Okay, now that you’ve decided you want to niche tighter, you may be asking yourself how to go about choosing an industry.

A key factor in deciding on a specific industry is to spend a few hours assessing your own interests, work style, and personality characteristics. With at least an hour of uninterrupted time set aside for this specific task, use a blank sheet of paper and answer following questions:

1. What are my hobbies? 2. What are other areas of interest that are not yet hobbies? What passions have I not had time to explore? 3. Which existing clients bring me most joy? Why? In which industries do they work? 4. What are work and personality characteristics of my ideal client?

In answering these questions thoughtfully, you will begin to see patterns emerge. These patterns will offer clues about which industries to further investigate as possible options for your new focus.

Now that you are thinking more about focused niching, it is a perfect time to go through your list of services and cut out ones that:

• you don’t love. • aren’t lucrative. • aren’t requested often enough to warrant keeping them on your list of services.

These points will move you closer to being in full alignment with providing services that you most enjoy! You are creating a vacuum . . . an open space that will be filled with dream clients in your desired industry! How does that sound? Think about it. If your current circumstance is filled with an unfocused direction, clients coming in from fields that hold no interest for you, and old service offerings, it is your duty to yourself and life of your business to draw in a situation that is a much better match.

Okay, so you have chosen your niche market, developed a new plan of how to market your VA services, cut out services that no longer play a part in your new direction, and it occurs to you to ask question: What do I do with my existing clients who are not in industry on which I have decided to focus?

Great question! By all means, keep them! They are one of reasons you are in place to be able to take this important step. And no doubt, they will continue to be excellent clients and make referrals based on your well-established relationship.

The primary focus is that NEW clients come from industry you have decided is best match for person/business you are now.

In following these guidelines, you will find your work becoming more and more fulfilling because your efforts truly meet needs of those who most interest you! Only with a narrowed market concentration, can you truly meet specific needs of your clients.

Happy niching!

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Operations • Explain how business will be managed on a day to day basis. • Discuss hiring and personnel procedures. • Account for equipment necessary to produce your products or services. • Account for production and delivery of products and services.

Concluding Statement • Summarize your business goals and objectives and express your commitment to success of your business

Ok, you have your rough draft business plan together and you are interested in incorporating! Here’s next step… research, research, research! As I mentioned in beginning of this article, in today’s society our access to enormous amount of information that exists gives us a great advantage. It is time to start thinking about your legal structure and type of organization that will best suit your needs, not just now, but for successful future you are seeking. I have listed below some information to consider when you begin thinking about incorporation. Another option is to use a full service consulting firm who can give you advice from different perspectives, such as legal and tax implications, as well as expansion management.

When organizing a new business, one of most important decisions to be made is choosing structure of a business. Factors influencing your decision about your business organization include:

Legal restrictions Liabilities assumed Type of business operation Earnings distribution Capital needs

The easiest form of incorporation is Sole Proprietorship. It also is least expensive and has least barriers to incorporation. The majority of small businesses start out as sole proprietorships; sole proprietors own all assets and profits of company. The business is easy to dissolve, if desired, which can also be a benefit. The downside, is that that sole proprietors have unlimited liability and are legally responsible for all debts against business. In addition, they may be at a disadvantage in raising funds and are often limited to using funds from personal savings or consumer loans.

Another very popular form of incorporating is Partnership. A partnership is easy to organize but must have an agreement. In a partnership, partners have unlimited liability; however they receive all income from business. With more than one partner, ability to raise funds is increased, but since decisions are shared disagreements can occur.

The last form of legal structure is corporation. The corporation is considered by law to be a unique entity separate from those who own it. A business may incorporate without an attorney, but advice is highly recommended. The corporate structure is usually most complex and more costly to organize than other two business formations. Control depends on stock ownership. Persons with largest stock ownership, not total number of shareholders, control corporation. Shareholders have limited liability for corporation’s debt’s or judgments against them.

The process of incorporation requires more time and money than other forms of organization and corporations are monitored by federal, state and some local agencies, and as a result may have more paperwork to comply with regulations. There are different structures that may be best suited for your needs, such as C-corporation, Subchapter S-corporation or Limited Liability Corporations. You should seek professional consulting advice before deciding to choose which form of corporation is most applicable to your business.

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