Setting up structure in your business

Having a structure in anything we do in life makes things easy. There will be little to no overwhelm, you know what to do next, how to do it and when to do it. This is the same for having a structure in your virtual assistant business. It is important to arrange everything you will be doing on a daily basis from marketing, to working with your clients, to giving them updates and so much more.

Business structure in this course will be discussed in two different categories. One is your business legal standing and the second one is your behind the scene setup.

ATTACHMENTS: One page business plan (Click to download) Download the attached document to prepare a business plan for your virtual assistant business. You can prepare your plan in separate sheets and use this attachment as a guide.

Your business legal standing

In legal terms, there are three major types of business structures in Nigeria. We have

• Sole proprietorship
• Partnership
• Company

The above list might be different from what is obtainable in your country, this is what we have in Nigeria. We also have guarantee companies which are registered mainly by non governmental organisations. But for this course, I will only be touching the 3 I listed above.

Sole proprietorship

You can go for this option if you want to start small but still wants your business to claim some properties such as your business name to some degree. However, this is all that you get by registering a sole proprietorship. You are not different from the business and your person is the one that is recognized as the business. Your business will not be able to own properties or enter into contracts on its own. In this case, whether your business name is e.g. Toyin Adekola Virtual Services or Fast Fingers Virtual Services, you are still the business and the business is you.

Partnership

You can also decide to register your business as a partnership in conjunction with your friend or family. This can come into play if you have very limited skills and you have someone on your list that has some other sell-able skills. The 2 of you can form a partnership and have everything especially the legal concerns that might arise documented to avoid conflicts in the future.

Company

This is different from sole proprietorship. When you register your business as a company, it becomes a legal entity on its own. Your business own properties and enter into contracts on its own without you being in the picture. You would need to have a board of directors, company secretary and shareholders.

Any option you decide on, visit the nearest tax office close to you to know your tax requirements and how to remit them as at when due. You should do this after the registration of your business either by yourself or a professional.

Behind the scene setup

Time management is crucial as a virtual assistant. You will find that there’s always so much for you to accomplish from working on your clients’ projects and your own business, then personal activities. One trick to help you work for as long as you can per day is to take on jobs that you really love doing. And if a client doesn’t seem like the kind of person you’d get along with, I would advise you don’t work with them from the onset.

Yes, I understand all the things about not judging or deciding on a person at the first meeting but as a virtual assistant, if they don’t seem right initially, activate your pointers and actually be sure that you can get along with your client. Why this is important is because you would be working with them and taking on their projects as your own as this is the only way you can give the best results. However, if you don’t get along well with them, there is no way you can give them the best results.

Another thing about being able to work smoothly per day is to have a dedicated workspace. If you will be working from home , it is important that you setup a home office that you actually resume to at a set time that works for you. Then have a specific number of hours you work for, and a set closing time.

Working with daily schedules is also important. You should have a list of tasks you would be doing from specific number of hours and when to take a break. If you will be having clients who require daily updates, have a specific time to be sending the updates and create templates for them.

This brings us to the end of Module 5.

Do not forget to share this course with your friends and family, they’d really appreciate it.

CONTINUE TO MODULE 6