Developing multiple streams of niche profit as a Virtual Assistant.
A little while ago I got an email from one of my clients asking:
"As a Virtual Assistant (VA) how can I create multiple streams of niche profit?"
He then went on to tell me:
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Some of the niches I am involved in are:
- Researching companies
- Insurance industry
- The real estate industry
- Bookkeeping services
- Medical Transcription
- Home based business
These are some of the niches that I have chosen but my challenges are that the competition is too much out there,
so I want to narrow my own down.
How can I break it down more so that I can get more clients and make more profits?
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It occurred to me that there must be other VAs who find themselves in the same boat, especially if they are fairly new to the business, so here's my take on how to build multiple streams of niche income as a Virtual Assistant:
What Skills Do You Have To Offer?
The first question you must answer is what skills do you have to offer potential clients? For instance are you an expert in databases, producing creative, companies research, bookkeeping, blogging, copywriting etc.?
My client describes all the items listed above as niches, but in my opinion only three are definite niches and they are huge:
- The Insurance industry
- The Real Estate industry
- Home based business
The rest I would more properly describe as marketable skills that he can market to potential clients, i.e. research, bookkeeping and transcription.
Play To Your Strengths!
The list of niches my client was trying to compete in is a very broad and diverse spectrum of industries to serve and you can't be an expert in everything. He needed to specialize. Therefore the next step is, you have to decide "which" industry (niche) to specialize in, so you need to look at them from the point of view of where your strengths and expertise are concentrated and then build your business around them.
Build Your Business Step By Step
To illustrate. If your strengths and expertise centre around "Insurance Administration" then build your business around that niche. For example your expertise might be in Insurance companies dealing in "Auto Insurance" Administration, so build your business around that niche first.
Once your Auto Insurance business is "running successfully" you could then think about expanding into another niche within the insurance industry, say "Home Insurance" Administration. And once your Home Insurance business is running successfully add "Life Insurance" Administration. And so on, get the picture?
Building your business this way will ensure that you are building your multiple streams of niche income on solid foundations.
Remember this is only an example. I know nothing about the insurance industry and it's needs.
The point I'm trying to get across is that, by narrowing down your focus and building your reputation in each of the niches you choose, one by one, you should be able to establish yourself as an expert in the industry (niche) you choose, this in turn should help you command higher fees.
Of course, before you go barrelling into a niche, you should do the research to make sure there's a demand for the skills and expertise you have to offer.
You should also figure out what your unique selling proposition is (What makes yours different from all the other similar businesses out there). If you don't know how to go about this there's lots of info. online, just Google "how to create a USP".
Virtual Assistance is, I know, a highly competitive business, but so is most online business. There's a high demand for Virtual Assistants with specialized skills so figure out which niche areas you have the most skills and expertise to offer and you should be able to build a successful business with multiple streams of niche income coming in.
Copyright © 2009, Andre Anthony Niche Market Know-How
