When you first start your virtual assistant business, it’s very easy to fall into a ‘jack of all trades’ mentality – you feel like the more you say ‘yes,’ the more you become an asset to your client. I get it, and I’ve been in your same shoes. But saying ‘yes yes yes’ isn’t the best way to become a successful virtual assistant – it can leave you burnt out with no room to scale. Here are my top three reasons to niche your virtual assistant business and become a sought-after expert!

Offer expert services at a higher price point:

As well as your basic virtual assistant packages, adding expert services is a great way to increase your value to your clients while also increasing your income. People will pay more for experts because they see the value in having a job done 100% efficiently and effectively. This includes specific tasks that your clients likely won’t be able to do themselves either because of time or lack of knowledge. Spot these pain points in your potential clients and become an expert at that specific thing. Your clients will see the value in you because it saves them time and money trying to figure it out themselves. Instead of being told what to do, your clients will see you as the expert and they are more likely to ask you to use your expertise and opinion to take charge of this area of their business. 

Gain experience in the industries/skills you love (less busy work you don’t enjoy).

When expanding your skillset, you can also focus on specific industries to research their pain points and see how you can solve their problems. With social media and Pinterest management, how you market a photography business will be different from how a coach markets their business. Learning what each industry and business needs will allow you to focus your skills on solving their issues and therefore increasing your demand. Find an industry you love and all the busy work you were bogged down with now feels more fun and enjoyable.

Become ‘in-demand’ in one specific industry (less competition).

Being a general virtual assistant can feel like you’re a small fish in a big pond where everyone is trying to offer the same help to the same people. To avoid this, you can build your skills and experience in a specific industry such as wedding pros or designers. Once your client base in that industry trusts you, they refer you to other friends in the same industry. Now you become in high demand because you have solidified your knowledge of the industry and proved your ability to become a sought-after expert. This means less competition and when you market yourself, you know exactly how to speak to that specific industry.

If you have specific skills that you spent time and energy perfecting, then make sure you’re charging your worth for those skills! Need some help finding a specific field? Take a look at these 5 Expert Services to Offer as a VA.