When you first start your virtual professional business, chances are that you decide to offer a wide range of services. You might even offer ‘EVERYTHING’ to ‘EVERYONE’. Sound familiar? At this point, this seems like a logical thing to do since you want to get clients as soon as possible, right?! However, you’re more likely to become ‘jack of all trades, master of ‘none’ than to build a solid client base for your small business.

I’d like to share a short story with you: When I started my virtual professional business back in 2001, I offered any kind of administrative and creative services. Prospective clients expressed their needs and I was on it! Soon I realized that this approach was not only very inefficient but most of all not even very effective in building my practice. I spent many hours learning new skills for a project I took on. I thought this is great since I can combine learning with having new clients. However, the reality was that it drained my energy so much and I ended up doing tasks I didn’t even enjoy doing. After realizing this, I sat down and thought about what I really enjoy doing and what I’m good at.

I noticed that I enjoy working with coaches and consultants - their energy just seemed to go well with mine - and that the tasks involved are actually FUN! Also, helping new businesses to get started and handling all the projects involved was very rewarding for me. You might guess: I specialized in coach and consultant support and small business/start-up consultation. Once I found my niche, I was able to market myself in a much better way. I had a greater focus and clarity on how to spend my time, my energy, and my money. It helped me to determine priorities and set better goals. Having a niche naturally attracted clients I loved and expanded my business. Building my business from strengths I already possessed made a big difference.

What about you?
What do you enjoy doing? What do you do really well? Try to open up to all possibilities. Don’t narrow down your choices too quickly or too slim. Start with at least 15 options. You might want to solicit help from a friend, peer or coach to discuss your options. What do you need to find the niche that best suits you?

This is a very good question! Working with many small business owners over the past several years, I reached a point where my clients wanted more than my administrative and creative services. Clients told me about their daily business and how they were looking for advice and support. My business took a different direction than I anticipated in the beginning. I feel very fortunate that it happened because being a professional coach is my true passion. Last year was the real kickoff: I joined the International Coach Federation (ICF) and went to the ICF conference where over 1600 professional coaches gathered. The energy was sure amazing! I also started the coach training program with CoachU to consolidate my skills as a professional coach. I'm committed to support fellow virtual professionals to find their true passion and build their successful small business.

Through my coaching I help clients to clarify their goals and to determine the direction of their business. Together, we create a specific action plan and I help them to stay focused and hold them accountable so they can reach their goals faster.

If you're serious about building your own successful small business, I'd like to offer you a complimentary coaching session to experience how I can help you. Please e-mail me to arrange your personal complimentary coaching session. I look forward to talking to you!

NEW venture: Teleclasses

Starting in Spring 2006, creative partner is going to offer teleclasses besides one-on-one coaching. The first tele-workshop 'How to thrive during your first year in business as a Virtual Professional' is tailored to evolving Virtual Professionals who are in the beginning stages of their venture and want to learn the nuts and bolts of a successful virtual small business. The class starts on Wednesday, March 1.

The Purple Cow
by Seth Godin

Description:
You're either a Purple Cow or you're not. You're either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice.

What do Starbucks and JetBlue and KrispyKreme and Apple and DutchBoy and Kensington and Zespri and Hard Candy have that you don't? How do they continue to confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind former tried-and true brands to gasp their last?

Face it, the checklist of tired 'P's marketers have used for decades to get their product noticed - Pricing, Promotion, Publicity, to name a few-aren't working anymore. There's an exceptionally important 'P' that has to be added to the list. It's Purple Cow.

Cows, after you've seen one, or two, or ten, are boring. A Purple Cow, though...now that would be something. Purple Cow describes something phenomenal, something counterintuitive and exciting and flat out unbelievable. Every day, consumers come face to face with a lot of boring stuff-a lot of brown cows-but you can bet they won't forget a Purple Cow. And it's not a marketing function that you can slap on to your product or service. Purple Cow is inherent. It's built right in, or it's not there. Period.

In Purple Cow, Seth Godin urges you to put a Purple Cow into everything you build, and everything you do, to create something truly noticeable. It's a manifesto for marketers who want to help create products that are worth marketing in the first place.

Tell me more about this book >>

The Virtual Business Group (VBG) is a community of Virtual Professionals dedicated to helping YOU accomplish all of your business goals.

This group has been of tremendous value for me and I hope it will do the same for you.