5 Pillars to a Strong VA Business Foundation

Are you an Executive or Administrative Assistant who is looking to become your own boss?  If so, this article is especially for you.  Virtual Assistants who have already started working in their own business will benefit as well.  If you haven’t quite reached the level of success you’ve been working towards, it would be good to “go back to basics” and make sure your foundation is as strong as it should be.

So, whether you are looking to start a new business or to become more successful in the business that you have already created, strap yourself in and enjoy the ride!  There are 5 pillars or steps to becoming a Successful VA.  How do we know this to be true?  At EAtoVA.com, we have already completed the steps, mostly without any help.  We want the hand you the blueprints that we worked so hard to develop on our own; so that you WON’T have to.

The 5 Successful VA Pillars (an overview):

1. MINDSET: Henry Ford stated, “Whether you think you CAN or you CAN’T, you’re right.”  An Executive or Administrative assistant who wants to venture out on their own MUST first believe that they CAN succeed as a business owner.  Even if you take steps in the direction of creating your own life through business ownership, doubt may creep in due to a setback.  That is okay when it does happen.  But, that thought process can only be temporary if you are to reach your goal.  The stories that you constantly tell yourself and the belief system that you utilize in daily life will either hinder or HELP your goal of becoming a Successful VA.
2. INFRASTRUCTURE: The infrastructure and the other four pillars are all mechanical.  Anyone with a desire to succeed can perform the tasks that are needed to get things done.  What makes up the infrastructure of your company?  Here are a few things to consider: 1) Insurances – health, life, disability, dental etc. 2) Technology – computers, phones, an online presence etc.  3) Operations – you must have operational systems in place such as accounting, tax filing, setting up new customers, processes for working with customers, etc. 4) Structure – will you set up an LLC or a Sole Proprietorship?  5) Finances – it takes money to make money. There are some other pieces to building your infrastructure.  This will be discussed in a few weeks.
3. MARKETING: This is the bread and butter of your business.  Those who do not market their company tend to find themselves out of business very soon.  The best thing that you can do for your business is to know how to make money.  You do not want to wait to figure this out.  You can develop a marketing plan even before you have made your first dollar, taking advantage of the resources, relationships and opportunities already within your reach.
4. TRANSITION: Before leaving your current job, you will at some point say, “Oh my, I’m actually doing this!”  There is nothing that you can do to avoid that feeling.  As with any major step in life, we can allow those feelings to propel us toward accomplishing our goals.  Having a PLAN around your transition will help you to make the leap from employee to entrepreneur smoothly.
5. BUILDING  Your BUSINESS: When you work for someone else, that company does all of the heavy lifting for you as an employee.  The company is responsible for building the business so that you will have a place to work each day.  Now, you are responsible for whether you win or lose.  Success is 100% in YOUR hands!  You, therefore, have to perform all of the needed tasks to REMAIN in business.  This includes continually upgrading your skill set, setting up systems, marketing consistently and more.

If you were at all nervous about how to get started in your virtual assistance care, now you can breathe a sigh of relief.  We will relieve you of the confusion and stress of trying to figure things out all by yourself.   This is the information that you have asked about.  The first step for you is to pay attention to your email inbox for the next several weeks and read about the steps that will easily show you how to go from Executive Assistant to Virtual Assistant.

Your Action Plan For The Week:

1. Write down your top 10 reasons for wanting to start your own business. (this will help you to understand the mindset that you already have.)
2. Take inventory of the tools and skills that you already have in order to start your business.
3. Write down the names l0-20 people who would be excited to hear about you starting your own business.
4. Think deeply about how you will feel AFTER you fire your boss.  (How will you celebrate? Why will you not regret leaving your job? Why are you so excited about the new chapter in your life)