Crisis Management 101 For Virtual Assistants: How To Use Bad Situations To Pivot Your Business

Crisis management is all about finding opportunities to help your clients and your VA business during scary times, like the Covid-19 pandemic. The main thing is not to focus on fear, instead focus on pivoting! I’m not talking about taking advantage of people or price gouging or hoarding but rather about ethical opportunities to be of service to your clients.

Believe it or not, this is a huge opportunity for the online business world and the VA industry as a whole. We don’t know what the landscape’s going to look like when this is all over and done with. More people are working from home now than ever before! And many of those people may realize that they’re tired of the rat race and want to start their own online business! That’s a win for our industry!

Crisis Management = Income Opportunities

I want to share a few different opportunities that can help you not just survive but thrive during this time of change.

#1 – Share Your Knowledge

Share your knowledge when it comes to working from home. As I mentioned there are more people working from home now than ever before. Many people have never worked from home before and they are struggling to make it work. Plus a lot of people were thrown into telecommuting with their kids at home since schools are closed. It can be a very stressful situation – I remember it well.

So, for those of you who have been in the industry a while and have worked with your children around, you have knowledge that you can share with an entirely new audience that needs what you have. Show you’re an expert at working online, create an ebook or a series of how-to videos and sell it for a low price.

There are people who are online now that don’t know how to schedule their day or what to do with their kids at home. For those of you that have been in this situation before, you have knowledge that can serve these people that really need it. All of these ideas can be a new revenue stream for you! You can show people how to:

• Keep their kids busy while they work.
• Use different technology tools that make working from home easier.
• Schedule their day.
• Be more productive.

#2 – Reach Out To Your Current Clients

See what they need from you at this time. Show them that you’re available and ready to help them however you can because they’re probably going to need to pivot their business as well. Offer to be available to:

• Bounce ideas around.
• Vent.
• Brainstorm new projects.
• Help them get organized.
• Automate their business.

Plus, you may have clients that have a full-time job and are working on building their business on the side. They’re going to need your help now because maybe they realize that they want to take charge of their destiny and their livelihood and really start putting some more energy into building their business. Don’t be afraid to reach out to them!

#3 – Offer To Do An Audit

Audits are a great way to sell your expertise and help your clients at the same time. Offer to audit their website or their current systems. Look for ways to be of value and help your clients make money.

#4 – Learn A New Skill

This is a great time to learn a new skill. If you think about it, people are going to be coming online and have no idea what types of tools or systems they’re going to need. For instance, they’ll need a website. So this is where WordPress skills would be very valuable to help people. You could create a 1-page WordPress package to sell for start-up businesses or a monthly management package to manage their existing website.

Email marketing is another thing that people are going to need help with or sales funnels. Really anything that has to do with technology in making an online business run is going to be a great skill for you to have. So, if you’re an admin it’s a good time to pivot the services you’re offering. Look at offering in-demand and higher-paying services which is anything techie or strategic. Here are a few examples:

• WordPress
• Mail Chimp
• Lead Pages
• Sales Funnels
• Email Marketing
• Content Creation

Clients are looking to hire people who can help them get results and earn money and that’s what techie and strategic skills do. If you make your clients money, then you’re an asset to them and not an expense and less likely to be cut when a recession or crisis hits. So capitalizing on this unique situation to create offers and solutions that are going to help people get results because that’s what it’s all about.

#5 – Pivot Your Marketing

Many people want to pull the plug on marketing at a time like this because they feel it’s icky to be selling. Don’t do it! People still need your help! Plus you have bills to pay, right? You may have lost clients due to the current crisis and that is understandable. There are several markets that are severely affected by this.

But the online business world is still growing and they still need your help and expertise. Look at the coaching industry or course creators, their businesses are booming. So, if you’ve lost clients in one market then pivot your marketing to a business that is still growing. Like the coaching industry or the fitness industry or course creators.

Show up for yourself and for the people who need your help! Because we all need to continue to feed our families and there are opportunities for us to do so without being icky or taking advantage of people. So look at pivoting, not only what you’re offering, but maybe who you’re serving during this time because the opportunities are there.

Remember, it’s about serving others, being ethical, not taking advantage of people, but taking advantage of opportunities that are there for you. I wish you health and wellness during this crisis – take care of yourself, your family, and your clients!

So how are you going to pivot your business? Feel free to post below and let me know what action you’re going to take – I’d love to hear from you! All comments and questions are welcome.

Thanks for listening and reading – Susan