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Are You Just Wasting Your Time?

Do you ever look up at the end of a day and wonder where the time went? Losing time is very common for Virtual Assistants – and anyone who works on their own, or from their home. With no one around but us, it can be easy to start a task and not really keep track of where the time has gone. I’m not really talking about client work – if you aren’t keeping track of that, that’s bad! I’m talking about when you are not working on client work. Maybe you are on social media, maybe you are writing blog posts or creating content. Many VAs I know do not set blocks of time to get these types of… Read More »Are You Just Wasting Your Time?

The Simplest Way to Build Your Virtual Assistant Business

Take a step back for a moment and have a look at your VA business. How many clients do you have? How do they work with you? How do they pay you? Are you making as much as you expected to make? Are you happy with the tasks you are doing every day? Sometimes the answer to that last question is yes, sometimes it’s no, and sometimes it’s a bit of both. Today I challenge you to really look at your business and ask yourself these questions. Especially if you are not happy! If you don’t have enough clients, you need a plan to get new ones. If you are still offering a laundry list of tasks for your clients,… Read More »The Simplest Way to Build Your Virtual Assistant Business

Do You Love Networking? or Do You Dread It?

Networking is a necessary part of owning a business. As a Virtual Assistant, is networking something you enjoy? Or would you rather do anything else? I talk with a lot of VAs about growing their businesses, and one of the biggest issues VAs face is where to find clients. I tell them they have to determine who their services are best suited for, and then they have to find those potential clients and network with them. The conversation often takes a bristly turn after that. Networking is not a favourite activity for many VAs because we have often been the reactive type of personality. The person who is the greeter of those who enter the building. The person who answers the phone… Read More »Do You Love Networking? or Do You Dread It?

3 Easy Steps to Creating Packages for Your Virtual Assistant Services

Do you want to create packages for your virtual assistant services, but don’t know how? If you don’t know how to do it, it’s time to learn! It’s vital to create packages of virtual assistant services for your clients. It helps you to manage their workload, it allows you to set appropriate pricing instead of working by the hour, and it helps you avoid a laundry list of service offerings, to name a few benefits! It’s a tricky thing, to estimate how much you will charge for a certain amount of work. No one wants to lose money by undercharging. And no one wants to have a conversation with a client about increasing rates, especially if you have just moved… Read More »3 Easy Steps to Creating Packages for Your Virtual Assistant Services

Do This 3 Times a Day and Watch Your Productivity Soar

Do you get to the end of every day and still have a long list of things to do?  Or worse, do you work later than you planned too often because you still have so much to do at the end of your day? Have you ever considered why that happens? We often blame it on our task lists being too long to start with … but it’s probably not that at all. When you regularly run out of time before your daily tasks are completed, first check how much you are putting on your to-do list. If it should have been manageable enough, then it’s time to look at exactly how you are spending your time every day. Manage your schedule instead… Read More »Do This 3 Times a Day and Watch Your Productivity Soar

Why Do Your Clients Choose You As Their Virtual Assistant?

I was reading a chapter in Blue Ocean Shift the other day that gave me pause to really think about what I am bringing to my clients. What makes me different than my competitors, and why people should choose to work with me, instead of another Virtual Assistant. Have you ever done this exercise for your VA business? Do you know why your clients work with you? Or if you don’t have clients yet, do you know why someone SHOULD work with you over someone else? If you haven’t stopped to think about this yet, I highly recommend that you do. As VAs, your own value can be a very tough thing to see in yourself. First, we are new to the industry and seemingly… Read More »Why Do Your Clients Choose You As Their Virtual Assistant?

Do I Really Need a Virtual Assistant Niche?

It seems one of the most controversial topics about being a VA is whether you need to specialize, or ‘niche’, your services. The conversations take place in networking situations, often started by newer Virtual Assistants who honestly don’t know what they should provide as services. More seasoned VAs are quite opinionated about the answer – and it’s largely due to the circumstances of their own experiences (which of course, is exactly where our opinions come from!). To Niche or Not to Niche? There are two schools of thought on this: School #1 says that you can offer any services you know how to do to any clients and build a bigger and better business. This group believes that your business… Read More »Do I Really Need a Virtual Assistant Niche?

Give Your Virtual Assistant Marketing Efforts a Fighting Chance

How is your marketing working for you? If you’re like most VAs, you have ideas of what you want to do in your business. Getting more clients almost always tops the list. And your marketing is the vehicle to help you get that done. But if you don’t have a plan, are you giving your marketing efforts a fighting chance? Making the decision to get your message out there is great. Deciding how to do that is a step that often gets left out – either due to lack of knowledge on how to do it, or perhaps a lack of strategic planning ability, or event just sheer desperation (sorry if this is you!). Getting clients is a stressful thing.… Read More »Give Your Virtual Assistant Marketing Efforts a Fighting Chance