The one that says: Per head of population, Australia leads the world in online work and is the world's biggest supplier of online freelance workers – according to a 2014 report by Elance-oDesk The article was in the business section of The Age on Saturday and was highlighting the VA industry, with a great interview of Ingrid Bayer, a fellow VA and member of AVAA (Australian VA Association). I hadn't seen that stat before so was delighted to see it. Was also good to get a mention towards … [Read more...]
What’s in a name?
We often see discussion in the VA forums about what to call ourselves when operating in the Virtual Assistant Industry. Many do call themselves VAs whereas others like to use BPO (Business Professional Operator (or similar)), and other terms. Some don't want to use the term 'virtual assistant' as the public get confused about what that might be based on the information that is being bandied around 'out there'. It probably doesn't matter what we call ourselves and may very much depend on the … [Read more...]
Things that VAs don’t do
It may come as a shock to you but Virtual Assistants (VAs) don't do everything! Despite what you read out there. Take it from someone who works inside the industry and has done so for over 20 years. VAs don't do everything individually, but we do a lot of things collectively. Originating from the administrative/secretarial field in the 1990s, the Virtual Assistant Industry evolved with the introduction of the Internet and the development of new technologies. Consequently today you'll find … [Read more...]
How many clients should I have?
Variations of this question often arise at VA forums. Stories about how many each can manage, how many hours a client wants or demands, offering packages with retainer hours, clients wanting a VA totally to themselves, etc. Many stories, many discussions. Virtual Assistants are independent business owner/operators and, therefore, need to be able to service more than one client. They are not employees so no client has the right to demand or ask that a VA doesn't take on any other clients. … [Read more...]
Are you getting your full member benefits?
Reading a discussion on a VA forum recently, a VA queried whether it was worth being a member of a particular VA network and the questions they asked indicated they weren't fully aware of what was available to them with that particular network. Several gave suggestions and below is my answer. Any business group or network is worth giving a try for a full 12 months. It takes a while to understand how any group works and takes a while to get into the swing of things. Make sure you join their … [Read more...]
Don’t leave building your business till it’s urgent
While some people achieve great things at the last minute, the majority fail because of lack of preparation. I watch and participate in a lot of discussions in the VA industry and periodically see people posting their particular predicament and why it's urgent that they have to get a client... now! Trouble is, they're asking their peers to help them find a client. Which really isn't the right place to find one :-) And often it's because not a lot of the right things have been done up to that … [Read more...]
Being a VA is not a fill-in role
It both amazes me and annoys me that people think they can become a VA while studying at Uni, or just as a fill in till something else comes along. I don't know about you, but in my way of thinking, a VA needs to have a good amount of past experience behind them to be a good VA. They must have a working knowledge and experience with the programs they're planning to provide a service with and experience in working with clients. None of the VAs in my network have less than 5 years' working … [Read more...]
Local VA or offshore?
I thought I'd share on this topic here. A few years ago I wrote an article about outsourcing and offshoring and the fact that these are two different things although they can be mingled too. Outsourcing means to engage someone outside of your business to provide services to support you. This could mean someone next door, down the road or in the next suburb or state. Offshoring means you are sending work offshore for someone else to manage for you. Our major Telco in Australia has call centres … [Read more...]
How much does a VA cost?
"How much does a VA cost* and is there normally a minimum number of hours? E.g. could you get someone to do an hour every now and then / as you can afford it?" This was asked at a forum I participate in recently and it is a common question. I thought I'd share my answer with you all. There is no set hard and fast rule with VAs. They originally came from the home-based secretarial field and have evolved from there. Some work with an hourly rate, some work with monthly retainers. Some … [Read more...]