Some businesses will slow down at certain times of the year, some won’t, but either way you can find something good in the situation.
For example, for the past two weeks my VA business has been a little slow, mainly because one of my clients is on holidays. There was lots of work to do leading up to the holiday, and most likely lots upon return, but in between there has been less to do. What’s good about this situation you may ask yourself? It’s summer! A little less work gives me some free time to tend to my garden, go for a walk, play with my kitties, etc. And, it also gives me a chance to spend some time working ON my business which is always an ongoing process.
Now, next month will be a different story all together. I will be back to the usual level of business for sure, and will most likely be even more busy on top of it all because a different client will be on holidays. Being busy = more billable hours which is always welcome when you’re self employed.
So as you can see, either way offers its own type of benefits, and neither one is better than the other.
On another note, I’m sure you must be wondering how can I be less busy because a client is on holidays, and then be really busy because a different client is on holidays?
As a VA it all depends on what role we play in each individual client’s business:
- If our clients are the driving force and sending us new things all the time then of course our workload will slow down when they are absent.
- On the other hand, if we are helping to manage our client’s business in such a way that we take numerous regular tasks off their hands and help to run things behind the scenes then our workload will not change when they are absent.
- Also, as in my second example, we may even step in and fulfill their role whenever they go away, therefore adding more tasks to our roster temporarily.
Keeping a mix of these different roles with your clients will help ensure that your own business ups and downs are not so pronounced and easier to manage.