I'm really lost right now. I attended the IVAA online conference, and they talked a lot about niches, and it all made sense, but how do you figure your niche? Is there a good book or article on this? All I've seen so far talks about using your hobbies/interests as a guideline, but that isn't helpful at all.

Hi Amanda

Perhaps this article will be of use to you - http://us.deskdemon.com/pages/us/va/article/nicheva

Hi Amanda, you may find this thread here on VAF helpful as well. Running virtual assistant niche list

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Genovia
Genwil Business Solutions

What services do you currently offer and is there a particular service that you really enjoy doing? If there is, that could possibly be your niche!

I don't have a niche as yet, but offer general VA services while I build my business. With that said, I am looking at Social Media, Internet Marketing and Writing as my niche because they all tie together and are what I enjoy doing. I will still offer the general VA services, but will target ideal clients for my niche.

I hope that helps!

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Margaret

I'm so new that I don't have clients yet, so I thought while I'm looking for clients, I should figure out my niche, so I could narrow my focus on where to look for clients. I'm thinking maybe general admin assistance, servicing musicians/photographers/speakers/authors/creative types....specializing in personal concierge services, but I don't know if that works very well or not.

My niche is bookkeeping and office support, and my target market is 1-yr-old entrepreneurs companies and 1-person law firms. So, your niche would be general admin assistance specializing in personal concierge services and your target market would be musicians/photographers/speakers/authors/creative types. Does that make sense?

Yes! Thank you. Now I just need to find which forum I can discuss tag lines & branding ideas. I love this site!

Hi Amanda
I am in the same boat as you so to speak my business niche is bookkeeping and business administration and I also offer the other top up general VA services however I have yet to settle on my niche (target) market who will really benefit from my range of services.
The market is tight and at the moment I am just trying to network as much as possible. We have so many bookkeeping businesses run from home here in SA the only difference between them and myself is that I am able to handle other business tasks as well such as office organization and PA work for the busy entrepreneur.
Basically I think it is really through trial and error that you will really figure out where you niche is. As other members have suggested try start with offering the services you most enjoy e.g.event planning , design of invitations and business stationery and then from there you have to move onto your who your niche target market will be in terms of who would most benefit from the use of the services you provide. It is not an easy process and as I said mine is still work in progress in terms of my niche marketing strategy that I still need to implement.
Good Luck
Amanda

I don't think you have to 'rush into' a niche. I totally support the idea of doing 'general admin work' when you are starting out. You can take courses in all kinds of techie subjects and add those to your list of services. Over time you'll soon discover which tasks you enjoy and which you would rather drop. The ones you enjoy just organically become your niche! I felt all stressed and pressured to choose a niche when I first started too...but I honestly believe it takes time to figure out! You'll do great - enjoy your business!

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www.thebrainygal.com

I agree with Brainy Gal. You don't always know what your niche is when starting out but as you sift through various tasks you'll figure out which one fulfills you the most. At the moment do a variety of work which kind of suits me as well but further down the line I'll sit down and review the work I've done, my clients, what has proved most successful and what I would like to do.

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Sabrina L. Williams
Your Property and Admin Needs Made Simple