Whenever I get a client message that asks me to hold a slot in my work schedule for a project that is coming “soon” but isn’t finished yet I cringe. How does one accept projects, coordinate working with all of your many clients, and be nimble for a project that may arrive in 5 minutes, 5 hours, or 2 days from now?
I understand the client is trying to give me a heads-up that their project is coming with the hopes that I can give it top priority compared to what’s already scheduled and has my attention. What the client doesn’t always understand is the work already in my inbox is my work. I will do what I can but frequently tell clients I am not the VA for them if they want same-day-next-day turnaround.
Does this statement suggest I’m slow? Not at all and often times the client does get same-day-next-day completion but that truly depends on what is requested. How much time is needed to complete it? How much editing or fact-checking or polishing is needed? It also depends on how many projects are ahead of theirs. (Something few consider or care about. I get it. My total clients and work load are not of interest to them. In fairness, I rarely ask them about their projects or personal demands when I send an email asking for information to complete their work. I do try to work ahead and have enough overview of the project to give them lead time, whenever possible.)
I can’t work with a client that expects immediate turnaround. I have yet to meet a client who is willing to put me on retainer for a full day, every day of the week – being on stand-by for their projects – because that’s the only way I can assure same-day-next-day service. (Yeah, it’s unrealistic and a carry-over of the employer-employee mentality.) I am happy to give a turnaround time projection when I accept a project.
A Funny Thing Happen On The Way To The Project
My bread-and-butter line work is made up of long-term on-going retainer clients. We work together seamlessly and frequently in a single week (or day). These are the clients I work with closely, know their business operations well, and these are the clients that value what my business does for them. I take on a select number of on-going retainer work so that I don’t get overloaded and weighed down under projects.
My fill-in work is project-based which I love because projects have a set start and stop date. I can determine the volume of project work I take on based on what’s happening with my on-going retainer work. A fine example of project work is an ebook-to-Kindle book conversion. A usual book conversion turnaround ranges from 7 days to 2 weeks; depending on my availability.
One occasion that dampened my pixie dust on a conversion project was the author that wanted the work done but midway through lost their desire and interest to actually promote the book or add it to Amazon’s storefront. My conversion process doesn’t dictate or change when a person markets their book. My process gets the book ready so when the author wants to kick off their book launch the book format is completed. So what happened? A project that should have wrapped up in 2 weeks dragged on for 5 months while the client pulled and scraped together their marketing plans around holding a book launch.
It was inconsiderate of my time and had nothing to do with my conversion work. Having a completely formatted book in-hand wouldn’t have made them launch sooner than they wanted. So when they came back to have their second book formatted I explained that I couldn’t work with them. Their responsiveness on book one dampened my pixie dust. It hampered my creativity. It didn’t make me enjoy working with them. We did not work together on more conversion projects.
Their unresponsiveness to my emails took up time that I hadn’t account for in their initial quote. Therefore, I lost gross profit. When their project surpasses my timeline for project work it effects projects with my on-going retainer clients.
Empower to Maximize the Pixie Magic
The greatest gift a client can give to their VA is all the available information at once with an overview of the project. Keep the VA in the loop as changes or hiccups in the project development. Open communication is key.
I have some stellar clients that are amazing communicators so together we can plan and work together to keep the project moving forward. Our team work is what makes these types of working relationships magical and makes my clients think I do reach into my skills and knowledge bag to add a little pixie dust. I like when my clients set me up to successfully complete and maneuver around their projects. It’s a win-win for us both. I feel great working with them and on their projects. They feel great knowing their projects are in capable hands. (Psst – Not all of my clients know at our first meeting that I was named Most Dependable by my high school graduating class nor that a high work ethic was instilled in me all my growing up years. As we work together these traits come out. When I give my word, I do my best to stick to it and honor what I say I’m going to do.)
I adore that I am trusted enough to run with a project, knowing their preferences and work styles, so when I get an email that says “Do your magic,” I’m off. Clients empowering their VAs to work successfully on projects, having the access to information and log-ins wherever that may be, is really the ideal way to go.