Running A Six Figure Virtual Assistant Company – How Much Time Does It Really Take?

by Michelle Dale on

I received a comment over the weekend on one of my blog posts which was from a fellow virtual assistant, and she was asking me a really brilliant question, “What I’d really like to know though, is how many hours do you average nowadays? I really wonder is it possible to achieve and maintain a 6-figure income, mostly online, without working huge hours?“

When I read this question, I thought to myself this may come up more than once, so I decided to answer this more in-depth than just via a comment. You can skip to the part where I tell you what my schedule is, or you can read my intro

First off, I have always been an entrepreneur before being a virtual assistant, so my mind is constantly racing with ideas and thoughts regarding online business and all the brilliant things we can do as virtual assistants to service our clients and expand our companies, so most of the time my head is working around the clock 24/7 – and because I have this kind of creative entrepreneurial mind, and I have pretty much got my own virtual assistant business to where I want it to be, I have now started offering my services to other VA’s in order to help them create the same kind of business I have, that’s the reason why I started this blog, and why I am now offering coaching, creative and technical assistance to other VA’s in the industry, so my head doesn’t explode and the ideas can actually be used by people who need help in this area of their business.

So in terms of my time in general, my personal life, my virtual assistant business and my other ventures and projects all blend in together like Neapolitan ice-cream, and take up all my time.

However! In terms of ‘just’ Virtual Miss Friday which is my virtual assistant business, I now primarily do consulting, and advising, I come up with plans, ideas and solutions for clients and their businesses, based on their goals and what they want to achieve, and then my team will help me implement these plans efficiently and effectively, as most of them specialise in specific areas of the industry, and in some cases can do the task in hand better than me, (let’s face it, we can’t all be good at everything) this works out well for all parties, and I also find this way of providing virtual assistance has certainly yielded the best results for my clients. It basically means the master plans can come together as a whole, implemented by a group of people who work together to produce the end result, I ensure everything goes through smoothly, I troubleshoot, research and oversee everything. I then make sure that my administrative team are fully equipped with everything they need, including instructions and directions on how to service the clients general administration and office requirements, via a retainer package for example. I basically do what I do best, but of course this happened over time and it was not an overnight transition

My Virtual Assistant Company Schedule

So putting all of my other personal projects aside, which are not directly related to Virtual Miss Friday, I do still work daily in my virtual assistant business, and this is what I do on average per week, part of it is paid consulting work and part of it is my overall business management, such as marketing, networking, estimates, new client consultations, support requests and general enquiries, discussing projects with clients and team members, invoicing, delegating new project or administration requests and online meetings.

Please note on Monday’s and Tuesday’s I am still contracted with a client to provide VA services myself personally, so this can take between around 8 to 10 hours across those 2 days per week. The time stated below is actual concentrated time I need where I can focus my attention and be productive, and it does not include tea breaks .

MONDAY – Up to 8 hours
TUESDAY – Up to 6 hours
WEDNESDAY – Up to 4 hours
THURSDAY – Up to 4 hours
FRIDAY – Up to 4 hours

I generally don’t work on weekends unless there is some sort of urgent project/task or there’s a technical disaster, those are very rare!

This is an ‘average,’ some of it I do in my office, and some remotely via my iPad or laptop, and of course there are certain times when I have to work more or less than others, when I work more, it’s usually if a client has larger projects with important deadlines they are working on and they need more of my attention, if a member of my team is away, I will often step in and take over – I can do everything myself – I started off this way and I still can do pretty much everything myself if need be, so I can always rely on myself as a contingency, and I also help out the creative team with design work and tasks such as video editing and design and website development, at times I may also have a handful of clients on a VIP package which I have set up to cater for the clients who require a higher degree of my personal attention, so again, during such times, I often work longer hours when I am providing cover, or when we have overspill work, which needs to be done.

But none of these things I have mentioned above are consistent, and they are more the exception than the rule.

Really the key to working less and earning more is finding reliable, high quality, skilled people to assist you, and then ensuring you have mutual respect for each other.

How Is It Possible…

Just to let you know, there is absolutely no way I could have started this blog and ventured into helping virtual assistants had I not made some serious changes in my business, I was really way too busy to entertain the idea, but very determined to want to help people, so in order to do this I needed to shift a few things.

The schedule of working in my VA business wasn’t always like this, and in all honesty I used to put many, many, (many!) more hours in, which meant eventually I had to make some quite strategic changes to the structure of my business in order to be able to take on a more defined role as a consultant, which is where my talents are, but also still be able to work closely with my clients, and implement the advice I was giving, along with all the technical elements to it, and make everything happen for the client ‘under one roof,’ so to speak.

On Wednesday I am posting an article on exactly how I did this, and what those strategic structural changes actually were. This will help any virtual assistant who wants to expand into more of a scalable enterprise and continuously increase revenue, whilst retaining their sanity and still having a life

Since I wrote the post about the revenue in my VA business, it has continued to increase, and since making the strategic changes which I am going to walk you through on Wednesday, my hours have decreased considerably, allowing more of a balance between life, work and my other projects, while still being able to consistently increase income.

What Kind Of Hours Do You Work As A Virtual Assistant?

Everyone who leaves a comment which is approved, will receive a FREE copy of my eBook "REALISTIC - Down To Earth Online Marketing", I will send you a copy via email, so if this is your first comment, be sure to use your email address, thanks!

Here's To Your Virtual Assistant Business Success!

http://www.virtualbusinesslifestyle.com/ Chris C. Ducker

Hunky Dory… Have always loved that saying.

So happy to see this post/video, Michelle. Its great that you've been able to escape the longer hours that a lot of entrepreneurs have to endure.

The fact is that you've worked hard to build your business up, you've marketed it well enough to get good quality clients, and you've now been smart enough to utilize the things you know of to help you continue to grow, but on YOUR terms.

That is absolutely awesome. Plain and simple.

Keep rockin'.

C

http://virtualassistant-live.com/ Michelle, Virtual Miss Friday

Thanks so much Chris for your comment, it is very much appreciated – believe me I am happy to be able to finally write this post. It was around the time I was thinking of making this change that I found VBL, and I was very inspired by your efforts to become a full time virtual CEO

To be honest I think I could probably eventually reduce it even more if I had too. I still do around 8 hours a week as a VA which I like actually, it keeps me grounded and I remember where my roots are, plus I keep myself involved now out of a personal choice, not because I am chained to the business, like you say, a lot of entrepreneurs are feeling the pressure of that.

It's like climbing Everest and then reaching the top, it's hard work on the way up, you may trip and fall a few times, but when you finally get there, you can look at everything you have accomplished and feel kinda proud of yourself, not to mention relieved lol.

Jo_b

The VA Apprentice course is absolutly amazing and at the moment, I find that I am working non office hours, but my company has existed for nearly 3 years and I've worked hard in the last few months than in the years before that – but everything has been focused and I'm really excited about being so close to re-launch! I'm actually looking forward to working harder – and at the moment, I love working!
Your idea's are always awesome

http://virtualassistant-live.com/ Michelle, Virtual Miss Friday

Awww thanks Jo, that really means a lot to me. I really can't believe we only have 1 module left until blast off! It has flown by… I am so excited for all of you, you have all worked so hard getting the preparation done. Jo, your business has gone through such a brilliant transformation, you should be really proud of yourself – I most certainly am

Jo_b

Thank you Michelle

http://twitter.com/VIPVirtualSols Alexandra Popovic

Thanks so much Michelle for answering my question. Glad it prompted this post and now I can't wait for Wednesday's!

I was speaking to someone about this recently and they said “Well Alex, you know you can't achieve your goal without working very hard for it” almost as if I wasn't prepared to do so, and I found that strange as I've always believed that anything worthwhile and for the long haul was ONLY possible to accomplish with hard work – and that's not something I shy away from.

I know there are no “shortcuts” which is not what I'm interested in, simply working smarter whilst helping people and doing what I love. However, I have 3 young children of my own and basically raise them without any side help so I often battle with the irony and guilt of being really busy with my own client's and biz dev, and consequently sometimes having to put my kids and their needs second.

My primary motivation for starting my virtual assistance business, like many, was and still is to improve the overall quality of our lives and yet I know realistically had I gone back to the corporate world my children would be getting much less of my time, attention and energy.

As a mother yourself, how have you dealt with this? (is that another blog post??!)

p.s/ Happy International Women's Day!!!

http://virtualassistant-live.com/ Michelle, Virtual Miss Friday

Hi Alex, you are most welcome, it's was really timely with everything that has recently happened in my business.

It has been pretty tough, but no pain no gain right… The only shortcut I wish I could of had would be to have someone keep me on the straight and narrow, focus my attention on the things I really needed to work on to develop the business, and help me get those right first time. I then could have done with someone ongoing who I could go to and say… “I want to do this, what do you think?” and they give me an honest answer based on their own experience rather than an opinion, someone honest enough to tell me I am nuts or tell me I am onto something – It's really why I created the TVAA course, so I can be that person to other people, the person I never had! Who knows, in years to come, those people I help will then start mentoring too – the more good mentors there are the merrier as far as I am concerned.

I understand the guilt thing – believe me, but I came to the conclusion a while back, that my family is not 'The Waltons” and never will be lol. We do the best we can, and that's all we can do. At the end of the day, children need love, and laughs and someone to hold them tight when they are scared, or stroke their head when they are not feeling well – just because you work hard doesn't mean to say you can't be there for them when they need you, and in time – if you can put the work in now, you will be able to spend much more time with them. After I made the changes I made in my business, I was able to do that, and I am making up now for the time I missed before…

Happy International Women's Day! – Do you know I have never heard of that before lol

Thanks so much for your comment Alex.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4S3YFIB2CHJLIZIGN3XMFJCMR4 Yvette Bryars – Versatile VA

Thanks for your insight Michelle. I am struggling to build my clientele currently. I was laid off in 2007 and have trying to find a full time position but I am always told that I am over qualified. The poor state of the economy and the fact that I struggle with marketing my business and presenting a really good value proposition has made it difficult to grow. I still get that “eyes glazed over” look when I try to explain to people what I do for a living. I am becoming more specialized and doing more of what I am passionate about, which is design. I've also had some health issues to get behind me and am working on revamping my entire business, getting away from the virtual assistant aspect, since that causes so much confusion still, and referring to myself more as an administrative consultant / designer. I have no real support system in place, no one to bounce ideas off of, no one to tell me if an idea stinks or if it's a jewel, no one to guide me in what it means to be an entrepreneur. Like you, my head is always swimming with ideas and it is helpful to get information on what I am supposed to do with that. I am still very lost in a lot of areas but the information you provide is valuable in assisting those like myself.

Thanks for taking the time to share.

Yvette

http://virtualassistant-live.com/ Michelle, Virtual Miss Friday

Hi Yvette,

Thanks so much for visiting and for sharing your story, it sounds like you have had a really tough time over the last few years, but well done you for sticking with your business.

I think it's great that you are making the changes to your business which you feel will help contribute to improving your success, experience is all based on trying new things and seeing what happens as a result.

I started my business in 2007, and personally, I stopped explaining to people what I was just a couple of months into it, you are right, nobody understood what it was I was doing, but it was all very new back then.

I actually switched from explaining “what” I am, to explaining how what I “do” can help that individual… So for example, if someone comes to you and says what do you do, and you do your elevator pitch for a virtual assistant or administrative consultant/designer, and they are still unsure, simply ask, “okay, what do you do” they may come back and say “I own an ice-cream factory” you can then tell them all the great ways that you can help people who own an Ice-cream factory, such as design them a new website where people can pre-order Ice-cream online, create smart looking brochures, or flyers, help them market their Ice-cream online through social media, anything really that you can think of.

That's when they will understand, when you start speaking their language, and not the language of the virtual assistant. Try it out, and let me know how it goes

Yvette, if you want to run any specific ideas by me, I would be happy to give you my thoughts on them.

I hope this helps, and good luck in everything you do, and thank you again
http://www.businessassistuk.co.uk Maxine Fack

Hi Yvette,

I can too can understand where you are coming from. I have 7 children of varying ages and sometimes feel guilty when its late and I am still tapping away, the house is a mess and I havent spend much time with them asking about their day or helping them with homework like all the other mums do (or appear to).

However, our house seems to be a laid back haven of chaos and all the kids friends love coming over so we must be doing something right. I don't have to palm them out in the holidays and if they get sick or forget something at school a mercy dash is no problem. I can adapt my schedule when I need to or choose to!

Being an ex corporate myself there is no comparison. I now have a good infrastructure of network friends, a feeling of TEAM (thanks to Michelle) and a purpose. My husband is happy and supportive, he works from home too so we get to spend more time together and we can both work anywhere in the world so we can travel around together. I wouldnt go corporate again for all the tea in china.

I may not be earning the exec salary that I was before I was made redundant but the change in lifestyle is worth it. We just eat more veg from the garden and spend less on suits and bling. Happier and probably healthier.

Keep going it will all be worth it in the end.

Maxine

http://virtualassistant-live.com/ Michelle, Virtual Miss Friday

Thanks Maxine, I nearly fell of my chair when I found out you had 7 kids, I have 2 and it's pandemonium! You are an inspiration to us all, and always so laid back, taking life in your stride. Good for you x

http://www.VirtualAdminPro.com Kimberly

Hi Michelle,

After watching your intro video and reading this blog article, I am hopeful that I can apply your insights and advice to expanding my own VA business. I started my business in 2008, after being laid off due to the downturn in the economy. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention! I had over 15 years of experience in office administration and operations, with a strong background in project management, but was not finding a traditional job that I thought I could stand going to 5 days a week and paid what I felt I was worth. After doing some research online, I discovered the virtual assistant business concept and Virtual Admin Pro was born.

Now that I have been growing my VA business for a few years, I have several long-term, dependable clients who have referred new clients to me as well. That's wonderful, but I am working so many hours now that I don't think I can take on more work without some help. This is what brought me to your site – I need a solid plan for expanding my business and advice from someone who has “been there, done that.” I have a general idea of how to do this, but it's a little scary to give up control over some of the work to others… I'm a bit of a perfectionist and am concerned about maintaining the quality standards for my clients. However, I know that I have hit a wall and that the only way to increase my income and move to the next level is to build a virtual team.

I look forward to learning more from you and am very excited about growing my business!

Best wishes,
Kimberly Christensen

http://virtualassistant-live.com/ Michelle, Virtual Miss Friday

Hi Kimberly, Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story, and I can completely understand and appreciate where you are coming from. I guess you have a choice now to either turn clients down due to being over capacity, or start expanding, it sounds like you have made your decision. For me this was a no brainer, I wanted to keep servicing different people, but like you, I was extremely concerned about maintaining standards.

The last thing you want to do is burn out and risk losing your existing clients, or worse, risk your own health. The key to a smooth expansion is being prepared and having some sort of a plan in place to introduce sub-contractors/team members into your business, you need to know beforehand exactly what you would like them to do, and how you want them to fit into your business before you begin your journey. Giving up work is scary, but as long as you take it in stages, you will be fine

Kimberly, if there is anything specific you would like me to blog about regarding this do let me know, I am happy to help, and very pleased to welcome you to the blog!

All the best,
Michelle

http://virtualassistant-live.com/ Michelle, Virtual Miss Friday

Hi Syd, I am very pleased to here you found the post useful, that’s what they are her for Best of luck on journey through the VA world, if there is anything I can help with, please let me know.
Felicia

Hi. My name is Felicia Trammell and just as you said above my mind is constantly racing about new things to do online. I am currently trying to start my own VA business and would love all the help that you can give me. I am praying to be able to launch my business at least by the February or no later March 2012. I have been doing everything on my own so far and following forums. I bought an ebook from one of the forums that I use that has also been helpful. I would love for you to reply back to me at trammelladmsolution@gmail.com with any information that you can share with me.

http://virtualassistant-live.com/ Michelle Dale

Hi Felicia, I would love to help you. A great place to begin would be to look over my VA Journey, http://www.virtualassistant-live.com/the-va-journey/ and see what you can take-away from there. The VA Passport is the place to be if you need support while starting up, or The VA Apprentice, if you would like the complete business programme. I hope this helps! I will email you this info aswell