Week 7 – Provide a service you are passionate about

Hello All

As this is my penultimate post I wanted to write something that I felt could help both people looking at becoming a VA and those that are just starting their journey in business.  Therefore this week is focused around something which I feel very passionately about.  Not everybody will agree with my opinion but that is the beauty of everybody having the ability to present their own ideas on the SVA forum.

Whenever an individual takes the bold step to start their own business there are many reasons behind the decision.  However the common theme is that the service or product they are providing is one they are passionate about and skilled in.  A trained plumber will focus their trade on providing plumbing services and an accountant will focus their business on providing accounting services.  It is very uncommon for a skilled person to not focus their business on what they are trained in and feel passionate about.

I established Clearwater VA because I feel passionately about providing key marketing and administration services to small businesses.  All of the services I provide are those which I have practiced in my working life.  I do not supply book keeping services because I am not trained in the arena and quite frankly I am not very interested in the subject.  I provide services which I enjoy delivering.  I am not going to offer a service that I do not feel passionate about, as ultimately I will not deliver to the standards that I demand.

When you first start a business there are many financial burdens.  The tendency will be to look for quick wins in order to get the business quickly established.  This can mean that the business owner will accept a job for a very low rate and will also accept a job that may not necessarily be a part of the core skill set.  An example is that of telemarketing.  As an experience Marketing Manager I have had to manage telesales teams.  People naturally assume that telesales or telemarketing is part of a marketing function.  In reality it’s not.  If you provide a telesales service you have to be passionate about sales, you must be target driven, you must thrive on the buzz of success and you must handle rejection well.  Telesales is a trained art, it will work well if you are passionate about it.  I have been offered work to undertake telesales activities which I have declined.  I am not passionate about this work, I am not confident in this work and therefore I know I will not perform very well.  I will therefore decline the opportunity rather than under deliver and build up a bad reputation.

So my message is to focus on your experience and deliver a service which you are passionate about.  Your business will succeed if you want it to succeed, don’t be drawn in to providing a service which you are not passionate about and will not deliver to a high standard.

Best wishes

Mark