Failure is not an Option!!
“What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?” ~ Robert Schuller ~
I love this saying, but it wasn’t until the other day that it really brought it’s true meaning to light for me. As business owners, we often worry about taking a chance and going out on a limb. We worry about the repercussions of trying a new service, changing our target market or trying a new marketing idea. However, the majority of those with truly successful businesses are the ones that believe that failure is not an option.
I recently attended FoVA (Forum on Virtual Assistance) and when there I was surrounded with Virtual Assistants, both new and veteran, as well as aspiring VAs. Many of these VAs were all leaving with new ideas that they couldn’t wait to implement into their businesses, however I wondered how many actually would “put their money where their mouth was”, so to speak, and actually follow through on those plans that day.
We often times get these great ideas in our heads and then we do nothing to follow through and implement these ideas. We become complacent with the way that things are going and never think about “stirring things up” and taking a “leap of faith”.
So this brings me back to the quotation that I shared with you. Fear can be a very powerful force if you let it. It can stop you from achieving great things. So this is my vow for my business in 2008 … I will not accept failure as an option and I will not let fear stop me from moving forward. This year I am going to take those leaps of faith. I am going to be willing to try new things and to be open and honest and more importantly when something is not working I am going to figure out how to make it work before I accept failure.
Taking Advantage of a Poor Economy
So many talk these days is of how the US economy is suffering. People are losing their houses, companies are downsizing and the stock markets are struggling. However, as Virtual Assistants we should be rejoicing and excited about this prospect.
While many people are worrying about the poor economy and how it will effect them negatively, as a VA we should be seeing how this can effect us positively. Utilizing the poor economy to our advantage is a great way to grow your Virtual Assistant business. As many small businesses struggle to stay afloat and begin to let their employees go, we can promote the value of a Virtual Assistant. These companies would value a VA’s expertise and skills while at the same time realizing that there are so many advantages. It is time to review your marketing materials and have them reflect the world around us. Utilizing swings in the economy is just one of the several ways to turn your business into a thriving business.
How you use these downswings will allow you to stand out from others. If you can make sure that the clients that you gain see the financial values in having a VA vs. an in-house assistant during tough economic times and grow to depend on you and your skills, then during a boom they will also see the advantage of continuing your relationship.
The Secrets Revealed to Having a Successful Virtual Assistant Business
As a Virtual Assistant, we all know that there are specific things that those that succeed are doing that are setting them apart from the other Virtual Assistants. These success stories are taking specific actions to develop their ideas into a prosperous Virtual Assistant business. Ask any of these successful VAs and they will all tell you that the recipe for success takes three simple ingredients; finding the right clients, offering the right skill set specific to the individual and having the motivation and desire to do what it takes to succeed. However, even armed with this knowledge, many Virtual Assistants struggle to find the success they so desire.
The biggest challenge as a Virtual Assistant is motivating yourself to take some important steps on a consistent basis. Many are held back by their fears; fears of success, fears of failure, fears of the unknown … But, facing these fears head on, even eliminating them is crucial to making your big dreams come true and enjoying the success these successful VAs are having. I am here to tell you what those important steps are.
· Pick a target market – someone that you feel comfortable working with and will enjoy working with.
· Work within a skillset that you possess and have an expertise
· Find the balance between work and home and be sure of the boundaries
· Set and review your goals
· Follow up with each and every lead until the lead has been exhausted
· Set aside time to work on your own business at least weekly
· Be thankful for your successes and learn from your mistakes
· Have a strong support system and avoid negativity in your life
The problem that will stop a Virtual Assistant from ever achieving any level of success lies in that the knowledge alone will rarely translate into the action habits that will transform your life and your business. You must take steps to enjoy these successes. There are no guarantees and no easy answers and each and every day and each and every client deserves honest hard work.
If you’re to enjoy the things that successful VAs do, you must share their beliefs and attitudes, which create the emotions that drive them. Even if you don’t feel that you are a success, simply believing you are and allowing yourself to become a success can be just the tool you need to truly create your own thriving Virtual Assistant business. As a great friend of mine once said, “Fake it Until You Make It”.
Is Your Business a Thriving Business or Just a “Job”?
When I started my business I did so with the assistance of a program called the SEB program (Self - Employment Benefit). The biggest part of this program was to get the participants to think “outside of the box”. We were all expected to create a business plan that would show that our business idea was plausible and would be a profitable venture for us. I was so proud of my business plan when I handed it in, but that all changed the minute that my advisor reviewed it and sent it back to me with his comments …
In particular, my business advisor told me that my business plan was solid and would make a successful “JOB”, but he wanted to know what I was going to do to make it a thriving Business? I was really setback by this and offended. In my opinion this was a business … if I wanted a job then I would go get a job from someone else. So I challenged his comments and I can tell you that this was the best thing that I ever did.
His comment was that there was absolutely nothing wrong with what I had handed in, but from just speaking to me he could tell that I would never settle for having a Virtual Assistant business that would peak at 120 billable hours per month and never take that next step. What he wanted to see from me was that “next step” … what was I going to do to make this a really thriving and booming business? That he said is what would set me aside from all the other Virtual Assistants.
So, that’s what I did, I set out to be more … I set out to grow my business into something that no other Virtual Assistant had done … I had (and still have) big dreams for my business and I am so thankful to my business advisor for that push.
My challenge to you is this … what are you doing to make your Virtual Assistant business stand out, reach the next level and become the thriving business it can be? What are you doing to revolutionize your business?
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