Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to talk about what to focus on in your first 90 days as a VA – and what to ignore.
Today’s Quote: Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. – Robert Collier
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
When you’re just starting out as a virtual assistant, everything can feel urgent.
You might have a mile-long to-do list, a dozen tabs open in your browser all the time, and your mind might be spinning – trying to figure out where to begin.
It’s really easy to fall in the trap of doing all the things, all at once, but that’s exactly what can slow you down.
Let’s walk through what your first 90 days should really look like.
Because there are just a few things that matter in those early weeks, and a whole bunch that can absolutely wait.
The biggest mistake new virtual assistants make in those first 90 days: they focus on the wrong things.
They get caught up in designing a logo, building a perfect website, or creating a bunch of social media posts before they even know what they’re offering or who they’re offering it to. They worry about brand colors, business cards, and catchy taglines, instead of focusing on clarity, confidence, and connecting with actual clients.
And listen, I get it. It’s easier to design a Canva graphic than it is to pitch yourself to someone and risk them saying no.
It feels more productive to tweak your website font than to build a package and send it to a real person.
But that busy work is just a distraction. If you spend your first 90 days on fluff instead of foundation, you’ll lose steam fast. So let’s break it down — here’s where your focus should be, month by month.
Month One: Confidence, Clarity, and Connection-Building
This first month is about finding your footing. You don’t need to know everything. You don’t need to have all the answers. What you do need is the confidence to take action, a bit of clarity around what kind of work you want to do, and the willingness to start conversations.
This is the time to dig into your strengths. Think about what you enjoy doing, what comes naturally to you, and what skills you’ve picked up from past jobs, volunteer work, or personal projects. Confidence comes from doing, not waiting until you feel ready.
Clarity also comes through action. The more you talk to people, the more you’ll start to see patterns in what they need and how you can help.
Connection-building is one of the best uses of your time in month one. You’re not pitching anyone – at least not right away, you’re just putting yourself out there. Start showing up in entrepreneur groups (not VA groups), join a networking event, or reconnect with people you’ve worked with before. Let them know you’ve started this new business and you’re excited about it.
When I first started my business, I did all the wrong things. Probably all the things you are doing now. And it was HARD.. I didn’t talk to a single real person. I convinced myself that I could hide behind my computer and the clients would come.
I sent emails, I used job boards, I went to online classified ad sites, and I tried to educate people about filling their position with a VA (me). It was so hard!
I definitely wasn’t connecting with the right people – or any people. Tons of rejection emails and phone calls.
Things only turned around when I started having real conversations with people. It’s so much easier to find people that actually need your services, and are aware of or open to working with someone remotely – than it is to try to convert the corporate world every day.
Over 25 years later, it’s still the number one way I teach VAs to get clients – talk to business people!
This month is all about movement. Small steps, daily. Not perfection. Not even polished presentations. Just gaining momentum.
Month Two: Services, Pricing, and Portfolio-Building
Once you’ve got your footing and you’re starting to feel more grounded, more confident, it’s time to start building. This second month is where we shift gears into shaping your business.
You don’t need to offer everything under the sun. In fact it’s so much easier when you don’t.
Start with one or two services you enjoy and that you know others are looking for. Keep it simple. If you’re great at scheduling, start with calendar management. If you love writing, offer email or blog support.
Pricing trips up a lot of new VAs. Don’t let it stop you.
Start where you feel comfortable, but commit to revisiting your pricing soon. You’re not locked into it. In fact, part of what you’ll learn in month two is how long things take you and what feels like fair compensation for your time and energy.
Because our services are based on the time it takes to do things, timing is important – and knowing it is the most important thing that you can do to help yourself in month two.
Create processes, time the tasks you do, and then strive to always do them the same way again.
Whether you have a portfolio or not (I usually only recommend these for creative businesses), you should have a way to showcase your service offerings for your clients. I suggest a proposal template that you can send to people after you have talked to them.
Something that outlines the scope of work you will do for them, the rates your charge, and basically how you communicate with them and other things like that.
Having testimonials is the references of the business world. If you can ask people you have worked with before to write something up about how you are to work with, or how you have helped them, this can go a long way to increasing your confidence in meetings with potential clients.
When I first started, I chose my rate out of thin air. Literally. I took the salary I was making at the time and I added two dollars for ‘overhead’. I didn’t even know what overhead was. It wasn’t enough.
I didn’t know why I was charging what I was charging, and so I didn’t talk about it confidently. And my clients didn’t feel that confidence either so I often negotiated or let them tell me how they would pay me.
Please don’t do this! Get really clear and really confident in what services you offer, and set your rates properly using my rate calculator package – it will go a long way in you confidently talking about how much it costs to work with you (and the client doesn’t get to decide that!)
The key this month is building your service offerings and starting to talk about them.
You’re not trying to grow your VA business yet. You are getting going, working out the bumpy parts, and you are focusing on having conversations that lead to that first client that says yes (or that first great client that says yes!) Then the next one. And the next one.
Month Three: Visibility, Marketing, and Services Clarity
Now that you’ve got a foundation, you are confident, you’ve got services nailed down, you’re starting to talk to the right people… it’s time to turn up the volume.
This third month is where you start getting visible. That doesn’t mean you need to be everywhere.
Pick one or two places where your audience hangs out, and start showing up there regularly. That might be LinkedIn, Facebook groups, Instagram, or even just a really solid email to people you know.
Marketing at this stage isn’t about going viral or posting every day. It’s about consistency and clarity. Say what you do, who you do it for, and how people can work with you, over and over again. You’ll feel like you’re repeating yourself. That’s good. That means it’s working.
As you start getting feedback from people, whether it’s prospects asking questions or clients giving comments, you’ll get the clarity you need to refine your messaging.
Maybe you realize one package is too complicated, or that people really love one specific thing you do. This is a great time to adjust and simplify. Everything is a work in progress, and this third month you’ll gain the knowledge and insights you need to get really clear on what you do and who you help best.
When I first started marketing, I thought I had to pitch to everyone. Ick, right?
You might think the same thing. Tracey, how do I get clients if I don’t pitch them?
Easy – you show up where they are, and you talk about how you help people. And you actually help people.
When you aren’t hard selling all the time, people will actually get to know you.
The big new trend in marketing is storytelling – and all that really means is talking about what you do.
Who have you helped before, and how did that help their business, their life? When you really think about those situations where you have helped people, the stories are so simple. And they are true. And they are unique to you.
That’s what people like to hear about. They want to identify with you and start to build trust that you can help them too.
When I started implementing more stories into my content and my marketing, it really resonated with people. I have so many conversations and interactions from the things I post, and it leads to clients – and it will for you too.
This month is also where you’ll start to see results. Conversations turning into discovery calls. Calls turning into clients. It doesn’t need to happen fast, but it will happen if you keep showing up and keep listening.
And the more conversations you have the better you will get at them too. Practice makes perfect!
Time to Stop Overthinking
Here’s where I want to take a breath and say this clearly: you do not need a logo to get a client. You do not need a website. You don’t need brand colors, fonts, or professional photos. Are all those nice to have? Of course!
Do you need them eventually? Yep! But what you need to get your first clients is clarity. You need action. You need conversations.
The prettiest branding in the world won’t get you a client if you’re not making connections. And your dream client does not care what your logo looks like. They care about whether you can help them.
If you’re spending hours fussing with your brand board instead of sending a DM or applying for a job, it’s time to shift your energy.
A Simple Weekly Plan
To keep yourself focused through these 90 days, create a simple weekly rhythm. One day a week, review what’s working and what’s not. Set one main goal for the week, like finalizing a service list, writing a social media post, or reaching out to two people.
Then commit to five small actions per week. That’s it. Five. They could be: commenting on a post, sending an email, updating a service page, practicing asking for a discovery call, or taking a mini training. Each one should take less than 30 minutes. When done consistently, they build real momentum.
Early on in my business I took CJ Hayden’s program Get Clients Now. She focuses on taking daily actions, and it works. l teach the same thing every day now, because it works.
When you do something every day for 30 days, you build a habit, you get better at it, but you also focus on it every day for those 30 days.
I tell VAs all the time, don’t try to book in 2 hours on a Sunday to work on your business. I hear this all the time, and I tell them to stop.
Why? Because that means the rest of the week you’re not paying attention to it. That means you are working on your business only 4 times a month. And if a family event comes up and you end up not doing what you wanted on that Sunday for you business, then all momentum is lost because now it’s 2 weeks between business focus.
Short daily actions. Keep your business top of mind, create great habits, keep your mindset positive and high, and have conversations every single day. It’s the best way to create momentum and head in the right direction.
You don’t need to do everything at once. You just need to do the right things, in order, with intention.
Let’s circle back to today’s quote:
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” — Robert Collier
Oh look, Robert’s right. And CJ Hayden is right. And Tracey is right.
That’s exactly what your first 90 days are about. Not big leaps. Not instant results. Just steady, thoughtful, imperfect action. Every day. Every week.
And that’s how you build something real. That’s how you grow. That’s how you succeed.
Do You Need Help?
I can help you set up that plan. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
Reach out to me on social media to chat. Make me one of your daily conversations this week! I’m exciting to help you get to where you want to go.
And if you want to work with me, check out all of the ways you can do that, from free stuff to private coaching options at YourVAMentor.com/links
Thanks for tuning in this week, I’m Tracey D’Aviero The Confidence Coach for VAs – I’ll see you next time!