“I’m just starting out as a virtual assistant. What services should I offer?”
Have you asked yourself this yet?
It’s like there is a voice inside your head that’s saying “AHH! What services will I offer!?!?”.
Choosing the right services to offer and market can be so stressful is because it feels like an arbitrary decision.
BUT the truth is that there are a logic and a process of determining your services.
It’s not arbitrary at ALL.
Deciding on your services means you’re betting on your abilities to do great work and get paid for that work.
That’s why I teach my students to offer something you know how to do well and branch out from there.
But yeah, I get it, you know how to do a lot of things well.
I’ve noticed this tendency for new virtual assistants to offer #allthethings.
I often see service pages that looks like a laundry list.
I get why this happens.
You assume that if you list everything, something will resonate with your lead.
I’ll call that laundry list a micro view of what you offer.
If that’s the micro view…what’s your macro view?
Your macro view..your WHY is what matters to your clients at the end of the day.
YES, their needs have to match up with your experience but the bottom line, what sells, is your macro view.
For example…..
Micro: I have experience in Word, Excel, Powerpoint, calendar management, email management [enter any skill].
Macro: I am a self-starting virtual executive assistant. I cut through the noise and see the big picture of administrative projects. I turn ideas into tangible results, quickly and efficiently with a strong desire to see my clients succeed.
Which one of those do you think clients care more about?
Never lose sight of the bigger picture of why you are doing this work in the first place. That macro statement above is stronger than any laundry list of skill sets.
Simon Sinek, leadership guru, and Columbia University Professor teach that if you can figure out why you are creating a new business in the first place before focusing on selling, you will be able to set yourself so far apart from your competitors.
Before you can decide on what services you will offer, you need to get clear on WHY you’re starting this business in the first place and why you even care about this work.
Is it to spend more time with your small children so you don’t have to go back to work?
-
Is it to have more freedom to travel?
-
To make an additional 1k per month to help pay down the mortgage?
-
To work on projects that excite you and that you’re passionate about?
Whatever the reason, write it down and tape it on your computer screen.
Here was my WHY when I started as a virtual assistant.
I am a fiercely ambitious and dedicated executive assistant with deep experience supporting executives around the world with their business.
I want to offer this support virtually from my home so that I can have a flexible schedule to take care of my very young children while earning enough to contribute to my family income.
I will offer administrative support, technical support and be a sounding board for the ideas of my clients.
I will see projects from conception to completion with a focus on excellence all while treating my client’s business like my own.
Go ahead and start thinking about your WHY and when you feel it’s close enough,
Write it down.
Keep it front and center.
Once you have your WHY, you can start thinking about your WHAT.
Your services are your WHAT.
When I first started I was an executive virtual assistant (EVA). I took the skills I already had as an executive assistant and started marketing myself right away.
I learned on the job how to do things like setting up invoices, figure out how to create a time-sheet online and fun stuff like…taxes. 😭
I didn’t hit the ground running knowing how to do everything.
No one does.
So, I focused on the things I already knew. 👊🏼
-
I already knew how to manage a project.
-
I knew how to use an online calendar to schedule appointments.
-
I knew how to manage an email inbox and respond to customer service questions.
-
I knew how to research travel plans and book hotels.
These things are exactly what my clients hired me for.
They needed my help to manage THEM.
-
Someone to remind them of appointments.
-
To schedule the meetings.
-
To keep their inbox clean.
-
To create a PowerPoint presentation.
-
To format a blog post or update a spreadsheet.
I know plenty of executive virtual assistants that are working full time making between $25-$35 dollars an hour.
Some are making a lot more. Some less.
There is definitely a wide range.
And the really cool thing?
Not all of them had former experience as an administrative assistant or similar. A lot of them were teachers. Teachers use technology to run their classroom and they know how to create a project plan better than anyone. (Go teachers!)
Think about your services in terms of what you know how to do really well, right now.
Start with what you’ve got. Then progress from there and learn on the job.
My first client hired me to handle travel arrangements, calendar management, and project management for a team of 4.
I didn’t learn a new skill set, I needed to know how to access their calendars and I was off running.
Sure, I made a ton of mistakes in the beginning but everyone does (and I still do!) and anyone that tells you otherwise is lying.
So, what skills do you have right now that you can use to earn an income as a virtual assistant?
Here’s a list of some of the most marketable skills that online businesses are looking for:
-
Executive Virtual Assistant
-
Email Marketing Support
-
Social Media Marketing Support
-
Customer Service Management Support
-
Graphic Design
-
Blog Writing
What of the above could you start doing today if you had to?
Maybe it makes more sense to write blog posts because you keep a journal and have been writing since you were little.
Or maybe you have experience in graphic design and want to do more with that.
Make the barrier of entry into the virtual assistant industry as easy as you can.
The way to do that is to focus on the marketable skills you already have and sell THAT.
Up Next! I’ll be answering this question that comes up a LOT. Be on the lookout for that blog post…
“How do you translate your skills from a non administrative job into marketable virtual assistant skills?”
Talk soon,
xx, Reese
P.S. Not sure why I’m answering all these questions? It’s because my flagship course – The VA Lifeline – (How to Be a Successful Virtual Assistant to Gain More Flexibility – More Freedom – More Revenue) is launching soon!
