Last month, I wrote a blog post about 3 Skills Needed to Be a Booked-Solid Virtual Assistant. Many virtual assistants (VAs) make the mistake of thinking that experience with and expertise at in-demand skills are all they need in order to create a successful business. Not so!

Just like any other business owner, as a virtual assistant, you not only need skills, you also need a particular set of traits. 

Today, I’m going to talk about three personality traits needed:

1. Confidence. I cannot emphasize the importance of this trait enough. If you do not project confidence to clients, they will not want to work with you.
   Just last week, I referred a virtual assistant to a potential client. I thought they’d be a perfect match. The VA had all the skills needed, and I know from working with her that she’s an expert at those skills. The potential client emailed to let me know that she decided not to work with the VA I recommended. That rarely happens, so I asked for feedback from the potential client to hopefully provide a better match for her needs. The potential client told me that the VA didn’t project confidence, and she wanted someone confident in themselves and their abilities.
   Be sure you’re not only good at what you do, but that you also sound like you’re good at what you.
2. Reliability. This means that you do what you say you’re going to do.
   I surveyed a wide variety of VA clients and asked what problems they had working with VAs. The number one problem they had was that VAs they had worked with weren’t reliable. This included VAs who disappeared from the face of the earth, those who didn’t meet deadlines, and those who didn’t know how to perform the skills they said they could perform.
   If you simply do what you say you’re going to do, you’ll be a giant step closer to having a successful business.
3. Perseverance. You have to work hard to have the virtual assistant business of your dreams, and you have to keep working hard at it day after day.
   You also have to be able to pick yourself up and keep going, no matter what. Even if you do everything exactly right, something out of your control could derail your business goals. From 2001 to 2008, I had a very profitable real estate VA business. Then the real estate market crashed. There was nothing I could have done to prevent that crash. It was out of my control. But my income went from 6-figures to low 5-figures within a few weeks of the crash. Did I give up? Definitely not. I got busy figuring out a new target market for my business. Within 30 days of determining that my new target market would be authors, I had a full practice again.

Virtual Assistants who hire me as their business coach and trainer tell me that one of the biggest benefits they receive from working with me is increased confidence. Here’s what one client had to say:

“My business has grown exponentially, and my confidence and ability to meet challenges along with it.” – Cynthia Daffron, ArtfulAdvantage.com

Whether you need to increase your confidence or you’re ready to double your income, I can help. Schedule your free “Transform Your Virtual Assistant Business” session now. I look forward to talking with you!

Are you a small business owner in search of an Expert VA®?
Search the
Expert VA® Directory here: