On a VA forum recently one of the members mentioned she'd discovered that another VA business was using the name of her business in their Google Adwords. She has requested they take them down immediately and several other members came back with messages of support. While I do also support the concern of this VA I wanted to let her know how I had inadvertently done a similar thing only a couple of years ago. Here is my story: That's not good but it can happen accidentally too, believe it or … [Read more...]
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...]
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...]
Dates – write them in full
When dealing with people from other countries via email, make sure you spell dates out in full. Instead of putting 1/21 or 12/5 why not put 21st January or 5th December? Or in the case of the second one it could be 12th May, depending on who wrote it and where they live. In some countries the day is written first and the month second, and in others the month first and then the day. If dates are important in the communication don't assume that the recipient is on the same page as you with … [Read more...]
No. 9 Mistake VAs Make
Recently I became aware of a challenge a VA was having and it is something I've come across before but had forgotten about it. It's an ideal post for this category. Be clear about your quotes/rates when discussing a job with a client. This VA had quoted a rate which the client accepted but there was a problem. You see the client thought the quote was the total price for the job, whereas the VA was giving a quote... per hour! She had forgotten to add those very words 'per hour' and the end … [Read more...]
No. 8 Mistake VAs Make
Continuing on in our recent series... Using free accounts such as hotmail, yahoo, etc for their email address. Domains are very cheap to purchase and even if you don't yet have your own website, there is no reason why you can't have your own domain (to reflect your name or your business name) for your email. This assists with branding and people are more likely to remember your business or business name if you use a domain address to reflect that when corresponding with them. Show people you … [Read more...]
Number 7 Mistake VAs Make
Not keeping the client in the picture. Some clients will get very anxious if they don't hear from you within an expected time frame and will either go off and find someone else to help them or get very annoyed when they do connect with you. Always a good idea to ask what the time frame is and make sure you report back regularly if a large or long project or regular ongoing work. And particularly for new clients - they won't know what to expect and for many, using a VA for the first time can … [Read more...]
Mistakes VAs Make
I hope you like the series I've been doing on the mistakes VAs make in operating their businesses. I've been getting great feedback - both here at the blog and via email from various people and the list has been growing as I've been thinking about it when away from my office and doing other things. So, where did I get the idea to do this? Twitter. What Twitter? Yes. I saw someone post some weeks ago the number one mistake in their industry - it was just a single post and didn't continue on, … [Read more...]
Number 6 Mistake VAs Make
Staying in our comfort zone. We need to be flexible and stretch and bend if we want our businesses to grow. Technology - where would this industry be without it? And yet we all get comfortable and set in out ways and get to a point where we feel we don't want to learn anything new. It's all happening too fast and we're comfortable where we are... for a time. I remember I felt like that before learning about blogging. I only investigated it because a client asked me too but I really did … [Read more...]
