Being capable of offering a service doesn’t automatically mean it belongs in your business
One of the perks of being an experienced VA (Virtual Assistant) is that, over time, you learn A LOT of stuff.
You start with the skills you already have.
Then a client asks whether you know how to use Mailchimp. You learn Mailchimp. Someone else needs help with Canva. Cool. Add that to the list.
Then there’s Dubsado.
Podcast management.
Social media scheduling.
Kajabi.
Email marketing.
Event support.
CRM management.
Basic bookkeeping.
Launches.
Project management.
Automation.
Before you know it, your services page looks like the Argos catalogue circa 1998.
Laminated book of dreams, anyone? 😂
And because you're perfectly capable of doing most of those things, it feels logical to offer them.
More services means more opportunities for clients to hire you...
Right? Not necessarily. At some point in your VA journey, you need to make a distinction between:
What you CAN do and What you actually want your business to DO.
Those are two very different lists.
Your skills and your services are not the same thing
This is where I see experienced VAs getting themselves into a bit of a pickle.
You’ve accumulated years of skills. Some came from employment. Some you've developed through client work. Some you've intentionally invested in learning. Others you've picked up because a client once said:
“Do you know how to…?”
And because you're resourceful, you figured it out. That skill now belongs to you. It does not automatically need to become a service.
I can do plenty of things that aren't part of the services my businesses offer.
That's intentional.
Because a service menu isn't supposed to be an inventory of everything you've ever learned how to do. It's a commercial decision about what you want people to pay you for.
That distinction matters.
“But what if somebody wants it?”
Ahhh.
There she is.
The little voice responsible for approximately 74% of unnecessarily complicated VA service menus. 😂
But what if somebody wants social media scheduling?
What if they need newsletter formatting too?
What if they want me to update their website?
They might. That doesn't mean you have to sell it.
There will always be things prospective clients want that you could technically provide. Your job isn't to become everything to everybody who enquires. Your job is to understand what your business is particularly good at delivering, who it's for and whether delivering it makes sense for both the client and you.
Because every yes has a consequence.
It uses capacity.
It creates delivery requirements.
It affects your positioning.
It may require additional software.
It adds another process to manage.
And, most importantly, it shapes what your working life actually looks like.
Your service menu is quietly designing your diary. Choose carefully.
Enjoyment matters more than we sometimes realise
There are certain conversations in business where we're encouraged to pretend enjoyment doesn't matter.
It's business.
Do what makes money.
You don't have to love everything you do.
Sure.
There will always be parts of running a business that aren't accompanied by a choir of angels.
I'm yet to hear anyone shout:
“YESSSS! It's time to reconcile my accounts!”
But if you're building a service business where you personally deliver the work, how you feel about that work matters.
A lot.
If 70% of your income comes from a service you absolutely cannot stand delivering, we've got a problem.
And sometimes this happens slowly.
You offered something three years ago because you were good at it.
Clients bought it.
They recommended you.
More people bought it.
Now you're known for it.
Meanwhile, you've evolved and would happily never touch the bloody thing again.
That's useful information. Your business is allowed to evolve with you.
Look at more than whether you're good at it
When reviewing your services, I'd encourage you to look at each one through several lenses.
Am I good at this? Important, obviously.
Do I enjoy delivering it? We're building a life here too, remember.
Is there genuine demand for it? A fabulous service nobody wants to buy is essentially a hobby.
Is it profitable? Revenue alone doesn't tell you whether something makes commercial sense.
Does it attract the type of client I want? Some services naturally pull you towards particular clients, industries or stages of business.
Does it fit the role I want to play? This one gets overlooked.
Maybe you no longer want to be the person implementing every task. Perhaps you're moving towards strategy, project management, consultancy, specialist delivery or leading a team. Your services need to reflect where you're heading, not just where you've been.
And finally:
Does delivering this service support the life I'm trying to build? Because if your dream is location freedom but your service requires you to be available for UK office hours five days a week, we need to have a conversation...
More services don't automatically create more opportunities
There's a fear that niching your services means turning money away.
So you keep everything.
Just in case.
But a giant service menu can make it harder for someone to understand why they should specifically choose you. And, decision fatigue is a thing.
Imagine landing on one website that says:
I provide admin, email marketing, social media, podcast support, bookkeeping, websites, CRM setup, event management, launches and diary management.
Then another says:
I help busy podcast hosts manage everything between recording an episode and getting it into their listeners' ears.
Which person immediately feels more relevant if you need help running your podcast?
Exactly.
Specificity makes it easier for people to recognise themselves.
And that doesn't necessarily mean choosing one microscopic niche and solemnly swearing never to do anything else again. It means creating enough clarity that people understand where your particular value lies.
Watch out for the custom-service trap
This gets especially interesting when an existing client asks you to add something.
You like them.
You already understand their business.
You know you could do it.
So you say yes.
Then another client needs something slightly different.
Yes again.
Six months later, you're effectively running four different businesses depending on which client you're working with that day.
Different services.
Different processes.
Different expectations.
Different pricing logic.
Different tools.
It's flexible, sure. It's also a lot to hold in your head.
Personalised service is brilliant.
Building an entirely different service model around every client is exhausting.
There needs to be enough consistency underneath your offers for you to deliver them well.
Your service menu is a business decision
So here's your loving homework.
Take a proper look at everything you're currently paid to do.
Not just the neat list on your website.
What do clients actually pay you for?
Then ask yourself:
What do I want to keep?
What needs refining?
What could be packaged differently?
What should cost more?
What would I happily never sell again?
And what am I ready to become known for?
You might discover you've been holding onto services simply because you've always offered them. That's not a particularly compelling reason to keep them.
You're allowed to change your mind. You're allowed to outgrow an offer. You're allowed to become more specialised. You're allowed to decide that something you're extremely good at isn't something you want to sell anymore.
And you're allowed to build your business around work that makes commercial sense and feels good to deliver.
That's the Duality again.
The client gets the benefit of your expertise. You get to decide where that expertise is best used.
Because your clients don't need access to everything you can do.
They need absolute clarity about what you're the right person to do for them.
And you need absolute clarity about whether you still want to.
Want more conversations like this?
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Because having 47 skills is impressive.
Trying to sell all 47 of them?
Hun...
We need to talk. 😂