Become A Virtual Assistant Matchmaker If You’re Passionate About Connecting People

A Virtual Assistant Matchmaker is someone who connects qualified clients with qualified VAs. It can be an additional revenue stream to bring in extra income or the sole income source of your business.

If you’ve been in this industry for any amount of time, you know it’s a struggle for both Virtual Assistants to find clients and for clients to find qualified Virtual Assistants.

To solve this need the Virtual Assistant Matchmaker business was born. It’s a great alternative to building your own team! Because you don’t have to manage a team and all the complexities that go with it!

How Does Being A Virtual Assistant Matchmaker Work?

There are a couple of different ways that you can approach this.

• One is through an RFP System, which allows clients to complete a form or a questionnaire that sends their details directly to qualified Virtual Assistants. (Similar to what IVAA does).
• Another option is to be more hands-on and interview potential clients and then help them find the right Virtual Assistant.

There is no one-size-fits-all formula to this. Remember my motto, your business – your choice. Do what works for you. But keep in mind that if you are the middle person you can become the bottleneck in the entire process.

Being a Virtual Assistant Matchmaker could be another revenue stream to your current business, or you could totally flip the script and have it be your business model. That means that is how you make your money – by matching clients to Virtual Assistants.

There are people who do just that. One is the VA Collaborative and there is another one called the VA Matchmaker, so if you’re interested in what this whole thing looks like, feel free to check out their websites.

What To Think About Before Making A Decision

Do you want to have a matchmaking business or just another revenue stream? Your answer to this question determines everything else that follows. Be sure to take the time to decide what’s what for you right now. There are several different ways you can approach being a Virtual Assistant Matchmaker, it’s not one size fits all!

Then there is the question of the systems and tools you need to have in place to help automate the entire process.

• Some people have a membership program where they charge monthly fees for anyone that wants access to their RFP’s or qualified clients.
• The second option is to be more of a white glove service where you interview both the potential clients and Virtual Assistants and build a database of names to refer people to.

If you’re considering the second option, stop and think about how that fits into your dream business or lifestyle.

• Do you really want to be in the middle?
• Does it tie you down to “office hours”?
• Does it restrict your freedom and flexibility?

Really take the time to understand the systems you need to have in place and how much time you will be involved in the entire process of matchmaking.

Another more hands-off option is to focus on Referral Partners. It works like this, you refer clients to qualified Virtual Assistants and get paid either a flat fee or even a percentage of the work they do for say the first 6 months with the client you referred. You’re referring people and are getting paid for it.

The Systems A Virtual Assistant Matchmaker Needs

First, decide if being a Virtual Assistant Matchmaker is going to be your entire business (business model) or another revenue stream for your existing business. If you’re really good at connecting people you might consider this as your business. If not, then consider adding it as additional revenue.

After making the decision you need to look at the systems you’ll need to support all the moving pieces you’re going to have. For instance:

• Who is your market?
• How do you find qualified people (clients or VAs)?
• How do you get paid?

#1 – Who Is Your Market?

It’s important that you get really clear on who your market is. As I said, there are lots of people who have issues finding qualified VA’s, but not everyone’s your client. Are you going to go after creatives and course creators? Or business coaches or finance coaches? You need to be very clear about who your market is for this particular type of Virtual Assistant Matchmaker business.

#2 – How Do You Find Qualified People?

How do you vet VAs to be sure that they are qualified? It’s your reputation so you want to make sure that you have qualified individuals to present to clients that are looking for them, and vice versa.

#3 – What Services Are You Offering?

Are you going to be offering everything under the sun?  Or are you going to really specialize? If I were you, I would specialize. I would move away from the admin-type skills because the industry is saturated with admin services.

Go for specialists or consultants on the technology or strategic side of things. They are going to be higher-paying services and they’re also more in-demand than anything in the admin space.

#4 – Are You Location Specific?

In other words, you only have U.S. VAs or North American VAs, or are they from somewhere else?

#5 – How Are You Going To Market Your Virtual Assistant Matchmaker Business?

Because you’re now a networker and not a Virtual Assistant anymore!

Whew, I know that I’ve given you a lot to think about here. If you are someone who is really good at connecting people or at networking being a Virtual Assistant matchmaker might be for you. You could add it as another revenue stream and test it out to see if it’s something you enjoy before diving into it full-time.

Feel free to post below and let me know if you’re considering becoming a VA Matchmaker! If you’re looking for other ways to scale your VA business, please read my post, Ready To Scale Your Virtual Assistant Business? Here Are 9 Ways To Change Things Up.

Thanks for reading – Susan