Happy End of Financial Year or EOFY (well in Australia anyway!) It's that time of the year yet again! TAX TIME! Disclaimer - I'm no Bookkeeper or Accountant, so for all of the info below, please speak to your Accountant first to make sure you are able to claim these expenses. I did, however collect this information from reputable sources, including the ATO.😄 So, What Can I Claim? Your Home Office Office furniture Software subscriptions (Microsoft word, Adobe, Photoshop etc) … [Read more...]
5 Ways to De-Stress Your Christmas …
Christmas can be a very festive and fun time of the year but it can also be quite stressful to its lead up, especially if you are running a business. #1 … Organise a Kris Kringle Our family changed over to KK quite a few years ago now. Names are written on a Christmas Card and each of us picks one out. We spend a minimum of $50 and that’s it. It takes the stress out of buying lots of gifts just for the sake of buying something and we spend a bit more and get something ‘better’ rather than … [Read more...]
What is the typical start up cost for a VA business?
I was asked this question recently on a forum and thought it a good one to share here too. I didn't know what type of business the person asking was going to operate but I shared on what I do and what is now possible for VAs. I should add that it's important you provide services only in what you have experience in doing - don't try to learn on the job with new services. You can learn these things for your own business, over time, and then, when confident, offer it as a service to … [Read more...]
Creating a website
I see so many discussions on different VA and other business forums about how to create a website, what program or service to use, etc, etc. I've put together my own thoughts on this, based on my own personal experience of having worked with websites for many years. To give you my background - I built my very first website with MS Publisher in 1996. It was just a simple one page site with Microsoft clipart, a list of services and my contact details. I then learnt MS FrontPage and built … [Read more...]
Using LinkedIn for your mailing list
I'm amazed at how many people are just adding my contact details to their email lists because I agreed to connect with them at LinkedIn. They don't even ask permission - they just do it. That's a big 'no-no' and should NOT be done. I'm going to share with you some links from others telling the same thing but firstly, I want to encourage you to look at the User Agreement at LinkedIn. Wonder how many people actually read it? Particularly section 8 with the Do's and Don'ts. Let's just look at … [Read more...]
Changing address challenges
Last year I elected to shift my PO Box to a new Post Office set up near home, just 2 or 3 mins' drive. Not far away at all. The people there were friendly, unlike the previous PO I'd been with and there was easy and convenient parking. As it was a general store I was also happy to purchase items there and often popped in, even when not picking up mail, just for a cuppa and morning tea. I met with my husband there and friends as well. A lovely local community spot. Alas, the week before … [Read more...]
How do I find my niche?
This is a question I see from time to time in VA forums from new VAs struggling to work out what they should be offering and how to attract clients. Personally, sometimes I think the focus on 'niches' gets in the way of people starting up their businesses and here are my thoughts. Can I tell you I never had a niche when I started over 23 years ago? I just did whatever was needed, typing, data entry, minutes of meetings, bookkeeping, phone answering. Whatever I could do. It was three years … [Read more...]
Showcasing your work
Do you create examples of your work if you don't have a portfolio in the services you provide? For some that's relatively easy, e.g. graphic designer, web designer, photographer, etc. But what about if you provide other services as a VA? Why do I ask this? Because, this morning I had a client request for work to be completed and he needed to see examples before the chosen VA could start. In this case, PowerPoint presentations and they needed to be advanced … [Read more...]
Learn about your client’s industry
There is good value in learning as much as you can about the industry/ies your clients work in. If your niche is a particular industry this is even more important. Each industry will have a number of things to help educate people in that industry: newsletters, magazines, trade shows, industry association events and the list goes on. It makes sense, that if you want to provide the best value you can to your client/s in a particular industry, then why not subscribe to their online newsletter? Or … [Read more...]