The Problem...
When I first embarked on my journey of starting my own VA business, I read A LOT of articles, blogs, advice, courses, etc. I wanted to know how I could do this and become successful at it. I wasn’t trying to just take a stab in the dark. One thing almost every article said, was that to be successful, I had to find “my niche.” Now listen, I KNOW what a niche is. According to Merriam-Webster, a niche is “a place, position, status, or activity that a person or thing is best suited for.” In my mind it’s equivalent to a “specialty.” I KNOW all of that, but I could not figure out what my niche was in the Virtual Assisting world. I am a General Administrative VA, do you hear that, GENERAL, which is the exact opposite of have a “niche” or “specialty.” In my mind I could not get my head around the fact that I am supposed to find a niche in a generalized profession. Now sure, admin could be the niche, but admin VAs are common (I would say “a dime a dozen”, but then it sounds like I am not important) and even VAs with niches or specialized skills do admin work sometimes. So, what was going to make me stand out?
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General Admin VA...
I struggled with this for months (and I mean like…the struggle was reeeeal), almost exactly one year in fact. During this year (the first year that my company was open and running). I did not have any clients, well I had ONE client, but that was it. I could not figure out how to market myself in order to get new clients. Trying to market a general admin VA with no niche, was problematic to say the least. Everything I came up with just sounded so generic, overdone, and uninspired. Hell, I wouldn’t have wanted to hire me either. As I mentioned, during this time I only had one client. I was doing a massive cataloging/inventory project for them, and they kept me busy. But I knew that this was going to end sometime soon, so I was still thinking about my niche dilemma. To be honest, I really don’t like to word niche anymore, like REALLY don’t like it, because I had to think about it so much during this time. It’s like a four-letter word to me now, and I swear I still cringe when I hear it.
I'm Getting Desperate Here...
As my cataloging project was ending, I read and researched more than ever. I delved into any literature I could find, just trying to unlock the secret of “finding my niche.” I am one of those atypical people who legitimately LOVE doing admin work. The type of work that most people consider “boring” is my jam. I love it, seriously. So, I didn’t just want to pick a popular niche and learn how to do it, I wanted, no needed, to find a niche that was within the admin bubble. Otherwise known as my happy bubble. Alas, no matter how hard I tried, I was still coming up with zilch, nada, blank. And as you might suspect…my project ended. So, there I was, no clients, no work, lots of bills, and no niche. At this point I was desperate, so I started applying to any post I could find on Upwork that even remotely related to what I wanted to do.
Hitting the pavement...metaphorically...
I applied to TONS of posts. I was even buying extra connects just to be able to apply to more jobs. After a couple of weeks, I started getting some hits. Then I got my first client. Woohoo! It was nowhere near the money I was charging, but it was something and I jumped all over it. About a week into that job, I got another client. Yay! We entered a contract on Upwork and everything, then I didn’t hear from him for a month (it was just a slow start and poor communication on his part, but he was my client for several months). About a month after I landed that first client, I had three regular clients (two on an on-going basis and one that was a project). I felt like I had plateaued again.
The Plan...
I wasn’t getting any more interest with the proposals I was sending, and again I was at a loss. Oh, and by the way, I still have no niche. This is when I sat down and had a little chat…with myself. This is what I told myself, “you are smart and you are damn good at what you do, now all you have to do is write down exactly WHAT you do for these clients and somehow bundle that into a ‘niche’.” So, that my friends is exactly what I did. I made the most ridiculous list of EVERYTHING I did for my clients, and I mean every tiny thing. Boring? Yes, a little weird? Also yes, but it was enlightening too. I realized that there was a theme to what I did for most of them. AND finally, here it is, my niche, in the most broad sense possible:
“I specialize in providing well-rounded, comprehensive administrative assistance to small businesses, start-ups, solopreneurs, and busy professionals. ‘Cross-over’ clients are one of my specialty sub-sets. (A cross-over client is the term I coined to describe busy professionals who need not only administrative assistance, but personal assistance as well.”
In this instance, “comprehensive” means “the whole shebang,” I do everything. I may not be an expert in Social Media Management, but I can create content, post, and track posts on social media, as well as manage a company’s social media engagement. And if someone needs more management than that, I can help them vet and hire a social media VA, someone whose niche is social media. Essentially, I made myself into everybody’s “right hand” woman. The crazy thing is it totally worked!
Re-Branding...
I re-branded myself on Upwork by creating a new cover letter and short “pitch” to send in proposals along with my resume. The biggest thing that helped me was that I had a vision. Once I understood more about how I was helping my clients, I was able to explain and pitch it in a pleasing way to potential clients. I completely rebuilt my website and included a link in my proposals for clients to get more information about me. I had several people tell me that when they looked at my website, the services I offered read like a checklist of what they needed help with. This is how I knew I was on the right track. Now, I was getting more hits on my proposals, and soon I turned down a few potential clients because I couldn’t provide the number of hours that they needed per week.
Understand Your Worth...
I began to realize that the work that I put into understanding my worth as a VA, lead me to exactly what I was searching for. I didn’t have an obvious niche in the beginning, and there were times I felt dejected and like I would NEVER figure out what my specialty was. But, by doggedly trying to move my business forward and succeed, I essentially stumbled into my niche. The next thing I need to figure out, is how to advertise my niche in a short phrase, or title. The niche statement that I currently have is more of an Elevator Pitch, not a job title. I am strongly adverse to using Virtual Assistant as a Job Title. I think it is a great descriptive phrase to help people understand more of what I do, but I am so much more than a Virtual Assistant. Virtual Assisting is an industry not a profession or a job title. It is a broad, diverse term that describes a field that people work in, just like “Doctor,” then you have specialties of in a VA’s case “Niches.”
Here are a few of the Job Title options I came up with:
- Executive Administrative Partner
- Administrative Project Manager
- Project and Administrative Coordinator
- Administrative Coordinator
- Executive Operations Coordinator
- Operations Advisor
- Administrative Logistics Partner
- Executive Administrative Coordinator
- Administrative Cohort
- Project and Life Management Accomplice
- Your Girl-Friday
Ok, I may have been getting a little off base towards the end but working off synonyms is fun and provides some creative ideas. If you need help coming up with any ideas of your own, check out my Printable Niche Workbook freebie, I have a section on creating a customized title for your niche. I had some fun coming up with names, but in the end, I needed to come up with one that fully encompassed the spirit of my “elevator pitch” niche. So, I am now referring to myself as an Administrative Logistics Coordinator. I believe that this title gives a commanding description of my job, while still letting potential clients know what I do and what I can offer them.
