VIRTUAL ASSISTANT STRUGGLES

Building a Virtual Assistant business can be challenging at times.

I have owned and operated a Virtual Assistant business for over 20 years. In those 20 years, I have conquered many challenges that appear when you are GROWING a business.

I LOVE the freedom and flexibility of owning my own business. I get to create my Schedule and choose what clients I work with. I am also in control of how much I am worth, set my fees, and GROW my business the way I want to around my priorities.

But with freedom and flexibility also comes some challenges; here are 3 challenges Virtual Assistants face as they build their business and how to deal with them

#1 Clients That You don’t Enjoy Working with!

No clients = No Business

One of the biggest struggles as a business owner is finding clients for your virtual assistant business. So when you find a client, you sometimes continue to work with them even when making your life miserable because you need the money.

I get it!

Over the years, I have found clients I didn’t like to work with; or they didn’t fit my expectations. Our personalities might not get along, or our working styles. I usually had found this to happen when I did not onboard a client correctly in the first place (setting realistic expectations)

Here is the cool thing about owning your own business.

You get to choose WHO you work with.

You don’t have to work with everyone, it is okay!

You can fire a client 

Of course, I am a big believer that you ALWAYS honor your commitments and, when possible, refer them to someone else who is a better fit.

Never let one client be more than 25% of your yearly income; this way, if you do need to fire a client, it will not sting as much. It will also be easier to find replacement clients, so your business does not go under.

It helps, of course, if you avoid working with problematic clients in the first place 

You can do this by being very clear about who your ideal client is. 

• Whom do you want to work with?
• What makes them ideal?
• What is their communication style? Does it go with yours?
• How do they handle stress and pressure? Is that something you can work with?
• What is their personality?
• Do they use project management software?
• Is it essential they are in your time zone?
• Do you need them to understand what you are doing (IE, a lot of entrepreneurs have no clue how much work it takes on the technology side)
• Have they worked with a Virtual Assistant before?
• Are they looking for one-time support or ongoing support?

When you are looking for new clients, ALWAYS keep in mind WHO you want to work with. This is going to simplify your marketing as you will be targeting your ideal client.

On Discovery Calls, take control of the conversation and interview your potential clients; if they are not a good fit, it is okay to let them know that you don’t think you would be a good fit to work together.

Ensure you have all your systems in place as soon as you start working with your client to have a good client relationship. Let them know what to expect when working with you. Also, make sure you are VERY clear about policies and procedures from the get-go. Enforce your policies and procedures, your client will learn to respect you more, but it will also make your life easier in the long run.

Make communication EASY for your client and set expectations on how and when you will return messages and get client work done.

This will help ensure your client relationships are positive ones.

#1 Time Management

Time management is one of the hardest things for entrepreneurs to learn. Especially when they are working out of their home.

There are so many distractions…like the dishes in the sink or the laundry load that needs to be folded. Ugh, and friends and family that don’t understand you have a business to run from home.

On the flip-side, it is sometimes hard to stop working because the work is always in front of you. You have client work, and you have work for your business like invoicing, bookkeeping and marketing, responding to inquires.

And when you add all of that to your “normal life” responsibilities, you probably have a VERY full schedule.

I remember I used to get up early in the morning before my kids would wake up to work and go to bed. It worked for a VERY long time, but eventually, my health suffered as I did not get enough rest.

But if you learn how to manage your time, you will get everything done and get enough sleep.

Learn to turn off distractions

Learn to Schedule your day.

It’s all about prioritizing your day effectively. Learn to focus and complete your task to become more productive.

#3 Cash flow

As a Virtual Assistant business owner…you only make money when you have clients and projects to work on.

This can make cash flow for virtual assistants a challenge, especially when you are just starting out.

Without cash flow, you might have to borrow money or even get a part-time job to supplement your virtual assistant business. Having one more thing on your plate is not ideal.

So here are a few of my favorite strategies to have cash flow in your business.

1. Never Stop Marketing your business. Even if your client roster is FULL, do not quit marketing your business. This gives you options to charge more or find clients that are a better suit for you or build a team.
2. One client should never be more than 25% of your annual income consistently. You might be asking yourself why? Here is the deal. What happens when you lose a client that is 100% of your income? You are left scrambling to replace that income. It might even be the reason you have to get a “JOB.”
3. First, create a savings account that can support you during slow times. Regularly, put a % of your income into the savings account. ALL businesses will have a slow time. But not everyone will be prepared to weather the slow time. Having a Savings account that is just for that time will help you not stress when things are not as busy
4. Create systems that support consistent cash flow. You could have retainer programs where clients pay for xx amount of hours per week or month. You could create a membership program for your virtual assistant business to access specific programs and get a discount on your Virtual Assistant services. All you have to do is set them up with automatic billing; this will ensure consistent cash flow.
5. Look for ways to supplement your virtual assistant income. Affiliate products are great for this!. Is there a product or service you absolutely love and recommend to all your clients? Then signup as an affiliate and get a small commission for it. I have products I have recommended that I have been getting commissions on for years…

If you are really good at something, create an information product and sell it! Partner with other virtual assistants and earn referral fees.

You see, when you have multiple streams of income…cash flow management much more manageable.

Running a Virtual Assistant business will have challenges at times; it is to be expected. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.  However, there is nothing more rewarding than owning your own business.

If you have a plan in place, you will get over the business hurdles easier and continue to grow your business!

Now I would like to hear from you, what challenges have you faced in your virtual assistant business.

Virtually Yours,