller clients will not need a full 20 minutes.
Even your busiest or biggest clients can have a 20 minute meeting.
You don’t need to cover all details in these - that’s what you project management software is for.
For example, we are doing a newsletter this week, where are the pieces for that? we have 3 group sessions, what is outstanding for those? we are planning for that event next month, where do we stand on the call for speakers? and is there anything new coming down the pipe?
It’s YOUR job to keep things moving and be efficient. You are in charge of the call, not the client. It’s not a gab session or a work session.
It’s a quick connect meeting because you can cover way more in a 20 minute call than a hundred emails. And you can get answers to questions quickly.
And you nurture your working relationship because you are actually speaking with each other every week.
Invaluable.
If a client decides to add a new priority mid week, ask them what can be moved (to a if a client adds a new priority mid week, ask them what can be moved on the current list or tell them what is moving - communication is key, especially with changes. a client may not realize that they have given you more work and that you are already scheduled out- it's your job to tell them that you are.
Focus
The last way to manage multiple clients is one that you have heard time and time again but maybe you aren’t doing.
You need to focus on what you are working on every minute of every day.
The best way to get more done is to pay attention to it and to do it efficiently - and that means focus.
Avoid those distractions.
Set those buckets of time - start and stop times.
Use checklist to keep track of what you need to do (and what’s done).
Don’t do rush work. Teach your clients that your lead times and deadlines are firm.
Say no to things that you don’t want to do or can’t do.
Automate where you can (I like to think checklists are a form of automation!)
And make sure you bill all time that you work for your clients to them - there is no free time, meetings are billable, communication is billable, managing their tasks and projects is billable.
Stay organized.
Stay in charge.
Manage your client expectations and master your communication.
I’m going to leave it there for today.
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today I am going to talk about email lists and why Virtual Assistants need one of their own.
So many VAs I talk to do not have a newsletter, and I admit for a long time I didn’t have one of my own either, but it is a really good way to market your business. Let’s go!
Creating a newsletter for your VA business probably seems like a waste of time.
You don’t need hundreds of clients, right?
Right - you don’t need a mailing list that has thousands of people on it.
But that doesn’t mean that it’s not a good marketing tool for your VA business.
Everything is relative, and you can get clients from your email list even if you just have 100 people on it. It just has to be the right 100 people.
The same as networking, you want to connect with people one to one - -and like our quote today says, your email list is the original 1 to 1 communication tool.
it's not about getting hundreds of subscribers - everyone started out with one! it's about creating an engaging audience that keeps up with what you are doing in your business.
Let’s first talk about why it’s a good idea:
Aside from the thought about it being a marketing tool - which can feel salesy and icky, just think about it as a really good habit to get into. Here’s why:
When you put together a regular newsletter, you get practice with writing about business.
You get to share your expertise and write professionally so that people can learn from you and also connect with you.
The more you do anything, the better you get at it.
And writing is super easy because you don’t have to feel nervous or anxious about people seeing you do it. You just need to write about what you know.
Your clients need to feel that they can trust you - it’s one of the most common reasons that small business owners tell me that they don’t work with a VA - because they have a lack of trust.
Not in you, they don’t even know you.
Just in general. They don’t know how to trust someone they have never met - and may never meet! - to log in to their systems, to see the back end of their business, to handle their money, or deal with their clients.
It’s a really foreign concept for many people who have never worked with someone who isn’t in the same office as them.
And one of the best things we can do to build up their trust is to be available for them to get to know.
A newsletter can help you do exactly that.
So like I say the more you do it the better you get at it. Plan on at least a monthly newsletter when you start out - move to biweekly or weekly as soon as you can.
Sending out a regular newsletter helps you to create content about things that your audience - your clients - don’t do well, or don’t know anything about.
And it gives you a reason to connect with them regularly without feeling salesy.
Which brings me to what you can put into your newsletter.
The content is simple - it doesn’t have to be a crazy busy newsletter.
I put in a personal note, usually with a picture.
Then I say what is happening this week or in the coming weeks.
Then I give some resources - a featured blog post, video, or event coming up.
And contact links.
You don’t have to put in personal stuff if you don’t want to - I find its a good ice breaker for each newsletter so it isn’t just a bunch of links.
Whatever you do, you want to have a call to action, just as any social media post or blog post.
Being able to tell someone to ‘hit reply' is one of the easiest calls to action, and it can help them confidently reach out to you to ask questions or inquire about whether you can help them.
And they will!
You can share client stories or a new blog post, or successes you have had - things you have learned, or mistakes you have made (be careful with these, always tell how you fixed them!) - even show them behind the scenes of working with a VA.
Clients are so curious - and they don’t often have a trusted source to tell them what they can do with support for their business - become that person for them.
As long as your content is interesting, they will look forward to getting it.
And don’t forget to add your affiliate links if you set those up after the last podcast episode!
If you haven’t listened to that one yet, be sure you do - your newsletter is exactly the place to use all of them!
So how do you get a newsletter started easily? A little planning.
Like you did for your blog, plan out your topics. Decide which ‘regular’ sections you want to include (you can change these out if you like) - and decide what you are going to put in each of them.
Create bullet point notes to start compiling your content for each issue or email. Don’t try to sit down and do it all at once - it simply takes too long.
Break the create tasks into small tasks so you can do a little at a time - one step forward takes less time and helps a big task like a newsletter go much more easily.
Stories sell, so the more you can use stories in your copy the better. If you are going to reference a particular tool you use to help your clients, see if you can think of a situation where you have worked with a client and specifically describe how it helped them. Or if you haven’t got a story, create one - how WOULD you help your client with it? And talk about that. It’s really easy once you get started.
Although it seems easy to post things on social to get clients, you need to realize that a lot of your followers are probably not even seeing your posts. The social media platforms are really moving to paid promotion, and unless you are super active on social your people may never see what you want - or at least not often enough to move them into the action of buying.
Having your stuff show up in their inbox can bridge the gap much faster - when you provide them with quality content regularly. So plan it, and you can!
And of course you need to give them an incentive to give you their email address to begin with. That’s what I call a freebie.
Most people will not just sign up to get a newsletter, so you need to create something that they can get instant gratification from - like a PDF or ebook or something that they can get a quick win from.
I’m not going to talk about freebies in this episode, but stay tuned for an upcoming episode for that!
Then all you have to do next is find a program that automates the sending and you are good to go. There are all kinds of them, and some have free levels or aren’t very expensive.
Be sure that you use one of these platforms, they make it easy to create opt in forms that you can use anywhere.
Don’t spam people. Collect your names ethically and treat them like your friends. Like you would want to be treated yourself.
Put your opt in box / link everywhere - on social media, on your website and in all the emails you send out too.
Don’t worry about list size.
Don’t worry about unsubscribes.
Worry about engaging your audience and providing them them with exclusive information - and yes, talk about your services in a way that feels natural and not salesy.
When you send out a newsletter regularly, and you set up a process to do it that is efficient and helps you to make it great, you become better at it. You get to enjoy it and your audience will too!
Keep your target market in mind at all times so you can find interesting tidbits for them in your normal ‘surfing’, and you can seek out statistics, quotes, information, trends and more that are directly related to their business.
Become their expert!
And remember too that if you are a VA with a newsletter, you are in the minority! So their inboxes are not going to be filled with VA newsletters - you will have a real leg up by presenting a polished and professional email for them regularly. They will know you, like, you, and trust you.
And yes, they will want to work with you.
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today I am going to talk about affiliate marketing - or referral marketing if you prefer to call it that. If your motivation for doing it is right, it can be a very lucrative way to add some revenue in your VA business every month.
Finding extra revenue streams for your VA business is a great way to augment your income every month without taking on more client work.
There are a lot of ways you can bring extra revenue in, but one of the simplest ways is affiliate marketing.
Today I'll share what it is, how it works, and how you can start doing it today to create anew revenue stream.
Affiliate marketing isn't complicated. Essentially you refer people to someone's product or service, and if they buy it, you earn a commission.
That is as simple as it is.
You would be called their affiliate or their referral partner.
I actually prefer the term referral partner because it makes more sense - you are referring people to someone else’s product or service.
So you can earn money without doing anything but recommending something to others.
Why is it a good idea for VAs
It helps you earn income without doing more client work, as I’ve said
It’s obviously quite flexible - if you aren’t promoting a specific launch or event, then you can set it up to post automatically on your social media, leave a link in your newsletter or on your website, and be promoting it all the time.
It can even easily add to your revenue so that you have a cushion should you lose a client if you are promoting something that has a high affiliate commission.
You can also use it as a service for your clients - when you understand the ins and outs of affiliate marketing, you can help your clients get set up to do the same thing with their business.
As always, we should start with doing it ourselves and then move on to doing it for our clients.
How it works
The main piece of the referral is being able to track your referral, and that’s through your affiliate link
You need to use a unique link so that the tracking connects someone to you.
This usually requires getting set up in their affiliate system with a username and password.
You log in to their system and you can see your commission setup and percentage, your tracking reports and your commissions.
Most system have a unique URL for each product or service they offer, so it can get tricky to manage everything, but it's not difficult if you are only an affiliate for a few people.
As I mentioned earlier, if you have a main or default affiliate link, that can be really handy to guide people to someone’s stuff anytime.
A tool I love to use is Pretty Link - which is a Wordpress plugin that helps you make just that - pretty links A lot of affiliate links are really ugly, full of letters and numbers.
So what I tend to do is to create a pretty link like yourvamentor.com/tracey and then I put in the affiliate link that I want it to refer to. The nice thing about pretty link is you can redirect it to whatever you want at any time.
So if the person is doing a launch, you can redirect the pretty link to that URL for a few weeks and then back to your default link - and you don’t have to update any of your scheduled posts. It’s quite efficient and you can always remember the link if you use a naming convention for that person or company. yourvamentor.com/bluehost etc.
Commissions
And percentages can vary as well, anywhere from 10% to 50% is perfectly normal.
Usually the higher percentage comes when you are promoting a special event or launch and sending a lot of people their way.
Or maybe you are a speaker on their event, that's when a 50% commission on an upgrade to VIP is common.
Whatever the commission, the system tracks it all so you can see what you are owed and how your referrals are doing.
Bluehost has a great commission payout of $65 per referral - I love it when people sign up using my affiliate link. I don’t have to promote it all over the place, but I earn money every time someone signs up with it. I use Bluehost as a server, so it’s authentic for me to promote them. More on that later.
Payouts
Payouts are most commonly issued via PayPal. Some people have minimum payouts, maybe $50 so they aren't sending out $5 worth of commissions every month. If you want to get your commission, make a point of doing some active promoting to bump your numbers up!
People who have very active referral programs usually pay out on the 1st of the month, which is a nice bonus. It’s good motivation when you see commissions comes in, to do a bit more promotion for the coming month.
Promo Materials
The other thing you can usually find in the affiliate portal is promo copy and materials. Graphics, social media posts, promo paragraphs or emails to use to promote the product or service to your people.
Those who want referrals from others often provide everything you need to make it simple for you to promote for them.
The easier they make it, the better off you are.
Remember this if you are doing affiliate work for your clients as a service - the easier you make things for the affiliates, the more they will promote.
So those are the ins and outs of how it all works.
Now to get back to Neil Patel’s advice … you have to believe in what you are telling others about - and although you are earning money to refer it, it should be something you would promote anyway.
When you keep your audience in mind first, then you can refer with integrity. If they’ll love it, then recommend it!
Promote Stuff You Use
One thing that can not be overstated is to be sure that you only promote things that you use or have used.
Promoting services you have not used can come across as slimy or icky.
But if you have a good experience or good results from using something, by all means tell people about it, and use an affiliate link to do so.
And make sure that you are promoting things that are relevant to your own niche - if the people you reach with your content won’t use the service, then it will just be spam to them.
Here are a few samples that I have referred easily before:
Web hosts like Bluehost
Email programs like Mailchimp - note that you must be a Mailchimp user to be a referral partner, which I think is awesome
Trainers - like me! or Freelance University
Associations - like CAVA!
When you focus on things that you have used, you can even write your own content honestly and authentically which, if lots of people are promoting using the other person’s copy (like during a launch). When you know something about the person and the product or service, it comes across very well to write something personal from you.
One of the simplest things to set up is a Resources page on your website, and include all of your affiliate relationships there.
Disclose Affiliate Links
This is actually not just a suggestion, it’s often a requirement in a lot of places that you will be posting it.
Many people know an affiliate link is being used, even if you use a pretty link, but it’s good practice to indicate that you are using one so it’s transparent.
You just need to say (affiliate link), nothing more.
The easiest way to promote something is to write some content about it - reviews, demo, tutorial, tips, and that kind of thing, and then put your affiliate link in the content (disclosing of course).
Track Your Analytics
If you are promoting something because you want to earn commissions, it’s important to watch your analytics.
Watch the clickthroughs, the purchases. And make adjustments to your activities if the results aren’t there, just as if you were doing your own promotion.
If you are getting a lot of clicks but no purchases, your audience might not resonate with that product or service.
If you are not getting clicks, maybe the copy needs help.
There is strategy in everything and when you do something, you want to do it right as often as you can so it continues to work for you.
Affiliate marketing is really simple when you pick just a few good people to promote - and then you can always add on more once you get settled into a routine.
All you have to do is a little research, some setup, a bit of content creation, and then monitor. You can do it! Start with my stuff! :) I’d love to pay you commission to recommend my services to other VAs like you.
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
If you shy away from networking, this episode is for you!
I was doing some research about networking for this episode, and I came across some advice in a whole lot of articles and blog posts ... it was everywhere!
And that advice showcased exactly why a lot of the VAs and other business owners I know do. not. network.
It was brutal. Everywhere I turned there it was. Conversation starters like:
man these events are crazy are you enjoying the food what do you recommend to eat what brought you here today what are you passionate about what's your story have you been here before any chance you read the news today? i missed it and I wonder if I missed anything did you catch the game last night I love your necklace/dress/pants/hair
Oh. My. God.
I hate every single one of these - some more than others, but I definitely do not like any of these.
I do not suggest that you use any of these in any networking situation, ever
I think that's what makes me different from other business coaches.
I want you to network in a way that helps you connect with people - but also that feels authentic and feels like you want to do more of it.
Because you need to network to find clients - to find GREAT clients.
And I want to teach you how to do it better.
Here we go.
First things first, you need to be networking before you need clients. The time to network is not when you need a client now. You don't want to take any old client that comes along, and that's what happens when you just go out to look for a client when you need one.
But if you build a network and keep in touch with it all the time, then you can not only find a client when you need one - but you can find clients even when you aren't looking for one.
You don't have to take whatever client comes your way. You can be choosy - and you should be choosy.
Networking is about being a business person in a business community. It's about helping people and getting help from them.
The more business connections you have, the more clients you will have.
If you consistently are working by yourself, and only talking to VA colleagues - or worse, no one - the fewer opinions you will get, the less expertise you will have access to, the smaller your community becomes. And the smaller your business will stay.
So if you thought networking was all about those horrible conversation starters I mentioned, let's flip that right on its side for you.
Here are some better ones:
what do you do? have you attended this group before? who else do you know here? what do they do? what kind of clients do you work with? where do you find your clients? how do you work with your clients? what do you use to manage your xyz in your business?
How do those sound?
Better, I'm guessing - they are exactly what they should be - conversation starters.
They really will start a good conversation. One that the other person won't find weird or awkward, and they will actually want to talk about.
Networking is about having conversations - with potential clients, with colleagues, and with other business owners who could potentially refer clients to you.
And you can be those people to others - you could be a client of theirs, you could be their colleague, or you could be a referral partner for them. It's a two way relationship. You are not looking for clients and giving nothing else. You are looking to build relationships that will lead to better business for both of you.
Okay?
Let's talk marketing message and why it's important.
I teach what's called a Concise Marketing Message.
It's similar to the elevator pitch that you all know and hate, or at least have struggled through on occasion.
But it's not a pitch at all.
The Concise Marketing Message helps you to define to YOURSELF what it is you do, so you understand it and can tell others.
So what the concise marketing message is, is simple.
I help ___ with their ___ so that they can ___ and so that they can ____ because I am/do/have ___.
When we can define who we help, and specifically what we can help them with, and we truly understand how getting help for that thing, will help them do in their business or life .. and the last part, why you are qualified to do that.
I teach VAs to do one of these for each service they offer. The reason is very simple - so they believe themselves and they can describe it to others.
And then we try to change up the CMM so that it suits different audiences. Because when you are networking, you are speaking with three different audiences.
You network with your colleagues, you network with your potential clients, and you network with people who can refer clients to you.
I'm not going to walk you through the Concise Marketing Message today, but instead to understand how to actually have conversations with these three audiences and tell them clearly who you help and how you help them.
Why is this important?
Because you will get clients from these three audiences - when people know what you do.
Getting clients really is WHO YOU KNOW - but that doesn't mean that every person you meet is potentially a client. It doesn't mean you need to pound the pavement looking for clients every day.
You just need to connect with people who can connect you with clients. Isn't that different?
A speaking coach I know named Steve Lowell always says, 'It's not enough to tell someone what you do, they need to be able to repeat it to someone else.'
And that is the key. to getting clients.
Referrals are the key to growing your business. You network should be there to help you find clients. You shouldnt need to find every client on your own. Your network shouldn't need to find their own clients all the time either, you should be able to pass referrals to your network too. Not as a job, but through the solid connections you are making every day.
Okay so let's talk about going networking:
You need to have a clear goal for whatever you are doing - who do you want to meet and why? Who is in the group or attending the event that interests you?
If you network either online or in person, with no goal, you could be wasting a lot of time. Spending tons of time networking isn't the cost of doing business it's time that has to be managed too. Go in with a goal, and plan to reach the goal.
Use your conversation starters to meet people and to start conversations. Not the first list I shared, but the second one! I have been guilty of using some of those crappy first ones and the networking was a waste of time. I have successfully used the second list and came away with amazing contacts - who were either potential clients, or potential referral partners.
Don't forget with live events that first the other people in that room are all there for the same reason as you. And the host has an invested interest in the event and the people attending it be successful. So befriend the host. Tell them who you are looking for. What you are looking for. They can help!
Research some people who are in the networking group, or who are attending the event.
And when you actually get into a conversation with people, ask them questions about themselves, and their business.
Obviously you are looking for answers that are relevant to the services that you offer.
Remember you are their equal in every sense. Two business owners having a business conversation. Can you help them? Can they help you? Get to know them. Remember, getting VA clients is about you know. So get to know them. It's okay if they aren't your client. If they do the right kind of business networking, they might come upon your client.
And through your conversations, it's your responsibility to make sure they know who you help and how - and for you to understand the same about them. The same goes for your VA colleagues!
All of this is done through questions. You ask them questions. You have conversations. You don't pitch. You don't talk about you - unless it is in the response to what they need help with, or how they can tell others what you do. Don't hit anyone over the head with what you do to try to convince them to work with you. You'll know if they need you. You'll know if you need them.
Remember to make notes about everyone after your interaction, so you can remember what you talked about ... and follow up with them.
Stop trying to close sales and start fixating on making relationships - the long game. Building a network. A good one. Not networking when you need a client, but networking all the time.
After you meet someone, connect with them on social media - LinkedIn - and treat every conversation you have like networking.
To start your network, tell your connections, family, friends, what you are doing. Ask if they know anyone who might be interested - and if so, then make sure they understand what you do.
I would tell my brother that I help local small business owners with marketing their business on Facebook. He will remember that when he talks to anyone. He's a smart guy, it's not that I need to dumb it down for him ... but I know he is clear on what I do because I tell him clearly.
When you find business owners who can be good referral sources for you, expand on those relationships.
Learn to enjoy being connected to those people, and to connecting with them.
Make friends. These are your people!
Be consistent in connecting with the groups that you are networking in. Show up. Be there for them, and let them be there for you.
It's never, Hi, here's what I do, or Hi, here's what you need, or Hi, here is why you should hire me
That's not networking. That's someone who is there for the wrong reasons.
Your network is essential to building your VA business.
Choose a target market and find them. Sort out your very specific service offerings that they need, and talk to people about those. And post about it in places where your people can find you.
Attend events, join good groups. Local is a fast way to get clients. You can build trust very fast ... and trust is one very important part that helps your clients take the step to working with you.
When you focus on it, and you work with it, networking becomes fun - it becomes easy. It becomes fruitful because you are in it.
Networking helps you meet who you know ... and who you know is where your VA clients will come from.
I promise you, that you will find success this way. You will find clients. You will find money. You will be happy. And you will be part of an amazing, tailor-made community of your very own.
Let's refer back to today's quote ... know where you want to go and make sure the right people know ow about it. It's how you get clients!
Finding your community is awesome, and you need to start doing it today. Let me help!
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
It's a very well known fact that good daily actions create success.
Why?
Because the more you pay attention to certain things in your business, the better you can control and adjust them.
I am going to talk about 5 things in particular today that, if you focus on them every single day, will make you become a better VA.
1 Money
You need to look at your money every day. Sales, account balances, payments, expenses.
Whether you do complicated reporting or not, if you don't know how much money you have coming in and going out, you aren't actually managing your business.
Checking your sales helps you to see what's coming in of course, but it also help you to see opportunities to earn more.
A daily revenue tracking sheet can help you see how much opportunity you might be leaving on the table.
Even if all of your clients pay you on the 1st of the month, look at the rest of those days ... where could you squeeze some more projects in to increase what you bring in?
Maybe you just have an opportunity to start a new client mid-month and renew their payment later in the month. It is nice to have money coming in more often during any given month, not everyone needs to be billed on the 1st or 31st.
Checking your account balances is always important because it keeps your money top of mind. If you don't have enough, it reinforces that you need to do some connecting or finding clients work. Like, right now. 100% priority. Nothing else is more important for you to do than get a client.
Looking at your payments helps so see what has gone out, and what still has to go out. Cash flow is critical in business.
Monitoring your expenses is similar to watching your payments, but it goes a step farther because you are looking at things you have determined are necessary to pay for to in order to run your business. When you are looking at your expenses, you are always looking to see if they are still required, whether they are enough, or whether you should be taking on a new one. Your VA business costs money to run, and when you manage your expenses well, you can automate and get more done among many other things.
I can help you create simple checklists and tracking sheets to do this daily.
Daily money checks don't take more than five or ten minutes. Schedule it in!
2 Goals
You know I tell you that what you focus on grows. well someone once said that and I know it to be true.
You must focus on your goals if you are going to achieve them.
What I mean by that is checking in on your goals every day.
Look at what you say you want to be/do/have. Look at where you are in the process of reaching it. Look how far you have come from the start.
When I teach VAs to set goals, I also teach them to break the action steps to reach that goal down into very small manageable pieces, and then put those action steps into the calendar every single day.
I watch VAs who fail at goal setting (or rather reaching their goal) every single day, and I wholeheartedly believe that it doesn't mean anything about you as a business owner (like you're not a bad one). It has everything to do with your plan for your action steps.
Here's what I mean:
I see VAs set a goal. Then I see them put their goal absolutely dead last, behind client work, behind the family calendar or needs, and maybe even behind their day job. They book in 2 or 3 hours on Sunday night to 'work on' their goal.
Sounds great but it actually sucks as a plan.
Why? Because when you only look at your goal once a week it doesn't stay fresh in your mind. Because when you try to cram your working on into one large block you can get really overwhelmed, or paralyzed. Or go down a serious rabbit hole.
Or, most common, you will get to Sunday night and decide that something else takes precedence and you just don't do it. Then you try to.book it in the next Sunday and the same thing happens.
So daily actions are better for so many reasons. Short daily actions. I'm talking 15 minute tasks!
Daily actions take less time. You will easily have time to get the smaller task done. And if you DO miss it, you are only behind 15 mins, not 3 hours.
I can help you break down your goal into actionable daily steps, and a checklist to help you move closer to your goal every single day.
3 Read
You need to constantly be growing as a VA. Business owners need to learn new strategies, new tactics, new 'stuff' to improve their abilities in business, and VAs are business owners.
If you aren't currently reading business books, you should be. It can be difficult what to choose to read, but I can give you lots of suggestions!
Whether you need to improve your mindset, marketing, money, team, strategy, or whatever, choose a book that you want to learn something from - and something that you plan to implement.
It will make no difference in your business if you read something and don't make any changes to your business.
Building a good reading habit is also a way to remind you that you are in fact a business owner.
For several years, I belonged to a business book club called Thought Readers run by my business coach Lisa Larter and it was fabulous. She chose the books we read each month and then we would have discussions on the content throughout each month. She even brought many of the authors in to do Q and A calls with us which was amazing. I got to talk to Dan Sullivan who I think is awesome.
Anyway, the point I want to make is that I was not a reader before I joined Thought Readers. I would start to read a book and I would fall asleep or get bored. Like no books. Hardly ever.
I read all day long - but short stuff. I didn't get into books at all, even fiction. And I certainly didn't know how to pick a good book. So I learned to read business books, and I got business coaching from Lisa and from some pretty incredible authors too.
And that's how I know that it made me a better business person. I chose at least one thing to implement from every book that we read, and that's what I tell VAs to do too.
It's like any training that you take - it's just a waste of your time if you are just going to watch it and then not take action on it.
If you develop a good reading habit - 30 minutes every morning or at lunch, you can improve your business vocabulary, knowledge, strategy and so much more.
It also adds structure to your day - and routine, which is so important for your success.
I look for inspiration in the things that I read too - so if I read a chapter every morning (which is what I try to do), then I think about maybe how to do something that day or week using that bit of knowledge - or look for some kind of wisdom or content to share.
Reading is very good for your brain - and so easy to start! Just pick up a book! If you struggle to read or to choose books, that's something I can help you do too, by sharing what worked for me.
4 Brainstorm and Strategize
Strategizing is a good thing to do regularly. Daily it is not necessary to create a full new strategy, that's not what I mean. But checking in on your strategy, your plan, your action steps, your productivity ... all of those things.
Brainstorming to me is making lists. In fact I give this advice to VAs all the time - to make lists of things that are cluttering your thoughts and your mind. It helps you to address the things that you want to get done at another time.
Not everything is urgent - in fact very little is urgent. You can schedule time for all the things, in due time.
So brainstorming is a great way to unload some stress from your mind. A bullet journal can be really good for this. I talk a lot about my bullet journal. I love it and I used it daily in my business, I have for years.
Its a series of lists and notes that I can refer to anytime I need to. And I make new lists every single day!
When you are focusing on your strategy, you can track it, monitor it, analyze it, change or alter or tweak it.
Say you are looking to find VA clients and you need to do daily outreach to do it. By keeping a daily eye on it you can see what is working for you. You can see what doesn't work and do less of that, and you can see what is working or what needs tweaking and then you can do more of that.
Our time is really important, we only have so much of it, and so we need to be efficient and not waste it.
That is definitely one area that we can waste time is doing networking, and that's why it's such an important thing to work with a strategy.
And this actually leads me into my last point which is Conversations.
5 Conversations
If you are not having daily conversations with business owners, you are going to struggle to get good clients.
I know so many VAs who only do marketing or networking when they are looking for a new clients. Starting from a standing position is so much more difficult than doing a little all the time to keep your name top of mind in the communities that you choose to network in.
So I recommend daily conversations with at least two people every day. You know this if you listen to any of my trainings.
It's manageable no matter how busy you are to talk to two people. I'm not talking about discovery calls, I'm simply talking about interactions. On social media works.
The numbers work in your favour all the time for this - if you talk to 2 people every day, that's 40 to 60 people in a month. If you can't get one client from 40 interactions, then you need to revise what you are saying in these interactions. It's simple math and it works.
How many people to do you need to connect with to get a client? You need to know that number. It's called your conversion percentage. And the only way to know it is to have the conversations.
It's easy you go from connecting to conversation to client. Not everyone you will connect with will want a conversation right away. So maybe you have to talk to 10 or 20 people to get 2 or 3 sales conversations. When you are networking with the right people this is not hard, and actually those numbers are quite bad. But you see what I mean.
Then from the conversations, you should be able to get at least 5 or 6 out of 10 to sign on as your clients. Again, you have to talk to the right people for these numbers to work. So your plan and strategy definitely play a role here as well.
But the numbers do not lie. I can help you with finding your people, deciding how many you need to talk to, with figuring out what to say to them, and how to manage a sales conversation so you get the client.
I'm going to leave it off here for today, I feel like that's a lot!
Which of these daily actions can you start taking tomorrow?
To introduce a new habit, focus on one thing at a time. Then once you have that one under control, add another one. You could be doing all five of these within the next few weeks or month, very easily. They aren't hard to do.
And if and when you do, you'll be telling me your VA business revenue has skyrocketed. It happens every time!
One step at a time - you can do it!
Remember what John Maxwell said: You'll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine. It's an incredible quote and you need to write it down and stick it up at your work station right now! I have it at mine. :)
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix the specific things that are going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
If you Google the word framework in relation to business, you are going to see a whole bunch of colored images and matrices that come up.
There are many, many official or famous frameworks that you can use in business. Porters, Hamrick and Frederickson's etc.
But you know me by now ... I don't want to confuse and complicate things for you.
I want you to consider your business, but find you simple solutions that you can easily implement.
Because if you don't implement what I teach you in your business, then you will not be any further ahead next week than you are today.
The most important thing for me is that you get better at what you do. That's why I teach you!
So let's talk about really simple frameworks ... three of them, that I think will be pretty easy for you to implement, that will make real differences in your business.
There are so many structures you can set up in your business, and I think when you start to strategize in that way, things get simpler. Things get clearer.
Here are the three that I think are pretty important for Virtual Assistants.
Framework 1 - Organization
Framework 2 - Pricing and Rates
Framework 3 - Connections
Organization
When we talk about being organized as a VA, it impacts both our clients and our own business.
We need to create processes, workflows, best practices, terms, policies,and those all fit under the framework of organization.
The more decisions we make around how things need to work, the better we can plan for the flow of everything through our business.
From business foundations to revenue and expenses to promotions and marketing to client acquisition and retention and more.
Begin at the beginning. Business plan. Do one. Answer all the questions. If you don't know the answer to a question, it's time to make a decision on it.
Know how you will earn revenue. Choose what you need to run in expenses to run your business well. Determine how your will market your business and where you will find clients. Repeat this process daily or weekly or monthly to get new clients regularly.
I'm not going to teach you how to do that today. You can learn to do that by taking my Getting Started as a VA Self Study, or in The Virtual Vault training membership.
Put plans in place to nurture clients and work well. Keep your training up to grow with them.
It is really simple to set up systems and make decisions around how all of it runs when you see it as a framework.
Pricing and Rates
The second framework needs to be how you charge clients for your services.
Your revenue is one of the most important things you can decide upon in your business. The amount of money you bring in has to support absolutely everything else you do.
It's about your value and expertise of course but it is also about really knowing why your services are priced the way they are.
How do we do that? By creating processes and a framework for costing our services, and setting all of our rates based on that framework.
You need to create deliverable pricing. I'm not going to teach you how to do that, you can check that out in The Virtual Vault training membership.
When you are quoting your rates to clients, the more confident you are, the more confident they are. And having a framework to do the math is essential to give you that confidence.
No more discounting rates for larger clients, no more billing by the hour, or minute, no more negotiating or bartering.
Set your rates. Do the math. Confidently quote clients. Sign clients.
Connections
The last framework you need to set up is your connections.
In order to build your business, whether it is from day one or day one thousand, you need to be making connections.
Talking to business people every single day is an important part of growing your business, but it's going to be much more effective if you are following a structure.
It will also take you less time when you are focused on a particular strategy.
Figure out where your people are. Spend time with them.
Figure out what to say to them. Say it often.
Figure out who can refer clients to you, and who you can refer clients to. Do that as often as you can.
I'm not going to teach you how to talk to people today. You can learn to do that in my mastermind group The Virtual Circle.
Follow up. With everyone. All the time.
These are general rules of course. Your framework will be built around deciding what your steps are for your VA business.
Even if you don't want to have 100 clients, you want all of your clients to be the best clients you can have.
Strive for excellence with all of your frameworks.
Organization: onboarding, planning, work flows, client care. Do the actual best you can do at all of this and you will excel, stand out, and get noticed.
Pricing and Rates: get crystal clear on what to charge and how many clients you need to earn what you need to earn. Do the actual best you can do at this and you will already be doing better than at least 70% of all of the other VAs out there.
Connections: get crystal clear on who your people areand where you can connect with them every day. Do the actual best you can do at this and you will get clients.
Are these frameworks simple? Yes. They are complex, but as I always say, if you were tasked with doing this setup for a client, you would hit the ground running and get it done.
So do yourself the same courtesy and so it for yourself too.
Start with the most important one #1 - it is the simplest one, Organization - Do you have room for improvement? Do you have any of it done yet? Be ready to make decisions. Fast. And move on to the next thing. You can always update the details later, but get it done now.
Then go to the #2 Pricing - set or change your rates immediately to start making a profit today. Start documenting your task processes right now. Every time you do something, document it. It does not have to be fancy, just done, and timed. This may take a little while longer but doing it every time you do a task makes time for it. Then start to set your deliverable pricing.
Finally do #3 - Connections - when you have the other two frameworks set up, the third is easy. You in fact need to have made all of those other decisions before you can explode your connections and networking.
So get at it!
Create your framework, use it, and watch your VA business explode!
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix whatever is going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today I am going to talk about how to explode your thinking with a success journal. It’s a tool that helps you focus on the positive, every day.
First of all, focusing on success is a good idea in general.
What we focus on grows, and success does too.
When you are looking for good, when you are looking for positive, you need a source - and the success journal can really help you do that.
Sure, getting testimonials from clients can be helpful to let others know how great you are is fantastic - but how many clients do you have? Many none yet!
Enter the success journal.
You do so many great things every single day that no one ever sees - or talks about.
And the success journal helps you keep track of those.
Okay so what is it?
It's a book where you keep all of your accomplishments, compliments, and general feel-good info.
I started mine again and I am really enjoying it, and I'm really finding it makes a difference in my mood - and my mindset.
It's very therapeutic.
Today I want to focus on three ways that your success journal can help you as a VA.
Mindset and Motivation Track Accomplishments Do More Of What Works
Let's begin:
Mindset and Motivation
It goes without saying that the more positive things you say about yourself, the more positive things you will think.
I don't know about you but many days I won't say anything out loud in my office - if I don't have any meetings. But I sure think a lot!
And sometimes even if I do have meetings, I don't focus on the positive things about ME.
That's where we begin.
To make a shift in your motivation or your mood or your mindset, you have to think good things about yourself. And you have to say them out loud so you can hear them!
And those are the things that should make it into your success journal.
I've never been someone who can be a journaler - writing out my feelings. I've done it, but it's never stuck.
It doesn't feel natural to me.
But I am a list maker and by gosh I can make a list!
I love them. I use them for everything.
That's why my bullet journal is such a great tool for me. It's a book of lists!
So that's why the success journal is much more functional for me as a tool to brighten my mood and mindset.
The basic idea is to write down (at least) 3 things every single day that you did that were positive.
If you want you can write as many as you can, or want to - but the habit of writing 3 can help you pick out the best 3 things.
Who did you help? What made you smile? Who did you reach out to? Who did you get a result for?
The thing you write down should be business related but if you don't have that many of them right off the bat then you can start with whatever you can that is positive.
Focus on things that helped you with your mindset, your mood, or your motivation.
Examples: I answered a question in a Facebook group and got great feedback from the OP. I reached out to a contact I met in person at the monthly networking event, we have a consult tomorrow. I helped my client launch her new program.
Track Your Accomplishments
We all have very long to do lists, not just as business owners, but as moms, wives, women, whatever.
I find that when I put something in my success journal that I've accomplished, it actually motivates me to do something else.
Like a bit of a chain reaction. It's the accomplishment train.
One of the things I have kept for years is a tolerations list.
I attended a VA conference many years ago and the speaker told us that there are certain things that are holding us back from getting all 'the stuff' done - things we don't even realize.
These are things we are tolerating, but that are populating the spaces of our brain and maybe even overwhelming us.
The exercise is simple - start at point A and note all of the things that you notice need doing. Write them down onto a list. Get them out of your head. Then do them one by one when you have a little extra time.
For example, what I did was drive into my laneway and started there. What needs to be done on the outside of the house? Our garage window and trim need painting, our siding needs patching, our walkway needs to be done, and so on. All of those things go on the list.
Then go in the front door. Go room by room through your house and do the same thing.
Then do the same thing in your office. You get the idea. The list might be very long but it's so effective to clear things out of your mind. Why?
Because now you have a list of things that you can fix or clean or tidy or do. It's less overwhelming because the list exists -and then you can pick one or two things a day to do and cross them off that list.
Anyway I digress a little but you get the picture.
When you get something done and you can cross it off your list, that releases some kind of serotonin and it makes you feel good. At least it makes me feel good ha ha.
You feel like you are accomplishing something and that's a great feeling.
So for your success journal, when you note the things that you have accomplished, it makes you feel good. Boom. Serotonin.
Maybe you posted your first video. Or you completed your blog post. Or you create some social media templates. Or you send out your newsletter on time.
Or you did any of those things for your clients. Accomplishments. Great things to list in your success journal. It makes you feel good!
Do More Of What Works
Sometimes I'll ask VAs what they have done that worked for them - and they don't know.
Like, if they got a client, they aren't sure what led to that. I ask them where that client came from, and sometimes they know - but sometimes they don't realize it.
Tracking where people find you is an important piece of your marketing.
I ask the question right in my registration boxes - where did you find us? My email system also tracks the leads but I ask the question.
One of my colleagues tracks where all of her business comes from. It's quite cool actually. She knows what works for her.
I do too, to an extent - but a lot of my traffic comes from Google itself. I have a lot of content out there and I get lots of inquiries because I've been at this a long time.
But the idea of doing more of what works is just a good business principle.
I was talking with some VAs this week about just that. Our marketing, our networking, have to work for us. You don't want to waste your time if you aren't getting results - whether that means building a great network or getting actual clients.
You need to set a goal for everything that you do in your business - who you will connect with, who you will work with, where you will find them, what you will do for them, how many clients you will work with, what you will charge them, how you will maintain their business, how you will raise your rates, how you will expand your business, etc.
It's all a series of goals that you need to measure your results again.
The interesting thing is that you don't have to measure from the start to the goal. You should be measuring your progress. Dan Sullivan's book The Gap and the Gain is exceptional to show you how to focus on your progress.
I love the concept, I talk about it a lot - and you should do it too!
In your success journal, note the progress you have made your goals - all of them. If you are working towards getting 5 clients, write down when you get one - you are on your way! two - you are building momentum - etc. don't thing of your goal as unreached if you don't get to your five. You are making progress all the way along.
And that's what you want to note. What led to that small success on the way to your larger goal? Do more of that!
Maybe you are excited by being referred in a Facebook group - what led to that? What did you do, how did you conduct yourself, so that someone else thought to mention you to others? A huge celebration, always.
Naturally, do less of what doesn't work. If you have been going to a networking group multiple times with no real connections or results, maybe look elsewhere (or change what you are doing when you go there).
You will start to spot patterns - when you signed a client, had you just finished a training and your confidence was sky high?
Were you part of a mastermind group and that's when you were consistently reminded of how amazing you are, so things were going well for you?
Maybe you had a great morning routine - podcast, reading a few pages of a book, going for a walk, eating breakfast? What were the things that helped you create and maintain that positivity?
Your success journal can show you the path to your clients - and your success - and it will, when you use it daily.
Let's get back to Dr. Phil for literally just one sec! You have to sell yourself to you first. And the only way that you can get clients is when your mindset and confidence are high. The success journal is a fabulous tool to help you get there. And it doesn't take long! Three things a day for even one week gives you 21 times you did good. It can be very therapeutic to read at the beginning of your work day.
And on those bad days, just flip through it with a cup of tea. It really helps, I promise! You. Are. Awesome!
It reminds you of your positive mindset and mood, and all that momentum.
It reminds you of your accomplishments, no matter how small.
It reminds you of what has worked for you in the past - and what will probably work for you again.
Whatever happened that went well, we want to record that - and really understand what it was that created that moment, or what made it happen (write that down too!).
I challenge you to create your own success journal. You can start today. Just a blank notebook - you can date the pages or not (though I find that handy so I can remember when I recorded something).
Shoot to record three things every single day starting today. They can be small, but they just need to be WINS.
I hope that I bring some positivity to your life - I certainly try to. Every Wednesday I release a new podcast episode that I hope will inspire you and help you move forward in your VA business.
I enter that into my success journal every Wednesday. If you are listening today, then you can write this down 'I gave Tracey a download today', 'I started my success journal', 'I started my journey to shift my mindset today by committing to using my success journal every day.'
That's it, your homework is done!
Now go and start your success journal. I can help you kick it off or keep it going.
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix whatever is going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today I am going to share the truth about billing your VA clients by the hour. I’ll tell you why all VAs should be doing it - no matter what their invoice looks like each month.
Billing by the hour is an interesting topic, let’s go!
As a business owner, you can choose to bill your VA clients anyway you want.
No one gets to decide how much you charge, how you work, or anything else.
Its totally your choice, and the only thing you really need to do is make sure that whatever you are doing is consistent - and profitable.
You are, after all, in business. And without running a profit, you will not be able to stay in business.
And the money you earn to do work for clients is the thing that keeps your business running. Your revenue.
Today I want to talk about charging your clients hourly - the good, the bad, and what you need to consider if this is a route that you want to go.
Why would you choose to bill your clients hourly? It can seem clearer - work done = time paid.
There really isn't a simpler way to charge for your time when you operate a service business like a VA business.
But you can also shoot yourself in the foot when you are charging hourly, because of a number of reasons:
For one thing, you can miss time that should have been billed.
If I had a dollar for every time a VA told me they are working hard all day and they are only billing 4 or 5 hours a day to their clients ... well, I would be pretty wealthy.
It's a common issue. You think you are tracking every last minute but you aren't. You forget to write something down, or you work at a super fast pace because you are busy. Your money earned is lower than the work you have actually done.
When you work faster, you actually make less money.
Not to say that you should be taking your sweet time doing whatever tasks your clients need, but you do need to consider your work pace and keep at a regular one in order to ensure that you are not losing money.
And aside from work pace, the more you do something, naturally the better you get at it - and that also means money coming out of your pocket (even though the client gets the work done).
And in terms of forgetting to record something, there are ways you can track your time, but you are not a robot and you are not an employee so it really is a backward way of kind of running your business.
The bottom line is that it doesn't matter what the clients want. It's your business and you need to get yourself and your policies and terms sorted out, and then relay them to your clients.
The way I prefer to teach VAs like you to is to bill your clients by task - which still uses your billable rate and the clock on the wall - just not WHILE you are doing the work for the client.
It's basically about setting a flat rate per task or service you offer. It is based on the time it takes to get that task done, but it doesn't involved counting hours.
You take your billable rate x the estimated time to complete the task - ie a newsletter might take 90 minutes, and your billable rate is $40 per hour. That means your newsletter will cost the client $60 each time you do it. Four newsletters a month and you bill your client $240. No surprises.
You definitely need to know how long things take you to do in order to create task pricing like this So you have to do it, practice, and make sure you add in time for things to not go perfectly well each time.
And THEN when you set that time, it's up to you to make sure it's right - you have to strive to get that task done within your estimate time.
When you work hourly, you keep track of how much time you work. This can be bad because you can take too long to do something.
Example: Six hour research project from my VA that I expected to take 2 hours of a 10 hour retainer I had paid her.
Charging by the hour can be accurate but as I mentioned earlier, you can also miss time - and also clients might nickel and dime you if you provide them with detailed billing at the end of the month.
Often if you are billing by the hour clients will want detailed billing.
They need to treat you as a professional and pay you accordingly too It does make it easier to add on new tasks or services but you can also do that with task billing.
Aside from your clients asking for your detailed records, you need them for yourself because you need to ensure that you are billing them the right amount.
Billing by the minute does not work, it's impossible to account for every second of time that you work for a client, even if you are using a time tracking software. If you are charging by the hour, bill by an increment of at least 10 or 15 minutes.
Also don't overcharge your clients ... as an added note. 'Anything I do costs the client an hour.' That's just ripping them off.
It just makes more sense to me to track the tasks you do and assign the time it takes to do it, so that's why I teach it that way.
Some things are black and white like the newsletter, and some things are not.
You need to look at tasks that are open ended like checking email - this is a common service that VAs offer and you can waste a lot of unnecessary time doing it if you don't manage it properly.
How do I teach you to manage someone's email? Easy check it a set number of times a day - once, twice, five times, whatever. Charge the client a set amount of time for each 'check'. If there is a lot of stuff that needs doing on each check, that time will be more than if there isn't anything to respond to or file or whatever.
Multiply the set time by the number of times you are going to check it every day and then multiply that number times the number of business days in a month (usually 22). There's your fee for managing the client's email for the month.
And yes sometimes you will do more work at a check than other times, but it should all work out over the course of the month. If not, you adjust the fee up or down when you have a better idea of how much time you are using to do that task.
For instance, if there is rarely anything to do when you check, maybe you reduce the number of times you are checking - adjusting the bill down.
Alternately if you are spending more time than you estimated on a daily basis, then you will increase the billable time per check.
For most of my clients, who were 6 and 7 figure business coaches, even when they were very busy, I found that 15 to 30 minutes a day was more than enough to handle email for them. Usually 15. Checking twice a day totals 11 hours a month, and it's usually more than enough to keep on top of it. If you want to book in 20 minutes, then that's 15 hours per month.
No one needs their email checked every hour, unless they are in the middle of a launch - in which case you will bill them straight hours of time, not check ins anyway.
It makes everything so much easier. You still need to keep track of your time on your end to be sure that your estimate time is accurate, but you remove the minute counting and potential detailed billing issues with the client.
You tell the client that you will bill them 15 hours per month to take care of their email - and that's it.
Trust is an issue with virtual work - not just for VAs - are you working? how long do things take? did it really take you that long to do xyz? And doing things this way removes the extra stuff that might get in the way of just doing the work for a set rate.
When you start out, hourly billing is usually easiest but as soon as you know how long things will take, you need to shift to a better way.
You can work that into your business by starting each client out monthly and then transitioning 3 months later to a set fee - if you outline this for them from the start, it can be really easy - and you won't have to worry about not getting their flat rate or task billing quite right from the start.
It's simply more efficient and easier for everyone to charge by task.
The other thing with charging hourly is often you do the work before you get paid - and sometimes that means that you can get burned by a non paying client which is never ideal.
So it protects your business to get paid upfront and then do the work. Although that can be a difficult transition for some clients and VAs, it's very common to prepay for everything you get these days and so it's a good model for everyone.
If you bill afterward you can also surprise your client with a really high bill at the end of the month. Some VAs will keep doing work and tasks and just keep racking up the time, and then client is overwhelmed at the end of the month.
Getting back to today's quote, you don't need to overdo it because you are charging by the hour.
If you are billing by the hour, be sure that you still have the client's budget in mind and that you keep them up to date every week on how much time you have used out of their budget.
Surprises are bad business and not recommended. Just because a client sends you work to do doesn't mean that they are approving you to spend as much of their money as you want.
Keeping things in check is really important - it is their money after all. Yes you are doing the work, but they get to agree to how to spend their money.
This is a much more common issue than it should be with VAs. You are responsible to be professional and not just be a task taker.
Imagine for yourself if you are expecting to pay a certain amount of money for something, and then the bill comes and it's more than you expected. And you had no notice. How do you feel about that? You have to think about that, and conduct your VA business accordingly.
Another thing about hourly billing is it is more difficult to raise your rates.
Letting your client do the math is one of the ways that you can get devalued, or treated as less than the expert that you are.
If you tell someone your billable rate if $40/hour, and let them do the math in their head, based on how long they think something will take to do, you could lose the client.
And if you tell them your billable rate is going up by $X/hour, they will do that math all over again.
Your rates are your rates. You can charge whatever you want. Your clients need to know how much it will cost them to work with you.
I always say your client wants to know two things: what you can do for them, and how much it will cost them. So its your job to tell them that.
I'm going to leave it here for today. you get the idea.
Ask about their budget. Work within in. Figure out your task rates and estimated times. Use those to quote and bill.
YOU make the decisions. How will you bill? What does that look like? How can you ensure that you are going to get paid properly and on time? How can you ensure that your client doesn't get surprised and pays the right amount for the work they get done? How can you make it easy to fix or adjust your rates regularly if the client's workload changes?
In short, how can you make things easier for everyone?
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success, helping you fix whatever is going wrong in your business. When we work together either privately or in a group we talk specifically about your business and you - there is no one stop solution for everyone when it comes to service businesses like VA businesses.
I'll help you get clarity around your issues, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to fix them.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today we are going to talk about sales conversations. You may remember last week we talked about how to answer what you do - and being able to do that well will lead to more sales conversations - so if you didn’t listen to that episode yet make sure you do!
Quote: Most people think selling is the same as talking. But the most effective salespeople know that listening is the most important part of their job. Roy Bartell
This is it. This is how you get clients. I’m excited to share today’s episode with you. Let’s go!
Getting clients - it is far and away the biggest topic that VAs come to me for advice about. You know it, you can see it yourself as the most common topic in VA groups too.
I used to get clients wrong.
For a long time I tried to find a shortcut to getting clients. There must be one, right?
And I also tried a lot of very silly ways of getting clients. Ways that I thought were so smart! Like job forums, classified ads, bulletin boards, cold calling, yellow pages.
Now don't get all worked up if this is how you are trying to find clients. I got clients all of those ways. But it was HARD.
And you might think that when you hear me saying that you need to have daily business conversations with people that THAT is hard - and it might be, to start.
But, it will yield you more clients than the other way. You will not have to work as hard - that's my promise to you!
Why do I know this? Because I've done both, and I can tell you that networking is more successful.
Because I've taught VAs just like you to network, and they get clients too.
It takes some work, some decisions, and some support, but you can do it.
The main thing you want to do is to get people on a sales conversation. You might call it a discovery call, but it's in place to make a sale.
And that's what I want to talk to you about today.
Getting the client.
It's not enough to get them on the phone or zoom call. You want to get the client.
And that starts with listening.
So many VAs do not listen. They think the sales conversation is to make a pitch.
NO! Stop pitching.
If I can give you one piece of advice to get clients, it's to stop pitching them!
A sales pitch is to persuade someone to buy something - you plan a presentation, you present it, and you attempt to close a sale.
And although on a sales conversation we would like it to end up with a client signing with us, it's not the key goal.
We need to see whether we can help them - that's all!
If we can't, we move along to someone else.
We don't have to persuade them to do anything.
We connect, we listen to their needs, we see if we are a good fit service wise, personality wise and budget wise. If we are, bravo!
If not, it's okay.
Detaching yourself from the outcome of a sales conversation is one of the best pieces of advice I can give you.
It's one of the most valuable piece of advice I've ever been given.
I used to worry about getting sales conversations all the time. Because I was so nervous to get a no.
I thought if I got a no I had failed.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
Now, yes, you should want to qualify your people before you get on a phone call with them. You don't want tire kickers and inquiries to fill up your day.
When you get a qualified prospect on the phone everything is easier.
And when you are networking with the right people, you will get the right people jumping on the phone with you.
You can prepare all the stuff you want to say, but if you don't treat is like a conversation, you are shooting yourself in the foot.
No one wants to be sold to - even if they are shopping for something.
I remember going up the escalator in one of our local Sears stores - and at the top of the stairs was the electronics department, and the toy department. When the escalator reached the top, my dad would always say 'here are the vultures' because the guys in suits would be standing right there facing the escalator, ready to sell you something.
Sales gets a bad rap because people think they need to make a sale.
Stop worrying about the sale and concentrate on the conversation.
Who is this person? What is their business? What do they have a problem with? What do they want help with? What is their budget?
Ask them questions that are related to the services you offer - or in general about their business. Then let them talk.
Listen to what they say, how they say it.
Keep the conversation on target - but let them do most of the talking.
Under no circumstances should you be offering detailed solutions, no screensharing. They get the details when they work with you - and pay you.
A failed sales conversation is one where you give them the solution to their problem for free.
A failed sales conversation is not one where someone says no.
Focus on what they need - and whether you can help them.
Showcase your value by asking thoughtful and professional questions, and then letting them know that's exactly what you do to help your clients.
Positioning yourself as an expert goes a long way in being a professional VA.
The client will hear your confidence in your voice, and they need to feel confident that spending their money with you will be worth it.
Don't try to convince anyone of anything. Tell them you can see they need someone to help them with xyz - and that you could be that person if they want, but that it's okay if they don't choose you. (this actually works)
So here is my long list of things that you need to do to get the client every time on your sales conversations - luckily they are all very easy to do!
Use a checklist - without question this will be your greatest tool. It helps you to stay on track, collect all the information you need, and make sure you don't miss anything you want to ask the client.
Keep on time - sales conversations should be SHORT - I book mine for 15 minutes. You might need 30 but don't go longer than that. There is absolutely nothing that you need to talk about that should take you more than 30 minutes. If you are doing sales conversations longer than that, what are you doing on them? I'm guessing you are giving the client the solutions to their problems. Stop doing that. You are losing a sale.
Keep on topic - asking questions is important to keep the topic of conversation front and centre. Don't be afraid to say to the client, I'm going to stop you there for a minute - I want to make sure I'm understanding you correctly - and then paraphrase what they are saying to bring the topic back to where you need it.
Ask pointed questions - like I said earlier, create the questions you need the answers to - the ones that will lead directly to 'that's exactly how I help my clients'.
Assure them you can help - remind them at every stage that you can help them. And if you can't, be sure to clarify those parts too. The client can make an informed decision if they know that you can help them with their most pressing issues.
No screensharing or solving issues 'right now' - if you are doing this, you are losing the client. They will not see value in what you charge for if you provide it for free on a consult. If they have an issue with Mailchimp, ask them to describe it - say no to a screenshare 'that's not what this call is for, that's how I work with my clients' but you can tell them to describe so you can let them know if you can help them or not.
If they ask you what do you charge, tell them you need to know what they need first - and then you can talk about budget. Use the word budget all the time through the conversation. It puts the money topic squarely into their lap because it's THEIR budget, not YOUR rate that is the challenge.
Practice your sales conversation. Like anything, practice makes perfect. Don't practice with a colleague. Practice with real, live potential clients. Trust me. Nothing will make you better at these than doing it live.
Know your services inside and out. Know your rates inside and out. And estimate the work they can get for their budget right on the call.
Ask for the sale at the end or in the middle of the call even - how does that sound? I can't tell you how many sales I lost because I was to nervous to ask for the sale - I sheepishly sent a proposal and then sometimes didn't even follow up.
You have to know that if you are a good fit, it's your job to make sure the client sees that, and gets excited about working with you.
No more, no less. You don't have to convince anyone, or educate anyone, or push anyone, or persuade anyone of anything.
They may be hesitant to spend money - but if you show them the value then they will make the right decision. If they aren't ready, then they simply aren't ready.
If you know that you have done all you can to show your value then you have done your job.
And every time you do a sales conversation you will do better at it.
And finally, do not focus on selling. Focus on helping. Focus on fit. Focus on budget.
If a client's budget is too low for what you are discussing, work with them on it. 'Here are the things we can do for that budget'.
Answer all of their questions to the best of your ability. If you don't know something, be honest. People love honesty.
Master your sales conversation - Be confident. Be professional.
Turn down clients that will not be a good fit. You will regret it if you say yes to someone that you kind of know isn't good for you.
Above all don't let the outcome of a call affect you if you did everything right.
A client is ready when they are ready. And sometimes a no is just a no for now. You'll be able to tell the difference very soon.
Detach yourself from the outcome of the call but definitely make sure you have followed your checklist and covered all of your bases.
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you set yourself up for success on a sales conversation, helping you find the people you should be helping and deciding what you need to say to them. And, when we work together, I will help you reach out those people so you can get clients.
I'll help you get clarity around it all, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to do it.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested in starting your journey today.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today we are going to talk about how to talk about what you do. This is a big sticking point for a lot of VAs, and it actually keeps them from networking.
Today we are talking about how to talk about what you do.
This comes up when you are networking, but it also comes up anytime someone asks you what you do.
I still struggle with answering this question well sometimes.
Why? Because a lot of the people who ask me what I do are personal connections - and the topic seems very big. I have to tell them I teach virtual assistants. What if they don't know what a virtual assistant is? They aren't going to be a virtual assistant so why should I bore them with the description of what a VA does?
I'm sure you have been in exactly the same situation.
So what happens? You either stammer out a few words that don't really sound like you know what you are talking about, or the opposite - you get that verbal diarrhea and just keeping talking as you try to poorly describe what you do for your clients. Their eyes glaze over, and you are certain they are thinking they wish they didn't ask you the question to begin with.
We also sometimes get fixated on making what we do sound interesting and that sometimes doesn't work out the way we want it to either.
Talking about ourselves is hard for a lot of us. I'd rather talk about someone else all day long than pump my own tires, and I'm guessing you feel the same way.
So when someone asks us what do you do? It can feel like we need to brush it aside in favour of a more comfortable subject.
But we shouldn't! What we do is very important, and actually very interesting to a lot of people.
They do have questions, and many of them are genuinely curious to know how it all works.
Let's get into how to answer that question better.
First let's talk about elevator pitches.
I very much dislike the standard elevator pitch. I even have a training called Ditch the Elevator Pitch and Get More Clients!
They have their place, but so many people just simply do them wrong and it makesit painful for everyone around them.
The good news is if you hate them too, I'll teach you a better way!
The reason I think elevator pitches just don't work is that anyone who learns how to 'write' one or 'recite' one is taught to hit on all the points they want their audience to know, in a short sentence.
And so we try to pack our name, title, company name, and everything we can possibly do into one run on sentence. it doesn't sound natural or interesting.
The time limit to recite it is usually one minute, or sometimes 2 minutes. That makes it a whole minute long run on sentence, and the audience is left trying to follow your whole thought just to keep up.
It's uncomfortable for everyone. The person reciting it, trying to make sure they don't miss anything, and the person listening, who is trying to make sure they understand it.
Further to that, if the audience in not full of their target client (or if they don't have a target client) then the VA sometimes blurts out something too general, and it wont' land with anyone.
Hi my name is Tracey D'Aviero and my company is called XYZ VAs. I am a virtual assistant who specializes in helping small business owners with their marketing tasks like newsletters and blog posts, so they can get more visibility for their business using a variety of online platforms. Working with a VA will save you time and money.
Okay so that's way number 1 to NOT answer the question what do you do?
Here's the other one: I'm a Virtual Assistant.
I can't tell you how many VAs answer the question what do you do with those four words.
In my opinion, both of these are just plain wrong.
When you are speaking with someone (anyone) about what you do, think one word: conversation.
You don't need to cover everything in one big breath.
Break it up, make it interesting, and above all make it conversational.
When someone asks what you do, say this:
I am a virtual assistant who helps health professionals (or whatever you target market is) market their businesses (or whatever one of your services is).
Then stop. Or, then add 'what do you do?'
Either way you are inviting conversation about a very simple topic.
I usually use exactly this tactic if I am meeting someone for the first time. I am a virtual assistant coach and trainer that helps women set up their own business. What do you do?
If I know the person I say I am a virtual assistant coach and trainer that helps women set up and market their own business.
Sometimes that starts a conversation, sometimes it doesn't.
But for sure, It's enough as an answer.
We need to remember that not everyone is looking to purchase our services, and as a result, they don't all need to hear everything that we do in our business.
Sometimes they are just being curious.
In a business networking situation, they are probably being more than curious, but still they may not be in need of a VA right then.
So enter the conversation. Questions. Answers. Back and forth. You learn a little something about them, they learn a little something about you. That's networking.
Can you help them with their business? Can they help you with yours?
That's all you are really to figure out!
And yes, that leads us back to today's quote.
Zig Ziglar was a master of sales. I worked at a sales job for a small courier company many years ago and we were very well trained. We were strategic, we worked target markets, and we closed sales. It was a fun job despite the fact that we needed to sell our service, every single day.
And I remember we followed Tony Robbins and Zig Ziglar. They were huge in the 90s. Sales trainings!
But despite the fact that Zig was definitely a salesman, this quote describes our service industry so well.
You can have everything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want.
Helping others. It's what we do! It's the very basic principle of being a VA.
So to get what we want, we need to help as many clients as we can (or want to)
How do we know if we can help someone?
Conversations!
Learn to describe what you do so it makes sense to people. Invite them to have conversations with you.
Can you help them? Yes. Then start helping them.
Can they help you? Maybe! If they can't be your client, can they refer other people who you can help?
If you can't help them, can you refer someone else who can? Then you are helping 2 people.
Take it from Zig ... and me.
Answer the question 'what do you do' better, and it will change your business!
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you find the words that describe what you do, and help you find the people that you should be talking to. And, when we work together, I will help you reach out those people so you an get clients.
I'll help you get clarity around it all, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to do it.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested in starting your journey today.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today we are going to talk about how choosing a niche for your VA business can help explode your success, among other things.
If you want to explode your VA business, you need to get focused.
Not just on the work you do, but on the marketing side of things.
A lot of Virtual Assistants don't like the idea of a niche, or a target market - but it really is the key to getting lots of great clients, with less effort.
Let's begin with defining what a niche is.
Niche and target market are similar. but they are not interchangeable terms.
A target market is a group of people that you choose to focus on - to network with, to market your business to.
Targeting a group of people that have common needs is smart because it means that you can talk to a group of people instead of finding one person at a time.
For instance, if you decide that you want to support podcasters, you will find large groups of them to spend your time with. Why? Because they all need the same services. So that means when you have a conversation with one of them, it can be heard by many of them.
In traditional networking, we talk about connecting one to one with people. That scares a lot of VAs because it can mean that you do a lot of talking - something that some VAs shy away from.
But if you are networking with similar people, say in a Facebook group, then when you answer a question that one of them has, you can answer it and hundreds (or more) of them will see that answer.
Like VAs, many business owners do not speak up in groups - they don't talk about their struggles or problems - but they will respond to you if someone else asks the question, sometimes privately, or sometimes as a comment in the conversation.
In short, target marketing is good.
A niche can also be a target market. A niche is a group of people who need the same services (as each other).
But a niche can also BE the service you are providing. You can 'niche down' your services so that you are offering something very specific, for different types of business owners.
So for instance, maybe you offer Pinterest management. You can provide that for lots of different clients, but it's a specialized service offering. You don't offer support or management of 'all' social media platforms - you are upleveling yourself and standing out as a specialist.
Why is choosing a niche necessary?
Because it helps you to become a specialist - whether that means you are a specialist who supports podcasters, or you are a Pinterest specialist.
And becoming a specialist means that you can market yourself accordingly.
You can set your rates higher. You can create content that is very specific. You can work in your brilliance. You can do what you love. You can build a business that allows you to work when you want.
Let's go on the podcast idea for a moment to illustrate this.
if you offer podcast management, you will learn all of the things that you need to know to be a master podcast producer or manager.
What are those things?
For a solo podcaster: - topic research - recording - audio editing - show notes - transcripts - podcast audio storage - podcast uploading and publishing - promotion items creation (blog, audiograms, graphics, social media) - marketing of podcast (ie emails, blog posts, social media channels) - reporting
And for a podcast that has guests, all of the above as well as: - guest research/acquisition - set up and management of booking form/guest intake form - scheduling - collection of guest contact info and - promotional content sharing - reminders to promote when episode airs - follow up as necessary - You get the idea. There are SO many tasks that go along with every episode of a podcast, and a lot of podcasters do weekly episodes.
And so how does this help you? You set the deadlines (often far in advance, at least a couple of weeks, sometimes more) - and you can then set your schedule any way you like to complete the work.
It's one of those services that doesn't keep you chained to your computer 9-5 - and that's the first mark of specializing your services.
You can even do podcast setups - which include tons of tasks that are one-off projects.
Anyway you see how it works - and podcasting is not the only niche that allows you to build your business this way.
Find the clients that need ongoing high level services and you can pick your niche.
Let's get back now to Andrew Davis's quote: Commit to a niche. Stop trying to be everything to everyone.
This is extremely common for Virtual Assistants - never wanting to say no, and then doing things they don't want to be doing. Some VAs think that they are supposed to do whatever a client asks them to do, simply because that's the nature of our experience.
I remember coming back to my desk and checking my inbox (literally, the box on my desk!) to see what else needed doing. Over the years this moved to the email inbox - and now it has moved into project management systems too.
If you allow your clients to add projects and tasks and deadlines to your project management system, you are acting like their employee.
You can definitely let them add tasks (it saves time - and if you get a client who likes to log into the project management system, that can be a good thing) - but YOU set the deadlines - and the lead times.
Remember always that you are an admin specialist -whether you call yourself that or not, you need to act like one.
The client requests the work - you can accept it turn it down - and they can tell you when they need it by, but you can also accept that or turn it down.
The way to get around this is to ensure that your client is very aware of the lead times involved with every task you do for them, as well as what they need to provide to you and when you will turn the work around.
I've told you before of my client who I told needed 24 hours notice for all work to be done. She consistently sent me an email on a Wednesday at 11 am and tell me it needed to go out on Thursday at 11 am. That's not quite how it works, and that is on me for not explaining it well enough and holding the boundaries in place.
We need to be really clear with our clients - and that's what specialists do.
One of the biggest issues with working with multiple clients is that we try to turn things around much too quickly, and that can become unsustainable when we get more and more clients.
So you have to set them clearly from the start - or now, if you are already working with clients.
Being a specialist, and not acting like an employee, means that you get comfortable with talking about things like that. And working with them daily.
Getting back to the podcast niche, you can tell your client that to get a podcast published on March 1st, you need the content recorded by February 15th. You can decide when you do that huge list of things I mentioned earlier - they can be done whenever you want, because you are allowing yourself enough time to do them.
I still work regular business hours, but I don't want someone giving me 24 hours notice to get their podcast done. I'm a specialist, so I am in demand and I need more lead time.
Do you see why choosing a niche is necessary? It helps you build a business that can give you a lifestyle of your choosing.
If you want more time with your kids, if you want more money, if you want to build a team, if you want to work from anywhere, or just travel there, whatever you want.
It pays to be a specialist. It pays to pick a niche.
And it's easy too - you just need to choose!
When you are deciding who to work with, or what service to offer, you can start with who you want to work with, or the industry they work with or in, you can start with the services you want to do.
The services are the important part for your lifestyle, of course.
Do some research to see what kinds of clients need great VAs - and what services they need that you can provide.
And then pick. Easy!
Now the last piece is something that I have to constantly talk to VAs about - it's about working only with the clients you choose as your niche/target.
The biggest reason that VAs do not want to niche down is that they think they are going to be turning down clients who want them to work with them.
Well, yes, you will. But when you are marketing to and networking with the right clients for you, that won't matter anymore - you will have SO many clients.
Really great clients - that you want to work with. That will be desperate to work with you, and will want to pay you.
When you stay in the poverty mindset (that is where you are when you don't want to do what you need to do 'in case'), you are only making things more difficult for yourself..
Go to where the clients are that you WANT to serve. Never mind the other ones - there are plenty of VAs who will help them.
You will be too busy building your amazing business, and living your amazing lifestyle.
For real!
Stop trying to be everything to everyone. It simply doesn't work. Be the best to a select group who needs you, and wants you.
This is exactly what I help VAs do. As a VA coach and trainer, I help you find those services, and create the marketing messages, and find the groups of people, and talk to them, and get those clients.
I'll help you get clarity around it all, and cheer you on as you walk through the steps to do it.
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business and the lifestyle that they dream of.
I'd love to do the same for you.
You can work with me privately, or you can join The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
Reach out to me if you are interested in starting your journey today.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Hey there, welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today we are going to talk about your qualifications to be a ridiculously good VA
Quote: Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friend. - Walt Disney
A classic quote that definitely describes going to Disney. They do what they do well - and you can too - and that’s what I want to talk to you about today. Let’s go!
So Walt Disney says you need to be so good they want to come back. That's exactly true for any service based business, not just for a theme park. It's because they are happy, of course. Happy customers are the key to a successful business - any business, but of course, your VA business.
How do we make sure our customers are happy?
Lots of ways - but the simplest one I can think of is to do what you know how to do.
Common complaints from business owners about VAs include:
pretending to be something they are not too much hand holding needed not enough industry knowledge lack of communication level of professionalism
Now don't worry, we VAs have a list of things that clients do wrong too!
But this is really important information to know, when it comes to your VA business.
So that's why I say I think the easiest way to make your clients rave about you is to do what you know how to do.
If you have general admin experience -guess what? You are qualified to be a great VA.
You don't need to start there and learn something else.
Every single business owner in the world needs general admin work done in their business. And they should be outsourcing that business so they can focus on what it is that they do best - working in their brilliance with their clients.
Enter Virtual Assistants.
It's what we do. It's what we specialize in. It's what you specialize in.
I talk to a lot of new VAs every day - but also a lot of women who are just checking out our industry - and one of the biggest misconceptions I have to clear up for them is that "i need to learn xyz to get VA clients'.
Nope, you don't. You already know what clients need - from your work experience in an admin role.
Now, if you don't have admin experience, then you have to take training.
Or, if you were a receptionist and you didn't do a lot of admin work, same thing.
But most of us who are starting our VA businesses are doing so after working for a period of time (sometimes a long period of time) in an admin role, and we know that we can work with multiple clients to help them as a freelance VA.
If you aspire to be a social media VA, or a podcaster's VA, or a course creator's VA, you can. But you need to get money coming in to your VA business first. And the easiest way to do that is doing what you know right now.
My best advice is to start with what you know now - if I asked you what you could help me with today, what would you say? There must be something. Customer service? Email management? Scheduling? Those are probably the top 3 general admin services I hear that new VAs can provide.
And if you tell me that you can do that for me, then it's clear to me that you are capable and we can start working together today.
If I asked you questions about how we could work together to do any of those things, you could tell me. And I as a potential client would be confident that you could help me with what I need done.
I would see the value in spending money to work with you.
But if you tell me that you are taking some training to do this, that or the other, or that you are a brand new VA, and you are willing to learn, or that you are a quick study and you could look after whatever I asked, I would not have the same confidence in you.
I would not see the value in spending my money to work with you today. I would call someone else.
VAs are shooting themselves in the foot every day because of what they THINK the clients need.
Here's the big news: if you think that all business owners need social media, so that's what you need to learn ... guess what? They don't.
I know several people in my local town who run multi million dollar business - and they don't need social media support. You know what they need? General admin support. Bookkeeping.
Where are you seeing that people need social media as their top service? You're seeing it on social media! That's what you think that.
And that's why a lot of clients think that's all VAs do.
And because the clients don't understand it, they don't see the value in it. And so it will take them longer to spend their money on it.
This is my point - that whatever a client decided to place value on is what they decide to spend their money on.
What is valuable to them is worth their money.
So that's what you need to figure out - and it's why I always tell you that you should choose a target market. Because it helps you with that value part.
If you say I do customer service and research and reports and data entry and business presentations, that may make sense to you but it may not be appealing at all to people who are seeing you.
But if you choose target market of say, course creators, then you can say that you help with researching their course materials, you upload their course materials into their systems and test them, that you can do their new student or client onboarding, that you can find course content for them, and you can create their course handouts and resources - do you see the difference that makes in getting noticed by a potential who needs support?
And it's the same thing - it's just getting more specific with describing what you can do for them.
It helps you to get clearer on their specific needs - and that's where they place their value.
They will see that you understand their business - their industry - and that you won't be one of those VAs that I talked about earlier - that they don't really feel is a good fit.
So when I tell you that you are already qualified to be a ridiculously good VA, it's because you are.
Draw on your previous work experience. All of your experiences, actually.
When I work privately with a VA, or in my group programs too - I get them to do what I call my Skills Inventory.
It's an exercise that reminds you of all of the stuff you know.
Quite often when we are thinking about what we know how to do for clients, we just think about our most recent job or role.
But you know wayyyy more than that. To do the skills inventory, go back to the very first job you ever had. What did you do there? What did you learn? What skills are transferrable to a business. Then go to the next job, and the next, and the next.
What education do you have? What courses have you taken?
What volunteer work have you done? What else have you learned - online or otherwise?
And finally what are your hobbies? You can incorporate your hobbies into your business too.
When you look at this whole inventory you will see how much you can actually do now. When I first did this exercise for myself, I had forgotten so many things that I had learned, or that I loved to do.
Everything you know is what makes you unique - and it's what makes your business unique.
You are more than qualified to have clients hire you. You don't need to learn about Facebook ads or how to edit videos for Instagram reels, you don't need to do something brand new.
It's hard enough to be a brand new business owner - confidence-wise - so give yourself a break with your services. Do what you know.
And like I said, if you want to take training and be a social media expert, do it after you already have your business up and running, money coming in. You can change your services to whatever you want. You can change your target market. You can change your rates. Everything. But it's easiest to start with where you are.
When you are comfortable having business conversations and networking, the confidence comes through.
I often record the coaching calls I do with my VAs and I can show them exactly where their voice changes in a call, when they are describing what they do. When they are trying to convince me of something, they look away from the camera, they use too many words, they stumble on what they are trying to say. But when I ask them a question about what they do know, they settle right in. Their voice gets louder, they look right at me, and they can describe the process easily and confidently.
THAT's what you want your clients to hear. That's what will make them feel comfortable and trust that you can help them with their business.
Remember their business is very important to them - and so is their money. They want to believe that you can help them. They have no way to do that if you don't assure them.
That's why working in your brilliance is key.
Also, it's easier! While I am a perpetual learner, I definitely don't want to have to learn something new every time I try to complete a task.
When you are doing things that are new to you, that's sometimes the case.
I remember trying to learn how to do Facebook ads. It was the most frustrating thing in the world, I definitely didn't know what I was doing, but my client had heard that she 'needed' them, and it seemed pretty simple. Not only did I not have any idea what I was doing, so I spent a lot of her billable time learning and testing ... but I also spent her other money on clicks and ad revenue (which I had no confidence in doing).
But you know what? There are a lot of VAs who DO know how to do Facebook ads - and they charge accordingly, and they actually can help their client get results. That's a referral to me.
There are so many reasons that you should stick to what you know, but my biggest message for you today is to do it because you CAN.
Don't be one of those VAs who thinks that you need to learn something to start your business. You don't. You are creating more stress for yourself.
Here's what to do instead:
Target a group of clients that you know you could help today.
Determine exactly how you can help them and describe the value they will get from working with you today.
Connect with a lot of them, and help them today.
Your business will grow immediately - today. I promise!
And don't forget, one happy client will tell their friends about you - and that's exactly why Walt Disney says to do what you do well.
Starting with what you know and showcasing your expertise to your clients right now is something we can work on together in The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start running the VA business you dreamed of.
If you need some help with figuring out what you do best, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business through my private and group coaching. I'd love to do the same for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today we are going to talk about business.
When we start our VA business, it becomes very personal to us. It's the most personal thing we can own in the business sphere. But business is business, it's not personal, and it's important to keep that in mind as we move through it. Let’s go!
You have probably heard me say more than once that business is business, it's not personal.
Michael Corleone said it in The Godfather series and I agree.
When we let our emotions dictate business decisions or communications or boundaries, we can be heading for problems.
Is there a place for being personal? Sure there is. We'll talk a bit more about that later.
But right now I want to talk about some of the times that it is important to keep business in mind.
Virtual Assistants often mistake a client making a business decision, or saying something they don't like, or questioning something they have said or done as a personal insult.
Especially as we progress into our relationship with our clients, we get to know each other a bit better.
We might relax some of the things that we initially set up, and then we feel like we are being taken advantage of.
It's these times that I want to address in this episode.
Boundaries
We set boundaries in place for a reason. it is to make sure that both you and your client have their expectations set about how you work together.
The more access you give a client, the more they will want, or use. The faster you respond to them, the faster they will expect your next response to be.
If you let your clients step on or cross your boundaries once, they will push them again. They may not even intend to - but you will have blurred their expectations.
And it happens very quickly that we then get frustrated with those clients, and it feels like they might be taking advantage of us.
You must reiterate the boundaries and hold to them in order for the clients expectations to be managed properly. Most clients aren't trying to annoy us, but they do so when they think something is not a big deal.
I had a client for 7 years and she knew I started work at 9:30 every morning. My husband had some commitments in a particular week and so I was getting an early start because we needed to be out in the afternoon. So I replied to one of her emails at 7 am. ONE day I did this. The next day she sent me an email at 7 am and asked me to schedule it to go out at 9 am. When I said no, she said well yesterday you responded to me at 7 am, so I thought you were working early. After 7 years of working together, the expectation became blurred.
Me saying no to the 'request' was resetting the boundary. But the client took it personally because we were close. I took it personally because my schedule was being changed due to my personal commitments. But the bottom line was it was a business request - and neither one of us should have taken it personally to be asked or denied.
Incidentally, I have never emailed another client outside of business hours since then. Gmail scheduling for the win!
Communication
Communication is one of the biggest areas that get misinterpreted between a VA and a client.
A brief email that causes a misunderstanding or error. A million texts when you don't really use it as a communication method, but you answered your client once that way so now they prefer it.
The words we use to communicate with our clients, and they with us, often are the biggest source of us feeling personally affected. Someone is curt, or cold, or brief, or even angry.
Email sucks at times like this, let's face it. And if someone is not a good communicator, that can cause a lot of stress in a business relationship.
Is it you? If you constantly have to ask for clarification on things, you may begin to think it's you. Often it's not. A busy client may not be able to articulate what they need because they think you can.
Your communication methods are key as well - you need to make sure that the client uses your preferred methods, not theirs.
I once had a client send me 83 emails over the weekend. She would pop an email off to me when she thought of something she wanted me to do. And some of the emails were her changing her mind on something she had previously sent. This particular Monday morning I lost it when I saw my inbox. I couldn't believe she had wasted so much of my time. I addressed it with her that day - she had NO idea she had sent so many (how? who knows) and was genuinely shocked - I let her go anyway.
You must find a way for your client to communicate the proper information to you for every project so you can correct this and move on. Whether that is a project management task request, or a google form - get the details you need and eliminate unnecessary back and forth. It's one of the biggest culprits of the business versus personal argument.
Money
When a client questions your invoice, or the work you say you have done, this can definitely be a time to think it's a personal attack on you - you're not dishonest or untrustworthy.
And so when clients question things, we can jump to the defensive. What you should actually do is try to figure out why the client is asking you for such detail or clarification.
Did something take longer than they expected? If so, why was the anticipated time not communicated at the start of the project? With VAs, time is money. All tasks should be assigned an estimated time to complete.
I have worked with VAs who didn't work nearly as quickly as I did. Often in corporate jobs, we aren't worried about how long it takes to do something - but as VAs we need to be. Working efficiently and quickly is the name of the game.
People do work different ways - work pace is so important - but you are always working with the clients money.
I have always set a limit of 2 hours for ANYTHING I do for a client before checking in with them about it. Research especially is important. I have seen VAs go down huge rabbit holes claiming they needed to - and charging 10 hours to a client for some simple research.
So these are the reasons that YOUR client might be questioning you - because they have been burned by money before.
Now of course many time the client is the wrong one - they think something shouldn't take as long as it did - and it does. It's hard not to lay blame, but this is where some really solid procedures come in handy.
You need to be sure that the client understands what you can do in their estimated time each month, and that you are always communicating that clearly. If you are doing something for the first time, or starting to work with a new client, make sure you give them estimates so they have some idea.
And always keep them up to date on how much of their budget you have used per month. It's a professional way of handling their money that they will appreciate, and they will build trust with you much sooner - no more nickeling and diming!
Deadlines and Availability
Your client's lack of planning doesn't make anything an emergency for you.
Everything you do should have a deadline set for completion- and proper lead time associated with it.
I used to have a client that I billed 1 hour to send out their weekly newsletter. The newsletter was to be sent out at 11 am on Thursdays. I would very often receive the newsletter at 10 am Thursdays. Their reasoning was that I only needed an hour to do it, and that I knew it had to be sent out at 11, so I should be able to get it done.
How cocky that sounds! But it was really just a miscommunication - and a fractured deadline and lead time process.
We needed to have a discussion about scheduling and buffer times for things like editing, approval, creating images, and so on.
Maybe I billed them an hour for the newsletter, but maybe I created my images on Tuesdays, and they had missed that deadline. Maybe I wanted to send them the draft on Wednesday, so they had time to send edits and then I only needed 15 minutes on Thursday morning at 8 am to schedule it to go out on time. But without the actual content for the week, those things were impossible.
And so I, begrudgingly, actually blocked out that hour in my calendar, expecting it - and did it last minute for months. Until I just didn't. I decided to discuss it with them and let them know I needed more lead time.
It was eye opening for them and we fixed it immediately after our discussion, but this was after months of me rushing at the last minute. I felt they were taking advantage of me, and they had no idea they were, or at least that was their story they stuck to!
I also had another client who I told I needed at 24 hours notice for every work request so I could schedule her work properly into my calendar. She would literally send me everything 24 hours ahead. Wednesday at 4 pm delivery of pieces, please schedule it for Thursday at 4 pm. Some people are quite literal - it's not personal at all.
Task List
And finally, the things you do for people. Scope creep is a big thing that falls under business not being personal.
You don't want to say no so you say yes, but you really don't want to. You hold it again the client because you feel like their yes man. And you are!
But once again, much of the time this is because you haven't clarified where your scope of work starts and ends. If you do this, and hold to it, you won't be the yes man (or woman).
Now, sometimes we have clients who think we SHOULD be doing everything they ask. If they have ever had an assistant, that could be why. Or they could just be a jerk. Either way, it's not personal - they are conducting business.
I had lots of clients who just kept piling things onto my desk. Most of the time I kept on going with it, and many times I was not happy about it. But when I learned to define and hold my scope of work in place, things became so much easier.
So then when we say no, it's the client who then takes it personally. They need help, they don't have anyone else, and they feel slighted. It happens!
And it's their turn to not take their business personally. It's just time to find someone else to do that particular task. Really simple: That's not something I do. Let's find someone else to do that.
I had a client once who was located in California. I told her we could work together because our work days would overlap. At 1 pm my time, it was her morning. So she didn't need to feel like she would never hear from me. She misunderstood and decided that every day at 1 pm we would work 'together'. Nope. That was a big one I had to correct fast.
Anyway you can see what I'm getting at here.
A lot of times we feel like someone is insulting us or taking advantage of us, or judging us, and it's really not that way at all.
It's important to take a few steps back and look at the facts.
This can be hard to see on your own- if you have a trusted colleague or community that you can check in with, it's easier to get some support. Not the VAs groups with clients in them though!
And the more you do it, the more you will build that muscle.
No one is trying to upset you - most of the time - they are just trying to trudge through their business the same way you are.
When you make sure you address the issue, you can fix it.
Or you will realize that the client is not a good fit for you.
Either way, it's still not personal, it's business.
I agree, the saying itself is quite trite. But the more you learn to work with it the better you can handle things that don't go quite the way you expected them to.
Now when should you get personal in business?
When you are beginning to build a relationship with your client. You are building trust with them and vice versa.
When you are moving towards goals. Everything you do in business will get you what you want in your personal life. That's definitely personal.
When you are writing or collecting testimonials. Those are all about feelings.
When you are creating content for your website or your social media. People are buying YOU as a service provider, and a quick way for them to know whether they can work with you comes through in your personality.
There's a place for it - but it's not in the areas of conflict I've described in this episode.
To me it's a very distinct line - I hope after this episode,\ you now think it is too!
Go be you, and put on that CEO hat when you need to. You won't regret it!
Handling boundaries, managing expectations, smoothing out conflict and other touchy things is something we can work on together in The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to run your VA business that much better.
If you need some help with putting on your business CEO hat, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business through my private and group coaching. I'd love to do the same for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today we are going to talk about raising your rates the right way.
Quote: Your most important sale is to sell yourself to yourself. - Maxwell Maltz
Very hard to find a quote about raising rates - with inflation and all of the industries that got nailed by the pandemic, everything has gone up in price, including service industries. So I’ve gone with Maxwell Maltz’s quote here today because it’s so important to be confident with your rates. If you believe that what you are charging is what you are worth, that will come through in your confidence in your sales conversations, which is essential to getting that client. Let’s go!
Today I want to talk about raising your rates.
It's a common conversation in VA circles, I think we are always wondering if our rates are 'right'. I know that a lot of VAs I work with think their rates are fine where they are, and I think they are too low. When I work with you, I will almost always suggest raising your rates, but I'll never force you to! At the end of the day, it's your choice - but every decision in your business is easier when you are charging appropriately.
Remember you are running a business, and it's important to build a foundation that you can build on.
One of the most common times I will suggest raising your rates is when you are trying to bring subcontractors in to work with you. Your rates need to support paying someone else to do the work for the clients - not all of the work of course - you also have to allow for your admin time to manage the client and the sub.
But of course there are all kinds of reasons that you might want to raise your rates - here are a few:
- your demand is too high (ie you are booked out)
- you know other VAs who offer similar services are charging higher rates
- the cost of business is increasing
- inflation is ridiculous
- you are working too many hours and not earning what you need to earn
- if you aren't making a profit, or if your expenses are not being covered
- if you haven't raised your rates in a year
- if your clients are saying yes at every sales conversation
- you want to bring in subcontractors
Whatever your reason, there is a right way to raise your rates and that's what I want to talk about.
First off, you don't owe anyone an explanation as to why you are raising your rates.
It's amazing to me that as I was doing research for this episode, I found two kinds of articles - one was for business owners, and the other was for virtual assistants. I have to say that I was disappointed to see most of the VA articles talk abot negotiating with clients, or asking them their opinion, or writing them a really detailed email as to why you would raise their rate.
It is discouraging, because it's no one's decision what your rates are - except yours.
I will say it again - you don't owe anyone an explanation as to why you are raising your rates.
I even saw someone say that men won't bat an eye when they change rates, but women are the ones that really have to explain it to feel better about it. Gah!
Keeping your prices current is part of business. It's a business decision - and it's yours!
So many VAs start their business charging too little anyway - so it's going to be a decision you need to make at some point, and if you do it sooner rather than later your business will thank you!
Money is a confidence thing. A lot of us were taught never to talk about money. Maybe that's where the hesitation comes from. But I think it's what I always tell you - that being in corporate, we are simply used to someone else being in charge of everything including how much we get paid - and that in the support role that we filled as admin assistants, we didn't get taught how to value what we do and set a price for it.
It's something you need to learn. I teach you to do the math using my rate calculator - so you can understand why you charge what you charge.
And now I'm going to teach you how to raise yours too.
First, if you haven't done the math, go and download my rate calculator right now. I'll leave the link in th e show notes fot this episode!
It's really important to know how much you need to charge so you don't have to raise your rates every time you turn around.
Once you know how much you should be charging, then you have to figure out which client has to be increased and by how much.
When I was working with VA clients, I started charging $25 per hour (yes that was 24 years ago so you should not be charging $25 an hour now!). I was happy with that rate, but I could not grow my business at all charging such a low rate. And billing 30 hours a week which is very full time, I was only earning $875/week, which is about $600 after taxes, before expenses. To be running a business full time and only bringing in $2000 a month is not very much.
Then as I added clients I raised my rates for the new folks but I left my old ones at the old rates - simply because I didn't know how to approach the conversation. Like you, I thought it was 'fine' to leave them at my older rate. And then a year passed and I still didn't raise them. So dumb.
By the time my rate was $40 per hour, I still had a bunch of my old clients at $25, and the more I worked for them, the less money I made from my higher paying clients.
I'm all for being nice and building a relationship with my clients, but business is business. It's not personal.
And guess what - over the years that I worked with those clients and did not raise their rates ... they were busy raising their own rates for their clients!
So they were doing better business than I was, and here I was still sitting at too low a rate - and YES, I was a WAY better VA a few years in with them than I was when I started.
I absolutely made these mistakes, that's why I always want to make sure that you don't.
Let's get back to when you last raised rates.
That's one of the first things I'll tell you not to do, is raise them too often!
If you just started working with someone, unfortunately it's on you to quote the correct rates. I like to say that you shouldn't raise them more than once every year, but if your business or skills or service offerings are changing, you can raise them six months in.
You don't want to upset or confuse your clients. That's why the math is sooooo important from the start.
So, you have your new rate. You know when you last raised your rate for each client.
Now you need to decide when you will raise the rates for each client.
No, this doesn't have to happen all at the same time.
You can either raise them with the next retainer (I usually give a client 30 days notice), or you can give them 60 days if you prefer. But once you decide, set a date.
If the raise is substantial, you may consider stepping them up. I did this with a client that I was charging $25/hour for - when I told her I was raising my rates to $40 she panicked, but we decided she would pay $30 the following month, $35 the month after that, and then $37.50 the following month. I was okay to keep her rate slightly lower because she was a long term client, but I had to bridge the gap. And what we also did was really look at what I was doing for her over those three month. Instead of going through the motions, we decided what was most important and we kept that. We got rid of a few other things, and her monthly invoice only went up incrementally even though my rate went up. That worked for both of us. And it was still my decision and my rates so I don't want that to be considered them having an opinion. It's about working with their budget to make sure that you are doing what they need, at your rate.
If you raise your rates regularly, this will not be an issue for you, but in the event that you do have that type of thing happen I wanted to share a successful way that I handled it.
There were clients that were fine with the increase.
There were clients who were not. And we had to move them along to other VAs. Which is totally fine too. Don't forget that you can get a new client at your new rate that you can work fewer hours for, while still making the same money.
We don't want to lose clients, but if we haven't managed them properly then it's sometimes better just to let them go.
The other thing you can do when it's time to raise your rates, is to convert them to packages.
I did this with a couple of my clients too. These clients used to bill approximately the same amount of money every month - about $750. So when it came time to increase that, I told them I would be going to a package rate for the same services they had previously gotten, but their monthly rate would increase to $900 - and I would add in a weekly production call or a new report for them that we weren't doing before. Something that didn't take a whole lot more time, but that would help use to be more organized, or keep an eye on our results a little better. The reason I found that this worked was that we are stepping up our level of professionalism for them - our expertise. The clients I moved to packages made things easy for me to 'give myself a raise' afterwards, because it was no longer a dollar per hour that I was talking about - it was a $50 or $100 increase monthly which is less visible to the client. And of course, it's really smart to find ways to work more efficiently or find ways to automate things you do, so that you can get the work done faster and still earn the same amount.
Finally we have to inform the clients - and again I usually suggest to keep this as simple as possible.
You don't have to explain to anyone why you are raising your rates. You simply let them know that you are, and when the change will take place. If you are proposing a package or have one of the special increase scenarios I described above, you have to make time to speak with your client. It's too much info to just put in an email.
But a straight increase just requires an email. Usually I would send this along with the next invoice. When the invoice gets sent out, tell them that the next month (or the one after that) they will see the increase on their bill. It's usually sufficient - the only one who gets nervous about it is the VA.
If you are raising it a lot, then be more aware of your clients - you don't want to upset them or confuse them. You probably should be careful to only raise them a maximum of 20%. Like I said earlier, if you need to go higher than that, propose taking some tasks out of the to do list and keep the client's monthly invoice down.
The most important thing is for you to be clear WHY you are raising your rates. If you aren't able to confidently have a discussion with your client, then you will run the risk of getting pushback. This is what we try to avoid.
So ask yourself - why do you need to raise your rates? And answer that question. Believe that you need it. Understand why it's important for you to stay in business - or stay profitable in business anyway - and then you will have no problem passing the message on to your clients.
And be prepared to lose some clients - it's honestly okay. I had 12 clients, I raised the rates for 6 of them. I kept 4 of those 6. One stepped up over 3 months, three went to packages, and 2 we moved on within 60 days. I made room immediately for 2 new great clients at my new rate. Six months later I was only working with a total of 7 clients instead of 12, and I was earning more money. And you will too.
Above all, remember that it's business, it's not personal. And if you have outgrown your clients, that's totally okay.
Raising your rates is something we can work on together in The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to get revenue coming in and running a better business.
If you need some help with setting or raising your rates, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business through my private and group coaching. I'd love to do the same for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today we are going to talk about accountability and the very important role in plays in your VA business.
Running your VA business takes a lot of time and effort - and when we are working on our own it’s easy to let ourselves off the hook for stuff that should be getting done. We’ll talk about why all VAs need an accountability partner in today’s episode. Let’s go!
Getting things done is what we do, as Virtual Assistants.
For other people.
When was the last time someone asked you to do something (a client) and you didn't do it?
Well, actually that's not always the case - but in general - when a client asks you to do something, we give that thing priority, don't we?
They are paying us, after all, and so we need to make sure that we do what they need done.
Motivation isn't always that hard when someone else is requesting.
But what about ourselves? There are lots of things that we need to do in our business, or for ourselves - but because we are solopreneurs - we work alone - no one is there (proverbially) kicking our butt. Holding us to our deadlines. To our plans. To the things we say we need to get done. That we want to get done.
On our own, motivation can be hard.
With no one to push us, we can let things go by the wayside, and just think we'll get to it later.
We can get distracted by many things. Our focus shifts to something else., maybe something more interesting, or maybe more fun, or maybe something that is less work.
There is a lot of pressure to do all the things.
When we worked in a corporate job, someone else was the one who was telling us what to do and when - and making sure that the team deadlines got met. We just had to do our part.
But we have to do that for ourselves now.
As a matter of fact, every single day I talk to VAs who are having trouble prioritizing.
What happens mostly is that they can't figure out how to manage multiple clients - isn't everyone's 'stuff' a priority? How do we manage that?
That's just one of the things that we have to think about in our business.
And it's yet another thing that we need to learn how to do well.
When the things we need to get done are for us, it can be hard. It can be much easier to push them side.
Hello, procrastination.
As a result, we set goals that we don't reach, we build bad habits and we generally are less successful because we aren't doing the things we need to do in our business to reach the level of success that we say we want.
Accountability is about doing what you say you want to do.
Accountability is the actual act of making sure that something gets done. If you say it should be done, then it needs to get done.
How can we get things done better?
With accountability - having someone help you stay on track.
Before we talk about who can help you, let's talk about the actual 'things' you aren't getting done.
First you have to decide what you want to get done. It could be a task, a habit, a routine, a mindset shift - so many things.
Next you have to set in place the steps to get it done. When we are talking about tasks, we put them on a to do list. But it doesn't stop there. For habits, we need to find out when is our best time to do it, and the frequency we need to do it (I always suggest daily!). For routines, we need to find a pocket of time in a day or supplemental things that fit with that routine. For a mindset shift, we need to check in daily, sometimes more often, and build new ways of managing or coping.
The steps are the thing that we need in place to know that we can get 'the thing' done. If we don't know the clear steps, that's where we need to begin. Find someone who can help you map out the steps but get them done.
Then you have to map your progress. And take steps to get to your goal, or complete the 'thing'.
That's what we need to do with everything - and somewhere along the way in these 3 steps, we go off the rails. Maybe all the time.
So the first thing we can do that helps is to tell someone else. It's very documented that telling someone else about what you want to get done helps you focus on it much better than telling no one.
But getting accountability - which is what is even better - is what will help you get better at getting everything done.
We don't need to do anything alone.
I highly suggest having either a person or a group to help you stay accountable in.
When we make the commitment to expanding our circle of trust, it is really awesome.
I personally prefer groups because you get the input of others - but I'd be lost without my accountability partner who I have had for many years. She has also become one of my best friends, but that's another story!
I've worked with a few other accountability partners, and several groups. What you need to do before choosing someone is to vet them. Don't just pick anyone because they are excited and offer.
This is an opportunity for you to find someone who will help you - not just listen to your woes.
So, interview people before you decide. Ask them. What have you done? What are your goals? how long have you been in business? How will our partnership work? You want to make sure you find the right person or group - not just anyone who is excited to get an accountability partner because they want to 'support each other'.
Accountability is much more than just calling each other to ask advice.
It's about making the commitment to be more productive, to implement your strategy, to move your business forward. It's about getting your own support - and using it!
Many people will suggest a stranger, but you will get to know this person very well and they you, so I actually don't think it matters - as long as you set the rules and you make sure you both stick to them.
But do the interviews. Don't just say yes to the first person who comes along. You need someone to at least be moving at the same speed or in the same direction as you. And you need to push each other forward.
The more clients you have, the more important it is to get accountability support. If you are running a team, it's important to get accountability support.
In a group you can work on regular habits, reprioritizing things, getting to the business stuff that you are putting off, managerial issues with your team - so many things. You can easily look after this kind of thing in my monthly mastermind group, The Virtual Circle.
So once you choose someone, how does it all work?
You make a schedule to meet regularly. You write things down. You ask for help. You prioritize your plan. You do not miss your meetings. You are honest with what you have done and what you have not. You look for solutions when you have not done something, not excuses. You help the other person in the same way. You do not let them off the hook. You work with deadlines and lists and strategies. You get feedback on stuff. You give feedback on stuff. You seek out celebrations. And you email or call when you need immediately help or have an immediately celebration. It's not all about hard stuff. It's about the good stuff too, the progress, the good news, the revelations, the ahas, the more money, the more clients, the more productivity, the better business person you are becoming.
In a group you do exactly the same thing. Most groups have regular calls or sessions, and then a community group like a Facebook group for those time sensitive things between calls.
My accountability partner and I meet every two weeks.
My mastermind group meets twice a month and also has a coworking session once a month (talk about getting things done!)
Before long you will know more about each other, about each other's business and you can give genuine, trusted help to each other.
When you have a confidante, a partner, it feels like the things you want to get done are more of a priority. They are given more value because you are sharing them with someone else who is cheering you on.
You will make fewer excuses for not doing stuff - no one wants to look bad.
It's meant to be positive - not negative. If you are struggling with your daily tasks, reach out and get some support - a kind word, a resource, a pat on the back. It really helps!
What do you need help with?
strategy to get clients your bookkeeping processes daily bad habits daily good habits
There are a myriad of things that you can get done. Pick one, find your accountability partner(s) and start working towards it. Then pick another, and move towards that. Start creating better habits one step at a time.
You can do it! Every VA should have an accountability partner or group. Be one of those ones that do!
Getting things done is something we can work on together in The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to prioritize your stuff and start running a better business.
If you need some help with strategy, action steps, getting your marketing or business stuff prioritized, or managing your client or team workload, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business through my private and group coaching. I'd love to do the same for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today we are going to talk about time management and profitability. As a VA, time is always money, and yet a lot of us don’t manage our own time well.
I'll say it again. Time is money when you operate a service business like we VAs do.
So that means a few things:
First, it means that you need to be meticulous in measuring your time so that you know you are profitable.
Second, it means that you also have to work as efficiently as possible - and waste less time each day - in order to be profitable.
And last, it means that at some point you will max out your own time, and that's when you need to expand your day - and as a result, your VA business.
The most important thing you need to realize in business is that client only wants to know two things: what you can do for them and how much it will cost them.
Many VAs quote their clients time - and then that's all anyone thinks about.
But Jim Rohn is 100% correct when he talks about value.
The client wants to know what you can do for them - they are paying for the value that you can bring to them. They aren't asking you how much of your time they can have. They just need stuff done. When you start talking to them about time, you drag your value way down - and it becomes a race, instead of your expertise.
Let's instead tell them what we can do for them - and how much it will cost them. Trust me when I tell you this is all they want to know.
Let's break all this down.
Tracking Your Time
How do you feel when I even say those words?
I don't like tracking my time. I expect that you don't either. But you know you have to do it when you are charging your clients for work that is completed in a certain amount of time.
Hourly billing is not a bad thing, but there are some things that come up from it that don't make sense as a business owner.
The most obvious is missed time. You want to ensure that you are not forgetting to bill your clients. Would you believe that this is one of the most common issues VAs come to me with for help? They work all day long, never stop, and then at the end of the day they can only find 4 or 5 hours of time to actually bill their clients.
This is the same for hourly billing or ticking time off of a retainer. If you can't account for the time you have spent working on a client's stuff, then you can't bill them for it (or subtract it from their retainer).
Usually the main problem is that we are jumping from task to task without ever thinking about recording anything properly. We think we are being efficient but we are not. We are actually acting like a bad business owner because we are not taking the time to look after our business in between tasks.
So what can you do to do this better? Easy. Slow down. Be meticulous in recording what you do for each client. This is truly the main reason I still use pen and paper as a means of recording time. It's always available.
Each day I have a page in a spiral notebook that stays on my desk and I write down every task I have done and for which client. That's all. I don't have to record time start and time stop or anything - just that task.
Why does that suffice? Because I have created processes that tell me how much each task costs the client. Checking email, 15 minutes. Creating a newsletter, 90 minutes. Making 5 graphics for social media, 25 minutes. You get the idea. It is the billable time to the client for each of the tasks that have been completed for that particular day.
So when I have to figure out how much time I spent working on a client's work on any given day, I add up the task times. Done.
I get a lot of pushback from VAs on this process when I ask them to figure out those estimated times. But once they do, they realize how simple it makes everything in their business.
And when you have these processes in place, and the estimate times that go with them, you can easily quote package pricing to your clients - and tell them what you can do for them and how much it will cost them (yep, circled back on that!)
Working Efficiently
The second part of this slow down process is to batch a client's work - so that you know you spent 1 hour on this client, or 30 minutes on that client. When you stop billing your clients by the minute, you can make a plan to stick with their work for a specified period of time, and then you will be sure not to miss tracking it or billing it.
Looking for efficiency in the way you work is the other thing that is going to help you manage your time better.
Not only is this important for your own task list - which you manage, probably pretty well I'd guess.
But you have to think about the others you are working with as well.
How organized is your client? Do they have other team members that you have to work with?
If anyone else is providing you with pieces of the tasks you are doing, then you must ensure that you have some processes in place to account for how things get done.
For instance, as we talked about in last week's episode, if you run a client meeting, you should be the one creating the agenda and holding everyone to the agenda, as well as keeping it on time. If you do a client's newsletter every week, be sure that you have a process in place for the client or team members to send you their pieces, as well as deadlines to do so. If your client needs to approve social media posts before they go live, ensure that you provide them with enough time to get that done so you aren't going back to the same task 10 times. As a matter of fact, if a client has to approve the final version of anything you do, make sure that you have a policy for how many revisions are allowed - and you hold them to it. If they need more than the number you offer, tweak your process leading up the final version.
These are really simple ways that you can look for efficiencies. Depending on the services you offer, there are many others.
Working efficiently is about looking for the best way to get things done. You can use others on a team (maybe that have more skill in something than you do), or you can use automation (ie scheduling software), or you can implement checklists (my #1 tip!).
I am a big fan of checklists because they work. When you are following a checklist to get something done, even if you've done it 100,000 times before, you are allowing yourself to trust your process. You don't have to use any brainpower to remember where you were if you leave a project part way through. You simply go back to the checklist and begin and the next step. Checklists help you make sure that you never miss a step because it's right there in front of you and you have to check it off once done. And if you have anyone else who helps you with things, checklists are a great way for you to know that they are doing things the way you need them done.
Look for efficiencies everywhere. Implement the tools you need to improve your work, and you'll get more done.
Working efficiently also helps increase the value you bring to the client - they pay for deliverables, and the expertise that you and your team bring to their business. It's a great way to grow with your clients.
Expanding Your Day
There will come a time when you are maxed out. The most successful VAs find this to be the case right away when they have a full roster of clients.
So what do we do when we are running all day long, and we know we are tracking our time properly, and we know we are working at maximum efficiency?
That's when it's time to expand - something.
When your day is tapped out, you can't make any more money.
One solution is to raise your rates. This episode is not a rates episode, but you can do that. At some point, you must do that do grow your business.
The faster way to expand is to hire people to help you with your work. Of course your rates have to be in place where you are able to pay someone else and yet still remain profitable. So if they aren't there right now, that's where you need to begin.
If your rates can handle paying out someone else to do the work, then that's your next step.
But because you have already gone through the other steps above, you should be fully prepared to bring someone in to help.
This is what I teach my private clients and my group coaching clients.
Standard operating procedures are important to have in your business - but they are even more important to have when you are bringing in subcontractors.
When someone is doing your client work, you get to dictate how they do it. They follow your processes, and they do the work in the estimated time that you tell them to do it. The only way to know this time is to write up the process and to assign that time to it.
Your subs are spending your money - and your client's money - so this is very important for you to have a very good handle on.
And yet so many VAs brush this whole area off thinking that they are just getting things done so everything is fine.
Not to mention you are charging your clients a premium rate so that you can offer them a team of people to do their work.
And in many cases you aren't seeing every little thing the subs are doing anymore because you are overseeing instead of doing.
It's important, folks, and you can't skip it.
Write up the processes. Create the checklists. Assign the estimated task times. Insist that your subs follow the processes and use the checklists, and bill you accordingly.
If your estimated times are not jiving with how long it's taking your sub to do the work, then you can identify why that is and fix it.
But don't leave it up to them to eat up your profits simply because you haven't given them all the tools they need to do things as efficiently as possible.
Expanding your day is essential to growing your business - and when you do it well, you will reap the rewards, your subs will reap the rewards, and so will your clients - who ultimately, are the ones that you are working for.
Remember that value. The client is hiring you. Your subs are working for you, representing you. It's so important that they do things your way. Don't ever forget that.
Ridiculously good time management isn't rocket science. But it does take tracking to a new level, and it's much easier than counting minutes or using a clock timer all day long.
I used this method to support my 6 and 7 figure business coaches for many years. And we did lots of tasks that many VAs tell me can't be tracked in this way - yes they can, and I can show you how.
You may need to change the way you think or the way you work (slightly) but once you make the change you'll see the difference immediately.
It's only a secret until you learn to do it!
Growing your VA business is something we can work on together in The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to work better with fabulous clients for your VA business.
If you need some help with creating processes and estimate your work time, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to growing their business through my private and group coaching. I'd love to do the same for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today we are going to talk about meetings! Everyone hates them because they often end up being time wasters, but they really do serve a purpose, and today I'm going to talk about how to make them super efficient so they work for you!
Meetings are very useful, but so many people don't use them properly.
They take up too much time. They aren't run properly. They don't achieve anything.
And yet, I tell you to schedule meetings with your VA clients all the time. So why would I say meetings aren't that great?
Because a lot of people don't run them well. That's really the basic problem with meetings.
So let's talk about how to make your meetings work.
First things first, I call them production meetings. Because what we cover in them is about what is going to get done, and also because the word production indicates that there is a purpose to the meeting.
Secondly, these are scheduled. Regularly scheduled. When we are working with clients, the more time we have to work the better for everyone, so it's important to not stop what you are doing to take a meeting. You set up your calendar in your meeting and you work the rest of your time around it.
I used to have a weekly production meeting with my clients - I'll tell you more about how I ran those later in the episode, but we would typically meet once face to face (Zoom), on Mondays, and then the rest of the week we would communicate by email and project management system. It was effective, even for my busiest clients.
When your clients know you have a meeting once a week they can plan for it - and yes, although sometimes you do need a second meeting during the week, if you let the client book endless meetings you are allowing them to form a very bad habit - not every email or question needs to be a meeting.
Third, these are brief meetings. The biggest complaint about meetings is that they take too much time and get too little done, so avoid that at all costs. When you are organized and when there is a purpose, setting a time of 15 minutes or 20 minutes is the best way to go. These meetings are to make decisions, not go over every single detail of your work together. Even with my busiest clients, we kept meetings to 30 minutes or less every week. Everyone appreciates that, and everyone buys in for sure!
So how to run a meeting so it works better?
Here are a few of my best tips:
- Take charge
Don't let clients run your meetings. There, I said it. Clients are not the ones who are tracking your time or working within their own budget. They are not the administrative expert of the relationship. That's you. So you need to take charge of the meetings. Set the date and time - and time limit - and invite the client to the meeting. When you are the one who calls and runs the meeting, you can control the flow and the outcomes. After all, the meeting is for you to get clarity on what the client needs done.
- Set an agenda
Be sure you know exactly what you are going to cover in your meeting. Create and agenda and stick to it. For my clients, I had a set agenda depending on what services I provided for them. My business coach clients the agenda went something like this: 1. Money (what's coming in, what is in arrears, what is happening with that) 2. Clients (client issues, client updates, etc) 3. Ongoing projects (quick status update on what was outstanding for things like blog posts or event setups) 4. Upcoming projects (longer term stuff we were working on that was in process and 5. New Stuff (what happened last week that will result in new work down the road)
The key to the weekly production meeting is to give a high level overview of what is going on - details are for your project management system.
With that agenda, there were specific topics we would discuss and both of us knew what to bring to the call to ensure that we covered it all and still stayed within our booked time. Very efficient.
- Keep it on time
Another complaint is that meetings run over time. Because you have taken charge of the meeting, it is up to you to keep it on time. Everyone's time is valuable, and it's important to stay on task.
Use your agenda and make sure that if something goes down a rabbit hole you save it by saying something as simple as 'okay I'll get that info and circle back with more information'.
Don't screen share on your call unless the client needs to approve something and you have to show it to them. Don't do research on your call. If a decision can't be made on a call because there is further research to be done, it's an open item and it goes on the schedule to be worked on in the coming week.
Keeping a meeting on time also means starting on time. If you are attending a meeting, show up 5 mins early or on time - not 5 mins late. Don't extend a meeting is your client shows up late. Implore them to show up on time or reschedule.
- Leave with action items
The purpose of a meeting is to make decisions, as we have already stated. So that means when a decision has been made, then it's time to take action on it. Summarize the action items for the items discussed, and then keep them up to date in your project management system.
Take notes during each meeting - according to your agenda, and provide those back to the client so you both agree on what was discussed and decided. Make sure you don't send a transcript, just a brief summary of item discussed and what follow is necessary.
And again, if something requires more research or discussion, add it as an open item for next meeting and circle back to it on the next production call.
- Follow up
If there are open items from your meeting, be sure to follow up with them - enter them into your project management system as a project or task to be completed, and keep the client up to date on progress until completion. Calling them next steps on your agenda works great.
A little trick I have learned is to schedule your meeting for 20 minutes, but book 30 into your own calendar. End your meeting on time and take the next 10 minutes to process the action items and information from the meeting. That way you can close it out, bill the client 30 minutes and be organized for your week to come.
If you haven't run meetings like this in the past, you can do it!
It may take some practice in the beginning, so you can start with 30 minutes if that helps - but always try to do better, and get them as efficient as possible. If you have 5 clients and each other them needs 2 hours of meetings a week, that takes 10 working hours out of your schedule. Not to mention that client is now getting billed for 8 hours worth of meetings every month instead of 8 hours work of work done.
By keeping them to 15 minutes and make them work for both of you, the client only gets billed 1 hour for meetings in a month, and more work gets done. Win win!
Doing meetings more efficiently can buy you back that time, but it also vastly increases your productivity - and your communication with your clients. It asserts your expertise because you are the one running the meetings.
Working efficiently is something we can work on together in The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start working more efficiently.
If you need some help with working more efficiently, time management, or productivity, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing through private or group coaching. I'd love to do the same for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today we are going to talk about social media platforms, and which ones you should be using to market your VA business.
Social media is a huge entity. There are so many places that you can 'be' online.
A lot of it is personal - not related to business. So what I want to talk about today is where to do your VA business connecting - and marketing.
I'll talk about the five main platforms - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Tiktok. Close behind these are still Youtube and Twitter but I'm not going to talk about those in this episode. I'm also not going to talk about paid advertising in this episode. This is all about you - your content and your activity.
I am by no means an expert in any of these platforms, but I use them all - and I'll share my knowledge with you today from a business perspective, with the intention that you will figure out what is the best place for you to be going to market your VA business.
Naturally I'm starting with Facebook because to me it's the biggest one. Statistics tell us there are almost 3 billion people on Facebook, and more than 200 million businesses. So yeah, your clients are on it.
Everyone is there already and it is usually the easiest place to 'be' and to find people to work with.
One of the keys of what we advise VAs to do is meet potential clients where they are already, which is what you can do on Facebook. Everyone really is already there.
How to use Facebook to market your VA business? Not using your personal profile. First of all, Facebook doesn't - or didn't used to - let you use your personal profile for business. I see lots of MLMs or network marketers using theirs, and although they end up in Facebook jail from time to time, it doesn't seem to be getting taken down, but to me your personal is your personal, and you have so many tools to use that are business based, and that's where you should focus your attention.
We all know that your family and friends are probably not going to be your clients, and I also think you don't have to befriend your business connections so they are privy to your personal postings - so a business page is a better tool.
A business page allows you to publish the content you want, and helps people to get to know, like and trust you.
You should also join groups to network with business owners. It's the advice I give you every single day. Now there is the choice for group owners to allow people to join their groups as pages. I still believe that networking is done person to person, so I have that option turned off in my groups. But that doesn't mean that you don't need a business page.
Your personal profile just needs to direct people to your business page. When people click on your personal profile from a group, it's because they want to get to know more about you.
So all you need to do is leave your personal status updates privacy as friends only, and when someone goes to your profile, have your business page connected in your About section. Your business connections can then see that right away, and click over to your business page.
Social media is all about being social - engaging with people, getting them to engage with you - so don't just publish scheduled content. Take the time to be present, to interact with people - and you will get the connections and the visibility you need to market your VA business.
Messenger is also a great tool to connect with people on Facebook. It's one click to send someone a message and one click to get back to their profile - and just one more to their business page. I used to dislike it, but it has become a very important tool for me - not just as a way to reach out to people, but as a way for them to access me directly. Love it!
No matter what you do and where you are present on Facebook, remember to be helpful and supportive - that's what will get you noticed as a support professional.
A lot of businesses are also using Instagram to grow. Again we are talking over 2 billion users, and over 200 million of them are business accounts. It's different from Facebook though in that it's pretty much completely visual.
Posting an Instagram post puts it into your image grid, which is sorted by date, most current first. Some people post things to make their grid LOOK good - patterned, as it were - but it's not necessary to do that if it's not your thing.
The key, like any social media platform, is to post consistently and to create content that your audience is interested in seeing and interacting with.
Stories will appear at the top of the app - and that makes them quite accessible for your audience. You don't have to worry about 'showing up' in their feed if you are doing stories - and that's why stories can be a really good way to market your business.
Stories only stay on your account for 24 hours and then expire, but you do have the option of reposting them or highlighting them - which can be a great idea for people to look through on their own time - for instance if you highlight some posts that are relevant to the services you offer, that can stay up on your profile all the time.
You are not able to put a link in an Instagram post, so consider setting up a Linktree type of link for your bio that allows people to click and find what you want them to find.
Instagram is hashtag heavy, other platforms are not - making use of 8-12 hashtags in Instagram helps people find your content. Of course it ranks hashtag content by popularity, so interaction is going to be one of the things that helps you as well. Tagging others is a great way to get visibility from their audience - they may share your post or story to theirs when tagged. Never spam, of course!
Instagram is widely considered to be a good conversion platform - you can get sales provide real insights into your business and how you help people.
Follow people in your target audience and interact with their content as well. Don't just post. Interactivity is going to be key on Instagram just like it is anywhere.
Try the Gary Vee $1.80 strategy - leaving your 2 cents on the top 9 trending posts, for 10 different hashtags, every single day. So 90 comments a day, your two cents as it were, for cost of $1.80. Yes, it takes time, but if you don't have clients then you have time - use it well, and it will begin to pay dividends soon - you are basically using the strategy to become a part of the online conversation.
Even if you do a portion of that, you will be giving yourself a huge advantage. And its why you can see that hashtags are important for your own content too. Algorithms love people who are active and being active will get your content seen by more people.
If you haven't already listened to my podcast episode about how to use LinkedIn better to get clients, then start there - or listen to that one after you finish listening to this one!
Look for connections - use the search bar and the options it gives you. I usually search my 1st connections first, because I started connecting with people a long time ago that I have never really gotten to know.
I always tell you that you never know where your next client will come from, and it's very possible they are one of your LinkedIn connections right now.
After that I search by 2nd connections - to make some connections with people that I already may have a common connection with.
You can see people's activity whether you are connected to them or not, so that's helpful to see if they are active on Linkedin.
Growing your audience is important - but growing your connections is what LInkedIn is all about. So find people who fit into your target market, and then start to look at their content.
Interact with it - like, comment and share it. They will obviously get notifications about that and they will start to notice you. After a time, you can then send them a connection request and that helps you seem more familiar to them. You can let them know how much you like their content (you've proved that), and you are then building that connection
You also need to optimize your profile - there are so many tools at your fingertips in Linkedin - from your header image, to your profile pic, to your headline, on down - lots of places to provide copy and highlights - links to things that showcase your expertise. Much more than many other social media platforms.
Post content of your own regularly too - LinkedIn is definitely more quality than quantity which makes it really great for content planning.
When you click on someone's activity, it shows you everything they are doing - liking, posting, commenting on others as well as their own posts - it's fascinating, and you can then even interact with the people that THEY are interacting with, becoming a colleague, not just a fan.
Of course all of this is not to be cunning - it should all be very natural and be YOU.
Being present daily on LinkedIn makes it work much better for you - when people message you, getting back to them is better done quickly.
Pinterest is definitely a visually heavy platform - but did you know that it's an excellent search engine too? Pinterest posts get indexed by the search engines - and that means that if you are using Pinterest consistently to promote your business, you could be coming up in searches for your expertise.
Try it for yourself - go to Google and type in a search term - you will see Pinterest posts in the results.
It's pretty underrated - and it's actually fairly easy to boost your numbers when you start posting content consistently.
What can you post on Pinterest? Blog posts are the simplest thing to get started with - when someone sees your blog post image, they click on it and they get shown a Visit or Read and a Save button which allows them to go to your website, or save them to one of their own Pinterest boards. Either is good for you - as website trafffic is king, but also saving means they are really interested in your content.
Video is also gaining in popularity on Pinterest as it is everywhere. It's eye catching. Great images and titled are really helpful to get your Pinterest pins seen and saved. 445 million people are using Pinterest monthly, and 75% of them are women.
It is definitely more for finding ideas than it is to showcase yourself - so it's an easy way to get your content out to people without having to do video of yourself.
Tiktok
Tiktok is definitely a growing platform and it's a great new way to get visibility for your VA business.
It consists mainly of video snippets, from 15 seconds to a few minutes, and they are not only shown to your contacts, but there is a For You page that gets highlighted for all users, so you could end up in front of many people that Tiktok thinks could be interested in your content.
Tiktok doesn't have the ability to provide a long list of links, or even links in your video description, so you get one main link in your bio that you can send people to. Many people set up a linktree or similar type link like they do for Instagram, which makes it easy to provide many places for click throughs to go The use of hashtags to grow your platform is essential, so do a little research to make yours work for you.
And it's not just about dancing and pointing, or doing Tiktok trend videos - some of the most popular content on Tiktok is actually just talking head stuff - you sharing your expertise about what you do (often while doing something normal like getting ready for work or preparing a meal). Be creative and be consistent, like all social media, and Tiktok could be your place to get visible.
There are 1.5 billion monthly Tiktok users, and if you can get comfortable doing videos, it can be very useful
So which platform is right for you is combination of things - what you feel comfortable producing as content. If you don't enjoy it, you're not going to do it. It also depends where your people are. Where are they hanging out?
Remember that social media is about being social with your audience in the place that they already are. And let's circle back to today's quote from Kim Garst - the conversations are going to take place whether you are there or not. So put yourself where they are happening, and just join in!
As always, I recommend focusing on one platform and doing it well, before moving along to another one.
You can also repurpose content from one to the other easily. But that's a topic for another day!
Where will I find you? I'm dabbling in all platforms now, but you can find me most easily on Facebook still. Daily connection with people is a key focus in The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start getting fabulous clients for your VA business.
If you need some help with your social media strategy and content, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you through private or group coaching.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Ah networking. That thing that VAs hate but need to do to build their business.
Let's start by talking about why we don't like networking.
Yes, it's true - a lot of VAs are introverts. I don't have a statistic on that but because we have always played a support role, we are comfortable being in the background - taking care of things for the people who go out there and make the sales, make the speeches, do the meetings - and we run the show from the sidelines.
We are happy to.
So then when we start our own business, we have to assume a role that we haven't before - and we don't always know what to do, or how to do it well.
Networking is one of those things that comes up time and time again when I speak with VAs who are struggling in their business, or paralyzed with fear agt the thought of talking to others about what they do.
And so .... we network poorly. We do what we think we are supposed to do, even if it doesn't feel good - and we struggle to make it work.
Or we avoid it and then our business stays stuck - and that still feels normal.
Being in business should not be a struggle. Sharing how you can help people is not a struggle. You're just doing it wrong.
Let's talk about 5 ways VAs are messing up their networking (and yes, then we'll talk about how to do it better!)
- Facebook groups - if I had a nickel for every Facebook post or omment I saw that made me cringe, I'd be doing this podcast from a pub in Ireland. Facebook groups are an awesome way to build your business - but you have to use them wisely to make them work for you.
What not to do? Don't respond to any post with PM me, I can help. If someone is looking for help with something, offer the help right there in the comments. Don't make it about a sale. Be helpful!
Why is this important? Moving the conversation offline does nothing for your business. It makes you look like you are pushing for a sale, and no one can see the expertise you bring to the person who posted their issue, or what you could bring to others in the group.
Keep your help online in front of the whole group and get known for the consistent and amazing help you can provide. Trust me, the conversations will go offline - but you need to build up your credibility as a helpful person first. Facebook groups will help you when you show up and get noticed by everyone for not trying to make a sale every time someone posts.
I tell the story of a local Facebook group for women business owners here where I live, that has 25K members, and 3 VAs are always getting tagged in posts as referrals when someone asks about a VA. 3! Why? Because they are doing it right. They have gotten to know the others in the group, they are helpful - they attend the events - they do a great job for their clients. There are many more VAs in that group, but they don't get referred in the same way.
- Talking in elevator pitches - I make no secret that I do not like the elevator pitch. I think they are useless in most circumstances, and that's mainly because people who teach you to write them try to get you to cram everything you do into a 30 second run on sentence. Honestly, don't get me started on this!
An elevator pitch is supposed to be a short, memorable statement you make to describe what you do. But what ends up happening is that we try to fit everything we do into it, and then we edit it down so we fit into the time limit, and we expect people to remember it. Does it work sometimes? Sure. But most of the time it's annoying and too wordy.
When you are networking with people, you need to concentrate on making conversation. Asking questions. Back and forth. Not telling them everything about you in one single sentence. And pitching at all just doesn't fly with me when you are networking.
A pitch is a sales pitch. Gross. Why are you selling anything?
What you need to do instead is ask questions - what does this person do for their business? Who are their clients? Where do they find them? How do they work with them? Where do you fit in to that - can you help them with any part of their business? If you can, then discuss that. But don't announce what you do from the moment you shake their hand. If you are struggling with how to have conversations, I can help you find those words, and make it easy.
- Talking about yourself - don't talk about yourself when you are networking. But Tracey, you say, how will the person know what I can do? Because the conversation will come around to you - just don't lead with it.
Imagine going to a restaurant and having the server tell you everything they have on the menu, before you even have a drink in front of you They have no idea what you like, what you might be allergic to, how hungry you are, how much you are looking to spend ... etc.
A good server will come and ask you if it's your first time at the restaurant, and establish a little rapport. Are you celebrating anything special? Would you like a drink to start? Would you like to hear the specials? And if you ask what they recommend, they should ask you what you like - before recommending something.
The same holds true for you as the VA - you are the service provider and the other person is the potential client (not that you are not always trying to make the sale today - but the networking conversation will still be structured very much like a sales conversation.
So you ask them questions about their business because you want to know if they need your help. You can answer questions they ask you about your business of course, but don't make yourself the focus on the conversation.
Talking to others about your business is meant for colleagues.
Focus the conversation on them - and if you can help them. And just as a point of interest - i don't mean self promotion, that's not what talking about yourself is. It's about being curious and getting the person you are talking to to let you know what they need help with. And a simple 'I help my clients do that' often suffices as the response.
If you need help figuring out how not to talk about yourself, I can help!
- Don't be a wall flower - making networking work for you means you have to speak up! If you are spending your time networking, you have to find a way to be visible, and that is through conversation.
You don't have to meet everyone in the room, but you need to meet at least one person - I always think 3 to 5 is a great number no matter how many people are in attendance. Making connections with just a few people is so much easier than trying to reach the entire room.
And this goes for online events as well. You don't have to speak from the stage, but there is no point being a part of a group that you can grow relationships in, and staying silent. Lurking online.
Be helpful. That's all you need to do. It sounds simple and it really is. Choose a time every morning to visit the groups you are a part of online, and look for opportunities to help the people there. You only need to be a part of 3 good group to find great clients. You are probably part of many more groups than that - but if you are not showing up and taking part, they aren't of any use to you.
Own your expertise - and share it. Even if someone else has answered a question for someone, answer it yourself too. It's not a contest, it's about being helpful wherever you can. If you need to build up your confidence so you can start networking, I'd love to help you do that.
- Follow Up - the last piece of networking is arguably the most important one. Following up. So many VAs give up on the follow up, and they lose clients in the process.
How many times should you follow up with someone, I get asked often. Until they say yes, or until they tell you to stop following up with them, is always my answer.
How callous! That sounds like I'm badgering someone. But no, you're not! You are building a relationship with someone. you are simply staying in touch.
You don't follow up by saying 'do you want to start now?' 'how about now?' 'are you ready to hire me yet?'
You follow up by saying 'how did that event go for you?', 'have you talked to so and so recently?' 'I haven't seen you in x group recently - just checking in - what are you working on?'
The fortune really is in the follow up. When you are building relationships with people that builds trust. And when they need help they will think of you.
Networking isn't a dirty word - it's a necessary part of doing business, and the better you get at it, the easier it gets. And the better it works for you.
I have a huge network of VAs and business owners. I talk to a lot of people every single day - in emails, PMs, Zoom calls, phone calls, networking events, through my clients and association members. Are they all paying clients of mine? Nope. But they all know what I do and they know where to find me if they need me.
It's a marathon, not a sprint. And it's natural. It's just conversations. The numbers will work in your favour - the more people you talk to , the more clients you will get.
Show up consistently, make it about them, get laser focused on asking great questions, be helpful in front of as many people as you can, and keep in touch. That's all networking is.
Stop talking AT people, and start talking TO them.
Like Diane says, it's an investment in your business, and it can yield great results for years to come. And it just takes your time. So do it well, and it will yield you results.
Find groups of people online or offline that you can help. Help them and get known for helping them. And you'll be one of 3 VAs in 25K who gets referred almost every single day of every month.
Always be networking, you never know where your next client will come from.
Networking and having conversations with potential clients is a huge focus in The Virtual Circle, my mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start getting clients for your VA business.
If you need some help with doing networking better, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you through private or group coaching.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Today we are going to talk about momentum - it can be hard to get started or keep going with a lot of things in our VA business. Stuff like marketing, networking, setting goals or even just updating content - all impacted by momentum.
Momentum.
So much fun when you get going!
How do you get to where you want to go? You start. And then you keep going.
Sometimes when something is exciting - like a new goal, or a new training, or a new client, or a new networking group, we put all of our focus on it. It is new and fun - so it is appealing to make our lists, and block time in our calendar, and get it done - right?
But are you keeping it up after you start, though?
This time of year, new year's resolutions abound. Losing weight, eating better, saving money, self care goals, finding love - and business goals - making more money, getting more clients, be more consistent on social media.
But statistics show us that very few people keep those resolutions. Why? I think it's because they lose momentum.
They are hard. They don't have an actual plan, it's just a wish. They don't see results, so they abandon it.
This can definitely be true for weight loss goals, and it's true with business as well.
A couple of years ago I started taking high blood pressure medication. My doctor told me to eat more vegetables and walk, to help control it.
So I did. I have never taken daily medications in my life, and I was motivated to keep my dosage low.
I ate veggies at every meal (not a big fruit person) - filling half my plate of every meal with roasted or sauteed veggies. I used my hashtag #5todadayiseasy to motivate others and people were talking to me about it, telling me they were trying it to. I walked every morning after getting up. It was the first thing I did - brushed my teeth and headed out. I started walking about 2 km and then was doing 6 km most days. Because it was the first thing I did every morning, I did it without fail. And coupled with my eating habits, I lost 30 lbs (and I wasn't even trying to lose weight, it was a coincidental result of my new daily habits).
It's not hard to stay motivated when you are getting results, and when everyone around you is talking about what you are doing.
The same can be said for you business stuff. Let's break down the reasons that this worked so well for me:
- Schedule - I did it first thing every morning. No excuses, nothing else got in the way. I usually walked between 6 and 7 am.
- Routine - I created a playlist of my favourite songs to walk to - and I listened to it religiously on my walks.
- I came home and ate breakfast right away, before my shower. 3 meals a day is essential when you are trying to lose weight.
- I got in the shower around 7:30 - still way before anyone else in my house got up. Then I got straight to work. I had an extra hour in my day still, starting work at 8.
- I meal planned - so I had reheatable meals for lunch every day
- I was able to take breaks during my work day because I was working a good and regular schedule.
- Obviously I was seeing results - and I was feeling good too.
Am I keeping it up? Nope. I haven't walked in a year ... sad face, I know. Why? Because I damaged a nerve in my foot and I got out of the habit. It was sore for months. Then I went to visit my friend in Quebec City and I left my shoes there. I never got them back. All excuses. I did have to let my foot heal, but I could have started up again once I knew how to fix it.
Now, my foot is finally not sore anymore, and I bought new shoes, but I still haven't started walking again. And I've put 15 lbs back on. I don't feel good and I start my days way too late. I'm tired a lot, and my doctor increased my dosage of my medication. Such a big old bummer.
So I'm starting over - I have zero excuses - I know how to take better care of my foot, I still meal plan, and I got new shoes. My goal is daily walking, veggies at every meal, and a weight loss goal of 25 lbs by summer time (last time it only took me about 3 months to lose 30 lbs, so I know it can be done - and it's not even hard! i just need to get started, and stop making excuses - and keep it going.
This is why I am talking to you about momentum today!
Momentum is, simply put, forward motion.
And in my experience, forward motion means small daily habits that add up to getting you to where you want to get to. Just like my walking and eating veggies does. Easily!
So how do we do that? Here are 5 things you can do to start building momentum in your VA business right now:
- Stop taking advice from people who have accomplished less than you.
One of the things that keeps VAs stuck is the cheerleading squad that is the VA community. Don't get me wrong, having such support from our peers is amazing and necessary - but the advice that you get from people who have not yet been beyond where you are can be detrimental to your success. Always seek to get your advice and support from people who have been where you want to go - the experts.
Limit the number of people you get advice from. Too many is a distraction. The VA groups are good for water cooler chat, resources, and camaraderie, but when it comes to the advice you need to make decisions, look for a trusted group like an advisory board or a mastermind group and take your advice only from them. If you outgrow them, change them out for new people. It's not about friendship, it's about business.
- Forget about what everyone else is doing.
What do they say, comparison is the thief of joy? I couldn't agree more. When you compare yourself to someone else, especially just by watching what someone else is putting out there online, your could be robbing yourself of the facts - and the ability to get to where you want to go.
You have to work on your own stuff - your people, your service offerings, your business. Even though we are all VAs, our businesses are all different because they are service businesses - and we are the main commodity. We are all different. We work differently, we know different things, and we approach all of the things we do differently.
What will work for you? Set goals that inspire you. Don't work towards something that doesn't excite you. Build your business the way you want it. Everything that you do and achieve will mean more because it's what you actually want.
- Stop learning.
I know, you're just like me. A perpetual learner. I love to learn new stuff. I love to take courses - free, paid, simple, complex, whatever. But in order to start building momentum in your VA business, it's time to start taking action. Only action will get you where you want to go. There will always be another training that will come along.
If you take some training, implement it. Implementation is what will build your business because you'll be making focused changes based on the new stuff that you have learned. You don't have to implement everything - choose one thing to do well, like everything we tell you - focus on that and it will reap rewards for you.
Make planning your new hobby. If you can master planning and setting up action steps that will get you to the goals you set, or the plans you make, it becomes easy and yes, even fun!
- Leverage your time.
we all have the same amount of time every day. How are you using yours? You need to master your time management so that you are using it as efficiently as possible. Schedule your day, including breaks - and find time where you think you don't have it.
What helps with leveraging your time? Doing like tasks at the same time, doing one client's work during a bucket of time, eliminating distractions and working smart. Don't do things 10x a day. Checking email, even for a client, doesn't need to be done 10x a day. If they are very busy, you can check it 4x and be very efficient. Set yourself a bucket of time to process it - 15 mins, 30 mins, and stop after your set time, and move onto something else. It's about working efficiently.
Routines and habits are essential in time management. Manage and leverage - focus on doing these better and you will find a lot more time in your day.
- Seek to implement growth daily.
You also need to focus on growth every single day. That doesn't mean getting a new client or raising your rates, or even anything else that is that huge. Look for opportunities to grow your business. More connections? More visiblity? More clients? More money? More productive? There are so many ways that you can start doing one thing better and that will help you grow your business. If you are not growing every day, you are losing opportunity.
Evolve with your business. When you take even just 15 minutes every day to look at the opportunities, you can make some good decisions - and then use that planning to make some adjustments.
If you can't tell from this list of just 5 things, the key to momentum is to take daily actions. But doing things one step at a time is what will get you there.
Concentrate on the small changes - see results - that's exciting - concentrate on another change - see results, and so on.
Be sure you get accountability for your routines - a personal cheerleader to help you get stuff done and get to where you want to go.
That's exactly what we will be doing in The Virtual Circle, my new mastermind group for Virtual Assistants. Check it out at www.YourVAMentor.com/TVC (the virtual circle) - I bet it's exactly what you need to start building momentum in your business.
If you need some help with starting to build momentum - or keep it going in your VA business - reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you through private or group coaching.
That's all I've got for you this week, see you next time!
Is it time for you to bring subcontractors in to your VA business?
There is a right time , and there is a wrong time.
And there is a right way to set yourself up for them, and a wrong way.
Let's get started by talking about what leads up to you bringing in subcontractors.
It's about your work load of course.
the best time to bring in subs is when your business has gotten so busy that you need help. That's the simple answer.
As you bring in more and more clients, your attention will get divided - and you will have to work more.
Getting more clients is always good for business. You make more money, and you can help more people.
But being a very busy VA is not always great though. Sometimes our response times suffer, sometimes our turnaround times suffer, and sometimes we can get burned out because we have so many things to do.
That's when getting help to get your client work done makes good sense.
Of course if you know your VA business is going to grow, that's the best time to plan to bring in subcontractors. The setup time for subs depends on what you are going to outsource to someone else. Getting a couple of things in place is easy - like a sub agreement, but getting your systems set up and raising your rates for your clients can take more time. So if you know that you want to run your business with subs, make sure you are doing that set up long before you need it and things will work out much better for you.
But most of the time we realize that we are working too much and need help - and that's when we decide it's time. And that's okay too - like I said it's the far more common way to do it, but you still want to prepare your business well.
Just quickly, when is the wrong time to bring in subs? Well, there are a few:
If you are not booked out, it's not the right time. If you haven't set rates that allow you to pay out subs, it's not the right time. If you don't know how to do the things your subs do, it's not the right time.
I'll elaborate on all of these as we talk about the right way - but these are really important, and worth mentioning.
So let's talk about what you need to have in place before your bring in subs.
- You need to know exactly what you need help with. You can train subs but you need to define the tasks you need help with so you can get the best support. You don't always want to train VAs with every little thing, so decide how much experience someone needs or how challenging the tasks are to figure out the skill level your subs need. I have worked as a sub with my expertise, and as an absolute newbie. What helped me be a good sub in both of those roles? The lead VA, their processes, and their ability to help me, their sub, get the work done as efficiently as possible. Also, decide how many subs you need. Sometimes it depends on what the tasks are - it also depends on the timing of those tasks, and the skill level too. You don't always have to have just one sub doing everything.
- You need to set your sub payment rate, or the rate you are willing to pay to hire a sub. When you are paying out someone else, you need to retain both administrative money and profit from the money the client pays you. It makes no sense to pay a sub all of what your client pays you. You have to be sure that your rates are set up to retain profit and make your VA business money. When you are growing your team you need to also grow your business, don't forget that. A lot of VAs will pay out 75% of their billable rate to their subcontractors. So for a $30 sub, you need to be charging your clients at least $40. Sometimes VAs will tell you how much their sub rate is - meaning they will work for you as a sub for X rate. I prefer to tell them what being on my team pays, but as long as the rates work out so that you are profitable, you can do whichever you like. Work within your budget, like we tell our clients to, and you will be fine.
- Track all time and tasks. Project management excellence is essential when you are working with subs. You need to make sure that you know what they are doing, and how much time that is taking. You will set a budget for each client and the sub VA needs to work within that. And of course since you are doing the admin, you want this info to be as easy to check in on as possible. Use a project management system - whatever works for you is terrific - and make sure your team members all use it. Be sure that your VAs are keeping their time spent up to date so you can monitor your client budgets.
- Communicate very clearly. When I work with a client, we have regular check in calls - weekly production calls I always called them - to quickly connect and talk about priorities for the week. I do recommend doing a team meeting once a week, they are very effective, and then the rest of the communication can and should take place in your project management system the remainder of each week. Your subs also need to communicate very well, no matter what they are doing for you. A lot of time can get wasted in the communication process if you aren't doing it well. Setting a system for communication and making sure everyone uses it can really help the work between more seamless.
- Create and use procedures and checklists. If there is one thing I can tell you will help your subs do the work you need done in the way you need it done, it is procedures and checklists. You can either create the procedures, or have your subs create them when they come on your team. And then all you have to do it walk through the procedure to ensure that the work is being done to your expectations. It doesn't matter how they think it should be done- you are the one who dictates it all for your business. And in terms of checklists, these will always ensure that no steps are missed, and that you can see that the VA is verifying they have done every step in a checklist when you look in on their work. Remember when you are working with team members, your rates will be higher - and that means your clients are paying you a premium to have high quality work done. In my experience, VAs who use checklists do a better job than those who don't. Make your subs use them, or they don't get to work on your team.
- Pay your subs the same amount you would charge your clients. This is something that some VAs don't do, so I need to mention it. When you are working with your clients, you have some idea how long a task should take. You need to tell your VAs how long any task should take, and they need to work within that billable time. For example, if you were doing the work for a client newsletter and it was taking you 2 hours every time, then the sub needs to do the work in 2 hours as well. You can't let your VAs chip away at your time because you are eating into your profit. So even though you are paying them less than you charge, you can't let someone take 3 hours (or longer) to do the same work you would do in 2. Tell them how long they have to complete a task - give them the written procedures - and if they can't do the work in the time, assess why (are you just really fast? or are they really slow?). Match up their time with your billable time to the client. I once had a sub who spent 6 hours on a research project that I was only charging the client 2 hours for. You can't have that happen. If I know the estimate is 2 hours I have to tell the sub it needs to get done in 2 hours.
- Know how to do what your subs will do. I know many VAs who think they can get people in do tasks that they don't know how to do - these are not subs. These are associates -and unless you have a lot of experience as a VA, I don't recommend starting this way. Use your subs to do your work - to take over for you - so that you can keep an eye on their work and deliver the same quality to your clients. Later you can think about being an agency, but when you are building a team, and you are the one responsible to the client, you need to be able to cover for everyone on the team. And if you don't know how to do something and your sub flakes out, your clients will lose confidence in your ability. Your business is always the most important part of the people you have doing the work for you. Prioritize it and you will build an amazing team.
- Use a contract and even an application process if possible. You need to let your subs know that the work they do is really important and a contract helps them do that. They aren't just helping you or doing things that are not that important. They are producing their best work for you - their client, essentially - and it needs to be top notch. If you use an application process you can make a better decision about who can join your team. I have seen many people have a quick Facebook group interaction with someone saying 'PM me, I need someone'. I am sincerely hoping they go through a vetting process after that so they can make sure the sub they are choosing is the right one. I always looked for long term subs - just like long term clients.
These are all pretty simple things but they are very often not taken into consideration by VAs who want to work with subs.
Properly planned and managed, working with subcontractors is an excellent way to scale your business growth.
By planning your communication, project management and making sure your rates are maintaining your profit level, you can build a much bigger business than just you!
And when you are organized and can manage both your client's and your sub's expectations, you can keep everyone happy.
Oh yes speaking of those clients, it's essential that you let them know that your business has grown to use others to do their work. You may even need to update your own contract with them. Never let someone else access your client files and systems without advising your client beforehand.
And know that your business insurance won't cover your subs - they need to have their own insurance for their own business, that covers them.
If you need some help with setting your VA business up for subcontractors, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Today we are going to talk about overthinking. While thinking as a business owner is a good skill, doing too much of it can keep you stuck.
Quote: Overthinking is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but doesn't get you anywhere. - Erma Bombeck
Erma Bombeck always gave such solid advice, and I think this is an excellent analogy. It's time to go places!
If you are someone who overthinks stuff, this episode is for you.
It's for us. I do it too - I would be willing to bet that everyone has done it at one time or another.
Why is overthinking such a big deal?
There are a lot of reasons why it's bad (but the good news is that we can fix it)
Here are some reasons why it's not good to overthink:
- it keeps us stuck where we are
- it keeps us from making decisions
- it makes things seem bigger than they probably are
- it keeps you in the past, reflecting on what you could have done better
- it helps you make excuses about why you didn't do or say something
- it makes you worry about things that haven't even happened yet
Staying stuck is a common issue for Virtual Assistants anyway, so it really is not good to let overthinking take over on top of that.
The more you think about something, the more you train your brain to think about it.
It's just a bad habit. But it may be one you have had for many years.
Let me ask you a question right out the gate. Are you aware that you are overthinking when it happens?
If you aren't, then that has to be the first thing to think about.
Awareness is important, and even that isn't easy.
I suggest putting a system in place to help yourself - and that might take some practice too, but you have to start somewhere!
Write your system down = and make changes to it each time you use it, as necessary, so that you get better at handling it.
If you have had this habit for a really long time, it will take time to change that habit. Give yourself a break, and give yourself the tools you need to make the change.
So you need a system to get out of the overthinking valley when you are there - and never beat yourself up for going back there. Just plan to move back out as quickly as you can.
So, first things first - you do need to keep an eye out for it. Look for the signs so you can identify when it's happening, and then consult your system.
Look for the solution to the problem. Always focus on fixing the issue. Look at it as objectively as you can, even though sometimes that can be hard when it's your situation.
Step out of your own situation so you can look objectively at what is going on. Try not to get carried away by your own emotions.
I always suggest treating yourself like a client when you are having trouble doing something. Do the same here.
What if your client (or a loved one) presented an issue as overthinking? What would you tell them? How would you help them? How would you be objective about it?
Write all of those things down. You need to do the same things for yourself.
And it is hard to do it when it's for yourself, I get it, but you can do it.
Get help with this in the beginning if you find it difficult, Practice makes perfect, and I promise you will get better at it the more you practice your system.
When you have worked through something, take a moment to write that down too - so you can refer to it next time. Celebrate that success, you just proved to yourself that you can do it.
Never beat yourself up when you realize you are holding yourself back because of overthinking.
Always honour your thoughts, and your feelings, but still know that you need to change them if you are going to move forward.
Remember that you can't control everything. When things are rough, focus on the things that you can control. Change the things you can change. Move past the things that you can't change.
And definitely focus on what can go right. There is always a good side! And you deserve to be there. And you will get there if you let yourself.
Actually handling the overthinking will do wonders for you:
- you will start to move forward, even if it's just in baby steps
- you will be able to make the decisions you need so you aren't spinning your wheels
- you will see things for what they really are, and not the huge issues that you are presenting yourself now
- you will focus on the future, and learn from what has happened - so you can pay much more attention to the stuff that you did right
- you will stop making excuses because you will be saying and doing the right things
- and you will worry a lot less because you will focus on the future and all the positive stuff that you now see for yourself
When things start to pop up, grab that system. Remember that you worked your way through something last time, and you can do it again.
And final advice: a lot of people suggested giving yourself time to overthink - like set a timer, and then when the timer goes off, stop. I don't see the value in that myself, but I would be remiss if I didn't bow to the experts here.
For myself, I understand the idea of identifying it, but I can't quite see how you can let yourself be upset and then just shut it off.
I prefer to identify it and then go to my system. You can do whichever works for you. As I always tell you, I can't teach you something that I don't have experience with so there's my caveat for you ha ha
I hope I was able to give you some practical tips today on how to handle your habit of overthinking.
If you need some help with getting your system in place to fix your overthinking, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Do you get really stuck when it comes to marketing your Virtual Assistant business? If you do, it's perfectly normal.
As admin professionals, most of us were never taught about marketing. So we kind of make things up as we go, or throw spaghetti at the wall and hope something sticks.
I've been there, and I've done it all wrong. I still get it wrong sometimes!
Let's talk about why that is.
When we are looking for clients, we can't help but think about making a sale.
I mean, if we don't make a sale, we don't have a client. And we don't get any money.
So when someone, maybe a coach like me, tells you to focus on helping people instead of selling, it sounds good ... but it still doesn't solve your issue of not having clients.
We like to think there's a magic switch that we can flip from no clients, to lots of clients. And there can be, but there are a lot of things you have to have in place for that switch to start working.
And if you are still struggling to get clients, then you probably just don't have all of the things in place that need to be there.
One of those things is a simple and effective way to promote your service to the clients who need them.
What is the goal of our marketing?
Not to make a sale, believe it or not!
But it's to showcase our expertise to our clients - in terms of how we can help THEM.
Let me repeat that.
It's to showcase our expertise to our clients - in terms of how we can help THEM.
Yes it's about us ... but only in relation to how we can help our clients.
Marketing and promotion must satisfy the attention of the person who is going to be making the purchase, or spending the money. And that's your clients.
So ... lots of VAs get marketing wrong. We talk about what we do, we tell people that we are VAs, and that we help our clients with everything under the sun, and that we have a special on now, and that we have a client opening next month, and that we save them time and money.
But none of that messaging lands with most clients.
What do they want to know? They want to know how you can help them fix something in their business. Simple.
If they are overwhelmed by all of their daily tasks, maybe you can help them with project management.
If they are too busy handling their customers requests and communication, maybe you can help with with client care or customer service.
If they are behind in their books, maybe you can help them with bookkeeping.
If they are not posting anything on social media, maybe you can help them get more eyes on their business.
You get the idea.
So these are real problems that your clients have - and ones they need solutions to.
It's a very simple issue, and they need to understand easily that you can help them with it.
If they believe you can help them do that, you could have a new client.
So how does that come through in our marketing?
We need to create simple messaging that clearly talks about how you are aware of their issues and that's how you help your clients - and how you can help them.
We need to become memorable - so they see us often and we begin to become top of mind when they are thinking about their problems and looking for a solution.
In terms of your content - this means consistent posting, and solid content topics that your clients relate to.
Make it inviting to look at (so it looks good), and don't forget to also make it fun (or interesting) to read.
Content isn't just your website copy or your blog posts either - content is all the words and the images that you are putting out there in the business world. Including the words coming out of your mouth.
So choosing the words and the images that you use in your marketing is important. And it can help you stand out because you will be recognizable.
Consistent posting or connecting will help you to become part of a community and part of your client's feed.
Sharing a consistent message in your copy and images also needs to flow over into your conversations.
So when you are networking, you want to talk to people about the same types of things that you are posting in your content. What is the theme of those things? How you can help them.
And when you are having conversations with people - at events, or in groups, same.
In networking situations, you are marketing your business. Yes, you are getting to know people, but it's still about moving relationships further when you connect.
Ask questions, answer questions. And always be sure you are keeping things simple and light.
So update your website copy, your social media bios, and your content so that it is all consistent and conveys the message of how you help your clients.
Share information, resources and tips that showcase your client's problems and how you solve them.
So let's get back to the idea of helping people over sales. The sales will come when the messaging doesn't scream 'sale'.
Those posts about being a VA, helping clients with whatever they need, a special on now, a client opening next month, and saving them time and money ... they are falling on deaf ears. So you are spending time creating and posting things that aren't doing anything for your business.
Get your messaging right and focus on your clients and what they need, and you'll see a lot better results. It gets easy once you get started. So let's get you started!
If you need some help with creating content that works for you, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Today we are going to talk about your mindset. It's important to keep checking in on that all the time! Business is hard, and we need to master our mindset to go where we want to go.
What you think you become. Buddha
Buddha is smart. Buddha knows that you are responsible for your own happiness, success, and thoughts.
Mindset is incredibly important to keep tabs on when you are a business owner.
There are hard things, and if you let them get the better of you, you will not survive.
What are you thinking of every day that is shaping the way your days go?
If you think you are struggling, you will focus on the struggles. If you think you are busy, you will find the busy everywhere and feel overwhelmed and behind. If you think you are great, you will find the greatness in everything you do.
It sounds simple, and it really is.
The more positive you can be - the more positive things you will focus on. And the more positive things will come your way.
If you have ever seen someone on a roll, you can watch how it snowballs.
The same is said for failure. Spirally downward is much easier when it's all you are thinking about.
So let's focus on the positive.
Your mind is such a powerful thing. Your brain is. And it will help you as much as you let it. It doesn't make decisions for you or tell you who to feel, it just naturally leads you in the direction of your thoughts.
So how can we fix a crappy mindset?
First things first - say it out loud!
How many of you spend some days in total silence? I do - there are days when I realize I haven't spoken out loud for hours. We live in our heads, and like I said our brains are powerful things. We don't even realize how many thoughts we are capable of processing in a second, a minute, an hour.
If we are dreading doing a task or taking a meeting or making a connection or creating a piece of content, we'll probably put it off and do something that is more fun. But it's still there in your mind.
Getting things done is much easier when you want to to do it.
So we need to keep ourselves in that frame of mind as much as possible.
Like the golfer or the musician who is on a roll and cranking out the wins, we need to do the same.
Also, it's more fun!
So what can you do to help your mindset?
Keep it positive. Do whatever you can to help yourself stay in a positive frame of mind. Success journals work - if you are down, you can make a point of remembering things that you have done that went well. Then find the opportunity to do more of those. I know it sounds crazy but talk out loud to yourself. The silence is deafening sometimes. Talk to yourself - read things out loud. It really will help redirect your inner thoughts when you hear and outside voice.
Read every day - reading a business book or blog can really help you find inspiration for your business - whether it's new strategies to implement, new content to create, new people to connect with ... bringing in new stuff every day can be exciting.
Take action every day - sitting around doing the same old same old is going to yield you lousy results. If you are looking for clients, get out there and do it. Make connections. Help people. Talk to people. Every single day. It's easy to develop a habit of staying behind our computer screen and not actually talking to people but you will be amazed by the growth you can do as a business owner by having real conversations with people (phone, Zoom, in person or in social media groups).
Work in your purpose. VAs love to help others. That's why a lot of us love what we do and want to help as many people as possible. If you want to stay positive, focus on that. Always think about your purpose and how you are doing so much good for others. Valuing yourself is a really good way to keep your mindset strong and positive.
Do what you do best - nothing makes us negative like when we struggle. Struggling to figure something out, or doing something you don't like or aren't good at can really add to the negative attitude. Things take longer, People aren't the right fit. You find yourself stuck on support chats most of the day. Become a master at what you do and you will have smoother days too.
Be proactive. Don't let your clients dictate the workload. Be in charge and keep them on their toes to be sending you the pieces you need to get their work done. If you sit around and wait for them it's very easy to start feeling down. If your client isn't busy enough, find one that is. A busy and productive VA is a happy one!
One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.
This is so true. I am not a big fan of affirmations or intentions of stuff like that but they do work.
Stick up positive messages in your office and work space everywhere. Read them out loud to yourself each morning and any time you need a boost.
And finally, find and rely on your community. A business buddy, an accountability partner, a mastermind group, a trusted group of colleagues. Whatever you can, find people you can talk to - and be sure to focus on positive communication with them. You can talk about your struggles, but always try to find the positives and the way through - don't just bellyache to each other.
Some days will be hard but setting yourself up to be the best that you can be starts with your mindset.
And the more you can help yourself develop a positive one - and create steps for yourself to shift back into a positive one when you are struggling, the better you will be.
Ridiculously good, in fact!
You're it, baby. You have to figure it out or it will cut you down. Let's do it!
If you need some help with fixing your mindset or developing your process to stay in a better frame of mind as a business owner, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant
Today we are going to talk about productivity - how to get more done without sacrificing quality work or excellence
As virtual assistants, we talk a lot about productivity.
Time is money when you provide a service like we do, and every minute counts.
That doesn't mean that you have to work fast, or charge by the minute. What I'm talking about is increasing productivity - and that's different.
We want to be ridiculously good - right? - and so we never want to sacrifice excellence.
We just want to make the best of our time.
That means we need to identify what needs to be done , prioritize it well, and make sure it gets done.
The system that you use to manage your work has everything to do with works best for you.
I can't tell you what to use - pen and paper, a project management system, Google, Outlook, time tracking.
What works for me may not work for you. But what I want to share with you today will let you know how to manage your time better, no matter what system or process you use.
- You must eliminate distractions when you are trying to get things done. Yes I know, lots of people tell you this. But I'm going to explain distractions a bit differently for you in this episode. Many virtual assistants I talk to have no idea where their time goes during the day. But then they tell me that they check a client's email all day long, or leave it open so they can manage whatever comes in as soon as it comes in. I will say that if a client requires that you do that for them every day, I hope you are getting paid for 8 hours a day from that client. Email is a means of communication but it does not need to be answered immediately. Instead, plan to check in hourly or less - I used to do client care for 6 and 7 figure business coaches, and I checked their email 3x a day. That's it. It helped me manage my time better, and the clients still got responded to three times every single day. Eliminating distractions extends far past closing social media - we need to work smarter and not make excuses for why the way we do things might not be the most efficient way to do it.
- Learn to focus better. The more time you give yourself to get something done, the longer you will take to do it. When you focus on what you are trying to do, you can work much more efficiently and you can get it done in less time. Look at everything you do - are you repeating things, or taking longer to do something than necessary? Think about what you could do differently - or ask a colleague to give you some input. A business coach of mine once ran us through an exercise at a live event. We paired up with another attendee and the exercise was to tell the other person 5 things that we did to help our clients. We each had 5 minutes to explain what we did, and then the other person helped us write down our 5 things, as they understood them. Once we finished that exercise, she tasked us with another exercise - create a piece of content in 15 minutes. She suggested a blog post. Everyone panicked - 15 minutes - but she said to use one of the ideas we just came up with, and get it done. There were 24 of us in the room and nearly all of us got the piece of content made in time. Why? Because she gave us the tools we needed first - and then we worked to complete the task in the time that was allotted. That's focus.
- Create buckets of time - I often talk about this, and it will definitely make my productivity podcast! Part of the reason that we lose time is that we give ourselves a start time, but we then don't stop. I've seen it happen with things like research projects, social media, and more. Going down a rabbit hole - and letting yourself do it - can rob us of valuable time every single day. If you tell yourself that you will start at x time, and then stop at x time, you give yourself a reasonable bucket of time to complete the task. It is important to manage your time, not just spend it. So if you give yourself a stop time, that's managing it. And if you need more time you are aware that you need more time, and you can assign yourself more time to complete it. But you're not losing track of time.
- Use tools - checklists, procedures, automation tools. Whatever you need - and whatever you will use. I use a bullet journal, Trello and my Google calendar. So that is a combination of paper, my phone, and a project management system. It works for me. With my bullet journal, I keep lists. When I want to get something done, then I can use the bullet journal list to create checklists, processes, procedures, Trello boards and set deadlines. The bullet journal is my master list. The Trello board is where I manage the tasks or action steps. The calendar I use to book my time - but I don't book all of my time like many others. I know when I have hard stops for meetings or other commitments by my calendar. And it helps me decide when I can fit in the things that I need to do. You need to use the same process. Keep a master to-do list, use a system or process to manage your daily and weekly tasks, and work within your calendar. Again here you are managing your workload in the time that you have available in a day or week. It's a great habit to begin using and you get better at it the more you do it. Practice makes perfect!
- Stay on track. Whatever you plan, do your best to keep yourself on track. If you haven't scheduled your time and really managed it before, you may get it wrong sometimes. Cut yourself some slack. and keep at it. Block in a bit of empty time every day to use to catch up that way you don't get used to bumping tasks. And keep honing your managing skills. You can do it! Create a distractions list so you don't get derailed by distractions too. All that is, is a list beside your work station of things that you think of - that you may feel like you need to do now. But you don't. The task you are working on is the priority, keep it that way. Write the new thing on the list, and then decide when you will work on that when you next do your calendar management.
Remember lost time is never found again. When you start to change the habits you have around your time, and start to manage it better, you will get more done in less time -and won't lose any excellence. In fact, you'll become even more excellent!
If you need some help with getting more productive and managing your time better, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Today we are going to talk about marketing - in particular, inbound marketing - and how to do it well to get clients.
Last episode we talked about outbound marketing (or reaching out to clients), so this week we will cover the other half of the essentials of marketing.
First a quick recap:
What is marketing?
The act of putting your VA business in front of people
Instead of thinking of it as advertising and publicity, think more of it as visibility and sales/getting clients
Focus on increasing your visibility so your clients can decide on their own to buy
Why do we need to do marketing?
Learning how to market is the best thing you can do to guarantee the longevity of your VA business
because it brings in revenue and that keeps you in business
The more marketing tasks you do right, or well, the less you actually have to do.
What are the essentials?
What is your offer? What do you want people to buy?
How much will it cost them?
Who is going to buy it?
Where are they - where will they see you, or where can you see them?
What will you say to them? before, during and after
ONLY when you know the answers to these questions, you can doing some marketing to connect with your clients.
Inbound Marketing
Content that helps people see you and connect with you or reach out to you (attracting them IN to you)
Outbound Marketing
Actions and content that help you reach out to others to connect with them (reaching OUT to them)
Today we are going to talk about inbound marketing.
Inbound: freebies, list building, emailing, posting to social media, videos, blogging and your website (all good).
These things are probably the things you think of when we say marketing. It's about all of the things that we put out there so that people can learn about our business.
VAs don't necessarily need a huge email list, but having people find YOU makes sales conversations easier to get. We don't own social media - so attracting people to our website, blog and email list though - so that it is ours. And no matter which type of marketing you are doing, you need leads - everything you do should lead to sales conversations so you can get clients.
Social Media:
Social media posting is great – with the right plan.
VAs often do it wrong.
Be really clear on what you should be putting out there.
Don't talk about being a VA and how great it is. It's all about your clients.
Create content that are relevant to what they want to learn about - not just sales posts about your services.
For instance, if you offer course creator support, write about that kind of thing - what platforms that you use, updates to platforms or trends, and how you help your clients with them. Show that you are the expert. Become their information source.
You don’t need to be on social media all day long to do your marketing. Focus on the things that are interesting to your clients, that will help you get better quality content out there.
Messaging is Important:
When your messaging is on point, you can do less and have it work harder for you.
Get really clear on what you help your clients with - use the concise marketing message.
I help (who) with (what) so that they can (what), because I (why).
It's not an elevator pitch but this information helps you get really clear on what kind of content you should be putting out there.
Anything you put out there should work hard for you, it’s never one and done.
Set up a system for your digital marketing tasks that plays one off the other to get the best results.
Search Engine Optimization:
SEO also is key for any online content
The words you use are important to help the search engines put your content in front of the right people.
Hashtags, keywords
Make your content work harder for you.
You don’t have to be an SEO specialist, but use words that help people find you when they are looking (what do they type into a search engine)
My story - I never ranked in search engines because I didn't use the right words in my titles or articles. I thought I was talking to my audience, but I needed to be speaking to the search engines.
Blogging:
Writing blogs is great because you own your website and the content
You can guide people to where you want on your own site
You can repurpose it easily into more content
Creating regular content is good for search engines too - website updates are good!
Endeavour to write 400 to 600 words and you will get more content that is still really valuable.
Your goal is to have people know, like and trust you: more of the same content does that
Your content:
Write for your clients, not for you.
Stand out by posting different content than most VAs post.
What do they want to know about?
Always base content on the services you offer
For example, a bookkeeper writes about tax and expense tips & resources, organization tips, industry info – and references the things she does for clients. (not about being a VA)
What works for you? Anything related to the services that you offer.
Creating Content:
When you write your concise marketing message, you can then begin to create content around that message.
Decide on 4 main topics to write about
Rotate them weekly. Repeat each month.
Repurpose from a large piece of content
This creates consistency and cohesiveness, which showcases your expertise
Get Inspired:
When you have 4 main content topics, it’s easier to collect great info to support them
Swipe file is a place to collect stuff to use in your content - bookmark, Google Drive file, digital file.
Stats, quotes
Curated content
Makes creation process faster to collect this all month long
Get Going!
Focus on 2 or 3 main things to do in terms of posting content
Don’t try to be everywhere
Work smart!
What will you do to market your VA business? whatever works for you - whatever is comfortable for you - whatever produces results for you.
That's all I've got for you this week.
If you need some help with nailing down your marketing essentials, or creating great content, or doing your inbound marketing better, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
The Essentials of Marketing: Reaching Out
Today we are going to talk about marketing - in particular, outbound marketing - and how to do it well to get clients.
What is marketing?
The act of putting your VA business in front of people
Instead of thinking of it as advertising and publicity, think more of it as visibility and sales/getting clients
Focus on increasing your visibility so your clients can decide on their own to buy
Why do we need to do marketing?
Learning how to market is the best thing you can do to guarantee the longevity of your VA business
because it brings in revenue and that keeps you in business
the second thing to do is get good at conversations - which is just an extension of the marketing
The more you do right, or well, the less you actually have to do
If you have 10 sales conversations and you get one client, that means your conversion rate is 10%. We want to strive for better than that. So we don't make 20 conversations to get 2 clients - instead we improve our conversion rate, or the sales conversations that go right (and we sign the client).
We look for 7 sales from 10 conversations by doing better at them.
Market your business in 20 minutes a day - but you first have to have the essentials in place first
What are the essentials?
What is your offer? What do you want people to buy?
How much will it cost them?
Who is going to buy it?
Where are they - where will they see you, or where can you see them?
What will you say to them? before, during and after
ONLY when you know the answers to these questions, you can doing some marketing to connect with your clients.
Inbound Marketing
Content that helps people see you and connect with you or reach out to you (attracting them IN to you)
Outbound Marketing
Actions and content that help you reach out to others to connect with them (reaching OUT to them)
Today we are going to talk about outbound marketing.
Outbound: Networking, cold calling - just conversations with people. Let's park the sales talk and just talk about conversations.
Conversations - talk to someone, ask them questions, see if they need your services, if not - move along, if yes, keep talking.
That's why it's essential that you know the services you are going to offer.
Your BEST services
Do what you know best
Don't do things you don't do well, or don't like doing - that's not a service I offer
You can charge more, you can confidently talk about it
You can enjoy your work - and be the client's expert
They will work with you, trust you, and refer you
Ask questions wait for answers
Listen to them
What does the client need?
What do they want to get help with?
What is their budget?
When do they want to start?
Really easy to sell a client when you can do what they need.
Other Outbound ways to get clients:
Sponsorships at events - vendor table or sponsor (you often get to speak or get extra mentions in front of the whole event crowd)
Sponsorship in publications - could be helpful
Business groups BNI Chamber - weekly commitment/referrals but often a great way to get clients - you will be the only VA
Attending events - ask questions at the mic and never forget to introduce yourself, your company, and tell people who you help and with what
Email marketing - mailing out to your list
Guesting on a seminar - showcase your expertise
Teaching a lunch n learn - usually the whole group will need your services (if you speak at the right places)
Social media ads - can be pricey but are very targeted
Anything where the service provider initiates the conversation is outbound marketing
What will you do to market your VA business? whatever works for you - whatever is comfortable for you - whatever produces results for you.
That's all I've got for you this week.
If you need some help with nailing down your marketing essentials, or having conversations with clients, or doing outbound marketing better, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Today we are going to talk about communicating well to stand out from the crowd.
Quote: It's simple ... go the extra mile and you will stand out from the crowd. - Robin Crow
Of course I love this quote because to be ridiculously good VA, you have to go the extra mile in everything you do. Standing out from the rest of the sea of VAs is easy by tweaking a few things - communication is one of those important pieces.
A lot of people don't understand the importance of good communication - especially in the Virtual Assistant industry.
With most of our clients, we work virtually - so written communication is something that must be exceptional, in order to be efficient but also to save back and forth time, misunderstandings and everything in between.
Articulating what you need well - and helping your clients do the same, makes for good communication.
Excellent communicators easily boost their own reputation and success.
You also need to be aware that communication is two way. You not only need to make sure you are saying things in the right way, but you need to learn to be a great listener too.
Listen to understand what the other person is saying. Don't listen to respond.
I got called out on this once by an HR director. She told me that when she listened to me have conversations with some of the staff, that she could tell that I was formulating my response as they were talking, which was rude. That even if I knew how I was going to reply, that I should take a beat after they finished their thought and then speak. I thought she was crazy, but I'll tell you - when I started doing what she said, I noticed a huge improvement in many things - my level of understanding of what the other person was actually saying, my comprehension of the conversation, my ability to change my response on occasion, the reaction and anxiety of the other person feeling heard, it just all made more sense. I still pay very close attention to my speed and listening abilities - something that has become a very big part of my conversations as a coach, that's for sure!
Pay attention to the other person. Be respectful and honour their opinions too. Too often we judge someone else before they even speak. Think of those clients whose emails you dread seeing in your inbox - and the attitude you bring to their emails as a result.
Always remember that listening is half of communicating. If you can take just one tip from this episode today, I'll bet it's the listening tip. I know for me it changed my communication style completely.
In terms of communicating well yourself, I'll always give you the same advice:
Keep it brief - humans can only digest so much, so be clear. I suggest one subject per email with an appropriate subject line. Short sentences. Factual content. Don't be an explainer or a justifier - when we do this in conversation it's more obvious that we are doing it. Don't get lost in email by droning on and on about anything. Get your message across, make your point clearly, and move on. If you need to explain something, perhaps suggest a phone call to clarify the problem. That's standing out - showing the client the difference when necessary.
Be confident - if you don't believe what you are saying, no one else will either. Sometimes we ramble on when we are trying to convince someone of something - like a conversation about rates with clients, that often can be difficult. Whatever you are communicating, make sure you can back it up and be confident that you are conveying the information properly. When you get to talking money with clients, use the word budget - ask them what theirs is, and tell them what you can do within it. Don't try to convince people of anything - it never works.
Smile! Always approach conversations in a positive way. If you come across some conflict, look for the positive spin. If someone made a mistake on something, whether it was you or someone else, focus on the immediate fix, and the future fix to ensure it doesn't happen again.
Practice conversations - and edit writing. When you write anything - even just a simple response - read it over and edit. You can always make things more concise. When you are speaking, think about it first, and then speak when the other person has finished.
Of course, there are times that you will have to change a subject or cut someone short. This happens to me on discovery calls sometimes. The person on the other end is busy explaining and justifying something (like why they don't have any clients, but why their tactics are still working for them), and I will have to stop them. I wait, I am respectful to a point, but when they go off on a tangent and don't look like they are coming back, I stop them with the same words all the time - so how can I help you today?
And you might say well Tracey cutting people off is not communicating well, but yes it is - when necessary. A conversation is two way - remember! And when one person is controlling the dialogue it's no longer a conversation. Communicating well means preserving that.
Be authentic in your communication - written or verbal. Don't try to use big words, you just need to be you. Be professional. Use the right words. Language matters, and it's doesn't take word of the day toilet paper to make you sound smart.
Read every day - I am a voracious reader - not of books, but of articles, news, posts, comments, everything I can get my hands on. Read the news, stay up on trends in your clients' industry - in the VA industry. Watch the weather in your clients' neck of the woods. These are every day things that bring interesting perspectives to everything you do. You will develop a better command over language.
Ask questions - questions are great to help gain clarity but they are also good to get information, and to share the burden of the conversation.
Choose timing well - there is often a good time for conversations - especially difficult ones. timing is important. For instance, if you are talking about raising rates with clients, there is a good way to do this and there are many bad ways to do it. Other times to choose your timing well - during a super busy period of time/work, if you make a mistake, if you have a celebration, when a client is away. All different scenarios, and all require different timing. Jus because something is on your mind now doesn't mean it's the best time to address it.
And finally, responding is as important as initiating conversation:
How you respond to people can also make you stand out from the crowd:
A couple of examples -
I ask two people to DM me about setting up a private call this week.
One of them messaged me and says 'Hey Tracey'. and that's all, nothing else.
One of them messaged me and says 'Thanks for getting in touch with me in x group. I'd love to tell you more about xyz. Here is my calendar link to book a call at your convenience. I look forward to speaking with you!'
Which one is the better communicator?
It's not always that obvious but when you recognize the difference between the two, you understand what I mean.
The first one makes me work harder to help them. She talked about the issues she was having, and I told her she could PM me to discuss solutions. So the better response would have been 'Hey Tracey thanks so much for connecting with me about x. I'm interested in discussing this further. Let me know next steps!' or something like that.
It's like the people that connect with you on LinkedIn and then immediately send you a long message with all of their links expecting you to do the work to learn about whether you can use their services. Just don't do it. Create a relationship from your connections. Nurture it. And communicate well.
Whether we are looking to make better connections, build relationships with potential clients, get a client to take a sales conversation, or ask someone for help with something - your communication is everything. It makes a first impression that lasts. And good habits every day help you stand out for sure.
Communicating well is a skill that must be learned - and practiced - and everyone can learn to do it just a little better.
Take the time to identify how you can improve your communication skills and you will stand out from the VA crowd!
If you need some help perfecting your communication skills, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Today we are going to talk about marketing and making a simple plan that works for you. And why that's probably not what you think it is.
First things first, what is marketing?
Marketing is about creating digital communication that helps VA clients get to know you and move towards working with you, with a few steps in between.
Why is marketing so hard?
Because we were never taught how to do it.
And because there are SO many options out there to use as marketing tools, we can get confused and overwhelmed very quickly, trying to be everywhere and do everything.
Just like we tell our VA clients to outsource what they aren't good at, or don't know how to do, we have to do the same thing with our marketing. To a point. Basic marketing knowledge is important as a business owner, so if you don't know what you need to do and why, you need to learn that.
And there are some things you can learn to do for yourself - and some that you may consider outsourcing as well. The thing is, don't try to become a marketing expert if that's not the service you offer your clients. The key is to get the marketing done - and to understand why you are doing it, and to be able to measure it.
That's called planning.
A simple marketing plan can help a ridiculously good VA like you clarify what you are intending to do, how to do it, and whether it is working for you.
The flow goes something like this: marketing goal - strategy - plan - action - analytics - sales conversation - clients.
Marketing doesn't just mean posting a few social media posts and then getting clients.
There are a lot of components to marketing (if you weren't sure of this, try googling marketing and seeing ALL the things that make up marketing - enjoy getting confused and overwhelmed!
So we start by setting a marketing goal - but what is our goal?
It depends on what you already have set up.
Here are some examples of marketing goals:
Build awareness - this is where you let people know about you and your business. Awareness is often called brand awareness, but you can also just call it awareness of you and the services you offer your clients.
Generating leads - building your audience is an important marketing goal. That doesn't always mean list building or creating a freebie right off the bat, but it does mean getting more eyes on your services and your content.
Showcasing expertise - showing your people how great you are to work with is a key to success in marketing. Of course you have to have an audience to show it to, so you see how things fit together. But being able to showcase how you support your clients is essential too.
Increasing engagement - Especially on social media, we don't want to just be pumping content out - we are looking for engagement with what we put out there - and engagement with US too. When people know about you , the goal is to get them to a sales conversation, and sometimes that can take a while.
Generate revenue - of course the ultimate goal is to get clients, and to make sales - so this is clearly a common goal - but marketing doesn't start with this.
As you can probably see, all of these goals sort of nest inside one another- so if you don't have the first ones in place, that's where you should start.
In order to get clients, they need to know about you, you need to be building your audience, they need to see and understand how you can help them, they need to reach out to you, or react to you, and then you need to invite them to sales conversations and sign them.
Easy huh? LOL
So let's work with the first goal - to build awareness .. start getting the word out about your business.
First you need to choose your best service. The more focused you can be the better. That means that your content and conversations will be more focused too. You'll be talking about how you help clients with a specific service, and that is cohesive. And in your networking too (you can be found in searches for your key services in FB groups).
Next you need to choose your best client. When you know your best services, you can figure out who needs them the most. Choosing a target can feel limiting sometimes but it really is a smarter way to find lots of clients who need the same thing. It makes your work easier.
Obviously you also have to know your rates, and how much it will cost your clients to work with you. You should know your services and rates inside and out as you start to market your business.
Only then can you start to plan your content. Planning your content is a very good idea as well - choose 3 or 4 solid topics to create content about, that are directly related to your service offerings. If you have seen my content matrix, you'll know that I suggest choosing 4 topics, and then also choosing 4 angles to write about too. The matrix gives you 16 topics you can easily write about., which is 4 months of weekly blog posts.
Here is the link to the exercise:
www.YourVAMentor.com/content-matrix-4x4
Remember always to maximize your efforts too but using great seo, researching keywords, using hashtags as necessary, and making the content you are creating work harder for you. And always include a call to action so your audience knows what you want them to do next. I'll talk more shortly about what to do with a blog post to get more traffic out of it.
The next steps are to promote your content on social media channels, make daily connections and to be active with your networking.
See how many things are involved just in setting a building awareness goal? That's why marketing is so big - and why we often do it wrong.
It's simple, but we need all the blocks to fit together to work properly, which is why it's not easy.
The last piece as with any goal is to track your results so you can make changes to your plan and your actions if they aren't working properly for you. These are called KPIs, or key performance indicators.
So what are good KPIs for a goal of building awareness?
Traffic - actual numbers of who is seeing what - that can be google analytics, insights on facebook or other social media platforms.
Referrals - these can include direct referrals, but also tags and mentions, and shares on social.
Connections - how many people are joining your communities, or connecting with you?
Follow up conversations - tracking every actual conversation that starts can help you remember to 'go back' and check in on people periodically to build relationships (do this in a google sheet, don't rely on messenger or FB groups to find this info)
Comments and interactions - similar to referrals, and follow up - you want to keep an eye on these as well, and always respond
Search results - when you are coming up higher in google, or when you are coming up in group searches, that's because you are putting out quality stuff
Even though this sounds like a lot, it's not really - and it's a little system that you can put into place easily for your business. So that when you start to move to the next step, you already have this stuff in place.
It's a regular, repeatable, simple process that helps you achieve your goal to get your business in front of your potential clients.
Automate what you can - systematize what you can't. And then you don't have to spend much time at all each week implementing this.
So here's what it could look like:
so ... weekly short blog post (use the content matrix for blog topic ideas)
... repurposing blog content into smaller pieces, using the same topic and content
... templates for images - use Canva so making images doesn't take any time at all - suggest 4 templates as well
... small buckets of time for connections - this you can't really automate or schedule, so you need to find time to do it, but not a lot of time - 20 minutes a day is more than enough most of the time
... tracking sheet for interactions - I can't overstate this, to keep track of who you are connecting with and interacting with in a google sheet. It makes follow up much easier to keep track of.
Make things as simple as you can and hold yourself accountable to do those small daily action every day - only 20 minutes means you can always fit it in.
And it helps you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant (and hint, hint, you can help your clients to the same process!)
Don't try to do everything at once.
By breaking things down and focusing on one goal at a time, you will work more focused and you'll get better results. The daily actions I will keep talking about because it works. Tracking your results is essential so you know what's working, so you can do more of that. And you can change course as necessary if things are not working.
This will work for you - I promise!
And then the next things you need to do is to build your audience.
This is about creating a facebook group of your own, or finding other networking connections. It's about getting in front of as many of your target clients as you can, now that you have great content that you know they will love! Lead magnets, building a mailing list - all part of your goal of building your audience.
That's for another episode though!
If you need some help figuring out which marketing goal you need to start working on now, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Today we are going to talk about creating content that stands out - from your daily actions and interactions.
Quote: Social media is here. It's not going away; not a passing fad. Be where your customers are: social media. - Lori Ruff
So everything is content. What do I mean by that?
Well, a lot of VAs tell me that they don't know what to post about, so it mostly comes from that. And the fact that I see VAs posting about being a VA and how great it is. That's my reason for talking about this topic as much as I do.
Your content is for your clients. Period. It's not about you. If you are struggling to get clients from your content, it is either that you aren't posting enough content (or any at all), or you aren't posting the right content.
So let's dig in to that.
Think about what makes you stop the scroll. What are you interested in?
I know what makes me stop.
I like food, travelling, health and wellness stuff. That's my personal stuff.
I also like social media, how to stuff, inspirational stuff, and things that will make my business run more smoothly and make more money.
That's a pretty short list, but off the top of my head, I know that I stop at those posts on every social media channel.
That's what you need to figure out about your target clients.
What THEY want to stop at.
And I can tell you, it's not about being a VA. Why do I know this? Because my clients will stop at how to be a VA. I'm a VA coach. But when I was a VA, the people who paid me - my clients - 6 and 7 figure business coaches, couldn't care less about how to become a VA. Or what it's like to be one.
And yet that's what I was posting about. Yep, I did it too!
But your clients don't care. You need to create content that is of interest to THEM. They are the ones you are marketing to.
So figure that out.
And luckily I'm here to give you some tips today on how to do that - much easier than you might doing it now. Are you unsure what to post? Well,...
Everything is content. This is truly great advice- and so true.
When you struggle to create content, you have to look at things differently. And when you do, you need to find the business lessons or the common thread to advice that you can use as a comparison to your business.
People can relate to daily activities and interactions - and while I don't suggest you write all your content this way, it can be a great boost to adding your personality and some much needed relatability to your content.
Here's what I mean.
I told a story recently of how I went to Costco and had a crappy customer service experience. Long story short, they told me the debit machines were down as I entered the store, but said they took cash and credit. So I went ahead in, did my shopping, and tried to pay with my Visa or Amex. Nope. They actually only take Mastercard, which the girl at the front didn't tell me. So I had to find a bank machine and get cash to pay for my stuff. This is relatable, and you can link it directly to how you would have handled the customer service, if that's a service you offer (even if it's not - I always give my customers the right information).
When you go to the bank, they spin their monitor around and show you all your stuff and they tell you about the options they have for you - and they recommend what they feel is the best one for you. That's how you can help your clients decide the best option to with you.
Laundry - we sort it to wash it, and we adjust the water temperature and spin force for different clothing. I also sort it to fold it. This shows people how you organize yourself - how your mind works, and how you use processes.
Client stories are great things to use in content. Tell people what the client was experiencing before they started working with you and how you helped them. The more clients you have, the more you can use this kind of content. You can even inject your humour into these, as a show of how you build relationships and get along with your clients.
Conversations you have with business owners - whether they are potential clients or not. Like the people at Costco or the bank, or a networking event. I tell the story often of a woman who was at a networking event, introduced herself to a fellow and proceeded to talk for 20 minutes about her product - bras for women who have undergone mastectomy. Great product, but he had zero interest in what she was talking to him about - and everyone knew it. She needed to know her audience - which incidentally, there were at least a dozen women in the room that she could have had conversation with, but she couldn't see that she was talking to a wall.
Something you have learned - talk about it step by step. If you went to a webinar this week, tell people about it! Tell them what made it interesting, and how you will use what you learned. Especially if it's how you will use it to help your clients. But even still, when we are looking for relatability, if your clients also learn for their business, you will cover that.
Can you see what I mean? There is so much you can do with content from your everyday interactions and actions.
Do you have a morning routine? Talk about it.
Did you learn a lesson? Talk about it.
Did you notice a new trend? Talk about it.
Did your clients ask you questions this week? Talk about it.
Did you see other VAs posting things that you know the answers to ? Talk about it.
When you step out of the marketing mindset, and just share what you are doing and how that relates to your clients and their businesses, you will be creating much more interesting content for your clients to consume.
And when you add your personality, you will stand out.
You don't have to do endless Tiktok videos, but when you start to just be YOU, people notice. When you are marketing, you want to get noticed. What is your point of view on something? Your perspective? This showcases your opinion and your expertise - but in a relatable way, so it's not business all the time, or selling.
We spend a lot of time separating business from life and sometimes those are the best places for us to share our expertise.
How do you start your day?
How do you end your day?
How do you stay on track for deadlines and time management?
How do you stay organized?
What do your clients say about working with you?
Write your own content, and curate stuff from others that you follow or trust.
And while we're on it, figure out how to repurpose content. You can write one weekly blog post and the repurpose that into 10 or 20 pieces of other content. How do you do that?
Simple. Decide on four main topics that your audience is interested in. Rotate the topics every week so you always have something different. Look for content as you surf or in your daily activities that relate to the topic of next week's blog post. It makes it easier to write, to create. And then break it up into 10 or 20 pieces after you write it. Images, tips, captions, photos .. it's easy to do especially once you get started.
And once you start it, it gets easier. Especially as you start to get interactions on it, but really when it becomes easier to create. You don't have to post 10 Instagram stories a day. 1 blog post a week, 3 to 5 other social media posts in one channel - make them good. And keep at it.
Change the way you look at everything all day long. You will see the content when you look for it (within reason). Keep a notepad or use your phone to keep some point form notes if you are out and about. Become inspired by what is going on around you and who is around you. And figure out how you can help people with it. That's what they will stop scrolling to look at, and that's what will help them know, like and trust you faster so that they will take action to work with you.
Visibility is everything but you have to be interesting - and to be interesting, you have to be interestED in what they are interested in - there's the key!
If you need some help figuring out how to create better content, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Today we are going to talk about how to take time off in your business.
Time off. Time to recharge your batteries, get some rest, get some personal time in, get some personal stuff done.
For the purposes of this episode, I'm not talking about time off for kid's school or extracurricular activities, or for looking after aging parents appointments. I'm talking about YOU.
In order for you to be a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant, you must look after yourself.
You are the service, the product, the talent of your business. If you don't make sure to take time away from your business, you will soon start to regret it.
When we work for someone else, we automatically get nights and weekends off, don't we? For the most part anyway.
Some entrepreneurs don't do that. We work on our own business in the 'down' times, and sometimes that means we work all the time.
Or at least that's what it looks like.
And that's not healthy. It's why I always talk to you about being really focused on what it is you want to get done - have a plan, do it in the shortest time bucket possible, and move along.
But time off is not just nights and weekends, though those are important, it's any time you are away from your clients for an extended period of time. And that's what I want to talk about today.
What does it take to take time off from your business? Just a little preparation.
We need to be more strategic than when we are taking holidays from a job, but it doesn't mean that we can't do it.
And when done right, you will make the most of your vacation time - and hopefully you'll do it more often!
What does vacation mean to you? For me it honestly just means a couple of days away. My husband is a chef and in the hospitality industry, especially these days, time off comes at a premium. So we do short jaunts here and there, no big long 3 week cruises in the Pacific in our house!
The longer you plan to be away, the more prep you need to do. So let's talk about what you need to do:
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Create procedures for the things you do. Step by step is not needed necessarily, but you do need to document the things you do, if someone is taking over for you, or if your client needs to do something on their own. A little extra attention and hand holding before you go makes your clients feel supported and confident. Screenshare videos are the best!
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Give your clients plenty of notice that you'll be away. Last minute is usually the issue, and we always want to manage our client's expectations well. Be sure to let them know what will happen in your absence, and how to reach whoever is in charge.
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Find someone to look after your work while you are gone if necessary. A colleague who can check on things really helps you relax more when you are not there yourself. Obviously provide them with your daily schedule, logins and procedures.
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Check in yourself once a day. This is what I have done on longer holidays - once in the morning, 30 minutes max, to make sure everything is going according to plan. Then the rest of the time I can relax knowing that I myself saw what was happening. Don't do any work though - delegate it!
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Do as much ahead as you can - if your clients are on retainer, you don't want to just disappear for a week that they have paid for. Figure out how you can get ahead on some regular ongoing work so they still get their deliverables.
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Don't be shy about taking time off. Everyone does it. If you are working with your ideal clients, they will value you and your time, and they will want you to enjoy yourself and come back refreshed. If you have a client who gets upset, then you may want to think about replacing that client when you get back! I read a statistic that said 43% of freelancers have felt the need to hide their vacation from their clients! (podia.com) nope!
How to relax on your vacay:
- Turn notifications off.
- Unplug.
- Rest.
- Just do it.
- Enjoy!
And if you can't get away on vacation, or you can't afford it, time off is still a very real thing you need to schedule in.
Afternoons off, Fridays off, nights off, weekends off, time off between Christmas and New Year's - whatever it is, make sure to incorporate it and still use all the same tips that I gave you in today's episode.
A couple of tips on how to incorporate vacation into your business:
- pick a date and stick to it (buy an airline ticket!)
- plan ahead so you have time to complete things or get the right people in place
- cushion a business trip with a few days of vacation on either side
- try long weekends first if you have never taken a vacation
- trust that all will go well because you prepared everyone (trust who you leave in charge - they will get better the more you let them be autonomous)
- once you get away and all goes well, you'll be booking that next one!
On that note, I'm actually on my own vacation at the moment - in a log cabin in beautiful Alberta with my husband for a few days. I'll be back later this week. And yes, I recorded this episode of my podcast early so I could get away and still provide it to you. Of course. I'll see you next week!
What to do next:
If you need some help figuring out how to set your business up so that you will not burn out, and so that you can take time off when you need it or want it, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtu
Today we are going to talk about self promotion and how it confuses and frustrates new VAs.
What is self promotion?
Basically it's showcasing yourself and your business to an audience of people in a group somewhere.
When that forum or group is owned by someone else, self promotion is often a rule not to be broken, without facing consequences.
That's why it's so frowned upon when you show up and start telling everyone about what you do.
All we tell you in marketing is tell people what you do - it's confusing, I'm sure.
I remember it being really confusing. I broke the rule in lots of groups. I truly didn't mean to but I did.
When you realize how to do it better, that's when it becomes clear what you were doing wrong before. Let's see if I can shed some light on a few things for you today.
So the rules are there for everyone in the group. If everyone posted about their business every day, the group owner would see people leaving in droves.
Many communities are built to be just that - communities. So just like everywhere else you network, you have to wander around and meet people. And talk to them.
Treat every networking or business group that you are in like a room of people. And every time you walk into that room, there are different people. Some are the same, some are new, some are not.
You have to build relationships with people, and the way to do that is not to hit them over the head with Hi I'm a VA and I have some one spot open next week for a new client. Hi I'm a VA and I wrote this blog post about staying organized, go read it. Hi I'm a VA and hiring a VA for your business is so smart because you'll save time and money.
These are things we say everyday in our marketing - but to jump into a group whether you are new to it or not and lead off with that is a turn off for everyone in the group. Mostly.
And it annoys the group host because they own the group. They have built the group - their audience - and so everyone that comes into the space, they want to help their audience - not sell to them. And of course building a group - a good one especially, takes considerable effort, time and expense.
Don't ever forget that. Just because it's a free group doesn't mean it's a free for all. And you don't have the right to get mad if someone tells you that you are breaking their self promotion rules. You just don't.
Groups (even local networking ones) belong to someone - there is an owner, and they are using it for a specific purpose. They get to make whatever rules they want. You agree to them when you join the group, and they decide what happens when someone breaks them.
So what can we do to promote ourselves in those groups?
First of all, if you are going to spend time in any group make sure that YOUR audience is there. Don't just join a big group thinking that your people must be in there. Anything you spend time at needs to be a good use of your time.
Second, provide value every single time you post or comment. I'll give you some examples in a minute. Think about helping people, not selling to them. TRUST me, the sale will come if you can master the helping part first.
Don't post calls to action - no need to take people away from the group for any reason. In fact, the longer you can keep the conversation going in the group in front of the rest of the group, the better it works for you. You are then showcasing yourself to the potential thousands of people that are there - not just the one (who seriously could just be looking for free help).
Post informational stuff - things you have learned in your own surfing. Has anyone notice this new FB feature? Where is the best place you have found to get advice around xyz (dont' step on the group owners' toes here)
Ask questions - Do you have a favourite CRM? I have been using Dubsado for about a year and it has some great features for coaches. I have a question about how Jane app - a client is using it and we are wondering if it can do xyz. You are looking to invite interaction and conversation about things that you are knowledgeable about or that will help people understand how you help your clients.
Look to connect - I'm headed out west next week - anyone in this group from there? What should I make sure to see? Or my client is travelling - where should I make their dinner reservation?
If you have good news, announce it but tell people how you achieved it. I got invited to speak at this symposium, I'm so excited. The woman in charge said she got my name from an event I spoke at a long time ago when they couldn't do the event, and she hung onto it all this time and said that she knew that this year she was definitely calling me since it's their first time in 3 years (that happened to me). Bragging is not the same as self promotion.
Get noticed, be present, actually have conversations with people. Cheer them on. Comment on their posts and the hosts' too. Participate in the group. This is why we tell you to focus on just one group at a time. It's more genuine.
Don't just post a link to your newest blog post every week - again what if everyone did that? If it's not your group, don't do that.
Don't cross post. When you are in certain groups with your target market, there are often other groups that people also belong too. When you post the same thing in all of your groups, people are very aware that you are not looking to build relationships, you are just using the groups for yourself.
Take advantage of promo schedules - if there is an opportunity to post something about your biz, do it thoughtfully - tell a client story or post a testimonial (collect those, btw).
Get comfortable talking about how good you are at what you do. People need to hear it to notice you, to hire you, to work with you.
Talk about who you helped this week.
Talk about a resource you came upon.
Share things that are actually valuable to the other members of the community..
I belong to a local group with over 24,000 women , and do you know that there are only 3 VAs who get recommended in that group all the time? And they get TONS of tags when someone is looking for a VA. Why? Because they have taken their time to get to know people in there. They help them. They work with them. They do great work. They get referrals. It's awesome. I love it!
And none of them ever have to post I'm a VA and I have an opening for a client this month. Though if they did they would be very well received and everyone would jump in and say 'work with her, you won't regret it' lol.
That's what we should be striving for.
Give more than you take. Oh there it is! The quote for today.
When you stop trying to get the client or make the sale, you will get clients and make sales.
Show up first to help - and do it daily. People will see you and start to trust you. Others will recommend you. They will hire you. Give, give, give.
That's what people see.
So, choose a FB group of business owners that contains your target clients (don't ask me which groups to join you need to find them on your own). Introduce yourself or reintroduce yourself if it's been a while since you joined it.
Tell people that you are a VA, but don't tell them to hire you. Tell them why you started your business and how much you love helping 'target group' with 'service'. Tell them how you are excited to be in this group of professionals and looking forward to getting to know them in this beautiful space.
When someone posts a question, just answer it. Dont' put in a link to your blog or tell them some longwinded story, or tell them to PM you to discuss. Just answer their question. Then move on to the next question that is relevant to your services. Answer that. and so on.
It's so easy to tell people about how you help your clients without self promoting. It takes some practice but it really does become clear when you start getting interaction on your comments from people who can see the difference, and who really want to get to know you.
I'll leave you with this today:
There's a blog post from Becca at Uncaged life that I always comes across when I do research for this particular topic and I decided I just want to share a bit of it with you.
It's called
How Not to Be a Dick in Facebook Groups and it's awesome. Love the tips in it.
But I wanted to read you this part of the post because it's so perfect:
Scenario 2: You’re in the room with your friends and the attractive people. Let’s say one of these attractive people asks something like “Do you know where the best pizza in town is?” and you reply “I do! Also, did you know that I’m single? Would you like my number? Here it is!” As you grab their phone and enter your number into their contacts. And they reply “Oh, um. Cool. So anyway, what’s the name of the pizza place?” And you’re all like “Call me and I’ll tell you!” This is pretty much the equivalent to commenting on people’s Facebook questions with a link to your website. #desperate
And now you’re going to say “Yeah Becca, but these people – they need what I have!” Sure, they might need it, but the ways in which you are giving it to them make you look like a desperate drunk girl at the end of the night at the bar. NO ONE is taking that shit home.
So in conclusion, be a human. Have integrity. Please don’t ever do these things, in real life or online.
Thanks Becca, I couldn't have said it better myself.
If you need some help figuring out what to say in your networking or marketing, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com
I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
There are many things that our clients deal with in their businesses, and many of them are the main reason that they hire us as VAs to work with them.
Today I want to talk about these things as struggles that they face - because that's really what they are.
What moves a client into making the decision to invest in a VA? Sometimes they are excited to move into a new direction, and we'll talk about that later in this episode, but more often than not, they are looking for help with something that is not working well in their business. They are not happy about it - it is taking too much of their time, or it simply isn't working the way it should be for them even though they know how to do it.
Let's go!
Organization:
One of the most simple services a VA can offer a client is to get them organized. Many of our clients don't excel in this area. Just like we were never taught sales in our admin roles in our corporate jobs, they were not taught admin skills in their roles either.
It does not come easily to a lot of business owners, and as you know I always say it's the main service offering that they need from VAs.
How does disorganization show up in their business?
They can missed appointments, or do the appointments but then be terrible at follow up and miss out on sales
They can start projects and never finish them
Or they can half ass their marketing initiatives and launches.
All of these add up to their business suffering.
How can we help?
We can help them clean out their inboxes and keep their email organized so they get back to people in good time and always know where to find the things they need. Or keep their clients better informed and taken care of.
We can help them automate their scheduling, or organize it better - so that . their day shapes up more efficiently. Booking more appointments for them can get them new clients too.
We can help them get back to people who inquire, or follow up with people they have connected with, so that they can nurture relationships with them and again, potentially get new clients.
We can help them complete their open projects and prioritize new ones.
We can help them check off all the tasks needed for the marketing tasks or launches that they know are important to grow their business.
So it's more than I can manage your email - you want to be able to articulate to them WHY it's important - and often that starts with telling them what is happening by them NOT doing this well right now.
Time Management:
For a VA, time is money. We are a service business and so we trade our time for dollars no matter how you do your billing.
How does terrible time management show up in your client's business?
They can take way too long to do some things - or everything.
They can simply not do things that they don't have time for, even if they know they are important.
They can spend their time doing many things that are not actually bringing revenue into their business. Busy work. Without revenue a business can not survive.
How can we help?
We can help them by setting up procedures for things that need to be done - or teach them how to use automation.
We can of course also take things off of their desk so they don't do them anymore - and use those procedures and automation to get them done as efficiently as possible.
We can ensure that the tasks that they say are priorities for them get done each week or month. This is especially important with things like customer service and marketing tasks.
We can help them spend their time more wisely doing things that will actually bring revenue into their business. Networking, working with clients, creating new ways to serve their clients. Really that's it! And we can help them make the most of their time.
Tech Issues:
You don't have to be a tech goddess to provide tech support for your clients.
We know how much of a struggle it can be to have to learn something new, especially if we are not good at it or don't understand it.
How do tech issues show up in our client's business?
System crashes or data loss - usually these are urgent issues and website hosts or servers are sought out, but not always
Security issues - viruses or hackers, access for social media platforms
Online platform issues - access, logins, passwords, recordings, meetings and events
Online file storage and management - where their stuff is
How can we help?
We can help them get safeguards and backup systems in place before any bad happens.
We can make sure they have a system in place, a plan and security for when things do go wrong. We can learn the basics and explain and document what they need to do - and ensure secondary people are in place for social media accounts.
We can make sure there is a system in place to manage passwords and logins and access. We can manage event recordings and moderate meetings and events..
Creativity:
Good looking marketing collateral definitely helps clients grow their audience and their business. Amateur looking stuff or stuffy looking stuff can really derail anyone's efforts. Luckily this is a very strong service for VAs.
How do creativity issues show up in a client's business?
Plain presentations - not standing out or looking good may look unprofessional to clients
Crappy workbooks or no workbooks - clients may not implement their teachings fully or easily
Unbranded colours, fonts and graphics - just plain bad graphic design
Copyright issues from Googled images - so many clients pull images from Google searches that could be copyrighted, and don't think anything of it. This could cause legal issues (not to mention redo issues) when they are caught.
How can we help?
We can help them by creating eye catching presentations and handouts to uplevel their stuff
We can use systems like Canva to create templates so all of their stuff is cohesive and professional and polished.
We can help them look more polished in everything they post
We can help elevate their brand
We can save them a ton of time if it's something they don't do well
There are a lot of things that our clients struggle with but these 4 are pretty common ones, and things that they often seek help for.
What I hope you got from today's episode is how to describe the struggle to the client. They may not realize what is going wrong in their business, or what is the most important thing to get help with.
When you can reframe it for them and describe the struggle - and the relief they will see by getting help, you can help move them into action to say YES and work with you.
Now I also said I'd talk briefly about how you can help a client when things ARENT so bad. When they are just looking for growth in their business and they know they need help to get it.
Maybe they need your organization skills to pull of a huge event or launch, or a new podcast.
Maybe they need to have you do things for them because they are super busy and they don't have time to manage all of the details they shouldn't be managing anyway.
Maybe they want you to help them with their tech and creativity so that you help them stand out.
Yes, many business owners already KNOW why they need our help. And we still talk to them in the same way. Actually it' can be a great exercise to ask them why they need help and what they think they will get from it (or if you are already working with them, what they ARE getting from it) - and then use that with your other clients.
Think of these three questions every time:
What do you do that you can help a client with?
How does it show up in their business?
How can you help them?
If you want my help to figure out how to start talking to your clients in language that they understand, and BUY, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Today we are going to talk about how to use LinkedIn smarter, so you can market yourself properly and yes, get clients.
Where are you looking for clients?
A lot of VAs tell me that they are looking for clients on social media.
If that's you, how's it working for you?
When we are trying to grow our business, we have to go to the right places, talk to the right people, and say the right things.
That probably sounds challenging, but once you figure it out, it really is quite simple.
And you will spend less time doing it too, because you are working smarter.
There are 810 million users on LinkedIn. 310 active monthly.
How many clients do you need? Your clients are there.
Linked In is all business - people are on there for professional reasons. And although there is community there, it's not the same as most other social media platforms because it's not really just social.
And the people that are active there (which you can easily see) are the ones you can work with. So it's time to start making good business connections.
What better place to start having really good business conversations with business people than in a business social setting.
What you need to do is to make sure that what you are putting out there is going to work for you.
It's not your online resume anymore. There are so many features that you can use to showcase your services.
And you also need to find the people that bring you business. That can be potential clients, or potential referral sources. Connections!
Here's what to do:
Optimize your profile
- make sure that you are using keywords - search terms that people will look for, or that LinkedIn will choose to show them
- there are all kinds of neat new things on your profile page that can showcase your services
- by optimizing what you are putting out there, you show people what you want them to see
Make your profile work for you
- make your about section read like your website
- fill up the featured section
- your photo headline travel with you everywhere
- detail the services you offer and then
Use search bar - to find your ideal clients
- search their occupation, location, services they use
- look at vas or other strategic partners who serve the same clients as you
Search their job title and then choose 2nd connections to make new connections.
But also don't forget to look at your 1st connections. are there relationships you haven't leveraged there yet?
Don't forget about strategic partners - search them also and see what they are doing - whose stuff they are sharing. Building a partner relationship can be even easier!
Search events to see if there are any that you might attend.
After you find the people you are looking for, start a tracking sheet to keep track of who you are reaching out to. Check to see if they are active, and if so, what is their activity? Look at all of their activity, not just what they are posting (though typically that's what you want to like, share and comment on), but also what they are liking, sharing and commenting on.
See who else they are connected to - would they be good connections for you also? Look for quality over quantity
Remember you don't need 100 clients or 310 million. You are just looking for ONE at at time.
By finding the people that are ideal for you, you need far fewer solid connections than you think.
Start to like comment and share their posts
Then by the time you do an introduction or a connection request, you are familiar to them
This takes time, don't like 2 of their posts and then send an email unless there is a really compelling reason to do so
And next, of course you have to post relevant content of your own.
What are your services?
Post about what you do for your clients and how that helps them in their business.
Your profile and your actual activity are most important - you can post 3x a week but it should be good. You don't have to post 10x a day. Quality of quantity for content too.
LinkedIn will show your posts to more people when you get interaction on them so make sure you are thoughtfully posting.
And LinkedIn counts your interactions as activity too, as you can see from other people's activity level - so by stepping that up yourself, you are becoming more visible in everyone's feed as well. It's definitely as good as posting yourself, without having to create 20 pieces of content every week.
Post before day starts, lunch hour and after work
And then show up at those times. Don't just schedule posts and never go there. When your post is published, people will see it and they may comment on it right away. You don't want to miss that activity.
Just like on Tiktok, the posters post live and then are there to create conversation with the people who are commenting on their video - all social media is the same. It's how you engage your followers.
It's about the numbers, but it's really more about the commitment. Book in 15 minutes at 8 am, 15 at lunch and 15 at the end of your day, 3 days a week - and you'll find that you are developing a great Linked In habit.
If you want my help to figure out how to maximize your LinkedIn strategy, or your messaging, or choose your ideal client, definitely reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Are you an introvert? So many Virtual Assistants tell me they are. It's not a deficiency of any sort ha ha but it can make some things we do in business feel more challenging.
Quote: l would admit I'm an introvert. I don't know why introverts have to apologize. Bill Gross
There is nothing wrong with being an introvert!
I think that introverts kind of get a bad rap, but you know what? I think we criticize ourselves far more than anyone else does. Yes, I am an introvert, which many people probably find hard to believe, but I LOVE my alone time and my quiet time, and as much as I enjoy company, it's nice when it's over too.
As an introvert, there are things in business that can be more difficult.
Of course, the main one that comes to mind is sales. And getting clients.
I hear many VAs tell me I'm an introvert, I don't like selling myself.
But here's the thing. You don't have to sell anything. You're not trying to cold call people, or convince them that they need your services.
All you need to do is to actually find people that DO need your help, and then decide if they are a good fit for you to work with. That's it!
It really is that simple. But we can talk ourselves out of so many things with the excuse that it feels uncomfortable. All that means is that we are in the wrong place, or talking to the wrong person. The key is to find the right person in the right place.
Let's first talk about our strengths as introverts.
Introverts are often
- more creative
- better listeners
- more observant
- go deeper on many projects
- stand out because they aren't always talking
- very good at taking social cues and reading rooms
- thoughtful and choose words wisely
- very focused and detail oriented
- self sufficient
- good problem solvers
Stay true to you.
Use these strengths to your advantage, in your marketing, when you tell clients what you bring to the table. Be proud of them, they are very valuable qualities.
Do things are your own pace, but do make sure you do them. You don't have to race, but there are things that have to be done for you to stay in business.
Don't feel pressured to go to networking events or do cold calls. Email still works and I think it's better for everyone's schedule than phone or instant messaging.
You have to value yourself, and then others will value you as well.
Who you are is who you are. And you are GREAT!
Focus on your strengths - what are you good at? What do you love to do or do exceptionally well? What you do best is what you should be charging the most for.
First you have to make sure you see your own value and that you can show it to people.
Make sure that you have a very strong presence online - make it work for you so you don't have to be making connections, that the online stuff will help do that for you.
Website, blog, social media, portfolio, whatever makes sense for you. Do it well. Do a really good job of showcasing what you can do for your clients online.
Don't try to be someone else, or even be like someone else. Be yourself. Get comfortable with you and the fact that there are people that will greatly benefit from your help. Do you really believe you can help people? You can!
What do you love about your audience? Write these things down - is it what they do, who they work with, the change they make in the world, the tasks they need done?
Now figure out where they are. And how many clients you actually need. That will determine where you can find clients.
Get really clear on what you do best and who you can help most - then connect with those people, talk about them, write about them.
Social media is actually great for introverts because you do it on your own time and you have complete control about what you put out there.
Use one single marketing strategy and do it well. That should be easy when you aren't networking all day long!
Where to find clients?
Job boards will be good for you, also fiverr and upwork - people are looking for help in these places and there is less sales that you have to do.
Tell people you know what you do and ask them if they know anyone who might benefit from your help. It helps to have business connections but family and friends help too - as long as you articulate what you do accurately and they really get who you help.
Focus on repeat business - don't do project work. Seek out ongoing work with clients so you aren't constantly looking for clients.
Ask existing or past clients for referrals. Be sure (again) that they really understand what it is you do for people (especially if it differs from what you do/did for them), so they send you good referrals.
Find a few strategic partners who work with your target market, but provide different services to them - so you can refer business back and forth to each other.
Collect testimonials and reviews and recommendations on LI
Get really good something specific, be in demand so people call you, and you don't have to call them.
Put your contact info everywhere. On every web page, blog post, social media profile, and so on. Make it easy for people to reach out to you so you don't always have to reach out to them
Put your pricing online - describe your services well. Let your website do some of the 'selling' work for you. Make sure the pricing is clear and talks about budget.
Join a team and subcontract to get your confidence up (don't do this forever, find your own ideal clients and do the work you are best at)
Get some support to learn a few techniques if you still feel anxious about anything.
Find a tribe or a partner to connect with on a regular basis. A support network is essential for all VAs. And be sure to share your struggles and your successes, and ask for specific advice.
And never forget that you need to do what's right for you - it's the only thing that will work for you!
If you want my help to figure out how to get clients as an introvert, definitely reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.
That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
When you are a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant, you strive to do better and to be better as often as you can. In this episode we will talk about why habits can make or break the success you want to achieve - and how to break bad habits to create better ones.
If you haven't read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, you should.
The habits we have and the things we naturally do each day can make or break our business.
In the Atomic Habits book there is an interesting statistic, and it is this:
if you get 1% better every day for a year, you will be 37% better by year end. Doesn't that sound great?
But how can we get to where we have never been before if we don't know the way? Well it takes some planning, learning, and action. This is the system that you have to put in place to walk towards your goal, that thing you want.
Habits are important because we do them without thinking. Routines are what can help us build good habits.
Atomic Habits talks about habit stacking - that means doing something when you are already doing something else naturally - so that you build the new habit alongside the old one.
What about bad habits? How can we change those? We need to identify them and then consciously change the behaviour, the timing, the circumstances. Shake it up!
For a new habit to become a habit, you have to practice it. It helps to think about what you are gaining from the new habit.
You don't want the new habit or thing to do - you want what it will give you or allow you to do. Focus on that - if I do THIS, I get THAT.
If I can help you start changing habits in your business, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. i've helped hundreds of vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle is kicking off shortly. Maybe one of those is the right option for you.
In today's episode we are talking about what you can do for your clients that is in-demand - so that you can also be in demand as a VA.
Ideally we want to have a few great clients to work with, and do what we love, and not really have to be looking for new clients every time we turn around.
At least that's the way it was for me. I had a great group of clients who all needed specialty services, who were growing their businesses, whose work I was proud to do, who pushed me to learn new things as they learned them, and who referred me to their friends who also needed support.
I did that by deciding what service I wanted to provide for them, charging appropriately for it, and then knocking it out of the park when I produced their work.
There are lots of things that you can do for clients that I would consider in demand. Why in demand? Because it means that the clients NEED you. These aren't the clients who are learning as they go. These are the clients that have a vision of where they want their business to go, and who are taking steps to get there.
This is the first part of providing an in demand service. That the clients actually want you to do it. So start there.
Here are 5 services that I would consider to be in demand - and each of them in itself is huge, and has lots of different branches that you could decide to provide for your clients, depending on what you love to do.
General Admin
Being a general admin VA gets a bad rap, I think. People think it's where you start and the grow out of. But think about it. How many business owners are there in the world? Why did they start a business? Because they have some kind of talent or product or service that their clients need (or want). The thing or the service they are selling is the most important part of their business. It's their 'thing'.
But to keep their business - in business - they need to do all of the other things that need doing. But these things are not usually within their wheelhouse of talent or ability. So that's where we come in.
Every single business owner needs general admin support - especially if they aren't good at it.
So this to me in so in-demand that I always put it first in my list!
If you are providing general admin services, that doesn't mean that you have to do everything a client needs. You can still suggest they get different people to help with certain things if you don't like doing them.
Only do what you love - scheduling, email, crm, research, bookeeping, lead management, business documentation.
Trust me, there are other VAs that will love to provide support for the other stuff.
Online or Digital Marketing - if the last 3 years has taught us anything, it's that online marketing is very important for any business.
That could mean an email list,. affiliate marketing, content marketing, or just social media presence.
There are an awful lot of facets to digital marketing. Figure out what you love to do and then create services around that.
I always used to provide email marketing to my clients because it meant ongoing work for me. When they were doing newsletters and email blasts or broadcasts to their clients, that meant that I was the one to do them. When you are looking to become in demand as a VA, you need to be working with your clients regularly. Not that websites are not a good service to provide, but you are constantly working with new clients. I preferred online marketing initiatives because we could see the results of having me help the client (money, clients, etc).
Launch management is also a really good digital service to provide. Launching a program, a group, a book, a podcast, anything like that takes a lot of work and has a lot of step (balls in the air) that a client most definitely needs help with. Great online service.
Social media is digital as well, but of course it's in a category of its own because it is so vast.
Lots of social media services you can offer, from creating content, to scheduling it, to reporting, community management. And they are all very much in demand. Why? Because they are time consuming, because they take special skills, because they take interpretation. Because it is necessary for many businesses to do well with their social media in order to keep their pipeline of potential clients full, and to communicate with their clients that they are working with or want to work with.
So many people are already on social media, using it all day long, so it's a great place to be able to find clients.
Community management is probably one of the emerging services in social media.
Paid ads are also a specialty
I remember taking social media right out of my service offerings way back when because it changed to frequently and I didn't want to specialize in it. So we had other people on the teams to do that part. But I feel that I could now handle a community manager role as part of a customer service role.
Blog and website services - definitely still very much in demand. It's a huge time suck for people who think they can learn to do it themselves. VAs try, and it often puts them months and months behind of getting their business started. You have to invest in getting something done properly - and quickly. It's so worth it. The only thing you really need to be able to do it easily make changes to content once it's live, so no custom work.
But as a service for VAs it's a great one - offer levels of service packages so that you have different investments for people. Blogging is a great hand in hand service for website VAs too, mainly because it happens more frequently - like weekly. Once a site is done, it's done and maintenance packages can be hard to sell. But if you also offer blog publishing along with a maintenance package you can continue working with your clients after their site is done. If you want to ha ha
Funnels and lead magnets can also fall under website development. Setting up people opt ins or registration pages (landing pages) can also be part of tech support which is our final in demand services.
Tech support is the final in demand service I want to talk about in this episode. Again it takes a certain level of skill or training, but it also has a variety of services that you can offer your clients. What can be part of tech support? Well landing pages, opt ins and registration pages or sales pages can be , as I just mentioned. But tech also includes things like CRMs, events (all the new online meetings but there are still online trainings). Course creation. Membership sites, Ecommerce sites. Podcasts.
All of these things are really in demand, and some clients even use all of them, depending on which industry you have decided to target.
What does providing an in demand service do for you, the VA? You can earn more money, you can work with higher level clients, you can only do what you want, you can invest in training that is useful for your growth, and more.
There are a lot of services that bridge more than one of these categories, but I hope I've given you some tips on what you can focus on - or change in your business - to start bumping up your rates and finding even better clients.
Clients who will appreciate you, value you, rave about you to their colleagues - who will also want to work with you (that's what happened for me!). Be in demand, with in demand service offerings!
Need Some Help?
If I can help you pick the best services you can offer your clients (and price them right!), reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!
When you are a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant, your business will work for you. Many VAs go into business so that they can be more present for their family, but then fail to establish the right boundaries and routines to balance your work life and your home life. In this episode we will talk about what you need to do to be a great business woman AND a great family member.
We all start our Virtual Assistant businesses with the intention of 'not' going back to a J-O-B. But sometimes plans don't work out, and we find ourselves struggling. In this episode, I'll show you what it takes to stay in business long-term - and still love being a VA!
In this episode, we talk about the reasons that a client might ghost you - and what to do it if happens to you. Have you ever signed a client, and then never heard from them again? Almost all Virtual Assistants deal with a client who disappears at some point. Handling your VA client relationship well can help ensure that this never happens in your VA business.
We all get the same amount of time in a day, and how we use it largely affects our success or failure. But as a Virtual Assistant, time is also money. The better we manage our time, the better the VA we become. We help our clients get things done more efficiently, manage multiple clients more effectively, and avoid wasting time - and even stress and burnout.
If you don't set goals because you never achieve them, you are not alone. Many Virtual Assistants abandon goal setting because they aren't successful with it. But setting goals helps you grow and build your business. In this episode, we talk about simple goal setting that works. I'll teach you my process that helps you love goal setting!
Do you really need a business plan for your Virtual Assistant business? The short answer is yes. To succeed in your business, you need to have a plan. And planning begins with your business plan. In this episode, we'll talk about the parts of a simple business plan. The business plan is your foundation to outline your business, how you will earn money, and much more.
Being a Virtual Assistant is much more than doing the tasks your clients need. Great VAs help the client feel more supported, but also help you get more done, make more money, and become more in demand. In this episode, I'll share 10 qualities that make a Ridiculously Good VA.
How would you rate your ability to communicate well with your Virtual Assistant clients? Practicing excellent business communication is something that can make you become a much better VA. In this episode of The Ridiculously Good VA Show, we talk about what you can do to uplevel your communication skills, so that you and your client work more efficiently, more accurately, and how doing so can help you grow your business and make more money too!
Staying in our comfort zone as Virtual Assistants is, well, comfortable. But success lies on the other side of the comfort zone. In this episode of The Ridiculously Good VA Show, we'll talk about what Virtual Assistants like you can do to move yourself through fear and anxiety to achieve the success you want.