What kind of investment should I expect to make to be a successful VA in 6 months? I know it is important to get business cards, get a domain, create a website, join online industry organizations and memberships. But what are the other considerable costs one should make?
Answer:
I think the answer to this question is a bit subjective. First you need to define what success means to you. Some only want to work part-time while others hope to make it a full-time business and earn six figures.
More important than a monetary investment is the investment in your time and energy. Before we get into that though I will cover some basics you need.
In my book, The Commonsense Virtual Assistant – Becoming an Entrepreneur, Not an Employee , the introduction lists some skills and tools you’ll need such as:
- Business Plan
- License
- Contract
- Reliable computer
- Internet access
- Phone service
- Time tracking tool
- Project management tool
There are other investments you can make to get training and certification. These are not necessary. If you do choose some training or classes to get certified, make sure to check them out thoroughly so you are getting the value you need for the investment you make.
Now to the important investments: your time and energy. Your success will depend largely on the time and energy you are willing to spend to build your business. The number one investment in your time and energy should be to attend in-person networking events. I’ve written numerous times about how important it is to do this if you intend to build trusting relationships with prospects and clients and gain referrals. The Commonsense Virtual Assistant book has an entire chapter dedicated to marketing and specifically covers networking.
So the real question you need to ask yourself is, “Am I willing to attend four networking events every month for the next six months and build relationships?” When I was growing my business I attended a different networking event every week of the month and did that consistently for six months. By the end of that time I had built trusting relationships with people who I was able to refer work to. That in turn led to my gaining new clients and referrals.
Let’s ask other successful virtual assistants: what did you do to succeed?