Do you want to start a VA business ( you know you can do it ), but feel left in the dark on the process HOW?
This Masterclass is about painting the entire picture for you so you can know exactly what you need to do next to launch the biz of your dreams!
Virtual Assistants are usually organized and practical people. We like to see the whole picture so we understand all of the steps we will need to take. I want to paint this entire picture for you.
Before I detail the 5 Step Business plan, let’s address two obstacles that get in the way:
1. We circle around the dream.
We spend so much time researching and downloading all of the freebies, but never actually take any action. It is like a vulture that just continues to circle around it’s dinner. The difference between a vulture that keeps circling and the one who gets the prize is the dive bomb! In order to build our dream, we have to dive into action!!
2. We don’t make it a priority.
Another common obstacle is not prioritizing building your business. Think about how you are spending your time. Could you watch a little less Netflix or wake up one hour earlier and have a business already? Building a business is not something you can just slowly chip away at. You have to make time to put in the work.
You will notice I did NOT mention the lack of skills being an obstacle. This is a pseudo obstacle that we make up to hold us back. You do not need to learn more skills before starting your virtual assistant business. This is procrastination and lack of confidence standing in your way.
There are some foundational pieces of running your own business that you will want to set up in the very beginning. You will want to understand business licenses, what your business looks like from the eyes of the government come tax time, and banking for your business. This is so much easier to set up in the very beginning, rather than waiting and having to reflect and set it up in hindsight. I help my students do inside of Emerge, a group program designed to remove the overwhelm and set up your business. If you are not in Emerge, you can get started by going to your government website and research “sole proprietorship.” Here you will find specific information to your location about how to register your business.
In addition to registering your business, you will need to understand banking and taxes as an entrepreneur! This is where we start to have to make the shift from an employee mindset to an entrepreneur mindset. You are now in charge of purchasing supplies for your business and documenting your expenses so that you can report both your income AND expenses at tax time. As a virtual assistant, you are now the boss!! This means you have to make sure you are setting aside taxes to pay the government. It sounds scary, but it is actually really empowering to have control over all of your business financials!
Now we start to step into some of the more fun things! You get to create your Virtual Assistant Profile. This is our version of a resume, but so much better! You send this document to future clients so that they can get a better idea of who you are and if you are a fit for their business. This can be created TONIGHT!! You do not need VA experience to create a profile. Your Virtual Assistant Profile will include your soft skills, like leadership or organization, and your hard skills, such as being familiar with Google Drive. Everyone already has applicable skills regardless of your background!
You do not need a website to get started.
You do not need a portfolio to get started.
You do not need testimonials to get started.
All you need is a Virtual Assistant Profile to send to potential clients.
After setting up your VA Profile, you also need to establish your Virtual Assistant prices and packages. Once a client is ready to work with you, they will ask you about your packages and prices! Your packages could be as simple as a bundle of hours the client purchases from you or you could get more complex and bundle a set of tasks you will complete within a package. For each package, you will need to set a specific price. You want to know this information before a potential client reaches out to you so that you are not scrambling for answers. No one should be working for less than $20 per hour! Ideally your minimum is $25 per hour!! Remember you are your own boss now, and you are in charge of your own benefits! This should all be worked in to your pricing.
This is the scariest part because it makes your business feel real! This is when the vulture stomps circling and starts to take action to dive bomb for it’s food!!
I like to think of finding clients like dating. We can sit in our living room and wait for someone to just pop up in our living room and want to be with us forever, which we all know won’t actually happen, OR we can start swiping or go out into the world and start meeting people, flirting, and having conversations. You have to do the same thing when you are looking for clients!
When you are finding clients, you want to avoid freelance platforms like Upwork, Indeed, and Fivrr. You can find clients through other methods that make your business wayyy easier! When you go the more active route, you do not have to worry about these platforms taking a portion of your income or restricting your business with contracts. I ran a free Masterclass where I went into more detail specifically on this topic. I recommend you go and take a listen if you are currently using any of these freelancer type of platforms.
During this step, you get to interact with potential clients! This is when you get to think about if there is a specific type of client you want to work with!! Do you want to serve moms? Would you like to work with travel based businesses? Are you interested in supporting LGTBQ+ entrepreneurs? OR is your ideal client just the first person that wants to pay you? It doesn’t matter if you are motivated by leaving your 9-5 or if you are motivated to work with a specific type of client! This is YOUR business!! It gets to be what you want it to be!
Some of you may choose to go ahead and lean into a specific skill set that you already possess and niche into a service around this skill set! On the other hand, you may want to dabble in a lot of different niches and learn as much as possible, while figuring out what you want to prioritize later on in business. You get to decide the route you want to take while looking for clients, but know that you can always pivot in the future!
You found someone who said “YES!! Let’s work together!” But what actually happens next? You will want to be organized in how you onboard this new client. This is the foundation of your working relationship with them. The onboarding process is like a first date. There are a few things you want to establish and get out of the way in order to create a positive relationship.
Onboarding includes sending an agreement or a contract. This allows you to set boundaries and structure this new client relationship. You will outline details about how you will communicate, what happens if their payment is late, or how do you handle their information. Creating a clear agreement saves you from having resentment further on down the relationship because both you and your client are clear on the boundaries within the relationship.
Invoicing is an important part of onboarding new clients! You want to make sure you are able to get paid!! You will need to think about what software you want to use to be able to receive money and how you will connect this to a bank account. This is all apart of running your own business.
Steps 1 through 3 are basic business set up steps. By the time you get to step 4, you are already in business, making money, getting clients, and doing the work!! Now you get to refine your skills WHILE you are working with clients and building your roster.
You do not have to wait until you think you are an expert in an area that you think clients want in order to get started! The reality is that you will actually discover this information while you are working with clients!
I started out as a remote executive assistant because I had admin expereince. I did things that ANYONE could have done! While I was working as a virtual assistant, I was exposed to email marketing. I had NEVER heard of it before!! Turns out I loved email marketing and was really good at it! I would have never been able to master this skill if I was trying to become an expert before looking for clients. Skills is something you will ALWAYS be learning! You will never know enough, but that means that we get to constantly be learning!
Now that you have your Virtual Assistant business, you are making money, and you are refining your skills, you get to think about what is next! Virtual Assisting is like a gateway drug into the online business world. A lot of you will start as a VA, but then you will go on to do something else!
Do you want to become an OBM?
Is it time to niche into an area that you love?
Are your ready to hire your own team because so many people want to work with you?
Do you want to take your online skills and start a second business?
During this phase you will also want to start raising your rates! You have increased your skillset, and you have improved your productivity, it is time to start getting paid more by your current clients.
This is also when you get to think about how you want to market your business! But I want to point out that this is step 5. DO NOT use creating a website as an excuse to not actually start! You simply do not need one to grow a successful business. For some of you though, you will want to create a website at this stage. This can serve as a way to easily book new clients or to sell passive offers. Some of you may just want to market your business through creating social media content to help you to attract and nurture potential clients. The possibilities are endless!!
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See you next time!
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