The Sam + Jo VA Show

Are you an aspiring or established virtual assistant agency owner wanting to grow a team while remaining ‘affordable’?

Are you struggling to scale, unhappily working all the hours, unable to fully switch off while taking time off and sick and tired of juggling client work alongside recruiting and managing your team?

Are you reluctant to put up your prices because you’re worried leads will balk at your rates?

If this sounds familiar - you aren't alone!

It’s cold hard truth time: For the majority of VA agency business owners, it's impossible to scale without premium pricing. And the longer you fight us on this, the longer you will continue to struggle.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The team, client and financial issues you’ll face as a VA agency owner if you don’t have premium pricing.
• The only agency model that works with pricing that isn’t considered ‘premium’.
• How to work out a profitable premium rate.
• How to access the exact steps required to scale your agency successfully.

Download the FREE Pre-Scale Checklist for Virtual Assistants here.

Buy the Ultimate Pricing Calculator for Virtual Assistants here.

Join us inside the Scale It Mastermind here.

Sam + Jo xo

It’s likely you became a VA ‘cos you were over the 9-5 grind.

You may have wanted to have more freedom and flexibility than a traditional corporate role allowed you.

Or perhaps your priorities changed since starting your family?

But let’s be honest, you also became a VA to earn a decent income from home!

Otherwise, why bother? 🤷‍♀️

So why are there so many virtual assistants out there having to work MORE hours than a 9 – 5 in order to pay the bills?

Why are there so many virtual assistants earning less than minimum wage?!

In this episode you’ll learn the 9 reasons why you aren’t earning a minimum wage and how to turn things around so that you aren't working all the hours with nothing to show in your bank account.

Sam + Jo xo

Buy the Ultimate Pricing Calculator for Virtual Assistants here.

Join us inside the Scale It Mastermind here.

Are you really a fully-fledged virtual assistant unless you’ve received a “I’ve been ghosted 👻" badge?

If being ghosted by a lead, client (or yes, even team member!) hasn’t happened yet, in the words of Alexander Hamilton … “Just you wait” 🤪

Being ghosted can often trigger VAs into a spiral of self doubt. It’s common for the VA to take it personally, question everything and make some massive assumptions.

Having been there, done that, and got the 👻 badge more often than we'd like to admit, we can confidently tell you to stop second-guessing and blaming yourself, and start putting some very simple steps in place to prevent it from happening again.

Disclaimer: The ghost prevention strategies mentioned in this episode work 97% of the time. The remaining 3% can’t be helped ‘cos they're Dicks ghosting you whose dick-ness can't be helped😉.

You’ll learn:

• The 5 most common reasons VAs get ghosted and the steps you can take to prevent it from happening.
• Why ‘Quick Wins’ and ‘Nice To Dos’ need to be part of your client onboarding process.
• What to say in your discovery call that makes following them up post-Proposal soooooo much easier.

Join us inside the next intake of Launch in 30 Days here.

Join us inside the Scale It Mastermind here.

Sam + Jo xo 

It’s a cold hard fact that people do business with people, and this couldn’t be any more true than inside the virtual assistant industry.

The quicker you can build the know, like and trust factor online the quicker you’ll become fully booked with a steady stream of leads knocking at your door.

And the best strategy to achieve this fast is being the face of your business.

The worst strategy to achieve this is hiding behind your business name and logo.

But we get that this is easier said than done for a lot of virtual assistants more comfortable in behind the scenes roles.

This episode is for all the aspiring and established virtual assistants who'd rather make a thousand cold calls than show their face online.

You’ll learn:

• The most common reasons you’re reluctant to be the face of your business.
• Why your lack of confidence on camera is holding your business back.
• The reframe you need to make in order to feel the fear and do it anyway!

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

Your perfect virtual assistant pathway is just minutes away! Take the quiz here.

Sam + Jo xo

Last year we released the What’s Your VA Pathway Quiz to help guide aspiring virtual assistants to find their perfect pathway to success.

Those that take the quiz get one of four results: Sub-contractor, Freelancer, Agency Owner, and …. Not Ready.

Every time someone receives the ‘not ready’ result a little part of us dies.

We know seeing these two words pop up on the screen is disappointing for some who receive it, and for others it reinforces what they already know.

But just because you may not be ready right NOW, doesn’t mean your journey is over!

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The 3 reasons you will have received this result.
• Why this result doesn’t mean you should give up.
• What you can do now to prepare for success in the VA space.

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

Your perfect virtual assistant pathway is just minutes away! Take the quiz here.

Sam + Jo xo

The knock-on effect of the introduction of AI is HUGE. No one is immune – least of all virtual assistants.

We may not have a crystal ball that will predict the future (wouldn’t that be nice!), but we do have a decade plus of industry knowledge and hundreds of hours of research, testing and speaking with other experts in our greater network under our belt.

All of which has culminated in us being able to confidently predict how the VA space will look in the future ‘thanks’ to AI.

Look, it’s not all doom and gloom! In fact, we believe there are some incredible opportunities for virtual assistants ready to embrace AI in order to stay relevant!

Being the first coaches in the industry to talk about the future of VAs in an AI world is a responsibility we don’t take lightly. And finding the balance between sharing our knowledge so you can start prepping without freaking you out can be challenging.

But when have you ever known us to shy away from speaking out and telling it like it is? 😂

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Our predictions of how AI will change the VA industry.
• What VAs need to do in order to stay relevant and future proof their businesses.
• Why AI doesn't have to be the 'villain' in our story.

Register for the next FREE 'Future-Proof Your VA Business in An AI World' Webinar here.

Get The AI Survival Kit here.

Sam + Jo xo

Do you pay your friends to hang out with you?

Do you expect your friends sign contracts before hanging out with you?

No?

Then why are you treating your clients like friends?

It's only natural you'll get close to certain clients, especially the long-term ones who you feel comfortable having a laugh, coffee or a cheeky wine with.

But when the lines start blurring between professional and personal, when you start questioning whether or not you should put your timer on, and when you can no longer decided whether to introduce this person as a client or a friend … well that’s when things can get tricky.

You may assume that this type of close-knit VA/client relationship is one to celebrate. We’re here to tell you that in most cases it’s one to avoid and that having defined, professional boundaries will protect you BOTH.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The VAs most at risk for allowing/encouraging the lines to blur.
• The unexpected consequences of treating your clients like friends.
• How to be friendly but not friends with clients.

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

Your perfect virtual assistant pathway is just minutes away! Take the quiz here.

Sam + Jo xo

Shouldering the responsibility of running a business, wearing all the hats and knowing the buck is always going to stop at you can feel heavy.

So heavy that it often puts aspiring VAs off from moving from lurker to launcher.

Too heavy some days that even well-established virtual assistants feel the temptation of bringing on a partner to lessen the load.

On paper, who wouldn’t want to go into business with a ride-or-die biz bestie who will always have your back?

Imagine having someone at your side to bounce around ideas, keep you motivated & inspired, do all the things you aren't great at, and who is as excited and committed to the business as you are!

Sounds like a bloody dream ... right?

For anyone considering entering a business partnership, we urge you to listen to this episode first.

You’ll learn:

• The conversations you must have before going into business with someone.
• The alternatives that will provide you with what you are seeking.
• The parts of Jo’s failed business partnership you’ve never heard.

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

Your perfect virtual assistant pathway is just minutes away! Take the quiz here.

Sam + Jo xo

It’s real talk time!

Yessiree, it’s time to share some of our biggest biz “icks” as virtual assistant coaches, mentors and business owners.

Some of these icks are instant turn-offs; our personal deal breakers. Others however aren’t as black and white as we initially thought they'd be prior to hitting record.

But whether you agree with our Ick List or not, there’s no shying away from the fact that if they are on our ick radar, then some will also be your potential clients’ icks too.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The icks that have some potential clients running for the hills.
• The two icks that will offend you.
• Jo’s unexpected ick that had Sam SHOOK!

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

Your perfect virtual assistant pathway is just minutes away! Take the quiz here.

Sam + Jo xo

Some days social media seems like one massive highlight reel of gorgeous influencer-esq biz owners, working part-time hours from their spotless all-white WFH offices, who in their spare time enjoy baking with their well behaved cute AF children and make money while sleeping soundly in their super king sized beds alongside their super king sized partners 😉

And you know what they say about highlight reels?

They’re a bunch of baloney, that's what! They only showcase one side of a much bigger, more complex story.

We reckon it’s time for us all to get comfortable sharing the lows as much as the highs. ‘Cos this is real life and real life is not always sunshine and rainbows.

So it’s time to share some not so bright and shiny things about us.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The online content that makes us feel like shit.
• How to not get sucked in by big numbers and big results.
• Our most recent failures and facepalms 🤦‍♀️🤦

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

Your perfect virtual assistant pathway is just minutes away! Take the quiz here.

Sam + Jo xo