Like anywhere you are trying to go, you need to know the way to go.

You can call it a roadmap, a plan, a pathway, whatever you want - but basically it means you need step by step knowledge of the way from here to there, clearly mapped out, before you start.

When I tell you that you need to set your VA service rates, there is a process to do that the right way. You can’t just pick a number out of thin air.

When I tell you that you need a target market, it’s because you need to know who you are talking to and where you need to go to find them and talk to them.

When I tell you that you need to know how long everything takes you to do in your VA business, you need to actually do it and time it and set parameters about how you will do it again moving forward.

Before I did any of these things in my business, I did the wrong things.

I picked a number out of thin air. My business made no money for years.

I marketed to everyone. I had all kinds of different clients and did whatever they asked, and I never knew how to get a new client when I needed one.

I worked with open ended times for tasks. I wasted so much time doing things, and without processes I always had to try to remember to do something when I went to do it again a few months later.

Managing your time is so important as a VA, but being able to follow proven ways of getting things done matters too.

Not only do you work happier, you avoid burnout, you get more done, you make more money, and you deal with much less anxiety in your VA business when you have a roadmap.

It’s not about getting somewhere quickly. It’s about having the right plan, with the right steps - and moving towards it every day.

One step at a time will get you there faster than you even realize.

I’d love to help you get there.

It’s time. I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group The Virtual Circle, my group coaching program 50K Bootcamp, and my self study trainings like my Getting Started program, my monthly email membership The Virtual Toolkit, and more. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase

Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!

50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. Register here now: 50K Bootcamp for VAs

MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!

SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Today I want to talk about marketing - but not just advertising your business, or getting visibility - I want to talk about why you need to do things a certain way to get better results.

It's easy to do marketing. But to do it well? You need to understand why certain things work.

If you tuned in to my interview with Alicia Croci of Wildly Creative Studio, you will know that she mentioned the psychology of sales. That’s the reason that people say yes, or say no, or engage or don’t engage with you.

There are certain things that you need to realize about sales, about marketing, and about business - that will help you get better results from everything that you do.

I’m going to talk about 10 of them in today’s episode.

Marketing is an essential part of getting clients for your VA business. You have to do it or you won’t have a VA business soon.

So take some of these tips and implement them today. Or better yet, let me help you build your system and help you get clients.

Let’s circle back to today’s quote: Marketing’s job is never done. It’s about perpetual motion. We must continue to innovate every day. Remember this, and remember that taking just one step every day is perpetual motion. You can do it!

It’s time. I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase

Here's how I can help you:

PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!

50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. Register here now: 50K Bootcamp for VAs

MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!

SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

This episode is the third in a series of four episodes that I want to share with you as a lead up to my 50K VA Group Coaching program that is launching next month.

High-Value Clients – we are talking about this because it’s your missing link.

It’s the thing you don’t have right now, that you want. That you need.

It’s the whole basis for my 50K VA program that is launching soon.

You are struggling right now because you are not in contact with the right people.

It’s really as simple as that.

If you were networking or in a community with a whole bunch on entrepreneurs who had money, who were doing the stuff to grow their business, who were successful, but who didn’t have any VAs, would you be able to help them?

Yes you could! You can. And you will.

Instead you are eking through on social media with people who are starting their business, who are feeling the challenge of doing their admin while serving their clients too – and not doing it well.

So they hire you because they can’t afford an in house admin, and then they nickel and dime and micromanage everything you do because they are struggling to afford your services anyway.

Sound familiar?

Well maybe it’s not all that bad, but it goes down that path really quickly if you’re not paying attention.

If your clients are choosing your lowest package, or asking you what you charge to do this or that (okay then we’ll just do this), then you are going to struggle to build the business YOU want. That will help you live the lifestyle that YOU want.

And your business …. Quite frankly, it’s about you. It’s for you.

If you just wanted a paycheque, you could go and get a job.

You started your business because you want freedom, flexibility, and all that good stuff that goes with being a business owner.

So it’s time for you to find the clients that really need you – the ones that value you – high-value clients will help you build a high-value VA business.

And that’s what we are going to talk about on today’s episode.

If you are looking to build the kind of business I’m talking about - a 50K and beyond VA business, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase

Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

What's Next for You?

PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!

50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. STARTS SEPTEMBER 2024!

MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!

SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Is it time for you to bring subcontractors in to your VA business?

There is a right time , and there is a wrong time.

And there is a right way to set yourself up for them, and a wrong way.

Let's get started by talking about what leads up to you bringing in subcontractors.

It's about your work load of course.

the best time to bring in subs is when your business has gotten so busy that you need help. That's the simple answer.

As you bring in more and more clients, your attention will get divided - and you will have to work more.

Getting more clients is always good for business. You make more money, and you can help more people.

But being a very busy VA is not always great though. Sometimes our response times suffer, sometimes our turnaround times suffer, and sometimes we can get burned out because we have so many things to do.

That's when getting help to get your client work done makes good sense.

Of course if you know your VA business is going to grow, that's the best time to plan to bring in subcontractors.
The setup time for subs depends on what you are going to outsource to someone else. Getting a couple of things in place is easy - like a sub agreement, but getting your systems set up and raising your rates for your clients can take more time. So if you know that you want to run your business with subs, make sure you are doing that set up long before you need it and things will work out much better for you.

But most of the time we realize that we are working too much and need help - and that's when we decide it's time. And that's okay too - like I said it's the far more common way to do it, but you still want to prepare your business well.

Just quickly, when is the wrong time to bring in subs? Well, there are a few:

If you are not booked out, it's not the right time.
If you haven't set rates that allow you to pay out subs, it's not the right time.
If you don't know how to do the things your subs do, it's not the right time.

I'll elaborate on all of these as we talk about the right way - but these are really important, and worth mentioning.

So let's talk about what you need to have in place before your bring in subs.

1. You need to know exactly what you need help with. You can train subs but you need to define the tasks you need help with so you can get the best support. You don't always want to train VAs with every little thing, so decide how much experience someone needs or how challenging the tasks are to figure out the skill level your subs need. I have worked as a sub with my expertise, and as an absolute newbie. What helped me be a good sub in both of those roles? The lead VA, their processes, and their ability to help me, their sub, get the work done as efficiently as possible. Also, decide how many subs you need. Sometimes it depends on what the tasks are - it also depends on the timing of those tasks, and the skill level too. You don't always have to have just one sub doing everything.

2. You need to set your sub payment rate, or the rate you are willing to pay to hire a sub. When you are paying out someone else, you need to retain both administrative money and profit from the money the client pays you. It makes no sense to pay a sub all of what your client pays you. You have to be sure that your rates are set up to retain profit and make your VA business money. When you are growing your team you need to also grow your business, don't forget that. A lot of VAs will pay out 75% of their billable rate to their subcontractors. So for a $30 sub, you need to be charging your clients at least $40. Sometimes VAs will tell you how much their sub rate is - meaning they will work for you as a sub for X rate. I prefer to tell them what being on my team pays, but as long as the rates work out so that you are profitable, you can do whichever you like. Work within your budget, like we tell our clients to, and you will be fine.

3. Track all time and tasks. Project management excellence is essential when you are working with subs. You need to make sure that you know what they are doing, and how much time that is taking. You will set a budget for each client and the sub VA needs to work within that. And of course since you are doing the admin, you want this info to be as easy to check in on as possible. Use a project management system - whatever works for you is terrific - and make sure your team members all use it. Be sure that your VAs are keeping their time spent up to date so you can monitor your client budgets.

4. Communicate very clearly. When I work with a client, we have regular check in calls - weekly production calls I always called them - to quickly connect and talk about priorities for the week. I do recommend doing a team meeting once a week, they are very effective, and then the rest of the communication can and should take place in your project management system the remainder of each week. Your subs also need to communicate very well, no matter what they are doing for you. A lot of time can get wasted in the communication process if you aren't doing it well. Setting a system for communication and making sure everyone uses it can really help the work between more seamless.

5. Create and use procedures and checklists. If there is one thing I can tell you will help your subs do the work you need done in the way you need it done, it is procedures and checklists. You can either create the procedures, or have your subs create them when they come on your team. And then all you have to do it walk through the procedure to ensure that the work is being done to your expectations. It doesn't matter how they think it should be done- you are the one who dictates it all for your business. And in terms of checklists, these will always ensure that no steps are missed, and that you can see that the VA is verifying they have done every step in a checklist when you look in on their work. Remember when you are working with team members, your rates will be higher - and that means your clients are paying you a premium to have high quality work done. In my experience, VAs who use checklists do a better job than those who don't. Make your subs use them, or they don't get to work on your team.

6. Pay your subs the same amount you would charge your clients. This is something that some VAs don't do, so I need to mention it. When you are working with your clients, you have some idea how long a task should take. You need to tell your VAs how long any task should take, and they need to work within that billable time. For example, if you were doing the work for a client newsletter and it was taking you 2 hours every time, then the sub needs to do the work in 2 hours as well. You can't let your VAs chip away at your time because you are eating into your profit. So even though you are paying them less than you charge, you can't let someone take 3 hours (or longer) to do the same work you would do in 2. Tell them how long they have to complete a task - give them the written procedures - and if they can't do the work in the time, assess why (are you just really fast? or are they really slow?). Match up their time with your billable time to the client. I once had a sub who spent 6 hours on a research project that I was only charging the client 2 hours for. You can't have that happen. If I know the estimate is 2 hours I have to tell the sub it needs to get done in 2 hours.

7. Know how to do what your subs will do. I know many VAs who think they can get people in do tasks that they don't know how to do - these are not subs. These are associates -and unless you have a lot of experience as a VA, I don't recommend starting this way. Use your subs to do your work - to take over for you - so that you can keep an eye on their work and deliver the same quality to your clients. Later you can think about being an agency, but when you are building a team, and you are the one responsible to the client, you need to be able to cover for everyone on the team. And if you don't know how to do something and your sub flakes out, your clients will lose confidence in your ability. Your business is always the most important part of the people you have doing the work for you. Prioritize it and you will build an amazing team.

8. Use a contract and even an application process if possible. You need to let your subs know that the work they do is really important and a contract helps them do that. They aren't just helping you or doing things that are not that important. They are producing their best work for you - their client, essentially - and it needs to be top notch. If you use an application process you can make a better decision about who can join your team. I have seen many people have a quick Facebook group interaction with someone saying 'PM me, I need someone'. I am sincerely hoping they go through a vetting process after that so they can make sure the sub they are choosing is the right one. I always looked for long term subs - just like long term clients.

These are all pretty simple things but they are very often not taken into consideration by VAs who want to work with subs.

Properly planned and managed, working with subcontractors is an excellent way to scale your business growth.

By planning your communication, project management and making sure your rates are maintaining your profit level, you can build a much bigger business than just you!

And when you are organized and can manage both your client's and your sub's expectations, you can keep everyone happy.

Oh yes speaking of those clients, it's essential that you let them know that your business has grown to use others to do their work. You may even need to update your own contract with them. Never let someone else access your client files and systems without advising your client beforehand.

And know that your business insurance won't cover your subs - they need to have their own insurance for their own business, that covers them.

If you need some help with setting your VA business up for subcontractors, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Today we are going to talk about overthinking.  While thinking as a business owner is a good skill, doing too much of it can keep you stuck.

Quote: Overthinking is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but doesn't get you anywhere. - Erma Bombeck

Erma Bombeck always gave such solid advice, and I think this is an excellent analogy. It's time to go places!

If you are someone who overthinks stuff, this episode is for you.

It's for us. I do it too - I would be willing to bet that everyone has done it at one time or another.

Why is overthinking such a big deal?

There are a lot of reasons why it's bad (but the good news is that we can fix it)

Here are some reasons why it's not good to overthink:

• it keeps us stuck where we are
• it keeps us from making decisions
• it makes things seem bigger than they probably are
• it keeps you in the past, reflecting on what you could have done better
• it helps you make excuses about why you didn't do or say something
• it makes you worry about things that haven't even happened yet

Staying stuck is a common issue for Virtual Assistants anyway, so it really is not good to let overthinking take over on top of that.

The more you think about something, the more you train your brain to think about it.

It's just a bad habit. But it may be one you have had for many years.

Let me ask you a question right out the gate. Are you aware that you are overthinking when it happens?

If you aren't, then that has to be the first thing to think about.

Awareness is important, and even that isn't easy.

I suggest putting a system in place to help yourself - and that might take some practice too, but you have to start somewhere!

Write your system down = and make changes to it each time you use it, as necessary, so that you get better at handling it.

If you have had this habit for a really long time, it will take time to change that habit. Give yourself a break, and give yourself the tools you need to make the change.

So you need a system to get out of the overthinking valley when you are there - and never beat yourself up for going back there. Just plan to move back out as quickly as you can.

So, first things first - you do need to keep an eye out for it. Look for the signs so you can identify when it's happening, and then consult your system.

Look for the solution to the problem. Always focus on fixing the issue. Look at it as objectively as you can, even though sometimes that can be hard when it's your situation.

Step out of your own situation so you can look objectively at what is going on. Try not to get carried away by your own emotions.

I always suggest treating yourself like a client when you are having trouble doing something. Do the same here.

What if your client (or a loved one) presented an issue as overthinking? What would you tell them? How would you help them? How would you be objective about it?

Write all of those things down. You need to do the same things for yourself.

And it is hard to do it when it's for yourself, I get it, but you can do it.

Get help with this in the beginning if you find it difficult, Practice makes perfect, and I promise you will get better at it the more you practice your system.

When you have worked through something, take a moment to write that down too - so you can refer to it next time. Celebrate that success, you just proved to yourself that you can do it.

Never beat yourself up when you realize you are holding yourself back because of overthinking.

Always honour your thoughts, and your feelings, but still know that you need to change them if you are going to move forward.

Remember that you can't control everything. When things are rough, focus on the things that you can control. Change the things you can change. Move past the things that you can't change.

And definitely focus on what can go right. There is always a good side! And you deserve to be there. And you will get there if you let yourself.

Actually handling the overthinking will do wonders for you:

• you will start to move forward, even if it's just in baby steps
• you will be able to make the decisions you need so you aren't spinning your wheels
• you will see things for what they really are, and not the huge issues that you are presenting yourself now
• you will focus on the future, and learn from what has happened - so you can pay much more attention to the stuff that you did right
• you will stop making excuses because you will be saying and doing the right things
• and you will worry a lot less because you will focus on the future and all the positive stuff that you now see for yourself

When things start to pop up, grab that system.
Remember that you worked your way through something last time, and you can do it again.

And final advice: a lot of people suggested giving yourself time to overthink - like set a timer, and then when the timer goes off, stop. I don't see the value in that myself, but I would be remiss if I didn't bow to the experts here.

For myself, I understand the idea of identifying it, but I can't quite see how you can let yourself be upset and then just shut it off.

I prefer to identify it and then go to my system. You can do whichever works for you. As I always tell you, I can't teach you something that I don't have experience with so there's my caveat for you ha ha

I hope I was able to give you some practical tips today on how to handle your habit of overthinking.

If you need some help with getting your system in place to fix your overthinking, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Do you get really stuck when it comes to marketing your Virtual Assistant business? If you do, it's perfectly normal.

As admin professionals, most of us were never taught about marketing. So we kind of make things up as we go, or throw spaghetti at the wall and hope something sticks.

I've been there, and I've done it all wrong. I still get it wrong sometimes!

Let's talk about why that is.

When we are looking for clients, we can't help but think about making a sale.

I mean, if we don't make a sale, we don't have a client. And we don't get any money.

So when someone, maybe a coach like me, tells you to focus on helping people instead of selling, it sounds good ... but it still doesn't solve your issue of not having clients.

We like to think there's a magic switch that we can flip from no clients, to lots of clients. And there can be, but there are a lot of things you have to have in place for that switch to start working.

And if you are still struggling to get clients, then you probably just don't have all of the things in place that need to be there.

One of those things is a simple and effective way to promote your service to the clients who need them.

What is the goal of our marketing?

Not to make a sale, believe it or not!

But it's to showcase our expertise to our clients - in terms of how we can help THEM.

Let me repeat that.

It's to showcase our expertise to our clients - in terms of how we can help THEM.

Yes it's about us ... but only in relation to how we can help our clients.

Marketing and promotion must satisfy the attention of the person who is going to be making the purchase, or spending the money. And that's your clients.

So ... lots of VAs get marketing wrong. We talk about what we do, we tell people that we are VAs, and that we help our clients with everything under the sun, and that we have a special on now, and that we have a client opening next month, and that we save them time and money.

But none of that messaging lands with most clients.

What do they want to know? They want to know how you can help them fix something in their business. Simple.

If they are overwhelmed by all of their daily tasks, maybe you can help them with project management.

If they are too busy handling their customers requests and communication, maybe you can help with with client care or customer service.

If they are behind in their books, maybe you can help them with bookkeeping.

If they are not posting anything on social media, maybe you can help them get more eyes on their business.

You get the idea.

So these are real problems that your clients have - and ones they need solutions to.

It's a very simple issue, and they need to understand easily that you can help them with it.

If they believe you can help them do that, you could have a new client.

So how does that come through in our marketing?

We need to create simple messaging that clearly talks about how you are aware of their issues and that's how you help your clients - and how you can help them.

We need to become memorable - so they see us often and we begin to become top of mind when they are thinking about their problems and looking for a solution.

In terms of your content - this means consistent posting, and solid content topics that your clients relate to.

Make it inviting to look at (so it looks good), and don't forget to also make it fun (or interesting) to read.

Content isn't just your website copy or your blog posts either - content is all the words and the images that you are putting out there in the business world. Including the words coming out of your mouth.

So choosing the words and the images that you use in your marketing is important. And it can help you stand out because you will be recognizable.

Consistent posting or connecting will help you to become part of a community and part of your client's feed.

Sharing a consistent message in your copy and images also needs to flow over into your conversations.

So when you are networking, you want to talk to people about the same types of things that you are posting in your content. What is the theme of those things? How you can help them.

And when you are having conversations with people - at events, or in groups, same.

In networking situations, you are marketing your business. Yes, you are getting to know people, but it's still about moving relationships further when you connect.

Ask questions, answer questions. And always be sure you are keeping things simple and light.

So update your website copy, your social media bios, and your content so that it is all consistent and conveys the message of how you help your clients.

Share information, resources and tips that showcase your client's problems and how you solve them.

So let's get back to the idea of helping people over sales. The sales will come when the messaging doesn't scream 'sale'.

Those posts about being a VA, helping clients with whatever they need, a special on now, a client opening next month, and saving them time and money ... they are falling on deaf ears. So you are spending time creating and posting things that aren't doing anything for your business.

Get your messaging right and focus on your clients and what they need, and you'll see a lot better results. It gets easy once you get started. So let's get you started!

If you need some help with creating content that works for you, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Today we are going to talk about your mindset. It's important to keep checking in on that all the time! Business is hard, and we need to master our mindset to go where we want to go.

What you think you become. Buddha

Buddha is smart. Buddha knows that you are responsible for your own happiness, success, and thoughts.

Mindset is incredibly important to keep tabs on when you are a business owner. 

There are hard things, and if you let them get the better of you, you will not survive.

What are you thinking of every day that is shaping the way your days go?

If you think you are struggling, you will focus on the struggles.
If you think you are busy, you will find the busy everywhere and feel overwhelmed and behind.
If you think you are great, you will find the greatness in everything you do.

It sounds simple, and it really is.

The more positive you can be - the more positive things you will focus on. And the more positive things will come your way.

If you have ever seen someone on a roll, you can watch how it snowballs.

The same is said for failure. Spirally downward is much easier when it's all you are thinking about.

So let's focus on the positive.

Your mind is such a powerful thing. Your brain is. And it will help you as much as you let it. It doesn't make decisions for you or tell you who to feel, it just naturally leads you in the direction of your thoughts.

So how can we fix a crappy mindset?

First things first - say it out loud!

How many of you spend some days in total silence?
I do - there are days when I realize I haven't spoken out loud for hours.
We live in our heads, and like I said our brains are powerful things. We don't even realize how many thoughts we are capable of processing in a second, a minute, an hour.

If we are dreading doing a task or taking a meeting or making a connection or creating a piece of content, we'll probably put it off and do something that is more fun. But it's still there in your mind.

Getting things done is much easier when you want to to do it.

So we need to keep ourselves in that frame of mind as much as possible.

Like the golfer or the musician who is on a roll and cranking out the wins, we need to do the same.

Also, it's more fun!

So what can you do to help your mindset?

Keep it positive. Do whatever you can to help yourself stay in a positive frame of mind. Success journals work - if you are down, you can make a point of remembering things that you have done that went well. Then find the opportunity to do more of those. I know it sounds crazy but talk out loud to yourself. The silence is deafening sometimes. Talk to yourself - read things out loud. It really will help redirect your inner thoughts when you hear and outside voice.

Read every day - reading a business book or blog can really help you find inspiration for your business - whether it's new strategies to implement, new content to create, new people to connect with ... bringing in new stuff every day can be exciting.

Take action every day - sitting around doing the same old same old is going to yield you lousy results. If you are looking for clients, get out there and do it. Make connections. Help people. Talk to people. Every single day. It's easy to develop a habit of staying behind our computer screen and not actually talking to people but you will be amazed by the growth you can do as a business owner by having real conversations with people (phone, Zoom, in person or in social media groups).

Work in your purpose. VAs love to help others. That's why a lot of us love what we do and want to help as many people as possible. If you want to stay positive, focus on that. Always think about your purpose and how you are doing so much good for others. Valuing yourself is a really good way to keep your mindset strong and positive.

Do what you do best - nothing makes us negative like when we struggle. Struggling to figure something out, or doing something you don't like or aren't good at can really add to the negative attitude. Things take longer, People aren't the right fit. You find yourself stuck on support chats most of the day. Become a master at what you do and you will have smoother days too.

Be proactive. Don't let your clients dictate the workload. Be in charge and keep them on their toes to be sending you the pieces you need to get their work done. If you sit around and wait for them it's very easy to start feeling down. If your client isn't busy enough, find one that is. A busy and productive VA is a happy one!

One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.

This is so true. I am not a big fan of affirmations or intentions of stuff like that but they do work.

Stick up positive messages in your office and work space everywhere. Read them out loud to yourself each morning and any time you need a boost.

And finally, find and rely on your community. A business buddy, an accountability partner, a mastermind group, a trusted group of colleagues. Whatever you can, find people you can talk to - and be sure to focus on positive communication with them. You can talk about your struggles, but always try to find the positives and the way through - don't just bellyache to each other.

Some days will be hard but setting yourself up to be the best that you can be starts with your mindset. 

And the more you can help yourself develop a positive one - and create steps for yourself to shift back into a positive one when you are struggling, the better you will be.

Ridiculously good, in fact!

You're it, baby. You have to figure it out or it will cut you down. Let's do it!

If you need some help with fixing your mindset or developing your process to stay in a better frame of mind as a business owner, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant

Today we are going to talk about productivity - how to get more done without sacrificing quality work or  excellence

As virtual assistants, we talk a lot about productivity.

Time is money when you provide a service like we do, and every minute counts.

That doesn't mean that you have to work fast, or charge by the minute. What I'm talking about is increasing productivity - and that's different.

We want to be ridiculously good - right? - and so we never want to sacrifice excellence.

We just want to make the best of our time.

That means we need to identify what needs to be done , prioritize it well, and make sure it gets done.

The system that you use to manage your work has everything to do with works best for you.

I can't tell you what to use - pen and paper, a project management system, Google, Outlook, time tracking.

What works for me may not work for you. But what I want to share with you today will let you know how to manage your time better, no matter what system or process you use.

1. You must eliminate distractions when you are trying to get things done. Yes I know, lots of people tell you this. But I'm going to explain distractions a bit differently for you in this episode. Many virtual assistants I talk to have no idea where their time goes during the day. But then they tell me that they check a client's email all day long, or leave it open so they can manage whatever comes in as soon as it comes in. I will say that if a client requires that you do that for them every day, I hope you are getting paid for 8 hours a day from that client. Email is a means of communication but it does not need to be answered immediately. Instead, plan to check in hourly or less - I used to do client care for 6 and 7 figure business coaches, and I checked their email 3x a day. That's it. It helped me manage my time better, and the clients still got responded to three times every single day. Eliminating distractions extends far past closing social media - we need to work smarter and not make excuses for why the way we do things might not be the most efficient way to do it.

2. Learn to focus better. The more time you give yourself to get something done, the longer you will take to do it. When you focus on what you are trying to do, you can work much more efficiently and you can get it done in less time. Look at everything you do - are you repeating things, or taking longer to do something than necessary? Think about what you could do differently - or ask a colleague to give you some input. A business coach of mine once ran us through an exercise at a live event. We paired up with another attendee and the exercise was to tell the other person 5 things that we did to help our clients. We each had 5 minutes to explain what we did, and then the other person helped us write down our 5 things, as they understood them. Once we finished that exercise, she tasked us with another exercise - create a piece of content in 15 minutes. She suggested a blog post. Everyone panicked - 15 minutes - but she said to use one of the ideas we just came up with, and get it done. There were 24 of us in the room and nearly all of us got the piece of content made in time. Why? Because she gave us the tools we needed first - and then we worked to complete the task in the time that was allotted. That's focus.

3. Create buckets of time - I often talk about this, and it will definitely make my productivity podcast! Part of the reason that we lose time is that we give ourselves a start time, but we then don't stop. I've seen it happen with things like research projects, social media, and more. Going down a rabbit hole - and letting yourself do it - can rob us of valuable time every single day. If you tell yourself that you will start at x time, and then stop at x time, you give yourself a reasonable bucket of time to complete the task. It is important to manage your time, not just spend it. So if you give yourself a stop time, that's managing it. And if you need more time you are aware that you need more time, and you can assign yourself more time to complete it. But you're not losing track of time.

4. Use tools - checklists, procedures, automation tools. Whatever you need - and whatever you will use. I use a bullet journal, Trello and my Google calendar. So that is a combination of paper, my phone, and a project management system. It works for me. With my bullet journal, I keep lists. When I want to get something done, then I can use the bullet journal list to create checklists, processes, procedures, Trello boards and set deadlines. The bullet journal is my master list. The Trello board is where I manage the tasks or action steps. The calendar I use to book my time - but I don't book all of my time like many others. I know when I have hard stops for meetings or other commitments by my calendar. And it helps me decide when I can fit in the things that I need to do. You need to use the same process. Keep a master to-do list, use a system or process to manage your daily and weekly tasks, and work within your calendar. Again here you are managing your workload in the time that you have available in a day or week. It's a great habit to begin using and you get better at it the more you do it. Practice makes perfect!

5. Stay on track. Whatever you plan, do your best to keep yourself on track. If you haven't scheduled your time and really managed it before, you may get it wrong sometimes. Cut yourself some slack. and keep at it. Block in a bit of empty time every day to use to catch up that way you don't get used to bumping tasks. And keep honing your managing skills. You can do it! Create a distractions list so you don't get derailed by distractions too. All that is, is a list beside your work station of things that you think of - that you may feel like you need to do now. But you don't. The task you are working on is the priority, keep it that way. Write the new thing on the list, and then decide when you will work on that when you next do your calendar management.

Remember lost time is never found again. When you start to change the habits you have around your time, and start to manage it better, you will get more done in less time -and won't lose any excellence. In fact, you'll become even more excellent!

If you need some help with getting more productive and managing your time better, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Today we are going to talk about marketing - in particular, inbound marketing - and how to do it well to get clients.

Last episode we talked about outbound marketing (or reaching out to clients), so this week we will cover the other half of the essentials of marketing.

First a quick recap:
What is marketing?
The act of putting your VA business in front of people
Instead of thinking of it as advertising and publicity, think more of it as visibility and sales/getting clients
Focus on increasing your visibility so your clients can decide on their own to buy

Why do we need to do marketing?
Learning how to market is the best thing you can do to guarantee the longevity of your VA business
because it brings in revenue and that keeps you in business

The more marketing tasks you do right, or well, the less you actually have to do.

What are the essentials?

What is your offer? What do you want people to buy?

How much will it cost them?

Who is going to buy it?

Where are they - where will they see you, or where can you see them?

What will you say to them? before, during and after

ONLY when you know the answers to these questions, you can doing some marketing to connect with your clients.

Inbound Marketing
Content that helps people see you and connect with you or reach out to you (attracting them IN to you)

Outbound Marketing
Actions and content that help you reach out to others to connect with them (reaching OUT to them)

Today we are going to talk about inbound marketing.

Inbound: freebies, list building, emailing, posting to social media, videos, blogging and your website (all good).

These things are probably the things you think of when we say marketing. It's about all of the things that we put out there so that people can learn about our business.

VAs don't necessarily need a huge email list, but having people find YOU makes sales conversations easier to get. We don't own social media - so attracting people to our website, blog and email list though - so that it is ours. And no matter which type of marketing you are doing, you need leads - everything you do should lead to sales conversations so you can get clients.

Social Media:
Social media posting is great – with the right plan.
VAs often do it wrong.
Be really clear on what you should be putting out there.
Don't talk about being a VA and how great it is. It's all about your clients.
Create content that are relevant to what they want to learn about - not just sales posts about your services.
For instance, if you offer course creator support, write about that kind of thing - what platforms that you use, updates to platforms or trends, and how you help your clients with them. Show that you are the expert. Become their information source.
You don’t need to be on social media all day long to do your marketing. Focus on the things that are interesting to your clients, that will help you get better quality content out there.

Messaging is Important:
When your messaging is on point, you can do less and have it work harder for you.
Get really clear on what you help your clients with - use the concise marketing message.
I help (who) with (what) so that they can (what), because I (why).
It's not an elevator pitch but this information helps you get really clear on what kind of content you should be putting out there.
Anything you put out there should work hard for you, it’s never one and done.
Set up a system for your digital marketing tasks that plays one off the other to get the best results.

Search Engine Optimization:
SEO also is key for any online content
The words you use are important to help the search engines put your content in front of the right people.
Hashtags, keywords
Make your content work harder for you.
You don’t have to be an SEO specialist, but use words that help people find you when they are looking (what do they type into a search engine)
My story - I never ranked in search engines because I didn't use the right words in my titles or articles. I thought I was talking to my audience, but I needed to be speaking to the search engines.

Blogging:
Writing blogs is great because you own your website and the content
You can guide people to where you want on your own site
You can repurpose it easily into more content
Creating regular content is good for search engines too - website updates are good!
Endeavour to write 400 to 600 words and you will get more content that is still really valuable.
Your goal is to have people know, like and trust you: more of the same content does that

Your content:
Write for your clients, not for you.
Stand out by posting different content than most VAs post.
What do they want to know about?
Always base content on the services you offer
For example, a bookkeeper writes about tax and expense tips & resources, organization tips, industry info – and references the things she does for clients. (not about being a VA)
What works for you? Anything related to the services that you offer.

Creating Content:
When you write your concise marketing message, you can then begin to create content around that message.
Decide on 4 main topics to write about
Rotate them weekly. Repeat each month.
Repurpose from a large piece of content
This creates consistency and cohesiveness, which showcases your expertise

Get Inspired:
When you have 4 main content topics, it’s easier to collect great info to support them
Swipe file is a place to collect stuff to use in your content - bookmark, Google Drive file, digital file.
Stats, quotes
Curated content
Makes creation process faster to collect this all month long

Get Going!
Focus on 2 or 3 main things to do in terms of posting content
Don’t try to be everywhere
Work smart!

What will you do to market your VA business? whatever works for you - whatever is comfortable for you - whatever produces results for you.

That's all I've got for you this week.

If you need some help with nailing down your marketing essentials, or creating great content, or doing your inbound marketing better, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

The Essentials of Outbound Marketing: Reaching Out

Today we are going to talk about marketing - in particular, outbound marketing - and how to do it well to get clients.

What is marketing?
The act of putting your VA business in front of people
Instead of thinking of it as advertising and publicity, think more of it as visibility and sales/getting clients
Focus on increasing your visibility so your clients can decide on their own to buy

Why do we need to do marketing?
Learning how to market is the best thing you can do to guarantee the longevity of your VA business
because it brings in revenue and that keeps you in business
the second thing to do is get good at conversations - which is just an extension of the marketing

The more you do right, or well, the less you actually have to do

If you have 10 sales conversations and you get one client, that means your conversion rate is 10%. We want to strive for better than that. So we don't make 20 conversations to get 2 clients - instead we improve our conversion rate, or the sales conversations that go right (and we sign the client).

We look for 7 sales from 10 conversations by doing better at them.

Market your business in 20 minutes a day - but you first have to have the essentials in place first

What are the essentials?

What is your offer? What do you want people to buy?

How much will it cost them?

Who is going to buy it?

Where are they - where will they see you, or where can you see them?

What will you say to them? before, during and after

ONLY when you know the answers to these questions, you can doing some marketing to connect with your clients.

Inbound Marketing
Content that helps people see you and connect with you or reach out to you (attracting them IN to you)

Outbound Marketing
Actions and content that help you reach out to others to connect with them (reaching OUT to them)

Today we are going to talk about outbound marketing.

Outbound: Networking, cold calling - just conversations with people. Let's park the sales talk and just talk about conversations.

Conversations - talk to someone, ask them questions, see if they need your services, if not - move along, if yes, keep talking.

That's why it's essential that you know the services you are going to offer.

Your BEST services
Do what you know best
Don't do things you don't do well, or don't like doing - that's not a service I offer

You can charge more, you can confidently talk about it
You can enjoy your work - and be the client's expert

They will work with you, trust you, and refer you

Ask questions wait for answers
Listen to them
What does the client need?
What do they want to get help with?
What is their budget?
When do they want to start?

Really easy to sell a client when you can do what they need.

Other Outbound ways to get clients:

Sponsorships at events - vendor table or sponsor (you often get to speak or get extra mentions in front of the whole event crowd)
Sponsorship in publications - could be helpful
Business groups BNI Chamber - weekly commitment/referrals but often a great way to get clients - you will be the only VA
Attending events - ask questions at the mic and never forget to introduce yourself, your company, and tell people who you help and with what
Email marketing - mailing out to your list
Guesting on a seminar - showcase your expertise
Teaching a lunch n learn - usually the whole group will need your services (if you speak at the right places)
Social media ads - can be pricey but are very targeted

Anything where the service provider initiates the conversation is outbound marketing

What will you do to market your VA business? whatever works for you - whatever is comfortable for you - whatever produces results for you.

That's all I've got for you this week.

If you need some help with nailing down your marketing essentials, or having conversations with clients, or doing outbound marketing better, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Today we are going to talk about communicating well to stand out from the crowd.   

Quote: It's simple ... go the extra mile and you will stand out from the crowd. - Robin Crow

Of course I love this quote because to be ridiculously good VA, you have to go the extra mile in everything you do. Standing out from the rest of the sea of VAs is easy by tweaking a few things - communication is one of those important pieces.

A lot of people don't understand the importance of good communication - especially in the Virtual Assistant industry.

With most of our clients, we work virtually - so written communication is something that must be exceptional, in order to be efficient but also to save back and forth time, misunderstandings and everything in between.

Articulating what you need well - and helping your clients do the same, makes for good communication.

Excellent communicators easily boost their own reputation and success.

You also need to be aware that communication is two way. You not only need to make sure you are saying things in the right way, but you need to learn to be a great listener too.

Listen to understand what the other person is saying. Don't listen to respond.
I got called out on this once by an HR director. She told me that when she listened to me have conversations with some of the staff, that she could tell that I was formulating my response as they were talking, which was rude. That even if I knew how I was going to reply, that I should take a beat after they finished their thought and then speak. I thought she was crazy, but I'll tell you - when I started doing what she said, I noticed a huge improvement in many things - my level of understanding of what the other person was actually saying, my comprehension of the conversation, my ability to change my response on occasion, the reaction and anxiety of the other person feeling heard, it just all made more sense. I still pay very close attention to my speed and listening abilities - something that has become a very big part of my conversations as a coach, that's for sure!

Pay attention to the other person. Be respectful and honour their opinions too. Too often we judge someone else before they even speak. Think of those clients whose emails you dread seeing in your inbox - and the attitude you bring to their emails as a result.

Always remember that listening is half of communicating. If you can take just one tip from this episode today, I'll bet it's the listening tip. I know for me it changed my communication style completely.

In terms of communicating well yourself, I'll always give you the same advice:

Keep it brief - humans can only digest so much, so be clear. I suggest one subject per email with an appropriate subject line. Short sentences. Factual content. Don't be an explainer or a justifier - when we do this in conversation it's more obvious that we are doing it. Don't get lost in email by droning on and on about anything. Get your message across, make your point clearly, and move on. If you need to explain something, perhaps suggest a phone call to clarify the problem. That's standing out - showing the client the difference when necessary.

Be confident - if you don't believe what you are saying, no one else will either. Sometimes we ramble on when we are trying to convince someone of something - like a conversation about rates with clients, that often can be difficult. Whatever you are communicating, make sure you can back it up and be confident that you are conveying the information properly. When you get to talking money with clients, use the word budget - ask them what theirs is, and tell them what you can do within it. Don't try to convince people of anything - it never works.

Smile! Always approach conversations in a positive way. If you come across some conflict, look for the positive spin. If someone made a mistake on something, whether it was you or someone else, focus on the immediate fix, and the future fix to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Practice conversations - and edit writing. When you write anything - even just a simple response - read it over and edit. You can always make things more concise. When you are speaking, think about it first, and then speak when the other person has finished.

Of course, there are times that you will have to change a subject or cut someone short. This happens to me on discovery calls sometimes. The person on the other end is busy explaining and justifying something (like why they don't have any clients, but why their tactics are still working for them), and I will have to stop them. I wait, I am respectful to a point, but when they go off on a tangent and don't look like they are coming back, I stop them with the same words all the time - so how can I help you today?

And you might say well Tracey cutting people off is not communicating well, but yes it is - when necessary. A conversation is two way - remember! And when one person is controlling the dialogue it's no longer a conversation. Communicating well means preserving that.

Be authentic in your communication - written or verbal. Don't try to use big words, you just need to be you. Be professional. Use the right words. Language matters, and it's doesn't take word of the day toilet paper to make you sound smart.

Read every day - I am a voracious reader - not of books, but of articles, news, posts, comments, everything I can get my hands on. Read the news, stay up on trends in your clients' industry - in the VA industry. Watch the weather in your clients' neck of the woods. These are every day things that bring interesting perspectives to everything you do. You will develop a better command over language.

Ask questions - questions are great to help gain clarity but they are also good to get information, and to share the burden of the conversation.

Choose timing well - there is often a good time for conversations - especially difficult ones. timing is important. For instance, if you are talking about raising rates with clients, there is a good way to do this and there are many bad ways to do it. Other times to choose your timing well - during a super busy period of time/work, if you make a mistake, if you have a celebration, when a client is away. All different scenarios, and all require different timing. Jus because something is on your mind now doesn't mean it's the best time to address it.

And finally, responding is as important as initiating conversation:

How you respond to people can also make you stand out from the crowd:

A couple of examples -
I ask two people to DM me about setting up a private call this week.
One of them messaged me and says 'Hey Tracey'. and that's all, nothing else.
One of them messaged me and says 'Thanks for getting in touch with me in x group. I'd love to tell you more about xyz. Here is my calendar link to book a call at your convenience. I look forward to speaking with you!'

Which one is the better communicator?

It's not always that obvious but when you recognize the difference between the two, you understand what I mean.

The first one makes me work harder to help them. She talked about the issues she was having, and I told her she could PM me to discuss solutions. So the better response would have been 'Hey Tracey thanks so much for connecting with me about x. I'm interested in discussing this further. Let me know next steps!' or something like that.

It's like the people that connect with you on LinkedIn and then immediately send you a long message with all of their links expecting you to do the work to learn about whether you can use their services. Just don't do it. Create a relationship from your connections. Nurture it. And communicate well.

Whether we are looking to make better connections, build relationships with potential clients, get a client to take a sales conversation, or ask someone for help with something - your communication is everything. It makes a first impression that lasts. And good habits every day help you stand out for sure.

Communicating well is a skill that must be learned - and practiced - and everyone can learn to do it just a little better.

Take the time to identify how you can improve your communication skills and you will stand out from the VA crowd!

If you need some help perfecting your communication skills, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Today we are going to talk about marketing and making a simple plan that works for you. And why that's probably not what you think it is. 

First things first, what is marketing?

Marketing is about creating digital communication that helps VA clients get to know you and move towards working with you, with a few steps in between.

Why is marketing so hard?
Because we were never taught how to do it.
And because there are SO many options out there to use as marketing tools, we can get confused and overwhelmed very quickly, trying to be everywhere and do everything.

Just like we tell our VA clients to outsource what they aren't good at, or don't know how to do, we have to do the same thing with our marketing. To a point. Basic marketing knowledge is important as a business owner, so if you don't know what you need to do and why, you need to learn that.

And there are some things you can learn to do for yourself - and some that you may consider outsourcing as well. The thing is, don't try to become a marketing expert if that's not the service you offer your clients. The key is to get the marketing done - and to understand why you are doing it, and to be able to measure it.

That's called planning.

A simple marketing plan can help a ridiculously good VA like you clarify what you are intending to do, how to do it, and whether it is working for you.

The flow goes something like this: marketing goal - strategy - plan - action - analytics - sales conversation - clients.

Marketing doesn't just mean posting a few social media posts and then getting clients.

There are a lot of components to marketing (if you weren't sure of this, try googling marketing and seeing ALL the things that make up marketing - enjoy getting confused and overwhelmed!

So we start by setting a marketing goal - but what is our goal?

It depends on what you already have set up.

Here are some examples of marketing goals:

Build awareness - this is where you let people know about you and your business. Awareness is often called brand awareness, but you can also just call it awareness of you and the services you offer your clients.

Generating leads - building your audience is an important marketing goal. That doesn't always mean list building or creating a freebie right off the bat, but it does mean getting more eyes on your services and your content.

Showcasing expertise - showing your people how great you are to work with is a key to success in marketing. Of course you have to have an audience to show it to, so you see how things fit together. But being able to showcase how you support your clients is essential too.

Increasing engagement - Especially on social media, we don't want to just be pumping content out - we are looking for engagement with what we put out there - and engagement with US too. When people know about you , the goal is to get them to a sales conversation, and sometimes that can take a while.

Generate revenue - of course the ultimate goal is to get clients, and to make sales - so this is clearly a common goal - but marketing doesn't start with this.

As you can probably see, all of these goals sort of nest inside one another- so if you don't have the first ones in place, that's where you should start.

In order to get clients, they need to know about you, you need to be building your audience, they need to see and understand how you can help them, they need to reach out to you, or react to you, and then you need to invite them to sales conversations and sign them.

Easy huh? LOL

So let's work with the first goal - to build awareness .. start getting the word out about your business.

First you need to choose your best service. The more focused you can be the better. That means that your content and conversations will be more focused too. You'll be talking about how you help clients with a specific service, and that is cohesive. And in your networking too (you can be found in searches for your key services in FB groups).

Next you need to choose your best client. When you know your best services, you can figure out who needs them the most. Choosing a target can feel limiting sometimes but it really is a smarter way to find lots of clients who need the same thing. It makes your work easier.

Obviously you also have to know your rates, and how much it will cost your clients to work with you. You should know your services and rates inside and out as you start to market your business.

Only then can you start to plan your content. Planning your content is a very good idea as well - choose 3 or 4 solid topics to create content about, that are directly related to your service offerings. If you have seen my content matrix, you'll know that I suggest choosing 4 topics, and then also choosing 4 angles to write about too. The matrix gives you 16 topics you can easily write about., which is 4 months of weekly blog posts.

Here is the link to the exercise:
www.YourVAMentor.com/content-matrix-4x4

Remember always to maximize your efforts too but using great seo, researching keywords, using hashtags as necessary, and making the content you are creating work harder for you. And always include a call to action so your audience knows what you want them to do next. I'll talk more shortly about what to do with a blog post to get more traffic out of it.

The next steps are to promote your content on social media channels, make daily connections and to be active with your networking.

See how many things are involved just in setting a building awareness goal? That's why marketing is so big - and why we often do it wrong.

It's simple, but we need all the blocks to fit together to work properly, which is why it's not easy.

The last piece as with any goal is to track your results so you can make changes to your plan and your actions if they aren't working properly for you. These are called KPIs, or key performance indicators.

So what are good KPIs for a goal of building awareness?

Traffic - actual numbers of who is seeing what - that can be google analytics, insights on facebook or other social media platforms.
Referrals - these can include direct referrals, but also tags and mentions, and shares on social.
Connections - how many people are joining your communities, or connecting with you?
Follow up conversations - tracking every actual conversation that starts can help you remember to 'go back' and check in on people periodically to build relationships (do this in a google sheet, don't rely on messenger or FB groups to find this info)
Comments and interactions - similar to referrals, and follow up - you want to keep an eye on these as well, and always respond
Search results - when you are coming up higher in google, or when you are coming up in group searches, that's because you are putting out quality stuff

Even though this sounds like a lot, it's not really - and it's a little system that you can put into place easily for your business. So that when you start to move to the next step, you already have this stuff in place.

It's a regular, repeatable, simple process that helps you achieve your goal to get your business in front of your potential clients.

Automate what you can - systematize what you can't. And then you don't have to spend much time at all each week implementing this.

So here's what it could look like:

so ... weekly short blog post (use the content matrix for blog topic ideas)
... repurposing blog content into smaller pieces, using the same topic and content
... templates for images - use Canva so making images doesn't take any time at all - suggest 4 templates as well
... small buckets of time for connections - this you can't really automate or schedule, so you need to find time to do it, but not a lot of time - 20 minutes a day is more than enough most of the time
... tracking sheet for interactions - I can't overstate this, to keep track of who you are connecting with and interacting with in a google sheet. It makes follow up much easier to keep track of.

Make things as simple as you can and hold yourself accountable to do those small daily action every day - only 20 minutes means you can always fit it in.

And it helps you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant (and hint, hint, you can help your clients to the same process!)

Don't try to do everything at once.

By breaking things down and focusing on one goal at a time, you will work more focused and you'll get better results. The daily actions I will keep talking about because it works. Tracking your results is essential so you know what's working, so you can do more of that. And you can change course as necessary if things are not working.

This will work for you - I promise!

And then the next things you need to do is to build your audience.
This is about creating a facebook group of your own, or finding other networking connections. It's about getting in front of as many of your target clients as you can, now that you have great content that you know they will love! Lead magnets, building a mailing list - all part of your goal of building your audience.

That's for another episode though!

If you need some help figuring out which marketing goal you need to start working on now, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Today we are going to talk about creating content that stands out - from your daily actions and interactions. 

Quote: Social media is here. It's not going away; not a passing fad. Be where your customers are: social media. - Lori Ruff

So everything is content. What do I mean by that?

Well, a lot of VAs tell me that they don't know what to post about, so it mostly comes from that. And the fact that I see VAs posting about being a VA and how great it is. That's my reason for talking about this topic as much as I do.

Your content is for your clients. Period. It's not about you. If you are struggling to get clients from your content, it is either that you aren't posting enough content (or any at all), or you aren't posting the right content.

So let's dig in to that.

Think about what makes you stop the scroll. What are you interested in?

I know what makes me stop.

I like food, travelling, health and wellness stuff. That's my personal stuff.
I also like social media, how to stuff, inspirational stuff, and things that will make my business run more smoothly and make more money.

That's a pretty short list, but off the top of my head, I know that I stop at those posts on every social media channel.

That's what you need to figure out about your target clients.

What THEY want to stop at.

And I can tell you, it's not about being a VA. Why do I know this? Because my clients will stop at how to be a VA. I'm a VA coach. But when I was a VA, the people who paid me - my clients - 6 and 7 figure business coaches, couldn't care less about how to become a VA. Or what it's like to be one.

And yet that's what I was posting about. Yep, I did it too!

But your clients don't care. You need to create content that is of interest to THEM. They are the ones you are marketing to.

So figure that out.

And luckily I'm here to give you some tips today on how to do that - much easier than you might doing it now. Are you unsure what to post? Well,...

Everything is content. This is truly great advice- and so true.

When you struggle to create content, you have to look at things differently. And when you do, you need to find the business lessons or the common thread to advice that you can use as a comparison to your business.

People can relate to daily activities and interactions - and while I don't suggest you write all your content this way, it can be a great boost to adding your personality and some much needed relatability to your content.

Here's what I mean.

I told a story recently of how I went to Costco and had a crappy customer service experience. Long story short, they told me the debit machines were down as I entered the store, but said they took cash and credit. So I went ahead in, did my shopping, and tried to pay with my Visa or Amex. Nope. They actually only take Mastercard, which the girl at the front didn't tell me. So I had to find a bank machine and get cash to pay for my stuff. This is relatable, and you can link it directly to how you would have handled the customer service, if that's a service you offer (even if it's not - I always give my customers the right information).

When you go to the bank, they spin their monitor around and show you all your stuff and they tell you about the options they have for you - and they recommend what they feel is the best one for you. That's how you can help your clients decide the best option to with you.

Laundry - we sort it to wash it, and we adjust the water temperature and spin force for different clothing. I also sort it to fold it. This shows people how you organize yourself - how your mind works, and how you use processes.

Client stories are great things to use in content. Tell people what the client was experiencing before they started working with you and how you helped them. The more clients you have, the more you can use this kind of content. You can even inject your humour into these, as a show of how you build relationships and get along with your clients.

Conversations you have with business owners - whether they are potential clients or not. Like the people at Costco or the bank, or a networking event. I tell the story often of a woman who was at a networking event, introduced herself to a fellow and proceeded to talk for 20 minutes about her product - bras for women who have undergone mastectomy. Great product, but he had zero interest in what she was talking to him about - and everyone knew it. She needed to know her audience - which incidentally, there were at least a dozen women in the room that she could have had conversation with, but she couldn't see that she was talking to a wall.

Something you have learned - talk about it step by step. If you went to a webinar this week, tell people about it! Tell them what made it interesting, and how you will use what you learned. Especially if it's how you will use it to help your clients. But even still, when we are looking for relatability, if your clients also learn for their business, you will cover that.

Can you see what I mean? There is so much you can do with content from your everyday interactions and actions.

Do you have a morning routine? Talk about it.
Did you learn a lesson? Talk about it.
Did you notice a new trend? Talk about it.
Did your clients ask you questions this week? Talk about it.
Did you see other VAs posting things that you know the answers to ? Talk about it.

When you step out of the marketing mindset, and just share what you are doing and how that relates to your clients and their businesses, you will be creating much more interesting content for your clients to consume.

And when you add your personality, you will stand out.

You don't have to do endless Tiktok videos, but when you start to just be YOU, people notice. When you are marketing, you want to get noticed. What is your point of view on something? Your perspective? This showcases your opinion and your expertise - but in a relatable way, so it's not business all the time, or selling.

We spend a lot of time separating business from life and sometimes those are the best places for us to share our expertise.

How do you start your day?
How do you end your day?
How do you stay on track for deadlines and time management?
How do you stay organized?
What do your clients say about working with you?

Write your own content, and curate stuff from others that you follow or trust.

And while we're on it, figure out how to repurpose content. You can write one weekly blog post and the repurpose that into 10 or 20 pieces of other content. How do you do that?

Simple. Decide on four main topics that your audience is interested in. Rotate the topics every week so you always have something different. Look for content as you surf or in your daily activities that relate to the topic of next week's blog post. It makes it easier to write, to create. And then break it up into 10 or 20 pieces after you write it. Images, tips, captions, photos .. it's easy to do especially once you get started.

And once you start it, it gets easier. Especially as you start to get interactions on it, but really when it becomes easier to create. You don't have to post 10 Instagram stories a day. 1 blog post a week, 3 to 5 other social media posts in one channel - make them good. And keep at it.

Change the way you look at everything all day long. You will see the content when you look for it (within reason). Keep a notepad or use your phone to keep some point form notes if you are out and about. Become inspired by what is going on around you and who is around you. And figure out how you can help people with it. That's what they will stop scrolling to look at, and that's what will help them know, like and trust you faster so that they will take action to work with you.

Visibility is everything but you have to be interesting - and to be interesting, you have to be interestED in what they are interested in - there's the key!

If you need some help figuring out how to create better content, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com

I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

This episode is the second in a series of four episodes that I want to share with you as a lead up to my 50K VA Group Coaching program that is launching next month. And today we talk about getting the skills you need to do it.

What essential skills does a VA need to have to earn 50K a year or more? And why is it important to develop these essential skills?

Because they make up the foundation of what your business is - why it is better than the VA's beside you.

You become a better business owner, a better VA, and you will attract premium clients and manage your business effectively.

When you develop competence, your confidence becomes so much more apparent. Talking with clients about how you can help them is easy.

When you demonstrate professionalism, clients see it. High level clients seek out VAs who can handle all the balls they have in the air, without micro managing them.

When you showcase your essential technical and soft skills, you position yourself as a capable and reliable VA who can deliver what they promise.

Your essential skills are: technical skills and soft skills. You need to master both kinds to build your 50K VA business. Let's get to work building yours!

In the 50K VA program. I will show you how to uplevel your professionalism, marketing, communication and so much more.

If you are looking to build the kind of business I’m talking about - a 50K and beyond VA business, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase

I'm going to leave it here for today but don’t miss next week’s episode when we dive into “Building a High Value Clientele as a VA”. We will define who those clients are and where to find them, talk about how to network and create proposals and a whole lot more.

Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: https://yourvamentor.com/TVC . We’d love to have you join us!

50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. STARTING SEPTEMBER 2024!

MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business.  Get more details and sign up here now!

SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Today we are going to talk about how to take time off in your business. 

Time off. Time to recharge your batteries, get some rest, get some personal time in, get some personal stuff done.

For the purposes of this episode, I'm not talking about time off for kid's school or extracurricular activities, or for looking after aging parents appointments. I'm talking about YOU.

In order for you to be a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant, you must look after yourself.

You are the service, the product, the talent of your business. If you don't make sure to take time away from your business, you will soon start to regret it.

When we work for someone else, we automatically get nights and weekends off, don't we? For the most part anyway. 

Some entrepreneurs don't do that. We work on our own business in the 'down' times, and sometimes that means we work all the time.

Or at least that's what it looks like.

And that's not healthy. It's why I always talk to you about being really focused on what it is you want to get done - have a plan, do it in the shortest time bucket possible, and move along. 

But time off is not just nights and weekends, though those are important, it's any time you are away from your clients for an extended period of time. And that's what I want to talk about today.

What does it take to take time off from your business? Just a little preparation.

We need to be more strategic than when we are taking holidays from a job, but it doesn't mean that we can't do it.

And when done right, you will make the most of your vacation time - and hopefully you'll do it more often!

What does vacation mean to you? For me it honestly just means a couple of days away. My husband is a chef and in the hospitality industry, especially these days, time off comes at a premium. So we do short jaunts here and there, no big long 3 week cruises in the Pacific in our house!

The longer you plan to be away, the more prep you need to do. So let's talk about what you need to do:

1. Create procedures for the things you do. Step by step is not needed necessarily, but you do need to document the things you do, if someone is taking over for you, or if your client needs to do something on their own. A little extra attention and hand holding before you go makes your clients feel supported and confident. Screenshare videos are the best!

2. Give your clients plenty of notice that you'll be away. Last minute is usually the issue, and we always want to manage our client's expectations well. Be sure to let them know what will happen in your absence, and how to reach whoever is in charge.

3. Find someone to look after your work while you are gone if necessary. A colleague who can check on things really helps you relax more when you are not there yourself. Obviously provide them with your daily schedule, logins and procedures.

4. Check in yourself once a day. This is what I have done on longer holidays - once in the morning, 30 minutes max, to make sure everything is going according to plan. Then the rest of the time I can relax knowing that I myself saw what was happening. Don't do any work though - delegate it!

5. Do as much ahead as you can - if your clients are on retainer, you don't want to just disappear for a week that they have paid for. Figure out how you can get ahead on some regular ongoing work so they still get their deliverables.

6. Don't be shy about taking time off. Everyone does it. If you are working with your ideal clients, they will value you and your time, and they will want you to enjoy yourself and come back refreshed. If you have a client who gets upset, then you may want to think about replacing that client when you get back! I read a statistic that said 43% of freelancers have felt the need to hide their vacation from their clients! (podia.com) nope!

How to relax on your vacay:

1. Turn notifications off.
2. Unplug.
3. Rest.
4. Just do it.
5. Enjoy!

And if you can't get away on vacation, or you can't afford it, time off is still a very real thing you need to schedule in.

Afternoons off, Fridays off, nights off, weekends off, time off between Christmas and New Year's - whatever it is, make sure to incorporate it and still use all the same tips that I gave you in today's episode. 

A couple of tips on how to incorporate vacation into your business: 
- pick a date and stick to it (buy an airline ticket!)
- plan ahead so you have time to complete things or get the right people in place
- cushion a business trip with a few days of vacation on either side
- try long weekends first if you have never taken a vacation
- trust that all will go well because you prepared everyone (trust who you leave in charge - they will get better the more you let them be autonomous)
- once you get away and all goes well, you'll be booking that next one!

On that note, I'm actually on my own vacation at the moment - in a log cabin in beautiful Alberta with my husband for a few days. I'll be back later this week. And yes, I recorded this episode of my podcast early so I could get away and still provide it to you. Of course. I'll see you next week!

What to do next:

If you need some help figuring out how to set your business up so that you will not burn out, and so that you can take time off when you need it or want it, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com

I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant!

Today we are going to talk about self promotion and how it confuses and frustrates new VAs.

What is self promotion?

Basically it's showcasing yourself and your business to an audience of people in a group somewhere.

When that forum or group is owned by someone else, self promotion is often a rule not to be broken, without facing consequences.

That's why it's so frowned upon when you show up and start telling everyone about what you do.

All we tell you in marketing is tell people what you do - it's confusing, I'm sure.

I remember it being really confusing. I broke the rule in lots of groups. I truly didn't mean to but I did.

When you realize how to do it better, that's when it becomes clear what you were doing wrong before. Let's see if I can shed some light on a few things for you today.

So the rules are there for everyone in the group. If everyone posted about their business every day, the group owner would see people leaving in droves.

Many communities are built to be just that - communities. So just like everywhere else you network, you have to wander around and meet people. And talk to them.

Treat every networking or business group that you are in like a room of people. And every time you walk into that room, there are different people. Some are the same, some are new, some are not.

You have to build relationships with people, and the way to do that is not to hit them over the head with Hi I'm a VA and I have some one spot open next week for a new client. Hi I'm a VA and I wrote this blog post about staying organized, go read it. Hi I'm a VA and hiring a VA for your business is so smart because you'll save time and money.

These are things we say everyday in our marketing - but to jump into a group whether you are new to it or not and lead off with that is a turn off for everyone in the group. Mostly.

And it annoys the group host because they own the group. They have built the group - their audience - and so everyone that comes into the space, they want to help their audience - not sell to them. And of course building a group - a good one especially, takes considerable effort, time and expense.

Don't ever forget that. Just because it's a free group doesn't mean it's a free for all. And you don't have the right to get mad if someone tells you that you are breaking their self promotion rules. You just don't.

Groups (even local networking ones) belong to someone - there is an owner, and they are using it for a specific purpose. They get to make whatever rules they want. You agree to them when you join the group, and they decide what happens when someone breaks them.

So what can we do to promote ourselves in those groups?

First of all, if you are going to spend time in any group make sure that YOUR audience is there. Don't just join a big group thinking that your people must be in there. Anything you spend time at needs to be a good use of your time.

Second, provide value every single time you post or comment. I'll give you some examples in a minute. Think about helping people, not selling to them. TRUST me, the sale will come if you can master the helping part first.

Don't post calls to action - no need to take people away from the group for any reason. In fact, the longer you can keep the conversation going in the group in front of the rest of the group, the better it works for you. You are then showcasing yourself to the potential thousands of people that are there - not just the one (who seriously could just be looking for free help).

Post informational stuff - things you have learned in your own surfing. Has anyone notice this new FB feature? Where is the best place you have found to get advice around xyz (dont' step on the group owners' toes here)

Ask questions - Do you have a favourite CRM? I have been using Dubsado for about a year and it has some great features for coaches. I have a question about how Jane app - a client is using it and we are wondering if it can do xyz. You are looking to invite interaction and conversation about things that you are knowledgeable about or that will help people understand how you help your clients.

Look to connect - I'm headed out west next week - anyone in this group from there? What should I make sure to see? Or my client is travelling - where should I make their dinner reservation?

If you have good news, announce it but tell people how you achieved it. I got invited to speak at this symposium, I'm so excited. The woman in charge said she got my name from an event I spoke at a long time ago when they couldn't do the event, and she hung onto it all this time and said that she knew that this year she was definitely calling me since it's their first time in 3 years (that happened to me). Bragging is not the same as self promotion.

Get noticed, be present, actually have conversations with people. Cheer them on. Comment on their posts and the hosts' too. Participate in the group. This is why we tell you to focus on just one group at a time. It's more genuine.

Don't just post a link to your newest blog post every week - again what if everyone did that? If it's not your group, don't do that.

Don't cross post. When you are in certain groups with your target market, there are often other groups that people also belong too. When you post the same thing in all of your groups, people are very aware that you are not looking to build relationships, you are just using the groups for yourself.

Take advantage of promo schedules - if there is an opportunity to post something about your biz, do it thoughtfully - tell a client story or post a testimonial (collect those, btw).

Get comfortable talking about how good you are at what you do. People need to hear it to notice you, to hire you, to work with you.

Talk about who you helped this week.

Talk about a resource you came upon.

Share things that are actually valuable to the other members of the community..

I belong to a local group with over 24,000 women , and do you know that there are only 3 VAs who get recommended in that group all the time? And they get TONS of tags when someone is looking for a VA. Why? Because they have taken their time to get to know people in there. They help them. They work with them. They do great work. They get referrals. It's awesome. I love it!

And none of them ever have to post I'm a VA and I have an opening for a client this month. Though if they did they would be very well received and everyone would jump in and say 'work with her, you won't regret it' lol.

That's what we should be striving for.

Give more than you take. Oh there it is! The quote for today.

When you stop trying to get the client or make the sale, you will get clients and make sales.

Show up first to help - and do it daily. People will see you and start to trust you. Others will recommend you. They will hire you. Give, give, give.

That's what people see.

So, choose a FB group of business owners that contains your target clients (don't ask me which groups to join you need to find them on your own). Introduce yourself or reintroduce yourself if it's been a while since you joined it.

Tell people that you are a VA, but don't tell them to hire you. Tell them why you started your business and how much you love helping 'target group' with 'service'. Tell them how you are excited to be in this group of professionals and looking forward to getting to know them in this beautiful space.

When someone posts a question, just answer it. Dont' put in a link to your blog or tell them some longwinded story, or tell them to PM you to discuss. Just answer their question. Then move on to the next question that is relevant to your services. Answer that. and so on.

It's so easy to tell people about how you help your clients without self promoting. It takes some practice but it really does become clear when you start getting interaction on your comments from people who can see the difference, and who really want to get to know you.

I'll leave you with this today:

There's a blog post from Becca at Uncaged life that I always comes across when I do research for this particular topic and I decided I just want to share a bit of it with you.

It's called
How Not to Be a Dick in Facebook Groups and it's awesome. Love the tips in it.

But I wanted to read you this part of the post because it's so perfect:

Scenario 2: You’re in the room with your friends and the attractive people. Let’s say one of these attractive people asks something like “Do you know where the best pizza in town is?” and you reply “I do! Also, did you know that I’m single? Would you like my number? Here it is!” As you grab their phone and enter your number into their contacts. And they reply “Oh, um. Cool. So anyway, what’s the name of the pizza place?” And you’re all like “Call me and I’ll tell you!” This is pretty much the equivalent to commenting on people’s Facebook questions with a link to your website. #desperate

And now you’re going to say “Yeah Becca, but these people – they need what I have!” Sure, they might need it, but the ways in which you are giving it to them make you look like a desperate drunk girl at the end of the night at the bar. NO ONE is taking that shit home.

So in conclusion, be a human. Have integrity. Please don’t ever do these things, in real life or online.

Thanks Becca, I couldn't have said it better myself.

If you need some help figuring out what to say in your networking or marketing, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com

I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

There are many things that our clients deal with in their businesses, and many of them are the main reason that they hire us as VAs to work with them.

Today I want to talk about these things as struggles that they face - because that's really what they are.

What moves a client into making the decision to invest in a VA? Sometimes they are excited to move into a new direction, and we'll talk about that later in this episode, but more often than not, they are looking for help with something that is not working well in their business. They are not happy about it - it is taking too much of their time, or it simply isn't working the way it should be for them even though they know how to do it.

Let's go!

Organization:

One of the most simple services a VA can offer a client is to get them organized. Many of our clients don't excel in this area. Just like we were never taught sales in our admin roles in our corporate jobs, they were not taught admin skills in their roles either.

It does not come easily to a lot of business owners, and as you know I always say it's the main service offering that they need from VAs.

How does disorganization show up in their business? 
They can missed appointments, or do the appointments but then be terrible at follow up and miss out on sales
They can start projects and never finish them
Or they can half ass their marketing initiatives and launches.
All of these add up to their business suffering.

How can we help?
We can help them clean out their inboxes and keep their email organized so they get back to people in good time and always know where to find the things they need. Or keep their clients better informed and taken care of.
We can help them automate their scheduling, or organize it better - so that . their day shapes up more efficiently. Booking more appointments for them can get them new clients too.
We can help them get back to people who inquire, or follow up with people they have connected with, so that they can nurture relationships with them and again, potentially get new clients.
We can help them complete their open projects and prioritize new ones.
We can help them check off all the tasks needed for the marketing tasks or launches that they know are important to grow their business.

So it's more than I can manage your email - you want to be able to articulate to them WHY it's important - and often that starts with telling them what is happening by them NOT doing this well right now.

Time Management:

For a VA, time is money. We are a service business and so we trade our time for dollars no matter how you do your billing.

How does terrible time management show up in your client's business?
They can take way too long to do some things  - or everything.
They can simply not do things that they don't have time for, even if they know they are important.
They can spend their time doing many things that are not actually bringing revenue into their business. Busy work. Without revenue a business can not survive.

How can we help?
We can help them by setting up procedures for things that need to be done - or teach them how to use automation.
We can of course also take things off of their desk so they don't do them anymore - and use those procedures and automation to get them done as efficiently as possible.
We can ensure that the tasks that they say are priorities for them get done each week or month. This is especially important with things like customer service and marketing tasks.
We can help them spend their time more wisely doing things that will actually bring revenue into their business. Networking, working with clients, creating new ways to serve their clients. Really that's it! And we can help them make the most of their time.

Tech Issues:

You don't have to be a tech goddess to provide tech support for your clients.
We know how much of a struggle it can be to have to learn something new, especially if we are not good at it or don't understand it.

How do tech issues show up in our client's business?
System crashes or data loss - usually these are urgent issues and website hosts or servers are sought out, but not always
Security issues - viruses or hackers, access for social media platforms
Online platform issues - access, logins, passwords, recordings, meetings and events
Online file storage and management - where their stuff is

How can we help?
We can help them get safeguards and backup systems in place before any bad happens.
We can make sure they have a system in place, a plan and security for when  things do go wrong. We can learn the basics and explain and document what they need to do - and ensure secondary people are in place for social media accounts.
We can make sure there is a system in place to manage passwords and logins and access. We can manage event recordings and moderate meetings and events..

Creativity:

Good looking marketing collateral definitely helps clients grow their audience and their business. Amateur looking stuff or stuffy looking stuff can really derail anyone's efforts. Luckily this is a very strong service for VAs.

How do creativity issues show up in a client's business?

Plain presentations - not standing out or looking good may look unprofessional to clients
Crappy workbooks or no workbooks - clients may not implement their teachings fully or easily
Unbranded colours, fonts and graphics - just plain bad graphic design
Copyright issues from Googled images - so many clients pull images from Google searches that could be copyrighted, and don't think anything of it. This could cause legal issues (not to mention redo issues) when they are caught.

How can we help?

We can help them by creating eye catching presentations and handouts to uplevel their stuff
We can use systems like Canva to create templates so all of their stuff is cohesive and professional and polished.
We can help them look more polished in everything they post
We can help elevate their brand
We can save them a ton of time if it's something they don't do well

There are a lot of things that our clients struggle with but these 4 are pretty common ones, and things that they often seek help for.

What I hope you got from today's episode is how to describe the struggle to the client. They may not realize what is going wrong in their business, or what is the most important thing to get help with.

When you can reframe it for them and describe the struggle - and the relief they will see by getting help, you can help move them into action to say YES and work with you.

Now I also said I'd talk briefly about how you can help a client when things ARENT so bad. When they are just looking for growth in their business and they know they need help to get it. 

Maybe they need your organization skills to pull of a huge event or launch, or a new podcast. 
Maybe they need to have you do things for them because they are super busy and they don't have time to manage all of the details they shouldn't be managing anyway.
Maybe they want you to help them with their tech and creativity so that you help them stand out.

Yes, many business owners already KNOW why they need our help. And we still talk to them in the same way. Actually it' can be a great exercise to ask them why they need help and what they think they will get from it (or if you are already working with them, what they ARE getting from it) - and then use that with your other clients.

Think of these three questions every time:
What do you do that you can help a client with? 
How does it show up in their business? 
How can you help them?

If you want my help to figure out how to start talking to your clients in language that they understand, and BUY, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Today we are going to talk about how to use LinkedIn smarter, so you can market yourself properly and yes, get clients.

Where are you looking for clients?

A lot of VAs tell me that they are looking for clients on social media.

If that's you, how's it working for you?

When we are trying to grow our business, we have to go to the right places, talk to the right people, and say the right things.

That probably sounds challenging, but once you figure it out, it really is quite simple.

And you will spend less time doing it too, because you are working smarter.

There are 810 million users on LinkedIn. 310 active monthly.

How many clients do you need? Your clients are there.

Linked In is all business - people are on there for professional reasons. And although there is community there, it's not the same as most other social media platforms because it's not really just social.

And the people that are active there (which you can easily see) are the ones you can work with. So it's time to start making good business connections.

What better place to start having really good business conversations with business people than in a business social setting.

What you need to do is to make sure that what you are putting out there is going to work for you.

It's not your online resume anymore. There are so many features that you can use to showcase your services.

And you also need to find the people that bring you business. That can be potential clients, or potential referral sources. Connections!

Here's what to do:

Optimize your profile

• make sure that you are using keywords - search terms that people will look for, or that LinkedIn will choose to show them
• there are all kinds of neat new things on your profile page that can showcase your services
• by optimizing what you are putting out there, you show people what you want them to see

Make your profile work for you

• make your about section read like your website
• fill up the featured section
• your photo headline travel with you everywhere
• detail the services you offer and then

Use search bar - to find your ideal clients

• search their occupation, location, services they use
• look at vas or other strategic partners who serve the same clients as you

Search their job title and then choose 2nd connections to make new connections.

But also don't forget to look at your 1st connections. are there relationships you haven't leveraged there yet?

Don't forget about strategic partners - search them also and see what they are doing - whose stuff they are sharing. Building a partner relationship can be even easier!

Search events to see if there are any that you might attend.

After you find the people you are looking for, start a tracking sheet to keep track of who you are reaching out to. Check to see if they are active, and if so, what is their activity? Look at all of their activity, not just what they are posting (though typically that's what you want to like, share and comment on), but also what they are liking, sharing and commenting on.

See who else they are connected to - would they be good connections for you also? Look for quality over quantity

Remember you don't need 100 clients or 310 million. You are just looking for ONE at at time.

By finding the people that are ideal for you, you need far fewer solid connections than you think.

Start to like comment and share their posts

Then by the time you do an introduction or a connection request, you are familiar to them

This takes time, don't like 2 of their posts and then send an email unless there is a really compelling reason to do so

And next, of course you have to post relevant content of your own.

What are your services?

Post about what you do for your clients and how that helps them in their business.

Your profile and your actual activity are most important - you can post 3x a week but it should be good. You don't have to post 10x a day. Quality of quantity for content too.

LinkedIn will show your posts to more people when you get interaction on them so make sure you are thoughtfully posting.

And LinkedIn counts your interactions as activity too, as you can see from other people's activity level - so by stepping that up yourself, you are becoming more visible in everyone's feed as well. It's definitely as good as posting yourself, without having to create 20 pieces of content every week.

Post before day starts, lunch hour and after work

And then show up at those times. Don't just schedule posts and never go there. When your post is published, people will see it and they may comment on it right away. You don't want to miss that activity.

Just like on Tiktok, the posters post live and then are there to create conversation with the people who are commenting on their video - all social media is the same. It's how you engage your followers.

It's about the numbers, but it's really more about the commitment. Book in 15 minutes at 8 am, 15 at lunch and 15 at the end of your day, 3 days a week - and you'll find that you are developing a great Linked In habit.

If you want my help to figure out how to maximize your LinkedIn strategy, or your messaging, or choose your ideal client, definitely reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.

Are you an introvert? So many Virtual Assistants tell me they are. It's not a deficiency of any sort ha ha but it can make some things we do in business feel more challenging.

Quote: l would admit I'm an introvert. I don't know why introverts have to apologize. Bill Gross

There is nothing wrong with being an introvert!

I think that introverts kind of get a bad rap, but you know what? I think we criticize ourselves far more than anyone else does. Yes, I am an introvert, which many people probably find hard to believe, but I LOVE my alone time and my quiet time, and as much as I enjoy company, it's nice when it's over too.

As an introvert, there are things in business that can be more difficult.

Of course, the main one that comes to mind is sales. And getting clients.

I hear many VAs tell me I'm an introvert, I don't like selling myself.

But here's the thing. You don't have to sell anything. You're not trying to cold call people, or convince them that they need your services.

All you need to do is to actually find people that DO need your help, and then decide if they are a good fit for you to work with. That's it!

It really is that simple. But we can talk ourselves out of so many things with the excuse that it feels uncomfortable. All that means is that we are in the wrong place, or talking to the wrong person. The key is to find the right person in the right place.

Let's first talk about our strengths as introverts.

Introverts are often
- more creative
- better listeners
- more observant
- go deeper on many projects
- stand out because they aren't always talking
- very good at taking social cues and reading rooms
- thoughtful and choose words wisely
- very focused and detail oriented
- self sufficient
- good problem solvers

Stay true to you.

Use these strengths to your advantage, in your marketing, when you tell clients what you bring to the table. Be proud of them, they are very valuable qualities.

Do things are your own pace, but do make sure you do them. You don't have to race, but there are things that have to be done for you to stay in business.

Don't feel pressured to go to networking events or do cold calls. Email still works and I think it's better for everyone's schedule than phone or instant messaging.

You have to value yourself, and then others will value you as well.

Who you are is who you are. And you are GREAT!

Focus on your strengths - what are you good at? What do you love to do or do exceptionally well? What you do best is what you should be charging the most for.

First you have to make sure you see your own value and that you can show it to people.

Make sure that you have a very strong presence online - make it work for you so you don't have to be making connections, that the online stuff will help do that for you.

Website, blog, social media, portfolio, whatever makes sense for you. Do it well. Do a really good job of showcasing what you can do for your clients online.

Don't try to be someone else, or even be like someone else. Be yourself. Get comfortable with you and the fact that there are people that will greatly benefit from your help. Do you really believe you can help people? You can!

What do you love about your audience? Write these things down - is it what they do, who they work with, the change they make in the world, the tasks they need done?

Now figure out where they are. And how many clients you actually need. That will determine where you can find clients.

Get really clear on what you do best and who you can help most - then connect with those people, talk about them, write about them.

Social media is actually great for introverts because you do it on your own time and you have complete control about what you put out there.

Use one single marketing strategy and do it well. That should be easy when you aren't networking all day long!

Where to find clients?

Job boards will be good for you, also fiverr and upwork - people are looking for help in these places and there is less sales that you have to do.

Tell people you know what you do and ask them if they know anyone who might benefit from your help. It helps to have business connections but family and friends help too - as long as you articulate what you do accurately and they really get who you help.

Focus on repeat business - don't do project work. Seek out ongoing work with clients so you aren't constantly looking for clients.

Ask existing or past clients for referrals. Be sure (again) that they really understand what it is you do for people (especially if it differs from what you do/did for them), so they send you good referrals.

Find a few strategic partners who work with your target market, but provide different services to them - so you can refer business back and forth to each other.

Collect testimonials and reviews and recommendations on LI

Get really good something specific, be in demand so people call you, and you don't have to call them.

Put your contact info everywhere. On every web page, blog post, social media profile, and so on. Make it easy for people to reach out to you so you don't always have to reach out to them

Put your pricing online - describe your services well. Let your website do some of the 'selling' work for you. Make sure the pricing is clear and talks about budget.

Join a team and subcontract to get your confidence up (don't do this forever, find your own ideal clients and do the work you are best at)

Get some support to learn a few techniques if you still feel anxious about anything.

Find a tribe or a partner to connect with on a regular basis. A support network is essential for all VAs. And be sure to share your struggles and your successes, and ask for specific advice.

And never forget that you need to do what's right for you - it's the only thing that will work for you!

If you want my help to figure out how to get clients as an introvert, definitely reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I've helped hundreds of Vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle registration is open now. Maybe one of those options is right for you.

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

When you are a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant, you strive to do better and to be better as often as you can.  In this episode we will talk about why habits can make or break the success you want to achieve - and how to break bad habits to create better ones. 

If you haven't read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, you should.

The habits we have and the things we naturally do each day can make or break our business.

In the Atomic Habits book there is an interesting statistic, and it is this:
if you get 1% better every day for a year, you will be 37% better by year end. Doesn't that sound great?

But how can we get to where we have never been before if we don't know the way? Well it takes some planning, learning, and action. This is the system that you have to put in place to walk towards your goal, that thing you want.

Habits are important because we do them without thinking. Routines are what can help us build good habits.

Atomic Habits talks about habit stacking - that means doing something when you are already doing something else naturally - so that you build the new habit alongside the old one.

What about bad habits? How can we change those? We need to identify them and then consciously change the behaviour, the timing, the circumstances. Shake it up!

For a new habit to become a habit, you have to practice it. It helps to think about what you are gaining from the new habit.

You don't want the new habit or thing to do - you want what it will give you or allow you to do. Focus on that - if I do THIS, I get THAT.

If I can help you start changing habits in your business, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. i've helped hundreds of vas through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and my new mastermind The Virtual Circle is kicking off shortly. Maybe one of those is the right option for you.

In today's episode we are talking about what you can do for your clients that is in-demand - so that you can also be in demand as a VA.

Ideally we want to have a few great clients to work with, and do what we love, and not really have to be looking for new clients every time we turn around.

At least that's the way it was for me. I had a great group of clients who all needed specialty services, who were growing their businesses, whose work I was proud to do, who pushed me to learn new things as they learned them, and who referred me to their friends who also needed support.

I did that by deciding what service I wanted to provide for them, charging appropriately for it, and then knocking it out of the park when I produced their work.

There are lots of things that you can do for clients that I would consider in demand. Why in demand? Because it means that the clients NEED you. These aren't the clients who are learning as they go. These are the clients that have a vision of where they want their business to go, and who are taking steps to get there.

This is the first part of providing an in demand service. That the clients actually want you to do it. So start there.

Here are 5 services that I would consider to be in demand - and each of them in itself is huge, and has lots of different branches that you could decide to provide for your clients, depending on what you love to do.

General Admin

Being a general admin VA gets a bad rap, I think. People think it's where you start and the grow out of. But think about it. How many business owners are there in the world? Why did they start a business? Because they have some kind of talent or product or service that their clients need (or want). The thing or the service they are selling is the most important part of their business. It's their 'thing'.
But to keep their business - in business - they need to do all of the other things that need doing. But these things are not usually within their wheelhouse of talent or ability. So that's where we come in.
Every single business owner needs general admin support - especially if they aren't good at it.
So this to me in so in-demand that I always put it first in my list!
If you are providing general admin services, that doesn't mean that you have to do everything a client needs. You can still suggest they get different people to help with certain things if you don't like doing them.
Only do what you love - scheduling, email, crm, research, bookeeping, lead management, business documentation.
Trust me, there are other VAs that will love to provide support for the other stuff.

Online or Digital Marketing - if the last 3 years has taught us anything, it's that online marketing is very important for any business.
That could mean an email list,. affiliate marketing, content marketing, or just social media presence.
There are an awful lot of facets to digital marketing. Figure out what you love to do and then create services around that.
I always used to provide email marketing to my clients because it meant ongoing work for me. When they were doing newsletters and email blasts or broadcasts to their clients, that meant that I was the one to do them. When you are looking to become in demand as a VA, you need to be working with your clients regularly. Not that websites are not a good service to provide, but you are constantly working with new clients. I preferred online marketing initiatives because we could see the results of having me help the client (money, clients, etc).
Launch management is also a really good digital service to provide. Launching a program, a group, a book, a podcast, anything like that takes a lot of work and has a lot of step (balls in the air) that a client most definitely needs help with. Great online service.

Social media is digital as well, but of course it's in a category of its own because it is so vast.
Lots of social media services you can offer, from creating content, to scheduling it, to reporting, community management. And they are all very much in demand. Why? Because they are time consuming, because they take special skills, because they take interpretation. Because it is necessary for many businesses to do well with their social media in order to keep their pipeline of potential clients full, and to communicate with their clients that they are working with or want to work with.
So many people are already on social media, using it all day long, so it's a great place to be able to find clients.
Community management is probably one of the emerging services in social media.
Paid ads are also a specialty
I remember taking social media right out of my service offerings way back when because it changed to frequently and I didn't want to specialize in it. So we had other people on the teams to do that part. But I feel that I could now handle a community manager role as part of a customer service role.

Blog and website services - definitely still very much in demand. It's a huge time suck for people who think they can learn to do it themselves. VAs try, and it often puts them months and months behind of getting their business started. You have to invest in getting something done properly - and quickly. It's so worth it. The only thing you really need to be able to do it easily make changes to content once it's live, so no custom work.
But as a service for VAs it's a great one - offer levels of service packages so that you have different investments for people. Blogging is a great hand in hand service for website VAs too, mainly because it happens more frequently - like weekly. Once a site is done, it's done and maintenance packages can be hard to sell. But if you also offer blog publishing along with a maintenance package you can continue working with your clients after their site is done. If you want to ha ha
Funnels and lead magnets can also fall under website development. Setting up people opt ins or registration pages (landing pages) can also be part of tech support which is our final in demand services.

Tech support is the final in demand service I want to talk about in this episode. Again it takes a certain level of skill or training, but it also has a variety of services that you can offer your clients. What can be part of tech support? Well landing pages, opt ins and registration pages or sales pages can be , as I just mentioned. But tech also includes things like CRMs, events (all the new online meetings but there are still online trainings). Course creation. Membership sites, Ecommerce sites. Podcasts.
All of these things are really in demand, and some clients even use all of them, depending on which industry you have decided to target.

What does providing an in demand service do for you, the VA? You can earn more money, you can work with higher level clients, you can only do what you want, you can invest in training that is useful for your growth, and more.

There are a lot of services that bridge more than one of these categories, but I hope I've given you some tips on what you can focus on - or change in your business - to start bumping up your rates and finding even better clients.

Clients who will appreciate you, value you, rave about you to their colleagues - who will also want to work with you (that's what happened for me!). Be in demand, with in demand service offerings!

Need Some Help?

If I can help you pick the best services you can offer your clients (and price them right!), reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!

Many of us are not just Virtual Assistants, but we are moms … wives/spouses … daughters … (insert your other roles here!).

We want to be there for the family but still earn what we need – like Jack Welch says – you need to work efficiently and smartly to support the lifestyle you want.

Working from home allows us many things:

• helps us lose the commute
• saves us money on lunches out
• reduces the need for daycare or child care
• helps us get kids to and from school without after school care
• allows us to go on field trips
• makes keeping kids home with illnesses easier than working outside the home
• helps us schedule appointments more easily into our schedule

While that all sounds great, you can’t spend all of your time being a mom and housewife because you have to earn enough money (ie work enough) to allow you to do all of those things.

If we let the family stuff always come first, our business suffers.

Being there for family means something different for each of us.

My son is grown now but it still means being able to sit down together for dinner, have company on our schedule, not working evenings, weekends and holidays, and being able to go to appointments during the day

There are 5 things you need to manage better to make sure you preserve work life balance

1. Family
2. You
3. Boundaries
4. Distractions
5. Services

Family

First thing to think about is how to provide services that allow you to work flexible hours. You need to set business hours and hold to them. Advise your family when you will be working and when it is their time with you. Set your schedule and take breaks so you don’t need to get interrupted.

Other things to do: manage child care well, meal plan, put buffers in between tasks so you don’t work hours at a time

You

Prioritize your needs – what does your ideal day look like? Work towards that vision – and do whatever you can to help yourself achieve it, most days.

Close your door when work is done for the day – and that should include your ‘work’ phone too.

Don’t work early mornings and late nights so that you can waste time during the day – this is so common! Work during business hours and do family or personal stuff after work.

Prioritize your work – it is what is allowing you to be home with your family. Don’t take on more work that you have time for
live and die by your to do list – get good at it. Plan your schedule well and work efficiently – don’t let anyone tell you what to do when, it’s your schedule!

Exercise – an hour before everyone else gets up if you can’t find the time during the day (I never can!)

Know when to fire a client and when to take on a new client.

Plan time off and holidays and hold yourself to it. Even a short work day or a 4 day work week prioritizes YOU.

Work with an accountability partner to vent, get support and advice when you need it.

Boundaries

Learn to prioritize what is important. Don’t be shy to say NO when necessary/more often. As I’ve said before, live and die by your schedule. Get really good at it.

Set and hold those office hours, and lengthen all lead times and deadlines to give yourself the best shot at getting things done on time.

Limit meetings – most of them are not necessary. Never answer your phone live – it is disruptive. Do scheduled calls only – answer voicemails. Check emails 3x a day max, not 15. Work with clients who don’t need you / expect you to be available all day long.

Be tough, be in charge.

Distractions

Communicate what you need and when to your clients.

Delegate, outsource, or get help with what you need help with.

Stop getting distracted by research or gathering information. Set STOP times on open -ended projects and make sure you set an alarm to stop when you are supposed to.

Create and use processes and procedures.

Let others know when not to disturb you, especially your family. Post a schedule on the door of your important ‘quiet’ times.

Leave your phone in other room for an hour if you get distracted by it.

Schedule your social media breaks – and stay off of it during business hours unless you need to work in it (and then set start and stop times). Turn those notifications off! And if you need to leave them on, then that’s when you definitely need to start leaving it in another room for periods of time.

Get help with child care – when my son was 18 months old I worked 9-5 business hours and put him in daycare half days to make sure I got enough time to work. He kept going before and after school till he was 12! (I guess it worked). 🙂

Services/Time Management

Set your schedule to maximize your work time – whatever works for you. Think efficiency, always!

Organize things like social media in batches – ideas one day, content one day, images one day, captions one day, scheduling one day. There are a lot of ways that you can work more efficiently – I often find that doing things in short time blasts works much better. It’s easier to schedule, and you get more done every week.

Take short breaks every hour if possible – even just 5 or 15 minutes. Clearing your head makes a world of difference, especially when you are very busy.

Don’t work with clients who need you in front of your computer all day long – ie service offerings like client care, customer service, scheduling, email management, and things like that may require you to be ‘at the ready’ more than others. If you want to manage your own schedule more, work to build other services that can be done at the times that suit you best.

Stop doing tasks back to back – put small buffers into your schedule. No one needs to bill non-stop for 8 hours a day (and if you do, raise your rates!)

There are so many things you can do to help balance your home and your work – whatever is important to you, prioritize it – and use the tips I’ve given you today to make the changes you need to improve yours, starting today!

Daily improvements in your work habits, mindset, productivity and more – that’s how you become a ridiculously good VA!

If I can help you learn how to efficiently manage your calendar and schedule, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I’d love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!

I have so many tips for you today on how to build your VA business so you will be around for many years to come. Let’s get right to it – I hope you have a pen and some paper!

Set your expectations – make sure you know what you want from your business – what do you want it to be able to do for you? how will you help your clients? how will that help their clients? and them? What is your vision from the time you decide to start? Set those expectations – why you are in business, and why a job just won’t bring you the same things.

Focus on your main initiative all the time – I started doing thing several years ago and it works. Look at the things you are doing on a daily basis and check in with yourself. Is what you are doing right now contributing to the main goal you have? If not, it is not serving you. For example, look at what you are doing to market your business. Is everything you are doing (ie social media) working for you? If not, adapt it or simply stop doing it and replace it with something else that will get you further to your goal.

Do what you love – this is kind of a no brainer but it bears repeating! You must love what you are doing to stay in business long term. What is the point of doing anything for a long time if you don’t enjoy it?

Build relationships – to grow your business, the people that you connect with every day are important. Make sure you are connecting and building relationships with great business owners – and don’t be afraid to change up your clients when a better one comes along!

Set your rates properly – first of all, set it and forget it is NOT the right way. You have to consistently raise your rates or change them so that your clients are always paying you for your expertise. No matter what level you are at, this is one of the main keys to success. No money, no business.

Know your numbers – Don’t be afraid of analytics or money. You need to know what to look at in your business to see how things are going. You need to be able to see where your time is being spent, where your leads are coming from, where most of your revenue is coming from, and many other things. That way when you need more revenue, you know what to do. These are called Key Performance Indicators and they are different for everyone. What should you be tracking?

Money – know what you need to bring in to run your business (the bare minimum, and the daily sales). Keep a daily revenue tracker – it shows you how much money you have brought in – but it also shows you the opportunities. If you are only getting paid on the 1st you are leaving money on the table.

Pay your bills – make sure you pay what you owe, to the government, to your suppliers, to your team, and to yourself – you can’t stay in business long term if you run out of money = or people who want to work with you (including yourself!)

Create systems and processes for growth. When you document all of your business processes, it is easy to have people step in and help you in the areas that you need it. Whether you bring on subcontractors or team members, or engage other independent contractors or VAs to work for you, make sure all is being done according to your high standard ways.

Outsource when the time is right. If you need a bookkeeper, a VA, a gardener, a house cleaner, a web developer and project manager, or just a one off project like a course system setup, someone to build your processes, or building your website – find great people and trust them to do the things they are best at.

Diversify your revenue streams when the time is right – teach, consult, create passive income. But not till you are maxxxxxed out on client work! Become an expert and then showcase them with different services/revenue streams.

Stand out – be visible, connect, build relationships, but also brag! Tell people about who you work with and how you help them. Collect testimonials. Provide amazing service to all of your clients all the time.

Stay the course – keep at it. if things seem hard, get help to course correct. It shouldn’t be crazy hard. Keep your goals and your focus in mind all the time. Keep an eye on your important trackable stuff – money, connections, KPIs. Don’t be afraid to grow in the areas that build up quickly.

There is no such thing as an overnight success. It takes time, but when you walk the path one step at at time, you will get there. I promise!

That’s all I have for you this week. Go out there and be a ridiculously good VA!

If I can help you set up your VA business for long=term success, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I’d love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!

It is always so exciting to get a new Virtual Assistant connection or client.

It is gut-wrenching to have them suddenly stop communicating with us. We feel personally insulted … but did you know it’s not usually about us at all?

First thing we need to do is take charge of what is happening in our business. Every facet of what we are doing – our processes, our people, our own skills (like communication). What are we doing well? What couuld (honestly) use some work?

We need to not take things personally or get hurt by things that go wrong in our business, but instead figure out what the actual issue is and then fix it. Simple, right?

Here’s a newsflash: no one in business is trying to make you feel bad.

If something goes wrong, it’s our responsibility as the service provider to make it right – no matter who might be at fault.

Taking charge and getting everyone back on track is what a ridiculously good virtual assistant does.

So let’s talk about what happens when a client disappears or stops communicating!

Our clients hire us when they are overwhelmed. And sometimes when we are getting started we ask them to provide us with all kinds of things – like signing up for new accounts, setting up or learning new project management systems, processes or procedures. It can be a lot of ‘extra’ at a time when they are already overwhelmed. It’s your job to keep things clear and bite-sized steps so that they feel supported and not more overwhelmed than before they called you.

Another situation that can arise is that once the initial task is off their desk (and on to yours), they may feel a sense of relief and therefore they move on to something else that is pressing in their business … and they stop communicating. It’s your job to get them back on track.

How to do all of this:

• Reminders – simple emails – ‘just making sure I didn’t get lost in your inbox’ can go a long way to getting a response
• Call and leave a VM with one question they need to answer = again simple
• Make sure you have a simple onboarding process
• Determine how you will communicate and be sure the client understands that too
• Schedule weekly meetings from the get go, they go a long way in establishing control and clarity
• Keep them brief and very organized – always have an agenda!
• Run them, don’t let the client run them or make the client run them
• You need to remain in control because you are the service provider
• Always be prepared and ready

Sometimes, though, it is our fault. What could we be doing wrong that can cause a client to ghost us?

• Do you overcommunicate? Do you confuse them with your requests or communications?
• Do you undercommunicate? Are they unsure of what you are doing, or when, and therefore they think you aren’t doing anything?
• Are you a task taker? Strive to be in charge – in command of the things that you are doing for the client.
• Do they need to manage you too much? Learn how to be a self-starter and more independent. You are not an employee.
• Do you have disagreements? This could be caused by communication issues? You must resolve these things if the relationship is to be saved.

And honestly, sometimes we just need to move on.

This is normally because we wait too long to sort out the initial issue, but not every client is a good fit to work with you.

If they have ghosted you and you let them go days or weeks without communication, you are showing them that what they need done is not as urgent as they thought. So stay on top of things from the beginning so that doesn’t happen.

In summary:

Great communication is essential, above all.

Regular meetings help you stay in touch and often help solidify the client-VA relationship more quickly than project management systems alone.

Keep the starting gate actions bite-sized. Overwhelm isn’t pretty and we want to remove that for the client, not add to it.

Keep everything simple, simple, simple. The easier you are to work with – connecting, communicating what needs doing, and getting it done – the better you will serve your client. And they will WANT to keep in touch with you. You can do it!

If I can help you learn how to manage your clients better, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I’d love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!

Today I want to talk about mindset, but not just any mindset. Your 50K Mindset.

This episode is the first in a series of four episodes that I want to share with you as a lead up to my 50K VA Group Coaching program that is launching next month. Hold on! What? :)

Okay, so let’s first define what I mean by mindset.

Your mindset is what you think, what you believe, about yourself, the people around you, the things that are happening around you, and the circumstances you may find yourself in.

It’s about what you think of all of those things.

Notice that I didn’t say anything about it being a reality.

Often your mindset is not real.

It’s your perception - your belief - and that’s why we can shift it when necessary.

You can always change how you think about something. Many of us don’t, but when you are in a place where you are not being successful, it’s definitely worth looking at it.

It could just be you. Your thoughts. Your beliefs.

About yourself, about others.

I’m going to say if you are blaming others for anything that is happening to you, you could need a mindset shift.

It’s not as simple as flipping a switch though.

Yes, Tracey, just be happy. Just be positive. And you will become weathy.

No, it’s not like that.

But a positive mindset can help you go very, very far - very quickly - because you are looking for the positive in everything around you.

In this episode we talk about how to make those shifts. Let's go!

If you need help shifting your mindset to one of growth and possibility, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase 

Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: https://yourvamentor.com/TVC. We’d love to have you join us!

50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. STARTS SEPTEMBER 2024!

MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business.  Get more details and sign up here now!

SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Why is time management so important in your Virtual Assistant business?

We all have a lot to do – no matter what stage of our business we are in.

Starting out, we have a lot to learn. We have a lot of set up to do. Maybe we are also still working a job while we do that. What about managing family time around all the new stuff?

Time management is something that is a good skill to perfect in general, but particularly in business as a VA.

We work alone, time can often get away from us.

As a Virtual Assistant, time is money and we need to maximize our billable time and managed the rest so we get things done.

Good time management will:

• Reduce stress
• Improve focus on everything
• Improve the quality of your work
• Improve productivity
• Improve your success
• Make you a better decision maker
• Keep you healthy
• Give you more free time

So how do we do it better? Like everything, it starts with a plan.

You have to actively decide where you will spend your time so that you can use it most effectively. Use your calendar and set deadlines for everything – especially if you find yourself losing time with anything.

Not everything is urgent. When a client sends you something to do, prioritize and book non-urgent things into your schedule appropriately.

Use tools that work for you – that could be a program or a notebook – find something that you naturally turn to, and use it for everything.

I use my Google Calendar and my Bullet Journal religiously every single day to help me stay organized.

Book meetings – don’t take unexpected meetings. Scheduling everything. One unexpected meeting in your morning can derail your whole day.

Work with buckets of time – start and stop times for everything you will do (and stop at the stop time!). One of the things that VAs get stuck on too often is getting lost in a project, or going down a rabbit hole. Don’t allow yourself to do that. Focus on the time it should take to do something and then it’s your job to get the work done in that time.

Don’t multitask – focus on one thing until it’s done, or progressed, and then move along to the next.

This is essential for client work. Don’t check emails from 10 clients at once. You can’t possibly bill the right time for that.

Batch your work from each client so that you focus on it for 15, 30 or 60 minutes. Work only on that client’s work, and then stop at your designated stop time and move on to another batch of work.

Keep a distractions list. When you are working on a designated task, and you think of something else, write it down on a notepad. Then you won’t forget about it later, but you don’t need to interrupt what you are doing now to think about it. Schedule distractions time into your calendar and look after your distractions items then.

Manage distractions and interruptions of all kinds and if you are regularly derailed by these things, find a solution – office hours, post your work times, schedule meals or breaks or free time with family, etc.

Be aware of time wasters and get better at handling them:

Social media – no one needs to be on social media as often as we are. If you work on social media, schedule your time to get your work done and ignore everything else.
If you do need to check in, schedule a bucket of time to do so, and stop when the time is up.

Email – no one needs to check email 10 times a day, unless your client is paying you to work for them all day long, you should be checking in at regular intervals. I often suggest a morning check in, a midday check in and an early afternoon check in. Three times is more than enough (even too much) and you will not be distracted by things in there unnecessarily.

When you do check your emails, be sure to schedule out the new client requests in your calendar.

Tech issues – sometimes we get slowed down by tech. If this is you, identify whose issue it is. If it’s yours because you do things you shouldn’t, then consider delegating to someone else. If it’s your tech providers, consider changing them. Allow for tech issues but don’t let them take over your whole day if possible.

Procrastination – why do we procrastinate? Because we are doing something we don’t like, we don’t know how to do, or we are overwhelmed by the time it will take, or the investment it will be.

Time management doesn’t have to be a strain. It can actually be very free-ing once you get a system in place that works for you.

The biggest issues I see with VAS:

• Not calculating the time it takes to do something properly
• Mismanaging distractions
• Allowing going down rabbit holes
• Being a perfectionist
• Skipping breaks

If you can get even one of these things under control this week, do it. And then pick another to work on the following week, and so on. Before long your new habits and routines will be freeing up your time and you’ll be working more focused and have more energy too.

You’ll be one step close to being a ridiculously good VA!

If I can help you learn how to manage your time better, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I’d love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!

That’s all I’ve got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

It is so common for Virtual Assistants to avoid or not focus on goal setting in their business – and then wonder why they are struggling.

It’s probably true for many types of businesses, but I think it’s true for VAs because we are naturally the behind the scenes people – often shy or introverted, focused more on just operating a little business instead of trying to attain success.

Goal setting is often equated with success and that’s why many of the VAs I talk to have shied away from it.

But in order to move yourself in the direction of the success that you want from your business – no matter what level – you need to set goals.

And of course, you need to develop a system that works for you to attain those goals.

The first thing I do when I’m working with a VA who has trouble setting goals is to slow things right down. I teach short term goals. Don’t ask me what my 10 year plan is. I hardly know what to make for dinner tonight.

But ask me what I want to accomplish in the next 30 days and I can definitely tell you that.

So that’s where we begin.

Let’s go.

Ask yourself one question – what do you want?
Then get more specific.

I want more clients
… how many?
…when do you need to get them?
…what do you want to do for them?
…how much will you charge them?
…where can you find them?

Examples: 3 new clients by July 30th … OR … 3 new social media clients from LinkedIn by July 30th

The next step is to set up the actions you need to take daily to reach that goal. It’s possible, trust me!

1. Focus on your goal – everything you do should move you in the direction of the goal you want to reach.
2. Write out your daily action steps (2 to 10)
3. Take action.
4. Monitor your progress and alter your course if something isn’t working.

For instance, for our goal of looking for 3 new clients on Linked In in 30 days:

1. Reach out to 2 people daily – in groups or directly
2. Post one piece of content daily on that channel that shows your expertise in social media
3. Seek out posts from people that you are connecting with and like, comment and share them – look for genuine connections
4. Track connections in a simple spreadsheet –
   in one month you will make 60 connections, tracking is essential
5. Invite 5 people each week to have a conversation with you
6. Track your sales conversations too – if you are not converting at least 5/10, seek help with your technique.

Let’s do the math – 2 connections a day, 1 post per day, help a few people a day – 60 people that will see your posts and also will notice your activity on theirs.

Invite 5 of them to sales conversations each week (as the need arises) – that’s 20 in a month.

Convert even 2/10 of them – that’s 4 clients.

When you first start out you will not get all 5 to agree to conversations. What you are doing is getting better at networking and conversations with people.

But the point is that everything you are doing in your daily actions is leading you to connecting with people, getting better at having online conversations with them, getting better at inviting them to speak with you, and getting better at signing them from your conversations.

That’s all goal setting is – setting a reasonable goal that you really want to reach, setting up a strategy (that’s usually brand new to you, so needs tweaking and practice), and taking daily actions to reach it.

It works.

When you are looking at something every single day you won’t forget about it. It doesn’t take a long time. It becomes a habit, a routine, a process, a system that can work fo ryou every single day.

So let’s recap:

• Set your goal
• Write it down
• Choose who you will connect with and where
• Focus on one place to network
• Keep track of everything
• Know your numbers and work to reach them
• Be consistent – do it every day
• Stop spinning your wheels

If you have not done well with goal setting in the past, try working only with short term goals until you perfect a process that works for you

If I can help you learn how to set better goals, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I’d love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!

That’s all I’ve got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Do you really need a business plan for your Virtual Assistant business?
Short answer, yes.

To succeed in your business, you have to have a plan.
And it starts with a business plan

I teach a Virtual Assistants to create a simple business plan – one that contains only what you need to get your business off the ground – essentially it is used to make sure that you have made all the decisions necessary to put a solid foundation under your business.

Here are the components of a VA business plan that I’ll talk about today:

Executive Summary
Business Model
Finance/Revenue Forecasting
Services and Rates
Clients
Competitive Analysis
Marketing Plan

Business Model

A business model helps you design your business. How will you earn money or charge your clients?

Will you charge hourly?
Will you have your clients pay by prepaid retainer where you tick off time or tasks?
Will you operate a team, or work with subcontractors?
Will you take on part-time work while you get your business started? Or will you start your business full-time?
Will you work on a commission basis?

There are a lot of ways that you can decide to ‘get paid’. The business model helps you make all of these decisions. And it also helps you to forecast revenue as you make changes if you are moving from a corporate job to a full time contractor.

Speaking of revenue forecasting, it’s important to then think about how much each of your clients will pay you – that determines how many clients you will need to work with to earn the money you need to meet your goals.

Services and Rates

Choosing your services and setting your rates go hand in hand. Your experience with the services you will offer your clients plays a part of what you will charge. You also need to do the math for what your business needs to bring in to run at a profit.

Your revenue levels will dictate what you will offer and how much to charge. When you know how much you need to bring in each month, you can create packages or levels of services for your clients, and fit your services into those accordingly.

That doesn’t necessary mean packages, you can still charge by the hour, but you do need to work it all out based on what you need to bring in every month.

Clients

Next you need to decide who you will work with. It can be a target market or industry or location, whatever makes sense for you.
But you must plan to target a large group of people in order to find any level of success quickly.

Tailoring your service offerings to a specific group of business owners is the fastest way to fill your client list.

Competitive Analysis

Checking out your competition means more than just seeing what they charge. It’s a great way to get an idea of what you might want to model, though.

Look at how the present their service offerings, who they connect with, who they support. This is the kind of information you want to collect for the competitive analysis portion of your business plan. Research is your friend here. Decide what you need to know about them and research it.

Marketing

The final part of your plan is where will you find clients. Where will you promote your business?

When you know who you need to target, you have to find out where they are congregating online, offline and wherever else they are. Once you know where they are you have to figure out what you will say to them when you find them and start networking with them.

How many people do you need to connect with so you can sign clients. That’s marketing!

Executive Summary

Now pull it all together and you have your business plan. The Executive Summary is the place to tie it all together and summarize each section. If you can do this easily, you have compiled the right information.

Your business plan helps you to answer a lot of questions that you need to answer to set your business. It’s okay to not know the answers to these questions, but you do need to make some decisions and do a little math.

As you go through each section, find the answers. Once you do, it’s time to get going!

Once you finish your business plan, consult it often. Update it regularly. Use it to build your business – it’s not meant to be a one and done thing.

If I can help you build your business plan (or answer any of the questions you don’t have the answers to right now), reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I’d love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!

That’s all I’ve got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Being a Virtual Assistant is much more than doing the tasks your clients need.

Great VAs help the client feel more supported, but also help you get more done, make more money, and become more in demand.

In this episode, I’ll share 10 qualities that make a Ridiculously Good VA.

Making clients feel more supported can not be understated. They need help because the tasks we do for them are not in their area of expertise.

Admin, marketing, money, tech, do not usually come easy to them but they need it to make their business succeed.

They depend on us to know our role, to take care of the pieces they can’t.

Today I’ll share 10 things that I think will help make you a ridiculously good VA.

1. Be a Serious Business Owner. Run your business like they run their business. Your clients are invested in their business by working with you. And you need to do the same for your business.

2. Be Invested be a long term VA, not the one looking for fast money. You want people to know you are planning to stay in business. And take an interest in their business (what they do, who their clients are) too.

3. Be Time Wise. Always focus on the time it takes to do things. As a VA, time is money and that means that every minute we spend on client work affects them. Keep an eye on your time, work pace and the client’s budget.

4. Be Organized. One of the reasons clients hire VAs is to get better organized, and to get things done. You need to keep the wheels moving for yourself and your clients – especially if they aren’t good at keeping all their balls in the air.

5. Be Responsive. One of the main things clients want to know is the status of the projects they engage you to do. Keep them informed and be responsive, even before they need to ask how things are going.

6. Follow Through. Don’t leave it to the client to ask about where things are at. Following through helps you maintain the expectations of your client, and is a huge part of being a ridiculously good VA.

7. Be Resourceful. There are many things we need to figure out as we work together with clients. Be resourceful – find the answers, do your own research and make good decisions.

8. Have Integrity. Integrity is an essential skill for a great VA. Do what you say you will do, when you say you will do it. Own the deliverables you take on. It’s a very good quality to nurture.

9. Grow Your Business. When you grow your business, you stay in the same lane as your clients who are often doing the same. Always be looking to see how you can improve your services and your skills.

10. Be Big Picture Focused. The big picture of your business is good to focus on – when you know what you want your business to look like, and you work to get there, you will be a happy business owner. And that means you will provide better service to your clients.

Being a ridiculously good VA is not difficult.

In fact, many of the tips above are pretty simple to implement. Focus on the things you can do to uplevel your mindset, your business ability, your services, and everything else in your business.

If I can help you get better at upleveling yourself so you can be ridiculously good, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I’d love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!

That’s all I’ve got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

In virtual work, communication is essential to get right, and it can take practice.

We do not usually have the luxury of having conversations all day long like in an office setting, so we need to use the methods that we have to facilitate communication.

Bad communication can make or break relationships and in business, even moreso.

It can result in wasted time, unnecessary back and forth, misunderstandings, crunch deadlines, use up retainer time unnecessarily, frustration by one or both parties, and confusion.

Good communication helps you save time – there is not so much back and forth. You are more organized, everything is clearer, expectations that are set are met, you manage the client’s retainer better, and you increase productivity. When yours go up, so does your client’s.

So how to be brilliant at business communication? That's what we are going to talk about in this episode: 10 tips to massively improve your communication right now.

If I can help you get better at business communication, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I’d love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!

That’s all I’ve got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Your comfort zone is comfortable, but you aren’t moving when you stay in your comfort zone. Your Virtual Assistant business can not grow when you stay comfortable.

Doing the same thing every day yields the same results.

So if you aren’t happy with your results right now, you need to change what you do.

Building new paths will take you to where you have not been before. Even if it’s uncomfortable, you know are growing.

How to get out of your comfort zone?

We don’t like feeling uncomfortable, but we can recognize that when that feeling hits, it is time to get out of it.

Without any action, you won’t get what you want.

Anything you are doing now in your VA business, maybe you weren’t that great at it. But with practice you got better, more efficient, more proficient.

What to do to get out of your comfort zone.

Know where you want to go. Be definitive about that. How can you go somewhere if you aren't sure where that is?

Know what you need to get there. If you haven’t been there, it can be challenging to figure it out. Hint: Google is your friend. Google your question!

Have a plan. Create your plan and make sure that you have an idea of what steps you need to take to get there. What is your timeline? How can you fit doing it into your schedule? Hint: make your action steps small enough to be able to do a little bit every day.

Get support to help you start moving. We aren’t meant to do it all ourselves. Even if we are support professionals, we need to ask others to help us when we need it to. Don’t get stuck in a research phase.

Take a step, even when it’s hard. Daily action steps really help with this.

Here are some tips that can help you get moving:

Believe in yourself, and get others to support you help you. You have to believe that you can do what you want to do, even if you’re not quite sure how. Then you can tell others who will also believe in you. But you have to believe in you first!

Change your daily routine. What you are doing now that is getting you the results that you don’t want is not working. it’s time to change it up.

Learn what you don’t know. Get out of research phase and learn the bits that will move you forward.

Help people every day. It’s our job to support them, but we need to reframe making sales as simply helping people. When you just look for the people that you can help, the sale will follow. You don’t need to sell anyone something they don’t need.

Face your fears. Do things that you don’t do well or don’t like – but get help with it. Everything we don’t like to do, someone else loves to do. So line that up.

Get yourself out there. If you are struggling with clients that are not ideal, you should be focusing completely on finding better clients. Get in front of great clients.

Take daily actions to help you move forward one step at a time. Practice makes perfect.

What are you afraid of?

Identify what is the scary thing – and expand on it. When you dive deeper into it, you can help solve it and move through it.

If you don’t like to walk up to someone and introduce yourself, why is that?

Are you afraid of saying the wrong thing? You think you don’t know what to say? You don’t like the sound of your voice? You don’t like how how you look?

How can you change those things so that they don’t make you afraid anymore?

What is the worst thing that can happen? You get the client or you don’t. But right now you don’t have the client either. So if that’s the worst thing that can happen, it already has. We can only move up.

What don’t you like?

What do you do really well? Something you don’t even think about and people comment that you do really well. Why do you do that well? How did you get good at it? How can you do the same thing for what it is that you fear?

Just think about it: What is the worst thing that can happen? What is the best thing that can happen?

When you start to walk that path, you may have to push, but it will end up pulling you when you start to move. You will get momentum. And it’s so cool! The better you get at something, the more confident you feel. And it comes through in your voice, your demeanor, and your conversations with potential clients.

I bet what is weighing you down is the anxiety that we described above. It’s not the actual action – it’s the uncertainty.

Lastly, it is essential to put yourself around people who are doing what you want to do, and who are working towards it. The support is exceptional and worth its weight in gold. Ask questions to help yourself grow.

If I can help you get out of your comfort zone, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I’d love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!

That’s all I’ve got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.

Today, we're diving into an essential mindset shift for every VA out there: realizing that you are your client's equal, not just their assistant.

This episode is all about empowerment, confidence, and understanding your true value in the VA-client relationship.

The Traditional VA Mindset

For many virtual assistants, especially those just starting out, it's easy to fall into the mindset of being "just an assistant."

This often stems from the traditional view of assistants as support staff, there to handle the mundane tasks while the client focuses on more "important" work.

It’s not the way it is when you become a VA. Virtual Assistant.

I always like to think of it as the descriptor, so that people can identify who you are. Like consultant, or bookkeeper, or marketer.

When you say you are an assistant, people understand that. They get a sense of what you do. Except now you are virtual so you don’t work in the other person’s office.

You are someone who provides administrative support, from your own office.

That’s what Virtual Assistant means to me.

But the mindset of being just someone’s assistant can hold you back.

Let's explore this on today's episode.

If you need help shifting your mindset from assistant to partner, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase

PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. We have one group training call and one group coaching call each month that will help you set goals and plan and implement the action steps to achieve them. There is also a VIP level of TVC that includes a monthly private coaching call, if you want a little extra personal attention. Check it out here: https://yourvamentor.com/TVC. We’d love to have you join us!

MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I’ve created TONS of amazing resources for you – from business foundations and building resources (financial stuff, calculators, productivity, tech tips and tools, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, client acquisition, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist, seo checklist, client management) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, networking, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you’ll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!

SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Are you charging your clients by the package yet?

It’s a big topic with VAs - and there are arguments for and against doing it.

I’ve never been a supporter of VAs moving away from charging by the hour, like a lot of other coaches.

You can charge your clients any way you like.

If you want to charge by the hour, no one can tell you it’s wrong.

However, when you reach out to me and say you aren’t making enough money, it’s going to be something we look at.

Just like if you reach out to me to say you want to start charging by the package, we are going to look at that too.

In this episode we'll talk about the good reasons to create packages for your VA services - AND the bad ones, or the things you should consider anyway.

If you need help taking a step forward so your VA business is filled with amazing long-term clients, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.

It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase

Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

What To Do Next:

PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. We have one group training call and one group coaching call each month that will help you set goals and plan and implement the action steps to achieve them. There is also a VIP level of TVC that includes a monthly private coaching call, if you want a little extra personal attention. Check it out here: https://yourvamentor.com/TVC. We’d love to have you join us!

MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I’ve created TONS of amazing resources for you – from business foundations and building resources (financial stuff, calculators, productivity, tech tips and tools, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, client acquisition, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist, seo checklist, client management) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, networking, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you’ll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!

SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Client retention is more than just getting a client and keeping them.

It’s about building a great relationship that helps you grow as a VA, and helping your client grow too.

Strong, long-term relationships with our clients helps us build a stable and profitable business.

One of the most important pieces of building your long term relationships with clients is mastering communication.

When communication is clear, it helps to avoid misunderstandings, but it also helps you efficiently work together.

In this episode, we'll talk about a few simple things you can do to in your business that focus on working with your clients long term.

If you need help taking a step forward, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my group coaching program and my self study trainings. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase.

Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. We have one group training call and one group coaching call each month that will help you set goals and plan and implement the action steps to achieve them. There is also a VIP level of TVC that includes a monthly private coaching call, if you want a little extra personal attention. Check it out here: https://yourvamentor.com/TVC. We’d love to have you join us!

MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I’ve created TONS of amazing resources for you – from business foundations and building resources (financial stuff, calculators, productivity, tech tips and tools, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, client acquisition, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist, seo checklist, client management) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, networking, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you’ll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!

SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Growing your VA business is something that we talk a lot about but not all VAs do it well.

It takes strategy and planning, and I think it also takes support.

When we work alone all the time, it is really easy to let ourselves off the hook to do things that we know we are supposed to do.

We might have the best intentions but then when it comes down to it, we can put something off when something else comes along.

A lot of VAs I know actually put client work above their own business work - and while that does make sense - I mean the client is paying for your time - it’s also really important to prioritize your own business so that you succeed.

Growing your VA business is important to consider.

Who doesn’t want to make more money? Raising your rates is essential when you are in business, so that you can take trainings and systems to automate your business and even bring on team members if you want to. After I doubled my rates while working with my first business coach, i was able to bring on subcontractors to help me with client work because my rates actually supported paying them - they sure didn’t before.

Who doesn’t want to grow their services into something that you have learned and love to do? My business changed so much over the years, and I was really happy to be able to take training to change what I was doing for clients as my knowledge and experience grew too. I started doing client care which lots of people think is a lower value VA task (it’s not). I progressed to being an online event manager. I set up and ran all of my clients' online events like meetings, conferences, group coaching programs and more.

So how can you make sure you are doing this … growing thing?

Tune in to this episode to find out!

If you need help doing any of the things I mentioned today - finding new clients, revising your rates, finding your community, networking, marketing, speaking, mastering time management, get in touch with me to talk about joining The Virtual Circle. I’m here to help.

It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.

We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private, self study, free and paid trainings. I have lots of ways I can help you. Just reach out so we can talk about what you need. Thanks again so much for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

I have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business - and it doesn't require you to be on social media! It's an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you'll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I've created TONS of amazing resources for you - from business foundations (financial stuff, calculators, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you'll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Building an amazing Virtual Assistant business is not technically a difficult thing to do.

You find a client, you do great work, they tell their friends about you, and you get more clients. Right?

That’s the dream - we don’t have to market our business, we don’t really have to network, we just keep getting referrals.

This is what happened to me in my VA business. But it didn’t happen ‘just because’.

I made strategic decisions and moves to get my business to that point.

I doubled my rates, found a business coach, joined a mastermind group, and became a part of a high-level community of business owners who needed my services.

And you can too. Listen to how I did it in this episode.

It’s time for you to create the business you love. Create the freedom that you are dying to have.

I can help you do it.

Let’s look at your business together and make some changes that will really impact what you do, and what your VA business does for you.

We can work together in my group coaching mastermind The Virtual Circle to get your plan in place.

It takes some honest assessment, a plan, a commitment to do the work, and then you have to show up and take the advice.

I blew the doors off my VA business when I joined a mastermind group and did the work to make changes in my business that were long overdue. And strategic.

You can do it. It’s time to evaluate your business, and make those changes. You know I can help you do it.

I’m going to leave it here for you today but first let’s circle back to today’s quote: If the only reason your clients come to you is your price, you need to evaluate your business.

If you need help breaking through that barrier to find the great clients that really need you and value you, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.

It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.

We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private, self study, free and paid trainings. I have lots of ways I can help you. Just reach out so we can talk about what you need. Thanks again so much for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Getting advice about your Virtual Assistant business is such an important thing to do, and to plan for.

Two heads are better than one they say and I agree - in most circumstances, I think.

For whatever reason when we are a solopreneur, we think that means we have to do it all alone.

But I’m here to tell you that all of the best business people have help.

Why would you want to do it alone?

Because you think you should be able to is definitely not the right answer.

When we suffer, or make mistakes, there are solutions. There is always a solution to whatever has gone wrong.

Usually we don’t want anyone to know that we failed, or that we did something stupid, so we keep it to ourselves.

We think no one will understand, that no one else could possible have done the same dumb thing that we did.

But they have.

And the biggest issue is that if you don’t know how to fix the problem, then you will struggle even more on your own.

If you keep everything to yourself, you probably not make it in business.

Not only will it be much harder for you, but it will be lonely.

Not to mention, what will you do when things actually go well??

Who do you have to celebrate with?

You need peeps! Peeps who understand, and are there for you.

No one expects you to do anything on your own. Let alone everything.

There are people who can help you with your business stuff. People you can get advice from. Get support from.

We'll talk about that in today's episode. Let's go!

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

I have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business - and it doesn't require you to be on social media! It's an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you'll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I've created TONS of amazing resources for you - from business foundations (financial stuff, calculators, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you'll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

I talk a lot about good habits and the importance of routines in your time management and general VA business success.

And they are important.

I want to talk about the most important thing, though, and that is actually doing them.

How many of you have created lovely routines or procedures, but then you never actually do them?

You aren’t alone if that sounds like you.

It’s the discipline of doing what you know you have to do, that will help you be successful.

Like Jim Rohn says, it is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.

Goals are great - you know where you want to go, you even might know the steps you need to get there.

But if you never take any steps, your goals will stay just goals.

The idea is to accomplish the goal.

And you do that by taking action. Probably lots of actions.

That takes discipline. And habits and routines. We’ll talk about all three in this episode.

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

I have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business - and it doesn't require you to be on social media! It's an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you'll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I've created TONS of amazing resources for you - from business foundations and building resources (financial stuff, calculators, productivity, tech tips and tools, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, client acquisition, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist, seo checklist, client management) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, networking, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you'll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

There are a lot of reasons why you might stop marketing your VA business.

Usually, it’s because you get a few clients and then you get busy working with them.

Sometimes it’s because you have taken an actual break in your business.

Or sometimes it’s because you get burned out from trying all the wrong things, and you give up.

In any case, let’s talk about how to restart.

’ve stopped and restarted my marketing a lot over the years that I’ve been in business. I’ve also helped a lot of other VAs get started again - it just takes a few steps.

And you should not feel bad if you haven’t done anything in a while. We will just start now!

Today we’ll talk about reframing your mindset, refreshing your online presence and profiles, and rekindling past connections - and then talk about how I can help you put your plan together to move forward.

It’s time. I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.

PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants. We’d love to have you join us!

50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. Register here now: 50K Bootcamp for VAs

MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!

SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Starting your Virtual Assistant business comes with so many things that you don’t know how to do.

Maybe you aren’t sure what to offer as your services.

Maybe you aren’t sure what to charge.

Maybe you aren’t sure where to find clients.

But many of you are also aren’t sure about how to do the actual work you need to do - and how to charge properly for it.

I see Virtual Assistants every single day who post in the groups asking for advice … ‘a client needs me to do this (or that), how would you charge for something like that?’

I cringe every time I read that, honestly.

First off, if you don’t know how to do something for a client, you shouldn’t be doing it.

At least not if you are just getting started as a VA.

Don’t get me wrong, you can learn on the job, sure, but the issue with this kind of post is the not knowing how much, or how to charge for it.

That’s the thing that makes me cringe.

Why? Because you are operating a business - offering services. You need to know how much the services will cost the client in order to run your business professionally.

If you don’t know, you aren’t ready to work with clients yet (for that task).

Harsh, perhaps, but I have GOOD news too - of course!

You CAN figure this out pretty easily. So you can work with the client.

Listen in to figure out how.

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

I have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business - and it doesn't require you to be on social media! It's an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you'll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I've created TONS of amazing resources for you - from business foundations (financial stuff, calculators, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you'll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Social media is one of the best tools you can use to promote your Virtual Assistant business.

And yet, many VAs use it incorrectly, and end up seeing little to no results, and/or spending way too much time trying to.

In this episode I want to give you 5 tricks to using social media smarter, so you can showcase your services and get clients to notice you.

Let’s get right to it!

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

I have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business - and it doesn't require you to be on social media! It's an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you'll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. I've created TONS of amazing resources for you - from business foundations and building resources (financial stuff, calculators, productivity, tech tips and tools, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, client acquisition, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist, seo checklist, client management) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, networking, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you'll get a fresh new one. Get more details and sign up here now!

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Work life balance.

Some people will tell you there is no such thing.

That's kind of sad if they think that.

Don't believe them.

There absolutely is work life balance. It is, however, up to you to make it happen.

Let's talk about what balance means to Virtual Assistants. Or more specifically, moms who are VAs.

It's no secret that not all VAs struggle with balance.

If you are young, or single, or married but have no kids, or retired, you may not worry much about balance.

Moms almost always ask me for help finding balance.

I think balance means being able to do what you want when you want.

We don't need equal amounts of work and home, we need to be able to adjust when the balance is thrown off.

How can we do that?

Boundaries.

In this episode, we'll talk about how to use boundaries to get the balance you need in your VA business and family.

If you need help figuring out how to bring balance into your VA business and home life, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.

It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.

We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private, self study, free and paid trainings. I have lots of ways I can help you. Just reach out so we can talk about what you need. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

‌

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Every VA starts their business by deciding which services to offer and then trying to find clients.

It’s not all the time that we consider the client, though.

We think, we have a service. You need this service. Hire me.

It might be more candy coated than that, but you get my drift.

We start to focus on getting clients, and we forget that we are a service business - in business to help the people that need us.

Maybe we know that in theory, but our tactics to get the clients too often forgets that.

And then guess what happens? We struggle to get clients.

So then what do we do?

We try harder.

We post everywhere and anywhere that we need clients. We run a special deal. We offer our services for free or a trial project.

And all that does is make us look desperate.

You probably don’t think you are, but you are. Everyone sees it, except maybe you.

So, what can we do to stop acting desperate?

Tune in to this episode to find out!

If you need help figuring out how to do any of what you learned in this episode, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.

It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.

We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

There are very few Virtual Assistants that I have met that don’t like to learn.

In fact, it can be one of our biggest downfalls as business owners - we get distracted by all the new shiny stuff that comes along that we want to learn.

So I thought in today’s episode I’d talk about learning - and how to do it well. while you are running your VA business.

We know that the VA industry is growing at a rapid pace, and has been for many years.

There are so many tools and apps and programs and platforms out there that helps us work better with our clients.

It’s awesome, but if you don’t keep on top of what’s going on in our online world, you could quickly find yourself behind others.

I don’t probably have to tell you to learn … like I said, so many VAs I know love to learn.

But it is important to be able to learn the right things at the time. That’s what we’ll cover in today’s episode.

If you need help figuring out how to find training or budget for it, or implement it, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.

It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.

We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

When I first decided to do a podcast for you (and for me, truthfully!), I did a lot of research. I knew what kind of content I wanted to provide, but was that something you would tune in to hear every week?

That’s what I needed to know.

After doing 100 episodes, I can honestly say that yes it is something you enjoy. I appreciate every single one of you, and the time you take to learn from me.

And with that I want to actually start this episode by referring to our quote:

It’s from Albert Einstein and the reason I chose it is that a) it talks about education which is what I try to provide you with every day, and b) it showcases what I think is so important about learning.

It’s not the facts you learn, but realizing that you are capable of anything - when you just think, and ask the right questions, and then take the right action.

Training of the mind to think - when we learn to do that, we carve the right path. We focus on the right things. We make better decisions. We communicate better with the people around us.

Sound familiar? It’s kind of all the stuff I teach you in this podcast. And in my business.

So many VAs I know are voracious learners, and that’s a good thing. In the ever-changing online world we need to be able to learn and adapt what we do, how we do it.

We need to be willing to stay on top of trends so we don’t get left behind the others that do.

We need to be able to help others do the same. There is always another new platform or app coming along that can change what we do and how we do it.

The key is to monitor those things and learn only what you need to learn right now - so you can implement it.

Are you implementing what you learn in this podcast each week?

I know the topics are different every week, but if you can take just one thing from each podcast episode that you can implement into your business right away, then you have learned - and you have trained your mind to think.

Look at that!

So today I want to showcase my top 10 episodes of the podcast so far, as a continuation of my reaching 100 episodes last week.

I’ll share the podcast title and some info about it.

If you did listen to it, what did you implement from it?

If you didn’t, be sure to tune in and make some notes so you can uplevel your business one step at at time.

You can find links to all of the top 10 episodes in my blog:

https://www.yourvamentor.com/blog/2024/05/podcast-my-top-10-podcast-episodes-for-you-to-check-out/

If you need help doing one thing, or many things, better in your VA business, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.

It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.

We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

First things first, yes, today’s episode is my 100th episode of The Ridiculously Good VA Show and I’m thrilled to be marking this milestone with you.

When I decided to do the podcast back in 2022, I did it so that I would have a central hub of content for my audience of VAs just like you.

I found that I was creating content in about 5 different places and it was hard to keep up, and keep it all fresh and unique.

The podcast serves as a way to share my expertise with you wherever you are, and you can listen to it anywhere you like - on my website or blog, on your favourite podcast service, or on Youtube. It’s not a video podcast, just audio, but I appreciate all of my new Youtube followers and listeners!

I love to do it every week, and I love to hear that you are enjoying it and getting good information from it.

There are very few VAs that I speak with in my cut to the chase calls, or via DM, who have not heard of my podcast, and that’s exactly what I was hoping for.

So, happy 100th anniversary to me - thank YOU for being here - let’s keep it going!

Today I want to talk about mastering communication in your business.

Communication is something that I have worked very hard on over the last 25+ years and it’s something that I find myself teaching often, and that’s why I chose it as the topic for this special podcast episode.

Some of the things I’ll talk about today you can also use in your personal life.

But for sure, if you can get better at communication in your business, you will soar high above a lot of other VAs who just aren’t doing it well.

Today we’ll talk about why it’s so important to communicate well - what it impacts in your business (and your client’s business), and some tips to help you do it better if you are challenged by it.

If you need help mastering your communication, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.

It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.

We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

So today we are talking about the very common question ... how to bill your Virtual Assistant clients.

There is a misconception that billing by the package is better and smarter.

But that's not always the case.

Why do VAs want to charge by package? The main reason is they want to stop tracking their time.

But you still need to track your time with packages!

Well, in a manner of speaking anyway.

Which is better, charging by the hour or by the package?

The answer can be … either … it really depends on what services you offer and what kinds of clients you work with, and how you want to work.

In this episode, we'll talk about what the differences are between the two strategies, what you need to do for each, why you might choose one over the other, what your clients need to know, and more.

If you need help creating your billable rate or packages, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.

It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.

We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

Resources:

Here is the other podcast episode I mentioned this week.

If you need more help with estimating the time it takes to do your client's work and how to work with their budget to help them get things done, tune in to this episode:

Estimate VA Client Work Needs and Work Within Their Budget

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Before a Virtual Assistant client signs on the dotted line, they may ask you for some kind of proof that you can, in fact, do what you say you can do.

I have talked to lots of VAs who seem to get offended by this.

Often because the request comes in the form of asking for references or for a resume.

They stick their nose up and say they don't want to do those things because they are not an employee.

I talked in last episode about what exactly we are asking of our clients when we ask them to invest in our services.

The monetary exchange can be substantial. Never, ever take that for granted.

They are paying you a lot of money to help them. We need to always recognize that.

And sometimes they aren't quite confident that we are the right ones for the work.

Whether a client is paying you $500, $1000 or more every month, multiply that by 12 to get a sense of their financial commitment to you.

They need to feel like they are making the right decision, and if that hasn't come from your discovery call then they are well within their rights to ask you for more 'stuff' to back up your claims that you can do what you say can do.

Or, in some cases, they might ask for proof before they even talk to you. like in a job posting.

First things first, relax. Don't get offended. It's okay!

Let's talk about the kinds of things clients might ask for and how to handle them!

If you need help showcasing your expertise and your VA business, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.

It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.

We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

‌

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Learning to do marketing is one of the most important skills you can master with your Virtual Assistant business.

But sometimes we get overwhelmed by what we should be doing to get the word out about our business.

Let's talk about it.

What does marketing mean to you?

To me, when I was starting out, it meant advertising. Promotions. Getting customers.

Marketing is not selling, although it does produce that outcome when done well.

Marketing is not advertising what you do, not really anyway.

Marketing is about creating a system that works to do that. for you to get the word out about your VA business to people who need your help.

There are a lot of keys to good marketing but I want to focus on three today.

If you can master the basics, you can get eyes on your business easily.

If you need help figuring out how to market your VA business easily and effectively, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.

It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.

I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I'd love to do the same for you.

We can work together privately, through group coaching, or private and self study trainings. es for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!

‌

Let's work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It's the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.

The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It's a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.

My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.

Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.

Today we are talking with Energetic Business and Sales Coach Alicia Croci, from Wildly Creative Studio.

Alicia works with driven women who are looking to choose their wealthy - I love this!! - because not all of our businesses are the same.

Your wealthy might look like having three day weekends, or working with high level clients, or making a lot of money, or working less and making more.

Your 'wealthy' is yours alone! What does it look like for you?

Tune in to learn about:

• The role energetics plays in your VA business
• Why strategy is key to growing your VA business
• Why unfollows aren't a bad thing
• How to start building the business that suits your lifestyle
• Your next step to living your brand
• And a whole lot more!

To get in touch with Alicia, connect with her here:

Website: https://wildlycreativestudio.com
Not Your Average Embodiment Workshop: https://wildlycreativestudio.myflodesk.com/embodiment-workshop
Ready, Set, Grow: Ready Set Grow Program 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildlycreativestudio | https://www.instagram.com/aliciacroci/

Alicia Croci is an energetic business and sales coach. Four years ago, her corporate job tried to push her back to the office, and she said “fuck that,” starting her own online business. She now helps women across the globe market their business, stand out, sell out launches, and free up space in their calendars.

As a mom and business owner, she gets it—business isn’t for the weak. But with the right strategies, it CAN feel simple when you focus on what lights you up.

After burning out in corporate, managing 80+ social media accounts for pennies, she built her own business. In just 12 months, she was making $8k+ months serving ONLY 8 clients at a time. 

In September 2023, she found out she was expecting her first baby, and knew her business model had to change. So, she burned it all to the ground, retired her highest-selling offer, and created a whole new offer suite for her DFY agency & added on coaching. And it was the best thing she ever did. 

Now she helps women define what “wealthy” means to them, simplify their business, and truly help them build a legacy business that allows them the space to do whatever they want with their life. 

Enjoy!