When you're brand new in business being able to build up a list of things to show prospective clients can be a challenge. If the line of work you're doing requires you to have a portfolio (things to show, e.g. graphic design), or you need a set of testimonials, it's sometimes hard to think outside the box and organise to get these in place. You may have picked up some work here and there while you were still in your full time job but you might not be able to showcase what you'd been doing for … [Read more...]
How is your terminology?
Two recent conversations have led to this particular post. One is a web client who had a need for a single web page to be set up for her business. She kept using terminology that made me think she wanted something else, i.e. a landing page, which is usually a call to action, with the same link or form several times, collecting people's contact information before leading them to the rest of the site. But what she wanted was quite different, although some aspects were the same. She was using … [Read more...]
Choosing to become a VA at the right time.
I had a lady ring me yesterday about becoming a Virtual Assistant. She wanted to know if she could join my network. We talked about what office-based experience she might have and it turned out she had very little and was studying at college currently. She also had a health problem which is why she was looking to work at home. I explained to her that VAs are business owners and, as such, are responsible for making decisions about how things are done for their clients. The buck stops with them. … [Read more...]
I want to be a VA but…
Saw a post over the weekend of a lady who wanted to become a VA but had very little skills and didn't know what she should specialise in. I don't know about you, but for me that rang warning bells. Here is someone with very little skillset and yet she wants to become a VA. Virtual Assistants should be well versed in the skills they wish to provide services in because, after all, they become advisor/consultants for their clients in these particular skills and no-one should be offering services … [Read more...]
When is a VA not a VA?
That depends on your definition of what a VA is. The Virtual Assistant industry was birthed in the mid 1990s and consisted of women mainly (at that time) who had been working from home offices as home-based secretaries or administrators or personal assistants for a select number of clients. When technology made it easier for them to be able to support clients without face-to-face connection they became known as Virtual Assistants. A Virtual Assistant is someone who provides office-based … [Read more...]
Home alone
Sounds like a movie title, doesn't it? :-) When you're working as a Virtual Assistant the reality is that you are working home alone, day in and day out. If you've been in a corporate office for some years you will be used to the social interaction of chatting to others, or just knowing that there are other people nearby. But when you're working for yourself, the reality is, there isn't usually anyone else around, unless you have children in the house or others you might be caring for. I've … [Read more...]
How to become a VA
How do I become a Virtual Assistant is a question I'm often asked. And so I wrote the article below for the Australian Virtual Assistants Association of Australia (AVAA). Some of the content relates to setting up business in Australia. However, all of the content is suitable for anyone in any country and where Australian organisations are listed, please use this as a prompt to seek similar organisations in your own country, if not based in Australia. Things you need to get started: Good … [Read more...]
What is a Virtual Assistant?
This question comes to light often these days because so many people (and countries) have variations on what they believe the term 'Virtual Assistant' means. It came about because a business coach named his assistant that title as she worked miles away from him (in the US) and he coined the phrase 'virtual assistant'. The coach was Thomas Leonard and the assistant, Stacey Brice. This was back in the mid 1990s and the term stuck and gradually the home-based secretarial industry adopted the phrase … [Read more...]
Advice on getting started as a VA
On a VA forum recently a new VA was asking for advice on getting started. She'd outlined her experience and then went on to say she didn't want to start her own business but work for someone else, building up enough experience to pick up jobs here and there. My immediate thought was that this lady didn't really understand the nature of being a Virtual Assistant. And this may well be as a result of articles online that continue to promote that VAs are employees of agencies. The reality is that … [Read more...]
