Why some VAs fail (and how not to do that)
The Virtual Assistant industry is like any other business industry: Some VA ventures will succeed, and others will not.
But here’s the great thing: YOU get to DECIDE you’re going to succeed!
And once you’ve made that decision (and I mean really, really made it) you’ll be unstoppable. So if you haven’t started your VA business yet you can get things off to a flying start. And if you’ve already started but things aren’t quite where you want them to be yet, you can course-correct and get things back on track.
Before I dive in to the meaty part of what you can do to succeed, I want to add one last thing:
I don’t see failure as a bad thing.
Every failure is a learning experience, and I’ve grown to realise that there’s never really a bad one of those either. The problem arises when you fail and don’t learn from it, or perhaps you give up instead.
(being a VA isn’t for everyone! It’s totally ok to give up if you’re not enjoying anything about it, or you’ve realised you want to do something completely different. But if you WANT to make it work, then let’s learn from what hasn’t worked so far and make a success of it)
Ok, here we go:
Why some VAs fail
In my experience, why some VAs fail is primarily because of a mindset issue.
Yes, there may be a bit of a rubbish marketing plan in place too, but actually that often comes down to mindset too. Because if you truly believed you could make it work and you’re willing to learn new things, then you’d get a marketing plan to work too.
Every single person on this planet has had a shaky mindset at some point. It’s impossible to be 100% happy and confident all the time without ever having doubts or a confidence wobble at some stage!
Here are some of the common mindset hurdles VAs have:
They don’t believe they can make it work
They’re inconsistent with their marketing activities
They give up too soon
They’re scared of judgment and what anyone (and everyone) will think of them
They don’t understand how to market their business (and don’t feel confident learning how to do it)
How not to fail
Identify your limiting beliefs
The first step to thinking more positively in general is to identify what it is that’s actually holding you back. For example, are you thinking any of these things?
I’m not clever enough
I’m not good enough
I don’t deserve it
I’m not good with money
The VA industry isn’t a good bet
Or something else? Whatever it is, work out WHAT that thing is. Don’t rush through this part, even if it feels uncomfortable. Write down the things that are holding you back. Once you’ve identified it (or them!) you can start to change it!
Do the work around them
We’re often our own harshest critics, and usually hold ourselves to standards we’d never expect of anyone else! So firstly, be compassionate with yourself. It’s perfectly normal to have thoughts that are hindering your progress, and none of them need to have a bearing on your future success. We have complete control over what power our thoughts have.
The first coach I worked with suggested that I first write a letter to myself from the negative, limiting belief part of me as if all of those thoughts were real (eg. ‘Dear Amy, you’re really stupid’ - yes, that letter was mean). Then I wrote a letter to myself from the loving, positive part of me that could see the best in me (eg. completely full of love as if your kind grandmother wrote it, that letter made everything feel achievable)
Then, if you’re stuck on something like ‘I’m not good enough to be a VA’, write down all the reasons why that’s not true. Have you had good feedback before? Do people say you’re great at a certain thing? Have other VAs made a success before you? Put your positive pants on and list every single reason why your negative thoughts are nonsense - because they absolutely are!
Hold your ‘why’ at the front of your mind
Now it’s time to get really motivated! Grab your notebook again and work out WHY it is you want to be a successful VA. Yes, monetary reasons are great but I’m looking for your deep down why. Is it because you want to have complete freedom to work from anywhere? Is it because you want to collect your children from school everyday? Is it because you’re so damn fed up with being hemmed in by a job description, and instead want to decide exactly what you do each day instead?
Your why will be completely unique to you, and that’s a good thing. Write down what it is every single day. Imagine it. Live it.
You commit
If you truly want your VA business to succeed, you need to commit to making that happen. Will there be bumps along the road? Probably. Will you doubt yourself more than once? Probably. But you’re going to make it happen! Keep your big why in your mind, work on your mindset daily and honour the commitment you’ve made to yourself that you’re going to make this work (because you absolutely will - it’s not rocket science after all!
