How to protect your business' best asset
Do you know what your most valuable asset in your Virtual Assistant business is ? Or even if you have one at all?
It’s not your laptop. It’s not your little black book. It’s not your half finished website.
It’s YOU!
And if you want to have any kind of longevity as a VA, it’s vital that you protect your most precious of assets. If you don’t look after yourself - emotionally and physically - a few things can happen:
You’ll burn out
You’ll hate the business you’ve created
Your body will ache (seriously - step away from the laptop)
I’m going to share a few practices that I’ve used in the 6 plus years since I started my VA business. I credit them for being what’s helped me stay in business for such a long time and STILL love what I do. Because it’s all well and good signing clients and making money, but if you feel miserable while doing it it’s absolutely not working!
Protect your mind
Let go of your employee mindset. You’re the boss now, so you get to decide what’s important. If that means that you start work at 10am, then do that! You’re in charge here.
Find a daily mindset practice and stick to it. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to invest time each and every day with a mindset practice you enjoy. You’ve probably heard about having a morning routine and how some people swear by walking up at 5am to do it, but it doesn't need to be as hardcore as that! I like a combination of journalling, having personalised affirmations and EFT tapping.
Focus on one thing at a time. Yes, starting a VA business can feel like a huge challenge, but flitting from task to task and from one shiny object to the next makes it feel a LOT harder. Work through each task methodically, finish it and then move on to the next. It (of course) helps to know what you actually need to do to start a VA business, so if you haven’t made much progress yet then The Virtual Assistant Toolkit is an excellent place to get started.
Have boundaries. It’s absolutely ok to say no sometimes! So whether that’s a client asking you to do a piece of work not in your remit, or perhaps asking you to turn something around within too short a space of time, you can say no. Saying no to some things means having the space to say yes to the things that matter.
Protect your body
Take breaks. It’s super easy to get drawn into a corporate mentality and feel like we need to sit at our desk from 9-5 everyday. But as we already know, YOU’RE now the boss, which means you get to decide your working pattern. It’s scientifically proven that working without taking regular breaks does not mean you get more work done. Our bodies are just not made to sit at a desk for 8 hours straight, so schedule in regular breaks every single day. You might like to explore the Pomodoro Technique, which is a method of working in shorter bursts and having regular, structured breaks.
Move your body. No, I’m not going to tell you to do a workout every single day (although we all should, but I’m not currently that committed!) But absolutely move your body every day. Just like our body needs us to take breaks, it also needs us to stretch our body when we’ve been sitting down for long periods. I really like Pilates at Your Desk. Kerrie-Anne Bradley has heaps of free exercises available on her Instagram and her enthusiasm is contagious!
Get outside. I challenge you to get outside and smell the fresh air every single day. Even if you live in a bustling city there will be pockets of greenery that you can escape to. And even if you can\’t get to a green space, fresh air will work absolute wonders for your concentration levels. Stepping away from your desk and into nature won’t mean that you get less done; on the contrary, it’ll mean your mind and body are renewed and you can approach your work with more energy.
Whatever stage of business you’re in, as a Virtual Assistant you’re absolutely your most valuable asset. How will you invest in yourself today?
