Six years ago when my husband suddenly announced that our family would be moving to France, I thought he had lost his mind. I had good reason to think so. Eight months into a pregnancy with my second daughter and a fledgling virtual assistance practice in tow, I had no intentions of giving up my hard-earned clients in order to move to the Paris.
It was such a tough decision because I wanted to remain in Chicago, my hometown, but the American economy was sluggish at best, and brutal on people like my husband, who had been working in IT. With much regret, we packed up our house, kids, pets and my VA business and moved to the City of Light.
When I arrived, I didn't speak the language yet, and I certainly didn't have any contact with the business culture either. I soon learned it was vastly different from what I was accustomed to back home. It was time to rejuvenate my VA practice, if I was going to remain in business.
If you think about it, every business occasionally needs a shot in the arm – VA practices especially. The same was still true when my family moved to Geneva, Switzerland in 2007. I had to start over and find new outlets for my practice but at least this time, I knew exactly what to expect.
Business rejuvenation allows you to introduce new ideas, gain fresh perspective and set direction for the future. The four tips provided below apply to almost any situation. The trick simply involves finding creative ways of holding on to existing clients while expanding your practice to include new ones.
1. Redefine your current business model
Remember what your business does and stick to the plan. Life's uncertainties can tempt you to go after all available business prospects instead of those that exactly match your business model's description. This is a bad idea because you'll lose your core business' focus and end up performing projects or tasks that are either not very fulfilling or fall out of your realm of expertise.
2. Re-examine your current client list
Rediscover who your clients are and the industries they represent. Take the time to re-evaluate why you enjoy working with them. Besides the fact that my client list has always been comprised of trainers or coaches, they all share certain personality traits and values that fuse perfectly with my own. When you know what makes your client relationships work, acquiring new ones become more of an exercise in interviewing prospects to ensure that they are the right fit for your company rather than the other way around.
3. Discover your company's uniqueness and let your personality shine
Recognize that the VA industry is growing exponentially and is now global. Therefore, you must not only carve out a service niche for your business, but also discover what makes your clients enjoy working with you. Remember that our unique personalities can be one of the strongest weapons in our marketing arsenal, because in the end, it all boils down to the special ways in which we treat and service our clients. For example, clients hire you because they like your personality in addition to the way you conduct business. When they know you, they are more likely to allow you into their network and refer you to other potential clients.
4. Research and evaluate the needs of your new business environment
Check out the local business community and spend time talking to people to find out more about their businesses and the types of services needed. Immediately upon my arrival in France, I started joining training and coaching trade associations, bilingual chambers of commerce and expatriate business and social networking groups. Doing this allowed me to get acquainted with potential clients in my industry and establish my company's presence.
Whether your business is changing locations, embarking on new markets or just needs a makeover, it's always important to evaluate what your business is doing now and determine where it should be going in the future. Moving to a new city, state or country can be frightening, but sometimes change is good and every business deserves a good shot in the arm.
Carolyn Davenport-Moncel is president of MotionTemps, LLC, a virtual assistance firm with offices in Chicago, Paris and Geneva. The firm specializes in managing websites and presentation creation for small-business owners.
