The Multi-VA business model although gaining more and more popularity among VA’s is still somewhat of a mystery to some VA’s.  I get asked quite often, what transpired in my solo VA business that lead me to the Multi-VA business model.  So, what better place to share this then here.  By telling my story, hopefully I will further clarify what the whole multi-VA business thing is all about.

I’ve been a Virtual Assistant since 1998. In 2001, I found my business full to capacity, I was turning away clients and really felt there had to be an alternative way to handle this.  I have always been a true believer in partnering with clients and building those critical relationships, so the idea of subcontracting work out to another VA, having them in the background completing those projects didn’t quite appeal to me.  Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with subcontracting, I just wanted my team to take a more “hands on” role with my clients. I didn’t want to lose the partnering aspect that makes us Virtual Assistants, this was extremely important to me.  

I really wanted to take a team approach to Virtual Assisting, and build a fantastic team of VA’s that shared my company standards, work ethic, policies, procedures, etc.  I mean, the fact that my business was full to capacity must have meant I was doing something right.  I wanted to continue on this path with a group of talented individuals who would represent me and my company, just as I would.  My thought was not to keep them hidden but to display their talents openly on every communication possible.

 Although in professional terms, they are subcontractors and not employees, for me it was the “nature” of the relationship which was different between a subcontractor and one of my VA’s.  You see in a subcontractor relationship you are abiding by their rules, their timelines, fees, standards, etc.  Back then I had the tendency to be a little bit of a control freak (not so much now) and this scenario did not work well for me.  So, I created my own rules, the fees I could pay, the standards that must be kept, the process and procedures that has made my business successful.

 To be perfectly honest it was not difficult for me to create my first team. Of course being the “newbie” I was at this whole team approach thing, I had my challenges, but I learned from them. I referred to my team members as Associates. I felt this really illustrated the importance my team was to me, they were not simply subcontractors hidden in the background, but individuals I was proud to have as part of my business. I wanted to “shout out” the fact I had an incredible group of VA’s by my side. My Associates would work with my clients providing the same partnering relationship that truly defined the VA. They were and still are exceptional.  So, MJVA became MJVA & Associates!  We’ve never looked back since. 

Now, I have never once claimed I was the first person to work with a team of VA’s, I’m sure there have been plenty of VA’s who have worked in this capacity.  But I do lay claim to the term Multi-VA. In fact I remember exactly when I came up with this term.  I was speaking with my dear friend and fellow VA Mary-Lou Ashton about my ideas, the difference between subcontracting and what I wanted to do with my Associates.  Up to that point, I had never had a term to describe it.  As I spilled out all the details of my business model and explained the whole “team approach”, to Mary-Lou it just came out. 

“It’s like multiple VA’s working for one company, but still maintaining the whole Client/VA relationship….like a Multi-VA business”.  So, the term was born.  

Now keep in mind when I first said it, it was more of a term that I could use to describe my new business model to others, I never for one second thought 5 years later I would be giving seminars/courses on the topic, writing a book on the Multi-VA business, coaching other’s on the model and helping them tweak it to suit their needs.  I never thought that it would gain the popularity it has today but I’m thrilled that it has.  So, I’d like to end this post by doing a shout out to other Multi-VA owner’s -thank you for believing in this business model, you just confirm for me that sometimes “I do get it right”.