Paying It Forward

My coaching web site, VAstartup was asked to participate in the Connecting2Give event with Virtual Assistant Forums which highlights Virtual Assistant week in March.

Part of this event is the giveaways! And you could win!

As a part of this event, VAstartup has donated 2 copies of our Boot Camp for Virtual Assistants ebook to the event. You could win a copy of my ebook or one of the other ebooks being given away by other industry leaders.

Don't miss a chance to win one of these fabulous ebooks that gives you insight into the virtual assistant industry and how to start your own business!

But it gets better than that...

As a Virtual Assistant who's been in business for 12 years now, I thought "What more can I do?" and that's when it hit me.

I'm finding a newbie to mentor for 30 days!! :) That's right - and it's more than just coaching!

The winner of this giveaway will receive:

* One free copy of my Boot Camp for Virtual Assistants ebook
* Daily Virtual Assistant coaching and mentoring via email and phone as needed
* A free 5 page web site designed by me
* A free blog template to match your web site
* A free logo
* A free business card design

The winner will be announced on April 1st.

For those of you who do not win, there can only be one winner, be sure to follow the progress of the future virtual assistant as she blogs and vlogs about her start-up process.

If you've been thinking about becoming a Virtual Assistant - or know someone who is - now's the time to make that leap! Visit VAstartup for additional information.

A Wicked Writer

Angela Allen Parker is quite possibly one of the funniest people I know. I adore her. She's witty, intelligent and well, wicked!

Angela is a fabulous writer. She is the owner of Wicked Writer where she offers her services as a freelance writer, web content specialist and blog consultant. Saying that her work is amazing is an understatement...in fact it's almost an insult! Yeah, she's THAT good! ;-)

I've said it a thousand times before, and I'll say it again, the girl literally makes my toes tingle when I read her writing.

I've known Angela for years through IVAA. She was the former president of IVAA and is a co-founder of Remote Professionals and I can tell you that she's the epitome of professionalism...and quite honestly, she's probably THE biggest geek I've never met in my life...except Bill Gates maybe.

I've been fortunate to know Angela on both a personal and professional level for several years...but truth be told, I love the personal level the best! I really enjoy days like today when I share a giggle or two with her on the phone - and Angela you KNOW what we were giggling about!!!

Thanks for the smiles today you wicked little girl...

Start a Virtual Assistant Business

I get several inquiries each week on how to start a virtual assistant business. Many of those who contact me have been burned by work at home scams previously and many think that virtual assistants are yet another scam...well, it's not!

Check out the IVAA - International Virtual Assistant Association. There are hundreds of virtual assistants, both newbies and established VAs who belong to this organization. Also, Google for virtual assistant articles. You'll find that reputable print and online magazines are touting the value of working with virtual assistants...places such as ABC news, Business Week, Inc.com, Microtimes, MSNBC, Realty Times, USA today and more! In fact Good Morning America and other television shows have interviewed virtual assistants. It's not a scam nor is it a gimmick.

But, let's keep it real. Not everyone is cut out to be a virtual assistant. The success of your business is based solely on your drive to be successful. When you become a virtual assistant, not only do you have to setup your business, you are also responsible for marketing it, keeping the books, networking, etc. It's not easy - but it IS doable!

There are many services that a virtual assistant can offer, you have to search to find what you like to do and figure out what industry your services are a good match for.

For instance, I have over 10 years of in-house experience supporting executives, so naturally I launched my business The Virtual Secretary offering administrative assistance. This included screening voicemails/emails, basic correspondence, working on presentations and proposals and planning conferences/meetings.

As my business developed, I found that I really enjoy providing services as a marketing virtual assistant, therefore I launched The Virtual Link to focus on marketing services. At TVL, I offer services as an Internet marketing specialist, and work as a Virtual Assistant for Coaches Virtual Assistant for Speakers, and most notably as a real estate virtual assistant.

Other virtual assistants specialize offering services in areas such as database management, podcasting, paralegal, transcriptionists, etc.

The point is to do what you like to do - and to do it well.

If you're considering starting a virtual assistant business, you may want to consider reading my ebook, Boot Camp for Virtual Assistants to guide you through the steps of starting your own virtual assistant business. In addition this ebook also provides you with a list of services that clients are looking for assistance with to help you determine if you have any skills to launch your business with.

Additionally, I also provide virtual assistant coaching services by the hour so that you can ask me questions about starting your business, get help with determining the services you should offer.

And on a side note, as many companies are laying off employees, those same companies are turning to outsourcing work - while the economy and job security is crashing, virtual assistants are getting more inquiries and clients than ever before!

If you're interested in becoming a virtual assistant or need help marketing your business, contact me, let's chat!

Clients Clients Everywhere!

Holy Guacamole Batman! I can't believe my current client workload...but first, let's backtrack some.

Earlier this year, I kind of got into a funk about the constant merry-go-round of clients that I get. I get a client, do their site, and they're in and out in less than 4 weeks. It's feast or famine around here constantly.

It causes anxiety when you know some projects are getting ready to close and there aren't any leads on the horizon for new work. Such has been my life for the past, what 7 or 8 years?

So I decided to pull away from web site design and revert to retainer clients once the kids got back into school in August. I need to fill my practice with clients that need ongoing assistance in order to reduce my stress level some. This was my goal and I started focusing on marketing to these kind of clients at the end of August.

So here I am the first week of October and I'm drowning in work!

• One speaker client that I had on a 20 hour a month retainer now needs about 15 hours per week!
  
  
• A commercial real estate company is about to sign for 40 hours per month for Internet marketing.
  
  
• This week an associate of mine requested help with social marketing work for an organization that has over 10,000 members....um yeah, Batman, you read that right - over 10,000 members! Dude if only 1% of those members need help that's still 100 clients!
  
  
• Another associate of mine contacted me this week and requested 40 hours per month for Internet marketing help for one of her clients.
  
  
• Oh, and now my speaker client has referred me to a family member who is a consultant for brokers and real estate agents!

My head hurts thinking about it all.

I'm not complaining mind you, but I also have an ebook I'm working on and some training modules that I've been putting together over the past month or two.

Oh and did I mention that I started taking classes up at the community college this semester?

And yes, I'm still doing real estate virtual assistant services such as web sites, training Virtual Assistants and trying to run GeekGyrls.com but I can't give my babies (projects) the attention they deserve because, well, there's no more time left in my day!

:) When you make a decision to do something, believe it and you can achieve it.

Oh, and does anyone know where I can get a Virtual Assistant? I need help! LOL

ReadNotify to Confirm E-mail Receipt

As a Virtual Assistant I sometimes run into issues with clients and colleagues who claim to have not received an invoice or an e-mail I had sent. After several instances of this, I began using a service called ReadNotify.

ReadNotify is a chep and affordable service ($24-$36 per year). More than once it has been a resource to prove that e-mails were indeed received. Sometimes this can be offensive to the client, but my experience is that the clients that are getting upset are the ones who are indeed receiving my e-mails, sometimes multiple times, and simply ignoring them.

Here are some of the features of ReadNotify. They tell you:

• date/time your e-mail was been opened
• how long the e-mail was open or read
• tracks and forwarding of your e-mail
  
• notes if attachments web URLs were opened

To test out their service, sign up for a free account.

Monday, Monday

Is it really Monday already?

As a Real Estate Virtual Assistant working from home and loving it, at least I don't have to face the road rage out there today...I'm sitting here at my desk sipping my Starbucks coffee and deciding where to start...so much on the to-do list.

Here's a video for the rest of you facing the Monday morning blues...

VAstartup - How to start a virtual assistant business...

www.VAstartup.com has been my virtual assistant coaching web site since 2002. Recently I revamped the site to include an ebook for Virtual Assistants called Boot Camp for Virtual Assistants.

Additionally I've created some low cost Virtual Assistant marketing materials for newbies looking to enter the industry. I offer low cost Virtual Assistant web sites and more. Check it out!

And of course, I still offer Virtual Assistant coaching to help you with your questions about starting a Virtual Assistant business.

If you're new to the VA industry, check out VAstartup!