Virtual Assistant – THE Blog About Our Industry

About the Virtual Assistant industry for VAs and for clients

Monthly Archives: July 2007

Question: I am trying to work from home. How did you get started communicating online and getting assignments. Thank you.

The above was recently posted by a new member of my VA forum and I decided it would be good to share my answer here as well.

Hi, this is something everyone goes through when starting out and many new VAs do not realise that getting work online is not the only way to get work. We make the mistake of thinking we’re operating ‘virtually’ so the only way to get work is by promoting online – but that is not the case.

Most of my own clients I have met personally, or have been referred to me by people I know personally. Not all, but most. It takes time to develop a web presence and for people to find you so there are things you can do that will help you and here are some of them.

1. Develop a signature block so that everyone you contact via email has some way of contacting you. If your email for example was forwarded to someone else as in this message your email address would not be visible so how would they know to contact you? I haven’t got my email address showing but do have websites listed and my contact details are there. But you could include your email address in the signature block. Your signature block is your business card online.

2. List with VA networks and directories – some have free listings and others have paid listings. That is because some provide additional benefits and others don’t but getting your name out there and online helps. With that develop a list of services you want to provide so when clients do find you online they’ll know that you can help them in the areas of service you provide. Some of these directories will provide a page listing for you so if you don’t yet have a website, don’t despair, you can still get listed.

3. Participate in forums like this one – you will learn from a lot of the more experienced VAs but will be able to assist others as you gain experience and knowledge. VAs often will sub-contract to others when they need help with a project or job, but will only approach VAs they have come to know over time and/or those who present themselves well via email as it demonstrates your typing abilities to start with. (There are around 20 VA networks, many of which do have discussion forums so it’s worth joining at least 3 to get to know others and learn what happens around the world).

4. Find a VA mentor or coach to help you get on track with your business, or a course that will help bring you up to speed.

5. List with business directories online – not to be confused with VA directories. This could mean your local council, chamber of commerce, state listings and so on.

6. Network locally, go and meet business people who live and work near you. You might even have a neighbour who needs your services but they are unaware of what you have to offer. In meeting local business people it will keep you abreast of local laws relating to your business, you’ll meet others in different industries who experience exactly the same challenges, concerns and successes as you will experience. You will get to pass out your business cards (always important to carry them with you at all times) and if you give more than one then people can pass them on to others – which I’ve had happen lots of times.

Not all clients will come to you via an online presence because not everyone yet is web savvy, or do not think of the web first when seeking support. We get lots of Yellow Pages clients here in Australia and I know the same occurs for those in the US – I expect it would be the same in other countries too. While many of these people will have email not all of them think of the internet first when seeking support for their businesses so it’s important to make sure you’re promoting both online and off line.

Hope these ideas assist in getting you established. KMT

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The Pros and Cons of Using a VA

Regular readers will know that I am a member of the business network LinkedIn. I’ve spent a fair bit of time there since Easter, getting to know people and making connections. It’s been worthwhile as business has also occurred as a result of developing relationships with various members there.

One of my favourite sections of LinkedIn is Answers – I find it quite addictive. You can place a question there and answer other people’s questions. It’s a great way for people to get to know you exist, how you think and operate, and more importantly (to me anyway), your professionalism. This is one of the places where people can decide if they want to connect with you and get to know more about you and your business. It is often the first place people begin to realise you exist.

Recently a question was asked about the Pros and Cons of Using a VA and the response from one of the members there I felt should be shared here. So, with Holly‘s permission, here is her response.

The only con I can see to using VA services is that he or she cannot bring you coffee in the morning. I am a VA who has 14 years of experience as a corporate administrative/executive assistant. I thought when I started my VA business, that I was aware of the latest technology and computer software and systems. I was wrong. Virtual assistants are far more advanced when it comes to technology and using the Internet to support business owners. I have learned more in the past year about the Internet and web-based systems than I have in all my years working in corporate.

Most VAs use MS Office as a standard. However, there are many who do not use Office for e-mail, CRM, calendars, spreadsheets, or word processing. VAs use systems that are typically web-based such as Google Calendar for calendaring and Google Docs & Spreadsheets for sharing documents. Thunderbird is popular for e-mail and Firefox is a preferred Internet browser for some. Basecamp is one of many systems for project management. Logmein and Gotomypc are used for remote access. These are tools, which I never knew existed until I began researching this industry a year ago. Now, they are tools, which I cannot conduct my business without.

When searching for a VA, my advice is to stay away from those who claim to be virtual assistants but are nothing more than virtual receptionists. There is a significant difference. A true virtual assistant has a genuine interest in helping you achieve your goals and working with you long-term and can do more for you than answer your phone.

Good luck with your search for an ideal VA. Once you find him or her, you will not be disappointed.

May I say that I have seen exactly what Holly outlines above. So many VAs who join the chat forums I moderate say exactly the same thing – that they thought they knew a lot until they began operating as a VA and then they found they had so much more to learn and often they are in awe of those who have been operating for awhile.

If you are looking to become a VA, please do the research and join some of the chat forums, but don’t let those who are more advanced deter you, but rather encourage and motivate you to explore and learn – you will be so glad you did!

And for those clients seeking to use a VA, Holly’s advice is sound advice. KMT

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Type at home and tell your boss to quit!

Ever receive an email that told you that? Or what about ‘Home typing out and submitting online forms’.

I recently received two badly formatted emails offering me work at home ‘typing out forms’ and submitting them online, just doing 30wpm. Or how about the one that says you can ‘make $250-$2250+ per day working only 30 minutes?. Sound to good to be true? Check out my proof of earnings above. No experience or special skills are required!’

There wasn’t anything ‘above’ for me to check out – must have been too good to be true! ;-)

I don’t know anyone who types and earns $250 per day for working only 30 mins but if you do, please introduce me to them!

The point of this post is there are a lot of scams like this out there and if you’re desperate for work, and particularly work at home, you might just start believing stuff that you would ordinarily ignore. KMT

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Can Men Be VAs?

I was recently asked this question. The person asking wants to become a VA but wasn’t sure if there were other men doing this and whether it would be more difficult for them to break into it.

I know of a few men who are VAs, not many but there shouldn’t be any reason why a man can’t be a VA. In fact, I have a small number of men on my team and it is slowly growing. And I know that VANA have a number of men on their list as well.

I think because traditionally women are in the secretarial role of old becoming a VA is a role that many women have quickly adopted, combining home and family, but certainly, I encourage men to go for it. There are many husband and wife teams operating Virtual businesses, both specialising in different areas and then there are men operating on their own as well.

Although it was originally men in the 1800s who held the ‘secretary’ role – did you know that? Women were considered not to have a strong enough constitution to become ‘typewriters’ using the new machine that had been invented.

You might be interested to know I recently saw an article and it’s written by a male VA I know through one of the VA networks I belong to.

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ACS News

You might not be aware that I produce a monthly newsletter from the “A Clayton’s Secretary” website. This newsletter has been running since 1995, first in print format, then went to web format a few years later – the earliest one I have on the site is dated July 2000. I still have some copies of the printed ones. They’ve come a long way since those days and I’ve always looked to give information about technology, things clients are doing and interesting tidbits.

With so much happening on the web these days I enjoy being able to try something out and then report on it. I had posted here a little while back about Picasa and this month I have included further information on it in my newsletter with links to some more ‘albums’ I’ve been playing with. My husband and I saw this program used on a photographer’s website on the weekend and it obviously is a very useful program and worth exploring and practising with.

I’ve also created a blog for my webhosting services and information is included in the newsletter. The blog will be used as a news update service to keep clients informed of changes to the services, updates to software and to answer their queries. KMT

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