Is your VA business profitable? Sure, you may be making money because your clients are paying you, but are you keeping as much money as you should be?
Profitability isn’t usually something that comes to mind when you are operating a service-based business.
We always say we trade our time for dollars. And we do, as Virtual Assistants.
Whether you are charging by the hour, by the task, by retainer or by the project, you are still doing work in return for money. Our rates are all based on how long it takes us to get something done.
So we don’t think of our business in terms of profit. But we should! Your business should be profitable, like any other business.
Mike Michalowicz said, “A lack of profitability is consistently the major reason cited for business discontinuation.”
Meaning that businesses cease to exist because they are not turning a profit.
Is all of the money that is coming in to your business, going back out again?
If so, you may want to have a look at how you can increase your profitability.
Here’s how:
- Manage your expenses
- Focus on productivity
- Increase your efficiency
- Work with only your best clients
Four simple steps that – when you pay attention to them and manage them properly – can make a big difference to your bottom line.
Manage Your Expenses
If everything that is coming in is going right back out again (including paying yourself), then it’s time to assess what you are paying out. Look at each of the expenses you have for your business and assess whether it’s necessary, whether it’s priced properly for your business, and whether there is an alternative that might be better suited for you.
In terms of what you are paying yourself, are you paying your expenses and then just taking the rest for you? This is also not a good way to run your business. Pay yourself a set amount each month. You should be building reserves in your business so that you can grow when needed.
Focus on Productivity
The quickest way to bring in more revenue in your business is, well… to get busier. Do you have room for more clients? Look at how you work and what you accomplish each week. Are you working productively enough or could you use a bit more structure and focus to fit more tasks in?
Productivity is key to revenue growth in a service based business, and VAs are no exception. Time is money – so the more productive you can be, the more money you will bill to clients.
Increase Your Efficiency
Are you managing each task you do in the most efficient way you can? Sometimes we form habits around the way we do certain things, and disregard procedures, which can make tasks take longer than they should. It’s a good exercise to analyze your work habits on a regular basis.
Sometimes there are ways to automate steps. Sometimes we just need a proper process that we follow religiously. Whatever your business needs, get it implemented. When you perform better today, you make more profit today!
Work With Your Best Clients
We all have those clients that drive us up the wall. Maybe it’s your first client, or maybe it’s your biggest client. But when you work with them, it takes more energy, maybe more time, and usually means that we make less profit from that client. Wouldn’t it be great to have only amazing clients?
That’s your job – as CEO of your VA business, you need to make sure that the clients you work with are the best ones. The ones that understand your value, that work with you, that communicate well with you. The ones that help you work efficiently and productively. Focus on working only with great clients (even if that means you need to fire a couple and go and find a couple more) and your profitability will spike!
Profits are important. Profits keep us in business.
Not because we need to pad our bank accounts with them, but because they mean that we are running our business to the best of our ability. We are focusing on doing things well – and growing.
We want your VA business to be around for a long time. What do you need to do today to ensure that that happens? Start by analyzing your profitability, and making the changes you need to make today.
Working through issues like this is exactly what you can do in a mastermind group. The Inspired Action VA mastermind is a small group of supportive VAs who work together through the day to day issues that crop up just like this one. If you are struggling through your VA business, check out this group to see if it’s the right time for you! Our next session starts in just a few weeks.