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3 Ways Practice Makes Perfect

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… Read More »3 Ways Practice Makes Perfect

Getting VA Clients is Easy

I recently taught a training session on getting great clients. One of the things I hear VAs lament about all the time is the lack of clients. Or the lack of great clients. If they don’t have clients, they think there are none out there. If they do have clients, they think they need to do whatever the client wants to keep them. I mean, really, who likes to turn down money? But it’s not a way to build a sustainable, awesome business. When you are operating your VA business, YOU get to make the choices – how much to charge, what services to provide, and who you want to work with. If you aren’t comfortable making these three decisions, then you are missing an essential piece of your business. Getting clients is easy – all you have to do… Read More »Getting VA Clients is Easy

What’s The Right Price to Charge For Your VA Services?

How much do you charge for your services? How comfortable do you feel talking about money with clients or potential clients? Are you happy with how much money you end up with at the end of each month? Consider these three questions, and think about how you charge. If you are not reacting positively to all three of these questions, you may not be charging the right price. Pricing can be a huge challenge in any service business. Think about it, you are are asking people to pay for your value. Yes you are completing tasks for them, but really your value comes down to what you bring to the table. So how do you prove how valuable you are?… Read More »What’s The Right Price to Charge For Your VA Services?

Making Lemonade with Lemons In Your VA Business

You know those times that you look at something in your business and just go ‘ugh’? You know the things I mean … either you are looking at revenue that is lower than you expected, or expenses that are higher than expected, or working with a client you don’t adore, or doing tasks you don’t really enjoy. You know, all those things that make you stop and go ‘ugh’! Well the good news is that you are in charge! It’s your business! You can make changes any time you want to. And no one can tell you that you can’t make those changes. Really! How often do we NOT stop to realize that? We are the boss! So I say, when things get you down (big or small),… Read More »Making Lemonade with Lemons In Your VA Business

Do You Feel Like You Are All Alone in Your VA Business?

Do you ever feel like you are all alone in your business? It’s such a common feeling – because we are mainly solopreneurs, we spend a lot of our time on our own. Busy times take us away from the social atmosphere of working online and we can get lonesome, quickly. It happens to me all the time. If it happens to you, you are not alone! I’m not really talking about wanting to socialize though, not really. I’m talking about making decisions in our business on your own. Spending your own money on expenses. Feeling down about revenue if you aren’t making as much as you want. When we think we have to be an island, that’s when things… Read More »Do You Feel Like You Are All Alone in Your VA Business?

A Change Is As Good As A Rest

Have a look at your business. Your clients. Your revenue. Your marketing. Your website. Your general attitude. Do you still get up every morning raring to go? Does your task list get you excited to start your day? If you’re like many VAs (this one included sometimes!), you probably said no to that last question. It’s easy to settle into a routine that you just don’t love. When you get the clients and they start to pay you and then you stop looking for new clients … you can get bored. Or burned out. Or both! I challenge you to take some time to step back and really look at what you are doing on a day to day basis.… Read More »A Change Is As Good As A Rest

Taking Care of You, the CEO of Your Business!

Your Virtual Assistant business depends on you as a service professional. Your clients buy you. Your work, generally speaking, gets done by you. You are the CEO, so all decisions are made by you. If you are not working at near 100%, your business suffers. Your clients suffer. Your bank account suffers. So why aren’t you taking better care of yourself? This past week I was lucky to attend a VA conference. There were about 70 of us who descended on Myrtle Beach to share ideas, learn, teach and generally build relationships. It was a fabulous conference – one of the best ones I have ever been to. The women who come to it are real friends – they understand… Read More »Taking Care of You, the CEO of Your Business!

Ready to Quit Being A Virtual Assistant?

I see this situation all the time. You’ve hung out your shingle, you’ve set up your website, you offer every service under the sun. You have no clients. Or, you have a few clients but you are doing all kinds of different things for them. There is no system to your day or your workflow. Or, you have many clients and you are working morning, noon and night to get your client work done. Whatever the circumstance, you are frustrated. You are tired. You are ready to quit. You often think about just going and getting a job. And maybe that’s the right decision. But it’s probably not. I’ve been in this situation many, many times, like a lot of my colleagues. It’s time to step back and have a look… Read More »Ready to Quit Being A Virtual Assistant?