Over on Instagram, I’ve had so many people message me about finding virtual assistant clients.
The truth is that building a business is the easy part. You can write a business plan and build a website. It’s not difficult to learn the skills you can offer to entrepreneurs need support with their business. But entrepreneurship is about consistency.
And consistency is HARD. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last three years of entrepreneurship, it’s that owning a successful business is 40% strategy and 60% mindset. You have to face so many of your fears about being visible and owning your worth to really thrive in business.
Really, there are so many strategies to use when finding virtual assistant clients:
- Striking up conversations in Facebook groups
- Prospecting on LinkedIn
- Subcontracting for an agency
- Responding to proposals on virtual assistant job boards
- Approaching local businesses through the chamber of commerce
- …and so many more
Any strategy that you use when finding virtual assistant clients only works if you follow these three steps:
Get clear on what services you’ll be offering and what type of business owners need your help.
When I started as a virtual assistant, I offered social media management to service-based businesses. (And for the record, social media marketing is an amazing place to begin as a VA.) In the beginning, I relied on agencies to help me find clients. Balancing client work and chronic illness meant that showing up consistently to market my services was impossible at times. Subcontracting jumpstarted my career and the word of mouth referrals I’ve received as a result allowed me to quit subcontracting to begin my own agency.
Find out where your clients are and hang out there.
The way you set yourself apart from the many other virtual assistants out there is to build meaningful relationships. Answer questions for business owners who need help setting up a system in a Facebook group. Take the time to send thoughtful messages when you connect with someone on LinkedIn. My favorite marketing tactic is to offer pitch-free coffee chats once a month in different groups where I know my clients are lurking. By learning about someone’s work in the world, when the need for your services arises you’re already top of mind.
Show up consistently.
For so many people, marketing is like going on a new diet. You spend lots of time researching. There’s time spent setting yourself up for success. And then you spend a few weeks trying to follow the diet before feeling like you’re a failure because you haven’t lost the 10 pounds you wanted to.
It’s crazy to think that this type of change will happen overnight, right? So why do you expect that a few posts in a Facebook group will land you all the clients you want? You have to show up consistently for months. One of my favorite business coaches teaches that you have to follow one strategy for three months before you know if it’s working.