5 Biggest Mistakes New Virtual Assistants Make with Kathy Goughenour

In today’s episode of Live with Bottleneck, our guest Kathy Goughenour shares the 5 biggest mistakes a Virtual Assistant make. This will be helpful for aspiring virtual assistants, and also businesses who plan to hire one for the first time.

Kathy Goughenour teaches professional women how to create their own work-at-home Virtual Assistant or Virtual Expert® businesses. She hopes that this can help them enjoy the freedom, flexibility, and financial security they desire and deserve. Kathy and her Virtual Expert Training programs have been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, The Wealthy Freelancer, and more.

So if you wish to avoid these mistakes while pursuing a career in virtual assistance, stay tuned to this episode!

Who is Kathy Goughenour?

The conversation starts with a bit of an introduction of our guest. Kathy Goughenour started out as a real estate virtual assistant herself when she quit her corporate job, and eventually having a VA company of her own.

Due to the 2008 real estate bubble burst in America, Kathy had to look for alternative ways to use her knowledge and skills sets. She set her sights to finding a new niche in the VA market, and found it with professional speakers seeking marketing assistance.

“I had been working on creating training programs for virtual assistants for a while. I thought, “well, I’m going to take my own training program to see if it really works” and identify a new niche (for the business). So I took my own training program and within 30 days, I’d identified a new niche of professional speakers who are business book authors.”- Kathy Goughenour

Kathy Goughenour on Following the 3P’s

According to Kathy, when looking to hire a virtual assistant, one should use the 3P’s as their checklist. What are the 3P’s? Simply put, a virtual assistant should be Professional, Proactive, and a Problem Solver.

Based on the 3P’s, Kathy outlines the 5 biggest mistakes that a virtual assistant make that might lead to less hires or less income. Here are those mistakes, by category of which they fall under:

Professional

Do you have a contract? – This is one of the most basic things that the company and the VA should have between them. A contract protects both the VA and the client, as it  sets expectations, as well as the responsibilities of both VA and the company for each other.

Correct Pricing – It is important to not overprice your services, but it is equally important to know your worth and not underprice. A lot of first-time VAs fall into the trap that they should present themselves as willing to accept anything to get hired. Some clients might try to exploit that for more work and less pay.

A good way to gauge is to set a price, and see how the market reacts to it. If your price has a 50% or so hire rate, you’re in a good spot. If your price has an 80% demand, you might be selling yourself too short. Lastly, if your hire rate is at 20%, it’s either you are overpricing yourself, or you have not conveyed properly to the market why you deserve that amount of pay.

Treat your business like a business – If you treat your business almost like a hobby, you’re not going to be seen as professional or as reliable to potential clients.

It is also important to have a set schedule of when you are going to work. If you are planning to work on a flexible time frame, you need to inform your clients too. It is the same with vacations or when you have to be on leave. Don’t just disappear and not have a way to be contacted.

Proactive

Don’t be a YES person – someone who shares their thoughts and insights, especially if it can help the company run smoother, will be a great addition to any company. Your client will value you more than a YES person that just does what they say, even if they know it’s wrong.


Problem Solver

Don’t be someone that needs hand-holding all the time. – As a virtual assistant, your clients need you to handle their daily tasks for them. If they have to hold your hand in every step of the way, then they might as well just do it themselves.

Although, it is important that your clients give you ample training beforehand, so that you have ample time to get used to their systems and processes.


To hear more from Kathy Goughenour and how to avoid these 5 mistakes as a virtual assistant, continue listening to the episode.

Bio

After finding the courage to say “bye-bye” to her corporate marketing career, Kathy Goughenour built a 6-figure Virtual Assistant business from her tiny house in the middle of a forest.

Today, she teaches professional women how to create their own work-at-home

Virtual Assistant and Virtual Expert® businesses so they too can enjoy the freedom, flexibility, and financial security they desire and deserve. Kathy and her Expert VA® and Virtual Expert® Training programs have been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Good Housekeeping, All You, and The Wealthy Freelancer.

Connect with Kathy!

Website: VirtualExpertTraining.com

LinkedIn: in/KathyGoughernour

Facebook: fb/ExpertVATraining

Twitter: @ExpertVAmentor

Want more Live with Bottleneck? Visit our website or go to our YouTube channel for more Live with Bottleneck episodes!

Jaime Jay

About Jaime Jay

Meet Jaime Jay – a man who wears many hats, and wears them all admirably. He's a master connector, an entrepreneur extraordinaire, and a published author who knows how to get things done.

Before he found his way to the business world, Jaime served his country as a brave paratrooper in the U.S. Army. But that's just the beginning of his many accomplishments.

He's the founder of the renowned Bottleneck Distant Assistant Services firm, and his book "Quit Repeating Yourself" has become a must-read for entrepreneurs everywhere.

When he's not busy building his empire, you can find him on his beloved Harley Davidson, cruising through the countryside and taking in the invigorating effects of Uitwaaien – a Dutch practice that involves facing the wind to boost health and relieve stress.

He enjoys spending his free time outside building stuff with his wife, Nikita the dog and their two kittens (for now at least) Tommy and Tater.

He is ‘over-the-moon’ happily married to his wonderful wife Sara, his amazing daughter, Jessica, who is serving our country as a United States Army soldier. Jaime and Sara are the proud grand parents of two beautiful little girls.

Victoria Dorsano
Victoria Dorsano
2023-09-17
Bottleneck has been such an amazing support for my business! They have a seamless process to ensure you find the right fit for your DDA. I am so thankful I started working with them! I'm now able to accomplish so much more in my business with a personal DDA and editing team on my side. Thank you!!
Rockwell Felder
Rockwell Felder
2023-03-15
I cannot thank the team at Bottleneck enough for their incredible support of our business. Their team has played a vital role in helping us staff our customer support and ensuring our customers were satisfied with our services. Their Distant Assistants were extremely helpful in answering inquiries promptly, handling complaints, and providing solutions to our customers' needs. Their professionalism, attention to detail, and communication skills are exceptional. Working with Bottleneck has been a fantastic experience, and I highly recommend their services to anyone needing a reliable and efficient virtual assistant, especially for customer support.
Karen Ravano
Karen Ravano
2022-09-24
I am grateful and blessed to be part of this team. It’s such a wonderful experience because i gain more experience and help me enhance my basic skills. This will be my stepping stone to my career as a newbie in this kind of industry. It would help to reach my goals.
Jeany Mercadal
Jeany Mercadal
2022-09-16
Bottleneck Distant Assistants can lessen the burden of company owners. We provide excellent services depending on our client needs. We are not scam, clients surely get more than what they pay for. Being part of this team helped me hone my skills and become excellent in all my works.
Jeff Peñaflor
Jeff Peñaflor
2022-09-14
I started last March 24, 2021 as a Dedicated Distant Assistant and it was an awesome experience. In this new journey, as Security Administrator of Bottleneck Distant Assistants, I have been supported by the team, A LOT !!!! All help that I need, the whole team is there to support me. I know that there are a lot of room for improvements with my skills and what I know, but because of BNDA, I became equipped with all the weapons I need to conquer the daily challenges especially with my tasks. With BNDA, they will not just help you to aim high, but soar the skies!
Tinoe D
Tinoe D
2022-09-09
I don't remember the last time I loved what I was doing until Bottleneck came into the picture. I love working for bottleneck, they are professional. The management makes the workplace fun and they're very flexible. I definetly recommend that you make that important switch and be part of something big today by joining BNDA.
Michael Goodcliffe
Michael Goodcliffe
2022-09-09
Jaime and his team are incredible at what they do! Joining them has been one of the best decisions in my life! I whole heartedly recommend them to anyone who are looking to scale and improve their business. Their highly 'Dedicated Distant Assistants' are well trained. They are top notch!
GM Simon
GM Simon
2022-09-08
Working with Bottleneck is not just having one or two assistants working alongside you. You have the support of the whole team behind them as well.
Ma. Edeliza Silot
Ma. Edeliza Silot
2022-09-07
Aside from the knowledge gained, the trainers are highly commendable.
Sara Knox
Sara Knox
2022-09-07
What an awesome business! Finally, a way to hire the RIGHT person for my administrative tasks and they are remote! No office space to consider, W2's, 1099's or payroll. Jaime and his team of remote workers are top-notch! I hired my first assistant in May. I recently suffered a motorcycle accident and it left me unable to work for 2 weeks. But my assistant stepped right in to guide our CEO on all matters financial. It’s so nice to have that stress eliminated from my life!
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