VA Secrets Revealed! The Blog

What's Your Passion?

A key step in planning your virtual assistant business is identifying the specific services you will offer. One way to do this is to complete a personal inventory of things you do well and have experience doing. When completing your personal inventory, give special consideration to the things you really enjoy doing. Do you enjoy data entry while others may consider it boring and tedious? Are you a phone person who enjoys spending time fielding calls? Do you have a knack for creating high-impact sales presentations?

All of the things you are passionate about won't necessarily translate into service offerings, but it doesn't make sense to offer services you really don't enjoy providing, even if you’re good at them. Your personal inventory will become your point of reference as you develop your business and consider adding new services over time.

A complete Virtual Assistant Personal Inventory Worksheet will be available for registered readers of the book next week in the Reader's Area, but here are some sample questions to give you a look at the process:

• What are your top five personal strengths?
• What are your favorite pastimes/hobbies?
• What tasks did you enjoy most at your last (or current) job?
• What parts of your day make you happiest?
• What do you do to relax?
• Would you considered yourself stressed and, if so, what stresses you the most in life?

Don't forget to check the Reader’s Area next week to download the complete worksheet!

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This post is expanded from Chapter 3: Taking the Plunge in the book, VA Secrets Revealed! An Insider's Guide to Being a Successful Virtual Assistant. Grab a copy and follow along as I blog!

Tips for Setting up a Home Office

So you've just decided to start working from home, or you have been for a while but still don't have a space to call your own. Maybe there's an extra room you can convert into an office; maybe you only have a tiny corner to work with. No matter how much space you have, there are some things every work-at-home mom can do to maximize the potential of her home office or workspace.

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It's scary, but sometimes you just need to jump...

Before I started my business I had a very lucrative job as a Web designer at a big and well-known telecommunications company that shall remain nameless. I was running avertua on a part-time basis, and I was reaching the point where I had to either go all the way, or stop taking on work. After an endless amount of internal dialogue (yes, meaning talking -- or really arguing –- with myself) and the support of my husband, I decided to go for it. I gave my two week's notice, and I was out the door. I can't even tell you how scared I was!

I think it was the last day at my "real job," in between freaking out about what I had done and thinking how awesome it would be to finally be my own boss, that it hit me. This was probably the biggest risk I had ever taken in my whole life. I was a risk-taker! And OH MY, now was the time to sink or swim, sh*t or get off the pot, just do it. But could I? 

I had taken risks before, but never any that had such huge consequences. What if I failed? What if I didn't make enough money? What if I hated it in 6 months? What if no one wanted to hire me? Was I good enough, smart enough, lucky enough to make this work?

Five years later, I have experienced the gamut of emotions and the roller-coaster that comes with membership in the business owner club. Like everything in life, there have been good times and bad. But even in the worst of times, I have never regretted taking the plunge. For me, avertua has become one of the biggest passions in my life. It has helped define me, and I can’t imagine not being a business owner and doing what I do every day. I love it!

So does this mean that anyone with the guts to take the plunge is destined to be successful? Of course not. A lot of businesses fail; there are never any guarantees. But by doing your homework, and objectively considering all of the pros and cons of business ownership, you can certainly maximize your odds. Here are some factors you should consider:

• Finances – Are you financially prepared for the two, three or five years it could take for you to make a profit?
• Start-up Costs – Do you have all of the software and equipment you need? And don't forget about factoring in a marketing budget.
• Insurance – What are you going to do about health insurance? What about business insurance, such as property, liability, and errors and omissions insurance?
• Personality – Are you a self-starter? Will you be able to keep yourself going when you hit a roadblock? Do you have a plan for preventing a possible feeling of isolation?
• Marketable Skills – Do you have something of value to offer clients? What skills do you have that can translate into business services?
• Discipline – Are you a procrastinator? Or easily distracted? Do you have the focus required to be a business owner?

You may also want to take this quiz provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to determine if you are ready for business ownership: www.sba.gov/assessmenttool.

Think about these things, talk to your family and friends, get the perspective of other business owners, and research the market. Be informed!  And once your research is done and you know that this is the path for you, don't let fear get in the way.