Ep. 008: How Mindset Can Affect Your Success as a Virtual Assistant

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“I’m not good enough.” “I’ll never be as successful as her.” “Clients will never pay me that high of a rate.” “I’m afraid that my business will fail.” 

Have you ever said any of these things to yourself? Girlllll, I’ve been there. Sometimes, I’m STILL there. Negative self talk and limiting beliefs are things that all entrepreneurs struggle with. And unfortunately, they are things that will seriously hold you back when you are trying to grow your business and reach that next level of success.

In today’s episode, I’m going to help you change your mindset when it comes to your business. Let’s expose all those ugly little things we think about ourselves and get rid of them once and for all so that we can invite true success into our lives. Sound good? Let’s go.

 Mindset 101

Mindset is basically the idea that your thoughts create your reality. See, I told you this episode was going to be a little more out there.  But when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. If I woke up on a Monday and thought “Oh man, I can’t believe the weekend is over and I have to do all of this work today,” I will probably get off to a slow start and be miserable throughout the day. But if I wake up on Monday and think “Woo! The weekend’s over! Time to get back in the game and kick butt in my business!” that mindset will propel me through the day in a positive way.

Reframing Negative Thoughts

So how do we shift those negative thoughts into positive ones? It starts with being conscious of them, just recognizing that they’re there. So if I’m having a crappy day and I think “Ugh, everything’s going wrong today.” I try to catch myself in that thought. And notice it, without judging myself. Then, often out loud, I will try to replace that negative thought with a positive one. Like “This has been a difficult day, but I have 3 more hours to turn it around.” Try noticing these negative thoughts as they come into your mind. Notice them, and without judging yourself, turn them into a positive thought.

Replace "Have to" with "Get to"

Another little trick I picked up somewhere, I wish could remember where, is to replace the phrase “have to” with the phrase “get to.” This is an incredibly powerful tool. Think about this “I have to schedule all of these social media posts for my client.” Doesn’t that sound stressful and like something that you don’t have much control over? Now try saying “I get to schedule all of these social media posts for my client.” Like, whoa. What a shift right? Because we started our businesses to do things that we love to do. So we should look at these tasks as a gift, because it means that we are creating a business that we love. And it’s time to start thinking about it that way.

I think that this skill of creating a positive mindset is especially important for us VAs, because we are literally our own cheerleader. No one is going to make us be successful. It all starts and ends in our own minds. I think that’s why so many VAs, myself included, love to post inspirational quotes about self-motivation. Because we are being our cheerleaders!

Abundance Mindset vs. Lack Mindset

Another little mindset trick I want to talk to you guys about is abundance mindset versus lack mindset. I see sooooo many virtual assistants struggling in the lack mindset. Here’s what lack mindset sounds like:

“There’s too much competition, I’ll never be able to find clients.”

“I can’t afford to quit my job and focus on my virtual assistant business full-time.”

“I can’t let go of my difficult client, because I won’t get another one.”

“I need to work long hours and weekends to make enough money in my business.”

“I can’t find clients that can afford my high rates.”

These thoughts sound very familiar to me because I thought them all many times when I first started my business. And this lack mindset will seriously hold you back if you don’t get it in check. 

Abundance mindset is the idea that there is more than enough to go around. That what you desire is available to you. (Oops, I’m getting woo woo again.) But seriously, seriously, seriously, there is more than enough to go around!!! Think about it this way, does the fact that there is another virtual assistant doing exactly what you do mean that there’s not any clients for you out there? Absolutely not! The fact that another virtual assistant does what you do and is successful in her business, just proves that it’s possible for you! Every time a virtual assistant lands a client and makes that client’s life easier, that means that there is one more client that’s going to tell their business owning friends that they should hire a virtual assistant. So really the more virtual assistants there are, the more demand there is going to be. 

Don’t look at other virtual assistants and think, oh my gosh, I could never compete with her. Look at that boss babe kicking butt and think, wow, if she can do it, that means I can do it! If you have skills, drive, and a positive mindset, you have no competition to worry about. You can start to think of your fellow virtual assistants as your friends and your support system.

Another way that lack mindset holds virtual assistants back from being truly successful is that they believe that clients won’t be able to afford them if they price their services too high. Let go of that limiting belief, sister. Are there clients out there who are going to go with the lowest bidder? Absolutely. Are those the kinds of clients you want to land? Absolutely not. Business owners that are also operating with an abundance mindset know that investing money in a high-quality support team will only help their business grow. 

So ask yourself: Do I want to quickly find a bunch of clients that don’t respect my time and don’t pay me what I deserve because I’m afraid of asking for what I’m worth?

Or “Do I want to take the time to cultivate authentic relationships with a handful of dream clients who will value me and pay me what I’m worth?”

Now is the time to make these shifts in your mind.

So let’s update those lack mindset thoughts I shared with you earlier and shift them into the abundance mindset. 

Instead of “There’s too much competition, I’ll never be able to find clients.” think “There are so many successful virtual assistants out there, that means I can be successful, too!”

Instead of “I can’t afford to quit my job and focus on my virtual assistant business full-time.” think “I’ll find 1 solid client who pays me the rate I deserve and from there I’ll be able to quit my job sooner than I thought!”

Instead of “I can’t let go of my difficult client, because I won’t get another one.” think “Letting go of my difficult client will open more space to find my perfect client.”

Instead of “I need to work long hours and weekends to make enough money in my business.” think “I need to charge the rates I deserve so that I can open myself up to time and financial freedom.”

Instead of “I can’t find clients that can afford my high rates.” think “My perfect client is out there and values my skills and services enough to pay me what I’m worth.”

See the difference? 

I hope you found something in this week’s episode that resonated with you and inspired you to change the way you’re thinking about your business. I totally believe in you. And I’m here to support! You can always join our community in The Support Squad Hangout Facebook Group if you need advice or help in your business. And stay tuned for next week’s episode. It’s all about pricing your services and finding the best structure for you and your business. Until next time, boss babes.

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