Getting Your VA Business Started

At one of the VA forums I moderate a new VA asked how to get started and stop procrastinating? The following is my answer to her and all of those who are seeking to get started in the Virtual Assistant industry.

Anything worth achieving isn’t easy but it is worth the effort. There are things you need to do to get yourself off your tush and stop procrastinating and I’ll share some of them here for you.

1. Get a reason to do it and it needs to be a reason that both consumes and empowers you – consumes you so it’s always on your mind and empowers you to take action. For me it was the desperate need to be home for my daughters as they entered into high school and no longer being eligible for after school care – I didn’t want them out on the streets so I came back home to be with them.

2. Set goals. I’ve been in business almost 14 years and goal setting is one of those important things I do at the beginning of each year. I have on the wall above my monitor right now, the goals sheet I created in January this year and I’ve achieved most of the items on that list. It’s like having a roadmap – if you don’t know where you’re going you could end up anywhere other than where you’d like to be.

3. Of the goals – make some business but set some personal goals too. Things that have meaning for you. One of my personal goals this year was to write a book and publish it – I didn’t know if I would achieve that or not. Just over 12 weeks ago that book was launched here in Australia and it is one of the most personally satisfying things I’ve ever done – but what I wrote about was based on what I’ve been doing for the past almost 14 years – working at home and caring for my family.

4. Spend time in the company of like-minded people. Being a member of VA networks will help you achieve that. Mixing and mingling with others who have similar goals and interests to you will help you move ahead but don’t leave it just to the virtual community. Seek out groups of people local to where you live, i.e. business networks that have business owners attending and spend time with them. They’ll not only be a potential source of clients for you but you will learn much from them as well.

Anyway, the above should help shift you from procrastination to action. Start setting goals now for the new year and then see what happens!

So, with 2008 almost here now is a good time (or at least once the Christmas rush has passed) to sit yourself down and start thinking seriously about what you want to do and achieve in the next 12 months. Then write it down and put it somewhere visible for you and others to see. Make yourself accountable! You never know what you can achieve till you try.