Episode 275: Behind the Curtain of My Business Journey – Part 3 // The Exact Strategies I Used to Grow My Virtual Assistant Business

Full Episode Transcription:

[00:00:00] Hey y’all, today we are wrapping up the three part series, sharing a behind the scenes look in my business journey, how I started as a virtual assistant and where we’re at today. So back in episode 273, I shared, A lot about my journey from being a teacher and then transitioning into full time work from home mom with a newborn by my side. So go check that out if you haven’t listened to that episode yet. And then episode 274, I shared how I’ve been able to show up consistently the last four years of my business. The three things that I really did to build my virtual assistant business, to grow it to the income that I wanted it. To be without sacrificing time with my family. So go check those out if you haven’t listened to those yet. But in this episode, part three, I’ll be sharing with you the exact strategies that I used to continue to grow my virtual assistant business, to land those paying clients that just absolutely adore and that adored me right back because you want to work with a client that you love and that also loves and respects you. So let’s go ahead and jump right into those three ways.

[00:01:21] So right off the bat, the first thing that I got really, really consistent with the first strategy I started implementing in my virtual assistant business was consistently networking with other businesses. So this is not applying for jobs. This is not looking for jobs. This is building relationships with other people in the virtual assistant world, in the entrepreneurial world, other businesses, etc. So I did this by going into business Facebook groups and just Looking for any questions I could answer, anybody’s posts that were like, how do I do this? Or how do I do that? If I knew the answer, I was commenting, saying like, hey, if you still have a question about this, like, feel free to message me. I’m, I’m happy to help you. Just really showing up and giving my support to other people, and that allowed me to build some beautiful friendships with people in this space. And then we became referral partners. Some of them have hired me to do their own websites. Others of them have referred me to their clients to do a website for them. Or they’ll just see a website job posting come up in a Facebook group, and they’ll tag me in it. Because I took so much time to build relationships with these people, okay, through like friendships, they are my business besties, and this is just a great thing that you can do, even from the beginning in your business when you first start.

[00:03:01] You know, you might not feel like you’re comfortable answering a lot of questions, but even just a couple months into my business, I felt a lot more confident doing this. So taking 10 to 15 minutes a day to go into the business. Facebook groups that you’re in or wherever it is that you’re looking for jobs. Go build relationships with people. Go network. If you’re looking for clients more on Instagram, go network with businesses that are posting on Instagram, okay? Go start liking their stuff and commenting on their posts and just engage with them and Build that relationship with them. So one, they know you exist. Two, they know they can come to you if they ever need help with what service you offer. And three, just to make a friend. Okay. So networking is so, so, so crucial. Talk about this a lot. Like you need to be doing this consistently in your business. It would be amazing if you could do this five days a week, just for 10 to 15 minutes a day.

[00:04:06] But three days a week minimum, you should be networking in your business. The second thing that I did to really grow my virtual assistant business is set aside consistent time to actually go and apply for jobs. I think a lot of times new virtual assistants get in and they start, you know, making social media posts and they start doing this and doing that. And then they’re like, okay, but I’m not getting any clients. But are you actually applying to jobs? Are you actually putting yourself out there? Are you, how many jobs are you applying to a week? Because yeah, social media posts could lead to a new client. But what’s more likely going to lead to a new client is you going and actually applying to a job that somebody posted in a business Facebook group. So you have to set aside that dedicated time to do that as well and have a goal for yourself. Like how many jobs am I going to apply to this week? Is it 10? Is it 15? What is it? And know that the more no’s you get, the closer you are to your yes. That first client is always the hardest to land, but once you land one, you know, you can land another.

[00:05:25] And then it just, compounds on itself over time. So at first in your business, if you’re working 10 hours a week, for example, most of that time is going to be looking for clients. Okay. Then once you’ve landed a client, you’ll be spending some time working on their business and what they hired you to do, but you still should have some more time where you’re consistently looking for the next client. And then just let that keep building. And then once you’ve got a couple of clients. They might start sending you referrals for other business owners they know that they work with and can recommend you to, like I said, it’s kind of a snowball effect and it compounds over time up front, you have to dedicate quite a bit of time to actually going and applying for positions. Don’t tell me, hey, I don’t see any positions I’m qualified for, apply anyway. There are so many positions that I thought I was not qualified for, and I applied to, and they just connected with me, they resonated with me, and they were willing to train me. So, you can absolutely do the same thing. You can figure it out if you don’t know how to do it yet.

[00:06:40] Like, if it’s a specific program, go watch that. Programs, tutorial videos on YouTube and figure it out. Okay, but take that time to consistently show up for jobs and apply for jobs, right? The third strategy that I used to grow my virtual assistant business kind of ties into number one and number two, but it’s to show up consistently. You can’t expect to get your virtual assistant business to the place that you want it to be. If you’re only working on it like one hour this week. Not at all the next week, maybe three hours the following week, one hour the next week. Like, no, you have to be consistent with putting your name out there, networking with people, applying to jobs every single week. Like, it’s okay to take a week off, you know, here and there. If you’re on vacation, it’s Christmas. You know, I’m not saying you have to work 52 weeks of the year. But you, you have to have a dedicated routine that you are showing up and nailing 90 percent of the time, okay? You have to show up every single day for your business, or it’s not going to get to where you want it to be, and you’re going to give up, and then you’re going to You don’t have to spend a bunch of time and effort putting that into something new that you’re trying to grow.

[00:08:06] So if you want to make this happen, you have to show up consistently, get those time blocks set up, and get the workflows set up. I talked about that in part two. I have a whole podcast episode diving really deep into how to do those things, episode 65, if you need to check that out. But set aside that consistent time to network, apply for jobs, and keep showing up in your business. Now, if you need help with this, and you want somebody to walk you hand in hand, through your virtual assistant business journey. I really highly encourage you to come and join us in the Virtual Assistant Mama Academy. This program has all of the tech tutorials teaching you how to manage all of these different programs for your clients, but also for your own business. I teach you exactly how to network exactly how to apply for jobs, what to say in an interview call. Literally. All the tutorials you need, but you also get the accountability and support from me and from the other women in the Virtual Assistant Mama Academy to keep you going, even when it’s hard. You get your questions answered so that when you hit a roadblock, you’re not stuck there.

[00:09:22] We break down that roadblock together and you get to keep going. So, If you’re ready to take this seriously, and whether it’s a side hustle for now, or whether it’s something you’re hoping to do full time, if you want to take it seriously, then the Virtual Assistant Mama Academy is for you. So you can check out everything that’s included in that at virtualassistantmama.com. Come and join us. I cannot wait to support you in this journey. And I’m just So ecstatic for those of you who are ready to stop just wishing your dreams can come true and make it. So that wraps up part three of the behind the curtain of my business journey series. I hope that this series blessed you. If you have any questions that you would love for me to answer, feel free to DM me on Instagram at arianna.vernier. I’m an open book. I’ll share with you, you know, the struggles I faced, what has helped me. Just answer any of your questions. So feel free to reach out to me. I love you guys so, so, so much. We actually have another series starting next episode that I’m super pumped about. So make sure you tune back in for that. And I hope you have a beautiful rest of your week.