Getting Back to Your Virtual Assistant Business – Think Like a CEO Pt. 2
In last week’s blog, Association of Virtual Assistants member Lee Edralinda of Virtualee shared her expertise on getting back to your virtual assistant business. The first step covered was thinking like a CEO – your mindset. This week Lee shares the actionable steps to take as the CEO of your virtual assistant business.
90-Day Goal Planning
Begin with 90-day goal planning which means focusing on just one theme for 90 days. Since I am at the stage of relaunching my virtual assistant business after the summer season, my theme for the next 90 days is going to focus on visibility. The end goal is to make sure that within 90 days, I should be able to bring in more opportunities and more clients while getting back the attention of my existing clients. The actions that I need to execute within 90 days have to be moving towards the direction of the process goal.
There is a thin line between process goals and aspirational goals. Let’s say my aspirational goal is to have at least 10 more clients within 90 days. My process goal should be building connections with at least 20 potential clients within 90 days. This is the goal that I have control over. Once executed then I can achieve the aspirational goal.
Prioritization When you’re running your business as a CEO does, there are many other things that you need to do aside from your focus goal over the next 90 days. This is where you need to begin prioritizing your work. Ask yourself, what are the top three things that I need to do this week that will help me achieve my main goal? Make sure that everything is listed. Give yourself a weekly deadline. The top three action plans are your “must-do” CEO tasks for the week that will lead you into achieving the end result that you want and as you’ve listed.
Why limit it into just three action items? So that you will stay focused on your business. Keep in mind that as a CEO, you have your day-to-day tasks as well. Lots of them! Having more than three action items a week for your focus goal may hurt how you run your business. Sometimes, you may be a little ahead. If that happens, then, by all means, add another priority CEO task. It pays to have a buffer too! However, don’t forget that scheduling a weekly time off for yourself also needs to be a priority. This is very important for you to recuperate. It doesn’t have to be another vacation. But, check your calendar first. Remember, a CEO plans.
Systems & Scheduling List down all the goals that you want to achieve within 90 days in addition to your main goal. Once you already have a clear picture of the things that you want to achieve, break down your action plans into 30 days, 60 days, and finally, 90 days. To further manage your actions and accomplishments, break them into weeks.
You might want to consider project management software. I use Avaza. Create a calendar and post three to five actions steps for the week. Make sure to check them off once you’ve accomplished each step. Then, look back at your 30, 60, 90-day plan and repeat the process. Simultaneously, consider your planned time off as well to ensure that you will be able to cover all your action steps for the week.
Schedule a specific day and time in a week to do this planning. Brian Tracy said that a minute of planning saves 10 minutes of your time from thinking what to do next. To make sure that you’re on track, schedule a weekly CEO date when you will check all the accomplishments you’ve made based on the plan you’ve posted. I advise that you do this two days before your planned time off so that you still have a day to work on any adjustments you’ve made during your CEO date.
Nothing helps you better prepare for the future of your company like creating and working a plan. As the CEO you owe it to not only your business, but yourself.
About the Author Lee Edralinda is a virtual assistant, online business manager, and web designer. She is a self-development junkie who spends her time off taking courses or reading books about mindset, the law of attraction, or manifestation.
She is the founder of Virtualee that provides services to female coaches and course creators, and she has an amazing team behind her. To know more about her and the services that she provides, visit http://www.virtualee.co or https://www.facebook.com/virtualee.co/.
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