When you spread yourself too thin your clients feel it. By dabbling in a little bit of everything, you can’t focus on the right things, there is a great saying, you can be a ‘Jack of all trades, but a master of none’.

How you get spread too thin

As VAs, you can become spread too thin by saying yes all of the time. As a small business owner it is natural to want to please your clients and customers and also maximise your income. After all, that is why you are in business, you have yourself to support and or a family. By chasing absolutely everything, you are compromising your business and this will only result in costing you both time and money in the long run.

What happens when you are spread too thin?

When you are trying to do too much, you can’t deliver. You will find that as time goes on your projects become late, you push out deadlines and your quality of work reduces. Not only will you not have time to get your work done, but you will also be spending your valuable time putting out fires and appeasing annoyed clients.

Cut back by finding a niche

You can avoid being overloaded by focusing on your niche. By setting your boundaries at the beginning of the working relationship you are helping yourself and your client. When you are operating in your zone, you will be providing the best possible service to your clients. Sometimes, you do need to step things up a notch or two to meet your client deadlines and this is perfectly normal in any business and you should be ready for this.

We are all comfortable working within our zones, but having the envelope pushed from time to time is how we continue to grow and learn.  It is easy to become a machine when you work only within your niche and it can also become boring doing the same thing day in and day out.  Don’t get me wrong, some people make a great living out of only offering transcribing services, or only managing diaries and this is perfectly fine if this is their niche.

The dangers of learning as you go

Your clients are not your guinea pigs. When you offer a service, you should know how to carry it out. Become knowledgeable about specific skills and services before you offer them to your clients. A learn as you go approach will only result in unsatisfied customers. By trying to wing your way through client tasks only end up badly for you if you don’t get it right.  Egg on your face certainly is NOT a good look.

Commitment to quality

Always consider the quality of service you want to provide and stay committed to that. This will set you up for a long term, viable business and help to save you from burn out.

Top 5 Take Outs: Provide top quality service.

  1. Saying yes to everything will result in so-so service.
  2. Finding your niche will help you set limits and boundaries.
  3. You reduce down time when you work within your niche.
  4. Don’t commit to providing services that you do not have the skill set for.
  5. Operating within your niche will contribute to the long term success of your business.

Where is your zone? What do you do to make sure you deliver the best service possible; leave a comment below?