I'm amazed at how many people do not read the User agreement and rules for LinkedIn. Regularly I get added to people's email lists because we're connected at LinkedIn. Come on people! If I want to be on your list I will subscribe - you don't need to add me. What don't you get about spam and anti-spam legislation rules? Just because I've agreed to connect, does NOT mean I've also agreed to be on your list. I am connected to a few thousand people - what if every single one of them decided to … [Read more...]
Working out rates as a VA
This is a discussion I see at my own and other VA forums - VAs wanting to know how much others charge so they can work out a rate for themselves. However, it's not as easy as that. Each individual VA has experiences, skill sets and different locations of living, which also come into the equation. Cost of living is a big factor, and therefore, will affect how much you might charge for services you provide and which currency. So, it is very, very important that each individual VA goes through … [Read more...]
Looking after self
As VAs it is ingrained into many of us to focus on our clients and get their work done. Sometimes to the detriment of our own health. I know I've been guilty of that myself. "I just have to get this done first...", "I can't leave the office because this client might be emailing me shortly...", "There will be time enough for 'that' later...", "There's not enough time in the day..." and so it goes on. Not to mention family needs, household needs, etc - we're always at the end of the line, have you … [Read more...]
The day I stop learning is the day I die
"The day I stop learning is the day I die". Dorothy Brimble My grandmother told me this when I was just 14 years old. No idea what we were talking about at the time, but she was a lady that taught herself a new word from the dictionary regularly through her life, did crosswords, hand wrote out music just to keep her hands working well and because she loved the way the notes played on the bar lines and the curves of the treble and bass clefs, played multiple instruments, wrote stories and spent … [Read more...]
Are your emails getting through?
Email is not 100% proof and probably never will be. So why do people just assume that all their emails are getting through? Or that they're receiving everything they should? It really hurts when you miss an email from a client or potential client and, therefore, totally miss out on a job - because you didn't know they were trying to contact you. What is wrong with using the phone these days? Or make contact other ways, i.e. PM via Facebook or other social media if those people are … [Read more...]
It’s not going to happen today…
Or even tomorrow, or maybe next week, but it will happen, if you're persistent and consistent. What? might you ask. Your new business and, in particular, I'm talking about new Virtual Assistants. I see so many posting at forums lamenting that they haven't got a client yet, that they're despondent and sad it's not happening and they don't think they can make this work. When being questioned how long they've been in business the usual answer is 'a month', 'a few weeks', or 'I've just … [Read more...]
Never work for free
Just recently, on a couple of different VA forums, I've come across Virtual Assistants who have worked without charging the client. They had good intentions, wanting the client to become familiar with their work abilities and with the promise of ongoing work, but for different reasons (or perhaps it was really the same reason), the work was not ongoing and the VAs were down hours and no pay. This is my advice to all of you. NEVER work for free. The industry belongs to all of us and you'll … [Read more...]
Client Beware
Over the past few weeks I've heard directly from two VAs who are owed a few thousand $$ from clients, and I have heard about other VAs owed by the same clients. This is a very disturbing thing to hear. While we are often on the watch for potential scams, sometimes real clients can be a concern too - a major one. Clients who want a lot of your hours very quickly in the working relationship is something to be wary of. What do you do when a client wants to use lots of hours of your services … [Read more...]
Are you keeping your business a secret?
I hear from so many who are starting their businesses and at a loss how to find clients. But the formula isn't a hard one and the secret is, you should not be keeping your business a secret! What do I mean by that? I mean 'tell everyone!' Not everyone is going to become a client but some you tell will tell others and, as a result, you'll start to get enquiries. However, it doesn't stop there. Do you have any social media profiles? What about a Facebook account? Their terms of use is that … [Read more...]