Today’s Quote: If you look really closely, most overnight successes took a long time. – Steve Jobs
Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today we are talking about longevity in business. We all start our Virtual Assistant businesses expecting to be doing it for the long haul, but sometimes our actions do not allow us to do that.
So in today’s episode I’ll talk about a few different ways that you can set yourself up for success (and hint: it’s has a lot to do with embracing change at many different turns!)
Click the play button above to tune in, or choose your favourite podcast player below:
Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
I have so many tips for you today on how to build your VA business so you will be around for many years to come. Let’s get right to it – I hope you have a pen and some paper!
Set your expectations
Make sure you know what you want from your business – what do you want it to be able to do for you? how will you help your clients? how will that help their clients? and them? What is your vision from the time you decide to start? Set those expectations – why you are in business, and why a job just won’t bring you the same things.
Focus on your main initiative all the time
I started doing thing several years ago and it works. Look at the things you are doing on a daily basis and check in with yourself. Is what you are doing right now contributing to the main goal you have? If not, it is not serving you. For example, look at what you are doing to market your business. Is everything you are doing (ie social media) working for you? If not, adapt it or simply stop doing it and replace it with something else that will get you further to your goal.
Do what you love
This is kind of a no brainer but it bears repeating! You must love what you are doing to stay in business long term. What is the point of doing anything for a long time if you don’t enjoy it?
Build relationships
To grow your business, the people that you connect with every day are important. Make sure you are connecting and building relationships with great business owners – and don’t be afraid to change up your clients when a better one comes along!
Set your rates properly
First of all, set it and forget it is NOT the right way. You have to consistently raise your rates or change them so that your clients are always paying you for your expertise. No matter what level you are at, this is one of the main keys to success. No money, no business.
Know your numbers
– Don’t be afraid of analytics or money. You need to know what to look at in your business to see how things are going. You need to be able to see where your time is being spent, where your leads are coming from, where most of your revenue is coming from, and many other things. That way when you need more revenue, you know what to do. These are called Key Performance Indicators and they are different for everyone. What should you be tracking?
Money
Know what you need to bring in to run your business (the bare minimum, and the daily sales). Keep a daily revenue tracker – it shows you how much money you have brought in – but it also shows you the opportunities. If you are only getting paid on the 1st you are leaving money on the table.
Pay your bills
Make sure you pay what you owe, to the government, to your suppliers, to your team, and to yourself – you can’t stay in business long term if you run out of money = or people who want to work with you (including yourself!)
Create systems and processes for growth
When you document all of your business processes, it is easy to have people step in and help you in the areas that you need it. Whether you bring on subcontractors or team members, or engage other independent contractors or VAs to work for you, make sure all is being done according to your high standard ways.
Outsource when the time is right.
If you need a bookkeeper, a VA, a gardener, a house cleaner, a web developer and project manager, or just a one off project like a course system setup, someone to build your processes, or building your website – find great people and trust them to do the things they are best at.
Diversify your revenue streams when the time is right
Teach, consult, create passive income. But not till you are maxxxxxed out on client work! Become an expert and then showcase them with different services/revenue streams.
Stand out
Be visible, connect, build relationships, but also brag! Tell people about who you work with and how you help them. Collect testimonials. Provide amazing service to all of your clients all the time.
Stay the course
Keep at it. if things seem hard, get help to course correct. It shouldn’t be crazy hard. Keep your goals and your focus in mind all the time. Keep an eye on your important trackable stuff – money, connections, KPIs. Don’t be afraid to grow in the areas that build up quickly.
There is no such thing as an overnight success. It takes time, but when you walk the path one step at at time, you will get there. I promise!
That’s all I have for you this week. Go out there and be a ridiculously good VA!
What You Need to Do Next:
If I can help you set up your VA business for long=term success, 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!
That’s all I’ve got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.