January marks a major milestone for Signature Worx…we just celebrated our 1 year business anniversary! Looking back on this past year, I wonder if my success was based on skill, determination, lots of luck, or a combination of all these things. One thing I’m sure of, I have learned and accomplished so much more than I ever expected. Did I accomplish everything I set out to do? No, but four months after starting, my business simply took another direction.

Obviously these aren’t the only things that will make your business successful, but I think they are the seeds that will either help your business flourish or kill it before you even get started.

Skill
There are several networking and information forums I frequent that cater to Virtual Assistants. The two I frequent the most are the Virtual Assistant Revolution (or The Rev as we Revolutionaries call it) and Virtual Assistant Networking Association (VANA). I see the same question over and over about whether or not people should advertise skills they don’t really have, or embellishing their skills to snag the client. People do this all the time on their resumes and many actually get the job based on those embellishments.

To me, it is a matter of ethics and integrity. I advertise and market the skills I have and leave the rest up to someone else. It is like a prospective client calling me to perform brain surgery and me saying “Sure, I can do that,” then researching on how to do it on the Internet or medical manuals to prep myself for the task. This example might be a little extreme, but to me there is no bigger waste of time than having to learn or cram for a skill I know nothing about. Have I ever had a client request a skill I do not possess or ask me to do a task that I’ve never done before? Sure, but I let them know my skill level upfront and let them make the decision.

Determination & Drive
I don’t believe anyone can start a business and be successful at it without determination, drive, and love for what they do. Running a business is no small feat. For some it is a desire to be in control of their life and not answer to a boss. For others, it may be fulfilling an inspiration. For me it was a bit of both, the freedom to set my own hours, and raise my daughter without compromising my family’s well-being.

What drives me is my 21 month old daughter, who I utterly adore down to the depths of my soul. Don’t get me wrong, I love my work, my clients, and what I do…that is where the love comes in. But the alternative for me is to go back to corporate America and put my daughter in day care for 10 hours a day between the commute and business hours where she never sees her parents except for a couple of hours a day. All that while adding more expenses like gasoline, clothing, day care, etc. This is not an option for me.

For me, determination is easy because I hate to fail. I know most people would say the same thing, but I really h-a-t-e to fail.

The reasons are different for everyone, but I think they are an important key to a successful business.

Lots of Luck
When I decided to start my own business, I did a lot of research and planning…2 months to be exact. I already had the skills, already had a built-in designer, desktop publisher, and Web master…it was me! I found VANA, read tons of posts, posted questions myself, took as much information in as I could from seasoned VAs, and made my own business model based on that guidance and advice. I quickly made virtual friends and surrounded myself with those who had successful practices and the same values that I uphold.

What I didn’t know was I was marketing my business, establishing my image, and creating my credibility before I even knew I was doing it. I also surrounded myself with people who I considered to be masters in their field, who contributed their knowledge to help others and had the same drive and passion as I do. They have been my support system, my coaches, my mentors and great friends. This is one of the biggest reasons I am successful today.

So yes, it takes skill, determination, drive and some luck to be successful in business. If you’re doing what you love and you have the skills you will succeed. After all, we’re not talking about brain surgery here!