... what do you do? Believe it or not, it has happened to me, just as it has everyone else at some stage. Why does this happen? I believe it's because we get complacent when we are busy and we stop networking, stop marketing and we stop connecting with people. The momentum is hard to establish at the beginning but once it is going, it's best not to let it stop. Because around 3 months later work will start to dry up and things get quiet again. You have to keep feeding the funnel that you … [Read more...]
Virtual Assistants are NOT employees
It's hard enough educating the public about this. But when those who call themselves virtual assistants or VAs start calling themselves employees too, no wonder the clients get confused! This directly relates to a recent comment I saw on a blog about Virtual Assistants by someone who calls themself a Virtual Assistant. No-one interprets an accountant, lawyer, plumber, financial planner, electrician or other service provider as an employee so why the confusion about Virtual Assistants? Perhaps … [Read more...]
Seeking a VA to support you?
A recent comment on an older post here has sparked this post. The post related to VAs undercharging their work and a comment was made that it was thought VAs assumed they (the industry this person represented) was making a lot of money and could charge a lot higher. I want to say VAs don't work their rates according to what they think the client might pay. They do work their rates according to their own skills and abilities, cost of living and running a business and what is seen as a fair rate … [Read more...]
Can a Virtual Assistant make a good income?
On the weekend just gone there was an article published in a couple of major Australian newspapers in the My Career section about our industry and based on an interview I had with the journalist. A comment was made on one of the forums I moderate that 'it will take a long time and hard work to make money, if any at all' and I want to address that comment here. I agree that to establish a good VA business (or any business for that matter) it takes a lot of hard work and it does take time - the … [Read more...]
When someone wants to become a Virtual Assistant
I received an email via my contact form during the week from a lady who wants to become a virtual assistant. Rather than fill out the application form, she wrote to me first as she wasn't sure if she had what it took. Her email was badly typed with misspellings, caps missing, and so on. However, I recognised that she probably didn't see this in the same way as she might writing a letter of application to an employer. This was my response to her: To be truthful, if the typing you sent below is … [Read more...]
Interview with Jan King
Many Virtual Assistants are seeing a relationship between the services they offer and the needs that authors have. There's a direct connection or perfect marriage between the two industries. I am privileged to share with you an interview with Jan King on this topic. 1. What gave you the idea to teach VAs to work with authors? I ran a mid-sized publishing company in Santa Monica, California in the US until we sold the company in 1998. We did 200 titles a year and were quite well known for … [Read more...]
Keeping your email address updated
Have you changed your email address lately? Did you notify those whose lists you belong to? I manage a network of Virtual Assistants and periodically I'll send out an email to the list and get many bounce backs. There is considerable time spent tracking down each individual, either ringing or faxing them, or finding an alternative email address so I can let them know the important piece of information I was trying to get to them. When you change your email address you need to ensure that you … [Read more...]
VATrainer Student Interview
I thought I would introduce you to some of those who have undertaken my VATrainer course to become Virtual Assistants and run their own businesses. This is an online course that runs over a 10 week period and has been available online for a couple of years now. I have been pleased to see the number of students that have come through and the quality of work they have produced throughout their course. The first is Kellie and in her words, here is what she felt about the course: 1. What made … [Read more...]
Invoicing the client
How do you invoice your client and how much information do you give? I have been using Quickbooks for many years and find that works well for me. Some use MYOB or other bookkeeping systems. Some use Paypal. Whatever system you use I feel it's important to itemise your invoice to the client so they know/understand where the time has been spent. If you received a phone bill for $150 but no detail of how that figure was accumulated you would be wanting more information. The same applies when … [Read more...]