Have you ever considered the idea that a business is like a parent and employees like its children?

Think about it. Employers must nurture and supervise their businesses and employees like parents must do with their children. The ?family unit? thrives on strong direction, fair but firm discipline, and solid structure. The employer ?parent? is responsible for instilling this foundation, and making determinations that affect the health and well-being of the ?family unit,? the business itself.

Its ?children,? the employees, have only to do what is asked of them and collect their ?allowance? in the form of wages. They don?t get to decide how much they will be paid. They don?t have to deal with administration and taxes, profits or losses. And the success or failure of the business affects them only to the extent that they continue to have a job.

When you make the decision to become a self-employed Virtual Assistant, you go from employee ?child? to business owner ?parent.? You have much more at stake now, and a keen interest in the success and profitable operation of your Virtual Assistant business.

However, this is often a role that Virtual Assistants don?t readily adjust to. They may not realize as new business owners that there?s more to creating and running a self-sustaining business than simply performing services for clients. Often, they will even charge professional service rates equal to their former hourly wage--and end up earning less because they haven?t accounted for operating costs, capital outlay and profit margins, much less the Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, disability and other benefits they used to receive as employees!

The good news is that all it takes to go from employee ?child,? who has never had to be responsible for the success of a business, to strong, intelligent Virtual Assistant business owner is some intentional thought and smart planning.

There?s even a business tool for this?it?s called the business plan.

The business plan gets you to consciously and methodically decide where you want to go in your business and how you will get there. It forces you to think through all the details of your business, and creates a roadmap for your Virtual Assistant business success. But what many Virtual Assistants struggle with is where to even begin.

The Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce offers you an excellent starting point with the Virtual Assistant Business Plan Template here: www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/virtual-assistant-business-forms.htm

This creative plan for the imaginary company Superlative Virtual Assistant Services, owned by the fictional Suzy P. DeQue, is written with proper format and outline. It consists of 14 pages of example text, spreadsheets and figures so you can get an idea of what kind of information to develop for your own Virtual Assistant business, and includes four Excel financial worksheets and a free service rate calculation tool.

Are you passively sitting in the carseat or commanding at the steering wheel? A business plan is the one document your Virtual Assistant business should not be without.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Danielle Keister is owner of The Relief Virtual Assistance. Her company has been providing expert administrative support services to the professional community since 1997. Visit her website at www.TheRelief.com to get her complimentary report "Ramp Up Your Billable Hours: 10 Easy Fixes You Can Make Right Now." She is also founder of the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce (www.VirtualAssistantNetworking.com), a professional association of Virtual Assistants worldwide dedicated to helping Virtual Assistants run smarter, more successful businesses, and providing tools and resources for business owners to connect with qualified, professional Virtual Assistants.

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