Written by: Teekwa Scarborough, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
This article is not about how to start a virtual assistant business. This article is about starting a virtual assistant business as a Christian. The Christian faith has deep-rooted values such as service, kindness, and generosity. These values should be reflected in your business. There are many ways to do so without sacrificing entrepreneurship or profit. A Christian virtual assistant's goal should be to earn money and live out their faith and bring glory and honor to God through their work.
Starting a business as a Christian entrepreneur has many benefits.
The first one is that it will help you grow in your faith. Jesus said, "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." As an entrepreneur, you are looking for ways to change the world for good. And entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to do that.
The second reason is that starting a Christian business can be very lucrative. Christians have an advantage over other entrepreneurs because they have financial backing and social backing. When I say financial backing, I mean we have strong faith and believe that God will provide all of our needs. For one, we pay our tithes. The Bible says to give God 10% of your earning. Proverbs 3:9, Genesis 14:19-20, Genesis 28:20-22. I grew up in a Christian home and was taught to give 10% of my earnings. I was an off-and-on Christian at the time, but when I was not giving, I was struggling. I made a promise to God at the time that I was going to double my tithes because I felt so bad not giving. Since then, I tithe on from my 9 to 5 and tithe on my earnings from my business. I have been so blessed with referrals to my business, and God blessed me with Grants for my business. Christians are known to have strong ethical standards, which means that they're less likely to make shady deals or cut corners on quality to make more money off their product or service.
Lastly, it's easier for Christians who start because of their strong faith in God. We are not trying to be like everyone else. God made us unique so that we STANDOUT from the rest – Romans 12:2: do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Is the virtual assistant business saturated? YES! Do we care? NO! Why? Because if God brought you the vision, he would assure you that he would take care of you and bring you the business. This does not at all mean that we sit and wait. We still have to do the work to see the fruits of our labor. The Bible says, "Faith without works is dead.
Every company needs to establish its brand.
Branding is how customers recognize a company, its products, and its services. By branding your company, you can show clients what you offer. Branding is the foundation of every company, organization, or event. It conveys an important message about what the organization or event is about and who it's for. A well-branded product stands out on the shelf among competitors because it has a clear identity that people can relate to. An established company brand gives your company credibility and shows people that you are serious about business and deliver quality products and services as promised. Before starting your virtual assistant business, many factors go into defining your company's brand. These factors include a mission statement, values, personality, positioning, tone, colors, fonts, imagery, and more. We should pray about how God wants you to set your business up as a Christian-based business. As Christians, the first mistake we make is not to ask God for direction. To start a successful business, ask for direction. The first year of business was not so successful because I made decisions without him. I did not write the vision of my business, I was not happy with my first logo, and I sought guidance by hiring a coach, which was not the right coach for me at that time. I continued to be frustrated until I surrendered all to God.
Identifying What You Offer and Finding Your Niche.
Many start-ups struggle with the idea of finding their niche and position in the market. They offer a similar service to what others offer and then wonder why they aren't getting any clients. The first step is to determine what you offer and specialize in. From there, think about your target market: who will be buying your service? Most people start by looking at their skills and what they enjoy doing. From there, they look for a place where they need their skills the most and find a way to capitalize on them.
Here are some tips on how to identify your offer and find your niche:
Identify what your target customer wants
Target a specific audience and define their needs
Determine who you want to work with
Know the limitations of your services
Give yourself some time before launching so you can solidify these aspects
Making the Case to Clients and Customers on Why They Should Choose You.
Virtual assistants are no longer just assistants. They can do everything from customer service to content creation to marketing. This means that you need the skills to convince your clients and customers that you are the right choice. You will need to present your services in an engaging way that makes them want to work with you. If you don't have these skills, it may be difficult for you to make a case on why they should choose you. Virtual assistants need to have customer service skills to communicate with customers and represent their services well. In a virtual environment, it is very easy for an assistant to lose touch with the client's needs and forget the details of what was discussed. To be a successful virtual assistant, you need to know how clients think and react. You also need excellent communication skills to interact with them effectively and provide the support they need.
The Art of Landing the Right Clients & Turn Them Into Regulars.
Generating leads for your business is the most important task you need to do. But, if you are new to the business world, it can be challenging at first. However, it is not impossible. Many strategies can help you generate leads for your business clients on demand. You have to find the one that suits your needs best and start implementing it right away! By following these tips below, I'm sure you will be able to generate leads for your business for clients on demand and turn them into regular clients too!
Here are some tips to generate leads and get clients:
Cold calling
Cold calling is the act of making phone calls to potential clients, leads, or prospects to generate new business. A cold call is an unsolicited phone call.
Cold calling can be very intimidating at first, but it's something that all salespeople must be prepared for. Cold calling can take up a lot of your time and effort, but it has the potential to bring in lots of clients and leads for your business – which increases your bottom line.
The best way to get through cold calls is by preparing well-thought-out scripts before you start dialing numbers. You should practice these scripts until you feel confident enough to use them on live calls!
Cold emailing
Cold emails are a great way to generate leads for your business. Cold emails are one of the most efficient ways to reach out to potential clients.
If you are looking for clients, sending cold emails is one of the easiest ways to reach out to potential customers. Cold emailing allows you to reach out and connect with people who have not requested your product or service without being too intrusive.
Social Media
Social media is a powerful marketing tool that has been around for over a decade. These channels allow you to share content with your followers and engage with potential clients.
Social media comes with a plethora of benefits, but it can be hard to take full advantage of them without the right tools. The best social media tools help you optimize your content for social media, connect to the right people, and automate tedious tasks to have more time to improve your business and grow your customer base.
If you are a Christian, your faith can be your strength as you start your virtual assistant business. Starting a virtual assistant business will provide you with the financial freedom to change the world for good without compromising your values. If this resonates with you, I invite you to apply for my BETA course to learn how to become a virtual assistant.
Teekwa Scarborough, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Teekwa Scarborough is a leader in the virtual assistant industry and empowers single women through her singles ministry embracing your season of singles. Having a baby at 19 was not her plan, but through the struggle, trials, and tribulation, she did not let it stop her from pursuing Bachelor's degree. She has maintained that drive and hunger, which has enabled her to launch PowerPro Assistants, a virtual assistant agency, and coaching women under this umbrella. She has empowered 100s of women from different countries to start, grow and launch their businesses. Teekwa said, “starting the business is the easy part, but growing and establishing yourself in the industry is challenging.” Therefore, her organization's main objective is to have a memorable, life-changing experience that will be talked about for years.
