2. Build a success mindset
Work out your why. What are you passionate about? What do you want being a Virtual Assistant to do for you. Where is this journey going to take you?
Get really clear on your why, and make sure it’s something that motivates you and excites you. Write this down somewhere that you’ll see it every day, or if you’re more visual, create a vision board and use it as your laptop screen saver.
Use your why to help you build an unstoppable mindset. You will achieve everything you’ve set your mind to. And any little bump along the way, is exactly that, just a bump, and tomorrow you will continue pushing towards achieving your why.
3. You have to start before you’re ready
This is a really tricky mindset shift to get past at the beginning of starting a business. Especially if you’re a perfectionist.
Your mind is going to fight you here;
“I don’t have the skills yet to do this”
“I’m not good enough to offer this as a service yet”
“My website isn’t ready”
“I can’t tell people about my business, they’ll judge me”
I promise you no one feels ready before they start. You look at any expert out there, they didn’t start out as the expert they are now. But they started, and that’s exactly where you are now. And the best part is that all you can do from here is continuously learn and develop your skills. You just have to start.
Remember that a lot of future clients will already have their own systems in place, so you can start out by learning how they want you to work while you’re developing your own systems. Or if you come up against something you’re unsure of, take some time to research what you can, then come back with a plan. This shows great initiative.
So stop waiting to feel ready, because you already are a virtual assistant.
4. Self-limiting beliefs
This is the cruelest of our mindsets. It even says in the title ‘self beliefs.’ This is only how we see ourselves. Not what others are thinking about us, not what clients are thinking about you, this is purely our ‘self belief.’
It’s important to practice self-care when being self-employed. If you believe that your work isn’t good enough, or that you’re not worth the money you’re charging, or that you’re going to fail, your business will directly suffer too.
A great to help overcome some of your limiting beliefs is to keep in touch with your clients regularly. Aim to speak with your clients on a weekly basis. This way you know exactly what they’re thinking each week. If there are any issues you can get that resolved there and then, but otherwise, you’ll be in a position of knowing you’re doing a great job, and don’t have to have anxiety when it comes to invoicing at the end of the month!
Like I mentioned before, steer clear from clients that aren’t aligned with you, or are critical, or have had lots of VA’s before. It will be hard to remain positive when you’re coming up against a difficult client.
Lastly, try meditations, daily affirmations, or journaling to keep your head clear and focussed on all the greatness you’ve already achieved and what’s yet to come.
5. Facing objections
There’s no getting around this one, you will face many objections. You can have a great connection with a potential new client, and pour your heart into a proposal only to be told no, or even be ghosted by them. It’s brutal.
You might spend hours on your social media content, just for your mum and best friend to like your posts.
It’s going to happen, and it’s going to happen often. Don’t think of these as rejections, they just weren’t your ideal client, or the timing wasn’t right. And all this has done has given you more time to find your dream clients and more time to perfect your strategies further.
Look at these objections as little blessings, as whatever comes next is likely to be a much better opportunity for you.
Ok, so that was a lot. Again, please do not feel discouraged by this. These are just small mindset blocks, which you have the power to overcome. I hope it’s also encouraging for you to know that you’re not alone in feeling this way some days. We’ve all been there, or still, push through these daily. But that’s the thing, with the right mindset, we can push through anything.
