Well, it finally happened, our 1000th member has joined the ACS team! I can't reveal who they are yet, until they've received and acknowledged the notification. But just to remind you what they will receive. The gifts will be their choice of the following items (and they may choose more than one item - if they don’t yet have that item then they are welcome to it): 1 year’s membership to the “A Clayton’s Secretary” team valued at $187AUD (the amount will be refunded to the lucky new member or … [Read more...]
Would you like to attend my book launch?
If you are in Melbourne on Wednesday evening this week you could come along! Wednesday 11th February, @ 6pm. The Foyer, Bayside Church, Argus Street, Cheltenham (Mel78:C12). Opening by Rob Buckingham who wrote the Foreword with an appearance by fellow author Charles Widdowson (of 'Our Favourite Hymns') from Radio LightFM. Bookings essential. Please fill out the contact form to register your interest in attending, or reply to this email. Refreshments will be provided and autographed copies … [Read more...]
How much should I charge?
Regularly on the VA forums, and sometimes via direct email, I see this question from new VAs. They have worked out what services they are going to provide, have begun seeking ways to network and find new clients but then when they get asked 'how much?' they get stuck. That's ok, we've all been there in some form or another. What did I do when I was treading this same path 15 years ago? I looked at what I was earning the previous year in a corporate job. I knew that if I was going to make … [Read more...]
Number 7 Mistake VAs Make
Not keeping the client in the picture. Some clients will get very anxious if they don't hear from you within an expected time frame and will either go off and find someone else to help them or get very annoyed when they do connect with you. Always a good idea to ask what the time frame is and make sure you report back regularly if a large or long project or regular ongoing work. And particularly for new clients - they won't know what to expect and for many, using a VA for the first time can … [Read more...]
Mistakes VAs Make
I hope you like the series I've been doing on the mistakes VAs make in operating their businesses. I've been getting great feedback - both here at the blog and via email from various people and the list has been growing as I've been thinking about it when away from my office and doing other things. So, where did I get the idea to do this? Twitter. What Twitter? Yes. I saw someone post some weeks ago the number one mistake in their industry - it was just a single post and didn't continue on, … [Read more...]
Number 6 Mistake VAs Make
Staying in our comfort zone. We need to be flexible and stretch and bend if we want our businesses to grow. Technology - where would this industry be without it? And yet we all get comfortable and set in out ways and get to a point where we feel we don't want to learn anything new. It's all happening too fast and we're comfortable where we are... for a time. I remember I felt like that before learning about blogging. I only investigated it because a client asked me too but I really did … [Read more...]
Are you Twittering yet?
If not, then you could be missing out on a potential client base. I've had a Twitter account for sometime now and it really took me sometime to understand what it is about. But now I'm hooked! I couldn't understand what people were doing or going on about and there are some mundane things there. But amongst all that is some really useful information and people willing to lend a hand. You can literally tweet events such as blogradio, podcasts, teleseminars, webinars, or you can tweet for … [Read more...]
The Number 5 Mistake That VAs Make
Offering services that they have no experience in or offering too many services. Many VAs, particularly newer ones, get carried away by the possibilities of what they can offer clients, not realising that if they cannot provide quality service, they not only do themselves a disservice but the whole industry as well. It's important you start with what you know best and can do with your eyes closed, so to speak, and then gradually build from there. Only you know what you're capable of, but you … [Read more...]
Number 4 Mistake Some VAs Make cont.
I had written about who your target client base should really be and Kylee had commented about volunteering to get experience. This is something I've often written about in the past and I'm glad Kylee raised it. As business owners to learn new skills and software packages there are costs incurred over and above the learning time and purchase of software. We often need to find time to practice new skills or try them out but still need to be working and earning an income. Often the answer is to … [Read more...]
