One of my team wrote me about a man named "Bill Caudill, an eminent Architect (AIA Gold Medal recipient) who, between 1964 until his death in 1983, put out a regular memo to his people titled "This I Believe" or TIBs. He used to write his thoughts and send them to his management as a Memo and before long, they were being pinned on the noticeboard for the entire office to read. They generated so much interest that Bill continued this practice on a weekly basis. " Today they're available weekly … [Read more...]
Learning on the Job!
I was thinking this morning about a recent chat with a client who indicated through their conversation that I should be charging them cheaper because they’re getting me to learn a new system and it would then be something I could do for other people. When I say cheaper – I mean considerably lower than I was charging – although I had already lowered the rate from my real rate. It then occurred to me (this morning) that my entire business life has been spent learning new things as each … [Read more...]
Network, Network, Network!
Virtual Assistant Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 4:37 pm Post subject: Network, Network, Network -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is nothing like networking to give your business a boost. It is a bit like planting a seed, watering it and then watching it take root - it can take a few months before the first nibbles come in, but when they do - it is usually worth it! You've heard the saying 'it's not what you know, but who you know'? and in … [Read more...]
Employee Mentality or Business Owner Thinking?
It is often hard, when starting out as a VA to determine what information you should be seeking, whether something can be sourced elsewhere, or whether you should be doing it all on your own? I participate in several VA forums and often see new VAs asking for items that they really should be sorting out for themselves. Things like contracts, rates sheets, brochures, business plans and other items. What should they expect help with and what should they be doing on their own? The key word here is … [Read more...]
Maintaining Your Professionalism at Home
How do you do it? How do you cope with family and working at home? I was asked these questions recently at a networking breakfast but it's not the first time I've been asked such questions. Perhaps the answers came naturally to me, perhaps they were instinctive, or maybe they were something instilled in me at a much younger age, but it all seems pretty much common sense these days. And yet not so for others. Hence why they ask the questions I suppose. What am I talking about? Managing my … [Read more...]
Outsourcing or Offshoring?
There has been a lot of talk and many articles printed about the benefits of Offshoring as opposed to Outsourcing locally. There has also been great debate about whether the cheaper costs of Offshoring are outweighed by the benefits of Outsourcing locally. Within a space of a few short years it has become evident that not all cases of offshoring have been beneficial with the end user (the consumer) becoming disgruntled with trying to communicate with telemarketers who do not understand the … [Read more...]
The Email Tamer
Do you fight a constant battle with incoming email? Would you like to see an almost empty inbox again? Well, here’s something that will help you! In my July newsletter I wanted to outline the merits of using a Filter or Rules Wizard in your email program. Probably the most widely used email program is Outlook but you may be using a different program – hopefully it will have the ability to do some, or all, of these things for you. As a business operator you may find yourself working for more … [Read more...]
History of Virtual Assistant Industry
This is an updated excerpt from my book The Home-Grown Secretary You are probably aware that there are several VA networks and lots of VAs globally today so this will help you see that you are about to embark on a career that has a good foothold in the business world already. You may have already noted that many claim to be the first network, or the original ‘VA’. The UK/European magazine Executary International noted this very same thing in an article about the Industry in the Spring 2000 … [Read more...]
Should I join a network?
There seem to be lots of virtual assistant networks on the web. How do I know which is the right one and whether I should be paying for a membership or not? There are a lot of networks and each has its own culture. Some do charge membership fees and others don't and this is really a measure of what they provide. Some provide a free chat forum, others have the chat forum and directory listing on the web. One or two provide yellow pages advertising in various countries, several provide job leads … [Read more...]
