It's hard enough educating the public about this. But when those who call themselves virtual assistants or VAs start calling themselves employees too, no wonder the clients get confused! This directly relates to a recent comment I saw on a blog about Virtual Assistants by someone who calls themself a Virtual Assistant. No-one interprets an accountant, lawyer, plumber, financial planner, electrician or other service provider as an employee so why the confusion about Virtual Assistants? Perhaps … [Read more...]
Clients Guide to Virtual Assistance
I've written a lot here about how clients can use VAs and even given you case studies to learn from. But I've never really shared why a client might want a VA. Remember that VAs can do your administrative work to keep your business running smoothly. So, here are just a few reasons: You should be doing what you do best, and delegate the rest. Why do work you don't have the skills and abilities for when you're earning what you earn in your regular work? If you're earning good money, you … [Read more...]
How to use a VA in your business
I get Google Alert daily which lets me know about new articles being published on the topic of Virtual Assistants. How refreshing it was to see today a new article that is clear about how to use a VA and is factual in the information. I particularly liked this paragraph which gave practical advice about affording a VA: Can I Afford It? The first thing to consider is whether or not you can afford to hire a virtual assistant. I’m actually starting to believe the advice given to me many years … [Read more...]
Seeking a VA to support you?
A recent comment on an older post here has sparked this post. The post related to VAs undercharging their work and a comment was made that it was thought VAs assumed they (the industry this person represented) was making a lot of money and could charge a lot higher. I want to say VAs don't work their rates according to what they think the client might pay. They do work their rates according to their own skills and abilities, cost of living and running a business and what is seen as a fair rate … [Read more...]
Social networking – good or bad?
We've recently had a very interesting discussion on the VA forum about the use of photos on websites and that then grew into a discussion on social networking. Is SN good or bad? Is it necessary or time wasting? Does it work? And then recently on LinkedIn a question relating to the same thing was asked and I thought I'd share with you my response there and some of my response at the VA forum. "Spam is probably the 'worst' part about it. Geez people/spammers, get a life! But apart from that … [Read more...]
What is a Virtual Assistant?
Interesting question. 10 years ago I would have told you it's a virtual secretary, someone who had left the corporate world and was now working at home and providing secretarial services virtually. However, as with most things, the industry has evolved and today Virtual Assistants provide many different services, depending on their particular skillset. So it's easy to see how people can get confused and wonder what a Virtual Assistant is? On the front of my website I have this … [Read more...]
Can a Virtual Assistant make a good income?
On the weekend just gone there was an article published in a couple of major Australian newspapers in the My Career section about our industry and based on an interview I had with the journalist. A comment was made on one of the forums I moderate that 'it will take a long time and hard work to make money, if any at all' and I want to address that comment here. I agree that to establish a good VA business (or any business for that matter) it takes a lot of hard work and it does take time - the … [Read more...]
Help is in good hands
That's the title in today's My Career page 3 article about the Virtual Assistant industry. I was called by the journalist about 3 weeks ago and interviewed about the industry here in Australia. We talked about various influences on the industry and how Tim Ferriss helped highlight the industry to the public at large, particularly those who wanted to travel and still maintain their businesses. It also covered the different type of virtual assistants globally and looked at forums here in … [Read more...]
When someone wants to become a Virtual Assistant
I received an email via my contact form during the week from a lady who wants to become a virtual assistant. Rather than fill out the application form, she wrote to me first as she wasn't sure if she had what it took. Her email was badly typed with misspellings, caps missing, and so on. However, I recognised that she probably didn't see this in the same way as she might writing a letter of application to an employer. This was my response to her: To be truthful, if the typing you sent below is … [Read more...]
