I am working on my business plan and was hoping for some input from current VAs who know what possible clients of VAs are looking for. Also, how have you received information about if there is a need for the services you have to offer? The VA industry is so broad, it is hard to get to the details of possible client needs.

I plan to specialize in marketing. This includes marketing strategy planning and implementation, Internet marketing and even graphic design.

I appreciate your input!

Shannon

Shannon,

Each client has different needs. I just came off a very large event where we talked to upwards of 150 business owners. Their biggest concerns were marketing, promotion and organization.

There are very little concrete facts and numbers because our industry is broad. I do know there is a need for what we provide because I have a full funnel and continue to meet business owners who stress that they need help.

With that said, because there are so many colleagues that come and go it is hard to get a true picture. Many emerging VA's think that this is an easy route when loosing a job or making a life change however they tend to forget it is a business and there are times you will wear many hats.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

We've found that it's difficult to predict what a potential client will need as far as VA services. We always make it a point in the initial consult to find out what services they will be using us for so we can make sure to focus on those specific tasks when working with them.

If you have a specialty, such as marketing, you can maybe try finding a niche that would most likely need your services. Then, reach out to them and let them know about you and how you can help them.

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Lauren & Melanie - VaVa Virtual Assistants www.VaVaVirtual.com

Shannon, have you thought about posing this sort of question to your potential clients?

You could join Linkedin groups that you think may be a good "meeting place" for the kind of clients you'd like to work with, or ask local networking groups to help. Then post a message with your questions or create a short online survey. Let people know that you are doing marketing research to establish the need for your kind of services and see what responses you get.

Aside from helping you with your business plan, by doing a survey I think it shows your PCs that you are thorough, organized, and focused on their needs. Plus it gets your name out there!

I'd be curious to know if anyone has ever done anything like this, and whether it was effective. If so, it could be a useful idea even if you are an established VA considering offering a new service.

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Linda
Clockwise Virtual Assistance

I think Linda is definitely on the right track here. It is a great idea to approach potential clients like that. You can speak to local business owners to get an idea of what their business lacks and what services or expertise they would like to bring on board as well as finding out what their concerns are.

When I speak to potential clients, I have an initial contact form where I ask a series of questions to get an idea of how their business is set up, what a typical working day would be, the tasks that take up the bulk of their time, the ones they do not like to do and the aspects of their job they would really like to focus on. It just gives me an idea of how I can adapt my services to their specific needs.

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Sabrina L. Williams
For a bird's eye view of your business