You may be aware I run a Virtual Assistant training course and in the process, students are required to send me their homework from each week’s lesson.

One thing that has really stood out to me is that sometimes they try to complicate things when in fact it should be kept simple.

What do I mean? Well, for example just creating client files.  Some have thought of some security measure, others have used different filing systems other than alphabetized, some use codes and so on.

What they are used to is systems they used in the corporate world for large organisations that had a lot of staff and even more clients.

BUT, often these systems are not needed in a home based office with one worker (the VA) and one computer and a small filing system.

So, my message and tip for VAs out there is – don’t complicate things! Use the KISS principle – ‘Keep it simple, stupid’ and you’ll be able to set things up quickly, retrieve things quickly and if you do require help in your office at some time, it will be easy to hand over to someone else without long explanations and documentation.

… what do you do?

Believe it or not, it has happened to me, just as it has everyone else at some stage.

Why does this happen?  I believe it’s because we get complacent when we are busy and we stop networking, stop marketing and we stop connecting with people.

The momentum is hard to establish at the beginning but once it is going, it’s best not to let it stop.  Because around 3 months later work will start to dry up and things get quiet again. You have to keep feeding the funnel that you often hear marketers talk about.

So, what do you need to do?

• Keep talking to people
• Keep networking with people
• Keep going out and meeting people
• Keep chatting to people online
• Stay visible
• Remain active

And if you get more work than you can handle personally, then those VAs you’ve been making friends with in the VA forums or networks are your best allies for supporting you in your business and assisting you in looking after clients.

All businesses have their ebbs and flows but if you keep doing what works, even when you don’t need it, then there will always be something coming to your business.

It’s hard enough educating the public about this.  But when those who call themselves virtual assistants or VAs start calling themselves employees too, no wonder the clients get confused! This directly relates to a recent comment I saw on a blog about Virtual Assistants by someone who calls themself a Virtual Assistant.

No-one interprets an accountant, lawyer, plumber, financial planner, electrician or other service provider as an employee so why the confusion about Virtual Assistants?

Perhaps it’s because of the type of service provided?  Office based, replacing in-house secretarial and admin support that traditionally was an employee-based role.  But there is a vast difference.

Virtual Assistants look after more than one client.  They invoice the client for the work carried out. They pay their own taxes, insurances, and purchase their own hardware, software and office furniture – they work in their own offices for the most part.  They also decide what rates they are charging.

Employees are engaged at rates set by their boss or employing company, their taxes, insurances and other overheads are usually looked after and they do not invoice the client direct.  They might be sub-contracted out to a few clients of the company, but they are employees and get paid by the agency or company – not directly by the client.

There are several remote virtual staffing agencies out there now but their staff should not be confused with a Virtual Assistant who is a business owner in their own right.

There is room out there for both types of service providers but it’s important for clients to know there is a difference in the way the businesses are run and who provides the services.

I’ve written a lot here about how clients can use VAs and even given you case studies to learn from.  But I’ve never really shared why a client might want a VA.  Remember that VAs can do your administrative work to keep your business running smoothly. So, here are just a few reasons:

1. You should be doing what you do best, and delegate the rest.
2. Why do work you don’t have the skills and abilities for when you’re earning what you earn in your regular work?  If you’re earning good money, you really are throwing your earning potential away by doing what a VA could do for you in the way of admin work.
3. Give yourself more time to earn more income.
4. If you don’t have to concern yourself about the admin and everything that goes with it, you’ll free yourself up from stress and worry.
5. You’ll find yourself far more productive if you don’t have to concentrate on things others can do for you.

Admin is the bain of every business person’s life but if you can outsource that work to those who know best how to handle those jobs, then you’ll find your income earning potential will increase with the increase in time available to you and with your head clear of those other things.

Why not place a request today to our Virtual Assistant Directory to get started?

I get Google Alert daily which lets me know about new articles being published on the topic of Virtual Assistants.

How refreshing it was to see today a new article that is clear about how to use a VA and is factual in the information.

I particularly liked this paragraph which gave practical advice about affording a VA:

Can I Afford It?

The first thing to consider is whether or not you can afford to hire a virtual assistant. I’m actually starting to believe the advice given to me many years ago: you can’t afford not to hire one. As small business owners, we simply have too much to get done each day, and we’re very prone to overworking and not taking enough time for other aspects of our lives, especially taking time for ourselves.

On top of that, if you charge $100 per hour, as an example, and are doing tasks that can be outsourced for $25, you’re not really making the best use of your time. A good rule of thumb mentioned in a previous WWD post suggests using half your hourly rate as a guide, so if you charge $100 per hour, outsource tasks that can be done for $50 or less.

Read the rest here…

A recent comment on an older post here has sparked this post.

The post related to VAs undercharging their work and a comment was made that it was thought VAs assumed they (the industry this person represented) was making a lot of money and could charge a lot higher.

I want to say VAs don’t work their rates according to what they think the client might pay. They do work their rates according to their own skills and abilities, cost of living and running a business and what is seen as a fair rate in the industry in their particular area.

Yes, I’ve had prospective clients who have called me and wanted to know how much I charge and then say they couldn’t afford me and hang up.  I’m really sorry if that’s the case but I can’t change my rates or drop them to try and carry someone else’s business.

I’ve been in business for over 15 years and have had few rate rises in those years but when I have, it’s been important to do so.  I provide a range of services from word-processing, to database management, website maintenance, setting up of blogs, even advising clients about social networking tools.  I simply cannot afford to charge a very low rate for these services. They take time and often the client is paying for my expertise – not just my time.

The commenter also made reference to retainers and having to pay upfront before any work had been carried out.  I see this as a legitimate concern and understand why that can be. Unfortunately many VAs have carried out work for new clients and been left without payment too – it kind of works both ways. There has to be an element of trust that the work will be carried out and the work will be paid for.

On my own part, the only time I’ve worked on retainer is for not-for-profit associations where I’ve been on 12 month contracts and this helped me to know I had a certain income each month during the time I was doing that work.  I managed associations for 10 years in my business and really enjoyed the work.  However, I’ve never put any of my other clients on retainer and have always invoiced them at the end of each month, expecting payment within 7 days – some clients don’t honour that and although they do pay it does disappoint me that they can’t hold up their end of the bargain and pay me on time if the work is delivered on time.  But that’s the nature of business everywhere and does not happen only in the VA industry.

If you’re a prospective client looking for a VA then do your due diligence and place requests with reputable VA networks who provide a form that goes out to their team members. That way you’ll get several responses and won’t have to keep contacting people to find the right VA – they’ll contact you instead.  Or if you know others who have VAs they’re happy with, then seek to be referred to them because you know that VA is already ‘proven’.