After being a Virtual Assistant / Online Business Manager for more than 3 years, I wanted to share with you some things that I have come to realise over that time. And tell you that despite what you might see on social media not everyone has their sh**t together.
But also, that running my own business has been an amazing journey so far and I wouldn’t change any of it, even those nightmare clients! It’s all been part of the learning process and has helped me form what knowledge I can now pass on to my VA mentees.
So here are 10 things I have learnt through being an Online Business Manager / VA Agency for the last 3 years.
1. Business will always be a bit of a rollercoaster
Business is a journey; everyone perceives that your business will consistently go from strength to strength in an upward curve. But in reality, it is a journey that feels like it’s constantly up and down. Some days you take 5 steps forward and 2 steps back, but others you take 5 steps forward and no back. This is the beauty of it and in fact everything you do is all part of business and part of the learning process.
You might try something, a new niche or a new way of marketing and realise it’s not for you and feel as though its wasted time. But instead of feeling like it is wasted time, look at it all as part of your journey, you have learnt what isn’t for you and probably picked up new skills that you can use with your clients along the way.
Your business will continually change … just go with it!
2. There is no right or wrong in business
You have probably heard people saying before “your business, your rules” and that couldn’t be more true. If you want to work from 7pm – 12am every day rather than the usual business hours, then go for it. If you want to only offer clients one video call per month, then feel free. You decide how you want to run your business because everything in it is within your control.
There is so much advice out there around how to run a business, and don’t get me wrong there are certain strategies that might work better for you than others, but trying to listen to them all is just impossible.
You will be scrolling your Instagram feed and up pops a post telling you that “you have to have a niche to be successful”. You keep scrolling … and literally the next post down is from a different coach telling you “you don’t have to have a niche, just get your marketing messages better”. And truthfully, both are equally as correct as one another. Running a business is all about testing what works for you and what doesn’t. It’s a journey remember 😉
3. Having a clear end goal (or “why”) is the most important thing
Having a clear end goal, keeping your why in mind, is much more important than a clear current path. As I said above, the business direction changes so often, but the “why” of your business should never change.
As long as you keep your clear end purpose in your mind at all times, no matter what route you take, you will always be on the right path.
Maybe your why is the freedom to spend time with your family or freedom to travel – so when a new client comes knocking ask yourself whether it fits with your ultimate why. Will it help in the path to your end goal …?
4. It’s okay to move on from clients
I have seen it before multiple times over the years, a client of mine has been working with another consultant for a while and the consultant starts to get complacent. Maybe it’s boredom or their path has changed.
Clients can see it and if you don’t act on it, it can be damaging to your business!
If something is feeling slightly off to you, your clients will more than likely be feeling that too.
So, if it feels like your client relationship is becoming a bit stale or a bit boring and you’re putting in less effort with them, take it as a sign that it’s time to move on. Because it is totally okay to move on – things change!
5. Earning “£10k months” isn’t everything
There is absolutely nothing wrong with aiming to earn a significant amount if that is what your end goal is – but what isn’t okay is when “10k months” are used as a marketing ploy or start to make you feel inferior.
I have seen it happen with my mentees that they are bombarded with daily messages from others that they are “6-figure” businesses or that they are earning “10k months” and when something is repeated to you over and over – it starts to become the norm. You can start to question why you’re not earning that, perhaps you’re not good enough if you are only earning £2k a month …
… bulls**t
You are good enough – just by even taking the brave move to set up your own business makes you amazing!
To earn £10k a month after tax alone you need to be earning around £200,000k a year. Then take into account expenses, you’re looking at needing to bring in at least £230,000+. And when you break it down like that, you realise maybe not as many people who are speaking about it are actually being truthful!
6. There’s a beauty in just being
Have you ever said to yourself … “I should be creating a new offer, a new package, finding new clients, hiring an associate”?
Business growth is amazing and aiming for some, or all, of these is admirable and inspiring!
But sometimes we feel a pressure to grow, a pressure to keep scaling.
Which is natural, because at the end of the day you are clearly an aspirational type of person, otherwise you would be in employment still …
So aim high, but remember to take it all in, you don’t have to move at 100 miles an hour at all times, sometimes you can be still in business … and that’s okay!
There is a beauty in just being!
7. You will never have it all figured out (so you can relax now)
Okay so, I would forgive you if you looked at other business owners who have been doing it a long time and thinking they have it all figured out. I can see why you would think that.
But I hate (or don’t hate) to break it to you … no one ever has it all figured out!
We’re all constantly finding our way and despite how many years you have been in business, you will never have everything figured out.
Because that would be boring, wouldn’t it? Business (and life) is always growing, moving, changing, you’re always learning new things and new challenges are thrown your way.
Don’t get me wrong, some things get easier – but there’s never going to be a day you wake up and think “today is the day, I am enlightened, and I know it all … no more challenges for me”.
And if you want to learn more on starting your Virtual Assistant business, read the most frequently asked questions when just starting out.
8. Nurturing current clients is so much easier than finding new ones
If you have built a good relationship with your clients, it is much easier to sell them more hours, upsell them to a higher package or work on bigger projects with them.
They already trust you, they know you are good and if they need more help with something, who do you think they’re going to ask …?
So make sure you nurture your client relationships and keep your eyes peeled and ears to the ground for any more opportunities to help them more.
You’re much better off working for less clients with more hours than you are multiple clients on small contracts!
And finding new clients is a much harder sell than selling something to someone who already knows you and your brand.
9. Remember to take a step back sometimes
I mean this in two senses; take a step back and look at how far you have come and to actually take a step back in terms of breaks.
It’s very easy to become so involved in the minutia of your own business that you can’t always see your achievements, or you forget to celebrate them because it might only feel like a small win or a small step forward.
But when you run your own business, you are constantly taking small steps forward – which all add up!
So don’t forget to take a step back sometimes and look at how far you have actually come in the last few months, even the last few weeks.
It’s also easy to not take breaks from your business because you feel like it might fall apart without you, or your clients will leave for another Virtual Assistant if you take a holiday.
All those worries are valid – but I promise your business won’t fall apart if you go on holiday! Trust me, I have had more than a few of them, and my clients have always been there when I got back, nothing disastrous happened, in fact nothing bad happened at all!
10. Enjoy the ride!
Last of all, one of the most important ones – is to enjoy the ride!
As I have explained throughout this blog business is a rollercoaster, it’s a journey that’s constantly moving and changing – but it’s beautiful!
You get to live your life how you want, no more asking for permission to take time off or to leave early to pick up your kids – you are your own boss, you make the decisions and you have the ultimate control of your life (the dream!).
And that …. that is special <3
To read more about my business journey and how I went from Virtual Assistant to Online Business Manager and VA Agency owner, check out my about page.
Or to learn more about working with me and learning from my journey, read more about my one to one Virtual Assistant mentoring.