Finding a unicorn or not…

An excellent post on Entrepreneur.com by Jeff J Hunter providing tips when hiring a VA – 3 Tips When Hiring A Virtual Assistant (entrepreneur.com)

I think this is a great article to help someone who’s looking for a VA.  I love how it talks about so many wanting to find a “unicorn” who can do it all and totally agree, I can do the roles required within my own area of expertise, but there are those that I can’t, however I usually know someone who’s an expert. 

Part of being a VA is that you understand your own skillset.  There isn’t anyone challenging you with Development Plans or PDPs when you work for yourself.  For me it’s 3-fold; a) really knowing what you are good at, b) knowing others who are experts in areas that are just not feasible for you to be an expert in and c) understanding what learning you can do to expand your own skillset.

I already know the areas that I am good at, I offer these as the main services within my business.  There’s some that I enjoy more than others and some that I am more passionate about, however, each of them is something that I know I can deliver to a high standard, which is why I offer it as a service for my clients.

I also have a great network of other businesses or connections who offer services I just don’t have the expertise in.  These are great people that I have worked with in the past who I know can deliver for my clients the same high standard of support that they expect from me, just outside of my areas of expertise.  I’m not a life-coach, a printer or a IT network provider, but I know some excellent people who are and that’s what makes the difference.   

Finally, when you work for yourself it’s up to you to increase your capabilities by learning what your clients need.  For instance, I have recently been investigating Sales Funnels, something a client needs support in, so I’m researching and learning about what it is and how to do it.  This increases my ability to support an existing client in their business needs, but the time invested is great for my business too, I can offer this new service to other clients. 

So whilst I am not a unicorn, I absolutely can support you and your business for all your needs, just some of them I’ll have to find the right person for the job for you.

Please make contact and let’s have a conversation about how we can work together to deliver your targets, achieve your ambitions and evolve your business.

Inspirational Quote 3

If you haven’t read my introduction, please link here before proceeding.

There are so many people who work on their own or within small businesses.  It’s a great way to work, building your own business, in control of your own density (as much as the fates allow) and being your own boss.  However, these benefits can sometimes have a less positive side; being the one who has to do everything, not having someone to talk with when you need to work things through, not having enough time to get everything done and when you don’t know how to do something having to spend hours learning or muddling through by yourself – it can then become a lonely existence. 

Finding someone who you can work with long term for the benefit of your business is a great solution to those issues.  Through my years working for Executives and Directors, I’ve been a sounding board, someone to vent to, someone to manage anything and everything that came my way – to make life easier for my boss; everyone needs a Polly.

Working with a VA really brings some great benefits; someone who already knows how to do the things that you don’t, who takes on time-consuming tasks and manages them seamlessly, who understands your business and is invested in making sure that it’s successful (after all your business is my business), who has a varied and different skill-set from you and who isn’t a financial burden or long-term overhead.

Coming together is the beginning.  Keeping together is progress.  Working together is success.

Henry Ford