Increasing Your Rates the Smart Way
February 26, 2008
In your virtual assistance business, do you find yourself quoting a rate and then wishing you hadn’t said that? Maybe thinking something was ‘easy’ at first but realizing you should have charged more and now being in a spot where you don’t know how to ask for what you deserve?
I’ve been there too.
Now, I’ve developed a system that helps me to continue to earn what I deserve and to deal with existing clients rates too. I wanted to share my system with all of you in case you are feeling slightly boxed in when it comes to your rate.
The first thing to remember is that you are a business owner and you decide your rates. You are not an employee asking for a raise and you certainly don’t have to set your rates according to what other people think you are worth.
The second thing to note is that you can increase your rates once you gain new experience. The best way to do this is to charge your new clients a higher rate and keep your old clients at their issued rate for at least six months to a year. When that time comes that you feel comfortable making a rate change, e-mail the client at least 30 days in advance and tell them about the rate increase and explain why you are increasing your rates.
The third thing is to feel confident about your new rate. It’s easy to feel insecure about charging a higher rate but if you don’t, other people will and you’ll be the virtual assistant doing the same work for lesser pay! So, be proud of the fact that you’ve reached a stage in your business where a rate change makes sense and honor that. Stay proud, confident and know why you are worth it.
Technorati Tags: Erin Blaskie, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, VA Coach, The VA Coach, virtual assistant coach, virtual assistance coach, rate increase, increasing your rates
Are You Over-Spending in Your VA Business?
February 22, 2008
When I started my business back in 2004, I began it with very little cash flow. For the longest time, that worked perfectly - in fact, I even wrote a report about it called ‘What Advertising Budget?‘ which I give away to my group coaching participants.
In this report, I discuss the various ways that you can get advertising and publicity for your business without spending a dime. It seems that some virtual assistants enter their brand new business with the mindset of, ‘I need to spend money to make money’ and while I agree that in some cases this is true, it is not necessarily true of virtual assistance businesses.
The thing is, you could purchase every gadget out there, every recommended tool, every recommended training, every single info-product but really, at the end of the day, is spending all of that cash going to get you ahead? You might be thinking, ‘Well, learning all of those new things helps me to attract more clients!’ Right… I agree with you. However, can you really effectively learn ALL of that at once? If the answer is NO, then pace yourself.
Spend a little bit at a time when it feels right and makes sense to do so. Don’t just run out and buy something because someone else says you need it. Get what YOU feel you need based on what your business asks for (ie: a new client needs you to have Dreamweaver…) and ignore the rest.
Technorati Tags: Erin Blaskie, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, VA Coach, The VA Coach, virtual assistant coach, virtual assistance coach
Passive Reve-what?
February 20, 2008
I thought this was an appropriate title for a very important topic of discussion. This topic is passive revenue and if your business isn’t yet bringing in passive revenue, you better change that and quick!
So, what is passive revenue? Passive revenue, in my own terms, is income that you generate by doing nothing. Now, don’t get me wrong, for the most part it isn’t truly “nothing” but rather doing something once (ie: creating an ebook) and earning income from it for years to come.
This is a key quality of business owners and entrepreneurs who earn income while they sleep. They do this not by trading their time for money but rather their expertise for money. Their product for money. The beauty of this type of business setup is that it is actually quite easy to do!
What makes a good passive revenue item? Well, that depends on the business you are in. Ebooks, special reports, audio programs, teleseminars, etc. all make great passive revenue items. The key is to find something you are really good at or have extensive knowledge in and use that to create a product that people will be interested in.
It’s easy to set them up and once you do that work once, you’ll reap the benefits of selling that product for a long time to come. The best part is that most products also give you more credibility and help establish you as an expert.
So, go out and create!
Technorati Tags: Erin Blaskie, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, VA Coach, The VA Coach, virtual assistant coach, virtual assistance coach, passive revenue
Are You Task-Focused or Results-Focused?
February 18, 2008
One of the things that I feel sets me apart from other virtual assistants is that I am results-focused instead of just task-focused. What is the difference you ask? Let’s explore.
A task-focused virtual assistant is someone who gets a to-do list, works their way through it, sends back completed items and pats themselves on the back for a job well done. Their client is getting their work completed exactly as they requested and the VA is getting paid for their work.
A results-focused virtual assistant is someone who does the appointed tasks but looks for ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness of what is being asked of them. Instead of just doing the task, they’ll ask their clients things like, ‘What is your intended outcome?’ and ‘If this project exceeded your expectations, what would that look like?’ So, they are focused on doing what their client needs - more sales, bigger list, more info-products, etc.
So, ask yourself - which one of the above are you? If you aren’t yet results-focused, you need to be. Especially if you are going to make a big difference in the lives of your clients.
Technorati Tags: Erin Blaskie, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, VA Coach, The VA Coach, virtual assistant coach, virtual assistance coach
How Personal Do You Get in Your Business?
February 15, 2008
I often find that people comment on the fact that they like how I share myself with the outside world. I post photos and videos that provide some insight into my life. Whether it’s about my dogs, my husband or my family and friends, people feel like they get to know who I am.
Even though most people appreciate that and I do encourage others to infuse some of their personal life, I do have to caution that too much can be a bad thing.
One of the most common places I see this over-sharing of personal information is on social networking sites like Facebook. Business owners don’t segregate their personal Facebook profile from their business one and too much information is shared over these types of mediums.
Think about this - what if one of your personal friends wrote about an experience you shared that was particularly embarrassing or was something that could potentially damage your reputation. It may have even happened a long time ago and you may have gotten over that period in your life but let’s say that this friend wrote about it on your Facebook profile.
Your clients and colleagues see this and are mortified and whatever this thing is, it damages your reputation and causes you to lose potential clients. This very thing would have been prevented if you had a profile JUST for business and one JUST for personal.
Now, I do realize that is an extreme case but think about even your personality or your tone when you are with your friends as opposed to your business colleagues. You don’t want to confuse your clients by having split personalities and showing a totally different side so keep your two lives separate.
Your clients don’t need to know that you partied last weekend nor do they need to know that your best friend had a baby. Keep it focused on either your business or your personal life and all parties will appreciate it.
Technorati Tags: Erin Blaskie, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, VA Coach, The VA Coach, virtual assistant coach, virtual assistance coach, Facebook, social networking, social networking profiles, privacy, Internet privacy
Do You Accept Work You’re Not Good At?
February 13, 2008
In your virtual assistance business, are you accepting only the stuff you are truly good at? Or, do you find yourself taking on all sorts of projects and ‘learning it as you go’?
For many people, taking on more than they can handle and trying to figure it all out later is pretty common. However, what they (you) might not realize is that it is very stressful to take on a project that goes beyond your expertise in hopes that you can figure it out later. When you add this stress onto a deadline, it makes getting the project done to a high standard near impossible.
My advice on this is that you really only should take on the work you are comfortable doing. Then, in your spare time, work on your skills and your areas of expertise to grow and build them up. Once you feel comfortable doing things on your own, you can then provide it as a service and your clients will appreciate your abilities rather than be annoyed with a missed or delayed deadline or an imperfect project.
Remember - running a business is not just about how much business you can bring in. It’s about getting clients you can provide your absolute best business to and then growing with your skill level.
Technorati Tags: Erin Blaskie, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, VA Coach, The VA Coach, virtual assistant coach, virtual assistance coach
The Perfect Potential Client Phone Call
February 11, 2008
Let me set the scene. You’ve received an e-mail from a potential client requesting a telephone call with you to discuss your services and their needs. The phone call is set and you’re excited about this new prospect. The day of the call arrives, you pick up the phone, call the potential client and the call, for one reason or another, bombs. You hang up feeling disappointed, frustrated and angry at yourself for not delivering the perfect potential client call.
So, what happened?
Well, a number of factors could have played into it but most of the time it boils down to two things. Confidence and knowing what to say.
The confidence part can be worked on by practicing these phone calls. Practice with your colleagues, friends and family before making these calls to figure out what to say and what not to say. You can also gain confidence by doing other speaking opportunities. Join your local Toast Masters or host a teleseminar where you deliver free content to an audience.
The not knowing what to say part is a little easier to master. Here are a few of the most commonly asked questions you’ll get from a potential client and how to answer them.
(1) Tell me about yourself.
This is probably one of the most asked questions that I get and it’s easy to get a bit sidetracked with this one. When the potential client asks this, it’s not their way of trying to find out everything about your life history. It is their way of asking about your professional history. Start with when you started your business, your attitude towards your work and anything else about your work ethic you think they would like to know.
(2) What do you do?
This question is the client’s way of trying to find out what you do for your existing clients and the services you provide in your business. Even though it might be tempting to just say ‘Virtual Assistance’, don’t. It’s too generic and your client won’t see the benefit in it. Instead, say ‘I help my clients increase sales and decrease their operating costs by managing their marketing campaigns.’ While that is just an example, it’ll help show your client exactly what it is you do rather than just list out a myriad of services.
(3) I need X, Y and Z done - how much does that cost?
Since you don’t know the client or the business well enough yet, it’s always a good idea to estimate the approximate time it may take but be clear that since you don’t know enough about their specific project needs yet, you can’t guarantee those times. This way, the client can’t come back to you later if something takes one hour longer. You’re protecting yourself while giving them an estimate.
These are just three of the top questions but I hope it gives you some insight into how to start answering those potential client calls. I’ll do another feature on this at a later date.
Technorati Tags: Erin Blaskie, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, VA Coach, The VA Coach, virtual assistant coach, virtual assistance coach, potential client, potential client call
Working with Local Clients - In Office or Not?
February 10, 2008
As a virtual assistant, we often find ourselves working for people who are not in our local area. For most of us, our clients will be all across our own country and possibly International. But, what do you do when you get yourself a local client and he/she wants you to work in their office?
The big question here is, do you? For some, working in someone else’s office is aligned perfectly with what they want. For others, it is not what they want at all. I always advise figuring out exactly what YOU want and then, stick to your guns. If a client then asks you to work in their office, you can say yes or no based on your wants and needs.
If you aren’t sure whether this would be an agreeable working relationship for you, think about this – when you went into business for yourself, why did you? Was it for the freedom? Was it for the money? Was it for the flexibility? Whatever it was, make sure that every business decision you make from that point forward is line with what you wanted when you first started your business. Otherwise, you’ll end up unhappy and doing something that doesn’t make sense for you at all.
In my business, I have reached a point where I am doing things that make ME happy and not just the people around me. If I want to make this a long-term and satisfying career path, I can’t lose sight of the fact that I LOVE what I do. Make sure you do that too - make sure you fall in love with your career choice and never do anything that takes away from that.
Technorati Tags: Erin Blaskie, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, VA Coach, The VA Coach, virtual assistant coach, virtual assistance coach
7 Weird Facts About Me (a Meme)
February 10, 2008
I got tagged by Deanne Verrall over at Net Secretary - thanks for the tag!
Before I get started, here are the rules:
1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.
Now for the fun stuff …
Weird fact #1: I am an absolute rock star when it comes to Rock Band and it’s my goal to own a real drum kit and become the next Meg White. (For those of you who don’t know what Rock Band is, you need to check out this video…)
Weird fact #2: I can’t think or do productive work if any area of my house is messy. I’m far from being a clean freak but if clutter starts to build up, I get slightly distracted and my mind can’t think clearly.
Weird fact #3: I am claustrophobic and despise any small space. I can’t watch videos or look at pictures of people cave diving or underwater diving as I get big time anxiety watching it. I also avoid swimming in big, open water for that reason too - I don’t like being put under the water.
Weird fact #4: My real name is Teresa.
Weird fact #5: I have an addiction to designer sunglasses and I love popping into the sunglass store and trying on hundreds of different sunglasses.
Weird fact #6: I cry over a lot of things. Sappy movies, sad commercials, seeing people excited (ie: my favorite team winning a hockey game or seeing people win on reality TV), weddings, new babies, etc. I really don’t have a filter between seeing sappy / sad things and my tears. I just let them flow!
Weird fact #7: I have nearly as many shoes as Emelda Marcos and I’ve set a goal for myself to buy a new pair a week until I catch up to her. Insane? Slightly but it is my passion!
Technorati Tags: Erin Blaskie, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, BSETC, Business Services ETC, business services, VA, Rock Band, rock star, Meg White, claustrophobia, designer sunglasses, Emelda Marcos
Get Out of Your Own Way!
February 8, 2008
I coach a lot of virtual assistants on how to become a VA or how to increase their existing VA business. In doing all of this coaching, I get to see common threads appear and where there is a pattern, there is a need for systematizing and in this case, solution-izing. The pattern I see most often is virtual assistant after virtual assistant making excuses for why they aren’t where they wanted to be in their businesses by now. There are a variety of factors that could be preventing them from reaching their goals but the one I see most often is this:
The virtual assistant just gets in their own way!
What do I mean by this? Well, it’s easy to spot these people. These are the VAs who want to become a success, want a thriving practice but instead of going after what they want, they get hung up on their own quams. I hear things like:
I don’t have a niche picked out.
I don’t know what sort of client I want to work with.
I don’t know which services I want to offer.
I haven’t figured out what colors I want on my website.
And the list goes on… What I need to tell you all is that some of these things don’t matter! Seriously - the colors of your website can be changed, your services can be tweaked and new ones can be added, your niche and clientele preferences can be built up over time. What you CAN do right now is get moving! Put things in place, make action happen and tweak as you go.
They say Rome wasn’t built in a day and you know what? They didn’t wait to erect the whole city of Rome once it was perfect. No, they built it piece by piece and it is ever-changing. This is how you need to look at your business. Act now, tweak later. Get yourself moving in a direction of success and don’t get in your own way and stunt that growth.
Technorati Tags: virtual assistant, virtual assistance, The VA Coach, Erin Blaskie, virtual assistant coach, VA, getting in your own way, road blocks