‘Honest and Skilled’ – why wouldn’t you embrace these two characteristics in your VA business to be the best virtual assistant possible?

The information provided by survey participants for our ‘Time to EleVAte’ Non-VA Business owners survey, carried out in Autumn 2017, was predominantly very positive, with just over 83% of respondents advising that they were very likely to recommend their VA, and 85% of respondents stating that they would score themselves ‘10 out of 10’ on a scale described as ‘Out of 10, how happy are you with your VA?’ – a statistic that highlights the fact that many VAs work hard to ensure that they are providing the Best Virtual Assistant Services possible to their clients.

Unfortunately, working with a VA wasn’t such a positive experience for all of our respondents; One survey participant advised that ‘my VA lied about their skills’, whilst another stated that ‘the work my VA was doing was not up to the standard I wanted or needed’. 

Generally, respondents called for greater regulation in the ‘unregulated’ industry, with one respondent advising that ‘anyone can switch on a laptop and be a VA’. 

As self-employed individuals who need a certain amount of income per month to cover general household and business expenses, we’ve all been under pressure to fill a client shaped hole after a project has finished or a client has moved on to pastures new. 

But though it is all too easy to say ‘YES!’ to any job that comes in when you need to plug an income hole, I strongly recommend that you take a step back and a deep breath before saying ‘yes’.  If a client is specifically looking for a skill that you don’t have, I would always recommend being honest with them right from the outset.  If you have skills that could help them achieve their goals in a slightly different way, let them know. 

Alternatively, if you were planning on learning or upskilling in the exact area that they were looking for help, why not ask them to consider helping you learn the skills ‘on the job’ for a slightly reduced rate (only for the period you are learning), which could prove to be a mutually beneficial way of working – if that is acceptable to them! Admittedly, not everyone will be willing to use their business as a training ground, particularly if they need work completing quickly, but you’ll never know if you don’t ask!

Honesty is definitely the best policy when it comes to building positive and long-lasting business relationships, but not just when it comes to your skills and knowledge – it’s a valuable and professional tool if ever you find that an error has been made by you or your team, whether large or small. 

Rather than panic immediately, sit down and try to devise a rational and reasonable solution to fix the problem (if possible), as this can help to maintain your reputation as a trustworthy and responsible business owner. Just remember that by working to ensure that your skills and knowledge are as up to date as possible, you can help to reduce the potential of errors occurring – another reason that makes it worthwhile investing in your own personal and professional development!

So embrace the qualities of trustworthiness and skilfulness in your business, and be a VA that every business owner would love to work with!