TBBVA 115: Is Your Business Mindset Turned On or Off?

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Links Referenced:

• Upwork
• Free Webinar

Tweetables:

When your business mindset is on, it’s like your open sign is on. #vatip Gotta Tweet!
When your business mindset is off, you’re closed for business. #vatip Gotta Tweet!
When we’re unclear about things, it doesn’t mean our mindset is off. #vatip Gotta Tweet!

On Video:

In Words:

Hi and welcome to The Business of Being a Virtual Assistant.  I’m your host, Tiffany parson, and you’re watching and listening to episode number 115.

Today, I want to talk to you about your business mindset.  Is it turned on or is it off? 

Now, let’s think about a store.  If you had a storefront, you might have a sign out front that says “open” and maybe it’s a florescent sign so people can see it as they’re walking up to it, as they’re walking by, driving by.  It’s clear you’re open for business.

This is the same thing for your business mindset.  When it is turned on, the light is on.  People go by.  They can see you’re open for business.  If the light is turned off, we drive by your shop.  We walk by your shop.  We see that sign, oh, they’re closed.  When your business mindset is off, you’re closed for business.

Let’s talk about the difference.  I almost don’t even want to dive into what it looks like when it’s turned off because you know what that looks like.  You might be unmotivated.  An email comes through and you’re like, oh, not another one.  I don’t want to see it.  Maybe you’re supposed to be working on a project and instead you are lying on the couch, or maybe you have just totally checked out.

Maybe you just recently lost a client and maybe this was your only client and so now you have to rev back up and figure out how to remarket yourself and get another client.  But you just don’t feel like it so it’s just easier to turn on Netflix or to just leave the house and go shopping or to decide, you know what, I’m not going to do it anymore.  I’m just going to focus on my nine to five.  I have that anyway.  It’s reliable.  It pays the bills, so I’m just going to stick with it.

Is your business mindset turned off?  When it’s turned off nobody is coming because they know you’re closed.  You know if that’s you.

Now, let’s switch this and see happens when our business mindset is turned on.  It’s on.  The sign is on.  People see it.  This is what happens.  You’re looking for people.  You’re on the lookout.  You’re open for opportunity.  You’re excited when an email comes through.  You’re excited when someone posts on your Facebook page.  You’re excited when someone retweets you.  You’re just excited when you get a reply back in email.  You’re looking forward to the next day to working on your client project, or you can’t wait to get a status update to your client on what’s going on with their project.  You’re just excited about it all.

Now, there are times when the light is on that you may feel like should I flip it on or flip it – I’m feeling a little confusion.  I’m not sure which direction I want to go in, and that’s fine as long as you never turn your sign off.  You see, when we’re unclear about things, it doesn’t mean our mindset is off.  It’s still on because we’re still thinking about how do we want to sort things out in business.

Not too long ago, I was feeling like that, like do I want to still do this particular service or not this service?  Do I want to market this way or that?  You know, just trying to decide exactly what it is I want to do and getting clear, especially with my blog.  You know, my blog has been sitting.

I think I’ve probably been over technical on my Virtual Hired Hand blog.  I’m just being totally honest in regards to that.  I may have confused some potential clients with all the tech talk.  I don’t know.  Some people may have loved it and they were able to get some value out of it and went off on their way.  I don’t know.  So, you know, I’ve been wrestling with that being – just feeling unclear.  Well, I never gave up in my thought.

Every process looks different.  You may need to write it out.  You may need to draw.  You may need to talk it out.  You may need to read up on some things.  I don’t know, whatever your process is.  It’s different from all of us.  Mine is a little bit of talking it through, writing it out, drawing boxes and arrows and charts and maybe different ones.  This way it looks like, you know, one thing.  The next day, it’s totally different.  Then just keep, you know, just keeping at it.

I just believe that God is a part of all of this because I, you know, the way it all started, it was not me.  It was definitely God.  I’m like, God, you know, I’m unclear.  I’m not doing a formal prayer or formal fast or worship event or anything like that.  You know, just in conversation with God and so, you know, just asking, and not right in that moment did I get an answer.

But just continuing to do what I was doing in my process and then all of a sudden, boom, lightbulb goes off.  It’s like the fuzz on the TV.  It all of a sudden clears up, or like my recent Facebook Live I did on my page and somehow the Wi-Fi internet connection was messing up and so you see these crackles in the screen and all of a sudden it clears up.  That’s how it was.

Oh, clarity, and that’s when I thought about how I’ve been, you know, doing the blog recently or not so recently, how to make that better for my clients where they can get some value out of it.  Then what’s the next step for you guys, the virtual assistant business owners?  Because I love the podcast and all that, but I want to take you to, you know, the next step.  What is the next?  I want to start.  What do I do?  Or I just know this one skill.  What do I do next?

I got really clear on that and I’m going to do a free webinar for you on November 29^th.

I think that’s a Wednesday at, let me see, I wrote it down so I would not forget.  Yes, November 29^th, Wednesday, at 7:30 Eastern.  By the time this podcast publishes, I will have a link in the show notes for you and also on the website where you can register for this webinar.  You just put in your name and email so you can get reminders and things like that.

I will let you know the webinar is to give you some information on our Virtual Assistant Inner Circle.  We’re going to learn about – we’re going to focus on a skill for a particular month and also how that skill relates to your business.  So it will be skill and business training all in one along with Q&A.

That’s what the free webinar is going to be about.  I’m going to give you something of value that you could take away and use right way because I hate attending free webinars and you get nothing out of it but a pitch.  You’re going to get some value out of it.  If you’re not able to sign up for the Inner Circle, you’re going to get value out of this free webinar either way.

Back to the mindset.  This is how, you know, things are getting clear and really knowing, okay, this is the season for this particular thing, or now is the time for this.  So I feel like now is the time for this and I’m really, really excited about it.  Because the light was on, I’m like I need to share this on the podcast because someone’s mindset is turned off and they don’t even know it.

What does it look like when your light is off and you don’t know it?

You think your light is on.  In your mind, you’re still, you know, a virtual assistant business owner, but you haven’t set up your Upwork profile.  You’ve talked to friends about starting your virtual assistant business, but you haven’t set up your Upwork profile.  You’ve send a question in to me through email, but you haven’t done anything further to get the ball rolling, nothing to get things moving or put things in action.

The people that could benefit most from what you provide, they don’t know you exist.  They don’t know.  You’re still operating off of your personal profile on Facebook and have not set up a Facebook business page.  No worries on that.  We’ll talk about that on the free webinar.  Point is, that means the light is off.

Let’s turn on your business mindset and really think about what do I need to do to get this business ground?  How serious am I about my virtual assistant business?

A few days ago, I talked to my cousin on the phone and she was asking me about how I enjoy – how do I like working from home.  I did not even hesitate.  I absolutely love working from home, and I told her it’s been almost nine years now that I’ve been working from home.  She didn’t even realize that I’ve been working from home all this time.  Yes, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  No other way, not even on the worst day.  Not even on my most unmotivated day would I have it any other way.

That’s how you should feel about what you’re doing as well.  Not just the service that you provide to your clients, but about the nature of your business.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re running it full-time or part-time, you should still feel the same way about it.

If you’re working full-time and you’re working on your virtual assistant business on the side, you should be so excited to get home and get started and either get some projects done for clients or send out your weekly proposals because you’re so excited about what you’re doing and what you have to offer.  That is a business mindset where the light is turned on.

When your light is turned on, what do we do?  We walk through your door.

We walk through your door.  Clients email you.  You get a note on your Facebook.  People are interested.  They want to know how can they hear more about your service.  In the last two weeks, I have had three clients that I have not talked to in at least a year reach out to me because they’re interested in doing another project.

I even had posted something in a networking group three years ago and recently as I was cleaning out my groups – sometimes I leave groups or nothing is happening in the group, I’ll leave the group.  I don’t like to be a part of 300 groups unless, well, there’s no way.  I was going to say unless I’m working on client stuff, but there’s no way I could run 300 groups.  Impossible.  You know, no way I’m going to be a part of all those groups, so I clean out things on a regular.

This particular networking group, I was so close to leaving it.  So close.  It’s a local networking group, not a whole lot going on.  I was going to leave it, and then someone commented on a post I made back in 2014 wanting to learn more about my virtual assistant services.  Three years ago and they found it in the group and commented on it.  If I had left the group, I wouldn’t have been there to see that.  Guess what?  I’m still in the group.  You never know what could happen as a result of that.

Is your business mindset turned on or is it turned off?  I encourage you to turn that light on if you want to do a virtual assistant business.

If it’s turned off, why are you even listening to this podcast.  When I said it’s time to decide to turn it on and you’re like, eh, not right now, Tiffany.  Why are you listening to this podcast?  Stop listening.  I want to talk to those who are ready to turn that switch, flip the switch, turn it on.  That’s who I want to talk to, those who are excited to work from wherever they are.

The whole reason I love being at home is the flexibility.  I can be here in North Carolina.  I can be in Alaska.  I could be in the U.K.  I could be anywhere.  It doesn’t matter, and still do what I do.  I want the same thing for you, for you to be able to have that flexibility and be anywhere in the world and not miss a beat.

Are you ready?  I hope you are.  Flip on the switch.  Turn on that business mindset so that we can walk through your door so we know you’re open, that you’re available for business.

Thanks so much for listening and I hope to see you on the free webinar November 29^th at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.  Head on over to the website: TiffanyParson.com or look in the show notes to get the link so that you can sign up for this free webinar.  If you happen to be listening to this podcast after the November 29^th, click on the link anyway.  I’ll keep the replay there for you so you can continue to watch it.

Thanks so much and you have a wonderful and fabulous day.

Thanks so much for tuning in. If you like what you heard, stay tuned. We’ll be back. Tell me what’s going on with you. Come on over the Facebook page: facebook.com/tiffanyparsonbiz, or if you prefer a little shorter message, come on over to Twitter: @tiffanydparson.

See you next time!