It's OK to be Picky and Choosy

A tough lesson to learn for all new business owners, including virtual assistants, is that not every client is a good client for your business. When you're just starting out, it can be very hard to turn work away. But truthfully, if you want to build a business that has longevity and staying power (and be happy while doing it), you have to be picky and try to build a client base filled primarily with clients that fit your "ideal client" criteria.

So how to you determine your ideal client? A tool that I discuss in the book and have all of my coaching clients complete is the Identifying Your Ideal Client worksheet.  It basically involves answering a series of questions that help you develop a list of qualities and characteristics you would like your ideal client to have –- kind of a wish list.

Here are some of the questions you may want to consider:

• What are some things a client could do that would make you consider them a valuable client?
• What type of people do you work best with?
• Are you interested in only doing a specific type of work for clients?
• How many hours per month do you want to work for each client? Is there a minimum or maximum number of hours?
• What availability are you willing to provide (i.e., standard business hours only)?
• What are your communication preferences (e.g. phone, e-mail, instant messaging)?
• How much notice do you want for incoming projects?
• How much time do you want to turn work around?
• Is there a certain geographic area in which you prefer your clients to be located?
• How do you want your clients to treat you—on a business level only or do you want them to know you on a personal level? 

The purpose of this exercise is not to limit yourself, but to have a good feel for the type of clients you want to collaborate with on a long-term basis. You will have non-ideal clients...all businesses do. But if you can identify your ideal client and recognize when one comes along, you can take the necessary steps to cultivate that relationship into one that is sustainable and mutually beneficial for both sides.

Oh and if a potential client is not an ideal client for you, they are probably an ideal client for someone else. If you decide not to take on a client, you should refer them to another virtual assistant. Not only does this help you network with other VAs (which can have a multitude of benefits by itself), it also helps the client, and it becomes a win for the VA industry.

Comments

[Laurie/Halo Secretarial]

Great post! I definitely agree that it's best to focus on your ideal client and I LOVE the concept of referring a non-ideal to another VA.

[Alyssa Gregory]

Thanks, Laurie! Isn't it great to be able to pass work onto other VAs when it's not the right work for you? A great way to network and build up a go-to group!