On July 23, 2017, I signed up for Gina Horkey’s Virtual Assistance course. Within a month, my business was up and running! I’ve learned a lot in my 6 years of business, including some things that I would totally do differently if I were starting my business today. I want to share some of these things with you here.

If you’re just starting your business, hopefully, this will help you avoid some of the mistakes I made. If you’ve been in business for a while, I’d love for you to comment and tell me what you would do differently if you could go back in time.

You don’t have to do it all at once.

When I first started my business I thought I had to do it all and do it all at once! I needed to book clients, create digital courses, create templates to sell, promote affiliates, and be on every social media platform out there. I also need to blog and send a newsletter out every week.

But the truth is I didn’t have to do that. I was in my business for the long haul. There was plenty of time to do all the things I wanted to do. What I needed to do was prioritize what was most important and concentrate on those things instead of trying to do it all.

When I finally did that it looked like – focusing on booking clients, growing my email list, and growing my Instagram. I also created a social media strategy that allowed me to have a presence on the social media channels I wasn’t really interested in like Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter. And I developed a “one is good enough” rule when it came to my blog and newsletter. I write one blog post and one newsletter per month.

Once I stopped trying to do everything at once and recognized that I could go at my own pace then I and my business were able to really grow!

Take the time to develop your systems

I wasn’t quite ready for that first client I signed. I was still taking the VA course I had signed up for and I didn’t have any systems in place at all. But I didn’t let that stop me and I signed with her and very soon after that a second client.

Suddenly I was in business! And I just kept going. I told myself I didn’t have time to stop to create better systems and a better onboarding experience. My hodgepodge system would have to do. I was too busy doing it all, remember?

That was a mistake. I should have set down and really thought through my onboarding and created a better and more seamless system for myself and my clients early in my business.

I now use Dubsado which allows me to have a booking calendar so potential clients can choose their own discovery call dates. I can do everything from the initial intake form to the contract and invoicing. I also have a nice welcome packet that walks clients through what to expect and how to give me the information that I need to get started with them.

You don’t have to take on every project thrown your way.

I did it all in the beginning. If a client asked if I could do it, I said yes. I was honest about it if it was something I hadn’t done before because I was always confident I could figure it out.

The problem was I didn’t stop to ask myself if what they were asking me to do was something I really wanted to do.

If it was something techy or design related I loved it!

But I had clients asking me to make phone calls on their behalf, pitch people, write email sequences, write social media posts, and these were tasks that I found myself dreading.

So I really took some time to reflect on what I enjoyed doing—those tech and design-related tasks— and I niched down to only offering those things and I started saying no to those tasks I didn’t enjoy. And my business became so much more enjoyable because of it.

Read Profit First.

Everyone recommends this book. So I bought it. But I didn’t actually read it until 2022! Definitely a mistake!

Profit First really opened my eyes to how I needed to handle the money in my business. I started by cutting out unnecessary expenses. And then I created the bank accounts recommended in the books and as soon as I get paid I sort everything into those accounts taking my profit out first!

It’s made a huge difference in my business finances.

Make it a habit to review your numbers from the start.

I’m not just talking financially but about other important business metrics too. Things like email subscribers, opt-in and conversion rates, and traffic to my website.

I was also terrible about looking at my income and expense reports. I would really only sit down to do this at tax time. Which is a terrible habit!

Now though I do a weekly CEO journal where I look at my email subscribers, Instagram growth, and conversion rates. I also journal about what worked, what didn’t, and what I need to do differently going forward.

At the end of each month, I go over my income and expense reports. As well as get together my receipts and invoices from that month for tax time.

These practices have been so helpful! If I was starting my business today, I would make this a regular practice right from the start.

Take your days off.

I started my business in 2017 while still working in retail management.

I worked retail 4 to 5 days a week in retail. In my spare moments on those days and then my days off from retail I worked in my business. So from 2017 until I retired in 2020 I was working 7 days a week, every week. I did take days off here and there. I even had a few vacations where I didn’t work my day job or in the business, but for the most part, I worked every day.

This took a huge toll on me and I nearly burnt out. It also made my husband really lonely as I was so focused on the business. He never once complained and was always super supportive but later he told me how alone that time made him feel.

If I had to go back in time, I would tell myself to set aside one day a week as an off day and to protect that day no matter what. I would also tell myself to only work the hours that I set because I was always working outside of them. This would have allowed me more time with my husband and family. And this next thing on my list.

Don’t let your self-care go.

I really let self-care slide while I was building my business. I missed yearly checkups with my doctors. Didn’t keep up with hair appointments. Stopped wearing my retainer. Rarely exercised.

I didn’t do a great job keeping up with chores around the house either.

My focus was entirely on building my business.

If I had created that regular day off and kept to my work schedule, I think things would have been different regarding my self-care.

Be more intentional with growing your email list.

I wasn’t really clear about who I was creating content for when I first started my business. I had an idea of who my ideal client was but I often created content for virtual assistants. And virtual assistants were not my ideal client.

My most successful opt-in was an SEO Basics course for Virtual Assistants. I received all kinds of new subscribers from this course! It was great or so I thought.

The people joining my list weren’t looking to hire me or to buy from me. They were looking for someone to give them free tips on running a VA business. There is nothing wrong with that of course. But it’s not what my business is about so there was a disconnect between what I had to offer and the subscribers I was getting.

Now the opt-ins I create are designed specifically for my ideal client – business and mindset coaches who are looking to uplevel their websites! This is enabling me to build an email list of my ideal clients. Which is what I wish I had done from the start.

Start collaborating earlier!

2023 has been the year of collaborations for me. At the time of writing this post, I’ve presented at 3 summits, been a guest on two podcasts, and contributed to 4 bundles. It’s been so exciting!

These collaborations brought new leads into my business as well as tripled my email list and that’s only in 6 months!

So definitely, I would encourage myself to start collaborations as soon as possible and not let imposter syndrome hold me back!

Avoid shiny object syndrome – you don’t need all those courses!

I bought so many courses, y’all. So many.

If I was starting my business now, I would tell myself to really think about a course before I bought it. Would the course help me reach my business goals for that year? Was it a course for a skill I really needed and wanted to learn? If yes to both of these, then go for it! If the answer was no, then no matter how good of a deal it was, I didn’t need it.

Well, there you have it the 10 things I would do differently if I started my business today. What about you? What would you do differently? Tell me in the comments.