“When you’re the bottleneck, it’s time to hire,” is tried and true advice. (My business coach told me that all the time when I was scaling my Virtual Assistant agency business. I’d like to update that to “When you’re the bottleneck, it’s time to consider if you need to get more specific in how you work with clients.”
Yeah, that doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily…but it’s probably something that you’ve been considering, maybe without really knowing it. It probably isn’t a conscious thought, but more of a feeling.
For example, you’re feeling overwhelmed with work, like you’re sitting in front of your computer and missing softball games and splashing in the pool. Yet for all the time you spend staring at a screen frantically typing away, nothing is happening to grow your business (or get any gains at all).
I was there, too, so I know what it feels like. That is a big sign that it’s time to get more specific in your business. In fact, when your focus gets smaller, you’re able to scale your business (AKA grow!) a lot faster.
If you nod along and answer yes to any of these signs, it’s a sign that you are the bottleneck preventing your business from growing and time to scale your business by niching into work as an Executive Virtual Assistant.
Sign #1: Nothing is Happening
I don’t mean, “No news is good news.” I mean… nothing is happening. It may look like you’re working (a lot), but it feels like nothing is gained from it.
This could mean A) you’re scattering your attention over a lot of different clients, B) you’re doing work that you don’t love, or isn’t in your genius zone, so you spend a lot of time procrastinating and/or “researching” the best way to do something, C) you’re so burned out from working on your clients’ businesses that you have no time left over to do anything for your own, or D) all of the above.
You didn’t start your business to work all the time and be incredibly stressed out, and not grow. You wanted freedom, flexibility, and to make a difference for the people you support.
By niching into working as Executive Virtual Assistant, you’ll be able to make a greater impact on your clients, work in your zone of genius so it feels like fun and flows naturally, and make more money without sacrificing your time freedom (AKA: get back to enjoying time with your family a lot faster)!
Systems, Support, Success Tip: Daydream a little! Write down what you want your days to look like. It’ll give you a picture to help you remind you why you’re doing this as you start to niche and scale your business.
Sign #2: You Need More Hours in the Day
Like I said above, you didn’t start your business to work all the time and be so stressed, you can’t enjoy your life. Stress and overwhelm are real. They plague so many CEOs. The mentality of needing “more hours in your day” is a symptom of having too many tasks on your plate.
Are you doing things you love and working for clients who value you and your expertise? Here’s your sign to get more specific about the types of services you offer. When you do, you’ll be able to set up repeatable systems and processes to get really good at the services you offer (because you do them day in and day out). The more efficient, specific, and skilled you get in one area, the easier it is to scale your business.
Systems, Support, Success Tip: You support others by allowing them to delegate to you, so it’s time that you start doing it in your life, too! Start small by investing in a meal delivery service or hiring a nanny for a few hours every week. I promise you, you can’t get where you want to go without asking for help.
Sign #3: You’re Not Doing Your Genius Work
You’re passionate and determined to grow and scale your business. But you feel like you rarely get to be in your “zone of genius”. Your zone of genius is when you are doing what you are an expert at and also what you actually love doing.
If you’re spending most of your time not in your zone of genius and delivering work for clients that feel like a total drag, this is your sign to reevaluate what you’re doing for them.
Niching into Executive Virtual Assistant support means working with high-level CEOs by supporting them with your genius work so they can do their genius work. When you offer a specific service they need help with, you’ll provide a ton of value for your clients, get wonderful referrals, and actually scale your business doing things you love doing.
Systems, Support, Success Tip: Make a list of everything you like doing and everything you’re good at doing. Where those two things overlap is where you want to start focusing. It’ll help you find your niche so you can scale your business.
Download my free Executive Virtual Assistant Roadmap for a step-by-step guide on how to do this!
Sign #4: You Forgot [Insert Almost Anything Here]
When you start forgetting important things (or even non-important things!), it’s a sign you have too much on your plate, which means you need to start taking things off so you’re left with only the things you love. By doing that, you’re niching. Congrats!
Systems, Support, Success Tip: To have a sustainable business, you can’t just scrape your whole plate in the trash (even if you want to). Remove one thing at a time. Maybe it’s a client who’s up for renewal and you only want to offer them a specific package rather than the “Pretty Woman special” of I’ll do whatever you need me to do. Soon, you’ll become a respected expert in your zone of genius because of the results you offer around one clear, detailed service.
Sign #5: You Want to Quit Your Business
If I know one thing, it’s that you won’t scale your business by quitting it! I get it though, it’s tempting, especially if you’re feeling stressed and unhappy and wondering Is this all there is in life?
When you’re ready to throw in the towel and get a corporate job, it’s a sign that you’re not living up to your potential. Like I said in Sign #1, if nothing is happening, you’re probably doing too many things you don’t love.
Being a CEO is all about doing your genius work and not being afraid to only offer that to your clients. Is it scary to niche down and say, “From now on, this is all I’m doing!”? Sure. But from my experience, your clients want you to tell them how you can help. After all, you’re the expert! They’re hiring you because you’re good at what you do and you produce results.
If you’re feeling like you aren’t that person for your clients right now, it’s time to niche. By being specific, you’ll scale your business easily because you can tell people exactly what you do and exactly how you can help them.
Systems, Support, Success Tip: Don’t give up. If you’re anything like me, you have what it takes but you need a little support to help you put it all together.
The S3 Society is here for that.
In the S3 Society, you’ll learn my exact step-by-step system for how to niche into offering Executive Virtual Assistant support so you can confidently scale your business with people who love you and value what you do for them. Learn more about the S3 Society here!
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