Operating a VA Business | VA Directory

Good admin skills? Then take a step in faith

I love reading stories of those who have gained the confidence to step out in faith and begin work as a Virtual Assistant. When I began it was out of desperation to be home for my family of 5 daughters. I struggled with managing a job, family, home, kids' activities and so on. Working from home took out of the equasion traveling to and fro to a job each day (wasted time), having to account for any time off that I requested, not being available to my children (and husband) fulltime and instead … [Read more...]

Looking for a mail list option to run on my server

I currently run my site on Wordpress with Wishlist installed to manage members of my network. I want to bring onto my site a suitable mail list option for my members to use, instead of an external service. This is what I perceive is needed: Messages to be archived so that members can view past messages at any time they login Messages can be sent from any member to entire list via email (as in yahoogroups) Multiple lists able to be set up for smaller groups (as can be done in … [Read more...]

The promise of work

Readers will know that I own and manage a Virtual Assistant network, as well as moderate two VA forums. We get new readers here every day so I just wanted to mention that before following with this post. Yesterday I received an email from a lady wanting to know how much work she would get if she signed up to join my VA team. This is not an unusual request and is probably one I get almost every week, sometimes more often. In this case it was for medical typing but sometimes it's for … [Read more...]

VA + NFP = Perfect Marriage

Chatting to a VA over the weekend made me realise how much a Virtual Assistant working with a Not For Profit is a perfect fit. You could say it's the perfect marriage. Organisations run by volunteer committees at some time or another get to the point of overload. The committee members have to make a decision of where to go next, they've come to the cross road. Some struggle or find more committee members but more often than not, many get burnt out and move on, leaving the organisation lacking … [Read more...]

Need help with your Virtual Assistant Business?

I love to help VAs starting out in business, or those who are a bit further along but still need a helping hand. I have 4 different ways I can help VAs get their businesses rolling and perhaps one, two, three or all four are what you need! I will list them in the order they were created. Virtual Assistant Network. Operates under the name of "A Clayton's Secretary" and was formed in April 1996, making it one of the world's oldest VA networks in existence. Membership based, renewable … [Read more...]

Need help with your database?

Do you struggle with managing your database? Perhaps it's keeping all the new entries in from the business cards and other contacts you've obtained? Or perhaps it's managing the mail merge aspect to send out letters, emails or perhaps even cards. Do not despair. There are Virtual Assistants who specialise in this type of work and they can manage several different types of database programs and CRMs. What do you need to do to engage the right VA? First, it would be helpful if you knew why you … [Read more...]

The flexibility of being a Virtual Assistant

Recently, a member of our VA forum was highlighted in a national paper with respect to her 'sea change' and the work she does from home. The paper was highlighting the jobs that could be done at home. Being a Virtual Assistant has so many positives to it. Let me share with you some of those benefits: You choose the hours you want to work to fit around family schedules You choose the type of work you want to do, based on your skillset and personal interests You decide what your rate of pay … [Read more...]

Don’t give up!

Recent discussions at a VA forum were about how overwhelmed one member was feeling, trying to keep up with everyone else, but knowing she didn't excel in a lot of the things that others do. End result was she felt like she was beginning to burn out. Starting up a business is no simple thing. There is a lot to do and as the business owner you are now suddenly responsible for marketing, setting systems in place, making sure the bookkeeping is done, and working out what services to provide and … [Read more...]

Operating a VA business – Adding to the equasion

When we first start building our Virtual Assistant businesses we tend to concentrate on what we know best and it nearly always relates to word-processing, data entry, transcription work, book-keeping or similar. As we become more confident we start to find things we really enjoy doing and that often we can teach our clients about those things. For me in the past it has meant adding blogging to my list of services, websites and eventually setting up social media profiles for Twitter, Facebook, … [Read more...]