For some reason, many VAs I know think that they should instinctively know how to do everything in their business.
They actually criticize themselves if they don’t know how to do something – like finances, strategic planning, analytics, marketing, networking, sales. These are all of the things that you need to learn to be a successful business owner.
But these things don’t come naturally – to anyone, believe it or not!!
You need to learn them, like you’ve learned anything else in life. And you need to practice them to get better at them.
There is a quote by Thomas Edison that sits on the top of my computer monitor: Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
This is, far and away, one of my favourite motivational quotes.
Don’t expect to know everything when you start out (or even if you have been in business for a long time).
Take the time to learn things and then practice them to get better at them.
Here are a few examples:
Strategic Planning – many VAs get hung up here. They aren’t sure what they need to plan, so they don’t do any planning. Being reactive in your business definitely costs you money. Take the time to determine what you want to do in your business (do you want to get new clients, offer new services, expand your team, succession plan?) and then build a strategy around that. If you don’t know how the strategy needs to be put together, get someone to help you do that. And then implement that ‘way’ into various areas of your business. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.
Sales – Count your last 10 sales conversations. Did you get any new clients? If you didn’t get at least 7, you are not doing it right. But the good news is you just need more practice. It can be discouraging to hear ‘no’ on a sales call, and it’s not even necessary. I tell all of my students, when you are on a sales call, the client is there for a reason. They know they need your services, so you need to get to the root of what they need and how you can help them. That’s all, really. The more conversations you have the better you will get at them. But the key is to identify what you are doing wrong and to correct it – get help here if you aren’t sure what you are doing wrong!
Analytics – If you aren’t analyzing what you are doing in your business, how can you be sure it’s working for you? Are you spending hours ‘networking’ but aren’t getting new clients? Then you are missing something in your plan. Learn what you need to analyze and how to use the numbers to make subtle (or big!) changes in your business, and you will see more success. Analyze everything – from your website traffic to your opt in rates to your interaction on social media, to your networking and sales. What are you doing that’s working (hint: do more of that!) and what you are doing that’s not (hint: make changes here!)
Business stuff is just like anything else. You need to practice it to get better at it. And you need to make changes when things don’t work. They key is to have a plan and strategy and to monitor it all along the way.
Get help if you feel like you are lost or don’t know what you are doing. It’s the quickest path to learning what you need to know (so that you can practice it!)
As Thomas Edison says, you are so much closer to success than you even realize. Don’t stop short!
If you need help, feel free to connect with me at tracey@yourvamentor.com.