What about your virtual assistant business in 2011?
For most small business owners – the month of December is a time of reflection, looking back over the year and planning for the next one. You see it in year end reports (I did one myself it was an interesting exercise…), blog posts, videos, teleclasses and even in social media.
As virtual assistants we also get bombarded with trends for the coming year, what skills are you going to improve, grow or add to your list? Will you specialize more etc. Great questions and great content shared but it can be a little much at times and complicate the plans you have started to develop for you and your business.
One thing that gets left out many times is the need to connect. Yes we hear about connecting with your clients, developing relationships with them, but when was the last time you heard about connecting with your fellow VA’s?
As you can see from the sporadic blog posts this year, 2010 has been a year of investigating, thinking and planning. Now it is 2011 and this is a year for action, moving out of the comfort zone and taking a few risks. In 2011 a goal I have is to connect with my fellow VAs. While there are great forums, virtual assistant associations and conferences out there but these are not the connections I am looking to develop. I’m looking for a group of VAs….
- Who are ready to grow and change their business
- Who view their business as an opportunity to create something special, something out of the box and unique that allows them to have a business that works for their life and not fitting life around their business.
- Who are looking to push the envelope of what a virtual assistant business is and can be.
- Who are willing to be held accountable while pushing back and holding others accountable
This will be a smaller group and will be limited in number to keep the connections real and personal. It will be a way to dive deep into one another’s business, provide honest feedback, support, accountability and encouragement to one another. It is also an opportunity to create a network of resources, ideas and referrals – I’m sure we could all use that in our businesses.
Virtual Assistants are entrepreneurs and many times on the leading edge of creating business models that work and work well. The creative energy of being part of a group like this is exciting and motivating. Exciting to see and be a part of the success of others and it is also motivating to keep charging ahead when the road gets bumpy.
If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of this virtual assistant mastermind group, let me know. I have some ideas and plans but would love to have feedback and suggestions on creating a group that would fit you.
Making your virtual assistant business your own
I don’t know about you but for me and my virtual assistant business I have been doing a lot of thinkin’ and asking a ton of questions.
Where is my business currently at?
Where do I want it to go?
How do I create a business model that works for both me and my clients?
There has been a theme in the newsletters and blog posts coming to my inbox lately….
1) The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau, after a recommendation from a friend and colleague I checked out the book and Chris’ website. The book by the way immediately landed on my “to-read” list and I highly recommend signing up for his newsletter and downloading his free eBook, “A Brief Guide to World Domination: How to Live a Remarkable Life in a Conventional World”.
2) Karyn Greenstreet of Passion for Business has been writing thought provoking articles on her blog, RoadmapToReinvention.com about not copying the business models but create your own. In looking at her business transformations in the past, her success came from stepping out of her comfort zone and creating something different. This is another resource I highly recommend checking out – follow the feed from her blogs and sign up for her FREE monthly calls, I always get something out of what Karyn has to say about business and what she has learned.
For many if not most VAs we have created the standard, normal run-of-the-mill virtual assistant business. We get the website up and running, find a niche, start marketing and perform the work.
Learning & The Virtual Assistant
Learning is fun, who knew?
If you would have told me that back in Junior High or High School, “yeah right!” would have bee my answer. Strange thing happened… I got to college and suddenly learning became harder but a lot more interesting.
Okay, so not all the classes were fun. I’m sorry but Survey of Art? Just was a dark room where the teacher showed slide shows of art, and I must admit…. I fell asleep a couple of times.
After college, wow, I had time for hobbies! Started reading all sorts of, GASP, non fiction books…. to learn something new. On my own, not a homework assignment. Then, when I had internet access in my home! Well that is when my entire world changed. Learning was fun, it was interesting and it opened up entire new worlds.
For me, one of the biggest draws to the world of Virtual Assistants was the opportunity, the excuse and even the need to continue learning new skills.
The trouble I have had however is:
- What training do I need?
- What program is best?
- Is this a good price? a good value?
- What instructors are the best?
- Where to find specialized training?
This blog is designed to share with you the resources I have found, reviews of the courses, ebooks and programs I have purchased. My hope is to share with you what I have learned, what my journey has been, in the hopes that it will help as you make decisions for you and your virtual assistant business.
I welcome your feedback and suggestions on what you would like to hear more about.
