Clients are swiping. The question is whether your profile is making them stop.
I was thinking about how people hire VAs now, and honestly?
It's starting to feel a little like online dating.
A client opens LinkedIn.
Or Upwork.
Or Instagram.
And starts scrolling.
Virtual Assistant.
Virtual Assistant.
Executive Virtual Assistant.
Virtual Assistant | Social Media | Admin | Customer Service | Canva | Email Marketing | Bookkeeping | Your Cousin's Baby Shower Invitations.
Swipe left.
Swipe left.
Swipe left.
Then somebody catches their attention.
Not necessarily because that person has more experience.
Their profile just makes sense.
I know what you do.
I know who you help.
I know why I might want to talk to you.
Okay, girl.
Swipe right.
Your Profile Shouldn't Require Detective Work
I've reviewed a lot of VA profiles over the years.
One of the biggest problems I see is people trying so hard to show everything they can do that I can't figure out what they actually want to be hired for.
And I understand why.
Especially when you're starting out.
You don't want to eliminate opportunities.
So you put everything on the menu.
But imagine seeing a dating profile that says:
“I love hiking, hate the outdoors, want children, don't want children, looking for marriage, open to casual, vegan except on Tuesdays.”
What am I supposed to do with that?
Your business profile can create the same reaction.
You don't need to squeeze every skill you've ever learned into your headline.
Help me understand where you fit.
Being Capable Isn't the Same as Being Memorable
You can be incredibly talented and still look exactly like everybody else online.
That's the annoying part.
Your potential client can't see everything you know.
They see what's in front of them.
Your headline.
Your About section.
Your content.
Your portfolio.
The way you talk about your work.
So if all you're giving them is:
“I'm a hardworking Virtual Assistant dedicated to helping busy entrepreneurs save time...”
Baby.
There are 9,000 other people saying some version of that.
What do you actually do well?
What kinds of problems do people keep bringing you?
What are you the person for?
That's what I want to know.
Stop Waiting for Clients to Tell You Everything
Another thing that makes somebody stand out?
They think.
I spent years supporting executives.
The people I supported didn't need me sitting around waiting for every individual instruction.
Sometimes they needed me to say:
“I noticed this.”
“I think we should do this.”
“Before we move forward, have we considered this?”
That's a very different relationship.
You stop being the person who waits for assignments and become somebody who contributes to how the work gets done.
And yes, that changes what you can charge.
Because I'm not just paying for your hands anymore.
I'm paying for your judgment.
Some Clients Need to Be Swiped Left Too
This part matters.
We're always talking about how freelancers can become more attractive to clients.
Can we please remember that we're allowed to have standards too?
Because some of these job posts...
Absolutely not.
Champagne expectations with tap-water budgets?
To the left.
Five jobs hiding inside one VA position?
To the left.
“Must be available 24/7.”
To the left.
“We can't pay much now, but there will be opportunities later.”
Baby, Beyoncé already told us what to do.
To the left.
The goal isn't getting every client to choose you.
It's getting better at recognizing who you want choosing you.
That's a completely different game.
And Then AI Entered the Dating Pool
Now we've got another layer.
Clients have AI.
Freelancers have AI.
Everybody has AI.
So simply knowing how to open ChatGPT isn't making anybody special anymore.
What matters is what you can do with it.
Can you take a messy workflow and make it usable?
Can you help a client document something that's been living in their head?
Can you build an AI-assisted process and still recognize when the output is wrong?
Can you use the technology without handing your entire brain over to it?
That's useful.
The robot isn't your personality.
It's not your experience.
It's not your judgment.
And it damn sure isn't the reason somebody should hire you.
It's another tool in your bag.
Learn how to use it accordingly.
You Don't Need Everybody to Swipe Right
This might be my favorite part of the dating analogy.
If everybody likes you, your positioning is probably too broad.
You don't need every founder.
You don't need every industry.
You don't need every random person who lands on your profile thinking:
“Oh! She could probably help me.”
I want the right person thinking:
“Wait. I need her.”
That's different.
And when you've spent enough time trying to appeal to everybody, being specific can feel scary.
Do it anyway.
Because being overlooked by somebody who was never your client isn't rejection.
They were supposed to keep scrolling.
Your Profile Is Making an Introduction Before You Ever Speak
That's what personal branding does.
Before the discovery call.
Before the DM.
Before the proposal.
Somebody is already forming an opinion about you.
So give them something useful to work with.
Let them see how you think.
Let them understand what you're good at.
Let them see some personality.
Show your work.
Talk about problems you actually know how to solve.
And please stop trying to sound like the internet's collective idea of what a “professional” is supposed to sound like.
There's a human being on the other side of that screen.
Give them a reason to want to meet the human being on yours.
Swipe right.
CURRENT MOOD
“Irreplaceable” by Beyoncé.
Obviously.
“To the left, to the left.”
Beyoncé was talking about a man.
I'm talking about questionable clients and confusing VA profiles.
Same instructions.
If the rate is disrespectful?
To the left.
If the scope has been creeping since Tuesday?
To the left.
If somebody wants an EA, social media manager, bookkeeper, graphic designer, customer service rep, and part-time therapist for $6 an hour?
Everything you own in the box to the left.
Some opportunities are supposed to pass you by.
The good stuff starts when you know which ones.
Listen to “Irreplaceable” by Beyoncé on YouTube
PEAK OF THE WEEK
Looking at how much easier business gets when you stop trying to convince everybody to choose you.
Some people aren't your people.
Some clients aren't your clients.
Some opportunities aren't opportunities at all.
Knowing the difference has saved me a whole lot of unnecessary bullshit.
#SwipeRightOnTheRightFit
XXX,
M💋
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