Running a Sustainable Executive Assistant Agency – 3 Lessons Learned Over the Past 3 Years
This month at Elevate Virtual Business Solutions, we’re celebrating three years of problem-solving our clients' operational roadblocks and bringing them out of overwhelm so they can move their business forward with ease and focus.
Scaling a virtual assistant or executive assistant agency is not for the faint of heart, but with direction, persistence, and a whole lot of strategy – it’s absolutely possible.
We started as a team of one with 3 clients and within three years we’ve grown into a team of 15 who serve over 75 clients. Our growth has been intentional – and not always easy – but we’re unbelievably proud of where we are, how we help business owners and entrepreneurs, and where we’re going in the future.
Reflection is a key part of our growth process, so in true Elevate fashion, we’re pausing for a moment to look back on the past three years and highlight 3 of the most important lessons we’ve learned so you can use our experience to help grow your own sustainable agency (and avoid some of our mistakes!).
Lesson #1: Not everything will go as planned
We are really into planning around here. We’re known for our forward-thinking Strategic Mapping Sessions that help business owners see their goals more clearly and create a path to actually getting where they want to be.
Strategic planning is our superpower!
But no matter how smart the plan, sometimes things will go awry.
One of the best lessons we’ve learned is how to plan for unplanned events – acknowledging that something will likely go wrong at some point and planning a “Plan B” or even “Plan C” based on our experience and foresight.
When you plan for the unplanned, you put yourself in a better position to respond quickly and intentionally instead of throwing spaghetti at the wall or losing your cool and letting a situation that could be controlled escalate into a disaster.
It’s okay if the plan isn’t executed perfectly. Use your knowledge that something likely will go wrong to make contingency plans and prepare to be as flexible and adaptable as possible.
Our team is very skilled at staying calm, assessing a situation, and pivoting or taking the right next action. No matter what pops up, we’re prepared to handle it.
Lesson #2: Your executive assistant agency will thrive if you commit to learning from your mistakes
Mistakes, misjudgments, and unforeseen events will happen.
At Elevate, we don’t believe in failure. Instead, we either succeed or earn a great learning opportunity.
Our team is committed to treating every misstep as a learning opportunity and a chance to develop or improve a skill.
One of our most effective team strategies is our “Lessons Learned” meeting. We hold these after each challenge or sticky situation so we can:
Objectively reflect on what happened
Celebrate where we got it right and had success
Identify where we can improve or do something differently
Mistakes don’t happen twice at Elevate because we don’t hide from them – we identify them, figure out why they happened, and then make changes so we don’t repeat them.
If you’re afraid of acknowledging mistakes or errors, you lose out on the opportunity to learn from them and improve your systems, practices, and processes!
Lesson #3: The most effective decisions are guided by your core valueS
Do you have your organization’s core values written down?
If you don’t, try to set aside some time this week to thoughtfully consider what drives your team and influences your decisions. (You can use this list of core values to help get you started!) Writing down your core values will keep them top of mind and help you actually use them.
At Elevate, our core values are:
Connection
Collaboration
Community
Proactiveness
Commitment
Reliability
Innovation
We don’t make a decision big or small that doesn’t align with our values, which keeps us focused and on the right path. We know what matters most to us, and we’re confident in our guiding principles.
If you feel uncertain about your growth plan or unsure of how you want to grow, starting with getting clear on your core values is a helpful starting place.
As a CEO, you’re responsible for setting the vision for your business and team – and having a strong foundation of core values will help you be much more effective in envisioning your future, hiring the right people, and growing your team the right way.
Need help with establishing core values for your business?
Our founder, Ashley Carlson, is highly skilled at helping CEOs and entrepreneurs get clear on their mission, vision, and core values.
She offers 1:1 Strategic Mapping Sessions to deep dive into your business and get these important foundations laid out so you can use them to map out your next year of success.
If you’re ready to implement the lessons we’ve learned as a growing, thriving operations support agency – a Strategic Mapping Session is the service for you!
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