Business Plan for Virtual Assistant

Part 2

If you’re not going after funding or investors of any sort, a less formal virtual assistant business plan outlining goals and assets would be more convenient.  The following outline is a more relaxed version of the above formal style:

1. You

a. What is your experience?  Do you have a detailed, current résumé?  Portfolio?  Writing samples?
b. What are your strengths?
c. What are your weaknesses?

2. Your Business

a. What is your business?  You should be able to explain this in one or two sentences.
b. What services do you provide?  What, if any, products do you provide?
c. Is it a needed service/product in your community?  Why?
d. Where do you see your business in one year?  Three years?  Five years?  Twenty?  Be as specific as possible.  (You’ll come back to this section later.)
e. What do you think your rates are going to be set at?  Payment policies?  Other fees?

3. Your Goals

a. What are your business goals (use the ones from the step above)?  Financial goals?  Career goals?  Personal goals?  Be as specific as possible.
b. When do you want to achieve each of these goals by?  Set deadlines to reach them.  Be aggressive with your deadlines, but don’t make them unreachable.
c. What are the steps needed to accomplish each of these goals?  List everything needed to accomplish each one.  This will be your plan of action.  It’s also helpful to print out a sheet with this plan of action and hang it on the wall above your desk or somewhere else where you can see it on a daily basis.  Keep your goals in front of you.

4. Your Budget

a. How will you fund your business?  Do you need a loan?  Will you put your office expenditures on a credit card?  Remember to figure in any and all finance charges from any borrowed monies when you’re looking at the financial picture. 
b. What equipment do you already have?  What equipment do you need?  How much does whatever you need cost?  How long would be a reasonable time to get it? 
c. What office supplies do you need?  How much do these cost? 
d. Do you need any permits or licenses in your community (be sure to look at state and county/city requirements)?  What do these cost? 
e. Are there any organizations that you should join to help grow your business?  Are there any membership dues or meeting fees that should be figured into your budget? 
f. Are there any trade publications that would help keep you current on trends in your industry?  What are the subscription fees? 
g. Will you need to provide your own insurance (health, liability, etc.)?  What are these costs?
h. Are there any other miscellaneous expenditures that should be figured in?  Client lunches/dinners?  Higher utility bills?  Higher phone/internet bills?

5. Your Marketing Plan

a. Who is your target customer or client?  If possible, include the sex, age, occupation, income bracket, business type, etc.
b. What publications does this ideal client read?  What sites would they be most likely to visit?
c. What type of organizations would they belong to?  Is it feasible to join these yourself?
d. Are there any alternate ways of “reaching” this ideal client without having to take out an ad?  Would a press release, networking, writing an article, sending a direct mail piece or introductory letter or teaching a class or seminar work just as well for less money?
e. If you do have to place an ad, where would be the most effective place and how much will it cost?  Will you design these yourself or have someone do it for you?  What are their costs?
f. Are you going to have your own website?  Are you skilled enough to do it yourself or do you need to hire someone to do it?  What are their rates? 
g. Are there other ways to advertise on the Internet?  Do any of these cost you money?
h. Brainstorm some other advertising ideas.  Think of flyers, brochures, car signs, networking events, wearing “logo’ed” clothing, etc.  What are the costs, if any, of these?

6. Your Competition

a. Make the Yellow Pages and the Internet your best friend.  Look up any competitors in your area.  Since Virtual Assistance is a somewhat new field, look up Secretarial Professionals, as well as any other heading you may fall under.  Examples would include Desktop Publishers, Web Developers, Web Hosting Companies…  Once you’ve researched your local area, do an Internet Search for VAs offering similar services to yours.  Look over their sites and see their rate information, payment information, etc.
b. Have any of your competitors gone out of business recently?  Why?
c. What makes your business different from your competitor’s business?  (Include price, quality, unique services, and so on.)
d. How does your competitor get customers? 
e. How much is your competitor charging?
f. How well is your competitor’s business doing?  Why?

7. Other Expenses to Consider

a. Are you going to need to put any little ones in daycare?  Hire a sitter?  How many hours do you need to cover?  What is the cost?
b. Is there a room in the house where I can set up an office?  How much, if anything, will it cost?

8. Miscellaneous Information to Include in Your Plan

a. What will my working hours be?
b. Will clients come to your house?  Will you go to theirs?  Meet at a neutral location, such as a restaurant or coffee shop?
c. Will you need to use your car for the business? 
d. If you’re offering any products, who will you use for your suppliers?
e. How much money do you need to make each month to help the family survive?  Each year?

After writing an informal plan like this one, make sure to figure up your total costs and how much money you need to get your business off the ground or what your ongoing costs will be.  Take all of this into consideration when you’re re-evaluating your rates, fees and payment policies.

Re-visit your plan.

Make sure, once you’ve written your business plan, that you re-visit your business plan every six to twelve months to update goals, information, etc.  Keep everything current – financial information, any new skills you have or services you’ve added, any new subcontractors or advisors that you’re using, and more.