How Do You Take Your Virtual Assistance Business to Six Figures?
August 29, 2007
That is the question I am most often asked by people who want to do what I do or who are currently doing what I do but just aren’t able to take it to that next level. How do you make six-figures a year and still have time for family, a life and all other fun things?
The answer is actually quite simple - time management and doing ONLY what I need to do to push my business forward.
Time Management
Have you ever wondered where your days go? Do you find that you look back on your day and think, “Gosh, I didn’t get done anything I set out to get done today!” I used to be like that. Once I realized how little I was actually getting done, I made it my mission to change that. Now, I follow the following guidelines:
- Make Lists
Lists are important in many ways. They act as your guiding path to getting things done. If you write out a list of what you need to accomplish every night before bed, you’ll have a perfect starting point for your morning. You’ll be less distracted by blogging, checking others blog feeds, answering pointless e-mail, etc. You’ll know what you need to do and as you sleep, your subconscious will already be working out solutions to your problems. - Get Up Early
Sometimes it’s tempting to sleep in after working a really late night but don’t! Get up early and do what I do. Each morning I get up around 7:30 AM and before I even venture into my office to my computer I clean my house. I put laundry on, I do dishes, etc. Whatever needs to get done is done before I go to work. Therefore, I don’t have that guilt clouding up my head while I work! - Set Your E-mail Up the Right Way
Don’t let it send/receive every two minutes. That’s just way too often and you’ll spend more time checking e-mail than you will doing work! I have mine set to every ten minutes and I’m slowly pushing that back. I want to move it to once an hour. I use Basecamp to manage projects so if there is a real emergency that can not wait the hour, my client will post it in Basecamp.
In the next blog entry, I’ll focus on what I mean by only doing what you NEED to be doing as opposed to what you think you SHOULD be doing or WANT to do.
Technorati Tags: The VA Coach, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, six-figures per year, six-figure business, six-figure income, six-figure virtual assistant, six-figure VA, VA
Giving Away Free Hours in Your Virtual Assistance Business
August 27, 2007
Dear VA Coach:
I am a new virtual assistant and I am trying to launch and expand my virtual assistance business. I have seen other VAs offer free hours for new clients so that they can test drive their services. Do you recommend this?
- S.L.
No - absolutely not. I don’t recommend giving away free hours, discounting your hours for a ‘trial run’ or any other reduction in your fees. As business owners, we must recognize the importance of keeping our value in tact.
If you are worried about potential clients running for the hills when they hear your prices, here is some good advice.
Remove your rates and fee structure from your website.
Let people contact you, learn a little more about you and figure out how you’ll improve their lives before you give up what you charge. In my experience, the people who have scheduled a complimentary phone call to discuss their needs first convert into clients. If you just tell someone, “My rates are $40 per hour” they are not going to recognize the value in what that hourly rate represents.
Part of being your own marketer and salesperson requires you to do a bit of ‘pitching’ when you talk to potential clients. Tell them what your hourly rate includes, how you track your time, what services you offer, what value-added services or products you add to that hourly rate (ie: Basecamp project management software or an e-book that will help them with working with you) and anything else that makes the $40 per hour seem worth it.
If someone e-mails you and says, “How much do you charge?” don’t respond with your rate info.
Instead, tell them that in order for you to properly quote a rate, you need to learn more about what it is they need in their business. You can say that every single client has different needs and you like to learn more about them, their company and their anticipated needs for a virtual assistant.
Once you are on the phone with them and you’ve had a good conversation, they’ll more than likely ask for your rates and at this time it’s appropriate to offer them that information.
Just by doing those two things, you won’t feel like you have to throw your hours at someone to entice them to be your client. Do good work, get referrals and build your business through word of mouth and you won’t have a need to do that.
Technorati Tags: Discounted hours, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, giving hours away for free, giving away hours, virtual assistance business, VA, virtual assistant advice, virtual assistance advice, The VA Coach, Erin Blaskie, rates
Client Relations - How Do You Deal With Bad Apples?
August 22, 2007
As a business owner for the last three years, I have had my fair share of wonderful clients and a few not-so-wonderful clients. This happens in business and although some of us would prefer not to think that those bad apples exist, they do.
Looking back over the years got me thinking about how bad apples creep into virtual assistance client rosters and I think that it happens more often in a business that is setup like ours is. I have some great friends who are also virtual assistants and I’ve seen it happen to them as well. They have clients who aren’t treating them in an appropriate way and therefore, they either suffer or they fire them and move on.
I often wonder why this happens in the business of a virtual assistant. I think it boils down to differences in personality or working style and the perception of the assistant / “boss” role. When a business owners makes a decision to hire a virtual assistant, if they do not approach it the right way they could easily believe they are hiring someone who will work under them. They treat the working relationship like they are back in the corporate world and dismiss the VA as being a real business owner.
If a situation arises in my business where a client acts unprofessionally (that happens too!) and does something that goes against my beliefs as a business owner, I let them know that I can not work with someone who doesn’t view the value of our relationship. I strive to build teams with each of my clients to help move their business’ forward. To do that, I need to know that we have reciprocal trust, respect and excitement for what is ahead in their business.
If you are a virtual assistant, how do you deal with clients who happen to fall in the ‘bad apple’ category? If you are a client of a virtual assistant, how do you value your virtual assistant and what perceptions do you think some business owners have about virtual assistants? Lastly, if you are a business owner in general, what do you do to ensure you have a mutually happy relationship with your clients or customers?
Technorati Tags: virtual assistant, virtual assistance, client relations, client relationships, VA
Cross USA: Living the Four-Hour Work Week… Tim Ferriss, I Thank You!
August 17, 2007
Check out my latest post at The Traveling VA…
Technorati Tags: The Traveling VA, The Traveling Virtual Assistant, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, Tim Ferriss, Timothy Ferriss, The Four Hour Work Week, The Four-Hour Work Week, 4HWW, outsourcing, outsource, outsourced, assistant, assistance, CN8, lumberjack, Erin Blaskie, Steve Blaskie, Trina Lamarche, VA Assistant, Basecamp, project management, new rich
Following Up With Inquiries in Your Business
August 17, 2007
Dear Erin, The VA Coach:
I was wondering how to follow up by e-mail with potential clients? I had a potential client e-mail to say he would follow up with me in the next few days but he hasn’t and I’m not sure how to proceed. Should I call to follow up with this? Or you do have any suggestions on a good contact email to send?
Thanks!
- A.W.
Following up is one of the biggest ways to make potential clients into REAL clients. If you leave the inquiries to fend for themselves, they’ll get lost in the sea of other virtual assistants and might never make it back to your part of the sea! To make sure you turn these questions into YES’ES, follow these steps:
- Send a thank you card. Yes, this really works! I use a service called Send VA Cards. This service allows me to send thank you cards (and other cards) to potential clients to thank them for their time and to let them know that if they have any questions, I am happy to answer them.
- Send a brief e-mail thanking them for the opportunity to meet with them in regards to their business’ needs and ask them if there is anything else they need clarification on to make a decision.
- Send them a resource, a blog posting or some other valuable piece of information that is related to their needs. If you discussed blog design, send them a blog post that compares the different types of blogging software on the web. If you talked about administrative services, send them a tool that you find useful in that area of your business.
The thing is, most business owners will appreciate your knowledge and expertise and will think of that as a reflection on your services as a whole. The first impression you give them is often the way your working relationship will go so impress them on the onset!
Have a question you want to ask The VA Coach? E-mail Erin at info@thevacoach.com.
Technorati Tags: Follow up, following up, business inquiries, potential clients, following up with potential clients, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, VA
How Do I Decide What to Specialize In?
August 16, 2007
Dear Erin, The VA Coach:
I have been looking at other virtual assistant’s websites and I notice they have specialized services or skills that they are more known for. How can I specialize in something and make myself known for something in particular?
- P.L
Specializing in something is one of the smartest things you can do. Why? Well, it allows you to do a few things:
- Become known in your industry for something in particular. Let’s face it, there are a lot of virtual assistants out there and a lot of them offer the same services. If you can set yourself apart from the ‘crowd’ and specialize in something in particular (especially something not many VAs are offering) you can become known in your industry for that service or product.
- It allows you to charge more. When you specialize in something - be it blog design, shopping carts, bookkeeping, legal, real estate, etc. - you become one of the smaller groups of virtual assistants who offer that as a service therefore you are going to be in higher demand. When the demand is high and supply is short, prices are higher… (thank you Marketing prof!)
- You can more easily develop info-products. When you are submersed in a topic or specialization, you can easily create info-products from that specialty. You’ll instantly have platform - a place to sell your products from - and you’ll also be able to have a lot of content built up already for the product.
The second part of finding your specialty is to decide what it is you want to specialize in. To figure this part out, make a list of the skills you have and then look through that list to see if there is anything that is unique in nature. If there is something that you can do that not many people can (ie: graphic design or website design), you can then market that service more heavily than your other services.
Don’t be afraid to break out and say, “I’m good at X” and leave your other services to follow behind.
In my business, people come to me first and foremost for my experience in internet marketing and consulting to virtual businesses. Secondarily, they notice I can do blog design, web design, and graphic design. Then the rest of my services follow.
So go out and SPECIALIZE!
Have a question you want to ask The VA Coach? E-mail Erin at info@thevacoach.com.
Technorati Tags: Specialization, specializing, specialize, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, virtual assistance services, VA services, virtual assistant services
Professional vs. Self-Taken Photographs
August 15, 2007
Dear Erin, The VA Coach:
I was wondering about photographs for my website. I have a photo on there now but I’m not quite sure it suits. It was taken by my husband at our Christmas party last year. What do you think?
- H.W.
This is a really important question and I’m glad it was asked! For photographs, it is really important to make sure that they are professional. When a potential client visits your website, you want them to instantly have a sense of who you are and in doing so, you want them to know that you are an experienced service provider.
That being said, it doesn’t mean that you have to spend thousands of dollars on an expensive photo shoot. Alternatively, here are some ideas to avoid having to dish out the big bucks:
- Ask a friend. If you have a friend who has a fairly good camera, ask him or her to take some photos of you. Get your hair done, put on a really nice business suit and sit somewhere appropriate. You can even do them outdoors if you wish!
- Go to a family photo center. You know the department stores that offer children and family photos for really cheap? Go there after getting dressed up in an appropriate outfit and have them shoot some photos of you in a variety of positions - sitting, standing, etc.
- Ask a professional to do just one shot of you. You don’t need hundreds - you just need one good head shot to use on your website and promotional materials.
If you want to check out some of my photos, here are a couple:
These were taken by Creative Captures Photography (who happens to be my mother-in-law!) and she comes highly, highly recommend.
Have a question you want to ask The VA Coach? E-mail Erin at info@thevacoach.com.
Technorati Tags: Professional photographs, professional photographs for business, business photographs, business head shot, Creative Captures Photography, Creative Captures, Mertina Blaskie, Erin Blaskie, The VA Coach, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, VA
New Product Announcement! “Why You Need an Assistant in Your Virtual Assistance Business”
August 14, 2007
Have you ever thought?
- I feel so overwhelmed with my workload…
- I don’t have time to work on my OWN work!
- I am so frustrated!
- I am working double the hours to complete all my tasks!
- I feel like I don’t even know what weekends are anymore!
If you are thinking any of the above thoughts, why haven’t you considered getting an assistant to help you out? I cannot tell you how much an assistant will improve your life, business and personal. Some of the key factors are:
- More time with family and friends
- More time for your hobbies and/or interests
- More time to complete work you’ve been putting aside
- More time to complete the tasks for your own business
- More time in general!
If you’ve thought about any of this before, you need to take a look at the new e-book that I co-wrote with The VA Assistant (The Virtual Assistant’s Assistant). This book will show you how to use an assistant in your virtual assistance business and how to maximize your income by doing so.
This book will - most importantly - give you FREEDOM to do what you do best and pass everything else off to your assistant.
Think about it - we teach our clients every single day that they should be delegating… When will you start?
Click here to learn more and purchase today. This book is only a small investment of $29.95.
Technorati Tags: The VA Assistant, VA Assistant, Trina Lamarche, Erin Blaskie, BSETC, Business Services ETC, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, VA, delegating, delegation
Build Your Virtual Assistance Business Group Coaching Program - September 5, 2007
August 14, 2007
It’s official! The “Build Your Virtual Assistance Business” group coaching program is back and is launching September 5, 2007. There is an early bird discount available until August 31, 2007 and we’re only letting in 15 people so HURRY!
With a brand new online learning environment, more resources than ever, additional ‘teachers’, bonus audios and more, this is going to be our HOTTEST group coaching program yet.
Find out more information and join by visiting:
http://www.thevacoach.com/groupcoaching/8week-build.html
Technorati Tags: virtual assistant, virtual assistance, VA, virtual assistant coaching, virtual assistance coaching, VA coaching, The VA Coach, build your virtual assistance business, build your VA business, build a VA business, build your VA business