The two biggest questions I get asked as a Business Coach for Virtual Assistants is
1) How do I get started in my Virtual Assistant business and
2) Where do I find clients for my Virtual Assistant business. In this month’s blog I’m going to address how to get started in business and out of overwhelm and procrastination.
Going from employee to business owner is a huge leap and it comes with a large mindset shift. Often Assistants feel stuck because their goal is too big and they haven’t broken it down enough. So firstly, start with what your goals are for your business and when you want to achieve them plus of course ‘why’ you want to build a Virtual Assistant business.
If you’re not creating goals for your business it’s like walking out the front door and not knowing how to get to your destination. You need a map. So get clear on when you want your first client, when you want to go part time in your role, when you want to go full time as a Virtual Assistant. This doesn’t need to be set in stone and these goals may well change, but the key is to have some clear goals to work towards and then you can adjust them if needed.
Now let’s look at the practical stuff; insurance, ICO, business bank account and HMRC. These are all essential for running an online business. You always want to keep your personal and business accounts separate and both Monzo and Starling are great business bank accounts to check out as they help you achieve the financial goals for your business.
You’ll need to have professional indemnity insurance for your online business and Policy Bee has insurance designed for Virtual Assistants. However, if you’re on site at all you’ll also need public liability insurance. Next, you need to register with the ICO (approx £40 a year) to make sure you are GDPR compliant and register yourself as self-employed with HMRC.
Then comes some of the more meaty elements of establishing your business. To be able to market your business online (or offline) it’s important to create an ‘ideal client’ avatar. Now this is the bit
that most people miss because it’s not very sexy and they just want to get to selling their services. But if you miss this it’s like creating a house of cards, your business isn’t going to have solid foundations.
The concept of an ideal client avatar is to create a fictitious person; based partly on fact (through research) and assumption. They are often an earlier version of yourself. This article will go into more depth around how you can build an ideal client avatar (ICA) and the importance of doing so for your business.
Once you’ve got clear on who your ideal client is and you want to think about your niche. Now this is
an area that I struggled with initially and had a lot of resistance around, but once I established a niche my business really took off and the same can happen for you. You can learn more about how to establish a profitable niche and get more leads (and clients) in your business with my eBook.
Now that you know your goals, you’ve set up the practical elements, created your ideal client avatar and established your niche, you want to think about how and where to market your business. Social media is a great way to connect with your ideal client but you’ve also got to be clear where they’re hanging out. For me, I know my ideal client is mostly on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
When you’re just starting out, focus on one or a maximum of two social media channels, otherwise you’re going to spread yourself too thin. It’s better to laser focus your marketing efforts on one or two channels instead of trying to be everywhere. The key to marketing is to show up consistently because in a busy online world it’s easy to be forgotten. So don’t post and run!
Share valuable content from hints and tips and your business journey, plus don’t be afraid to jump on a short video to introduce yourself and of course you want to ask for the sale. People need what you have to offer, so introduce yourself, address your ideal clients’ pain points and desires and show them how YOU are the solution to their problem. Always make sure you have a call to action CTA) at the end of each of your posts.
What is the next step you want them to take? Is it to book a call with you via your Calendly link, answer a question and engage with you in the comments. To share with you their biggest pain point. Get clear on what action you want them to take.
Building a business is so exciting and it can also feel lonely but it doesn’t have to. In fact that’s why I created my free Facebook community to give you the support you need to get started.
If you’re ready for the next step and want to invest in your business a good starting point would be my VA Mastery 101 online mini course. This course is designed for Assistants who are looking for a simple, easy to follow process to get started in their Virtual Assistant business. It will help take away the overwhelm and analysis paralysis and get you into action and closer to your dream of more freedom and flexibility and more time with your family.
To follow me on social media you can find me at LinkedIn or Facebook or come visit me on my website. I’d love to support you on your Virtual Assistant journey and I personally believe there has never been a better time to build an online business.
Suzie Flynn
