With nearly 7 years of serving London-based SMEs and entrepreneurs under our belts, we have found that whilst their industries vary massively (tech, medical, consultancy, finance, construction, events, beauty, e-commerce, education etc), the reasons why they are looking for support are nearly always the same.
We’ve identified the top 5 reasons why our clients come to us for VA support:
1) Inbox Chaos:
When our potential clients initially contact us, one of the most common issues they report is total overwhelmed by their inboxes.
They feel like there is a never-ending stream of emails coming in, making it hard to tell what actually needs their attention. They are missing important emails, being chased for things and are finding it hard to prioritise tasks and manage their emails effectively.
They get to the point where it feels so stressful, that they end up avoiding their inbox altogether and feel anxiety around it every time they think about it.
2) Overwhelm and stress
Being a business owner can be a very lonely and stressful role. Everything falls on you to sort, action, drive and ultimately sign off and it feels like it’s relentless.
When our potential clients reach out to us, they are often at a point of overwhelm and desperation.
They need someone to come in and be their ally, take away a chunk of work and give them headspace to focus on what they need to.
3) Work-Life Imbalance
Sadly, running a business is not a 9-5 job. Often, business owners start with the hope that they will have a better work/life balance, only to realise that they are working more than ever, feel like they must be online and responsive all the time and their work time is bleeding into their personal life.
They have less time to focus on their loved ones or time for themselves, and self-care is practically non-existent.
We’ve found that our clients often want help from us to schedule their business and personal life, implement and support with boundaries and also help with the mundane/admin side of their personal life (like booking their car in for an MOT or ordering gifts), so they can focus on intentional focused time.
4) Lack of time/focus
All of our clients who come to us say that despite working what feels like all the time, they don’t feel like they are working on things they should be and are constantly distracted by other people's agendas and don’t feel their focus is in the right place.
Our clients share their future plans with us and tell us what they feel they should and shouldn’t be focusing on.
Our VAs then support them with tasks they don’t need to be focusing on and protect their time and energy, freeing up their time and headspace.
5) Plans to scale
We’re very lucky to be working with some amazing clients who have great growth projections and are in some really exciting industries.
So many of our clients have big plans for growth and want to work with a VA, so they can help with processes and improvements, so the operational side of their business, doesn’t get left behind.
If you relate to any of these pain points, get in touch with Emilia at emilia@emiliaopwell.co.uk to learn how a VA can help you and your business today.