Not long ago we had a discussion in the VA Directory Facebook Group about how we go about finding clients. It was a lively discussion and I see this question being asked in many groups, mainly by VAs but also by all other business owners. Overwhelmingly the consensus was word of mouth or referrals. This is awesome and becomes easier down the track when you’ve been a VA or a business owner for a while and you have established your business with a number of clients ... ... but what about when … [Read more...]
Outsource Your Way to Happiness
If your business is sucking your happiness dry, it’s time to make some changes to alleviate your stress. One way to free up some of your time is to hire a virtual assistant to take over some of the daily or weekly administrative tasks needed to run your business. Hiring a VA can certainly be stressful, especially if you’re a first timer who has never been through the hiring process before. However, set up an interview process complete with interview questions and decide what skills you need … [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...]
Where do you get your VA from?
There's been interesting discussions in Australia and the US via the various VA forums, about businesses outsourcing offshore versus inside their own shores. We feel that it is often important to do business with people who know how business is done in one's own country, and all that entails with respect to legalities, taxes, IP, and so on for many of the services provided. Not all, but many. A VA colleague recently came across an article in the US that discusses those same things and the … [Read more...]
Benefits of outsourcing locally
Couldn't have put it better myself. Great article here published with smallbusiness yahoo November last year. It is very true that businesses do struggle to get everything done, and if they spend their funds on employing staff and having to put in place all the things that go with that, office space, equipment, furniture, and the employee overheads of sick and holiday leave, superannuation, taxes, etc, it's no wonder they get strapped for cash. But it does make sense to outsource your needs. … [Read more...]
Word confusion
I own and run Australia's oldest Virtual Assistant Network. My own business "A Clayton's Secretary" was started in 1994, pre-internet, so I could be home for our 5 daughters, and then the internet began just 18months later. Not long after I placed my first webpage online I had women contacting me to ask how they could be doing what I was doing. Australia's first VA network was started and we were on our way. There are now other VA networks in the country, and it's good to see the industry … [Read more...]
Getting back to basics – Becoming a VA
I've seen many posts recently via Twitter and forums where people are asking about how to become a Virtual Assistant. As I haven't written on that for awhile I thought I'd give an update here. Providing you have good computer skills and experience in using the web for sharing files, downloading and receiving information and so on, then chances are you are eligible to become a Virtual Assistant. A Virtual Assistant is someone who provides assistance to others on a virtual basis, be it the … [Read more...]