Have you noticed as a solopreneur that your clients become your friends? I have and what a lovely benefit! As a Virtual Assistant, my circle of friends is expanding which makes my job so much nicer. To engage my client, we chat about vacations, family, and general interests. One client lives in the same town as a friend. She sent me a picture of his restaurant. How cool was that!
Benefits of Solopreneur and friends
When working remotely as a Solopreneur, there are pros and cons. I work alone in my office. My husband for the time being is working upstairs. However, I interact with people via phone calls or Zoom. There is no chance meeting at the water cooler. I sometimes miss that chance meeting with someone I normally don’t see or isn’t in my daily routine. My meetings with my clients are scheduled, not by chance. To break up the day and the meeting, I try to start with a personal question or two. My last client call included a picture of his new car!
I like this saying from SmallBiz: “The more you communicate with them and show them you appreciate them, the more likely you are to keep the love alive.”
On-Boarding new clients
For the first month of a client relationship, there were emails and texts looking for clarification and approval. This is common when first on boarding a new client. As the two of us get more comfortable, I noticed we are starting to become friends. This is like making friends at the office.
After the first month of working with a new client, some true colors emerge. Please note so far none of my clients have exhibited the below characteristics.
By establishing boundaries, you can limit the number of times or how the client contacts you. A weekly meeting for check in can help. Some Virtual Assistants have work hours, contact rules and weekend rates built into their contracts.
If your client starts to be distracted, a Virtual Assistant can keep the client on track. The weekly meeting can also be partially an accountability tool. When you include your Virtual Assistant on your project progress, she can help you stay focus.
As a business owner, you can get bogged down in the details without knowing where to go next. The Virtual Assistant does not have the distraction or interruption of your normal business operations. She can see the bigger picture, offer ideas and suggestions, and next steps or improvements. With her expertise, she can offer “out of the box” thinking.
Professional Friendship
There is a fine line between being personal and professional friends. Maintain the professional relationship by engaging in more business chats. Personal chit-chat should be held to a minimum. Some people will try to abuse this “personal” relationship by calling late at night or over the weekend. Some may even try to get you to perform tasks for lower rates.
This professional friendship hopefully creates mutual trust. You share stories, celebrate successes, and learn from mistakes. What a powerful partnership! This does not mean you give up control of your business. But rather, Virtual Assistant is another tool for you, the solopreneur, to utilize to grow your business.
Contact Monmouth Virtual Solutions for your bookkeeping and data analysis needs. We would love to start a professional friendship with you!
