My husband is a ham radio operator. He was perusing websites recently looking for some equipment to further his hobby. He was looking at sites here in Australia as well as overseas. He found one based in Sydney that had what he wanted BUT, they had no shopping cart set up for their long list of accessories and once you were on the list, there was no link to get back to the site itself. The list was in a PDF format. Some Australian businesses are complaining about customers shopping overseas … [Read more...]
Who do you know?
Over the years I've become known as someone who knows someone when someone might be looking for someone. Are you still with me? ;-) I believe in networking - it has helped build my business and builds the business of countless others around the world. There are some really good business networks out there that really work, and BNI (www.bni.com(.au) is one of them. This morning while I was at a BNI meeting one of the members passed a referral on to our business coach and when she read out the … [Read more...]
When flattery will get you nowhere (and cost you money)
When you have a presence online there will come a time when the thieves come out of the woods and make themselves known. More like wolves in sheep's clothing. They will butter you up and tell you how fantastic you are and convince you that you should part with your hard-earned money to invest in their project. In this case a 'who's who directory of people' from some unknown but impressive sounding company. When you get approached by someone to list in a Who's Who Directory it would be well … [Read more...]
Do you have a Virtual Assistant yet?
I guess I shouldn't be really, but I still get amazed when I meet people, or hear from them via the phone or online, that they've just discovered our industry. They'd not heard of a Virtual Assistant before and didn't know what it was. Having been part of the industry since its birth many years ago, it's easy to forget that not everyone has had exposure to the internet as I have had, and indeed, if you have been in the corporate world or manufacturing industry, or elsewhere that really doesn't … [Read more...]
Sign off your emails!
This is a message for anyone in business - Virtual Assistants, their clients and others. Please sign off your emails properly. Even if you have an existing relationship with someone you're emailing, it still makes sense to use your signature. Why? Because not everyone remembers your phone number off by heart, or has it in their database, or knows what your website is (especially if your email address does not reflect your business website address), your fax number or whatever. Sometimes I … [Read more...]
Remember, you’re on duty 24/7
If you operate a business online and have a web presence, it's important to remember you're on duty 24/7. You might not be at the computer all of those hours, but your written words are. So always having your best on display is important, no matter where you venture on the web. Email, website, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and other social media tools, chat forums, discussion groups. Doesn't matter really where, if it's online and potential clients or business associates can read it, then … [Read more...]
Are you on Google+ yet?
I am, however I'm as yet undecided about the usefulness of it. I know that there are over 20million people on it already even though it's in Beta form. I do understand how the circles work and find that could be a useful tool. But do I need another social media tool? Who am I reaching that I'm not already via Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter and do I have the time to really want to play around with it? How about you? Are you using Google+? Would you like to share your highlights (or … [Read more...]
Commitment – it’s a big word
I get really concerned when I hear about Virtual Assistants that let clients and their fellow VAs down. When you're in business the buck stops with you - there is no-one else. And so when you take on a commitment to support a client or fellow VA the onus is on you to get the work done. Recently I had a client contact me who was desperate to get some work finished. She had engaged a VA, paid for the project in advance and the job was only half done before a family emergency on behalf of the VA … [Read more...]
Setting goals for your VA business
When you first start out with your Virtual Assistant business it's easy to get caught up in the daily activities of finding clients, setting up systems, establishing what your service offerings are going to be, learning from other VAs and so on. There does come a point in time though when you could begin to feel like you're always working, always marketing, always doing something, but very little for yourself. Setting goals for yourself is a good way to help you get focus - providing … [Read more...]
