3 Common VA Roadblocks and How to Handle Them

Posted on June 19, 2013 by

In business, as in life, many things can jump into our path unexpectedly.

It’s how we handle these things that will allow us to continue on the path to success, or derail us completely.

Here are three common roadblocks that VAs face:

1) Unexpected loss of a client

2) Too much new business at once

3) Late payment by a client

Unexpected Loss of a Client

When a client decides to leave you (or if you fire them with little notice) it can be devastating to your income. The key is to keep your pipeline filled with prospects on a regular basis, so it’s as easy as contacting people in your audience and getting a new client. But this isn’t always the way it works. What you want to do to soften the blow of losing a client (big or small) is to set a schedule for completion of work with the existing client (always try to give notice if you can, or ask for notice if they are moving on), and start your canvassing of prospects immediately. Reach out to colleagues and other strategic partners to let them know you have an opening and actively look for someone to replace your lost client. Watch your expenses if necessary, so that you can adjust them for the decrease in income. Then you need to put a plan in place if you don’t already have one, so that you have potential clients a phone call away!

Too Much New Business

If you are really actively marketing, or attending networking events, it is very common to bring on more than one client at a time. This can be overwhelming, but it’s easy to handle. First, if possible, you want to stagger the start dates of new clients. Even a few days apart can make a big difference in your schedule. You also want to have a clear client intake procedure set up so that you can prioritize the needs of each client as you start to work with them. If you don’t have team members that are helping you out, it may be time to seek some out. The key here is organization, so you can handle your current clients and the new clients (who always need a bit more attention to begin with) and make the procedure of bringing on one or more new clients seamless. If you don’t have a procedure in place to bring in new clients, you should get one set up.

Late Payment by a Client

Talking with clients about money will almost always be the most uncomfortable part of your business – especially if they owe you money. It happens occasionally to some people and more often to others. The best plan is to have a payment policy, and be very firm with it. If your clients are supposed to pay you in advance, be sure you don’t do any work until money is received. If your clients pay you in installments, it’s the same as a retainer. Work stops if money is not received. If someone owes you money at the end of project, have a clear plan of how and when that is to be paid. Policies are always put in place because of mistakes made in the past – and I find that most VAs who work exclusively on pre-payment do so because they have been burned by late paying clients. Get a policy in place now to collect payment in advance – you have better control over your work and your business by making this a requirement.

There are many things that can stop your VA business in its tracks. These are just a few examples. Building policies and holding your clients to them is going to be a key factor in your continued success.

Always remember that you are running a business – and while you are grateful for your clients because they pay you for your work, you are not responsible to them. It’s a business and you need to be sure to treat it as one.

I’d love to hear your results by taking a look at what you are tolerating. Post your thoughts on my Facebook page or send me an email tracey@yourvamentor.com.

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What Are You Tolerating?

Posted on June 12, 2013 by

I attended a Virtual Assistant conference several years ago and I listened to Mary Lou Ashton speak about tolerations. It was one of those talks that stays with you, at least it stayed with me. I refer to it all the time when I am in conversation with people who are struggling to focus and move forward in their business.

Tolerations are those things that are around you that you probably don’t even consciously notice.

A toleration can be a broken step as you walk into your house, or an unfolded basket of laundry, or dishes on the counter, or an unanswered email, or a stack of filing that needs to be done.

A toleration is something that you notice, consciously or unconsciously, and it gets in the way of your train of thought.

By clearing these tolerations away, you can open up your subconscious mind wider and it can actually help you to move forward with other decisions.

Do this exercise: When you drive into your laneway, look at the things that bother you. If you can, get out a notepad and start to write them down. Walk from your laneway (or garage) into your house by your normal route. Keep writing things down that irritate you or that you notice that you want to change or fix. Continue your ‘walk’ through your home to your office. If you’re anything like me, you probably have a full page of notes by now. ☺ Do the same exercise for each room of your house, if your list isn’t too long already!

Now, take that list and stick it up on the wall beside your computer, so you can see it.

These are the things you are tolerating on a daily basis. How easy are some of them to fix and get out of your brain?

When I did this exercise the first time I couldn’t believe how simple it was to just clear some of the things off that list, as a few at a time. I felt such an enormous sense of relief, and I really did have a clearer head by doing it. It was so much easier to focus on my daily work, and my planning and strategy seemed to flow more easily, just because those things I didn’t realize were blocking me, were fixed.

I encourage you to give it a try.

When I am feeling stuck, I do this same exercise again and again. By making the list, it’s easy to plan to do repairs to what needs fixing, or to build a new chores list for the kids so they can help with housework, or to finally pick out a can of paint to repaint that bathroom.

Whatever it is for you, you can clear valuable mind space simply by identifying what it is that you are tolerating. And then you can get on with your business.

I’d love to hear your results by taking a look at what you are tolerating. Do the exercise and then post your thoughts on my Facebook page

Once you have cleared some space in your mind, take time to enjoy it – check out my article ‘What Do You Do With Your Down Time?’

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Start With Where You Are – And Then Get Moving!

Posted on June 5, 2013 by

As a Virtual Assistant, one of the most important things that you can do for your business is to grow with it.

When you first started your business, you probably had a laundry list of administrative services that you offered. This is a good thing! Starting with what you know and as I call it ‘where you are’ is the best way to jump into the world of being a VA.

But to keep your business fresh and exciting, you need to keep it moving forward and growing. One of the ways you can do this is to get really focused on your service offerings. Specializing your skills and service offerings allows you to easily raise your rates and build your business.

I have been working from home for more than 16 years, and my business has changed drastically, through careful decision making! I started by providing financial services to the hospitality industry. I moved on to providing document services to the publishing industry. I now provide Internet marketing, email management and ecommerce services for business coaches. Odd, right? But it was all quite planned.

I could never have predicted that I would be working with shopping carts and product launches when I started my business as a food & beverage consultant, but by making educated and calculated decisions along the way, it has evolved as such.

How did I do it?

First, I always learned everything I could about what I was doing at the time. Then, as time permitted, I looked ahead for new skills so I could provide better services that could grow my business and suit my clients. I am a perpetual learner, so the education part was easy for me. The key comes with knowing when it’s the right time to learn something new, that you can implement into your business.

Here’s what I mean. When I worked in finance, I studied accounting and business and took workshops in Excel and databases. I needed to know that I was always using the most current methods in my daily work. It just so happened that I needed to take over some projects from a colleague that were closely related to my financial work. They were documents and training manuals. So I started moving in the direction of words, and away from numbers. I began to focus more on the document work, and I took writing courses and learned about back-of-the-book indexing. I refreshed my education in the principles of grammar and sentence structure. I expanded my services into proofreading website copy and then realized that HTML was really not as difficult as everyone said it was. So I took a course in HTML.

Taking that HTML course has been one of the smartest moves I ever made in my career. I do not do web design, but being able to set up sales pages and do website updates is a really big business for a Virtual Assistant. From there I started doing ezines and HTML newsletters, and moved into Internet marketing – which I learned at VAClassroom. Once I learn something, I start to offer those services to my existing clients. Don’t be shy to tell your clients what you have learned! Then you can confidently offer new services to new clients – and increase your rates at the same time.

Challenge yourself in your business. Even though you may not see your path clearly in front of you, keep moving forward. Learn everything you can about what you are currently doing, and don’t forget to keep an eye out to see how you can grow and change!

For some more tips on how you might be able to see the road ahead of you, read my article ‘No Clients Yet? What Are You Trying to Sell?’

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Want to add new skills to your business? Read this.

Posted on May 29, 2013 by

Recently a Virtual Assistant asked me about adding new skills to her business. She felt that she wanted to raise her rates, and that adding new services was the way to do that.

When we talk about expanding our service offerings, it’s important to start by stepping back and looking at the big picture.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Why am I considering adding a new skill or service?

2. Why am I considering adding THIS new skill or service?

3. Where can I learn about this new skill or service?

4. Is the training free or paid? Can I afford the time if it’s free, and can I afford the time and money if it’s paid?

5. Is this new skill something I can incorporate into my business easily?

6. Do I know people who could use this new service? Are they in my circle or network?

By answering these few questions, you can see that it’s important to add services and skills for the right reasons, and at the right time in your business.

Everyone wants to earn more money in their business (everyone!).

The key is that you know why, how and when you should do this.

Adding new skills that are going to increase your rates takes more than just learning about something and then implementing them.

The biggest consideration is probably whether you know people who need the service you are going to provide. If they are not currently in your network, you will need to develop a plan to get them into your network. There are many easy ways to do this – anything from strategic partners, referral partners, colleagues and current clients. But it’s important to consider it and get a plan in place to make it happen.

The second biggest consideration will be the time and money it takes to set up the new skill or service. Timing of a program or a course to learn something new is essential. When you learn something new, you want to develop a plan to implement that new knowledge immediately. You want to be able to develop your reputation right away – I often suggest having a few ‘test’ clients you can use your new skill set on in for free (or cheap!) in return for some testimonials. When you are introducing a new service, you want to have testimonials in place for the new people you will attract – to show that you know what you are doing!

The other consideration is why you want to do this. I know so many VAs who really go from one thing to another (or try to learn everything, even if they aren’t going to specialize in it). I try to discourage them from being too broad in their service offerings. It’s fun to learn things, but it’s important to become ‘known’ for your area of expertise – THAT is where the big money is.

By knowing your WHY (you are passionate about it, you love it and find it fun to do all day, you love the people who need the service, you want to learn, implement and then teach it to others – whatever your WHY is!) it’s an essential part of your decision making process – it’s the thing that will really drive you to succeed.

Adding new skills and services is a terrific way to keep your business fresh, and keep new clients excited to come and work with you. By checking with your own reasons for wanting to learn something new, and knowing how and where you will be able to implement those skills, you can learn to become the expert your clients rave about (psst – experts make a lot more money too!)

Speaking of learning new skills, if you want to see how adding video screencasting to your skills can help you boost your business – learn how Michelle Schoen did it with her business. Check out our free webinar coming up on Thursday, June 6th – http://learncamtasia.com/traceydaviero

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20+ Cheap or Free Resources to Boost Your VA Business

Posted on May 22, 2013 by

I often talk with people who are very new to the Virtual Assistant business, or are thinking about getting into it.

One concern is that you will need to spend a lot of money at startup getting all of the necessary pieces in place – software, training, and many other things come up for people when they are starting a business.

I always tell them that it’s possible to get going with really solid tools, without spending a lot of money.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s important to have good resources and things in place – but it’s important not to spend money that you haven’t made yet.

When I started my work as a VA, I looked long and hard to find ways to build my business that didn’t eat into profits that I simply didn’t have.

I have shared a few of these things with my students over the years, but I decided that I would finally put together a nice list to share with others as well.

My list is not exhaustive by any means. I have provided a list of one service per ‘category’, if you will. It’s not meant to confuse you in any way – it’s just my suggestions for the various tools that I have used (and still use in many cases) in my business.

I hope you find it helpful also. :)

Check it out here: www.yourvamentor.com/resources

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Are You Being Responsible in your Business?

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

Client Relationship ResponsibilityI recently had a discussion with a group of VAs and it was based around my policies that I have to work with my clients.

Policies are important, as we all know, so that everyone knows the ‘rules’ and it makes for a better working relationship — from clients to team members, and everyone else you might work with.

The thing that caught several people off guard is that I told them I delete my client emails after 60 days. I don’t keep their documents or information on my computer. Once it’s delivered to the client, I delete it.

Audible gasps were heard when I told them this.

Why would I do that? What if I needed something? How could I do that and feel comfortable with it?

It almost seems irresponsible. But in fact, it’s exactly the opposite!

I give the same answer each time. I am responsible TO my clients, not FOR them.

I do their work and I provide it back to them on deadline (whether it’s an email draft or a product launch). I am responsible to get them what I say I am going to get them.

I am not responsible to keep it for them forever and a day in case they need it.

I am responsible to make sure that they know where it is, and how to access it.

When things need to be kept or filed, we have collaborative places that I will put that stuff (like Dropbox, Google Docs, Central Desktop or whatever). I don’t keep it in a folder on my own computer – I email it to the client and/or upload it to the collaborative place where it needs to be – and then I remove it from my own computer.

Same thing with emails – if they are essential to keep (ie if they have information in them that needs to be kept long term), they get copied & pasted into a doc if necessary and uploaded to our collaborative places. Other than that, they don’t need to fill up my computer. The client is free to keep as much email as they want, but it’s my policy that once something is finished, it’s finished.

Now this system may not work for you – or it may send you into a panic or a frenzy! – but what it is meant to illustrate is that we are responsible to our clients to complete the work they need. We are not responsible to keep all of their business documentation – THEY are responsible to keep all of their stuff (whether in their own email, their own computer or a central location that is shared as mentioned).

The key here is that each of us is our own business owner, and we have to take responsibility for our own business as such. I keep most correspondence from my own VA. I don’t expect her to keep it herself – although we do work with Teamwork PM as a collaborative software – so all correspondence and documentation comes through that anyway. I can feel comfortable deleting my emails from her because I know they are already kept there.

This always turns into quite a discussion when I bring it up with other VAs – I would love to hear your take on it.

How are you doing things – are you being responsible TO or FOR your clients?

I’ll post this article on my Facebook page too – I’d love to see your comments on it! www.facebook.com/yourvamentor.

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Get More Done, Make More Money

Posted on May 8, 2013 by

Your VA Mentor: Schedule Your WorkAt the IVAA Live Summit I spoke about organizing & prioritizing your work. One of the pieces of my presentation was about organizing tasks so that you get more done each day.

When you are working as a support professional, it is easy to try to multitask and do many things at once, but there are all kinds of studies out there that show that multitasking is simply ineffective.

It’s much more efficient to focus on one task at a time, and complete it, and then move on to the next thing.

The way I handle multitasking in my daily routine is by batching my work – that is, collecting tasks that will done at one time and doing them at a specified time.

There are two ways you can plan to batch your work.

1. Do like tasks together. So, if you are doing copywriting or follow up or newsletters, pull everything you need together and then do one at a time until they are all complete. Then move on to another set of tasks. Doing like things at the same time is productive because you can get into a groove with the parts of the task, and make quick work of everything.

2. Do one client’s tasks together. I often work this way – planning to do a number of the same client’s tasks during a specific time. So, maybe I start with their newsletter and then update some autoresponders and do follow up emails or whatever the case may be. By focusing your time and effort on the single client for a period of time, you can manage your billing for that client more easily because you have a block of time that is billable, as opposed to doing many smaller things during the course of a day.

Either of these ways is more efficient than simply working from a task list and doing things one at a time.

When you manage your work in a manner that will allow you to be more productive, you not only get more done each day – but you will make more money in your business as well.

Get yourself organized and see for yourself!

How do you keep yourself organized during the day? I’d love to hear about it – share your ideas on my Facebook page,

For more tips about how to increase your revenue while working less, listen to my audio: How to Make More Money by Streamlining Your Services

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The Number 1 Reason You Don’t Have Enough Clients

Posted on April 24, 2013 by

I recently came across an old teleclass I did from 2010 – 3 Secrets to Get High Paying Clients to Call You – and as I listened to it I realize that this is really important information for you to have and practice – so I reran the class as a webinar, with a new Powerpoint presentation.

I speak with many VAs in my networking who are struggling to get clients – and though there are many reasons for this, there is one that is the most important … they don’t know who they can best support.

They haven’t figured it out. Is this you? If so, don’t worry – it’s easy to do … and it’s an absolutely essential piece of your business strategy.

Look at your service offerings. Is it a laundry list of everything you could possibly do for someone?

Look at the services you are currently offering to your clients. Are there similarities, or are you all over the map, doing one thing for one client but not others, etc.?

Look at your clients (past or present). Are they from the same industry? Do they provide similar services to their own clients?

Your answers to the above questions will tell you whether you are focused or not … and the answers to these questions all lead to one thing … a target market.

When you market your services to a specific, targeted group of people, you end up learning what they need – and tailoring your services accordingly (no more laundry list!). You end up doing just the things you are GREAT at (and love to do) each day, because you have a focused list of services that your clients need. You also end up with a terrific group of clients because when you get connected with a group of potential clients in the same industry, you get referrals!

A target market is one of the most important starting points for your marketing.

Select your target market. Then build the rest of your strategy around who you want to serve.

You can then determine what services to offer, what rates to charge, where to connect with them, and even what training or support needs you need for your own business.

Do you have a target market? I’d love to hear about it – share them on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/yourvamentor.

And be sure to check out my free webinar www.yourvamentor.com/3secretswebinar

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Is Anyone Stomping on Your Boundaries?

Posted on April 17, 2013 by

I’ve been witness to some funny (weird, not haha!) situations lately that I wanted to share with you.

Lately I’ve been noticing that more and more things are making me go ‘huh?’

I sat back to reflect on several of those things – I’ll share some with you below – and I think what it boils down to is the sense of entitlement that people feel when they are spending money on something.

Let me explain.

When I spend money on a service provider or a training program or whatever, I have clear expectations of what I am getting for my money. You probably do too.

But lately what I am seeing is a trend of people that expect to push the boundaries of these purchases they are making, and I think it comes from a place of fear.

Here’s an example. I recently got sent a referral for a new client. I know this person and was excited to be able to have a conversation to see if I could help support her in her business. We had a great consult and she asked me how we proceeded. I laid it all out – and let her know I would send the contract and the retainer request and we could get started. Perfect, she said. She needed help right away. Then things got weird. She sent me the payment, but she didn’t sign and send back my contract. I asked for it but she still didn’t send it. When I explained that I couldn’t start the work without the signed contract, she got offended. She said she thought it was unfair to ask her to sign a contract before we knew how we worked together. In all of my years of running my small business, I have never heard that one. My contract does not lock you into a length of time to work together, it simply states that we will start to work together now, and I will do x and y and the client will pay z. Long story short, signing the contract was a deal breaker and I ended up returning her refund, and didn’t do the work.

My boundary is strong. No contract .. no work.  I didn’t get the client, but I am very happy with my decision!

Here’s another one. My coach clients run group programs fairly often. These programs have a set time frame – they run for 3 or 6 months or whatever. Often times they include private support either during the program or at the end. I structure my own programs the same way.  I am seeing a new trend of people who are not taking the boundaries of the programs seriously – they are getting behind in their work, for various reasons, and then they are asking for extensions for their input and connection to the coach. It’s one thing if you enrol late and you are playing catch up, but I am seeing many, many people just not step up to do the work, and then expecting the coach to help them out a month or more after the program ends.  One of my clients actually offers to have a coaching session within one year of purchase, and a fellow emailed to request a refund of the product price 13 months after he purchased, because he did not redeem his coaching session. Just weird, people!

I never have had to set a boundary like this before, but this is a good lesson to anyone setting up something like this – that access should be specified from this date to this date. I have seen it happen more than once recently, to several clients.

I guess the message here is clear – if you purchase something, be aware of the terms that you are agreeing to. If you are selling something, put boundaries and policies in place to be sure that the people who are purchasing from you have clear expectations.

There will always be strange situations take place like the ones I have described above, but the frequency with which I have seen these strange situations increase means to me that more detail needs to be added to conversations and contracts everywhere.

My guess is that most people are holding on to their money pretty tightly these days (and that’s their right!) but be sure not to let some of the ones who don’t read the fine print to step on your boundaries … because I guarantee if you let them, they will!

Do you have any strange client stories like these? I’d love to hear them – email me to share! tracey@yourvamentor.com

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Great Customer Service in Three Steps

Posted on April 10, 2013 by

Recently I have been noticing how I am treated as a customer when I am out shopping, dining, or even connecting with people online.

I have had some great experiences, and some not so great.

What makes good customer service? For one thing, it’s about recognizing the fact that without customers paying for your service, you would not have a business. Now that doesn’t mean ‘the customer is always right’, as the old saying goes, but it certainly weighs heavier since your success depends on keeping them happy.

Here are three easy steps to great customer service:

Keep Them Informed

One of the things that can make clients nervous or uneasy while working with someone virtually, is not knowing the status of their work. Keeping them informed about their details is something that is really easy to do, yet some VAs I know don’t do this regularly. Whether you check in via phone or email regularly, or send them status updates on an individual project, or just let them know that you received their email, keeping your clients informed and up to date is one of the simplest things you can do to give them great customer service.

When someone sends you a request by email, respond to them to let them know you got it. Be clear on when you will work on it or deliver the completed project. If that timeline is more than a couple of days away, send a check in email to let them know the status. By being proactive, they will be more confident working with you.

Be Proactive

A great asset to have (or learn!) as a VA is how to really invest your interest in your client’s business. When you are working with a particular industry, take an interest in what is happening in that industry – about trends that could improve their business, or even news within it. By taking an active interest in what they do, you can vastly improve your customer service experience with them.

Whether you set up a Google alert or join a couple of LinkedIn groups or Facebook pages, keep your eyes and ears open to things that could interest them. Doing so could allow you to expand your service offerings, just by letting them know a new way they can be reaching their own audience. Being able to bring new ideas to the table when you are strategizing with your clients can go a long way to building a long lasting relationship with them – and growing both of your businesses.

Be Their Partner

Don’t be a task completer. To be a successful VA, you want to be a partner with your client – not someone who just completes the tasks they send you each week. By stepping up your role to be their partner in business, you can do things like regular assessment of their projects or methods – to be sure that what they are having you do makes sense. Changing course is easy when you can identify where things are working and where they are not.

By looking at the regular tasks you are completing (ie newsletter production) and identifying whether the method is working – or if a new approach might be necessary – can go a long way in helping your customer’s business. Help them make sure that what they are doing is fresh and relevant. This type of input builds invaluable customer service for your clients – the type of thing that inspires your current clients to send you referrals!

It’s really quite simple to go above and beyond in the area of customer service. By implementing a few simple steps like these, you can really ramp up your service offerings for your clients – and by doing so, that helps both of you become more successful.

By remembering that your clients are the bread and butter in your business, and by taking a more active role in the relationship with them, you can really elevate your customer service.

I’d love to hear some of the things you do for your clients … visit my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/yourvamentor

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