There's been a discussion on a VA forum recently about the value of joining BNI as a Virtual Assistant. If you don't know what BNI is it stands for Business Network International and can be found at www.bni.com internationally or here in Australia, bni.com.au. I belong to the Melbourne East region. I joined when it first came to Melbourne around 10 or 11 years ago and was a member for over 5 years. Things changed for me on the business front and I decided to leave BNI for a time. My husband … [Read more...]
Joining a Virtual Assistant Network makes sense
I use Google Alert a lot to keep me informed of the industry and also about things relating to my clients' businesses. One thing I often see are blogs about where to find a Virtual Assistant or comments on blogs from new VAs who are keen to find work, clients and learn more about the industry they've joined. What amazes me is that a simple Google search will direct people to the Virtual Assistant Networks that are out there and yet so many seem to miss this fact. Virtual Assistant Networks or … [Read more...]
How easy do you make it for your customers?
My husband is a ham radio operator. He was perusing websites recently looking for some equipment to further his hobby. He was looking at sites here in Australia as well as overseas. He found one based in Sydney that had what he wanted BUT, they had no shopping cart set up for their long list of accessories and once you were on the list, there was no link to get back to the site itself. The list was in a PDF format. Some Australian businesses are complaining about customers shopping overseas … [Read more...]
Whatever happened to professionalism?
aaarrghh! I can't believe how many emails I get these days where people do not sign off, or include contact details. What is wrong with people these days? Is email no longer considered a professional way of contacting others? What am I talking about? Signature blocks. I receive emails from Virtual Assistants, from service and product providers, from other organisations where people just sign off with their firstname and nothing else. No surname, no business name, no website address, no phone … [Read more...]
Now that AVAC’s over…
We can get back to the business of working in our businesses. The two day conference was fantastic and feedback from the delegates indicate that they were very happy with the event. I do know from the very start there was an excited buzz in the air that remained with the event all the way through. So much to listen to, so much to learn, so much to apply, excitement to be had, new friendships formed, old frienships renewed, faces to match to names we know so well. Great event and thank you … [Read more...]
Start up costs for a Virtual Assistant
Periodically I see posts at forums asking about the start up costs for being a Virtual Assistant. In comparison to many other industries, the costs are fairly low, but that does not mean it should be considered 'cheap'. Too many I see on forums trying to get everything for free and it makes me wonder just how much they value what they have available to them. Being a Virtual Assistant does mean that you are in business. You are not an employee and you should not be expecting others to foot … [Read more...]
Did you miss it?
I have a Virtual Assistant Training Course that runs over a 10 week period, delivered by email. I've had a special offer on for the past 5 days. Did you see it? If you've been thinking about doing a course to become a Virtual Assistant or to add value to your existing VA business, then this may be exactly what you're looking for. But be quick. The special offer finishes midnight AEST today! … [Read more...]
The truth about using a Virtual Assistant
I see so many articles, comments, blogs, etc on how to use a Virtual Assistant and of the benefits or the challenges. One thing that comes through over and over is that many business owners think that having a Virtual Assistant might be something they cannot afford - nice to have, but on their wishlist. Why do they think this? Because many are still in the mindset of engaging administrative or secretarial support in the corporate world - full time role, full time pay involved. Nothing could … [Read more...]
And the winner is…
Shauna Upson of SecretSecretary. Congraulations Shauna. If you get in touch with me I'll organise the course to get to you. For those others that missed out, I'm sorry but you are still welcome to register for the Wordpress Intro course here. I've had a few VAs testing it out and I believe the course has a lot to offer anyone who is interested in learning about using Wordpress for websites and blogs. Feedback has been good and some have given suggestions on other items to include, which I have … [Read more...]
