Achieving Your Goals in 2011

It’s a New Year!  Time for a fresh start and a new approach to succeeding as a Virtual Assistant. 

Whatever happened in 2010, whether you dragged your feet a bit in starting your VA business, struggled with a rocky foundation, or didn’t achieve some of the goals you set for yourself…let it go.  You can learn from past experiences and make the decision – now – to do things differently.

Consider what your version of a successful virtual assistant business in 2011 looks like. What exactly would you like to accomplish?  Have you set aside time to outline your plan for success?

I’ll share a secret with you.  One of the greatest contributing factors to my success, as a former VA and now as a business and marketing coach, has been my practice to regularly take stock of what’s working, and what’s not working, in my business.  Then, based on the facts in front of me, I establish reachable goals for myself, which forces me to make any needed adjustments and also enables me to measure my progress.

I encourage you to do the same. Analyze what did, and did not, work well for you last year. Take note of what you’d like to do differently in 2011. Once you are clear on where you’re at and where you’d like to be, then it’s time to start setting your goals.  Setting goals is a critical factor to your success as a Virtual Assistant because:

• Setting goals gives you something specific to work towards
• Working toward goals allows you to measure your progress
• When you stay focused on your goals you will be more likely to say no to distractions that could delay your progress

To get started, imagine what your ideal business looks like.  Visualize your ideal clients; what they look like, the work you do for them, how you interact.  Consider how many hours per week you’ll work IN your business and ON your business?  What is your gross revenue each month, including a healthy profit margin?  How are you making a difference in your client’s lives?  As you clarify the vision for your business, you’ll be able to set your goals, which in turn, will help you bring that vision to life.

Why is this important?  Another key to success is to not set random, ambiguous goals, but to establish clear objectives that align with your personal vision of success.  You must work toward YOUR vision, not someone else’s.  Your vision has to be your own!

Setting and achieving your business goals will increase your confidence, improve the quality of the services you offer, and make you more attractive to prospective clients. When defining goals for your virtual assistant company, it’s important to keep a few things in mind:

• Your goals must be specific.  Don’t say, “I want to make more mon.ey in my business” or “I need more clients”.  Be specific with your goals and select a number.  Define how much revenue you would like to generate and exactly how many clients you’d like to enroll in your practice.
• Your goals must have a deadline.  Again, ambiguity won’t serve you here.  Set a specific date by which you plan to achieve the goal.  This way, you can easily break the goal down into manageable action steps that you then schedule and execute on a weekly basis.
• Your goals must be reasonable.  You should stretch yourself a bit past your comfort zone so that you really have to step up your game to achieve the desired result.  Be careful not to set yourself up for frustration by setting a goal that is too high for you, right now.  For example, if you currently have zero clients, deciding you want to have 10 clients within the next 30 days may not be realistic.  But you could certainly attract 2 new clients within the next month.  Set goals that are a bit of a stretch, yet still attainable.

As you consider what you would like to accomplish, analyze the different aspects of your business which can bring your vision of business success to life – such as:

• How many clients you have now – and exactly how many you’d like to have
• What marketing strategies you pursue now – and those you would like to participate in
• How you will consistently market your services – vs. what you are doing now
• What services you offer now – vs. what your ideal client actually needs
• How you can run your business more efficiently – vs. where you may be wasting time, energy, or financial resources
• What type of support you have to continually grow your business– and what you need to put in place

Remember, it’s YOUR business.  Owning your goals and making them work for your situation is what will set you apart from other virtual assistants.  You will continue to stand out when you maintain your focus, because you will be actively accomplishing more in your business than VAs who are simply copying ideas from others. 

True success as an entrepreneur is based on making consistent progress, therefore, once you have accomplished a goal, set another reasonable goal, along with a deadline for achieving it.  This will keep you moving forward, preventing you from being left behind or overcome by the rest of the pack!

Share your goals for 2011 by commenting here on my blog.