Virtual Assistant – THE Blog About Our Industry

About the Virtual Assistant industry for VAs and for clients

Monthly Archives: March 2009

6 Degrees of Separation… or less

I have a story I tell at conferences and other events when speaking about how my business became international. I talk about my first international client – a lawyer who lived in Picardy, France in 1997.

Imagine my surprise at a recent event when a gentleman with a  South African accent came up to me to tell me that a lady he lived next door to in New York for 11 years knew this very same client. He was her landlord.

That’s the first time I’ve ever had anyone come up to me to say they knew this man or had a connection to him in some way.  Amazing!  The lawyer had not only used my services and that of some of my team members for years, but also referred us to more clients in France, then South Africa and eventually Sydney.  Amazing!

Taking on a new client

I regularly have clients contacting me via my website asking for a Virtual Assistant to support them. The work is quite wide and varied, with some jobs being one-offs and others being short- or long-term commitments.

Most of the time I introduce the client to a Virtual Assistant team member and I don’t hear from them again, unless it’s to thank me for my assistance in connecting them – but very few clients do that.

However, on odd occasions a client will come back to me to ask for a new VA and I then need to ask questions to find out what wasn’t working for them – had I not understood their need and connected them with the wrong person, or was the VA not what they were expecting? Some clients don’t realise they can keep the VA long-term, thinking they have to contact me everytime they have a new job.

Recently one client contacted me because the VA announced she was not doing any more work for a few months because she is having a baby. The client was devastated as the working relationship seemed to be right but she hadn’t known that the VA would only be available to her for a month for her needs.  Naturally I was disappointed as I did not know the situation either and when I reposted the job to the team I emphasised the need for long-term commitment and if they knew anything that might impede that in the next few months, not to reply to the job request.

I know that everyone gets anxious to secure work and clients but it’s little things like this that can make clients wonder if VAs in general are flighty, moving from client to client as it suits them.  And I want to ensure those who read this blog and thinking about using a VA, that the answer is generally ‘no’. The majority of us are in it for the long haul and would love to keep our clients for long periods of time.  My longest-term client has been with me for 12 years and I have other clients that have been with me for between 5 and 10 years or more.  I’d like to see many of my VA team experience the same.

I’m sick, should I tell my clients?

Interesting discussion arose recently on one of the VA forums and I thought I’d bring the topic here.  How do you handle things if you’re not well and have client work to be done?

I guess the answer really depends on the timing for that work and the relationship you have with your clients. Also, just how sick you might be?

If I’ve had a day where I’ve felt a bit ‘off’ but not needing to be in bed, I will work at half capacity, completing anything that might have had a deadline for that day and putting aside non-urgent items.  I might even let the phone go to voicemail and check that periodically.  I’ve been known to go lie down on the couch in the loungeroom for an hour or two and then go back to check on things in the office.

If I’m worse than that and know there are jobs that need completing I’ll check with some members of my Virtual Assistant team to see who is available and can take on the jobs for me – that way the client is still being looked after.  At this stage there still isn’t a need to notify my client of my illness – their work is being carried out and it will come back to me before being forwarded to the client.

What about if it’s more serious than that and I can’t be in my office for a few days and away from the phone? Then obviously I need to let my clients know that I’ll be unavailable for a few days but that I have organised for others to look after them and will make the necessary introductions to get that happening.

Ultimately, as business owners, it is our responsibiilty to make sure that commitments we’ve taken on are being respected and looked after and we should be making sure that alternative arrangements are made to ensure that deadlines can be met.  Handing things back to a client and saying “I’m sorry, but I can’t do it for you…” is not something that should be considered unless all other options have been tried.  Evenso, I would be very reluctant to do this, irrespective of the reasons. Clients need to know you’re dependable, even when life isn’t.

15 years in business!

I was looking at my calendar and realised that the 15th anniversary of my business is just over a week away.  24th March marks the day I registered my business in 1994 – 15 years ago.  I can’t believe how fast that time has flown.

I know that many are still learning that our industry exists but there are thousands out there who have joined our industry to utilise their skills and change their lifestyles over the years.  It has been my pleasure and good fortune to have watched our industry grow from its birth.

My team of VAs has grown considerably during that time and I’m delighted that there are twelve members who have been with me for between 8 and 13 years – in the corporate world that’s a long time in the one job!  Indeed, this is the longest I’ve ever stayed in the one position during my working life – the boss and I must be getting along ok! ;-)

I wish to personally thank the following team members for their support, friendship and professionalism as both team members and as industry associates.

Linda Anderson, Mary Jordon, etc, Ruth McIntosh, Sue Stott, Lyn Prowse-Bishop, Maria Zito, Leonie Cavill, Eunice Wingrove, Jenny Underwood, Marilyn James and Anita Kilkenny.

Each of these can be found on my main website if you use the search function.

Spend your govt bonus on an Aussie VA!

Watching the news on TV there was an article about the Australian Govt bonus that will be soon made available to those eligible in Australia.  They were recommending that in order to help boost the Australian economy the bonus should be spent on services in Australia, rather than pay existing bills or purchase goods where a percentage of the monies will go to businesses outside of our country. That includes whitegoods.

As soon as they mentioned ‘services’ my ears pricked up. They did mention tradies such as plumbers or electricians, but I thought I should remind you all that Virtual Assistants also provide services and what better way to spend the bonus, than on someone who can help you get your administration and paperwork in order?  Or even your bookkeeping?

So, when considering how to spend your bonus, also think about those things around your business and/or office that you haven’t been able to get sorted because you lacked in both time and money.  When you receive the bonus you’ll have the money and we have the time – what a great marriage!