Why do we find it so difficult to write about ourselves in a glowing light?  In the 4 years that I have been teaching and in the 6 or so years that I have been mentoring and coaching new VA’s this always seems to be the most difficult task -writing about the great qualities they possess.  Those qualities that not only make us great VA’s but make us who we are!

Don’t get me wrong, I can absolutely relate to the difficulty surrounding this.  I’ve always found it extremely hard to sit down and think about all the “great things” I can do and then put it down on paper. When I first started my business, writing a bio was probably one of the most difficult pieces for me to write about.  Ask me to write about anything else and I’d have it done in no time…writing about myself, a totally different story.

A concern among those I teach and one that resonated with me when I was first starting my business was I didn’t want to come off as being cocky or arrogant.  I was afraid that if I tooted my own horn, instead of attracting I would be turning people off.  This seems to be a common apprehension among new VA’s.

Its funny isn’t it?  I mean if we were asked to write down our weaknesses, we wouldn’t have any problems pulling those items from our mind, but ask us what are strengths are and we’re afraid to look conceited.   This was something that I struggled with for quite a while and every now and then it still creeps in.  Ask my friend Pam, who just the other day said to me “You have difficulty taking compliments don’t you?”  Yes, I guess at times I still do and I shouldn’t.

Trust me, I’m not writing this post because I’ve come up with the solution on how everyone can get over their fear or concerns about tooting their own horn. But what I can do is share with you how I realized that it’s okay to do this.  

When you are selling your services, you are in essence selling yourself. In order for clients to make an informed decision about whether or not to hire you, they want to know “WHY” they should hire you.   I see this now more as an opportunity oppose to a hindrance.  This allows me to acknowledge all of the great skills and experience that I bring to the table and that I can share with my clients to support them in their business. 

Prospective clients aren’t thinking about how “cocky” I am when they are reading about my skills, services and experience; they are wondering how they can utilize it all in their business. 

We need to understand that prospective clients NEED to hear about all the glorious things we can do, so they can better understand how we as individuals can support them.  So, you see you are doing yourself and your clients a service by “tooting your own horn”. 

Let’s try to get past the feeling of being arrogant and celebrate our achievements -we have lots to be proud of!