Start Your VA in Under 12 Weeks! Are you interested in running your very own Virtual Assistant business but don’t know where to start? Would you like a career change for 2024? VA Trainer could be your answer. First created back in 2006 by Kathie Thomas, VA Trainer has been undated and relaunched in 2023 with added Resources and Templates and email support. If you're after a self-paced course that you can do in your own time, then this course is for you. Feel free to contact me, … [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...]
How I began
This is a question that is asked in VA forums from time to time. I had worked in the corporate world for 22 years, starting out just typing envelopes all day long and building my way up to being a PA to a Director of a government department. Eventually I became an EA for a group of 8 Project Officers which gave me perfect experience for working with several people at once and sorting out what needed to be done first and how to work with different personalities. From there I began my … [Read more...]
Celebrating 25 years in business
Next Sunday, 24 March 2019, marks 25 years in business for me. My husband is going to take me out to celebrate. Have I made millions a year? No, although I can say it's been a healthy amount over that period of time. Enough to help support and feed our family, pay for office equipment, stationery, put our kids through various activities and clubs, contributed towards holidays, contributed toward our beloved garden at home, buy gifts for my husband and daughters, and pay for the various … [Read more...]
The day I stop learning is the day I die
"The day I stop learning is the day I die". Dorothy Brimble My grandmother told me this when I was just 14 years old. No idea what we were talking about at the time, but she was a lady that taught herself a new word from the dictionary regularly through her life, did crosswords, hand wrote out music just to keep her hands working well and because she loved the way the notes played on the bar lines and the curves of the treble and bass clefs, played multiple instruments, wrote stories and spent … [Read more...]
How many clients do you have?
This isn't meant to be a competitive question at all, but designed to make you think about how important your business is. If you're running a business then you MUST have more than one client. There are all sorts of reasons why. For example, if that one client didn't want to do business with you anymore, or lost their business, or passed on, then you'd no longer have a business, would you? However there are other good reasons, including being able to prove to the tax dept that you are running a … [Read more...]
Join Australia’s oldest VA Network today!
Not only Australia's oldest VA Network, but also the second oldest in the world. Established as a network in April 1996, "A Clayton's Secretary" has witnessed many changes and lots of growth in the Virtual Assistant industry during that time. Until 31st December, we have a special offer for 12 months' membership at the price of $99AUD. You can apply here and follow through with your resume and subscription payment to become a member of this team of Virtual Assistants, with members in many … [Read more...]
New VAs seeking clients
I often see on VA forums new VAs despairing because they don't have an existing client base when they start their business. It's possible that some might, but that's a rarity. The reality is the majority of us don't have an existing client base - we're starting afresh. But we do have contacts. Any single person is a sphere of influence: family, friends, friends of friends, friends of family, members of any groups we belong to such as sport, church, hobbies and other activities. Then there's … [Read more...]
Do your clients direct your path?
I find that mine have. Over the years I've changed the services I provide, depending on what the client needs appear to be. I began with word-processing and data entry, and very quickly moved into managing databases for clients. I love database work and it was something I was doing in the corporate world so it was a natural progression for me. Although, when I first began my business, I couldn't see how I would attract clients needing database work done. Early in my business I began … [Read more...]
