Virtual Assistant Business Plan
How to write a Virtual Assistant Business Plan
If you want to write a virtual assistant business plan, begin with a good business plan template. I do not suggest the software that is out there, because there are many free resources that will get you a fast start. Go to www.docstoc.com and find a business plan template that you like.
Virtual Assistant Business Plan Tip #1
It is important to plan your virtual assistant business. However, I have never seen planning generate a penny of income. Do not spend weeks or months with your business plan. Instead, do some research and set some goals. Then understand that your business plan will continually need to be modified as you learn more about the business.
Virtual Assistant Business Plan Tip #2
Your Virtual Assistant financial projections should be based on facts, or you need to start out with a realistic financial projection. For example, if you have never sold your services before, projecting 5 new clients next month is not realistic. 5 leads might be.
Does that mean that 5 clients is impossible? No. Just not realistic because you have not done it before and experience with selling your services does improve your odds on getting clients.
Virtual Assistant Business Plan Tip #3
Business Plan Monthly Projections are supposed to be used. That means, the first week of every month schedule time to update your projections and revise your future projections if it is clear you are not going to hit your number – or if you are going to exceed your numbers.
Virtual Assistant Business Plan Tip #4
In your virtual assistant business plan, have a section that clearly explains your plan if you get too busy. Are you just going to stop taking clients, are you going to hire someone or are you going to outsource some of the work?
Virtual Assistant Business Plan Tip #5
Don’t get lost in the research. Business plans are a generic document that can be used for retail, consulting and any other type of business. While it is great to go see what your successful competition is doing, you are really not competing directly with them so much as you are trying to carve out your own special niche and differentiate yourself.
The virtual assistant business plan tip that is the most important is that your business is all about making money and making you happy. That means you need to focus on ways to create income, and the income must be substantial enough to cover your expenses and make you feel good about the work you are doing. This is a huge deal. I spent years in business losing money the first time. You keep telling yourself the story that you are growing a business and it is necessary to lose money at first. That is only the case if you believe the story.
Write a business plan that is realistic and makes you happy. That may mean that you are only working with three clients at a time, but you make a good income and they value your work. That is a far better business plan vs one that projects selling your services to half of China.
For a thirty day guide to everything you need for your virtual assistant business planning and launch, download the free eBook – Start a Virtual Assistant Business.
Other Important VA Articles:
Few VA’s are looking for funding to start out, so I think a VA business plan is mostly written as a support tool for your own business – a guideline meant to keep you on track and give you some direction as you start out in business.
I joined VAnetworking (free) and after a while decided to become a VA Insider (a paid membership with benefits). One of the benefits from the Insider membership are tons and tons (over 120) templates for so many things you need when running a business. One of these is a business plan template with a lot of the info completed and just needing tweaking to make it your own.
I cannot describe the time saved by using these templates (contracts forms and more). I highly recommend the VA Insiders membership! (http://www.vanetworking.com/vainsider)