Your Online 24/7 Virtual Assistant
WAHMCart Certified Virtual Assistant
Domain: youronlinevirtualassistant.com
Theme: Studiopress\Genesis Framework\Mocha
Description of Site: Team of Freelancers, Virtual Assistants, Graphic Designers, Copyeditors/Writers and more…
Company: YourOnlineVirtualAssistant.com
URL: http://youronlinevirtualassistant.com
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Testimonial: Coming Soon!
Domain: aprildrew.com
Theme: Studiopress\Genesis Framework\Lifestyle
Description of Site: Online Virtual Assistant website needed to present Services, Testimonials, About and Contact information.
Company: April Drew
URL: http://aprildrew.com
Graphic Version: Click to Open in a New Window
Testimonial: Coming Soon!
Are you still unsure what path you want to take? I can definitely share my story with you of why I have chosen to leave Corporate America and stay at home with my 2 kids and work as I wish. Working at home has it advantages and disadvantages – but I would never trade it for the world. To hear about point-of-view, attend Small Business Study’s next session on Thursday, February 3rd featuring me, Staci Jansma, providing details of how you can use a shopping cart to sell from any website and then follow up with us again next Thursday, February 10th featuring:
February 10: The last speaker in our series is someone who has an inspiring story to tell. It begins something like this: A single mom with a degree in chemistry and a dead-end career starts her virtual assistance business with zero clients and grows it to great success. She is now an established online entrepreneur with various popular products and services. This is of course no story but the real life experience of my friend and popular online marketer, Angela Wills of Marketers Mojo. [Read more...]
Small Business Study is hosting “The Virtual Assistant Factor” to help you be in the-know of what you can add to your business in 2011… There will be a webinar on Jan 20th, this Thursday and also Jan 27th (next Thursday) featuring:
January 27: I found Michelle Schoen online when I was trying to find a video that would explain how to use video in my business. Michelle seemed to be everywhere and it’s no wonder. Her professional videos are well executed and extremely popular. Michelle is an IT/design expert who worked at IBM and AT&T for several years before becoming an entrepreneur and setting up her own Virtual Assistant business. She’s now a trainer for VAs and I’m thrilled to have her in our lineup. She will be talking about planning a virtual event to grow your business and she’ll be able to answer a lot of practical questions virtual assistants might have from a service perspective. [Read more...]
My first response is heck yes!!
I was reading a blog post – original is located here: http://kellymccausey.com/when-it-comes-down-to-groceries-or-the-internet-bill/
Here is my personal story and response to a newbie that is just starting out – the same place I was May 2009: I think there is a lot one person can do for their family. I left my corporate job of 27k+ a year with benefits, with vacation, with great family insurance, etc etc and started my virtual assistant business. As some are aware – we struggled for the first 5 months – we scraped by each month but made it. We cut back on everything that we could and kept moving forward.
What I was most thankful for was the people I met along the way. They kept telling me what they have been through and what they did wrong or right and how they are working at home and have been doing it for years. That was my dream – I want to work from home with my kids next to me. I literally worked non-stop – slept – worked – took care of the kids – worked – husband was a huge help as he helped to take care of the house – the kids and whatever else when he was not at his 9 to 5 job and I started to realized in March 2010 – oh my gosh – look at my business — not only have I brought in enough money for my family – I bought a brand new computer and forked out over $800 without even worrying about it. Since then have taken my family on vacation and took a week away from my computer – had limited internet access – but I was successful and continue to be successful. I have learned that it is not easy and I have put many, MANY hours into my business for it to succeed. I am so thankful and grateful for what I have and hope that others will be able to keep moving forward to get what they want. As of today – I have almost replaced my income that I would have brought in from my corporate J-O-B and this has helped me to provide for my family beyond what I never would have imagined back in May 2009. It has been a long path – but a good path. Is it easy – heck no – but if you have the passion and the desire – then keep moving forward.
My advice for a Newbie or someone that is struggling: Try to work for people for testimonials – this may seem crazy and waste of time but think about it – you work for a testimony and do GREAT work – they recommend you to a few friends – who recommend you to a few friends – who RECOMMEND you to more and more. This is how my business is what it is today. I don’t network at all – My clients or previous clients bring me referral work – of course in trade they get a nice little kick back for the referral – but the client knows they were taken care of – and so will their referral/business partner/friend — etc.
I wish the intern the best that you can. Keep your head up – Join in MomMasterminds and ask for help with your website – with what services to offer – put a Barter in for Testimony for 1 hour of VA work – get your skills built up – learn and go from there.
One More Tip: GET A BUSINESS COACH THAT KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND TALKING ABOUT!! If they are successful – HINT: They can probably give you great tips, advice and LEARN from them.
The Complete Internet Marketing Moms Start Up Guide has lots of information that will help you with your questions. Such as a press release. When your website is ready and all your pages are up including rates and services – get your press release up and listed on the FREE press release sites.
Wish you the best with your journey along the way. About 18 months ago – I was right where you are. So if you get stuck – feel free to leave a comment with your question or concern – and I will try to help you!
Every small business owner, internet entrepreneur and momentrepreneur raises questions from time-to-time about outsourcing specific tasks with their websites or blogs. As small business owners we want help with writing, setting up our blogs or websites, driving traffic and a number of other time-consuming, but necessary tasks to make our businesses soar above our competition and be successful.
I joined with Savvy Marketing Secrets to answer the top questions… [Read More]
Many administrative professionals and others who wish to work at home offer their services online as a “Virtual Assistant”. Virtual Assistants (also known as VA’s) provide a wide range of traditional office services and more from a remote location instead of a traditional nine-to-five job. VA’s can charge anywhere $10-$50 an hour for their services, depending on the services they offer.
If you have a good general knowledge of office management or have a skill that business owners need, you can start a Virtual Assistant business without too much hassle. There are generally few start up costs and maintaining the business is quite simple.
Here are some tips to help you get started:
You’ll also need to ensure you have all the software required to provide the services you’ve decided to offer. If you’re starting on a budget, simply ensure that, at minimum, you have the supplies and tools you need to do the job well. You can always upgrade or get new equipment and software as you need it.
With a good skill-set and a plan in place, just about anyone can set up a successful Virtual Assistant business.
Recommended Additional Resource:
To get a full overview of what you need to start your Virtual Assistant business, how to set up your website, market your business and keep your clients, check out the Virtual Assistant Starter Pack”. You’ll learn from two professional VAs who share their success strategies, allowing you to cut your learning curve and get your business profitable much more quickly.
The other day, I ran into a friend who was distraught because she had just been laid off. Her husband had recently taken a pay cut and was afraid of losing his job any day. They have mortgage payments to make, 3 children to raise… you know the rest of the story.
Now I knew that this lady had been working as an office assistant in a construction company. Her eyes lit up as I gently suggested that she explore working at home as a virtual assistant. Of course, she had a lot of questions and rightfully so. It’s no joke to venture into a home business after years of employment.
Since this situation is becoming more and more common with the current economic downturn, I thought I’d share the questions my friend asked and some quick answers to them:
What is a virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant or VA is a self-employed, home-based entrepreneur who assists other businesses, often in administrative work. In other words, a VA is an office assistant who never has to step into her client’s office! In addition, most business owners have particular tasks that they will turn over to their virtual assistants, and these can go beyond basic office or business administration.
What skills do I need to become a VA?
The basic skills a VA needs are office and business administration skills. A VA also needs to be highly organized, communicate effectively and pay careful attention to detail. Some clients look for additional technical skills, such as writing, marketing, social media, blog or website maintenance, and multimedia production – even podcasting!
The skill set you’ll need as a VA depends on the type of clients you want to work with. Find out what they NEED and build your skills to respond effectively.
What kinds of work does a VA do?
VAs commonly do office-related stuff, such as:
In addition, VAs nowadays are often expected to:
Is being a VA a good option for Moms?
Oh yes! A lot of work at home Moms I know are VAs and they make good incomes from the comfort of their home, without having to leave their children in the care of others. Virtual assistance is a home business, which means it’s flexible. You decide how many hours a day you want to work, on which days, what type of work you want to do, and even whom you will work with.
On the other hand, if you have small children, remember that occasionally you will need to be on the phone or webchat with a client, supplier or other associate. In this case you’ll need somebody else looking after your small children so you can have some quiet and be able to focus on the call or chat.
How much money can I make as a VA?
The hourly rate of VAs depends on several factors. These include their skills and experience, whether they specialize in certain services or a particular industry, and any certifications they may have (those who are certified by recognized institutions charge higher fees). VA fees vary widely, ranging anywhere from around $15 to $70 per hour. So you can see, it’s entirely possible for a VA to make a full-time income working at home.
Ok, I’m interested. Where do I begin?
You can try and figure everything out yourself, of course. But better yet, get the guidance of experienced VAs who have successful virtual assistance businesses. Two such VAs are Jen Houck and Nell Taliercio who have a combined experience of over 5 years in virtual assistance. They share their success stories and step-by-step tips in the Just Add Sweat Guide To Becoming A Virtual Assistant.
The guide includes:
…and more.
This is the guide that will get your VA business up and running in no time. Who knows? Becoming a virtual assistant may be the next perfect “job” for you.
If you are thinking of starting up a Virtual Assistant Business, but aren’t really sure what type of services you can offer, here’s a handy ideas checklist:
It’s got 103 service ideas that might just help you find your VA specialty.
This guide teaches you everything you need to know to get started promoting your business.
You'll learn how and where to submit press releases for maximum exposure, how and where to distribute your articles to grow your audience and how and where to share your ezine to reach more potential customers with less effort.
Do you watch your traffic stats? We all do, and we all want the number of visitors to continue to rise because, after all, without traffic, your sales will plummet. But not all traffic is created equal. Driving targeted traffic to your website is critical to your success, and Staci's skills at getting your message in front of your ideal reader will help you grow your business, your client list, and your profit margin. Take a look at all the ways she can bring customers to your site: Blog … Get Started »
Successful online business owners share a strategy that gets them more traffic, more readers, more clients, and ultimately more sales. And they do it all without a making a huge time commitment. The secret? Content repurposing. We all have a favorite way of consuming content. Some of us prefer to read, some like video, and still others want to hear a podcast or audio interview. But chances are you give your visitors only one choice, and that can … Get Started »
When your to-do list becomes unmanageable, it puts a strain on every aspect of your business. Not only that, but work begins to take over family and fun time while you try desperately to get everything done. No one said running a business was easy, but you certainly don't have to do it alone. Let a skilled Virtual Assistant take over those tasks that sap your energy and leave you with little time for the important things in life. Staci can quickly and easily handle most administrative … Get Started »
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