Welcome to the readers of Sarah Wilson's blog where she recently explored engaging the services of a Virtual Assistant (VA). Below you will find an interview of one client in Australia using VAs for her business but if you check the Client Interview category you will find many other client interviews listed. We also have a Client Case Study category in the menu on the right and a list of some clients who have been using VA services for many years. Kathie Thomas … [Read more...]
Flattery won’t get you everywhere
I'm amazed by the amount of 'VA' spammers out there, who are desperate to get their comments posted on this blog. Regular spam is bad enough but VAs doing this? Your flattery and use of big words will not impress me, nor the html coding you leave in the comments either. However, if you add value to the article and simply leave your name and URL in the relevant fields, your comments will get published and people can visit your site if they wish. Spamming on a peer's site is not the way to get … [Read more...]
My celebration but you get the gifts
Next month (24th) marks the 16th anniversary of my business "A Clayton's Secretary". It's no co-incidence that the Australian VA Conference is being run next month as well - I like to have something special happening around the anniversary of my business. But I want to make sure that others are benefiting from my celebrations too, so I have a number of gifts available to my readers. 1. Double the affiliate payment for the top affiliate in March 2010. Why not sign up today so you can get set … [Read more...]
When you are cold calling…
I know that many decide to cold call to get extra business, or even just to start out. Personally I've found that a very disheartening way to do things but I know that some really do excel at this type of communication and successfully achieve their objectives. So, if you're considering using cold calling as a form of drumming up business, may I suggest you learn from the following? I just had a phone call from a guy (whose accent was difficult to understand and he spoke way too fast) wanting … [Read more...]
Start the year off right
Christmas/New Year, in Australia at least, is generally a time for taking a break. Many companies close down for 10 days, 2 weeks or more or they have a skeleton staff operating during that period. It is a time to just relax, let go, recover from the previous year and start to plan or look ahead to the following year. Sometimes it's just really hard getting going again. Depends on where you've been at on a mental level and a physical level. It is traditionally a time to set new year … [Read more...]
New Year Message to my Virtual Assistant readers
I sent this message to the two forums I manage but thought I'd share it here too - in case you don't belong to one of the forums! Hi everyone, well, it's the end of the year of 2009. For my family the year started off badly but has ended up quite well (if you ignore my computer challenges). A new home in the country, a new grandson (our first) and a trip overseas which meant I met many VAs from the US and Canada face-to-face for the first time at the Forum on Virtual Assistance. I was so … [Read more...]
Holiday Season
This time of year normally sees a quieter work period. For some it might be busy as rush jobs come in before Christmas but generally it is much quieter. So what do you do during this time? I find it an ideal time to review things and update things, or tie up loose ends. This year I'll be looking at updating/revamping a couple of my websites, going through papers that have been sitting on my desk for a couple of months or more and think about plans for the new year. As we will have family … [Read more...]
Win a year’s membership with the ACS Team
Are you a Virtual Assistant looking to get more exposure for your business? Have you thought about joining a VA network but not sure whether it's worth it or not? (I can tell you now, it certainly is worth it) Perhaps you are looking to get started in the new year and membership of a VA network is on your to-do-list? Whatever the reason I invite you to join our team at "A Clayton's Secretary" and you may win a whole year's membership free. All you have to do is read the membership criteria … [Read more...]
New beginnings and all that
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...]