VAs – Looking for long-term relationships

The excitement of getting that first client soon passes and you start to wonder how much work is going to come through and how often.

If you’re a new VA, or a client looking to engage a VA for the first-time, I encourage you to look at the relationship as something that is going to be for the long-term and not ad-hoc or one-off jobs.

I know that some clients like to ‘try us out’ to see how things go. I expect some might do this with Accountants and Lawyers too, and perhaps tradespeople as well.  But ultimately if VAs provide good and reliable service, delivered in a timely fashion, then clients are going to appreciate the value of a VA and stay with them long-term.

Most of my clients started off with small jobs and then built up, but not all.  Now and then I would get one come along who knew straight off that they were going to need me xx number of hours per week or month, we’d discuss the rate and next thing I knew, I had a new regular client.  I really like those kind of clients! 🙂

My longest-term client was with me for almost 12 years, another just over 10 years. Each moved on because of life changes.  Others that are still with me range between just under a year, through to around 6 or 7 years, maybe longer.  I lose track.  I love that I have a variety of work to carry out for a number of people (not a large number, but just comfortable) and their businesses are quite varied: business coaches, author, architect, nurse who speaks at events and promotes safe sleep for babies, professional speakers and then some ad-hoc clients for occasional projects, website updates or sending out newsletters and broadcast emails.

How did they find me?  Many through word-of-mouth, some through networking events (locally and/or online), others through this blog or my website, or Yellow Pages or Google advertising.  There are many ways.

So, whether you’re VA or a client looking for a VA, I encourage you to look at the relationship as something that will stay with you for a long time and nurture the relationship as such from the start. You will find it so worth the effort!