While some people achieve great things at the last minute, the majority fail because of lack of preparation. I watch and participate in a lot of discussions in the VA industry and periodically see people posting their particular predicament and why it's urgent that they have to get a client... now! Trouble is, they're asking their peers to help them find a client. Which really isn't the right place to find one :-) And often it's because not a lot of the right things have been done up to that … [Read more...]
Being a VA is not a fill-in role
It both amazes me and annoys me that people think they can become a VA while studying at Uni, or just as a fill in till something else comes along. I don't know about you, but in my way of thinking, a VA needs to have a good amount of past experience behind them to be a good VA. They must have a working knowledge and experience with the programs they're planning to provide a service with and experience in working with clients. None of the VAs in my network have less than 5 years' working … [Read more...]
Local VA or offshore?
I thought I'd share on this topic here. A few years ago I wrote an article about outsourcing and offshoring and the fact that these are two different things although they can be mingled too. Outsourcing means to engage someone outside of your business to provide services to support you. This could mean someone next door, down the road or in the next suburb or state. Offshoring means you are sending work offshore for someone else to manage for you. Our major Telco in Australia has call centres … [Read more...]
Mature age and have good admin skills?
While the Virtual Assistant industry may sound like it's one for 'younger' people the reality is that those who are of a mature age with good administrative skills are well placed to be a Virtual Assistant. Perhaps you've been made redundant, had to leave your job due to ill-health, or you have elderly parents or a spouse that needs to be cared for. You have time on your hands, need to bring in more income and have good computer-based skills, good administrative skills, reasonable … [Read more...]
How much does a VA cost?
"How much does a VA cost* and is there normally a minimum number of hours? E.g. could you get someone to do an hour every now and then / as you can afford it?" This was asked at a forum I participate in recently and it is a common question. I thought I'd share my answer with you all. There is no set hard and fast rule with VAs. They originally came from the home-based secretarial field and have evolved from there. Some work with an hourly rate, some work with monthly retainers. Some … [Read more...]
VA Story – Lyn Prowse-Bishop
I began over 16 years ago when I discovered there was little likelihood of getting a full time daycare place for my baby on the way. I was on maternity leave from my full time job and had to get back to work six months early for financial reasons. I put together a proposal to my boss about how I would get the work done and meet KPIs two days a week on site (the only daycare I could secure) and three days off site. He didn't go for it so I left. Then I wondered why couldn't I work like this full … [Read more...]
Motivation to get the work done
I saw a VA post on a forum that she's struggling to get motivated because it was such a lovely day outside and she wanted to know how others coped. She'd mentioned the word 'job' too, so I thought I'd give her my thoughts and what I do. The answer follows. Please note - this would equally apply to anyone running a business, not just VAs. First things first, this is not a 'job'. It's a business. And you need to treat it that way :-) You also need to give yourself some flexibility. Unless the … [Read more...]
VA Story – Gai Hook
My story with ACS goes back to 2009 I believe Kathie? It all seems so long ago now but being part of the VA Directory in conjunction with face to face networking definitely set me on my way to building my own business. I had been managing sales teams since the 70’s for corporate, government and small to medium businesses and wanted something different in my life. I began managing large scale trade shows for organisers such as Reed Exhibitions and Expertise Events prior to setting up Virtual … [Read more...]
Reasons for engaging an Australian VA
This post is directed at the Australian business community, but if you're in another country, then simply insert your own country where relevant. I get asked from time to time, why should someone engage the services of an Australian VA instead of looking offshore? Those answers, to me, are quite straightforward and cover important things for each business owner to think about. Intellectual Property, IP - do you have something that you want/need to protect? Would you feel uncomfortable with … [Read more...]
