Virtual Assistant – THE Blog About Our Industry

About the Virtual Assistant industry for VAs and for clients

Phone access for clients

I’ve chosen not to use my mobile (cell) phone for my VA business. Why? Because I’m in my office 95% of the time anyway and they can get me via the landline and email – why do I need them calling on my mobile phone too?

I use the mobile phone for personal use only, i.e. family, friends, emergencies.  If I’m out of my office I can’t be doing work for clients anyway, as the majority of what I do is done on a computer.

And yet, it seems I’m in a minority and I think it shocks some clients when they ask for my mobile number and I won’t give it to them.  I know what will happen if I do. They’ll start using it to ring me all the time – instead of my landline number.

If I need to be hearing from them when I’m away from my office then I’ll simply divert my landline to my mobile phone to receive their calls. But chances are, that if I’m going to be away from my office for sometime (like several days or more) then I’m more likely to divert my landline to one of my VA team members to handle calls in my absence.

So, do you use your mobile phone for business, or are you like me, and reserve it for family and friends only?  Let’s face it, there’s little opportunity to be ‘disconnected’ from the office with all of today’s technologies.  I like to be able to switch off now and then – it’s good for the mind, body and soul.


Written by Kathie Thomas - Visit Website

As a new VA, I can’t afford a website

I’ve been corresponding with a couple of new Virtual Assistants over the past couple of weeks. They found me via different VA forums and started emailing me for advice.

One said she couldn’t afford a website yet and was asking me what she could do to promote her business online. This is my response to her:

“What makes you think you can’t afford a website?  The reality is you could get webhosting and a domain for a year for a very minimal amount of money (I provide this service and I know that other VA organisations do too).  And if the webhost provides WordPress (which is free software) you could have a site up in a couple of hours. There are tons of free templates out there, you don’t have to know web coding – the program works very much like Word in lots of ways and you can publish online straight away.  It would also mean you would have a domain address that is yours to keep, people could look you up and learn about what you do and you can update it anytime you want. www.wordpress.org has a free support forum and many of the VA discussion groups can help answer questions too.

I’m much more experienced with WordPress now but was a beginner around 6 or 7 years ago and I love the program.  I’ve learnt enough html to tweak the coding and make changes if I want to – but you don’t have to at all. You don’t have to have a business name – you could buy yourname.com if it was available or even yourname-va.com or similar.  I’m sure you’d come up with a few possibilities if you thought of it.”

So, if you’ve been struggling with the idea of whether you can afford a website or not, I hope the above helps dispel that problem for you.


Written by Kathie Thomas - Visit Website

Just getting started – what’s the best way to find clients?

This is a comment/question I see regularly via forums, and particularly at LinkedIn.  People just starting out in the Virtual Assistant industry but not sure how to source clients and build their client base.

This question can actually apply to anyone in business – not just the Virtual Assistant industry. But since I write for the industry, I’ll focus on VAs for now.

I began my business in March 1994, pre-internet.  The way I found clients back then is still very much relevant today.  The Internet just adds another dimension and another way of doing that same thing – networking.

Networking, and the resulting word-of-mouth referrals, should never be underestimated.  Networking is a way of meeting people both online and offline, word-of-mouth referrals come as a result of people experiencing your service and telling others about it – both go hand-in-hand.

It is important to note that networking should NEVER be done just online.  You are missing a good percentage of your audience otherwise.  Locally there will be groups of people meeting for all sorts of reasons – business networks being just one of those reasons.  And because the number of people is very much smaller than the internet, you have a higher chance of being seen, heard, and noticed.

Some places you could look for networks or groups of people in your area? Local Council, Chamber of Commerce, business network groups such as BNI, Leads Club, or perhaps even Rotary, Lions, and special interest groups.

Online you can use a signature block to help people know about your business, at networking and business events, your business card is an important tool. ALWAYS carry cards with you wherever you go as you never know who you’re going to meet or where.  I’ve been known to pass on my card to a cashier when we’ve been engaged in conversation.

So, if you’re looking for clients – go out and mix and mingle with people.  Be prepared to tell them about what you do – without telling your life story.  Also be prepared to spend time listening – and not do all the talking.  People give you respect when they feel that you are listening to them.  And listening will alert you to their business needs.


Written by Kathie Thomas - Visit Website

Starting off the new year

If you’re like me, you may have been spending the past week still on a holiday break, knowing full well that work was just around the corner.  So, now it’s time to really take stock of what is ahead, or perhaps outstanding, to get the year started off right.  Here are a few hints and tips on things that VAs, clients and other business owners can do, to start the new year off right.

Your Outlook file. How big is it? Mine was nearly 2.5gb in size – too big!  At the beginning of each year, I usually rename outlook.pst to outlook20xx.pst for the previous year and then re-open Outlook. When it can’t find the old pst file it automatically creates a new one.  Then I go about importing my contact folders, drafts folder, and any other folders that are important to me. For my inbox, I elect to import everything for the past week (or month, whatever suits you) into the same folders as the previous file, so my preferred structure is reset up and I’m operating again.  After that I reset up my rules wizard as often that’s gotten into a mess too. Don’t forget your appointments too – make sure anything you’ve entered over the past month for the future is included too. My Outlook program is now ready for the new year.

What other things can you do?

Check all the folders on your computer.  Are there folders no longer relevant?  Perhaps for clients you no longer service, or groups you no longer participate in?  Archive, file or delete what is no longer required.

Does your computer need an overhaul? It’s gotten slow, or has software on it no longer relevant? If you don’t have the ability to do this yourself, book it in for a service with a reliable service provider.

Check the (c) notices on your websites and blogs to make sure they reflect the new year.

Basically, you want to clear out the clutter you have on your computer (and your desk) so you can start afresh for the New Year and be ready to jump to action without being held up by old messes and old things.

 


Written by Kathie Thomas - Visit Website

Australian VA Conference 2012

Have you caught up with the news yet? The 2012 Australian VA Conference will be held in Melbourne, Australia 4-5 May.  We elected to shift to the May date because of problems with the March date we’d been having for the past couple of years. Proposals are in from speakers, we’ll be announcing our program very soon but we can promise that there will be lots there for all VAs – newbies and experienced, alike, and those in between too.  And, if you know someone who isn’t a VA but does operate a home-based business via the internet, they would be most welcome to attend too.

Full details can be seen at the AVAC site and we look forward to receiving your booking to attend the event.  New venue – Parkview Hotel, where we can have the event, the dinner and accommodation all in one place.  Easy walk to Albert Park Lake if you want to get some exercise or simply catch a tram across the road to get into the city of Melbourne – it’s a short distance away.  Why not book today?  Early bird bookings close soon.


Written by Kathie Thomas - Visit Website

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