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Hey Bestie!
Welcome to 2021!! The Virtual Assistant world is on fire right now as people are looking for ways to remain home, remain with their families, and leverage their skills part-time or full time by launching virtual support businesses or agencies. Companies are also looking for ways to leverage virtual outsourced support to help them sustain or grow, without hiring full-time employees.
In this type of climate, and if you are in the research phase of launching a virtual support business, you may feel as though the market is oversaturated. I can tell you, with great confidence, it is not. The trick is positioning yourself and preparing for success by getting some business fundamentals in place.
So let’s talk about it...
Where the industry is experiencing a challenge is that there are many administrative professionals, joining the market, without much training in business operations and management experience. Talented and amazing? YES! - but they have never had the experience of owning and operating a business. The challenges they are experiencing boil down to one primary problem - they are applying employee/employer mindset and strategies in a business owner to business owner industry.
While there are other challenges that the virtual support world faces, as a coach, most of my success stories come from those who put their blinders on, stay focused on their personal definition of what will make them happy, and follow a simple formula for success in business.
To operate a successful support business, it’s important to educate yourself and solidify these 4 pillars of business. I use this framework as the basis for my Freedom Think Sessions.
Here’s what you need to get done:
Get Legal - so that your business is ready both legally and financially
Get Clear - so that you can share your message to your ideal market
Get Ready - putting the systems and processes together that match your customer experience
Get Seen - having clarity on the marketing strategies that make sense for your target market
Let’s dive in a little deeper on how these affect your business.
Launching Your Virtual Assistant Business: Let’s Get Legal
This is where in an effort to look like a fully functional business, many virtual supporters skip some vital steps. While I believe in lean startups, and sometimes businesses are born from necessity and with limited resources, not getting your legal fundamentals in place is the quickest way for your house of cards to crumble. Instead of thinking of it as a checklist of hurdles, this is the first place that you can truly pour your love and passion into your business. Things to think about in your launch phase
Is your business name available to you across all platforms?
What are the legal requirements of your state? Your city?
What is going to be your legal business address?
Do you need an LLC, or would a Corporation better suit your business goals?
Who is going to be your accountant?
What financial institutions do you need to align yourself with?
Do you have business insurance?
These and so many other questions, no matter how intimidating they feel, can usually be answered in a session with someone with experience in your industry for a small investment. This is a better business option, rather than having to double back and correct mistakes, usually at a higher cost than getting set up correctly in the beginning.
Launching Your Virtual Assistant Business: Let’s Get Clear
Knowing how to quickly and eloquently answer the who, what and why of their business takes people much further than I could ever explain. If your ideal clients are able to quickly understand the benefits of your service, it increases your opportunity for conversations and conversions.
It starts with being able to answer:
Who are you looking to work with?
What are the services you provide to them and what the benefits of hiring you are?
Why should they hire you vs. someone else? What’s your special sauce?
You also want clarity around your pricing and packages so that you can prepare your proposals with ease. Having this clarity also goes a long way in building your confidence as well as your potential clients’ confidence in your support.
Want to Know If My Course - The Business Of Virtual Assisting Is For You? Audit The Course This August
and Join Us For Cycle 6!
Launching Your Virtual Assistant Business: Let’s Get Ready
Systems and Processes is a buzzword combination right now because many have recognized quickly how important it is to have them in place. When an opportunity presents itself - that’s not the time that you want to be scrambling to pull things together.
The quickest way to lose your clients’ confidence is for them to feel that you are trying to earn their business, while you don’t have your business in order. It plants the seed that - if this is how you operate - is that how you are going to show up in their business?
With that - getting familiar with and selecting a CRM, merchant service processor, setting up communication channels and project management is vital for service-based providers. Be sure to choose systems that will grow with you and also support the way your mind works to ensure you use them and they become a fluid part of your business.
Launching Your Virtual Assistant Business: Let’s Get Seen
You’ve done all the legwork and backend organization to get ready for success. AWESOME!
Now it’s time to get seen. For that, you need a strategy that works in connection with your ideal client. Ask yourself:
Who - are you looking to attract?
Where - do those people hang out online or go to learn?
What - are they looking to gain by hiring a service provider?
What - are the pain points that need to be addressed?
Once you have those answered, it will be easier for you to figure out your combination of marketing actions that you want to take. It will also provide an incredible amount of clarity on where to put your energy. There’s no point in creating a big Instagram strategy if your ideal client is on LinkedIn or Clubhouse.
This plus understanding how to creatively generate your own leads so that you are not hostage to job opportunity boards - will make a world of a difference for you as a business owner and service provider.
I hope this was helpful and you walk away with a few more insights on your journey to becoming booked and prosperous! If you need support in breaking all this down for your business, connect with me so that we can work together to get you launched or growing with confidence.
Go to RomaineBrownPalmer.com/FreedomThinkSession to book
Your Virtual Biz Bestie,
Romaine
