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 struggles VAs face – and often don’t even talk about.
Today’s Quote: I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. – Steve Jobs
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
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.
But I digress! The conference was amazing, and I will definitely be planning to get back into live events as soon as possible.
The reason I’m talking about that conference is that 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.
I mean, if you are coming out to spend time with me live, I want to make sure you get the most out of it – and that’s one great way to do it.
Well I have to tell you, some people wrote a couple of things. I ended up with 56 struggles in that room. That one 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.
Because you might be dealing with some of these issues, and I want to help you.
In no particular order, here are the four I will talk about in this episode:
- Getting Things Done
- Working for Free/Not Charging For Work
- Fear of Doing Something Wrong
- Feeling Inadequate
Getting Things Done
It surprises me so often that being organized and working efficiently are such big issues for VAs.
I mean, I don’t expect everyone to be amazingly organized, but it is one of the things that many of us pride ourselves on as admin professionals.
So why is it that getting things done comes up so often?
I have a theory. In a job situation, we have one boss. Usually. We have a path of work that comes generally from one person. Or if we are doing things for more than one person, there is a hierarchy in the office anyway. If the marketing person needs something, and so does the CEO, well the CEO gets tended to first.
It’s a well known structure that helps us prioritize things.
But what happens when we open our own VA business? All of our clients are the priority. They all need stuff ‘now’. So we have trouble trying to figure out how to manage the expectations of everyone while working for multiple clients.
We also very often let our family dictate things for us, and they are our priority at home – and we are working from home, so the lines can get blurred.
And don’t even get me started on working ON your own VA business. That almost always gets put last.
So prioritization is a thing. And we need to figure it out, or we are going to be underwater every single day.
How do we do it? We need to develop boundaries, policies, and good practices that help us get the right amount of work done at any given time.
Using your calendar to map out your day, making sure your clients understand that you need a certain amount of lead time for every task, and ensuring that your family knows when office hours are.
These are all important things to implement in your business to ensure your sanity, and also to get things done.
The other part of getting things done is about your work pace. In a job situation, we weren’t always working to our most efficiency. What I mean is that we probably had deadlines, but we didn’t work on the clock. As a VA, time is money and getting things done in a certain period of time is what allows us to schedule ourselves accordingly. If you are struggling to get things done regularly, check your work pace. I bet there is room for improvement!
Working for Free/Not Charging for Work
I heard this so often from VAs and you know what, it’s almost always from the ones that are struggling.
They feel like they need to prove themselves to business owners.
First question – what on earth made the business owner more valuable than us? Look back at your work experience and all the trainings you have taken over the years. YOU are awesome. YOU are so talented. YOU are valuable.
YOU don’t need to work for free.
Working for free, or thinking you need to, or should, is a mindset issue.
Bet you didn’t even know that. But it is.
It has nothing to do with your abilities, but everything to do with your confidence. Or lack of it, as it happens.
We offer to work for free for people to prove that we can do the job. But we know we can do the job. We just aren’t articulating it to the client.
If you are considering working for free, don’t. Instead, work on your mindset so that you believe that you are the best VA to help that client. If you don’t believe it, they won’t either.
Confidently talk to business owners about why they need your support, and free work will never come into it.
The other part of working free is not charging the client for things that you are doing.
I used to hear this question all the time – do I charge my client for checking emails to see if they need anything? YES!
I hear it less now as a question – but I know it’s still a huge issue.
Anything that you are doing to work with your client is billable to them. If you are checking email, or answering a text, or listening to a voicemail, or updating a project management system – and that is how you are managing your client’s work, guess what – it’s on their dime!
I used to think that was my cost – overhead – or whatever. But it absolutely is not.
Why? Because if you have a client that requires a lot of communication, they need to pay for it. They need to pay you more than someone who is better organized, or better at communication.
If you are not charging your client for everything you do to help them, then you are leaving money – maybe lots of it – on the table.
Fear of Doing Something Wrong
Mistakes happen. People are human. People make mistakes. Our clients make mistakes too. It’s just a thing in life.
Doing something wrong can keep us really timid in business.
Of course we don’t want to make mistakes, and we don’t brush them off as no big deal, but if the fear of making a mistake is causing you to hold back in your business, that’s not good.
So what can we do to fix that feeling?
Learn. Do. Repeat.
Let’s bring this back right to the raw-est level. If you are scared, what specifically are you scared of?
What specific mistake is holding you back?
I have known VAs who couldn’t hit send on an email without having the client look it over. That’s fine when you first start, but then at some point you have to take the reins of the task and just get it done for them.
How can you make sure you don’t make a mistake with sending out an email?
Create a checklist that you follow every time you send one.
Copy and paste text or content that a client sends you.
Proofread out loud.
Send yourself a test.
Check all links and images.
Doublecheck the segment of the list you are sending to
There are a lot of steps you can put in to ensure that what goes out doesn’t have any errors in it.
Fear manifests because we are nervous about something. So you need to fix the nervousness.
You have to give yourself the tools you need to execute the tasks that have you worried.
And in the end, what’s the worst that can happen?
Merge tags were my kryptonite for emails. Errors I made included ‘firstname’ in the subject line or salutation. Broken links. Sideways images. Incorrect dates in the event calendar.
There is a lot of info that can go into an email. Did I ever make mistakes? Yep – all those once I mentioned above.
What happened? Well, we resent the email with the right information in it, and I apologized to my client.
Mistakes happen. You can apologize. You can fix it.
The key is to not make them often of course. And you do that by taking your time and giving yourself the tools to avoid the mistakes.
Feeling Inadequate
We talked about feeling inadequate a bit in my Imposter Syndrome episodes, but I want to include it here because it’s so important to be able to move through.
Feeling like you aren’t good enough is also a mindset issue.
So many of the things we struggle with in our VA business is about our mindset.
How can it not be?
We have to do things and say things every day that we probably never had to do or say in any job we have ever had.
We have to talk to clients about their money, about boundaries, and we have to manage their expectations, which are often very high, while we juggle multiple clients. Because without multiple clients we have no business. But they only have one support person – us.
So we struggle. It’s all so new.
The good news is, once you get some practice at those conversations they happen much more easily. Effortlessly, even.
But while we are in it, it can suck. I hear ya.
So how can we work through feelings of inadequacy, like the ‘who am I to help this person, or boss them around’.
We do the same thing again -we give ourselves the tools we need to do it.
Find an accountability partner, a group of trusted colleagues, a mentor, a coach, a confidante – someone who can PUMP YOUR TIRES when you need it.
Because girl, you’re going to need it. Even if you don’t struggle all the time with not feeling good enough.
I don’t even know what you do for services, but I can tell you that you are AMAZING.
You start a business! All of your own! And you know you have the skills to help lots of clients.
Figure out the thing that is making you feel like you aren’t good enough. I be it’s not even deep seated.
I bet it’s because you don’t like to talk money with a client. If not, do the math to see why you need to charge what you do. And talk to clients that need you and can afford you. Never mind the other ones.
I bet it’s because you are having trouble finding clients. If you are, learn how to find clients! I teach it all the time. Work with someone to learn what you don’t know and then get going.
I bet it’s because you call yourself a newbie. Knock that shit off. You might be new to business, but you aren’t new at the services you offer. You’ve been doing those for years. All that has changed is the location in which you do them. I’m so serious.
Feeling inadequate is fixable. Like quickly.
I want to circle back to today’s quote which is about perseverance. You’re not less than other VAs if you are having trouble. You just need some help to find your path to success. Perseverance is worth nothing at all if you aren’t following a proven path with real visual steps and results you can track.
If you aren’t doing that yet, it’s time to figure out what’s standing in your way.
I’m going to leave it here for today. I had five things on my list but I had to cut it down after I started making my notes for you.
I hope you get some help out of these. I’ll definitely share more struggles in upcoming episodes. Feel free to reach out and tell me yours so I can cover it too!
The Calgary conference gave me loads of materials to work with, and I have been, since 2019.
What You Need to Do Next:
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.
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.