When you have a presence online there will come a time when the thieves come out of the woods and make themselves known. More like wolves in sheep's clothing. They will butter you up and tell you how fantastic you are and convince you that you should part with your hard-earned money to invest in their project. In this case a 'who's who directory of people' from some unknown but impressive sounding company. When you get approached by someone to list in a Who's Who Directory it would be well … [Read more...]
Sick scam
I've been the victim of a very sick scam. I really don't understand why or what. But I wanted to share it with you so you can be wary, in case it happens to you. Middle of July a new affiliate signed up. Nothing unusual about that. I get affiliates signing up with my site regularly. However, this affiliate began generating a lot of sales quite quickly. The first I knew of it was when I suddenly started getting orders for my book "Worth More Than Rubies". I sell copies here and there, but … [Read more...]
Avoiding the Office Blues
This is something I've written about in the past but it's a good topic and it's raised its head again, this time via Melbourne's Newspaper The Age. Working at home alone isn't for everyone. It's not just the 'running a business' and keeping track of your finances, but more the day-to-day aloneness inside the four walls of your home, without others to keep you company during the day. We all tackle it in different ways - well, not all. Some return to work simply because they crave the daily … [Read more...]
The Etiquette of Approaches
Recently I've had approaches from a couple of people asking me to participate in a survey. Now, there's nothing really strange about that, except that neither of these people identified who they are, what the survey actually is about, or why they were asking me. Simply, they sent a message asking me (almost demanding) to fill in a survey. Why should I? I know the internet makes people 'bolder' and they feel they can do or say anything they want because of the anonymity they've been given, … [Read more...]
Graduate Sustainability Business Program
I'm delighted to let you know that I recently graduated after doing the Sustainability Business Program that the Yarra Ranges Council puts on for businesses in their region. This is a govt subsidised program so it has the backing of the Australian government. Why would I participate in such a program? Because I saw it as adding value to my business and alerting more people to the VA industry as a whole. While Virtual Assistants already know and understand the benefits of operating virtually … [Read more...]
My absence
Apologies to my regular readers and others. My absence hasn't been intended and I know it's been an important time for our industry just in the past week with OIVAC and International VA Day. I was supposed to be involved. A couple of posts ago I shared that my husband had had a serious accident and is in hospital. He's not expected to return home for some weeks yet and will have ongoing physiotherapy and other rehab things happening for months to come. This has naturally drained me for the … [Read more...]
Working at home has other benefits
I don't wish anything bad upon you at all, but I do wish to share my own experience with you, and the reason why my posts suddenly stopped their usual 2-3 times a week. I had preposted when my husband and I were away on holiday with intentions to write more once I was back in my office. However, my husband had a serious accident at the end of Easter and ended up in hospital and I was in somewhat a stressed state - understandably. The past week has been a blur of visits in and out of a … [Read more...]
Always moving onto the next thing…
Have you found that? It's only April and so far this year I've organised and run a Conference for the VA industry (with help of course). The lead up and the wrap of the event, not to mention attending it, tended to take away time from working with clients. I did let them know in advance and organised help for them in my 'absence'. I hosted a US delegate for the conference in my home and took her to see some Australian countryside and wildlife the day before the conference started. Only a … [Read more...]
17 years ago today…
I nervously and excitedly made my way into the city of Melbourne to register my new business. I hadn't wanted to share my business name idea with anyone, in case someone else beat me to it. Little did I know what might transpire in the years to come and how my business name would be used, not only for my services, but for the services of many others. The world has indeed changed in those 17 years. Computers have changed incredibly, so has the media we use for storing information. It is … [Read more...]