The Sam + Jo VA Show

If you’re a VA creating original and innovative content in order to stand out from the crowd, get ready to be copied. If you’re a VA making an impact online and are successfully getting eyes on your business, get ready to be copied. Like it or not, there’s no escaping copycats. So remember, it’s not your competition that will end your business, it’s your inability to put on blinders and block out...

This episode is for all the virtual assistants out there who feel overwhelmed with all the things they don't know and don't have, who are riddled with self-doubt, who are comparing themselves to established successful VAs, who are freaking out that they'll never get clients and they'll certainly never learn all the tech tools everyone else seems to know. All VAs (even the super successful ones) ha...

We had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with one of our Scale It! Mastermind shining stars, Virtual Personal Assistant - Amy Smith. Now we absolutely do NOT have favourite students.   In fact, there are so many talented VAs and aspiring VAs inside our Scale It! Mastermind that it was hard to pick just one to chat with this week! But Amy is a stand-out and we wanted to share her VA story to in...

We often have aspiring virtual assistants reach out, desperate for the reassurance that their business goals are viable ones. So much uncertainty.  So many fears. Will I get clients? Will I make money? Do I have enough skills and experience? Can I afford this? In this episode you’ll learn: Why what you’re feeling is very normal and that you’re not alone. Why you ARE good enough. Why other people’s...

When we first started our VA businesses neither of us had official launch dates.  The Prime Minister didn’t come and cut a ribbon to our office doors, and we didn’t have reporters calling to interview us about our exciting new ventures. Despite the lack of fanfare and confetti, within months we were both fully booked with waiting lists. It’s time to forget about your damn launch, let go of the nee...

Be careful not to burn bridges with soon-to-be ex clients. Ending client relationships badly means best case scenario you don’t get any referrals – and worse case you have someone out there bad mouthing you whenever outsourcing is brought up in conversation. It's simply not worth the risk ... or the drama. Sometimes we just have to suck up our real feelings about clients and their behaviour for th...

We say farewell to clients for a number of reasons … some good (they’ve outgrown us) and some bad (you're not a great fit). But no matter the reason for saying adios, there is a serious of steps you need to take in order to off-board your client successfully and professionally. In this episode you’ll learn: Whether or not you should stick to your notice period. What you’ll need to hand back on you...

The Queen of selling with confidence Natalie Tolhopf is the perfect guest for us to learn the tips and tricks to finding your secret sauce, ditching the self-doubt and finding the confidence to finally stop chasing ALL the shiny objects out there hoping that something will stick when it comes to selling your services and growing your biz. In this episode you’ll learn:·        How to get comfortabl...

Looking to gain credibility and add legitimacy to your VA biz? Desperate to appear page one of Google and get thousands of eyes on your business? Working hard to improve your website’s SEO? These are all reasons to get yourself featured on a high ranking online directory. A legitimate online directory listing can get countless eyes on your business each month, but it’s up to YOU to make your first...

When it comes to following up new leads after a sales call or consultation the majority of virtual assistants we speak to give up after only 1 attempt. Well-paying, regular clients are literally slipping through your fingers due to not following up at all, or not enough. What a waste! Given 80% of sales take 5 follow up calls or emails we’d put money on the fact there is at least 1 follow-up call...

Looking for a lucky break in your virtual assistant biz? Newsflash!  All those VAs out there running profitable businesses, bringing in clients they love working with and providing services that fill them with joy are NOT successful because of luck. Do the work. Put in the time. Learn the skills. Step out of your comfort zone. Because luck has NOTHING to do with it. Join the Scale It! Mastermind f...

Did you know it costs approximately five times more to attract a new client than it does to retain an existing one? We see many VAs putting a lot of time and energy into networking, marketing and promoting themselves in order to find shiny new clients, with very little thought about how they plan on keeping their current ones happy, thus ensuring they stick around long term. So not only does shift...

There are three options for virtual assistants first starting out who are looking to gain experience in order to get clients. Spoiler alert! Option #3 is our favourite, go-to route to take, and the one we both personally used when launching our own VA businesses many moons ago. In this episode you’ll learn:·         The three options for gaining experience. Why boundaries are vital when offering d...

Being a successful business owner means having to have tough conversations, and one of the toughest you’ll have as a VA is when the time comes to fire a client. There are a number of reasons why we have to be proactive and timely when it comes to saying a final goodbye to clients that are no longer a great fit. But no matter the reason for saying farewell, Au revoir or addio, the good news is that...

#coldhardtruth No matter the environment you’re in, coming across as desperate is not a look you want to be wearing. It’s time to treat potential clients the same way as you would someone you’d fancy going on a first date with. Business owners looking to outsource aren’t dumb. They are quick to judge and can gauge accurately if you are just wanting any old job, not caring whether or not you’re act...

We had a really interesting chat with a VA during Summit Week 2021. Unfortunately, she wasn’t getting any new leads.  This VA shared with us that she’s already taken our advice, and that she’s ticked all of our boxes on how to find clients. It just wasn't working for her. It was time for us to take a deeper look at things. We checked out her LinkedIn profile, her website, her social media accounts...

Shout out to Kajabi VA Kate MacGregor for requesting this topic! If you’ve never done it before, working with a sub-contractor can be overwhelming. We’ve taken the overwhelm away by sharing with you the exact process and tool Jo uses when handing over work to her team of 20+ VAs. It’s a tried and tested system, and one that Jo has perfected over the past decade. You’re welcome! In this episode you...

The 2021 Virtual Assistant Summit was EPIC! (i f we do say so ourselves haha ). Bringing together 15 international speakers at the top of their game, for a live and interactive 5 day online event for hundreds of VAs from across the globe, is a pretty mammoth undertaking.  But we bloody well did it! And we did it in style thanks to our amazing speakers, some pretty mad organisational skills, and ou...

Over the years we’ve both worked hard at individually creating the perfect virtual assistant businesses for US.  Successful businesses that suit our very unique business and life goals, family commitments and personality types. We all start out with great intentions, but it’s easy to lose track along the way of WHY we got into the VA biz in the first place. In this episode you’ll learn:·         W...

We hear (and see!) some shocking advice given to both aspiring and established virtual assistants.  Advice that comes from a place of wanting to help, but that (in our minds anyway) is off the mark for one reason or another. Whose advice are you listening to? Do they know the VA industry well? Are they successful VAs themselves? In this episode you’ll learn:·         The worst pieces of advice we’...

First off. If you’re just starting out on your virtual assistant journey You. Do. Not. Need. A. Website. Now that’s out of the way, we’re going to assume that you’re listening in because: 1.      You’ve been in business for a while; 2.      You’ve already got some regular clients under your belt; 3.     You get regular enquiries coming through via networking & word of mouth referrals; and 4.  ...

Have you called your own phone lately? A funny question for us to be asking … right? Wrong! Making a great first impression starts with the basics. And it doesn’t get more basic than your phone’s voice mail message. In this episode you’ll learn:·         What new leads expect to hear when you can’t answer the phone. Why you could be losing out on new clients due to your current voice mail message....

Are you sick and tired of clients not paying you on time? We don’t blame you! Having to chase consistently late payers, month after month after month, is costing you time AND money. This is not acceptable behaviour. You deserve better! It’s time to nip it in the bud … right now! In this episode you’ll learn:·         The simple tactics to get clients to pay immediately. Why following up late payer...

You’ve probably heard the saying “A goal without a plan is just a wish”? Well … it’s  trueeee ! Having a plan written down on paper, with goals that are measurable and actionable, helps you focus and keeps you moving forward in order to grow. It’s time to give those VA business dreams of yours an actual shot at becoming a reality by getting your ‘plan’ on! In this episode you’ll learn:·         Wh...

Let's face it, a flexible lifestyle is the ultimate goal for all of us and one of the main reasons that you became virtual assistants BUT how many you have inadvertently created something that feels more like a burden. Don't worry though because you are in complete control and with the right strategies, you can turn things around and get that flexibility back. In this episode, you’ll learn:·      ...