Why Work Slow-Down Can Be the Virtual Assistants Best Friend

6. Create some space. Recently I went through my office bookshelf and cleaned out some books that I was not using and donated them to charity. I made a small bit of room on one shelf, but it made a huge difference to the amount of available space in my head. Are you feeling cluttered and buried under paper? Do your files need to be cleaned out and re-organized? How about those piles of things on the floor you step over every day? Clean physical space can go a long way to helping us flow more clearly with our business lives. Look at your physical space and see if there is room for improvement.

7. Put one new customer service in place. Adding an added value item to your list of services can really help to build your clients perception of you as a valued member of their team. This new customer service item can either be something you announce to clients (e-zine support, bookkeeping, virtual dog walking) or something you do above and beyond the call of duty (client birthday cards, a regular check-in with a busy client to see what more you can do, 15 minutes of your time that you dont bill for). We are in a customer service business and our clients are our most important resource. What new feature can you add to your services that regularly bring home to your clients how much you value them?

8. Stay in front of your circle of influence. Building on item 7, we can always benefit from ensuring that those people in our lives whom we regard as our circle of influence are aware of what we are doing and that we are looking for new business. The members of your circle of influence are those people in your life who have the ability to drive business toward you. They are your mentors, your colleagues, your past business associates. One easy business-building technique is to have a list of specifically who these people are in your life and then contact them periodically to let them know you are still in business. You can make announcements about new services to them and ensure that they keep you top-of-mind when they are recommending Virtual Assistance to people they meet.

9. Listen to your muse. Business isnt 'all business', even though some might want you to believe that. The creative vein that runs through each and every one of us can be a great asset when we are marketing and building our businesses. Have you ever had a really crazy idea about how to educate potential clients about what you do? Have you ever seen someone elses marketing or advertising materials and been thrilled by the out of the box thinking that obviously went into them? (And then realized you had that idea six months ago and didnt follow up on it. Bummer.) Let your creative juices flow. Dont be afraid to do something thats a little bit ingenious to market your business and attract new clients. I have one former client who is a coach who has gotten together with several other entrepreneurial women (massage therapists, estheticians, arts teachers) and is throwing a pajama party for women next month. It is a completely crazy idea and it looks like so much fun! What could you do that would get people thinking, 'Wow!' and put a smile on their faces.

10. Talk to a mentor. Our last item comes from the 'no need to reinvent the wheel' department. Do you know someone who is a well established VA or entrepreneur? If so, why not call that person up, ask them if you could buy them a cup of tea and pick their brain a bit. What did they do that helped them succeed? What rough spots did they hit that you could avoid? You could even ask them, 'If you were in my position right now, what is one thing you would do to grow my business?' People love talking about their successes and I bet youll be surprised at all the valuable information that comes forth when you simply ask.

There you have it. Ten things you can do RIGHT NOW to keep your business-building momentum going even when you are experiencing a temporary work slow-down.

Alexandra Amor, Writer and Virtual Assistant, is the author of 'How to Be the Virtual Assistant Everyone Wants to Hire' and 'Working for Coaches: A Guide for Virtual Assistants'. Do you want to build your Virtual Assistant business FAST? Sign up to receive her FREE 20 Essential VA Success Habits at http://www.virtual-success.com