So, you’ve made the exciting decision to become a Virtual Assistant – (whoop!) but although you know how to do the services you’re going to provide, you’ve done them for years, you don’t know how to get your Virtual Assistant business set up, what you need in place, what you don’t need in place and, OMG, this one VA Coach keeps banging on about sector niching and then another one says sector niches can get in the bin – argh, it’s so overwhelming!
It’s at this point that most aspiring VAs will do one of two things, either give up, or Google “How do I find a Virtual Assistant Coach?” and then realise that there are approximately 10 million people (okay I may be exaggerating a little) out there, offering to give you everything you need to know, and do, with their free downloads, VA coaching programme, VA course or a seventeen hour masterclass.
Let’s follow all of them, that’ll be the best thing, yeah? Yeah, if you want, but I can almost guarantee you’ll get so overwhelmed with the conflicting advice – often from people who have never even had a successful VA business – that you’ll never want to hear yourself say the words ‘I want to be a Virtual Assistant’ again.
So, how on earth do you choose the right Virtual Assistant Coach for you?
Let me try and make it a little easier for you with these pointers:
Paid Training vs Free Virtual Assistant Training
There are a lot of great free Virtual Assistant training options out there you can learn a lot from. But, you may not know that any freebies are a ‘lead magnet’ for people to guide you to their paid for training. The free training will give you a little bit of what you need to know, but not everything.
This leaves you with more questions, so you download some more free training and that largely contradicts what you learned from the other free training, so you download some more. I can’t keep writing that, but you can see the cycle, yeah?
Free training should be used, by you, as a way to get to know that VA Coach and see if you want to invest in her paid for training. If you like what you see from the free stuff, you’re going to love of other stuff she’s offering.
Recap; free training = gives you only a little bit of information you need to succeed. It’s more an opportunity for you to get to know the Coach and for the VA Coach to get you interested in the paid for stuff
Time served
There are VA Coaches offering courses on how to become a Virtual Assistant when they have only been working as a VA for a few months, which isn’t really ideal as they can’t possibly have developed a sustainable programme.
So take a look at their background and see when they set up their business.
I’m on the list of approved trainers with the Society of Virtual Assistants and one of their key requirements is that their approved trainers should have 5 years being a VA before offering training themselves OR worked with at least 20 different clients, over at least 3 different industries, offering at least 3 different skill sets as a VA (not as an employee).
I’ve been a VA since 2015, there are not many scenarios (good/bad or weird) I haven’t had to deal with in that time. I also have a team of Associate VAs working with me now alongside training VAs since 2018. As I said there’s not much I haven’t dealt with.
Also, the experience you gain from growing your business over many years is invaluable when advising people starting in business. Try running your business through a global pandemic. No don’t! Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again, but you get my drift.
Recap: Take a look at what experience your VA Coach has and how long they’ve been doing what they’re now going to train you in. You need to have been in business for some time to understand that all businesses go through lean times and good times and how to navigate both.
Honesty
A good trainer will give realistic timescales in which you can hope to be successful once you’ve completed their training. They’ll also be upfront about the fact that you have to do the work! Sadly, there’s no quick way to go from 9-5 to Virtual Assistant that we’re all hiding from you. Anyone who says it’s easy is full of it! It is not lounging in bed until lunchtime (actually that’s untrue, I often lounge in bed when I’m not feeling so great, perks of being your own boss) but I’m generally working at the same time.
I advertise that you can set up as a VA, with clients, in 90 days and if you implement all of my training then I can hand-on-heart say this can be, and is, the case for many of my trainees. I’ve lots of case studies and testimonials that back this up. Have a look for that VA Coaches testimonials or pop her an email to ask, kindly, where you might find them.
Recap: Don’t be afraid to contact the VA Coach you’re interested in working with to ask for some information on her success.
Does the trainer offer any ongoing support?
Most people who are reputable trainers will have some way for trainees to get support even if not offered as part of the training. I have a free-to-join Facebook group, full of VAs who all support each other and I’m always in there offering support.
I’ve heard some awfully upsetting stories where people have paid £1500 plus for a Virtual Assistant masterclass, come away with more questions than when they joined it and there’s no ‘after-care’.
I also offer a mentorship programme at £10 per month. This is a Telegram group, well there’s two actually (everyone loves a BOGOF don’t they). There’s the official one where my mentees can ask me questions and either I, or one of my team, get back to them, usually very quickly, and another where they all just talk about what they had for tea and other nonsense. That one is just a big group of friends supporting each other with life in general as well as life as a VA. The relaxed one is apparently fab but they won’t let me in!
Recap: Check the online presence of the VA Coach and see if there’s opportunities to ask questions, if you have any.
Pick someone you like who seems to have the same values as you
It may seem obvious to say choose someone you like as you’re hardly likely to choose otherwise. But, so often in life we have people around us who we don’t particularly like just because we think we should. Becoming a Virtual Assistant could be your first step into creating a happier life for yourself, away from colleagues you’d rather push into the water dispenser, or toxicity from another grown up who peaked at 10 years old.
When I’m searching for someone to work with, for instance, I like to see how they come across on social media. I look for humour, I look for consistency, I look for an understanding of my pain points.
Recap: Find someone who resonates with you, your ethics, your personality and who meets all the criteria above.
I look forward to seeing you in my free Facebook group whether you join me in training or not. It’s a fun and useful place to be.