Does Your Business Strategy Include A Pacesetter?

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Do You Have a Pacesetter in Your Business Strategy?

September often marks a time of renewal for business owners. After a summer filled with holidays, vacations, and significant life events—like perhaps sending your child off to college for the first time—this month serves as a natural moment to refocus and strategize on what you want to accomplish in your business by the end of the year.

The clarity gained from time away can crystallize what’s truly important, inspiring more than just a return to routine tasks. It’s a chance to assess your ambitions for the year's end, which is rapidly approaching.

Adding new goals to your business plan for the year is commendable, and so is integrating healthy habits gleaned from summer reflections into your daily life. I advocate for creating a sustainable life and business that doesn't necessitate a break or burnout situation. It can be done, but you'll need the right strategy. You'll need a pacesetter.

Post-vacation adrenaline can often masquerade as energy, propelling us forward with excitement and enthusiasm that will eventually wear off. Like a marathon, business demands endurance, not just speed.

Having a VA pacesetter is much like having a pacesetter in a marathon. A pacesetter maintains a specific, consistent pace to help other runners achieve their race goals. They are experienced, skilled runners who are adept at maintaining a precise pace and often have a strong understanding of pacing strategy dynamics.

Without having a VA pacesetter in your business to steady your workload, you run the risk of falling behind without knowing how to catch up, and even working at a pace that is not sustainable and will cause burnout without a virtual assistant to pick up the rear when you need to rest.?

The best strategy to ensure you end the year with completed goals and on a high note, feeling great not burned out, is to hire the right virtual assistant pacesetter for your business.

Strategic Steps for Hiring a VA Pacesetter:

1. Create an appropriate timeline for yourself: You can certainly push yourself if you choose. Think of this as a real race. Do you want to finish faster than you have in the past? Do you need to proceed at a slower pace, because a faster pace in business has a negative impact on your personal life? Your job is to create the timeline you want for yourself and then assign the pace you want your VA to manage.
2. Define Your Ideal Pacesetter: Envision the ideal virtual assistant who can handle these tasks efficiently—someone who aligns with your business culture and pace. What is their temperament, working style, and process for keeping the pace? Does their natural working rhythm align with yours? Remember this is a strategic hire. You’re hiring this person to keep you on pace, there is not a lot of time for a VA to conform to your working style with the end of the year so close.?
3. Paint the picture: Share with the VA what it’s like working with you on your best day and your worst day. You don’t need to be ashamed or embarrassed by your worst day, but the VA can’t set the pace if they don’t know what they’re working with. Likewise, your best day will provide valuable insight and energy levels to work with.?
4. Identify speedbumps: Just because a VA can keep the pace, doesn’t mean they will want to. Remember that Q4 is the season of holidays and illnesses. There are plenty of things the VA will be trying to keep on pace in their own life. It’s your job to know what those are. Not all virtual assistants are forthcoming with their business and personal details. That’s fine, but if you don’t feel like there is enough transparency you are not making a strategic hire. Don't get tripped up by speedbumps.
5. Prioritize your pace over the VA: When hiring a strategic pacesetter you must have your desired timeline ready to review. This is where clients can prioritize the VA over the work pace. Don't make this mistake. The whole point of hiring a strategic pacesetter is to hit your goal.

To be strategic you must start with yourself. This is your business and your business strategy - hire for it. You’ll actually be doing the VA a favor. The ideal VA will shine throughout the process. The right VA will want to know they can and will be successful from the beginning. If the VA is successful your business is too.

As you look towards the final stretch of the year, hire the right virtual assistant to be the pacesetter you need to continue growing your business without compromising your well-being or personal life.

Whether you're seeking to hire the right VA or want to be the right VA, I'm here to assist. Book a consultation to get started. ===>>>https://go.oncehub.com/thepva

Being the Right VA - How to be a Pacesetter

As a virtual assistant, your role in setting the pace for your client cannot be overstated. If you don’t set the pace your client will set it for you. If you want to maintain your business boundaries you’ll need to know what pace you work at and what clients you can effectively set the pace for.?

1. Establish Clear Pace Expectations: Create clear, measurable goals, with mile markers for your client. Set the expectation of what success looks like for each task and communicate what you have created meets the client’s expectations regarding timelines, quality, and outcomes. Clarity at this stage prevents misunderstandings and sets a solid foundation for the work ahead.?

2. Get the Necessary Tools and Resources: Ensure you have access to all the tools and resources necessary to perform your tasks effectively. In short, unblock yourself. This might include software, access to certain databases, or specific documents. Make sure you equip yourself not just with tools but also with knowledge about when and how to use them. If you aren’t willing to get yourself unblocked then this isn’t the right client for you and you need to let the client know right away.?

3. Create a Structured Workflow: Develop a workflow that shows your pace each and every step of the way. You want the client to understand that the processes are what keeps the pace. Creating a structured approach ensures both of you are synchronized and can work efficiently even when working asynchronously. This might include:

• Scheduled check-ins
• Regular, proactive updates
• Creation of SOPs
• Reinforcing timelines for yourself and the client
• Metrics for tracking

4. Practice Proactive Communication: The best VAs practice proactive communication. You don't wait for feedback sessions to provide updates. Marathons are run with focus, and so is your client’s business. It’s most likely a crucial reason they hired you in the first place - so they could stay focused. Don’t wait for the client to communicate, level up your communications by proactively communicating.

5. Recognize the Reward: The pace you’re setting comes with a reward for the client. If it matters to them it should matter to you. If not, then you shouldn’t have taken the client on in the first place. This means that if you ever get behind in your pace you’ll do what it takes to get back on track because you know the client is counting on you.

6. Manage Yourself: Keeping the pace means managing yourself. It also means you'll never have to worry about a client micromanaging you. Conduct performance reviews on your work. These reviews should focus on:

• Evaluating the completion of tasks against the set expectations.
• Discussing challenges and brainstorming solutions.
• Planning for upcoming projects or tasks.
• Adjusting strategies or priorities as needed based on performance and business goals.

Being a pacesetter for your client involves far more than just having tasks assigned to you. It's you setting the pace and allowing the client freedom to have energy bursts, as well as disconnected time. You are the one keeping the constant pace. By following these steps, you can create a dynamic and effective long-term partnership.

Interested in becoming a licensed PVA? Join the waitlist and let's see if you're a good fit. https://www.stack.expert/melissa

Melissa Smith is the Founder of The PVA , a firm that matches clients with the right virtual assistants. She is also the best-selling author of two books, Hire the Right Virtual Assistant and Become a Successful Virtual Assistant .

Melissa has been featured by ABC, NBC, CBS, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Inc., U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. News & World Report. Most recently Melissa was named Top Virtual Assistant Consultant of the Year, a Top 10 Most Inspiring Woman in Business, one of the top 100 Dynamic Leaders, and a trailblazing female entrepreneur to watch.