Some months ago (in 2006 actually) we had a few articles come out in Lawyer's Weekly in Australia and it was good to see the recognition by the legal industry of how Virtual Assistants can assist them in their daily needs. A new article has just been published by Law Practice Today titled The Virtual Assistant: Every Lawyer Needs One! and I thought I'd share the article with you - it is a good one and gives great information about the types of things that VAs can do to service their clients in … [Read more...]
Coaching Courses For VAs
I was recently approached by an organisation I'd never heard of to promote their new certification for VAs. Their email was not very clear in explaining what they were promoting and when I went to their website, I found their page for the certification for VAs. However, I decided to decline their request to promote to my list of VAs till I received further information. Why? 1. They appeared to not be a member of any coaching or educational organisation. 2. There was no apparent affiliation … [Read more...]
Question: I am trying to work from home. How did you get started communicating online and getting assignments. Thank you.
The above was recently posted by a new member of my VA forum and I decided it would be good to share my answer here as well. Hi, this is something everyone goes through when starting out and many new VAs do not realise that getting work online is not the only way to get work. We make the mistake of thinking we're operating 'virtually' so the only way to get work is by promoting online - but that is not the case. Most of my own clients I have met personally, or have been referred to me by people … [Read more...]
The Pros and Cons of Using a VA
Regular readers will know that I am a member of the business network LinkedIn. I've spent a fair bit of time there since Easter, getting to know people and making connections. It's been worthwhile as business has also occurred as a result of developing relationships with various members there. One of my favourite sections of LinkedIn is Answers - I find it quite addictive. You can place a question there and answer other people's questions. It's a great way for people to get to know you … [Read more...]
Type at home and tell your boss to quit!
Ever receive an email that told you that? Or what about 'Home typing out and submitting online forms'. I recently received two badly formatted emails offering me work at home 'typing out forms' and submitting them online, just doing 30wpm. Or how about the one that says you can 'make $250-$2250+ per day working only 30 minutes?. Sound to good to be true? Check out my proof of earnings above. No experience or special skills are required!' There wasn't anything 'above' for me to check out - … [Read more...]
Can Men Be VAs?
I was recently asked this question. The person asking wants to become a VA but wasn't sure if there were other men doing this and whether it would be more difficult for them to break into it. I know of a few men who are VAs, not many but there shouldn't be any reason why a man can't be a VA. In fact, I have a small number of men on my team and it is slowly growing. And I know that VANA have a number of men on their list as well. I think because traditionally women are in the secretarial role … [Read more...]
ACS News
You might not be aware that I produce a monthly newsletter from the "A Clayton's Secretary" website. This newsletter has been running since 1995, first in print format, then went to web format a few years later - the earliest one I have on the site is dated July 2000. I still have some copies of the printed ones. They've come a long way since those days and I've always looked to give information about technology, things clients are doing and interesting tidbits. With so much happening on the … [Read more...]
Are You Crossing the Line?
When setting up a new business, many VAs continue in their full-time or part-time jobs until such time they feel they can leave and work in their own business full-time. However, this means there are occasions when they feel they need to respond to email, answer calls or go out during their regular business hours to attend to something relating to their new growing business. In doing so, however, does this mean they are crossing the line? They certainly could be and ethics plays a strong part … [Read more...]
Hiring a VA
I saw a blog post discussing the pros and cons of hiring a VA and the author asked a question but does not have comments switched on so there wasn't any way for me to respond. Nor does he have any contact information available. So I'm linking to his post here and answering his question. He was asking about engaging a VA from another country and discussed that the time difference and economic value could be advantageous but if you needed phone contact with a VA that could be a disadvantage and … [Read more...]
