It may seem odd that I would jump head-first into starting a VA agency while working my 9 to 5 and not working with clients myself. I am a woman of faith and hold no limits on myself. Once I put my mind to something, I take it and run with it. I wanted to start a business that I could run without doing the client work because I was already doing the work at my job. I have accomplished so many things in my life as a single mother: graduated with honors (cum laude) in college whilst being a single mom and working a 9 to 5 job; continued building on my skillset at my job, which included securing a 6 month internship in the IT department, attending several Microsoft training, completing my six sigma certification in yellow belt and then pursuing my green belt, creating a process that was put in place, and being promoted to supervisor over a team of executive assistants. So, I qualified myself and moved forward into starting my virtual assistant agency, PowerPro Assistants. I wanted to create a legacy for my family, be the first one to start a business, be a role model for my kids and future generations, walk in the purpose, and impact lives.
There are so many reasons why virtual assistants go into business for themselves. Ask almost any virtual assistant why they did, and the majority will include freedom and flexibility in their response. As a self-employed contractor or freelancer, you call the shots in your business. You determine your own salary and raise it when you need to or when the business can afford to. You set your own hours of work and can work from virtually anywhere in the world, wearing whatever you want to wear, including your jammies! You can build a legacy, and the growth potential is limited only by your ability to do the work.
Going into business might seem a little scary, but it?s really not that difficult. It cost me very little to launch, and I started earning very soon after. I filled out all the paperwork to register my business in NJ, but save yourself a couple of hundred dollars by filling the forms out yourself and then have a lawyer review it. You can submit your documents to the appropriate parties online or via mail. Please check with your state.gov site for filing processing. Although you do not need to register a business right away, you may want to set up one or two social media platforms and create a profile on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest; it?s all achievable for no cost and just a little bit of time to create visibility.
Like most other business ventures, a virtual assistant business has its pros and cons, but the pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to starting out. Unlike other businesses, starting up a virtual assistant business requires minimal investment upfront, and if you don?t make it work, you don?t lose a lot, apart from time. But, if you really set your mind to it and do the right things at the right times, you have every chance of making it a great success. The truth is, the majority of people who really want to be a virtual assistant, and set themselves upright, can start making money within 30 days of launching their business.
When I started my VA agency, I wanted to have a business where I created a space of opportunity for women, specifically single women with children, because I know the single mom life so well. I know what it is like to live check-to-check, working hard at a job to get a 2 ? 3% raise that does nothing to increase your budget, wondering if you will ever get out of a rut or take advantage of opportunities and knowing you can?t because you have childcare challenges. I want to let people know that it is a faith-based business because the success of this business was built on these very words: Name it. Claim it. Faith it. Take Action! It did not start out being cream and peaches, but through trial and error and investing into myself for my business, I built an agency that I am proud of. Did I do that? (in my Urkel voice from Family matters). I have 5 God-fearing women: 1 project manager and 4 subcontractors that help me keep my clients happy! It took some time to get to where I am now, and I am so thankful to God for opening up doors to let this happen. All through prayers, setting intentional goals for myself, and doing the work.
James 2: 14 ? 17 (NKJV) What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, ?Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,? but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
I used the skillset that I have gained over the 20+ years of experience in a corporation that I have to build my VA agency. The difference between a VA business and a VA agency is that you work solo as a VA and hire subcontractors in a VA agency. You may want to start out as a VA to build trust with your clients. When you start working, you will be very excited with your first client, and then add on another, and it won?t seem too difficult to juggle your clients? work and manage your own business; however, as your business grows, it will become more overwhelming especially if you do not have a system in place. Moreover, if you are a 9 to 5er and managing your VA business, it is more challenging, so having systems in your business is highly recommended. As your business grows, it is time to make changes and put things in place so that you have time to do other things. Perhaps you want to become a coach or work on getting your degree, or have other things on your bucket list. Regardless, you can only take on so many clients and manage and complete tasks and projects on time. Remember, we got into the business to enjoy our family and do things we could not do working a 9 to 5 job. Subcontractors are brought on to help you complete more client work and projects. With them, you will be able to delegate work to your subcontractors to free up some of your own time. You can also hire subcontractors with other skillsets and add on a new service to your business. Is it profitable having an agency? Yes. However, at this stage in the business, you will have to increase your prices, so you can pay your contractors, pay yourself, and take into account other expenses and taxes.
My VA agency is a family-oriented environment where we offer support to each other, and people look to me as a mentor and coach for their businesses. I give credit where credit is due and keep the word ?us? in my company because the women at my agency help me run it. They are responsible for turning in high-quality work. Communication is the most important thing because we all work virtually; communication will be the most crucial thing you need to have in place to make this work. Keep in mind, when you uplevel your business to build your agency, you are responsible for the management and administrative work. The best thing about having an agency is not only having a great team working with you but the fact that you will find a better balance between your personal and work life. My agency signature program is the executive administrative services, and the other services we offer are social media, podcast management, and system buildout for Honeybook and Dubsado.
Putting systems in place:
When I started my VA agency, the only system I had in place was a manual process. I was kind of old school because I like control of the things or processes I have in place. I still used a notebook for the weekly calendar and wrote in my appointments or what I had to do in my business. So, when I was dealing with clients, I had a lot of documentation and files. Once business started to pick up, and I was taking on coaching clients, things got out of control. If you are a full-time job-er, single, and have other things that you commit to in life like I do, think about how much time you have in a day to get things done; otherwise, the business will run you instead of you running the business. When I discovered systems, this peeked my interest, and I was like, ?OMG! You mean the whole process that I do manually can get done through a system once I take my workflow and implement it?? I cannot tell you how it saves so much of the time and energy I put into my business. In fact, it saved me time, but I was able to scale my business and take on more clients in my agency and take more coaching clients. Guest what? My coaching programs got automated, too (dancing). I was able to customize my systems according to how I wanted them to work for my clients and me. The branding part was just as important to me, and Dubsado allows me to do all of this.
A huge benefit of a tool like Dubsado is that it keeps everything in one place, but you need to start from the very beginning of your client interactions to do this. Workflows allow you to map out the steps you take for each client in advance and set them up to be automated and taken off your plate.
The things you can automate:
- Communications: As a service-based business, we spend a lot of time on social media or email coming in from different places, and we find ourselves replying to emails, DMs, and texts asking the same questions and answering the same questions over and over. Having one link to send them to fill out a lead capture to receive their emails is a great place to send them to speak to you one on one and get them on your email list.
- Questionnaire: This can be worked into your workflow before you get to meet your potential client so that you can learn what services they are interested in. It also allows you to go and do your research.
- Booking link: Soon after they submit the questionnaire, an email can be sent to book their appointment.
- The proposal, Contract & Invoice: When your client is ready to move forward, at a click of a button in your workflow, the proposal, contract, and invoice will be sent to the client.
- Welcome packet: This is sent right after they pay their invoice and welcomes them, lets them know how you work, gives your hours of operations, etc., and most importantly, gives the link for them to schedule their kick-off call.
These are some of the things you can automate in your business to make your life easier. As we grow our businesses, we have to continue to automate to make everything work efficiently and effectively.
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Teekwa Scarborough
Business Christian Coach
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