Who’s Running the Show?

You were already busy before you decided to start a business as a Virtual Assistant. Grocery shopping, house cleaning, bill paying, yard work, family and friend time, and maybe a few minutes for yourself (but probably not).

You’ve got dreams. You want to quit your job. You want to work from home. And you want to make your new business as a VA a success so that you can support your family, pay for your kid’s education, or buy a house.

So the question becomes, how do you fit it all in? The simple but unpopular answer is: You don’t.

It’s impossible to keep your “pre-business” life exactly the same and build a business too. It just doesn’t work. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a thriving business and a well-ordered life. It means you’ll need to make some adjustments to your lifestyle.

In my pre-business-owner days, I folded my underwear. Seriously. Into little squares. Now I have cloth-covered boxes in my drawer and organize my underwear in the boxes by type, but I don’t take the time to fold them. Still neat, still organized, but it takes way less time.

Here’s another example: I used to file my paid bills into folders, each neatly labeled and organized by the payee. I took a lot of pride in being able to access any past bill in seconds. But one day, I realized that I never actually went back to reference an old bill… and thought, “What am I doing?” I stopped all the filing and came up with a new time-saving system instead.

Or how about this: I was obsessed with making my bed back in the day. I couldn’t start the work day unless my bed passed military inspection. Now, I’m over it. I’m thrilled when the sheets are clean and happily arrange the covers before I climb in at night.

Small changes. Big impact.

Think about this:

1. Everything is not a priority. I know it can feel like you have a million priorities, but by definition, a priority is “a thing that is regarded as more important than another.” And that means you have to choose. Bike riding with your kids or cleaning the bathroom. I’m all for the bike ride.
2. You get to decide what’s important. As natural people pleasers, putting others’ choices before our own is easier. Don’t do that. Be an example of someone who lives by their values and goes for their dreams. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
3. Life isn’t perfect. I used to think my job was to make everything perfect and that there was value in doing so. I was wrong. What’s more valuable than a life filled with perfection is having experiences and building relationships with the people who are important to me, which can be pretty messy.

Being a successful business owner is much more about self-discovery than budgets and client management. Embrace what’s truly important to you, and you can build the thriving business you’ve always wanted.

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