As this post is being written, October has begun and I am already starting to shift my work for clients into what I call “Holiday Mode”.

There are two types of people in this world: Those who welcome Christmas carols in October, and others who avoid the stores selling decorations by the end of August. As a Virtual Assistant who wants to increase her income to round up my goals for the year, I fall somewhere in between!

The reality is that many of our clients and business owners are executing their preparations for a busy season ahead NOW after starting to think about their plans in August or even July! Especially if you assist any clients in the e-commerce space, you can take great advantage of all the extra tasks that can be done in the months that bring us up to the end of the year. Holiday sales and the results I got my clients during that season are what solidified my role with them and allowed me to raise my rates with ease the following year!

So, here are some ideas that you should honestly go ahead and reach out to clients about now if you want to level up your income and pad your business into the new year.

Take What I Call A “Virtual Assistant’s Inventory”

What tasks are you currently assigned, and how long are they taking you?

How much room/time are you willing to give to new tasks that accommodate any potential additional needs your clients might have?

Think and plan out in detail to help you decide the best way to take advantage of the holiday season and the increased demand for VAs.

There are several services that you can start offering for the season.

Here are 10 new tasks you can help clients with for the holiday season:

Travel Planner

• Arrange holiday travel plans
• Book flight tickets
• Book hotel reservations
• Take care of a list of things your client needs for their vacation

Create a Holiday Newsletter

• Help clients make their presence felt this season
• Come up with emails to promote your client’s products and services for the holidays
• Send greetings to your clients’ clients and business partners

Manage Business While Your Client is Gone

• Assist them if they are hesitant to leave work behind even during the holidays
• Help them cover their tasks while some time off
• help them enjoy a stress-free vacation

Send Out Holiday Cards

• Help clients follow the tradition of giving Christmas cards.
• Save time and effort for your clients by arranging to send out the cards.
• Order or make cards for them.
• Check if the cards have been sent out and delivered on time

Online Holiday Marketing

• Help generate profit through an effective holiday marketing campaign through various online platforms.
• Assist with holiday marketing and promotions.
• Help clients reach their target market and desired sales figures.

Event Planning

• Help your clients host a holiday party.
• Organize and manage this event.
• Send invitations
• Track RSVPs
• Book a venue

Respond to Emails

• Keep an eye on your client’s inbox and help them focus on other tasks or if they’re away, it will give them peace of mind.
• Keep your social media accounts updated
• Process transactions

Purchase Gifts

• Help your clients purchase gifts for their loved ones, employees, and clients.
• Ask them to make a list of people they’re buying gifts for, and add details about them to help you find the best gifts.

Handle Payments

• Handling chasing payments and settling balances will save precious time for your clients.
• Help to give them a fresh start for the new year.

Prepare for the Coming Year

• Help clients analyze their company’s performance during the year and plan for the next.
• Provide insights on their business progress and areas of improvement.

Determine A “Seasonal Package” That You Can Send To Clients Or Discuss With Them On Your Next Status Meeting.

As mentioned above, there are several ways you can offer clients help with new tasks during the holiday rush. Create special seasonal packages for your current clients in addition to the tasks you are already helping with.

You can offer extra designs for the holidays along with your usual content creation or SMM package.

Or add a few extra email campaigns to your usual emails package.

Your client might appreciate some extra help with maintaining their inbox or even calendar management for the holidays.

Feel free to ask your clients about other areas they could do with your help during the rush of season. It’s good to discuss this over your regular meetings with them.

Beat the holiday rush by being well-organized well in time. So if you haven’t yet had a conversation about your seasonal packages this is a reminder for you to do so at your next meeting!

Pro Tip: Charge a bit more on base packages as well if the volume increases with no additional tasks. i.e. emails or comment answering for social media managers, additional blog posts, etc.

Offer Hours-Based Assistance If They Aren’t Up For A Package

I typically recommend staying away from hourly rates with clients because that perpetuates the idea that your time is the value, not the outcome of the tasks you are assisting with.

However, your clients may get an influx of emails to respond to or have extra items to add to your bookkeeping duties. These tasks can be charged for on an hourly basis if a package doesn’t seem to be the best option for your clients.

My clients run additional sales that I have to set up outside of my usual campaigns, so I always increase the rate a little bit.

But it’s important to make sure to agree upon this up front and get a set number of hours min and max!

Ultimately, partnering with you, a virtual assistant, is going to prove super beneficial to them.

Remind them that you will:

• Save time
• Save money while making more money
• and get things done on time

When you convince them about you being the best resource to get the required tasks underway, they might steer towards buying your packages.

That way you end up with a win-win deal.

This is a Huge Chance for You to Show Your Value as a Virtual Assistant!

For small businesses, effective marketing campaigns in the holiday season can mean really good business. It is the busiest season of the year. And while everyone likes to take advantage of the time of the year you can too!

Help the client get results in this season (a.k.a. Help them make more money), make their life easier, and you may find yourself easily being able to raise your base package rates come January!

If you have a new client that you worked out an intro rate with, you will be able to solidify the relationship moving forward. This is your time to shine!

As a virtual assistant, you can do a lot for your clients. Most importantly, you will give clients more time to focus on their other tasks and will allow them to spend precious time with loved ones during the holiday season.

So be a VA that helps them spend the holidays with less stress and more joy!

You will be highly appreciated!

Don’t Forget - This is also the prime time to scoop up NEW clients and make more income that way.

You might have a mental hurdle with regard to finding new clients but it’s easier than you think.

There are 2 ways to find new clients:

1. Networking and connecting with people in real life.
2. Finding clients online.

Check out Build Your Virtual Assistant Business Bootcamp where I talk in detail about the best places to find new clients. Learn in-depth strategies to market your services on social media and sell to and sign clients!

Remember business owners are in dire need of help during the busy holiday season. So don’t hesitate to put yourself out there and offer them your virtual assistant solutions.

I have another educational resource coming up for you!

An ebook with a stellar strategy to land you more new clients that fit your ideal client persona!

It’s coming up soon so make sure you subscribe to The Next Level VA Newsletter down below for updates on that.

Feel free to send me any questions that you have about running your virtual assistant business and I’ll be happy to help you!