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What’s Your Morning Routine as a VA?

I have had several conversations about routines lately. I guess at this time of the year it can be challenging to get back into the swing of things after taking some time off for the holidays. Do you have a morning routine? The conversation I started was about your business routine, but certainly a lot of people talked about getting up early to work out, or walk pets, or read before getting started on work. I don’t have a real morning routine per se, but I do make a point of doing one thing: I do a whole hour of business work before I ever check email and voicemail. Every single morning.  I learned a long time ago that getting up and… Read More »What’s Your Morning Routine as a VA?

What’s working in your virtual assistant business? What’s not?

Ah the end of the year…! It brings with it mixed emotions for many. Sometimes we can get excited about the coming year and what’s in store for us. Sometimes it’s a time to reflect on what didn’t go right. Let’s face it, when you are doing your year end reports, sometimes they don’t look as great as you had hoped. Maybe you didn’t make as much money as you had expected. Maybe your expenses got out of control, and your profit is down. Maybe you worked really hard and are now in a position to need help but overwhelmed about how to do that. There are lots of emotions at play. I like to break this whole activity down… Read More »What’s working in your virtual assistant business? What’s not?

What I have learned (and from whom!) – a peek behind my VA business curtain!

I am a big advocate of professional development in business. I believe that in order to keep growing, you need to keep learning. And it’s definitely why I choose to teach! Of course in order to grow from your learning, you need to implement what you learn into your business. So although I suggest learning as much as you can, you still need to monitor what you are doing (especially the free stuff which can get out of control quickly!) so that you are only doing as much as you can implement. There will always be another social media class or planning day, but if you can’t put into practice what you are learning then you should think twice about… Read More »What I have learned (and from whom!) – a peek behind my VA business curtain!

Make Time for Marketing Your VA Business

In order to build your business, you have to make time for marketing. Many Virtual Assistants know this, but it can be difficult to find the time. And once we start working with clients, that always seems to take priority over marketing our own business, but it shouldn’t! Keeping your own marketing active is a key piece of ongoing business. People insist that they don’t have enough time to do everything, and certainly marketing falls to the bottom of the list. I know that it’s tough – believe me it’s the same for me sometimes. But I have seen the results when I do make time to market and so that keeps me finding time, even when it seems impossible.… Read More »Make Time for Marketing Your VA Business

Who Inspires You in your VA Business?

Who inspires you in your business? When we work alone all day, every day, sometimes inspiration is something that eludes us. At least on a regular basis. It’s important for Virtual Assistants to connect with people who inspire to do well, to build, to grow, or to do whatever it is you want to do with your business. I am on the mailing lists and in the social media groups of many, many people that I look to for inspiration. Sometimes I need inspiration to know that I am on the right path. Sometimes it’s to help me find my way through a period of growth. And sometimes it’s just to help me keep my mindset in a positive space.… Read More »Who Inspires You in your VA Business?

Is Your Marketing Plan Rocking or Sucking?

It’s a good idea to check in regularly with where you’re at in terms of your marketing plan goals and objectives. You should definitely look at these numbers at least quarterly, but it is even better to look at them once a month (or once a week!). Your goals might include things like revenue, number of sign-ups to your list, number of products sold, number of visitors to your website and blog – and so on. Regardless of what you measure, you want to make sure you take time out regularly to see how you’re doing. Is your marketing rocking or sucking? Are you rocking? If you are humming right along and reaching your objectives – that’s fantastic. Check in… Read More »Is Your Marketing Plan Rocking or Sucking?

What is Billable and What Isn’t?

One of the things I find comes up often in VA conversations is what you should be billing your clients for and what you should absorb as your own expenses. For me it’s a simple answer (everything you do for a client is billable), but I’ll get into some detail to help you navigate through this issue for your own business. First of all, it’s important to remember that when you start working with any client, you are an independent contractor. You are not an employee and you should not act like an employee. Although this gets said very often, it can be difficult to do in everyday practice. It is simply our nature in a support profession to …… Read More »What is Billable and What Isn’t?

Why Everyday Conversations Are Important in Your VA Business

I am on the Board of Directors for our local business association, and many times I am called on to represent the association at local events. So that means in some of my networking I am not actually talking about my own business. I enjoy chatting with others about all kinds of business topics, though, so sometimes that’s even more fun for me. Do you ever get stuck when you are doing networking? Not sure what to say? Maybe getting out there at an event, and focusing on NOT talking about your own business is the solution for you. I had a conversation with a VA the other day about her marketing message, and how to promote her business. She… Read More »Why Everyday Conversations Are Important in Your VA Business