One of the hardest parts of being a virtual assistant (or team member) is establishing boundaries early on with clients. When I started my journey as a VA, I was available all the time. Seriously. I was breastfeeding my kid and answering messages. Eating dinner and typing texts. At 9pm when my clients were working and I was heading home from a rehearsal, I was sending messages. I want to make people happy – I’m a people pleaser to my core. But, giving myself to my clients 24/7 took a toll. It was then I knew I had to make a change in how I communicate with clients. Now, I use three apps to communicate with clients so I can better maintain my availability and boundaries. Let’s talk about them today!

Slack

Slack is GREAT when you have a lot going on or a bigger team. It’s a platform designed solely for messaging and file sharing. And it’s amazing! I only use it with a few clients but I’ve found it’s a great way to organize thoughts – especially if you’re both wordy people. I keep Slack only on my computer so I don’t check it when I’m not in the office (easy boundary right there!).

Trello

I LOVE Trello for blog schedules and ongoing projects. It’s a great place to brain dump and also plan checklists. Whatever you need to organize in your business… Trello can do it. For clients, I mainly focus on blog schedules so we can easily see where we are at any given moment with a checklist. It’s so nice to be able to drop and drag the cards around and reschedule on a moment’s notice. There’s also plenty of spaces to tag and comment back and forth on each card – so communication is super easy there! I keep Trello on my phone and use the website – but I generally only use the app on my phone for my own brain dumps or personal boards.

Voxer

I was recently introduced to Voxer in the last year or so and I FREAKING LOVE IT. There’s something so personal about being able to share voice messages with your friends and clients. I love that I can quickly talk out a question versus sending an email or typing a text. And it’s a great way to quickly provide feedback or thoughts. I’ve used it with my clients and my coach, and I’ll never go back. I do have Voxer on my phone but changed notification settings so I can check during my office hours.

Good communication with clients is key as a virtual assistant. Not only do you need to be able to make sure you’re on the same page, you need to work together as a team. Whether you communicate every day or not, strong habits can make a huge difference in your work together.

Ready to find your first client? Download my tips here!

5 Tips to Find Your First Client as a VA

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