This time of year traditionally gets people thinking about what has transpired over the past almost 12 months and what they would like to do for the following year. Some look upon the year with sorrow and others filled with hope and promise. What about you? What has this year brought for you? Have you achieved? Did you struggle? January each year I have a prayer and planning day, thinking about what has transpired before and what my hopes are for the forthcoming year. I type them up as … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2009
Message for those wanting to be a VA
I often get requests via email from people who want to become a Virtual Assistant. Sometimes via my VA forum, sometimes via my website contact form, sometimes by email and sometimes by phone. It's generally the written requests that concern me. Some write in ALL CAPS. This is not polite and considered yelling. It also makes me wonder if they really do know how to type or whether they're hiding the fact that they can't. Many do not proof read what they write before hitting send. Their written … [Read more...]
Kudos to Twitter… and @Telstra!
I had a problem with one of my Telstra accounts. I'd inadvertently made a payment on the wrong account and I didn't pick it up till after I'd made the same mistake the following month. I couldn't figure out why Telstra was saying I was in arrears when my bookkeeping program told me I was all paid up. I logged into my bank account and found the error. Do you think I could get Telstra to do something about it? I'd spoken to 3 different consultants over a period of a week and each time got told … [Read more...]
Book your VA coaching now!
The end of the year might not be far away but it's not too late to plan for the New Year. I have two options available for new and emerging VAs and you can sign up today! Option 1. The VATrainer.com course runs over a 10 week period and requires you to spend some time doing research and homework. You can send your homework to me weekly or at the end of the 10 weeks in one hit. Once completed I go through your work, add comment where needed and provide you with a certificate of completion and … [Read more...]
The importance of follow up
We read often the importance of follow up when networking and meeting people for the first time but what about when they've already begun using your service or product? How many of you follow up afterward to see how things are going? A couple of years ago I decided to set up an autoresponder series for follow up after clients fill out the job request form on my website. I hadn't realised how valuable this simple action would be. Over that time I've received really valuable feedback as well … [Read more...]
Email peeve
I wrote a little while ago why I prefer email and this post covers a pet peeve of mine relating to email. I know that not everyone who uses email is a 'professional' online and many don't understand the use of it. But it does concern me if a client consistently responds to my emails without including anything of the previous email sent to them. I find a few people do this and it's very frustrating. The reason why it's frustrating is that often their replies are several days later and their … [Read more...]
Whatever happened to ethics?
On some of the business forums I belong to (not just VA forums) I see discussions amongst members who sub-contract work out to other service providers. One of the big turn-offs for some in using a sub-contractor is that some of the sub-contractors overstep their boundary and show no respect for the original relationship between the client and the person sub-contracting the work out. They make direct contact with the client seeking continued work. In the corporate world contractors or staff, … [Read more...]
Introducing the new Coaching Club
I've been working on a project in the background for some months, as if I need something else to be doing! Many of you will know that I've been running the VATrainer.com Virtual Assistant course for a few years now and I'm thrilled that we have many graduates now having gone through that program. However I do get requests from those looking to become VAs, who can't afford the training course fee, for assistance and I hate turning people away. So I've been developing the Virtual Assistant … [Read more...]
Back online
Our new internet connection didn't happen when it was supposed to and, as a result, it's nearly a week longer than I anticipated being fully back online. Somewhat frustrating when you're running an online business. Our move from the old home to the new one went relatively smoothly but I have no idea how we accumulated all that stuff. The new place has heaps of storage but I don't want to be filling it all up. Need to try and live more simply somehow. I have an 'opp box' at the moment where … [Read more...]