So you’ve checked out the competition and determined who your target clients are (local or virtual), so the next few tasks require action on your part. It’s time to put your money where your mouth is and get this show on the road so to speak! Success or failure depend on your next steps and many who have tried to make it as virtual assistants found that this was the part that let them down as they were not prepared enough.
We’ve already discussed the value of Administrative Consultants and who may require these services but it is of vital importance you take a deeper look at the key issues affecting the market, your competition (and how to beat them!) and who will be your clients.
This is an interesting question now you’ve given the AC route considerable thought. Throughout this series of articles you would have noticed that I constantly say, “if this is the right route for you” and now is where you have to be brutally honest with yourself and list your skills, your strong-points and your weaknesses to give you an idea about the direction in which you wish to go with your business. There are many things to mull over like offering a broad spectrum of services or sticking to two or three services and creating a niche for yourself in the virtual world.
Defining your business goals is to have a clear vision of what you hope to achieve with your venture and how you plan on going about it. You may find yourself going round and round in circles if you don’t plot a route which is almost certain to end in disappointment and destroy your confidence.
If you are seriously considering becoming an Administrative Consultant, there has never been a better time than right now. This relatively unknown innovative business approach is flourishing mainly due to the current economic climate where companies are learning to watch the pennies and outsource their admin tasks. It is becoming more and more common for companies to resort to third party collaborations in order to complete projects and other admin related tasks that basically rob them of precious time and resources better used elsewhere. You cannot compare the cost of a full-time employee to paying a professional Administrative Consultant for services as and when needed.
