Picture this, your inbox has slowed down and new client enquiries have dried up and your existing clients aren’t sending as much work at the moment.
Yep, it sounds like a good reason to panic, but guess what? You’re not alone and these dips are often temporary. The roller coaster of navigating quiet times and busy times is inevitable in any business model, not least for VAs, but it is something that you can prepare for and the fact that you can prepare for it will enable you to overcome the financial and emotional stress that it can cause.
Firstly, everyone experiences their busy and their quiet times differently. Some VAs notice that things go quiet in January/February, others feel the drop in the summer holidays, especially August. It all depends on the services you offer and the type of clients you work with.
So let’s have a look at how navigating these quiet times can enable you and your business not just to survive, but to thrive.
Planning and Preparing for Quiet Periods
Track when your business is typically quiet
Your quiet times might not be the same as another VA’s. Review your past year or two and see when the dips tend to happen. If you know they’re coming, you can build your strategy around them. If it is your first quiet period, make a note of it, so you can plan for the next one. It’s good to keep a record so you can observe patterns from one year to the next.
Create a risk assessment
This is a great way to spot challenges and opportunities in your business. Look at things like economic changes, technology updates, or even seasonal client behaviour. Thinking ahead means you won’t be caught off guard. By creating a risk assessment for quieter times, you will be able to spot the signs of an impending quiet period, you will be able to put mitigating actions into place and you will be armed and ready to navigate it. One way to prepare is to use the SWOT method (outlined below) to spot threats and opportunitues in your business.
Budget and save for the quieter months
This is an important one. Keep some money aside each month, particularly in your busier months, so you have a pot of money saved for quieter periods. This will give you some much needed breathing space and it reduces the pressure when work naturally slows down. Look at your outgoings and ensure that you save enough to cover two or three quiet months. Hopefully you won’t need to break into it, but if you do, it’s there.
Introduce seasonal or alternative services
We all heard the word ‘pivot’ being bandied about during the Pandemic, but it was a valid business move. Look at your quiet times and see if there are areas that you could break into that can bring in extra income when it’s much needed. This could be as simple as offering a Christmas card writing service in December or a holiday email cover service in the summer. Little ‘pivots’ like these can fill gaps and even attract new types of clients.
You could also look at introducing some sort of ‘passive’ income into your business, such as ebooks, downloadables, courses – something that brings in money on an ongoing basis without much ongoing effort from you.
What To Do When It Does Goes Quiet
Stay visible, but don’t look desperate
Use the extra time you have to get out yourself out there. Face-to-face or online networking events, posting on social media, PR stories, writing blogs, offering helpful tips, sharing case studies, talking about what you do and how you help. But keep the tone confident and calm. People are drawn to professionals who clearly know their worth.
Review your pricing
The average hourly rate for a UK VA in 2024 is £32.35 according to the 2025 SVA Survey. Quiet spells are a great opportunity to look at whether your rates still reflect your skills and experience.
Look at where you can reduce costs (without reducing quality)
Once again, it is good practice to do this periodically anyway. Look at where your outgoings are. Pause subscriptions you’re not using. Review office expenses. Just make sure you don’t cut back on the tools or services that help you deliver your best work
Think about how you can add value at no extra cost
Could you send your clients a free checklist to help them stay organised? Offer a free account review? Have a one-to-one with existing clients to ensure you are covering all bases? Sometimes the smallest things make the biggest difference and help you stand out.
Follow up with old leads
Check in with people who showed interest before but didn’t sign up. Life gets busy and people forget. A polite and friendly follow-up might be just the prompt they need.
See what other VAs are doing
The SVA Survey is full of insights on what real VAs are doing, covering everything from services are in demand, how people are marketing themselves, what prices they are charging and what’s working in the industry right now. It’s always worth a read, you can purchase a copy of that here.
Using your time wisely
Invest in training or CPD
The UK VA Survey 2025 shows that VAs who keep learning, invest in CPD or who work with mentors or coaches, grow faster and have greater longevity than those who don’t. Even a short course can spark ideas and give you a fresh perspective. It is so important as a VA to change with the times, this industry moves fast and it’s easy to be left behind if you don’t roll with the times.
Streamline your systems
Check your subscriptions and software. Are you still using everything you’re paying for? Could you automate your onboarding, scheduling, or emails to save time later?
Think about energy efficiency too
It’s not just about saving money. A tidy, comfortable workspace helps with focus and makes your workday more enjoyable. Now is a good time to make those tweaks.
And don’t forget to look after yourself
If things are quiet, you might have the chance to take a walk, finish a bit earlier or take some time out. Don’t feel guilty. Rest is part of running a sustainable business and burnout is a very real and unpleasant thing to deal with! Taking time out for you is a must, and when better than when things are quiet.
Building Resilience for the Long-Term
We often talk about resilience in business, but it’s not always clear what that looks like. It means planning ahead. It means staying flexible. And it means learning to ride the waves rather than panic when things slow down.
So don’t lose heart. You’re building something real, something that will last.
Prepare for the quiet times and use them to reflect, refocus, and recharge. You’ll come out the other side stronger and more confident.
You’ve got this!
- UK VA Survey 2026