The Sam + Jo VA Show

We want to preface this episode by apologising to our American listeners😉

It’s time to talk all things … stock photos. In particular:

• Why we hate them.
• Why your leads are being put off by them.
• The only time you can get away with using them.
• What you can use instead of them.
• The things to look out for if you have no other choice but to use them.

It may seem like a funny thing for us to get our knickers in a knot about, but if you only knew how many leads you’re losing cos you’re hiding behind cheesy, off brand, boring, unauthentic stock photos 😭

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

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

Sam + Jo xo

Dude! There is no ‘easier’.

There’s also no ‘quicker’, ‘faster’ or ‘better’ (in case you were wondering that too).

Every aspiring virtual assistant is different.

You have different skills, experience, personality types, available working hours and financial responsibilities.

So instead of asking us which pathway is easier, ask yourself which are you better suited to?

And if you don’t know, then we’ve made it SUPER easy for you to find out!

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The differences between being a sub-contractor and being a freelancer.
• The pros and cons of both sub-contractor and freelancer pathways.
• Why you may assume the sub-contractor route is easier and quicker.
• How to find out which pathway you’re best suited to.

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

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

Sam + Jo xo

On paper your business looks great! You’re fully booked (or close to it), your bank balance isn’t looking too shabby and you may even be growing a team …

It’s easy from the outside looking in for other virtual assistants to assume you’re successful, on top of things and freaking loving life!

But the reality couldn’t be further from the truth.

The reality is that you really want to love your business, but you’ve found yourself working ALL the hours, your mental and physical health is suffering, you’re finding it difficult to maintain boundaries and you may have even started to resent some of your more ‘difficult’ clients.

It's a situation we're all too familiar with, so we’re here to tell you how you got yourself in this situation (cos yeah, this one's on you) and the exact steps you need to take to turn things around.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• What to look at in your business in order to fall back in love with it.
• Why it’s the people-pleasing VAs amongst us that find themselves in this situation.
• Why gold plating is costing you money.
• The boundaries to hold and courageous conversations needed to maintain your health.

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

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

Sam + Jo xo

Hey there VA Agency owners👋

Have you ever considered incentivising your team members with fixed fees instead of hourly rates?

There are so many benefits to both you and your team member that it Just. Makes. Sense!

But there are some clear dos and do nots to making it work well so that everyone involved is as happy as Ken hanging out in his Mojo Dojo Casa House.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The benefits of fixed fees for you AND your sub-contractor.
• How fixed fees can work for client facing AND non-client facing sub-contractors.
• When fixed fees DON’T work.

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

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

Sam + Jo xo

There are a few pathway options aspiring virtual assistants can take, one of which is very uncommon.

Why?

Because skipping straight to ‘Agency Owner’ is not for the faint hearted, and you’ll need a very particular set of skills, skills that you will have acquired over time in your corporate 9-5.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Who can skip straight to ‘Agency Owner’.
• What your role would look like as an ‘Agency Owner’.
• What you need in place if you’re thinking about skipping straight to ‘Agency Owner’.
• What can go wrong when skipping straight to ‘Agency Owner’.

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

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

Sam + Jo xo 

We're officially dedicating this episode to all the admin superstars out there wondering whether their skills and experience are enough to move into the VA space.

Spoiler alert: WE’RE 99% SURE THEY ARE!

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why downplaying your skills & experience as an admin support is doing you a disservice.
• The transferable skills that will make you a standout, in-demand VA.
• To celebrate your generalist VA status – cos niching isn’t for everyone straight off the bat.
• How you can ‘sell’ your admin skills and experiences to potential clients.

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

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

Sam + Jo xo

What are you putting up with?

Is your chair as wonky as Sam’s? Is the copy on your website not converting leads to clients? Maybe you’ve got an underperforming team member you’ve been avoiding having to deal with?

It's time to say goodbye to not only those niggly little daily annoyances, but also the elephant in the room issues that can no longer be avoided.

'Cos the start of a new year is a great time to identify where you’re going to put your energy in to make substantial changes in your business!

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The reason you’ve been putting up with shitty equipment, tools, clients and team members.
• How to plan for upgrades in your business.
• Why avoiding tough conversations is harming your business.

Sub-Contractor, Freelancer or Agency Owner?

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

Sam + Jo xo

“But it’s just so hard for VAs right now!”

“Man, it’s really tough finding clients – no one is hiring!”

“It’s a slow time of year for sure”.

NOPE! Stop it!

It’s cold hard truth time lovelies.

It’s NOT slow. Clients ARE hiring. We know first-hand this to be true. We’ve got evidence to back this up.

So enough of the excuses.

If you’re finding it hard right now, it’s certainly not due to the lack of clients looking to outsource.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why it’s easy to use all the reasons under the sun as to why you aren’t fully booked.
• What you can do to turn things around.
• Why this time of year is often the BUSIEST for successful virtual assistants.

Be your own boss, replace your 9-5 income and get the freedom and flexibility you’ve been searching for.

Launch in 30 Days is the step-by-step course that’ll see you launch your dream VA business and land your first-ever *well paying* client in just 30 days.

Join the next intake of Launch in 30 Days!

Are you ready for the next iteration of your business?

The one where you work less hours, make more money, have a clear vision of where you’re going and can safely say you’ve kicked overwhelm and burnout to the curb?

Consider the Scale It! Mastermind your shortcut to efficiently, painlessly and sustainably scaling your VA business to align with your version of success.

Join the exclusive mastermind for established virtual assistants today!

Get a 2024 VA Business Planner - an invaluable resource in your business toolkit, disguised as a yearly planner

PS: If you're unsure as to which pathway you're more suited to right now, then we'd recommend you do our What's Your Virtual Assistant Pathway Quiz

Sam + Jo xo

.

We’ve coached some of the most successful virtual assistant business owners across New Zealand and Australia but Bri McDonald’s fast-track journey is one for the books!

A fortnight after completing Launch in 30 Days Bri had onboarded 4 clients. Days later she resigned from her 9-5, and within a month she was fully booked and had replaced to her 9-5 income.

But the icing on the cake …. 3 months after launching her brand spanking new VA business, Bri was announced as a finalist for Top Performing Newcomer at the 2023 NZ Virtual Assistant Awards!

See what we mean?! The action taking required to reach this type of success, this quickly, is next level and to say we’re proud mumma hens is an understatement.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How Bri was able to quit her 9-5 just two weeks after launching her VA biz.
• The course Bri invested in that led to her replacing her 9-5 income in just 3 months.
• What Bri would do differently … cos it hasn’t been all rainbows and unicorns!
• Why having a supportive partner in your corner makes ALL the difference.

Connect with Bri here to find out more about The Admin Place’s top class virtual assistant services.

LinkedIn

Instagram

Facebook

Ready to ditch your 9-5? Launch in 30 Days is your step-by-step guide to launching your dream VA business, and landing your first-ever *well-paying* client (...in just 30 days!) 

Sam + Jo xo

Are you at risk of losing it all by having all your eggs in one basket?

Do you have any back up eggs if the worst was to happen and you lost the majority of your revenue in one big ugly hit?

You might be riding high right now, fully booked with one or two great-fit, chunky clients, but we want you to be fully aware of the risks around putting your all your client eggs in just one or two baskets.

We want you to have a Plan B so when the unexpected happens (cos trust us - it can happen!), you’re not thrown into panic mode, desperate to find clients.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The risk involved in having a client providing you with 50% or more of your total revenue.
• The ideal client hour/revenue split to ensure you don’t lose it all.
• What to do if your client eggs are currently all in one risky AF basket.

Just starting out on your VA journey?

Launch your very own virtual assistant business in just 30 days with our step-by-step playbook! We'll guide you every step of the way, from setting up your business to securing (and onboarding) your first client.

Are you an established VA looking to scale?

Join the Scale It! Mastermind for established virtual assistants looking to level up their business. Make more money, get more clients and grow your team today!

Sam + Jo xo