I Just Need X More Clients

I hear this often from my Virtual Assistant students:  “I just need X more clients and I’ll be all set.”

I’ve never understood this, since the quantity of work for each client fluctuates greatly. I have worked with over 200 clients these last 11 years and not one of them has remained consistent with how much of my time they need.

My client Bob had stretches of months where I was working with him for 7-10 hours a week. Over the past six months, he has hardly needed my attention at all.

There are many reasons for this. Much of my work depends on my clients’ work. Let’s say my client Diane has a big project going on with HER client -  she will need a lot of my time. But when her project is over, so is her need for my assistance.

Some clients will have routine work like email newsletters or social media posts that happen every single week or month, but that’s all they need my help with.

Others will have specific projects that have an ending point, like helping them migrate to a new software application, or sending out snail mail holiday cards.

So, instead of looking at your business in terms of how many clients, think in terms of how many billable hours you need per week to hit your monthly or yearly revenue goal and aim for that instead.

To figure out your number, use this equation:

Revenue = Billable Hours X Hourly Rate

When you’re consistently hitting your weekly billable hour target, you have the right number of clients.

But that’s no time to rest on your laurels. It’s important to continue your “sprinkling” marketing efforts to bring in new clients every month, in order to continue to have enough billable work as your client’s workloads fluctuate.

While it might seem chaotic (until you get used to it), having a large number of clients is a beautiful thing. It keeps your business secure and steady, because as clients come and go, you’ll still have plenty of work coming in.

So the next time you think you need more clients to reach your goals, figure out how many more hours you need and focus on that!

If you’re not already a member of our Facebook Group, The Virtual Assistant Connection, and would like to join, here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevaconnection/