As your Virtual Assistant business grows and develops a routine you will begin to wonder where else to take it. You will be feeling confident in what you are doing and looking for opportunities to add to it. I have done this over the years. They might not always look like opportunities at the time, and occasionally had the appearance of nuisance value. But because I wanted to please the clients I had, because I enjoyed the majority of their work, I would take on the extra duties they gave me … [Read more...]
Considering VA Certification?
A VA forum was recently discussing whether or not it was necessary to get certification to operate a VA business. Trouble was the discussion was really about training. I posted the following to help distinguish the difference. I feel it's important to explain there is a difference between training and certification. Certification is usually to verify you already have the skills and ability for whatever that certification is. So VACertification.com (MVA & PVA) and ASO … [Read more...]
Experimenting with Software
In a recent discussion with my business coach, we talked about the possibility of creating a Powerpoint presentation of my recent book "Worth More Than Rubies" and turning it into a movie clip, perhaps with music. We talked about screensavers too. Whenever Stuart sets me a challenge I always come away from our coaching sessions enthused and eager to explore and get something happening. Having achieved (as you'll see below) this is now something I could probably do for clients too. Many of my … [Read more...]
When The Service Just Isn’t There…
I had the most frustrating day this week. It happened on Tuesday. I prepared 70 nametags for an event for a community bank about 40 mins drive away from me. I elected to book a courier to save me time and money in driving up there and back again. My mistake... Those nametags were ready that morning by 9.30am for pick up. I booked a courier at 9.15am - a service I have used other times - and was told that the pickup and delivery would be between 3-4 hours. When the courier hadn't arrived by … [Read more...]
Looking at Payment Options for Clients
Many new VAs today have been told about retainer agreements and that they should be seeking them when securing new clients. Well, I'm here to tell you that isn't always necessary, and in fact, in all the years I've been running my business, I've only ever had one retainer client. He paid me once, didn't give me any work to do, disappeared and I never heard from him again. But you don't get many clients like that. Because I started prior to the Internet I began with clients who paid … [Read more...]
What Can a Client Expect in a Virtual Working Relationship?
I had a prospective client contact me recently as she was seeking someone local she could meet face-to-face to do her work. She'd been using a VA but struggled with the remote aspect of working together and asked for some tips. This is what I told her: Communication is the key. I have a client who's been with me for over 11 years. Every Monday we have a phone meeting, but sometimes we use Skype, and we discuss the task list she's sent me for that week. I do around 15 hours a week of work … [Read more...]
Don’t forget to introduce yourself!
I recently participated in an email promotion for a new book launch which was interesting to do - I have plans for a similar process for my book when it gets into Amazon in a month or so. Yesterday I received an email from someone I've never heard of to promote a book written by someone else I've never heard of and when I emailed them to find out how I got on their list, they advised I'd participated in the launch I mentioned above and they thought I'd like to participate in their's too. I … [Read more...]
Another Year at OIVAC is over!
Wow, what a fantastic time we had! Great speakers, great presentations, new contacts, great company and congratulations to our two award winners - Kylie Short from Australia and Tawnya Sutherland from Canada. Both very deserving candidates. I was honoured and pleased to have one of my own clients, Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), Paddy Spruce who is a member of the National Speakers Association of Australia. I've known Paddy for many years and he arrived at my home at 7am to be ready to … [Read more...]
Friday Finds
My RSS feeds at Google Reader are definitely growing! And as a result I find some great reads during the week and I'm sharing some of them here with you today! Another inspirational story at Equus! The owner, Christine, has been interviewing people in the Equestrian industry and has found some really interesting people. This blog is for and about working with horses but the story I've linked to shows how a sight disability didn't stop one horse lover. Blog Writing gives 5 Top Tips for a Blog … [Read more...]
