Virtual Assistant – THE Blog About Our Industry

About the Virtual Assistant industry for VAs and for clients

Monthly Archives: March 2008

My Anniversary but I have a Gift For You

Today (24th March) marks the 14th anniversary of my business “A Clayton’s Secretary”.

I have no idea where that time has gone. In some ways it just feels like last year I got started but when I look at all of my achievements, and some failings too, I can see I’ve come a long way in that time. So has technology.

What a privilege it has been to be part of the history making of the Virtual Assistant industry – that wasn’t in my original business plan :-) . My intention was to start a small business at home so I could be there for my 5 daughters.

Today I have a global business with clients in my own country and overseas, and a team of VAs now stretching into 17 countries. My family has grown too. No, not my blood related family, but the team of VAs I work and network with. I count many of them as family too – as I’ve advised, counselled, supported, encouraged, mentored and motivated many along the path of their own business development.

Since it is my anniversary I thought it would be good to give some gifts to my readers. 5 lucky readers will receive a copy of one of my books, which can be seen at the VA Shop on my main website. All you have to do is subscribe to my blog. Now, I know that this means current subscribers will miss out so I will choose one current subscriber to receive a gift too.

The closing date for you to be eligible for my anniversary gift is the end of this month, 31st March. So if you’re already a subscriber you don’t need to do anything at all, but if you’re not a subscriber you need to sign up at the left of my blog. You will receive a printed copy of the book of your choosing at the VA Shop – either from the books written by me (6 to choose from) or one of the books from my office (2 to choose from). Happy Anniversary!

VAs Canvassing For Work

I get concerned when I learn that VAs are seeking work in areas that might not really be the right source for them.  What am I talking about?  One of my forum members advised that a new VA was contacting senior VAs from the forum canvassing for work. I suppose I can understand their mindset – that some VAs are probably so busy they have work to spare to hand over to someone else. But their thinking is all wrong and I’ll tell you why.

1. Other VAs are not your prospective clients – they’re your peers and also can be your competition. You need to find real clients through all the same avenues as the successful VAs – hard work, perseverance, networking, reading, learning, and so on.

2. If a VA is going to outsource or subcontract work they are more likely to do so to VAs they have some connection with or have gotten to know over time. Why would they outsource to someone they don’t know or have little knowledge of? After all they will need to be sure that you have the skills and abilities to carry out the work and they will still be responsible for checking that all is in order before it’s passed on to the client.

If the VA belongs to a forum (and I know in this case that new VA does) then they should be spending time getting to know the other members and contributing to the conversations and letting others get to know them. They should also be looking to do the same things that the more senior VAs (senior by length of time in industry, not by age) have done to successfully build their businesses. Trying to get work from another VA seems to me that they are trying to shortcut the process in order to get work as quickly as possible and whilst that might solve the problem (lack of work and income) for the short-term it isn’t going to assist you in developing your business and business knowledge for the long-term.

Here are some posts I’ve written in the past relating to VAs seeking work.

http://vadirectory.net/blog/2007/11/16/sub-contracting-to-other-vas/

http://vadirectory.net/blog/2007/02/10/getting-out-amongst-the-clients/

Supporting the Client

Through my years as a VA I’ve had lots of wonderful opportunities and have learnt lots of new skills in the process. Often a client asking me to investigate something can lead to a new service I start providing – it’s expanded my horizons.

But there are times when we (VAs) need to know when we can’t do something for a client and that they must do it themselves. Networking for the client is one of those things. I know that some clients are so busy that they just want to hand everything over to their support team but I strongly feel that networking needs to be carried out by the client themselves.

Networking is a two-sided affair. Whilst a VA can report back to the client the people they’ve met (face-to-face) or learnt about online, the client sadly misses out on others getting to know them on a personal basis. We are, after all, our own best salespeople, and in this case the client needs to be out there doing the ‘sales-job’ on their own businesses.

The same applies to clients engaging a VA with very little information on the role that is required and then expecting the VA to know and understand the programs involved. One of my team had to make a decision to let a client go when his demands became unreasonable, wanting her to use programs she’s never used before and not being considerate enough to allow her time to learn them, listen to his program CDs and start promoting and selling his program. This was never in the original job request and rather than ask her if she’d be interested, he made an assumption she would just do as she was told.

We need to be clear and upfront about our roles with clients, what we will and won’t do, and recognise when something may be beyond us, or not in the client’s best interests (like networking on their behalf). Boundaries can get blurred with clients misunderstanding a VA’s role and/or simply through familiarity and incorrect expectations.

Shifting Your Mindset

On so many of the forums I see new VAs wanting to get their businesses up and running as quickly as possible. And on these same forums I see promotions for this course, or that event, or lists to sign up with and so on.

When we are in the corporate world we are so used to being told what we need to do, which courses we should attend, the events that would benefit the business the most and we’re just automatically put on mailing lists for staff.

But what about when we work for ourselves? How easy is it to make those decisions for ourselves? Frequently we just take the word of others because they’ve been on the forum (and therefore probably in the industry) longer than we have.

I want to encourage all of you to consider each piece of advice, each suggestion, and look into it further. Don’t just take it at face value and make assumptions that because others are recommending it, then it must be the right thing for you and for your business. You need to shift your mindset from being an employee to that of being a business owner. Start investigating things, checking into the background, experience, credentials and look for testimonials. If someone promotes something then start asking questions about how they found it, did others do the course too, does anyone else know about this group or another?

We need to be our own minders and protectors. It’s very easy to start spending out for this and for that but without any clear idea in our minds (or business plans) how that particular thing fits into the bigger picture for our business.

As with my previous post “Who are you learning from?” it is important you take the responsibility for investigating each new thing you bring into your business – after all, you’re the one that holds the purse strings. Start thinking of yourself as a CEO or MD when processing all of this stuff that comes into your inbox on a daily basis and you’ll find yourself automatically (over time) checking into things to make a (wise) decision for yourself.

Who Are You Learning From?

I saw an article in the EzineQueen’s newsletter today which I want to share here because it’s something that has concerned me too.  In my case it’s about Virtual Assistant Coaching & Training.  I see many offering coaching and training and they’ve only been in the industry themselves for 5 mins – or so it would seem. They don’t have the years of experience behind them and many are not aligned with a coaching or training organisation. I’ve always been open and up front about my experience in the VA industry on my VATrainer.com site and I want to encourage those out there seeking to do a course or get coaching or training, to do their homework first – check the credentials of the person offering the course.  Don’t just shop on price only – check what’s behind the program too.  This applies to any industry and is relevant to all seeking vocational training.

I hope you enjoy Alexandria’s article – I did!

“Who Are YOU Learning From?”
(Or… “What Really Makes Me MAD!”)
by Alexandria K. Brown

You know what really makes me MAD?

When I see someone acting like a bigshot with no substance behind them, asking you to pay them handsomely to teach you something that they themselves have NEVER done.

Let me explain…

I recently received an email announcing a very expensive workshop that claims to teach you how to develop information products and programs and sell them online to create wealth. (That part is fine.)

Here’s the part that gets my goat…

I happen to know that the person teaching this workshop has absolutely NO experience creating and selling information products SUCCESSFULLY!

It just makes me ill.

There are many of these self proclaimed “gurus” out there. True, some have indeed created information products. (That’s not hard to do.) And they may be selling them online. (That’s not hard to do either.) But how much do they sell? How well do they REALLY do? How much money are they making? And are they working their tail off, or have they really created a great lifestyle for themselves?

Now, I know it’s hard to tell sometimes who to trust and follow. Some of these ‘gurus’ talk a great talk using excellent copywriting, stories, and persuasion tactics. How do you know who is the REAL deal, and who’s “full of it”?

Asking a few questions will help you. Here are five questions you should ask before investing heavily in anyone’s products, programs, coaching, or workshops:

1. Have they DONE what they are teaching?

There are some people out there who are good “reporters” – that is, who collect information and share it – who you can learn from. These folks are good if you’re doing baseline research on the topic. But if you are really looking to learn the systems and strategies that can change your life and business, and how to apply them successfully and quickly, and make a ton of money from them, you absolutely want to make sure you learn from someone who has done exactly that. This guarantees a much higher success rate on your end.

2. Are they STILL DOING what they’re teaching?

It’s no secret that anyone can make a lot more money TEACHING what they know than just doing what they know. Many “gurus” enjoyed one success and have been riding its coat-tails for years, teaching how they did it over and over. Just because someone had success selling one product or program online at one time doesn’t mean they know the best and easiest way to do that TODAY. It’s crucial you learn from someone who is still “in the trenches”, continually learning and keeping up to date with the fastest and easiest ways to do what you want to learn.

3. Are they doing it SUCCESSFULLY?

This may seem like a given, but it amazes me how many people invest money in learning from people who aren’t that successful in what they do. Make sure to sniff around and truly make sure that this person not only does what they say they can teach you, but that they are outrageously good at it.

4. Will they show you PROOF that what they teach actually works?

If your prospective mentor won’t share numbers with you, or claims it’s not your business, move on. It’s likely they are not walking their talk. I’m open with my numbers because I want people to know I’m the real deal!

For example, I have shared actual screen shots of my web sales reports on the information page for my Online Success Blueprint Workshops. Why? I feel anyone who is about to invest several thousand dollars to learn from me deserves to see proof that what I’m teaching actually works.

5. Are they doing it in a MANNER that suits what you want for you and your business?

This isn’t talked about often, but you want to learn from a mentor who also works in a manner that fits your business vision. For example, one client shared that she chose to learn from me instead of another internet marketing “mentor” solely because he admittedly works 16-hour days and hasn’t taken a vacation in years. (Apparently my relaxed and fun work-style was a lot more appealing to her.)

Another example: I’m sure you’ve seen some “gurus” out there whose marketing methods are questionable and/or simply obnoxious, and that may not fit your style. If you want your business to be ethical, easy, and fun, then look for a mentor who is running his/her business that exact same way.

Once You Find Your Mentor, Stick With ‘Em!

Once you choose the mentor and business model that’s right for you, STOP paying attention to anyone else for awhile!

Why?

The #1 enemy of any entrepreneur is DISTRACTION. It’s easy to jump around and get excited about the next big thing every few weeks, but your easiest road to success is to choose ONE mentor/model and commit to follow them for at least six months. I guarantee you’ll move ahead a lot faster and more easily!

© 2005-2008 Alexandria Brown International Inc.

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See Alexandria’s Small Business Marketing Blog.

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” publishes the award-winning ‘Straight Shooter Marketing’ weekly ezine with 24,000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.EzineQueen.com