Finding Where You "Come From"
OfficePRO magazine, October 2003

By Stacy Brice

While it's important to have a number of issues ironed out before you start your virtual assistance practice, two of the most important are your business standards, and your "come from."

Standards refer to all the pieces you would have put into place while creating your business plan, such as your fee structure, the hours you'll work, how your business will run, what you will and won't do, how clients can contact you, and how you expect to be paid.

Your "come from" is your foundational position-- your center, that deep place of knowing inside yourself that what you're doing is right for you, the position you take on things that matter to you, and the place you "come from" with regard to everything you do.

When you have strong standards, when you "live" them, when they really are a part of you, and when you know that what you're doing is right for you, conversations with prospective clients become easy. You know who you are, you know what you want, and you're able to make it clear that compromising either isn't appropriate for you or the client.

This then frees you up to seek only clients who are ideal for you. You don't want to work with people who are going to hassle you about working late or tell you that your fees should be lower. Instead, you relax in the knowledge that if a client doesn't like your standards, who you are, or your foundational position, there's simply no fit, and more importantly, no path forward for the two of you to work together.

What's Best For You Is Best for the Client

When you finally understand that you have the right to run your business according to your own standards, and you don't have to run your business the way clients want you to, you've turned a corner. This is, by far, one of the most difficult concepts for people who are new business owners and who were employees for many years. It seems especially difficult for admins who are new virtual assistants coming out of employment situations where they weren't allowed to have their own standards or foundational positions.

Additionally, when you do what's best for yourself, by necessity, you also do what's best for the client. So, if you know a client doesn't fit, and you refer the client to someone else, you're doing what's best for you and what's best for the client. If you aren't the right virtual assistant for client, someone else will be. Celebrate that!

There are more than enough clients for everyone. You'll find yours when it's time. In the meantime, many potential clients will likely cross your path--even some that might be interesting to you. And many or all of them might be best served by other virtual assistants. How fabulous it is that you don't have to work with clients who would be awful for you, and that you know that there's someone out there who will be a perfect fit with those clients.

The least successful virtual assistants don't understand this concept. They are the ones who think they're going to build a full practice in a matter of weeks, and when they don't get the clients they approach, they start whining, blaming others, and going to a place of scarcity and fear. They start to compromise on their standards--maybe lowering their fees, doing piecework--all of which start a cycle they will find hard to break in the future.

Look Inside for Answers

The No. 1 reason virtual assistants say they fail is because they "don't know how to market." That's usually untrue. There are programs, books, and tapes that teach people to market, and most entrepreneurs will use many of them while working in their businesses. Set strong standards and a solid foundational position (willing to never compromise either of those), only work with clients who are a great fit, embrace abundance (believe there's plenty for everyone), and take consistent marketing actions to forge relationships that will ultimately lead to finding ideal clients. Looking outside yourself for answers is rarely successful. Going back and strengthening your business' foundation by improving your standards and foundational position, on the other hand, will serve you in ways you can only imagine.

The key is to look inside for what you may need to change to allow you the success you want, and then, once you know, take the actions needed to make things happen for yourself. You can do it.

Stacy Brice is a naturally recognized expert on "virtual assistance" and president of AssistU, an organization that trains and coaches virtual assistants. Reach her at stacy@assistu.com.