Chatting to a VA over the weekend made me realise how much a Virtual Assistant working with a Not For Profit is a perfect fit. You could say it's the perfect marriage. Organisations run by volunteer committees at some time or another get to the point of overload. The committee members have to make a decision of where to go next, they've come to the cross road. Some struggle or find more committee members but more often than not, many get burnt out and move on, leaving the organisation lacking … [Read more...]
Get a Virtual Assistant to help you
Do you get overwhelmed by tracking information and contact details of everyone you meet or have contact with? Does this describe you and your business? Pieces of paper with names and addresses, phone numbers and/or email addresses written on them. Business cards in piles, or with rubber bands wrapped around them, or thrown in a drawer or box. Some entries in a spreadsheet or a database started but not maintained. Perhaps you have them all in your cell phone but they need to go onto your … [Read more...]
VAs – Looking for long-term relationships
The excitement of getting that first client soon passes and you start to wonder how much work is going to come through and how often. If you're a new VA, or a client looking to engage a VA for the first-time, I encourage you to look at the relationship as something that is going to be for the long-term and not ad-hoc or one-off jobs. I know that some clients like to 'try us out' to see how things go. I expect some might do this with Accountants and Lawyers too, and perhaps tradespeople as … [Read more...]
Clients Using VAs Part 9
In another of this series, here is an interview I did some months ago with Wendy Moore. Please tell my readers a bit about who you are and what you do. With over 14 years experience in the IT industry, I understood the amazing potential available to women in business who knew how to use the internet. What astounded me was the absolute lack of knowledge amongst fellow business women about the internet. Basic fundamentals were just not understood by women and so many were missing golden … [Read more...]
Engaging a VA?
Then it's important to remember: There is no 'standard' rate for engaging a VA. Their cost of living, location, currency, experience and skillset vary considerably. First you will have to weigh up whether you need to engage someone who is local to where you work, or whether virtual is what you need. We find that most work can be carried out 100% virtually, unless you need for that VA to be onsite (Minutes of Meetings for example) or to do research that requires local geographical … [Read more...]
Agency VA or Self-Employed VA?
Saw a comment recently on a well-known blog post about the use of Virtual Assistants. Perhaps the biggest problem with them was that after putting in my dues to get acquainted with the VA and 'training' them appropriately, they got promoted or reallocated and I had to start from scratch. This happened at least 3 times in a less than 3 months. Unfortunately, I can see that happening at other firms as well. It might be tough, but see if you can ask your VA company to commit to the same VA for some … [Read more...]
The importance of follow up
We read often the importance of follow up when networking and meeting people for the first time but what about when they've already begun using your service or product? How many of you follow up afterward to see how things are going? A couple of years ago I decided to set up an autoresponder series for follow up after clients fill out the job request form on my website. I hadn't realised how valuable this simple action would be. Over that time I've received really valuable feedback as well … [Read more...]
“You have given me so much confidence”
They were the words spoken to me by a client recently. He's writing his family memoirs and getting into a mess with trying to handle Table of Contents, indexing and even line spacing between paragraphs. We spoke on the phone a few days ago and he emailed me his document. I could see right away there was much work to be done so I sent back an outline of what I thought needed to be done and how, and what my rate would be. I also suggested he speak to a local printer I know who could give him … [Read more...]
How to Use a Virtual Assistant in Your Business
There have been a number of articles written about this topic on the web over the years, and often by people who have been using a VA. However I feel it's time to add more information from someone inside the industry, rather than from outside the industry. What is a VA? First, please let me explain that a Virtual Assistant or VA is someone who works in their own office (usually at home), providing computer based or office based support to a number of clients. In other words their support or … [Read more...]
