Are You Worth $20?

I hope your first thought when reading this is yes I am!

And I am talking especially to you moms out there!!! (myself included)

Recently I saw an article shared over and over on Facebook. It was about buying kids’ clothes, spending quite a bit of money but not even wanting to spend $20 on themselves for a pair of yoga pants.

And there were so many comments from moms agreeing. Many joked and thought it was funny.

This made me SO sad! I mean, if you aren’t even ok spending $20 on yourself, I can only imagine how you devalue yourself in other areas of life.

I say this because I was once that woman who always put herself last.

Saying yes to everyone and everything.

Always explaining and justifying my choices.

And so much more….

Long story short, it sucked! I wasn’t happy, but it was my own fault. If you are struggling in any area of your life (this includes business), take a look at where you are putting yourself last, AKA saying you aren’t worthy.

I’d love for you to comment below and tell me one thing you’ll do today to show yourself you are worthy!

And if you need a little help, I’d love to hear from you; click here to send me a message about what you need help with. The life and business you want can be yours, but not until you believe you are worthy!

Helpful Links

I have some helpful information if you have enjoyed this article and want more. If you are a mom wanting to work from home but have no idea how to get started, grab my free getting started guide, “10 Easy Steps to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant.” And if you are lacking confidence and wondering if you really can do it, If I can do it, living in a small rural town in Missouri with no formal business education or entrepreneurial background, so can you!

Go here to grab the free guide!

You’ll also be added to my email list, where I’ll send tips about working as a Virtual Assistant and more time-saving tips for busy moms.

And feel free to comment here with a tip of your own. The more we support each other, the better!

Easy Steps to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant

Have you been wanting to transition to work from home but aren’t sure what to do to get started? Are you worried that the startup costs will be prohibitive? Do you feel overwhelmed by the idea of looking for clients?

Don’t worry! If I can do it, living in a small rural town in Missouri, with no formal business education or entrepreneurial background, so can you! (Learn more about my stor here!)

Before I jump into the steps of becoming a Virtual Assistant, I want to briefly explain what software and training programs you’ll need to get started. High-speed internet and a computer are all you really need to begin as a Virtual Assistant. Good news, right?

Having Skype, or Zoom, installed will be very handy for calls with potential clients. It’s also great if you have MS Word and Excel, or Google Drive, but is not required. Other than these items, you really don’t need anything else. Once you have been working for a while as a Virtual Assistant, you will learn what additional supplies and programs will be helpful, but there is no need to spend the money as you are getting started.

Now, let’s jump into the first two steps on how to get started as a VA!

Step 1 – Decide if you will choose a business name or wait and operate under your own name for the time being.

This step is important; you need to find out what the requirements are for doing business in your state. In Missouri, when I worked as a sole proprietor,  all I had to do was file with the state’s fictitious names, it was inexpensive and I did it all online. I’m now an LLC, but it was still quick and easy to file. A little bit of internet research can tell you what you need to know. You may also want to check with your city and county to see if they have any requirements.

Actions To Take

• Research your state, city, and county requirements.
• Decide if you will use your name, or come up with a business name.
• File with your state and pay for your license.

Step 2 – Create a business email.

Don’t worry about using your business name for email just yet. Having an official business email means buying the domain, and that may not be necessary if you operate under your name for the time being and decide on a business name later. I started with my full name @gmail.com and it worked just fine. What’s important is that if you have a silly email, you may consider changing it to something more professional. That allows you to keep business email separate from shopping, Facebook, and all the other distracting emails.

Actions To Take

• Determine if you need to create a new email.
• If you do, search to ensure the email you want is available.
• Set up your free Gmail email account.

Want some more easy steps on how to get started? You can click here for my free 10 Easy Steps to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant.

If you want to start a work-at-home business and didn’t click on the link above, what are you waiting for? Start taking small steps today to make your dreams a reality!

You can also send me an email if you have any lingering questions on how to get started. I’m here to help!

Helpful Links

I have some helpful information if you have enjoyed this article and want more. If you are a mom wanting to work from home but have no idea how to get started, grab my free getting started guide, “10 Easy Steps to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant.” And if you are lacking confidence and wondering if you really can do it, If I can do it, living in a small rural town in Missouri with no formal business education or entrepreneurial background, so can you!

Go here to grab the free guide!

You’ll also be added to my email list, where I’ll send tips about working as a Virtual Assistant and more time-saving tips for busy moms.

And feel free to comment here with a tip of your own. The more we support each other, the better!

What Should You Delegate?

One of the top questions I am asked is “I need to delegate things, but I have no idea what. How do I figure that out so I can free up time?”

I get it! I’ve been there too!

Through my own business and working with my clients, I have developed a process that helps to develop a list of tasks you should hand off. The easiest way I help clients to do this is by using this spreadsheet.

First, think through the tasks you do, how long they take, and how often you do them. If you have a hard time doing this, track what you do in a day and how long it takes you.

We all know, though, it’s not just about how long a task takes you. There’s something about certain tasks that just make us all cringe and dread doing them. Look at your list of tasks and label those tasks “drains me.” Now, those tasks you look forward to and enjoy label “energizes me.” If you don’t have any strong feelings, label it “neutral.”

And this leads perfectly to the last step. Do you have this process written down?

If you have a process written out, it’ll be much easier to hand it off to someone else. If you don’t, maybe take a little extra time one week to write it out so you can hand it off, or train whoever you’re handing it off to and have them write out the process. (Double delegation!)

You can make a copy of this spreadsheet and use it in your own business!

If you are needing to delegate to your Virtual Assistant, this process will be a tremendous help in identifying what to give them!

And if you are a Virtual Assistant, feel free to use this with your clients if they have way too much on their plate but can’t figure out what to give you. Or if you have grown your business and need to get things off your plate!

Is there something you could use help with? If you need help, send me an email and let me know what you need and maybe I can help!

Or if you use it and are able to make some changes and delegate some things successfully, send me an email so I can celebrate with you. I love to hear success stories!

Helpful Links

I have some helpful information if you have enjoyed this article and want more. If you are a mom wanting to work from home but have no idea how to get started, grab my free getting started guide, “10 Easy Steps to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant.” And if you are lacking confidence and wondering if you really can do it, If I can do it, living in a small rural town in Missouri with no formal business education or entrepreneurial background, so can you!

Go here to grab the free guide!

You’ll also be added to my email list, where I’ll send tips about working as a Virtual Assistant and more time-saving tips for busy moms.

And feel free to comment here with a tip of your own. The more we support each other, the better!

I’ve been running my business full-time since January of 2013, and during that time, I’ve made a lot of mistakes as well as done a lot right! One thing I’ve always worked on is how can I work in a more productive way?

Most of you know that family life can keep a person busy, especially when you are a mom. Moms tend to get a lot thrown onto their plates. When I was married and running my business, we had 3 kids (my son and two stepdaughters), and it seems there was always a place to take a kid or something they needed for school. My husband at the time often worked in sales, so he would often have extra work obligations which left me tending to the kids alone.

Then fast-forward to getting divorced, I then only had one kid to care for full-time (my son), BUT I had him 24/7 with no family near. I now had less time to work (because now by default I had to do everything) and needed to make more money. My ex was out of the picture totally, both physically and financially.

This brings me to my topic, productivity!

I’m sure you’ve heard many different ideas on how to increase productivity. And I like to keep it simple. Today I want to share with you my top 5 apps I use daily to get more done aka increase productivity.

And quickly before I jump in, those of you that think you are expert multitaskers, you are actually cutting down your productivity. You may not realize it, but you are. Trying to do more than one thing at once depletes your mental energy quicker AND causes you to not focus on one thing as well because your attention is split multiple ways.

So, no, I do NOT multitask. Unless you consider washing a load of laundry while working multitasking. Then I always have to remember I’m doing it and to dry it, LOL. One day I did laundry and left 2 shirts in the washer to hang to dry. I then forgot, added the dirty load, and washed them again. Thank goodness I didn’t ruin them! It’s likely I was trying to do more than one thing then. See, you shouldn’t multitask. 🙂

Here are my top 5 apps for productivity:

App #1 – Wunderlist (free): This is a list app. I have lists for groceries, errands, appts to make. I keep my lists grouped by topic. I have maybe 8 lists total; I don’t go crazy. Then as I go about my day, if I think of the milk we ran out of, I just quickly add it to my list. No more random notes, trying to remember what you needed. Now it’s all in one place!

App #2 – Voxer (free): If you are like me, you really don’t need MORE emails. I have started using Voxer with my students in my VA training and mentoring so they can ask me questions and get quick feedback. I use it with my mentor, too, along with others in the business. It is SO much faster to record quick audio rather than type a long email.

App #3 – Slack (free): Over time, I’ve had clients communicate via email, texting, FB messenger, Skype and more. Trying to keep up with messages in ALL the places is confusing and draining. I now have ALL clients use Slack along with our project management tool. And I tell them all task/project-related communication takes place in the tool we use for that, but quick questions, check-ins, random messages, etc., are all to be sent via Slack. And it’s great! If I have to run an unplanned errand and a client or team member has a quick question, I can reply.

App #4 – Amazon (free): I can hear some of you thinking, wait, how does Amazon increase productivity? Well, nowadays, you can pretty much order ANYTHING from Amazon. And I am a Prime member and get free shipping. Oftentimes during the week, I think of an item I need, and I will pull up the app, place my order, and 5 min later, done. No more taking up mental space or time thinking about that thing I need or when I have time to go get it. Just this morning, I remembered a ring light I needed to order and Pill Pockets for my dog. I hopped on, and now it’ll all be here in 2 days! Basically, I use Amazon for those items I need quickly but can’t get here locally where I live or can get them fast enough and save me from a trip driving somewhere.

App #5 – MyFitnessPal (free): If you are not making your health a priority, you should be. And I am one to talk. In my toxic marriage, I gained about 40 lbs in the last few years. I was NOT taking care of myself. I am happy to say I am well on my way to becoming that healthy version of myself that I want to be. And using this app is a time-saver! I can scan barcodes on my food so I can make sure I am on track for my calorie or goals. Then I have a Fitbit and have it synced with this, and it imports my steps and activity. You can also add friends, read inspiring articles, find recipes, and so much more. For those of you thinking that using the MyFitnessPal app takes more time, it does take a little. BUT when you feel better and have more energy, this is shown in your productivity.

Bonus tip: turn off social media notifications on your phone. It’s amazing how this changes things when you don’t have those pesky numbers showing you how many FB messages you have or how many people are waiting for you to take your turn on Yahtzee (maybe that’s just me, LOL)!

What apps do you use? Send me an email and let me know what you find useful. I’d love to share them on social media so others can maybe discover a new one that might really help them! And if you start using any I suggest, I’d love to hear your thoughts and how it’s helped you become more productive in life and business. 🙂

Helpful Links

I have some helpful information if you have enjoyed this article and want more. If you are a mom wanting to work from home but have no idea how to get started, grab my free getting started guide, “10 Easy Steps to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant.” And if you are lacking confidence and wondering if you really can do it, If I can do it, living in a small rural town in Missouri with no formal business education or entrepreneurial background, so can you!

Go here to grab the free guide!

You’ll also be added to my email list, where I’ll send tips about working as a Virtual Assistant and more time-saving tips for busy moms.

And feel free to comment here with a tip of your own. The more we support each other, the better!

As moms, we always have a long to-do list, don’t we? I know that most of the time, the LAST thing I need is to add something else to that list! It always seems to happen though, doesn’t it?

In a perfect world, we would be able to say yes to everything. A friend asks for help – sure, I can do that! Your kids ask to spend the day at the park – that sounds fun, let’s do it! Your mother in law wants to come to visit – sure, come on over!

But….after saying yes to everything, the stress and resentment start to set it. You may even start blaming yourself. You are left feeling frustrated, resentful, and exhausted.

You know what? You have nobody to blame but yourself!

Ouch.

There is something you can do though! You can learn how to say no. Saying no doesn’t have to be short and blunt (unless you want it to). Saying no can be super hard, but I want to help make it a little easier. Maybe some of these responses can help you!

• You’re so kind to think of me, but I can’t.
• I’m learning to limit my commitments.
• I’m booked into something else.
• Bandwidth is low, so I won’t be able to make it work.
• Sadly, I have something else.
• It just won’t fit right now.
• I’m really buckling down on my priorities right now, so I can’t.
• It’s a Wednesday, I have a “No on Wednesday Policy”
• My body double can.
• My advisors won’t agree to it.

See? Saying no doesn’t have to be harsh or negative! Setting your boundaries is a part of self-care. And if you need some more support, I would love to have you in my community, and I would love to be in your corner. My Facebook group is a place to get connected to others, ask questions, learn something new, and offers a safe space to learn. Come on over and check it out!

Helpful Links

I have some helpful information if you have enjoyed this article and want more. If you are a mom wanting to work from home but have no idea how to get started, grab my free getting started guide, “10 Easy Steps to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant.” And if you are lacking confidence and wondering if you really can do it, If I can do it, living in a small rural town in Missouri with no formal business education or entrepreneurial background, so can you!

Go here to grab the free guide!

You’ll also be added to my email list, where I’ll send tips about working as a Virtual Assistant and more time-saving tips for busy moms.

And feel free to comment here with a tip of your own. The more we support each other, the better!

10 Tips for Finding Clients as a Virtual Assistant

You may have noticed that the blogs this month are focused on getting clients and increasing income. That’s because we start this work to make money and without clients, you can’t really make the income you desire. And I know it can be scary when starting out and if you lack confidence, it will be harder to get clients and increase your income. So the more information I can give you on these topics, the more likely you will succeed! So I’m sharing with you tips on finding clients as a virtual assistant.  

As a virtual assistant, landing clients is essential to growing your business and increasing your income. But how do you go about finding and securing new clients? Below are ten tips to help answer these questions. Some overlap with a previous blog on places to find clients, but it never hurts to hear something twice! And the ones that do overlap have additional info. 

Here are ten effective ways for finding clients as a virtual assistant:

Optimize Your Website

Don’t worry about this if you don’t have a website. If you do, your website is a powerful marketing tool. Optimize it for search engines, showcase your services, and provide testimonials from satisfied clients. You can easily Google how to optimize your website if you aren’t sure what to do. In my 6-month program, I teach you how to quickly and inexpensively create your own website so that when you are ready, you don’t waste money by spending thousands when you could have done it for a couple of hundred dollars. 

Leverage Social Media

Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to network and connect with potential clients. Share your services, engage with your audience, and join groups related to your industry. This is a mix of having a professional business page or profile and sharing things on your personal profiles. You want to leverage both. Share information that your clients would find beneficial and leave them wanting more and wanting to work with you.

Attend Networking Events

Attend virtual or in-person networking events/conferences to connect with potential clients in your industry. Be sure to have an elevator pitch and business cards ready to hand out. You might think business cards are old school, BUT having something physical to hand out is necessary for people to remember you. I have business cards with my photo on one side since many people are visual, which helps them remember me. I also give a few cards so they can give them to friends and people in their network. Or I ask for their email, and if I can reach out to them later, then be sure to follow up. 

Reach Out to Your Network 

Contact your existing network of friends, family, and colleagues to inform them about your services and ask for referrals. I love to contact current or past clients and let them know what type of work I am open for. And to make it easy, I type up a little blurb they can share online and in Facebook groups. Be sure you always make it clear how to contact you too. I’ve said it before, but the easier you make it, the more likely they will refer people to you. 

Offer a Free Consultation

Offer a free consultation to potential clients to demonstrate your expertise and provide value. This can help you build trust and ultimately secure the client’s business. I’ve heard controversy on this one, but I have done this for many years! And it works for me. Usually, potential clients have questions, and going back and forth via email is time-consuming and makes it hard to explain things thoroughly. An alternative to this is some other free info or resource that would show yoru expertise and how you can help them. 

Utilize Freelance Websites

Platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr are great places to start. You can create a profile and bid on jobs that match your skills. It is a bit harder now than it used to be due to more competition, but it’s still worth trying. And again, it’s usually about how effectively you communicate, so that is the skill you need to improve for this to work. I’ve looked at numerous profiles that tell me little about how the person can help me, but it’s more about how great they are. Clients don’t care about things that don’t apply to them; keep that in mind when setting up profiles on these platforms. 

Cold Emailing

Reach out to potential clients via email with a personalized message that highlights your skills and how you can help them. We went over this in another blog, which comes down to communication. Almost all online business owners will have a virtual assistant at some point. Create a list of types of clients you want to work with, research them, find contact info, and reach out. Be sure to keep a list. And always note what the communication was. Maybe they don’t need a virtual assistant yet, but then make a note to follow up in 3 to 6 months. 

Participate in Industry Forums

Participate in online industry forums and discussions to establish yourself as an expert and connect with potential clients. Often forums have business owners asking questions. Find forums with the types of clients you want to work with. Many are now using Facebook groups rather than external forums. See if you can join that group, then answer questions and make yourself helpful. If you join forums only to sell your services, that will turn many off. They need to know, like, and trust you, which comes from being helpful. 

Submit Proposals

Respond to job postings with a professional and personalized proposal showcasing your skills and highlighting how you can help the client. There are some Facebook groups specifically for this. And some paid training programs will put you on an email list where you receive notifications of clients wanting proposals. I myself have business owners that fill out a Google form, and then I email my list of the job opening. With some research, you can find these places, and again it’s about how you communicate with the client. 

Attend Local Business Events

Attend local business events to network with potential clients in your community. Be sure to have business cards ready and be prepared to introduce yourself and your services. I mentioned business cards above, and it’s the best way for someone to remember you and how to contact you. I like our local Chamber of Commerce but I am also in a smaller town. Depending on where you live, you may have more options. Do a quick Google search to see what is around you that might have potential clients you want to work with. 

Remember, there are many ways to find clients as a virtual assistant, and this list is just to get you started. It’s essential to be persistent, professional and focused on providing value to your clients. If you have a tip not listed here, please leave it below in the comments. 

Action Step

If you are looking for more clients, pick 1 or 2 of the above tips to implement. Also, set a deadline so that you can evaluate how it’s working and what needs to be tweaked, if anything. 

And once you have a full client load, it’s a great time to have another virtual assistant you can refer potential clients to. Keep this in mind if you are nearing a full client load.

Helpful Links

If you know you are a mom wanting to work from home but have no idea how to get started, grab my free guide, “10 Easy Steps to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant.” And if you are lacking confidence and wondering if you really can do it, If I can do it, living in a small rural town in Missouri with no formal business education or entrepreneurial background, so can you!

Go here to grab the free guide! 

This guide also works for established virtual assistants looking to grow their businesses and bring in more income! 

You’ll also be added to my email list, where I’ll send tips about working as a Virtual Assistant and more business advice. 

Start Where You Are

Happy Tuesday! I hope your week is off to a great start.

I’m in my first month of exercising after major foot surgery. Nothing like having your tendon cut from a bone and anchored into another! I’ve never been more grateful to walk on two feet. Every day I make progress and am committed to getting back to where I used to be.

It’s been a long journey of figuring out what was wrong and now healing, but it’s also taught me many lessons.

Like I wrote about recently, we always have a choice on how we see situations! 

Second is this lesson:

Start Where You Are

We all start somewhere.

And there are two things I often hear when talking about what to do next in business:

• The first is that I have to be ready and have all the things in place!
• The second is that there is so much to do I end up stuck because I don’t know what to do first because I can never get it all done!

If you are telling yourself one of those two things above, you’re never going to reach what you are aiming for.

Forget about what happened in the past, the client you didn’t get, the failed launch, or maybe even the fight with your spouse that is keeping you distracted.

The list could go on and on…

But really that’s just you giving excuses.

Suck it up and start where you are!

You will NEVER really feel ready…

And you will ALWAYS have things that need to be done…

But if you don’t start now, you will never reach your dreams and goals!

Here’s what I want you to do:

• Think of one thing you want to accomplish this week, ONLY one! This could be to get a new client, to put together your service packages, outline a new program, anything.
• Now, take a piece of paper and write that one thing down. No matter how tempted, do NOT write down more.
• Next, make a list of the 10 actions you can take this week starting today to make it happen.
• Last, do at least 3 of those 10 items each day! Do these things first before all the other stuff. Yes, those emails sitting in your inbox CAN wait until this is done every day.

What I want you to realize is that things don’t happen by doing nothing. You must consistently work towards what you want if you are serious about seeing your dreams turn into reality.

If you are stuck on this exercise, send me an email, and let me know your one thing, and I will help you brainstorm the 10 items to make it happen 🙂

And if you rocked this exercise, I’d still love for you to send me an email and share what your one thing is! I want to support you in reaching your dreams.

Helpful Links

I have some helpful information if you have enjoyed this article and want more. If you are a mom wanting to work from home but have no idea how to get started, grab my free getting started guide, “10 Easy Steps to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant.” And if you are lacking confidence and wondering if you really can do it, If I can do it, living in a small rural town in Missouri with no formal business education or entrepreneurial background, so can you!

Go here to grab the free guide!

You’ll also be added to my email list, where I’ll send tips about working as a Virtual Assistant and more time-saving tips for busy moms.

And feel free to comment here with a tip of your own. The more we support each other, the better!

Create Consistent Income Being a Virtual Assistant 

If you read my previous blog here, I mentioned some of the challenges virtual assistants face, and that post was about getting clients. And this blog is about another one of the challenges, being a virtual assistant and creating consistent income. While some months may be busier than others, it’s important to have a steady stream of work to support yourself and your business. And there are some things you can do to make it more likely to bring in consistent income. A few of these I will share with you are not suggested if you are a new virtual assistant. I will point out to each who it’s best for so you are not left guessing.

Here are some tips for being a virtual assistant and creating consistent income: 

Offer Packages: Offering packages with a set number of hours or services can provide your clients with a clear understanding of what they’re getting and help you create consistent income. In fact, this is the number one way I teach my students to develop consistent income when they are brand new to doing virtual assistant work. If you are unsure where to start, start with three hourly packages. Have the smallest be the least amount of hours a month you are willing to do. Then double that for package two. And double that one for package three. 

Retainer Agreements: Retainer agreements are an excellent way to secure a set amount of monthly work and income from a client. This is similar to packages yet slightly different. Retainers can be based on a certain number of hours, but often it’s a flat fee for specific services. This is better for a more experienced virtual assistant since you need to have the experience to know you are not over or under-charging for retainers. 

Diversify Your Services: Offering a range of services can help you appeal to a broader range of clients and create multiple income streams. This might mean you have a graphic design service, a copywriting service, and a website ensign package. Of course, to offer all these, you must also have those skills. Always remember that you need to enjoy your services, so don’t offer something just for the money; otherwise, it will burn you out!

Upsell: Upselling involves offering additional services to your existing clients. This can help you increase your income without having to find new clients. This is another that is better for experienced virtual assistants. But let’s say you are excellent at creating written business processes. This can be hard to do if you don’t know the business, but once you have worked with a client, maybe you have a Business SOP (standard operating procedure) package that they can buy as needed. Or if you are good at writing, perhaps you offer certain services once you understand a client’s voice and the types of writing they need. 

Specialize: Specializing in a particular niche or service can help you become an expert in your field and attract clients who value your expertise. This is another that is better for experienced virtual assistants unless you are someone with graphic design, branding, or copywriting skills. But an area that is needed for a specialized virtual assistant is Facebook Ads, Inastag Ads, and Tiktok Ads. There are always clients looking for this, and it can be hard to find, partly because social media is constantly changing and partially because those really good at ads are priced so high small businesses can’t afford them. 

Create Recurring Revenue: Consider offering ongoing services and provide you with recurring revenue, such as social media management or email marketing. A great example of this is my developer’s website maintenance package is a small monthly fee. I gladly said yes, so I don’t have to remember each month and worry I will crash my site when updating plugins!  But social media creation and management are very needed! 

Create Passive Income: Consider creating passive income streams, such as online courses or eBooks, that generate income without requiring ongoing work. This can produce great income but be a bit more tricky to start than people think. Online marketing makes it sound like passive income is quick and easy to do, but not so! This is definitely for an experienced virtual assistant; unless you have a background in online marketing and advertising, then this is something you can do sooner. 

Raise Your Rates: Increasing your rates can help you create consistent income, but be sure to do so gradually and provide your clients with value that justifies the increase. What I did when starting was once I had two clients at x rate, then I would up it for my next ones. Once I moved from virtual assistant to online business manager, then it was a much more significant increase. I also got all new clients, so it was a slow transition. I finished up with virtual assistant clients, helped them hire someone to replace me, and during that time, found new clients. There is no set rule on increasing rates, but as you gain experience and grow your skills, you provide more value to clients and will want to increase your rates. 

The eight ways above are great for being a virtual assistant and creating consistent income as a virtual assistant, but they require a combination of strategies. You don’t want to try and do all of them at once. And remember, some are better once you have more experience. By doing some of the above options over a period of time, you can build a stable and profitable virtual assistant business. 

Most importantly, stay focused on providing value to your clients and continuously improve your skills to stand out.

Action Step

If you are a new virtual assistant or still thinking about it, pick 1-2 of the strategies above. And then set a date by which you will have this implemented. Some require planning more than one stop, so if that’s the case, give dates to all pieces needed.

And if you are an experienced virtual assistant, out of the above that you are not doing, pick 1-2 of the more advanced options to implement. 

You may notice by now anytime I suggest you take action, I always advise a period of time to test it. With these, 60 days are good unless it’s something like passive income, which will need longer. Once you’ve tried, reflect on what worked and what didn’t, decide if any changes are needed, and continue on. 

Helpful Links

If you know you are a mom wanting to work from home but have no idea how to get started, grab my free guide, “10 Easy Steps to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant.” And if you are lacking confidence and wondering if you really can do it, If I can do it, living in a small rural town in Missouri with no formal business education or entrepreneurial background, so can you!

Go here to grab the free guide! 

This guide also works for established virtual assistants looking to grow their businesses and bring in more income! 

You’ll also be added to my email list, where I’ll send tips about working as a Virtual Assistant and more business advice. 

Starting a business can be scary. Most of us didn’t have formula business training or education, and we are figuring things out as we go. I can say I made a lot of mistakes along the way. I like to share my mistakes so you can hopefully learn from me, avoid the same mistakes, and quickly grow your business!

One of the biggest topics I am asked about is legal, so I am bringing in a legal expert to answer all yoru burning questions.

Before I tell you about the training, here are some of the legal mistakes I made when starting:

1. Not using any contract at all with my first several clients. (Thankfully, I had no issues with payment or anything else but still, not wise!) 

2. Not understanding the difference between an independent contractor and an employee and letting my clients use me as an employee. (Disclaimer – they likely didn’t realize this, AND so many businesses still do this, so it’s best to educate yourself on the topic.)

3. Not knowing I needed a business banking account and business credit card versus just a regular checking and credit card account. 

4. I was losing out on money by paying higher taxes since I didn’t know about certain expenses I could claim as business expenses rather than personal. 

Thankfully I did learn along the way and consult with lawyers and other experts. There were no major consequences, but I now have peace of mind (which is priceless) since I am more knowledgeable than 10+ years ago when starting. And I’ve learned even more about best practices when it comes to legal and know who I can go to when I need answers because, in our world, legal is constantly changing. It’s not a one-time thing you learn; then, you are good forever.

For example, two recent changes (in the last year) had to do with recurring billing for membership and the ADA for websites, resulting in many lawsuits for online businesses that were unaware.

Because I know this issue is so important and you have questions, I want to invite you to a free training with Amber Gilormo, a business and trademark attorney. You can learn more about her here on her website: https://theboutiquelawyer.com/. And her free guide for forming an LLC is amazing. I’d suggest getting on her list to stay current with everything legal. And I don’t recommend just anyone! 

If you’d like to attend the free training with me and Amber called, Legal 101: Start and Protect Your Virtual Assistant Business, you can sign up here. Once you register, you will receive the Zoom link to join the call. The event is on Thursday, May 4th, at 12 pm Central. If you cannot attend live, sign up to receive the replay via email. 

And if you are reading this after the event happened, no worries. Sign up, and you will be emailed the replay; we’ve got you covered either way!

Feel free to comment below with the biggest challenges you have with legal! We can get those answered on a future call with Amber.

Supporting virtual assistants gives me so much satisfaction! And one of the biggest topics I am asked about is how to get clients or make more money. And for new virtual assistants, I’d say the biggest question is often about how to get clients. Getting that first is so exciting but can be scary too! For me getting clients has always been pretty easy (I’ve lost track at 200+), BUT it’s because I learned some key things that are needed so that clients understand how I can help them. 

In this blog, we’ll go over places you can get clients online. There are so many, but I will share ten places to get you started.  

As a virtual assistant, finding clients is essential to growing your business and increasing your income. But where do you start looking? 

Here are ten places to get clients as a virtual assistants: 

#1 Freelance Websites: Platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr are great places to start. You can create a profile and bid on jobs that match your skills. Keep in mind you will need to look for and submit proposals actively. Make sure you communicate the benefit and value you provide for what the client needs. 

#2 Social Media: Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to network and connect with potential clients. You can search public posts on these platforms to find opportunities easily. 

#3 Job Boards: Check out job boards like Indeed, Monster, and Glassdoor for virtual assistant positions. FYI when I hire for clients, I always use Indeed, and you can search for remote jobs only! Search by remote location but also use keywords they might use in the title like Virtual Assistant, Customer Service, and similar. 

#4 Referrals: Ask your existing clients to refer you to others who may need your services. To make it easy, give them a Google Doc or PDF with your info, skills, etc. The easier you can make it, the more likely they will refer you. Some even offer incentives like a free hour of work for each client referred or something similar. You don’t have to do this, but it can help encourage others to refer you.

#5 Networking Events: Attend virtual networking events to connect with potential clients in your industry. Or find local networking events. In my town, the Chamber of Commerce is great for this! You can also check out MeetUp for local or virtual networking events. The only type I want to caution you about is the ones where you HAVE to make referrals monthly, and I think it’s BNI that does that. I checked one out early on and am glad I didn’t join. It wasn’t a fit for me, but it could be for you. 

#6 Email Marketing: Create an email list and send newsletters with your services and availability. This will mean using software, creating a lead magnet, and emailing consistent newsletters, so only do this if you know you can dedicate the time needed. 

#7 Cold Outreach: Reach out to potential clients via email or LinkedIn with a personalized message. This is similar to searching groups online and pitching to business owners. If you do this, you will need a follow-up and a way to organize and track the leads you pitch. 

#8 Industry Associations: Join industry associations and attend virtual events to connect with potential clients. Specific online training programs have a directory that promotes you, and you can google this to see what comes up local to you. 

#9 Google My Business: Create a Google My Business profile to increase your visibility in search results. However, this is not for online businesses. This might work for you if you sell physical products and do virtual assistant work. Or if you rent an office, you can use that address. 

#10 Local Business Directories: Look for local business directories and submit your information to be listed as a virtual assistant.

#11 Bonus Tip: This is similar to the referrals but slightly different since you don’t yet know these people. Create a list of complimentary businesses you would like to partner with, and you will most likely need to do some online research. This could be graphic designers, anyone teaching entrepreneurs, website designers, etc. The thing is, they have clients that need a virtual assistant. Once you create that list, reach out to them like you did the cold outreach, with follow-up, tracking, etc. Keep track of who you reach out to, and you can form some great referral partnerships this way to get clients.  

There are many places to find clients as a virtual assistant, and this list is to get you thinking about all the places you can find clients. Don’t be afraid to explore different options and try new strategies to see what works best for you. With persistence and creativity, you can build a thriving virtual assistant business and find clients who value your services. And if you have a great place to suggest, leave it below in the comments

Action Step

Pick 3 of the 11 places above where you can get clients. Then decide to test those three for 30 days. Now some might need longer to see how well they are really working. But pick a time of how long you will try it before you reevaluate. And if you have a friend that works as a virtual assistant, you two can do this together for accountability!

Helpful Links

If you know you are a mom wanting to work from home but have no idea how to get started, grab my free guide, “10 Easy Steps to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant.” And if you are lacking confidence and wondering if you really can do it, If I can do it, living in a small rural town in Missouri with no formal business education or entrepreneurial background, so can you!

Go here to grab the free guide! 

This guide also works for established virtual assistants looking to grow their businesses and bring in more income! 

You’ll also be added to my email list, where I’ll send tips about working as a Virtual Assistant and more business advice.