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Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: WP eStore

WP eStore is a WordPress plugin that is a great alternative to paying for a monthly shopping cart. It’s a one-time  purchase for around $50, and it integrates with your WordPress website pretty seamlessly, so you can set up products to sell online. You can use it with Paypal and also with a couple of payment gateways like Authorize.net and 2Checkout.com. I have used it with a client for a while now and I also have it set up on my website. It really is easy to set up and use. It also interacts well with several other plugins from the same developer (tipsandtricks-hq.com) so that is great too. Because it’s a one time purchase it can be a really… Read More »Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: WP eStore

No clients for your virtual assistant business yet? What are you trying to sell?

“The really unhappy person is the one who leaves undone what they can do, and starts doing what they don’t understand; no wonder they come to grief.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I recently came across the quote and I was immediately struck by it. One of the big problems I see with Virtual Assistants who are either just starting out, or who are trying in vain to grow their business, is exactly the essence of this quotation. They try to build their business doing something new or something that they have not gained expertise with. I have had many conversations with people who are starting their VA business, and they don’t realize how much value they have in the… Read More »No clients for your virtual assistant business yet? What are you trying to sell?

Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: Instant Teleseminar

Instant Teleseminar is a great virtual event presentation platform. What I love about Instant Teleseminar is that it’s easy to use, and it’s really reliable. Your attendees can access the calls a few different ways: by telephone (with an option for local dial in numbers as well), by webcast or even by Skype. So you have a greater chance of people attending your event with these options. You can show powerpoint presentations, and you can even play pre-recording music or recordings into your presentation, to make them really dynamic. The calls record automatically so no worries about missed recordings. And my favourite feature is the Autopilot – so you can pre-record and the call will play back at your scheduled… Read More »Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: Instant Teleseminar

Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: Mailchimp

Mailchimp is an email service provider that has really caught on with people in the last year or so. It has had a free version for a long time, with some limitations, and many more people are starting to use the paid levels as well. What I like about Mailchimp is that their whole system is quite easy to use and I really like the reporting features they have. If you have fewer than 2,000 subscribers you can get a free account that allows you to send up to 12,000 total emails each month. That’s a lot if you don’t have a big list so it’s a good deal if you have the numbers. There are some quirks that I… Read More »Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: Mailchimp

Favourite Tools or Virtual Assistants: Carbonite

Carbonite is an online backup system that you can easily use to keep all of your files backed up regularly. It’s an annual fee of about $60 and when you install it you do a full backup once, and then Carbonite keeps updating new documents every day and keeping your backup current all the time. You don’t have to do anything else – no worry, no need to even think about it! One of my favourite features for Carbonite is that you can log in to your account online and you can access any of your files – anytime. So no need to worry if you are traveling or using another computer, you can grab what you need easily. I… Read More »Favourite Tools or Virtual Assistants: Carbonite

Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: GQueues

GQueues is an awesome way to keep your task list organized. It’s a simple task manager that you can access from anywhere, and it integrates with your Google Account too. You can set up as many ‘queues’ as you like, and add as many tasks to each queue as you need. It’s also got some great features, like sharing queues with others, tagging and much more. There is a free version, but the paid version is only $25/year and is more dynamic than the free version. If you are like me, and you like a simple to-do list to keep yourself organized, try GQueues. I use it to keep track of all of my client work and my business tasks,… Read More »Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: GQueues

3 Secrets to Building a Great Clientele For Your VA Business

When I talk to VAs about how their business is going, the biggest struggle I hear is that they are having trouble finding clients. So we dig a little deeper – to find out why they are having trouble. The main cause that usually comes up is that they are not marketing their services to anyone in particular. In fact, they are wasting a lot of their networking time because they are not being specific enough. There is the fear that if they are too specific they will have to turn away business from potential clients. That’s not true. You are welcome to work with anyone you want to! Marketing to a target industry is just good business planning –… Read More »3 Secrets to Building a Great Clientele For Your VA Business

What’s Your Earning Potential As a Virtual Assistant?

One of the questions I get asked often is how much money a VA can make. Well, the answer to that question is similar to the answer to this one: how long is a piece of string? The fact is that when you are a small business owner, you are the one in control of how much you earn in your business. If you want to have a small, part time business that allows you to be at home for your family and work around a busy schedule, then you can choose to do that. If you want to work full time as a solopreneurs, and work only during regular business hours, and you just want to replace the income… Read More »What’s Your Earning Potential As a Virtual Assistant?