One of the most essential and first tools you should consider getting when beginning you Virtual Assistant business is a website. Your website is your virtual ‘home’, and should be an important part of your marketing plan. Your potential clients will want to know as much about you as they can find out before speaking to you in person.

While it’s true a large amount of your client base will come from referrals, you can be sure they’ll ask for a website address when considering margin contact.

As you design your site (or have someone design it for you), put yourself into the position of a potential client. What would someone want to know about you, your business and your services? Make sure you provide full contact information that’s easy to find – you’d be amazed how many people build a great site but leave no way to be contacted.

Your website will need a few key components that potential clients will be on the lookout for: Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re ready to transform your administrative experience into a home business and enjoy the freedom and flexibility of being a solo professional, becoming a virtual assistant could be your answer.

A virtual assistant, or a VA, is an entrepreneur that supports other professionals and small business owners from a distance. VAs commonly work from their own home offices and communicate with their clients via email, faxes, instant messaging, telephone calls and other web based applications, such as Google Docs.

But before you slap up a website and call yourself a VA, you should closely examine your qualifications and evaluate if you have the right skills to be a virtual assistant.

If you have any of the following experiences, you may be able to turn your skills into a profitable VA business: Read the rest of this entry »

Today I am going to tell you a couple quick resources for finding virtual assisting and other WAH gigs whether you are just starting out or established in your niche market.

I always tell my coaching clients that it’s important to spend as much time looking for VA gigs or WAH jobs as you would be putting into your business. That means, if you want to work 20 hours a week, then you should be spending 20 hours a week looking for clients, gigs, and promoting and advertising yourself.

It’s that simple. Trust me I know how hard it can be to stay motivated when you aren’t getting any bites or offers (I have been there many times). I have also found myself in unwanted predicaments where I have had a client flake on payments, ect. I have been able to replace them quickly and easily by implementing my own promotional methods detailed below. If you put in the effort you will get a huge return.

Where do you get your clients?

This is by far the question I get asked the most by email and phone. It’s really easy to find clients if you know the right places to look and how to promote yourself. Here are a few tips and tricks you should always follow: Read the rest of this entry »

In almost every mom forum I visit, there’s at least one member asking, “I want to be a Virtual Assistant. Can anyone tell me how to get started?”

Starting a Virtual Assistant (VA) business is an appealing option for moms who want to develop their careers while being home with their kids. It’s one of the most flexible home businesses you can own, and it can change and develop as your skills grow.

First of all, there’s flexibility in the kind of work you can do as a Virtual Assistant. Traditionally, VAs did only administrative work. Although many Virtual Assistants still offer administrative services, today’s VA can be a writer, web designer, marketer, programmer, public relations specialist, coach – you’re limited only by your imagination!

Unlike a corporate job where the work you do is defined by the title of your position, a VA can continually develop their skills, and can tackle any project that appeals to their talents or interests. As your skills grow, you can ditch the work you don’t like, and pursue new types of projects – no more being stuck in a rut and hoping for that promotion or a new job to rescue you. Read the rest of this entry »

In a Virtual Assistant business, one of the most time-consuming and unrewarding tasks is writing business proposals in response to RFPs.

Have you experienced this? You find an RFP posted in your favorite VA forum or association website. You quickly research the business and determine that this is indeed your ideal client. You have just the skills the person is looking for, and you know that you’re a perfect fit for the contract.

You put together a beautiful proposal that describes your business, how you can help this person, and why your Virtual Assistant business is the best one for this contract. By the time you’re done, you’ve got one impressive proposal and, better yet, everything you wrote is true. Read the rest of this entry »

Setting up a virtual assistant business is relatively easy, but it’s important to have a complete plan of action set out in advance.  I’m a firm believer that the initial planning phase of a business is crucial to its success.  This ensures that you don’t leave any vital steps unaddressed and also prevents any unexpected surprises down the road.  Therefore, I recommend first writing a complete business plan for your business. This plan doesn’t need to be anything technical, just how you plan to operate your business including advertising methods, pricing, business hours, equipment and supplies needed, etc.

The next step is to select the appropriate name.  Take your time here as you want your business name to be an asset by appealing to your potential clients.  Your name needs to clearly express what services you provide and not limit you if you choose to expand your business into other areas.  Decide on a name that people would want to call if they have virtual assisting needs.

To operate a business you are required by law to have the appropriate licenses.  This is your permit to do business locally. It’s a simple procedure that doesn’t require a considerable amount of time.  Contact your city and county officials under occupational licenses for complete details or go online.  Most VAs start out initially as a sole proprietorship and then might change later. Read the rest of this entry »

Virtual Assistants (VAs) are highly skilled professionals who provide administrative support and specialized services to businesses, entrepreneurs, executives, and others who have more work to do than time to do it.  Examples of services a VA can do include publicity and marketing, web design and maintenance, word processing, meeting and event planning, desktop publishing, article and press release submissions, internet research, bookkeeping, business start-up consultations and so much more.  This can be the perfect work-at-home opportunity for many with good computer and Internet skills.

Following are several Do’s and Dont’s to keep in mind for starting and operating your Virtual Assisting business.

DO – Decide on a targeted market and initially focus your marketing efforts in that area.   By developing a “niche” in your field, your reputation spreads quickly and soon you become a recognized expert.  Several specialties include:  publicity, medical, legal or business transcription, resume consulting, transaction coordination — real estate industry, working with authors, academic typing, internet research, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

So, you’ve been on the administrative track for several years and you’re ready to accept the challenge of owning your own business.

Good for you!

But before you dive into the choppy waters of entrepreneurship, let me ask you this.

Are you sure you have what it takes to be a highly successful Virtual Assistant?

To many people, becoming a Virtual Assistant seems an easy thing to do: You post a quickie website, hand out your business cards, and wait for your new business line to light up. What else is there?

Aspiring Virtual Assistants (often called VAs) who take that approach to their new venture are bound to fail. They’re looking at virtual assistance as a job, not as a small business that needs to be developed, grown, and managed. Read the rest of this entry »

As many of you may know, the wonderful co-author of my book, So You Want To Be a Work-at-Home Mom, is Diana Ennen who is president of Virtual Word Publishing.com.  Diana has worked at home as a Virtual Assistant (VA) since 1985! She has TONS of experience and has agreed to share some of her knowledge with us this week. (Thanks, Dee!!)

So, if you’re considering an at-home career as a VA or wondering to yourself if it might be the right career for you, tune in each day this week for fresh info on the topic!

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Virtual Assistants Globally Taking Clients To New Frontiers – The International Connection

You would have to live under a rock to not hear about the latest craze that is spanning the globe – Virtual Assistants.  With the economic outlook diminishing, and more and more companies working with fewer employees, businesses are flocking to find the right virtual assistant for their team.  The need is simple:  Someone that can do the work virtually, professionally, and with the upmost of confidentiality.  Fortunately, Virtual Assistants meet all those needs and more.

Virtual Assistants, like their clientele, are highly skilled professionals working as independent contractors from their home offices. Virtual Assistants use leading edge technology to communicate work assignments via the Internet, e-mail or disk transfer. Traditional methods such as regular mail and overnight shipping are also used. While most Virtual Assistants will never meet their clients, it is not unusual to find a VA providing pickup and delivery service in their local area. Many have found success in a combination of the two, local and virtual clients. And what is even more impressive, is that most Virtual Assistants now realize the amazing power of the Internet and their client base spans globally. Read the rest of this entry »

As a Direct Sales consultant, it is our job to be thoroughly prepared when doing a home party for a host. The better prepared you are, the more successful your show will be.

Here is a simple checklist of what you need to do before the party.

1. Prepare your hostess packets. You want to have a minimum of 5 hostess packets prepared and ready to go.

2. Fill out the invitations with your contact information and the host’s information. Stamp invitations and mail them out approximately 2 weeks before the party date. Call your host and let her know that the invitations are in the mail. Take this opportunity to build excitement about the upcoming party.

3. Prepare the catalogs and order forms. Stamp and label your catalogs, attach any inserts and get them ready to go. Fill out the order forms with your contact information. Pack all of your ordering supplies and make sure you have enough pens/pencils.

4. Prepare the games. Make sure you have enough games and prizes. I recommend 2-3 extra prizes just incase there is a tie or you need extra gifts.

5. Contact your host 24-48 hours before the party to confirm and get directions. This is a good time to ask your host to remind her guests about the party.

6. The day before, finish up the last minute preparations. If you are personally bringing any food or beverages, this is the time to prepare them. Before packing up your supplies and products, do a visual inspection of each item to make sure they are in perfect clean condition.

You can print out this handy pre-party checklist for your next home show. I can guarantee, when you’re organized and prepared, you will have an error-free and more successful home party.

About the Author:
Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. You can contact Shelly at: Web: www.classybusinesswomen.com Web: my.tupperware.com/Ravish30. Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com