On my site there is a form for clients to fill out and the information therein goes to my VA team so that the client can receive several responses. However, often I have to write back to the client, before the request is sent to the team, to ask for more information.  Things that are [...]

I know I’m going to get people arguing with me on this one but hear me out. If you’re running a Virtual Assistant business then you are servicing clients who need your help.  Those clients come from all walks of life and not all of them live on the internet as many VAs do (me [...]

Had an interesting conversation with a prospective client today.  They were despairing that they couldn’t find good telemarketers and had spent extensive time doing some research to find the right people. I spent some time asking questions. Seems they only want to pay sub-contractor’s rates and not full rates.  I explained to them that an [...]

I sometimes wonder just how much effort some put into building their VA businesses?  They join a network or forum, put up a website and then I see very little of them after that.  Sometime later I get told they’re closing their business or resigning from the network. What has taken place in between?  Have [...]

odesk, guru, elance, craigslist, you name it.  New VAs come to various VA forums and ask about these different sites and wonder if they really work. The latest one was this: I’m new to the VA world and just came across this American company xxx that offers jobs to VAs and hiring opportunities for employers. [...]

I get so frustrated when I see new Virtual Assistants write about our industry with incorrect information. I say they must be new because surely they would know better.  I, and many of the VA leaders work hard at educating the public and the media on our industry and when someone publishes something inaccurate it [...]

I saw a post by a lady the other day who wanted to leave her job and become a VA as an interim step to setting up another business.  She was given some good advice by other existing VAs on what to do but it was obvious within a 24 hour time span she was [...]

Developing confidence in anything new that we tackle is part of the growing process.  From taking our first walking steps, to learning to recognising letters and words so we can read, to learning maths and the many other things as we grow up, learning and developing confidence in running your own VA business is part [...]

Well, I sincerely hope you do know the difference or perhaps you shouldn’t be going into business. But it does astound me how many (new) VAs will refer to a prospective client as an employer.  WRONG MINDSET and it’s not going to help you grow your business. It is so very important to have the [...]

I love this industry!  It has allowed me to get to know my clients on a more personal level. What do I mean by that? Well, I don’t mean that I’ve become friendly with their family and attend family functions (although occasionally I definitely have done that in the  past) but it does mean that [...]

I had an email from one of my team recently who’d been sub-contracting to another VA.  Turns out that while the job had been completed there had been some disagreement about how the job should have been handled and therefore billed.  I’ve had similar emails from VAs from time to time.  Sometimes things aren’t that [...]

Somewhere along the line the general public (and clients) have been given the idea that you can engage one VA and get everything done! What a neat idea that is. Trouble is, it’s usually far from the truth. The reality is that some VAs are generalists, i.e. they can do wordprocessing, database management, website management [...]

It’s interesting to watch the commentary in various VA forums.  There are those who have been in the industry a long time (like me), those who have been around between 3-5 years and those who are just learning what the industry is really about. They come from many different avenues of life and discover the [...]

I’m amazed at how many people apply to join my Virtual Assistant network and then can’t follow simple written guidelines to ensure they get the most out of their membership. As with joining any forum or network, there are some guidelines and rules – it’s important to read them and then work your membership accordingly. [...]