Last month I joined the SheMentors community to celebrate their 2nd birthday with Rachel Service, aka the Happiness Concierge. Rachel was speaking on the topic of ‘how to sell yourself authentically’ and one of the first things she said resonated with me.
Opportunities are attached to people.
A-men! The most common question I hear from new VAs (or anyone in a new service-based business) is where do I find clients? And aside from the logistics of setting up your business, this is what people really mean when they ask ‘how do I get started?’
I put feelers out in a few avenues when I started my business (including a listing on Upwork, and some Facebook ads) and hands down the most effective method was getting in front of people and having conversations with them. This looked like:
telling friends and family what I do
People can’t engage your services if they don’t know what you do so you have to get comfortable talking about it, and your immediate circle is generally the best place to practice. Yes, there will be naysayers but don’t worry about them — it’s probably coming from a place of concern about where your next meal will come from, not actively trying to tear you down.
I was fortunate to be part of some fantastic, supportive blogging communities with a number of entrepreneurs so while this was technically part of the ‘friends and family’ network I was planting the seed with people who knew people that I can help.
attending in-person networking events and conferences
Some time in my first year of business I realised that I’m actually quite an introvert, which explained why I find networking SO HARD. I quickly saw the value to my business though (and it fast-tracked getting comfortable talking about it) so I pushed through and put myself out there. I met my first ‘real’ client at a conference and 2 or 3 others at networking events. Not to mention getting in front of people who knew people who might need my services, so I was top of mind when those conversations happened later.
online networking
There are about 8 trillion* Facebook groups for women in business, solo business owners, virtual assistants, MLMs, [your town] businesses, online business owners — you name it, you can find a group for it. Find your tribe online and get amongst it (whether it’s Facebook groups, in a forum, or elsewhere).
And remember, you’re not here to sell. In the same way that you wouldn’t walk into a networking event and say ‘hi I’m Tahlia, hire me’ (hopefully), you don’t want to blast people in online groups. You’re there to join the conversation, and build connections. Answer people’s questions. Share tips. Help people with no expectation of a return. This lets you demonstrate your expertise and become known for what you do. And it can lead to great things — I ‘met’ an overseas client in a Facebook group and offered to help her with a 5-minute task. 18 months later she was one of my biggest clients, and a great friend.
Word of mouth has consistently been my biggest referral source (including being referred by people I haven’t met – how cool is that!) and that’s because I got out there, IRL and online, and had conversations with people. That’s what Rachel was getting at when she said opportunities are attached to people — people need what you do, or they know someone who might, or they can point you in the right direction to take an important next step (or discover your new favourite hobby, who knows?) And all you have to do is have a real conversation with them.
*not fact-checked but probably pretty accurate.
3 simple steps to get started outsourcing
If you know you need to start outsourcing but find the thought totally overwhelming, I’ve got you! Enter your details here and I’ll send you my new resource, Outsourcing Made Easy, that will show you the 3 simple steps you need to get started outsourcing effectively.
