Have you wished you had more time in the day to work on growing your business? It’s a common belief among coaches and service providers that time is the biggest barrier to growth. But here’s a thought experiment:
Imagine I could wave a magic wand and give you one of two optional outcomes…
- Option one: you get all of your time back to grow your business or focus on other things.
- Option two: you get a steady flow of clients and make a lot more money.
Which would you choose? Most would say “money,” though we really want both. The good news: you can have both — just not by hiring the way most do. Many business owners’ first hire is a VA to save time, assuming extra time will create growth. But buying back time rarely increases earnings. In this episode, I share why my first hire didn’t grow my business — and the shift that freed my time and doubled my revenue.
I Hired for the Wrong Thing
In 2017, I hired my first and only virtual assistant, Bianca, who still works with me today. I thought my biggest barrier to growth was time. As a done-for-you marketing provider, I spent around 30 hours a week on client work and believed offloading admin tasks would free me to network, focus on my business, and grow.
Bianca handled everything beautifully. She styled blog posts, scheduled content, and managed admin odds and ends. Yet, new clients didn’t follow. As a longtime content marketer, our content looked great but didn’t spark conversations, and conversations are what lead to sales. I talk more about this in Scalable Success Episode #2: The Overlooked Reason Your Content Isn’t Converting Clients
Because my content wasn’t converting, I relied heavily on referrals. Even with more time, I wasn’t networking consistently, and the referrals came too slowly to replace lost clients. Looking back, the real issue wasn’t time but the lack of a simple, repeatable way to get clients. Bianca and I were busy, but busyness doesn’t equal growth. I thought I was opening doors to scale — but I’d hired for the wrong thing.
The Cost of ‘Getting Ready’ for Growth
Many business owners tell me, “I know I need consistent action to get clients, but first I have to fix my messaging… or rebrand my website… or launch a funnel.” It feels logical that sharper branding should attract clients. But those projects often become costly detours that delay what really drives revenue: consistent conversations with qualified prospects.
I say this as someone who’s spent 20 years building websites, brands, and funnels. Websites and funnels alone don’t create clients. They only work when you already have the right messaging, a proven offer, and enough leads to test and optimize. Without that, you can spend months tweaking pages and emails without bringing in enough clients to cover the cost.
If you want clients now, focus on daily client-getting actions: outreach, follow-ups, and relationship-building. These efforts bring the feedback you need to refine your messaging and make your funnels and content far more effective later. They also bring immediate cash flow.
No Process vs. No Consistency
If you’re focused more on messaging or your web presence than on building relationships, that’s OK. But know this: the biggest reason growth feels slow isn’t lack of time — it’s not taking consistent action on the few tasks that actually bring in clients.
As a small-business owner wearing all the hats, it’s easy for daily client-getting activities to slip to the bottom of your list. I regularly see two common patterns among entrepreneurs looking to increase earnings:
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No proven process: Your client-getting approach involves posting and networking randomly without a repeatable, working plan.
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Inconsistent execution: You know what works but can’t stay consistent because you’re busy delivering for clients or stuck in admin work.
Either way, the roadblock is the same: a lack of steady execution on the actions that create new clients. Result: your business stays stuck at its current level.
How I Turned My VA into a Client-Getting Partner
The progress I hoped for when I hired Bianca in 2017 only came once I documented a simple, repeatable client-acquisition system. I took everything out of my head and mapped out exactly what needed to happen daily and weekly to keep the pipeline full:
- Daily new conversations with people who look like a fit.
- Timely follow-ups with people who’ve shown interest.
- A process for re-engaging leads who’d gone quiet.
- A simple way to track and measure all of it.
Once that system proved it could bring in paying clients, I delegated parts of it to Bianca. That’s when she shifted from handling admin tasks to directly supporting client acquisition with a simple daily checklist.
Many business owners hesitate to hire a VA for client acquisition, thinking they need a full-time specialist. You don’t. My clients and I have grown with as little as 3–9 hours a week of VA support. At a modest hourly rate, you’re paying someone to help bring in clients worth thousands — a far better ROI than most other types of support.
The Impact of a Client-Acquisition VA
When Bianaca started helping me with client-getting activities, the impact was almost immediate. For the first time, my business had a steady, week-to-week routine for growth. This is something I always struggled to keep up with on my own while juggling everything else.
Typically, Bianca works three days a week. On the other two days, I jump in for about 30 minutes to an hour to create more new opportunities, and keep conversations and follow-ups moving forward. We’ve essentially been tag-teaming the outreach and follow-ups.
Within the first six months of running this simple daily process, our one-two-punch approach doubled my revenue. The ROI was obvious. Compared to the lack of returns I saw when Bianca (who is very skilled) only supported admin and content work, this made it clear: if I could go back to 2017 when I hired her, I’d have hired her to support me with client-getting. That’s exactly what I recommend now for any coach or service provider making their first hire.
Final Thoughts: Buy Momentum, Not Just Time
The big lesson I learned — and that I try to pass on to every coach or service provider I work with — is this: buying back your time feels smart. But if you want to grow faster, it’s wise to consider buying momentum instead. Momentum comes from daily action on the activities that bring in clients.
And the easiest way to keep that momentum going is to have an assistant whose role is dedicated to it. If you’re ready to speed up your growth, focus on the hire that drives revenue — not just the one that frees up your calendar.
If you want to see the math behind how this works — and why just a few hours a week of consistent client-getting activity can lead to 3–5 new clients a month — listen to Podcast Episode 1: 4 Systems That Break Plateaus and Explode Business Growth