I see Virtual Assistants every day, both online and offline. It’s my world. And I love it.

However, there are some things I see Virtual Assistants doing that makes me wonder if they are self-sabotaging their success. And sometimes, it’s only tiny things, but they scream “not professional enough” at me.

Here’s what I’ve seen.

Spelling and grammar mistakes

You’ve probably realised that my absolute pet hate is when VAs use VA’s. If you’re just referring to a group of VAs and what they do – there is no apostrophe. And considering this is your title – it’s crucial that you get this right!

Another is the misuse of words such as their, there and they’re.

Here are some others I’ve seen that make me cringe:

• Apart versus a part
• Principle versus principal
• Stationery versus stationary
• Accept versus except
• Inquire versus enquire

I don’t expect everyone to get this right all the time, but I do expect VAs to get it right when they are doing anything that represents their business.

No email signature

This one is a no brainer. An email signature allows people to identify you and contact you quickly. Even on your mobile devices, you can set up a basic signature in your settings.

Always include your:

• Full name
• Business name
• Contact number
• Website address
• Social media links
• Logo

If you have any extra information you want to share such as hours of availability, and special promotions or encouraging people to refer their friends, pop these in too.

Underpricing your services

It’s important to know your value. And to be honest, many women suck at this. Channel your inner “bloke” and recognise what you’re worth.

If you’re secretly undercharging as you’re not confident with a service, do yourself (and others who are qualified) a favour and offer something else, or get some training.

Please don’t say you’ll provide a service you aren’t great at and justify it by offering a lower price.

Mentoring, research and training are all important so get on it.

Being too casual too early

Personally, I love friendly, happy people. But if you’re networking and you aren’t confident in your brand and experience, there can be a risk of being too casual.

Yes, you can have fun and laugh – but don’t get too personal too soon.

You don’t know where that relationship might go and you don’t know if the person you’re talking too has a similar personality that will respond well to this approach. Gauge your audience first.

Not Outsourcing

Broken record here, but a VA MUST OUTSOURCE too.

You need to believe in your own premise of your business – that business owners should focus on what they do best, and outsource the rest.

You’ll also see firsthand the restraints business owners face such as budgets and fear. Outsourcing isn’t just smart for a VA – it’s your research.

Using poor quality images and branding

There’s simply no excuse these days to have crappy photos or images on your website and social media.

Images are affordable, and anyone can take a nice profile picture with decent lighting, doing your hair and makeup, and putting on a friendly smile.

Your brand and your image are the first impressions of how seriously you take your business. You don’t have to use professional headshots, but they should be bright and clean and a good reflection of your brand.

Sites like Fotolia allow you to purchase great images for your website and social media for reasonable prices.

Copying everyone else

It’s hard to start your own thing – I know. I get it.

But that’s where mentoring can be amazing and help you create something that’s yours and not a duplicate of someone else’s passion. You are unique, whether you realise it or not. So, embrace it and make it work for you.

If you’re doing any of the above, you need to reassess and start taking action so you can fix it. If you’d like help, please contact me for a Discovery Session so we can nut out how you can be more professional in your business.

The VA Industry in Australia is fabulous. But it’s not a cheap service, and as such, you need to step up and be amazing and show your worth.

Cheers!

Rosie

PS – Hey, can you do me a favour and share this? I’d love for more VAs to read it and make sure they aren’t doing these little things that can be holding them back. Thanks so much!

PSS – Here’s the link if you want to book a Discovery Session with me.