So You're Thinking About Starting Your Own Virtual Assistant Business?
The question I receive the most since I began my business in 2008 is, "How did you become a Virtual Assistant and how long did it take you?" Until the last few months, I have had a terrible time trying to answer these questions because I did it the hard way. Let me explain what I did wrong and then I will go into what I have learned since that may help you start your Virtual Assistant business in a more satisfied and successful manner.
When I first decided to work from home, I recall researching several hours a week for about a month on what business I wanted to start and how I needed to do to get clients. I bought several books, paid for eBooks and did all the research on my own. I still did not quite understand what to do, was confused and even got ripped off a few times. However, I finally decided I wanted to be a Virtual Assistant. I was so excited and just a little TOO eager to get started.
Now onto getting clients... due to financial reason, I broke down and took on clients that I was not happy with. I either hated the work itself or the client (normally an organization). Just because I KNEW how to do certain skills, I took on the type of jobs I did not enjoy. For example, customer service (phone work... YUCK) and transcription (I like doing this, but have arthritis in my hands from typing for so many years... lol). Unfortunately, I was miserable, but I continued to do this for almost two years! Don't put yourself through that (I will explain in my next blog post how not to)!
A year and a half ago, I was at a point that I thought I was going to have to give up my Virtual Assistant business and go back into the corporate world. I was going from one project to the next just trying to figure out what I wanted to do and doing anything I could to make ends meet financially. It was definitely starting to look bad on me because it looked like I was a quitter because I would try something, not like it and quit. I FINALLY decided one day that I would not EVER take on another phone job and no more transcription jobs. I have had one transcription client since I started my business and that would be the only one I would maintain (and I still do).
At that time, I started leaning toward social media. I had always had Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, but never really used them to my advantage. I began participating more in discussions, promoting my business and keeping up with my statuses daily. I was able to learn so much from reading other posts and was even able to find a multi-VA team that I began working for.
I spent the following year working for this multi VA-team and realized even more how much I loved social media. I finally found my niche! Working with this team, I was able to learn so many things and I appreciate it to this day. However, I was still not happy. Why? I was doing what I love to do, yet I didn't feel like an entrepreneur. I still felt like a normal employee. That definitely was not my goal when I first started my OWN business, so why was I making myself go through this?
Almost five months ago, I decided I was going to make My Miss Assist successful. I was going to make a name for myself and my company. I wanted to work for my own clients and not do the work for someone else's clients. Don't get me wrong, I loved the clients I was working with, but I never had that VA/client relationship I yearned for all this time. Therefore, I broke ties with the multi-VA teams I was working for and went out on my own. This is the happiest I have been with my business and hope you do not have to go through all of the obstacles and setbacks I have had to go through to get to this point. I now understand there are many more resources out there that can assist a person who is thinking of starting a Virtual Assistant business and in my next blog, I will share them with you. Until then, please share your thoughts and/or questions you may have concerning this topic. I look forward to hearing what you have to say!
When I first decided to work from home, I recall researching several hours a week for about a month on what business I wanted to start and how I needed to do to get clients. I bought several books, paid for eBooks and did all the research on my own. I still did not quite understand what to do, was confused and even got ripped off a few times. However, I finally decided I wanted to be a Virtual Assistant. I was so excited and just a little TOO eager to get started.
Now onto getting clients... due to financial reason, I broke down and took on clients that I was not happy with. I either hated the work itself or the client (normally an organization). Just because I KNEW how to do certain skills, I took on the type of jobs I did not enjoy. For example, customer service (phone work... YUCK) and transcription (I like doing this, but have arthritis in my hands from typing for so many years... lol). Unfortunately, I was miserable, but I continued to do this for almost two years! Don't put yourself through that (I will explain in my next blog post how not to)!
A year and a half ago, I was at a point that I thought I was going to have to give up my Virtual Assistant business and go back into the corporate world. I was going from one project to the next just trying to figure out what I wanted to do and doing anything I could to make ends meet financially. It was definitely starting to look bad on me because it looked like I was a quitter because I would try something, not like it and quit. I FINALLY decided one day that I would not EVER take on another phone job and no more transcription jobs. I have had one transcription client since I started my business and that would be the only one I would maintain (and I still do).
At that time, I started leaning toward social media. I had always had Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, but never really used them to my advantage. I began participating more in discussions, promoting my business and keeping up with my statuses daily. I was able to learn so much from reading other posts and was even able to find a multi-VA team that I began working for.
I spent the following year working for this multi VA-team and realized even more how much I loved social media. I finally found my niche! Working with this team, I was able to learn so many things and I appreciate it to this day. However, I was still not happy. Why? I was doing what I love to do, yet I didn't feel like an entrepreneur. I still felt like a normal employee. That definitely was not my goal when I first started my OWN business, so why was I making myself go through this?
Almost five months ago, I decided I was going to make My Miss Assist successful. I was going to make a name for myself and my company. I wanted to work for my own clients and not do the work for someone else's clients. Don't get me wrong, I loved the clients I was working with, but I never had that VA/client relationship I yearned for all this time. Therefore, I broke ties with the multi-VA teams I was working for and went out on my own. This is the happiest I have been with my business and hope you do not have to go through all of the obstacles and setbacks I have had to go through to get to this point. I now understand there are many more resources out there that can assist a person who is thinking of starting a Virtual Assistant business and in my next blog, I will share them with you. Until then, please share your thoughts and/or questions you may have concerning this topic. I look forward to hearing what you have to say!