This is a question I get asked from time to time, via email, and I thought I'd answer it here. One of the very first things I notice when I get this request, is how the email is written. Some write the email well and professionally but others write to me like they might be writing to a family member or even similar to text speak on mobile phones. I can say that not writing the email professionally instils little confidence for me that the person writing is going to be able to manage a VA … [Read more...]
Is it time to engage a Virtual Assistant?
Do you find yourself with too much work at the end of the day and not enough hours? Do you get frustrated because you always have admin stuff to be done but can't charge that out to any client in particular? Do you find yourself wishing you knew how to use certain software programs or understanding online processes better? Do you simply just find yourself in overwhelm mode and wish you could get it together like everyone else you've met seems to have done? If you answer 'yes' to one or more … [Read more...]
How did you get your first client?
A question I'm often asked in different places. Usually by new VAs who are dead set keen to get their first client and not sure how to go about it. I thought I'd share how my first clients came about and encourage readers to add theirs as well. For me it was 1994. I was telling everyone I knew what I was planning to do... leave my job and start up my own secretarial business at home. A man at my church came and asked if I could do some typing for him and that was my first job. Only a few … [Read more...]
Take Ownership of your Business
There are many joining our ranks on a daily basis, and the same could be said for many industries. The desire for being in control of one's future, the work they do, and who they work for, plus being able to choose their working hours are a driving force for people making that decision. I know that when I made this decision nearly 19 years ago, I desperately wanted to be home for my children and hated all that wasted time on the road or on a train every single day. I hated not being home if a … [Read more...]
What would I do if I were a new VA today?
Exactly the question asked on a VA forum sometime ago and here is my answer: Find an accountant to get the advice that is needed regarding legal requirements for your business. Apply for whatever licenses or register whatever you need to do legally regarding the tax dept for your region. A business name can wait till you've gotten started - it's not necessary and you can legally operate under your own name if you wish. Get business cards made up - doesn't have to be a real lot, even … [Read more...]
Virtual Assistant – are you going it alone?
Being in business is tough any time. You have to wear multiple hats, or be able to employ sufficient people to wear all those hats: CEO/Owner, marketer & promotions/PR, bookkeeper, database manager, worker, and so it goes on. I still hear from those who have been operating a Virtual Assistant business entirely on their own, unaware there is a whole industry out there, of peers whom they could be connecting with to learn from and share. It would seem that some are so busy inside their … [Read more...]
What if…?
On a VA forum a new VA has been asking questions of those who have been a Virtual Assistant for more than 12 months. She wanted to know how they have found it and whether it would work for her. Other VAs have joined in the conversation, particularly other newbies planning to take the same path. One commented she was worried that she might miss the boat, even though she was really scared to take that course of action. My response to her was this: The only way to miss the boat, is to not get … [Read more...]
Keep your VA for long-term
It disturbs me when I see people complaining that they'd just 'trained their VA' only to lose them because they'd been 'promoted' to another project or client. I have to question where they got their 'VA' from in the first place. Virtual Assistants are self-employed business owner/operators, so in general are not placed with clients by an employer or agency, nor moved onto another client or job by an agency or employer. Through job requests posted at Virtual Assistant Networks the VAs get to … [Read more...]
Using a Virtual Assistant
Even though the Virtual Assistant industry is in its teens, there are still many business owner/operators out there who don't know how to use a VA or what a VA might be. Because there has been much written about it both online and in printed material, some of the information has been misconstrued or people get the information third party and it's not always accurate. Often it may be written by someone who doesn't work in the industry, but rather has shared their thoughts and ideas on what they … [Read more...]