You probably look at many VA businesses and wonder how it is that some succeed and really develop and others seem to struggle to find clients and get the work. What is the difference? A number of things - but one of the major ones would be networking - constantly. Stats show that 80% of all business comes from networking and referrals. Is it any wonder that the successful VAs tell all the others 'network, network and network some more'? You don't have to have the gift of the gab and have an … [Read more...]
OIVAC Countdown is on!
Those who have been in the Virtual Assistant industry for sometime will be aware of our annual Online International Virtual Assistants Convention run in May each year. This event runs for 3 days and is entirely online and virtual. We have over 30 speakers from around 7 countries speaking on all sorts of topics and whilst the convention is aimed at Virtual Assistants, anyone who is running a business, particularly online, would be welcome to attend any or all of the sessions which have been kept … [Read more...]
If my Virtual Assistant happens to quit…
I've noticed a very disturbing trend on the web lately via various blog posts about the Virtual Assistant industry. It seems there are many business owners out there in fear of losing their VAs because they might up and quit or something else might happen. It seems that many look at having a VA for the short-term only. Why is this? Virtual Assistants are not employees but many are talking about their VAs as though that's what they are and yet, on the other hand they talk about short-term … [Read more...]
Message for my subscribers
Every blogger loves to have readers and subscribers and I really do appreciate you all. But please, if you subscribe, do not do it with an address that has to have an autoresponder attached to it. By that I mean, consider having a separate address for subscriptions to blogs, newsletters, listservs and forums, and so on and keep your main address for your business. I get heaps of autoresponders every single day to say that Jane, or John, have received my latest post, or that they've received the … [Read more...]
Is your website written for an international audience?
A recent discussion at a LinkedIn forum I belong to highlighted the use of country codes when listing phone numbers in emails and on business websites. It was an interesting discussion and what was brought to light was the fact that many people in the US (at least on this forum of 8,000+ people) just hadn't realised that people outside of their country would need a code to dial their number. I found that an insight in itself. I am always having to call the US to participate in telesminars, or … [Read more...]
A Client Surprise
Some people have 'wordless Wednesdays' on their blogs and just post a photo. Well, I have a photo to post and it's Tuesday and I won't be wordless about it either. I want you to drink in this beautiful sight. The doorbell rang and I thought it was a client who was overdue and I called out 'I'll be there in a minute.' When I got there, no-one was at the door but looking down there was a beautiful arrangement of flowers. My immediate thought was my husband - I'd been getting over some dental … [Read more...]
The Tale of Two Assistants
Saw an interesting post a little while ago with the title 'The Tale of Two Assistants'. It was apparently about an 'actual assistant' and a 'virtual assistant'. I wasn't sure what they meant exactly by the 'actual assistant' as it seems that the 'actual assistant' had other clients anyway, so it would seem they were not an employee but someone they outsourced to. So, I wonder what made the difference between the AA and the VA? They were able to prove that the VA they hired was more efficient … [Read more...]
Developing a niche in the Virtual Assistant world
I often see VAs talking about developing a niche for their practice. This is a good line of thought, however it's important to consider that it could be awhile before you even know what your niche is. Some know straight away and others have no idea. I was in the latter category when I started my business. All I knew was how to type and that meant I would do documents in Word or WordPerfect and I could do data entry into spreadsheets. That was the limit of what I thought I could do in my own … [Read more...]
How often are you backing up?
Having a discussion with some writers at a forum recently it became obvious that many were not backing up their computers at all, or their websites online. Consequently if they got a virus that affected their computer and put it out of action, they ran the risk of losing all of their material and/or not having access to it for awhile. A couple had had their websites hacked and destroyed and they had no way of replacing their websites quickly. Having a secure web server is a must, but that's … [Read more...]
