Owning a V.A. business takes time to set-up and gain new clients and it can be a lot of hard work but there are definitely some distinct benefits. Check out just some of the reasons I love what I do:
You Get to Work When You Want
Whether you’re an early riser like me or prefer to burn the midnight oil, when you own your own Virtual Assistant business, you can choose your own hours. Obviously, if you’re only going to put in a couple of hours a week and spend the rest of the time at the spa or on the golf course, it’s unlikely that you will be a business owner for long but having the freedom to fit your working hours around your personal life, really does make a huge difference.
You Get to Work with Who You Want
There are some occasions when you just know that you’re not going to be a great fit with some prospective clients. Being the boss means that you get to choose who you work with thus avoiding any awkward situations further down the line. It might not be quite that simple when you’re first starting out but once your VA business is established, you’ll get a feel for who you know you’ll be happy to work with and can make that choice accordingly.
You Get to Make all of the Important Decisions
Whatever happens to your business is down to you. Getting new clients, marketing plans, investment, finances - it's all down to you. You're not just a small part of a company who has to accept the decisions made by others - it's all down to you. You are the master of your own Virtual Assistant universe.
You Learn Something New Every Day
I have learnt so much since starting my Virtual Assistant business. Both from training that I’ve undertaken to enhance my skill set and also through just getting stuck in when a client has requested assistance with something I’ve never done before. It’s amazing what you can learn just by turning your hand to something you’ve never tried before.
No Commute
I dread to think how much of my life I have spent sitting in traffic on the way to the office, and I don’t know which was worse; hours spent on the motorway to do 100 miles or hours spent on the roads in Greater London to do just 11 miles! I get at least two hours more out of every day just by removing the need to travel to and from the office. I actually ended up selling my car a year ago as it just wasn’t getting used. No more tax, insurance, MOT or petrol bills for me – another bonus!
Doing What You Love
I doubt that anyone starts a business doing something that they don’t enjoy, so it makes a huge difference to start every day knowing that you’re doing what you love. Jumping out of bed when the alarm goes off instead of that feeling of dread that you had on a Sunday evening with your old job. There’s an old saying: “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” – and it’s so true! Through bitter experience, I told myself years ago that if I ever grew to hate the work I was doing, it would be time to find something new. Happy to say that I’m not planning anything else just now!