When I coach Virtual Assistants around money, we often come to an uncomfortable conversation.
I have to ask pointed and direct questions.
It’s not to be mean or catch them off guard. It’s to get to the real issue behind something they are struggling with.
Recently, I had a conversation with a VA who wanted to package her services.
Actually, more accurately – her business coach wanted her to package her services so she could make more money each month.
That’s always a funny piece of advice to me… a business coach is directing someone to do something. (That’s not the role of a business coach, fyi).
I mean, it sounds good. The coach wants you to make more money. Yay! And they’re telling you how to do it (kind of).
Yes, we all need to make as much money as we can from our business.
But creating packages so you can make more money is… not the right advice.
In my opinion, you are missing the biggest issue with this line of thinking. Which is…
Why aren’t you making enough money right now?
No matter how you parcel up your services, if you aren’t billing your current clients enough right now, how is this supposed to change with a package?
I speak with a lot of VAs who have gotten similar advice from business coaches or colleagues. Not earning enough? Start creating packages!
But packages don’t magically earn us more money if we aren’t running our business properly right now.
We need to address the problem of ‘not enough money’ and fix that before we do anything else.
And yes, there are lots of great reasons to create packages – for you, and for your clients. But…
You still need to identify (and fix!) the reason you are not making enough money right now.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Are you not charging enough? Look at what you are charging each client, and what they are billing on a regular basis. If you are doing enough work for a client but their invoice at the end of the month is not enough, it could just be time to raise your rates.
Are you not billing enough? Same exercise as above. Look at your daily task list and time log. Maybe you are missing billable time – things that you do for a client that you forget to record. Be more diligent with your time management and time tracking. Remember everything you do for a client is their billable time – emails, meetings, project management. Don’t miss anything!
Are you doing less work for your clients than you expect? When we start working with clients who will just send us work when they need it done, this is what can happen. Put a system in place to get what you need from your clients every week. Don’t wait around for them to call you. Be proactive and hold them to what they say they want to get done. Also, get more clients if you have space in your calendar!
Are you working with the right clients? If your clients are startups on strict budgets, they might not be committed to doing the things they told you they want to do. Finding busy clients who have strategies and action plans in place is the best way to get busy yourself! Avoid chasing clients for stuff to do, and work with people who are busy, and rely on you.
If you have any of these issues in your business, you need to fix them first before you consider creating packages.
You will earn more money when you find and correct the reason that money has become an issue for you.
And then you can decide if it’s time to do more.
Packages are an excellent step when you are busy and you want to streamline the work you do, the people you work with, your time management and tracking, and your billing process.
But if money’s your issue, that has to be what you focus on first.
If you want some regular help with identifying what’s going wrong in your business so you can fix it easily, our Inspired community is the place for you. The Inspired Action VA Mastermind is a tight knit group of professionals who are getting things done in our businesses because we have the support we need to do it. It’s a (very) low-cost, high-value coaching alternative. If you are struggling through your VA business, check out this group to see if it’s the right time for you! Our next session starts in just a few weeks.