Dare I say it? Christmas is not that far away now! So time to start thinking about your Christmas lists. You know, not just family and friends, but loyal clients, colleagues, people you work with. And if you want to include that specialised touch you can use your own pictures or design a card completely of your own, and still use your handwriting without having to experience writer's cramp. Have you revisited Send Out Cards lately? It really is worth a visit. Regular readers will know I'm a … [Read more...]
As a Virtual Assistant, how did you get your first client?
This is a discussion I've seen at a couple of VA forums and I thought I'd bring it here to share with you. My first client came through my church in 1994. He needed some typing to be done. My second was through a lady I knew at the time - she was working with an NFP that needed admin support. From there more referrals came in and that's how much of my business was built pre-internet. I still believe in face-to-face networking very much today. A lot of referrals still come that way. And no, … [Read more...]
Got a listing with Hotfrog?
I was following a thread at a forum the other day and we were talking about our Google listings. Someone commented that Truelocal, Hotfrog and others will always bring up your listings first. They didn't for me, but that's not the point. At any rate I found a Hotfrog listing for my website much further down and thought I'd go see what was there. Very basic, listed my business name with a web link and my suburb. That's it. So I decided to claim the listing and proceeded to enter my details. I … [Read more...]
Tips for building your Virtual Assistant career
As long as you are confident with your current set of skills, then you have a starting point. You should (obviously) already have a good computer at home, reliable internet connection and the necessary hardware and software to complement those skills. Mixing and mingling with others via VA forums is a good thing to do. Networking away from VA forums, i.e. going out there and meeting local business people is a must. Not only will you learn things about running a business locally from other … [Read more...]
GoDaddy server down
I've been seeing messages at Facebook that people’s websites are down because GoDaddy’s server got hacked. There’s an article here about it. This is a worry, obviously, to anyone who has their sites hosted there. But then it doesn’t really matter where our sites are hosted, are they truly safe? For as long as the hackers don’t have their sights set on your host, your site will remain up. Something that is really important for anyone who owns a website is to make sure your site is backed up … [Read more...]
10 Tips for Getting Started as a Virtual Assistant
You've decided you want to become a Virtual Assistant but now what to do next? There's lots of information out there, some of it conflicting, and it's hard to know what to decide upon. Well, providing you have a good computer, reliable internet connection and a decent printer you're part of the way there, but there's lots to do still. Being a virtual assistant means you are going to be a business operator. That means there are legal things and tax things required. You should find a local … [Read more...]
Helping clients with Social Media
This was a discussion at a LinkedIn group and below is my response on how I think about helping clients with Social Media. Your comments are most welcome - you may, or may not, agree with me. Then why not let me, and our readers know? "It's hard with social media. It's a networking tool. Networking is about building relationships. It's not about throwing information out there and expecting others to take it up, and not give anything back. It's a two way thing. I happily set up Facebook … [Read more...]
Are you running a charity or a business?
I participate in several VA forums to share information and learn from others and it's at these places that some of my material for this blog comes from. One recurring theme or should I say 'thought' is the one that makes VAs, particularly newer ones, think they should be able to get stuff cheap or at no cost. These are things that relate to running their VA businesses. Don't forget that those providing the tools for you to run your business are also running a business. They need to be able … [Read more...]
Forums or Networks and how many should I join?
This is a question I see asked on many VA forums. The reality is that it's important for you to share and learn from your peers, but also make sure you're getting exposure for your business too. I belong to several forums and participate at each one from time to time, but not every day for all. However, I do believe it's important to belong to VA Networks as well as forums and I am a member of 4 currently. These have both forums and job postings from clients so I get both sides covered there … [Read more...]
