Virtual Assistant – THE Blog About Our Industry

About the Virtual Assistant industry for VAs and for clients

Monthly Archives: May 2010

Need help with your Virtual Assistant Business?

I love to help VAs starting out in business, or those who are a bit further along but still need a helping hand.  I have 4 different ways I can help VAs get their businesses rolling and perhaps one, two, three or all four are what you need!  I will list them in the order they were created.

  1. Virtual Assistant Network. Operates under the name of “A Clayton’s Secretary” and was formed in April 1996, making it one of the world’s oldest VA networks in existence.  Membership based, renewable annually, we give assistance to members in setting up their businesses, gain client exposure, introduce them to clients, and provide many extra benefits for members.  We have a 6 month trial membership, 12 month regular membership and an overseas membership.
  2. Virtual Assistants International Group (VAIG) Forum.  In existence since 1997, again one of the industry’s oldest VA forums around.  It has been shifted to several different platforms before we finally settled at yahoogroups in September 2003.  Very chatty group which shares a lot of information about being a VA as well as the daily challenges in our lives.
  3. VATrainer – a 10 week Virtual Assistant Training/Coaching program delivered by email.  Comprehensive program listed on the site. Designed to help new VAs get their businesses off the ground running.  Students should already know how to use their computers and the software they want to provide as a service – it’s the other side of the business we concentrate on: networking, marketing, developing a web presence, running a business, etc.  Fee can be paid weekly, monthly or whole.  Program launched March 2005 after two years of research and development.
  4. VACoachingClub launched late 2009.  Design to assist those VAs who have completed the VATrainer course or those who are operating a VA practice but want some regular input and guidance.  We have a webinar with guest speakers on occasion and Q&A sessions with me plus a number of other benefits for members. Monthly fee.

So, I hope the above will help you with your VA practice, or perhaps you know someone who wants to become a Virtual Assistant? Why not send them a copy of this post to get them started!

Gmail the new Hotmail?

Do you use gmail?  I do. I love the filtering system and the fact that I can channel more than one email address through my account so I can check ALL email when away from my home or office at any period of time.  It’s a great system.

However, I manage several forums online and I’m finding increasingly that more and more spammers are using gmail addresses.  No longer can I approve a gmail address without reservation – I need to keep an eye on them, or in some cases ban them outright when they have ridiculous usernames attached.

Pity there isn’t some sort of ‘check’ done on people who want to use this address because so many people use it for business and other purposes – real purposes, rather than making a general nuisance of themselves online.

Need help with your database?

Do you struggle with managing your database?  Perhaps it’s keeping all the new entries in from the business cards and other contacts you’ve obtained? Or perhaps it’s managing the mail merge aspect to send out letters, emails or perhaps even cards.

Do not despair. There are Virtual Assistants who specialise in this type of work and they can manage several different types of database programs and CRMs.

What do you need to do to engage the right VA?

First, it would be helpful if you knew why you wanted the database.  What are you hoping to achieve from it? What would be your desired end result?

Looking at the end first helps us determine what needs to take place in the beginning.  Databases can be managed for many, many different types of things, i.e. names and address lists, history record of client service or products bought, history of contact maintained, newsletters sent, Christmas card lists, perhaps multiple lists for all sorts of things.

If you were able to sit down and scribble out some ideas of what you want to achieve then someone can assist in determining the right database for you.

There are databases that can be maintained on the computer only, or online if you want to build an automatic subscriber list from your website.  So knowing why first will help determine the what and how it will be put together.  Contact me today to help you find the right Virtual Assistant support for your needs.  I have several VAs in my team who assist in this area.

The flexibility of being a Virtual Assistant

Recently, a member of our VA forum was highlighted in a national paper with respect to her ‘sea change’ and the work she does from home.  The paper was highlighting the jobs that could be done at home.

Being a Virtual Assistant has so many positives to it.  Let me share with you some of those benefits:

  • You choose the hours you want to work to fit around family schedules
  • You choose the type of work you want to do, based on your skillset and personal interests
  • You decide what your rate of pay will be as you are no longer an employee but a business owner
  • You are home all day (for the most part) for family members – this has not only been good for our 5 daughters as they were growing up but my husband also experienced being cared for on three occasions that were health related and he was forced to stay home for long periods of time.  I wouldn’t have been able to take time off from a job for these occasions – I probably would have lost a job.
  • You can literally shift house to a new location, region, state or country and still retain your client base, especially if your clients are fully virtual, i.e. you don’t need to see them face-to-face or attend physical meetings for them.

I have loved the flexbility of attending school events as my girls grew up, and choosing to go to business events because I can, not because it was my turn in the office or it fit in with the ‘office’.

I do have to point out though that for those looking to work from home there is a downside too and you need to be mindful of this.  You do need to be tracking the hours you work and the income you are producing, and you need to make sure you’re not getting too isolated which can cause feelings of depression or overwhelm. Making sure you attend regular business events is therefore two-fold – it keeps you in touch with others and gets you out of the house, and it helps keep the pipeline open for possible new clients.

If you are thinking about becoming a Virtual Assistant so you can work from home, I encourage you to explore and read as much as possible. I have a lot of articles at this blog (see the side menu bar for some) and you’ll find more at my website also.

Looking for Virtual Assistant work?

As the owner/manager of a well established Virtual Assistant Network I get many requests from people who want to join my team of VAs.  I would love to help them all but there are some who really disqualify themselves very early in the process, which is a shame. I know they’re anxious to get work and anxious to establish their businesses but it’s important they pay attention to detail.

One of the most common mistakes a potential VA makes is they fill out the wrong form.  They fill out the form intended for clients seeking VA support and it’s not till the comments section I realise that’s what is happening – when they ask for work, rather than outlining the work to be done.

We’ve recently restructured our whole website but even in the old format I had thought that ‘Client Support‘ and ‘Join Our Team’ were quite obvious but perhaps that’s not the case.  So I’ve renamed one tab to ‘Become a Member‘ and shifted the order they’re in on our menu.

Another mistake they make is using sms type text when writing their emails to me, and including their resumes.  It is very important that a VA presents themselves as professionally as possible when communicating with others online and unfortunately this type of typing makes me feel they don’t have the ability to present themselves adequately for clients.  Ultimately when a client contacts “A Clayton’s Secretary” for VA support it is our name that is on show.   So it’s important that they are getting the quality support they are expecting.

If you’re a new VA and looking to join our Virtual Assistant Network (or any VA Network) I encourage you to take care and give yourself the best possible chance – just as you would when applying for a job elsewhere.  Clients appreciate the care taken with their work and it starts at the beginning – a good habit to develop.