The holidays are fast approaching. Your clients are preparing to take time off and maybe you too. This is probably your first time away from your business this year. There are important things you must do before taking time off your VA business.
Although you are your own boss now and can take time off whenever you want, you need to be professional about taking time off. So you’ll have a business to come back to when your vacation, leave etc. is done.
Here are 3 important things to do before taking time off your VA business:
1.) Hire A Subcontractor
You can make money while away from your VA business when you work with a subcontractor. Now this isn’t something you do at the snap of your fingers. You’d need to have reliable subcontractors before you need them.
This way, you can take time off your VA business and be rest assured that they can hold down the forte.
What this means is that you’d have to split your earnings with the subcontractor. So if your client pays you $1000 you will have to find a subcontractor and pay anywhere from $500 to carry out the project.
This is a good solution when you are on maternity leave, sick, caring for a sick relative or just need time to relax and unwind.
I recommend you add in your contract that you will be working with subcontractors from the get go. Even if you don’t have any subcontractors yet.
If you would love to work with a subcontractor or hire a VA to handle things in your business, here’s everything you must know about subcontracting.
2.) Inform Your Clients
If you offer services that don’t require contact with clients often, then you don’t have to inform your clients. As long as they get their projects completed in record time, all will be fine.
However, if you have regular meet-ups with your clients, then you should let them know you’d be taking some time off and who will handle things while you are away.
A simple “I’ll be away for x days and so xyz, who has been working closely with me and fully understands your business will be holding down the forte while I am away. Be sure to reach out to them if you have any questions or concerns”.
That way, your clients won’t feel abandoned. You should also give your clients at least 30 days notice before you take time off. If you also have things within your own business, e.g social media management, you can hire someone to do that for you.
3.) Take on more work than usual before taking time off
I do this a lot. Whenever I need a break I work a lot in advance. I let my clients know way before hand and then work in advance. I offer services like email marketing, website design and SEO blog so it is easy to write and schedule email and SEO blog posts in advance. And if my client needs a sales page or any website design work completed while I am away, I do it as well before taking time off.
My clients are always grateful for the head ups and can manage on their own while I am away.
If they desperately need help and I don’t have a subcontractor assigned to them, I step in. It’s usually for little tasks here and there maybe once a week.
Nothing major.
Depending on why you are taking time off your business, you may not be able to help out at all. So decide what works best for you and communicate with your client.
Final Words
Doing these things before taking time off your VA business is non-negotiable. Especially if you want to have a business to come back to.
Ready to become a virtual assistant, make money online and take time off your business whenever you want? You might want to sign up for my FREE course that teaches you the 5 steps to take. The course also share the people that are in need of VAs, the kind of services they need help with and how to get access to learn in-demand digital skills for free.
It’s perfect for you even if you don’t have any experience and are not a techy person.