Episode 29: My Number 1 Tip to Grow Your Freelancing/Virtual Assistant Business

One of my number one tips for building your freelancing/virtual assistant business is networking. On today’s episode of the Ditch the Classroom podcast, we’re breaking down how to network effectively, as well as the 3 reasons why networking in your business is so important.

I also have a free gift to help y’all keep track of how much you’re networking, as well as all of your other personal and business-oriented tasks throughout the week. You can grab the freebie at ariannavernier.com/free-weekly-planner

This episode is sponsored by my signature program, Teacher Turned Freelancer Academy! This program will give you the tools, templates, strategies, and ongoing support that you need to start your own freelancing business so you can work from home and spend more time with your babies.

This program comes with 8 modules, bite-size, action-oriented videos, workbooks, and continued support to help you through your ditch the classroom journey. Those who register between now and April 30 will receive some amazing bonuses worth $600.

To check out more details about the program and get registered, visit teacherturnedfreelancer.com But, make sure you act quickly because once cart closes, it will not be open again until later in the year. This program is what has allowed myself and the women I serve to replace or start replacing their income, and I cannot wait to celebrate with you in taking this next step in your Ditch the Classroom Journey.

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Make sure to check out our resources page to gain access to more free resources to help you start your Ditch the Classroom journey!

Have any questions for me? Feel free to send me an email at arianna@ariannavernier.com or on Instagram @arianna.vernier! I love chatting with y’all and helping you hit the ground running. Are you ready? Let’s go.

Love,

Arianna

Full Episode Transcription:

Hey, hey, beautiful souls. Welcome back to the Ditch the Classroom podcast. If you’re a regular listener and if you are new, welcome! I’m so glad to have you. So today’s fun fact that we do with every solo episode is that I have one sibling. He’s my brother, obviously. he’s a he. And he’s 15 months younger than me and he’s a major pain in my butt, but I love him dearly. So today’s episode is all about the number one tip that I give to all new freelancers and virtual assistants. And that is the art of networking in your business.

(02:34):
You might say, “what do you mean by networking?” And what I mean is taking the time to give value to people without expecting them to purchase your services. So wherever you are looking for clients, I want you to take some time to set aside 10 to 30 minutes, three to five days a week, and just take the time to provide value in that space. So for example, if your dream clients probably hanging out in Facebook groups, I want you to go in 10 to 30 minutes a day, three to five days a week, and just see where you can answer questions, give feedback, give advice, all of those things. This is not you going in and applying for jobs, like, you should spend time each day of the week doing that. But this networking time, this is separate.

(03:30):
This really allows you to three things. Build relationships. You wanna build those relationships with people, even if they don’t necessarily need your services. If they know that you are the one, the go-to, to answer questions about the services you offer, if they come across somebody who needs that service, they’re more likely to recommend you. It also establishes your authority. So it shows that you know what you’re talking about, you are the go-to person for this service, this question that they’re asking, and they’re likely to go, after you answer the question, they’re likely to click on your profile and go check out what different types of services you offer and probably hire you. It also builds trust. So it shows whoever’s post you’re commenting on, it shows them that you are willing to give advice for free. And they’re gonna think if she’s willing to answer these questions for free, like what value am I gonna get from her?

(04:32):
If I pay her, these are the top three main reasons that networking is so important in your business. And I do wanna make a little caveat here. This is something that you’ll build confidence over time. If you are new to the freelancing and virtual assistant world, you might not feel super confident answering questions yet, but there’s different posts where people are just asking for like opinions on a logo, things like that. You can start answering those questions and just give your opinion there and start building the relationships there. And as you get more confident in your services, you will feel more confident in answering the different questions. So I want you to set aside, like I said, 10 to 30 minutes a day, three to five days, week. As a new freelancer, I really recommend you do the full five days a week because networking, you’ll see, it’ll start slow.

(05:32):
Like you won’t see a lot of feedback from it at first, but really you’ll see it start snowballing over time and you’ll start getting all these recommendations. One of my very first website design clients, I landed her because I simply answered a question. She posted a question in the group. Don’t remember what it was anymore, but I just said something along the lines of, “Hey, this is how you do that. You can use this plugin.” And I probably promoted Elementor ’cause that’s what I love to use for websites. And I probably said something like, “if you wanna see an example of what Elementor can do, you can check out my site here.” And then she went and checked out my site. I didn’t say, do you wanna work with me? I didn’t say any of that. She clicked on my site. She saw my work, she loved it.

(06:21):
And she scheduled a call and filled out the contract and invoice within just a couple days. So this is how, I just wanna show you a real-life example. Like this works networking is one of the most crucial parts of starting your freelancing and virtual system business. So, I wanna hold you accountable to get this done. And speaking of holding yourself accountable episode 15 has that same exact title. Back in episode 15, Holding Yourself Accountable”, I gave y’all a free weekly planner guide to help you fit in all the different elements of your business and your personal life. And in there, I have a section on each day for networking so you can keep track of it and make sure you’re getting it done three to five days a week. So go to that episode and grab the link in the show notes. Actually, I’ll just, I’ll include the link in the show notes here as well for y’all and yeah, I want you to do this. So if you wanna be even more accountable, send me a screenshot of you getting this checked off your schedule each day and I will celebrate with you. ‘Cause I think that this is so important. So I hope you guys found this helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. You can always DM me on Instagram at arianna.vernier, and I will see you next week.