I mentioned the IVAA Oz Coffee Chat we had the other night and the discussion about a number of VAs losing a major client.

One of the other things discussed that night was finding a suitable Accountant for our businesses.

I’m amazed at the number of VAs who don’t have an Accountant.  When you’re new in business chances are the only thing you know to do well is the service you are offering, be it word-processing, transcriptions, social media support, and so on.  Few of us are across the requirements the tax dept places upon us as business owners and it’s important we get the right information from the right sources.

VA and other business discussion forums can give you good information and help you find out what you need to do to get your business running. They cannot advise you on anything of a legal nature, or in regards to your tax obligations.  It is your responsibility as a business owner to get the right information from the right sources.  So, where do you find those right sources?

If you already know an accountant, bookkeeper, solicitor then you can go to them for advice.  However they might not be the right person for your business – it depends on what their specialties are.  And if you don’t know anyone in those fields, then how do you determine who is ‘good’ from the Yellow Pages or from the web?

Networking is the answer.  It’s always been the answer.  What do I mean by that?  Find local business networking groups in YOUR region.  Why your region? Because they will have experienced similar things to you and know the people who can help you – they’ll know who to refer you to.  There’s no point in networking online with someone in another state or country who is not familiar with your personal needs and requirements. They can only talk about their own experiences.  In a local business networking group you can find out who are good accountants and solicitors, and be told of other resources that will help you with your business, such as IT support when your computer needs fixing, computer network/cabling when you need more hardware set up at home, someone who can help with your communication needs such as phone, mobile phone, answering system, voicemail, etc, etc.  Are you getting the picture now?

This kind of networking works two ways – you find the resources for your business and some of those people will have a need for your services too.

Where will you find these groups?  Try searching for some of these:

• BNI (Business Network International)
• Leads Club
• Chamber of Commerce
• Rotary
• Check with your local council – many run business networks
• Ask at the local post office or other places where business people will often visit.

I’m sure you will find some groups you can go visit and get a feel for how they work before deciding to join them.  But go do it – you’ll find it a worthwhile exercise!

Been involved in an interesting discussion on a LinkedIn forum. Not relating to Virtual Assistance at all but rather my passion, photography. However, what has been taking place there is something we all need to be mindful of  as Virtual Assistants and therefore often as advisors to our clients.  I thought I should share my thoughts here.

The discussion related to Copyright requirements for photos, but this can also apply to other items we deal with for our clients. So it need not be Copyright but also other things.

What I am driving at is the information we provide, especially at forums, via blogs and our websites.  It is VERY important that we spell out the information we’re sharing relates to a particular region or country and that readers/members should check for themselves for their relevant locations.

What works in one country might not be the case for another and no-one should take for gospel, information shared on a forum or a website as being correct and legal for their requirements.  A solicitor once told me (when discussing another matter relating to a problem I was having with someone) that ignorance is no excuse.  If you’re at fault, or not doing something in the correct way, then chances are you could lose out in one way or another.  It’s not worth the chance if whatever that thing is, is really important to you or your client.

So, check your facts, do the research and be prepared to give the evidence of that research to your clients so they can make qualified assessments.  Don’t make assumptions and don’t work on hearsay.

Periodically on the Virtual Assistant forums we discuss items that relate to how the tax department would view us if certain scenarios arise. One of those is the number of clients we should have or the how much we’re earning from clients.  While the figures and percentages may differ from country to country, I believe it would be wise to make sure that you are not receiving the bulk of your income from one client only.  In the early stages of your business this may be difficult to achieve but it should certainly be your goal.  Why?

1. If a large percentage of your income was derived from one client you might be perceived as an employee by your tax department.  It is in both your interests and that of your client, to ensure this situation doesn’t arise otherwise your client might find themselves responsible for your taxes, insurances, sick leave, etc and you might find yourself in a totally different taxable position than what you envisaged.
2. With the current economic climate it makes sense to spread your income sources so that if one source dries up or is no longer available, you still have other sources for income provision.

These are just two simple reasons and I’m sure there are a lot more, but it makes good sense to protect yourself, your business and your income, by ensuring you are not dependent on one source or one client.  Believe me I know as I did put myself in a similar position many years ago early in my business. Whilst I did have quite a few other clients, I had one client who was providing me with a large percentage of my income.  At that stage our industry was still fairly new and I hadn’t yet worked out the value of outsourcing to my colleagues to spread my workload.  When my major client and I parted ways I nearly lost my business too. It was a big chunk of income that suddenly went with the client and I had to scramble around to find new clients – I had a quite a few lean months till I filled that gap in – not with another client, but with several clients.

virtual assistant, income source, number of clients, tax dept, employer, self-employed

P.S. If you’re looking for Virtual Assistant training I have a pre Christmas special available now.