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What Is It You Really Want For Your VA Business?

As this year is coming to a close, we are once again in planning and strategizing mode for the upcoming year. It’s a time to reflect on the year that has passed, and a time to look forward to see what we want to accomplish in the new year. One of the key pieces to setting up for a new cycle of business is to consider your goals. Business goals, personal goals, any goals you want. When you know what you want, you can plot the course or the direction that will take you there. By putting a tangible goal on paper, and then determining the steps you need to take to reach that goal, you can break it down… Read More »What Is It You Really Want For Your VA Business?

Three Questions To Solve Any Problem

“To solve any problem, here are three questions to ask yourself: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, who could I ask?” – Jim Rohn I love this quotation. It tells me that to solve any problem, first you need to think through it, then you need to learn about it and then you should seek advice. I wholeheartedly believe in this process. I’d like to expand on it here. Take any issue you are currently having in your business – big or small – and do this exercise. First, what could you do to fix it? Think about the problem itself, and as many possible solutions as you can think of. Make a list… Read More »Three Questions To Solve Any Problem

Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: Evernote

Evernote is a cool (free!) way to keep track of things you find on the Internet. I am a big fan of keeping a ‘swipe’ file, which is basically when you grab someone else’s information in some form, and save it so you can model* something on it later on. That could be a website page layout, a format of a program or service package, or even some wording from an email campaign. Whatever it is, you liked the way it was presented and you want to be able to do something of your own that is put together the same way. Evernote helps you organize that type of thing easily. You ‘clip’ web page addresses or other bits of… Read More »Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: Evernote

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