Commitment – it’s a big word

I get really concerned when I hear about Virtual Assistants that let clients and their fellow VAs down.  When you’re in business the buck stops with you – there is no-one else. And so when you take on a commitment to support a client or fellow VA the onus is on you to get the work done.

Recently I had a client contact me who was desperate to get some work finished.  She had engaged a VA, paid for the project in advance and the job was only half done before a family emergency on behalf of the VA arose. The project stopped and the client had her own client to respond to.  She didn’t know what to do but as she knew I’d been in the industry for sometime she contacted me.

Turned out I knew the VA she’d engaged and was surprised that this had taken place. I told the client that VA had access to other VAs and ideally, she could have outsourced to another VA to complete the work, while she handled her family crisis.  The client’s response to this was of total surprise. She didn’t know this could happen.

None of us are infallible.  Things can change quickly, go wrong, we can have a day that is totally unplanned and filled with disasters, but as business owners we have a responsibility to our business and our clients to keep a level head and make alternate plans.  Otherwise our business goes down the gurler and our reputation is ruined. It just takes one disgruntled client to bad mouth you, or the VA industry in general because of an unexpected happening.

This also applies to any industry really. The internet allows us to collaborate, join forces and make friends with others of our own industries via forums and groups.  If we have accepted a job for a client, with a deadline, and particularly if we’ve already been paid for it, then it is really important we keep our end of the bargain. If we can’t personally fulfil the job then we must do everything we can to bring someone else on board to complete the job.  Yes, that means we have to pay someone out of the earnings we were getting, but isn’t that better than gaining a bad reputation and losing business?

Think about it. Commitment is a big word when you think of everything it entails.