Tag: business
Use The Caterpillar Method Of Business Growth
There are so many examples in the insect world that can help you with building your Virtual Assistance business. Stretch your imagination for a bit and try to think as if you were a caterpillar.
Have you ever wondered if a caterpillar looks forward to becoming a beautiful monarch butterfly? As a human, we can sit back and thoroughly appreciate this fascinating process.
Even people who find caterpillars icky or creepy, likely find immeasurable beauty in the monarch. Do you find it lovely?
Why should you consider thinking like a caterpillar?
The monarch butterfly has 4 stages of its life. What stage of your Virtual Assistance business are you in? What is your BIG PICTURE goal? I hope that you look forward to creating a business as gorgeous as the monarch (but with a longer life-span).
Phase I – Foundation Continue Reading>>
Achieving Goals Mindset Motivation
Discover Your Fears And 3 Ways To Overcome Them
One of the best definitions I have ever heard for the word FEAR is False Expectations Appearing Real.
It goes without saying that starting and running your own business can appear to be a scary undertaking. For some it is horrifying. For many others, it is a thrilling prospect of creativity and opportunity.
Fear can sap your energy and hold you back from making progress in your business. How though, can you discover whether or not fear has a grip on you?
Start by analyzing your habits. When you have an important task to complete, do you have the habit of diving into the work and completing it as soon as possible? Or, do you put the task off for later because you want to make sure that everything you need is in the right order and perfect.
If you tend to put things off by allowing ‘busy work’ and distractions to overwhelm you, it may be that you have the fear of completing tasks. Just thinking about the work that it will take to get a new client, write a few blog posts, or attend a networking event seems exhausting and complicated. This is a prime case of “ready… aim… wait“! Continue Reading>>
Virtual Assistants Remember This Number: $989.6 Billion
Yes, BILLION with a capital “B”.
What is significant about this number and how does it affect you as a Virtual Assistant? First, let me tell you where I found this number and why I was so excited about the other statistics that go along with it. I was reading Forbes.com and came across an article that was written by Jason Nazar.
The article highlighted some very helpful information. First, I want you to think about the number of clients that you need in your business. Is it 5, 7 or 10? Whatever it is, you should determine how many clients you need and the amount that you will charge them for working with you. Here is why! The article pointed out that there are over 22 million entrepreneurs that are self-employed. Of course that include you and me, and many of our friends and colleagues. How many of the more than 22 million do you need to enroll as clients?
Another really cool and exciting figure is $989,600,000,000! In the year 2011, the mass of self-employed businesses generated $989.6 billion in revenue. What was your cut of that amount? What is more important, can you see the possibilities that are available for your business? You as a Virtual Assistant have the possibility of cutting yourself a slice of a ginormous pie. How can you do it?
Upgrade Your Mindset
One of the major hurdles that we at EAtoVA help our clients to overcome is limiting beliefs that Virtual Assistants contend with. When working as support personnel in the corporate world, you were told to get this, handle that, be here, go there and here is how much you will get paid. Now, as a self-employed individual, you may forget that you have full reign to call the shots of your business. So, it becomes difficult to step into the roll of a boss because you are so used to having your schedule and your value dictated to you.
You can end that trend by developing the determination to succeed. Start by acknowledging the beliefs that are holding you back from creating the life that you desire. Think about how those beliefs are affecting the progress of your business. Set business goals for yourself. Create a plan that will help you to get there. Stay focused and follow through on your plan.
I invited you to listen to a workshop that will assist you in doing just that. To get your copy of this helpful information, CLICK this link. I look forward to seeing you tap into the wealth of opportunity that is just ahead of you!
How To Win During the Sluggish Season
As time draws closer to the end of the 2013, I hope that you are not thinking of slowing down in your efforts to grow your business!
NOW is the time to kick your business activity into a higher gear. Rev your engine and step up your Virtual Assistance game. You may ask, ‘How do I do that?’ That is a very important question and I have an answer for you. But, before I answer your question, let me tell you why it is imperative for you to do so.
Why Kick Into A Higher Gear Now?
‘Tis the season for slowing down and getting lazy. It is possible that you as a business owner may feel that this year is finished. That is far from true. There are 46 days left in this wonderful year. You, my friend, should make the best of it. Avoid the sluggishness that occurs in November and December and use the remaining time to light a spark under your business.
Many of your competitors will not read this message and you can get the edge over them. By stepping up your game, you can use the next 6 weeks to build traction and gain momentum as you blaze a trail in January! How will this benefit your Virtual Assistance business? Think about it for a moment. A sluggish November and December leads to a sluggish January. Do you want to start the new year at full speed? Continue Reading>>
Business Management Transition Virtual Assistant
5 Steps To Starting A Virtual Assistance Business
You are likely reading this article because you have a vast array of skills as an administrative professional. In a previous time, you may have been an executive assistant for a large company. Or, you developed your skills supporting a wide range of professionals who needed help with their administrative tasks.
Now, you are looking for another option. The possibility of using your admin support skills to start your own business has become very appealing to you. There are probably 100 reasons why you are interested in started your own Virtual Assistance business.
To name a few, you may desire to:
1. Dictate your own schedule and income
2. Work for the best boss in the world – YOU!
3. Spend more time with family and friends
4. Take better care of an aging relative
5. Retire with grace
The list can go on for miles. The important thing to keep in mind is the motivating force for you. Why are you driven to learn more about building your own business? Your reason is important to me as well. It is so important that I want to share with you 5 keys to keep in mind when starting your VA business from scratch!
The fun part about the steps that I am going to share with you is that you can do them in any order. You have to take the lead and decide which is the next best step for your current circumstances. Heck! You can even do two steps at the same time!
Step 1: Set Up Your Infrastructure Continue Reading>>
Achieving Goals Business Management Motivation
4 Reasons You Are Hiding From Your Goals
You have 70 days left before the start of 2014!
Are you thinking the same thing that many other Virtual Assistants are thinking; ‘Where did the time go?’ The year 2013 is almost gone, a wrap, over, FINITO! How do you feel about your goals for this year? Are you beaming with excitement because you have accomplished a large portion of them? Or, are you avoiding the area where you have posted those goals. You know the feeling of being afraid to review your goals because you think that they will fully understand how you have ignored them for so long.
That is understandable. We all have been there before! So, instead of being scared of those goals, we will discuss 4 reasons why you are hiding from them. Let’s put it out there. Recognize and acknowledge the reasons so that you can overcome them in the future
Reason #1 Procrastination
For some presumably good reason, you decided to delay getting started on a particular objective. Maybe in your mind it was a bit too overwhelming to tackle. Or, you thought that the goal was so easy to reach, that you could start on it at any time and finish it at your leisure. However, there are fewer than 70 days left in the year and you haven’t even started working toward the goal.
Reason #2 They Got Lost and Forgotten Continue Reading>>
Achieving Goals Business Management Marketing Mindset Organization Skill Development Transition
5 Keys To Becoming A Successful Virtual Assistant
In 2009, there were 27.5 million businesses in the United States, according to Office of Advocacy estimates (per a report published in January 2011). What does that mean for you?
A) That number has only increased since 2009.
B) EVERY single one of those businesses needs some type of administrative support to function and be profitable.
C) There is more opportunity for you to be successful than ever before.
Since you have expressed an interest in becoming a Successful Virtual Assistant, I want to share with you all the tips, short cuts and resources that were not available to me when I first got started. I had to figure out on my own most of the things that I learned. I hope that you will utilize the tools that I give you so as to make your journey a LOT less stressful than mine turned out.
Fortunately, I kept track of every step I took, every mistake I made and everything that worked along the way. I didn’t have a real reason for doing so at the time, but I’m SO glad I did because now I can share them with you. When I look back I see that there are 5 critical keys you need to start and build a successful Virtual Assistance company:
1. Mindset: You may not realize it now, but to be successful as an entrepreneur, you have to THINK like an entrepreneur. As employees, we are conditioned to do what others tell us. Someone else typically decides our schedule, how much we get paid, who we work with and what projects we work on. When you become self-employed, YOU call all the shots. This is probably one of the things that is most attractive to you about the opportunity to be a Virtual Assistant. However, you must understand that you will have to go through some growing pains to make-over your mindset. You cannot operate your business they way you function as an employee. It simply won’t work. If you avoid working through this transition it could be the ONE thing that can make or break your business.
2. Infrastructure: What makes up the infrastructure of your company? Here are a few things to consider: 1) Insurances – health, life, disability, dental etc. 2) Technology – computers, phones, an online presence etc. 3) Operations – you must have operational systems in place such as accounting, tax filing, setting up new customers, processes for working with customers, etc. 4) Structure – will you set up an LLC or a Sole Proprietorship? 5) Finances – it takes money to make money. Considering these important matters and making well-informed decisions about which situations will work best for you, will enable you to start and manage a successful company.
3. Marketing: Marketing your services and getting clients boils down to one thing, ‘Offering solutions to people who are already looking for them.’ You don’t have to “hawk your wares”, you don’t have to convince people to hire you and you don’t have to take any opportunity that comes along. Marketing at it’s best is simple, focused and consistent. Those who do not market their company tend to find themselves out of business very soon. The best thing that you can do for your business is to know how to generate leads and enroll new clients. You do not want to wait to figure this out. You can develop a marketing plan even before you have made your first dollar, taking advantage of the resources, relationships and opportunities already within your reach.
4. Transition: Having a PLAN around your transition from Executive Assistant to Virtual Assistant will help you to make the leap from employee to entrepreneur smoothly. Please do not quit your job and then ‘hope for the best’. That is NOT a plan that leads to success. You want to make sure that you have not only your infrastructure in tact, but also a step by step plan that has dates attached to keep you focused. This plan gives you time and space to make the transition. In your mind you may think you can “wave a wand” and make the changes you need to make overnight. But that is an unrealistic view. Mapping out a realistic plan will help you to make steady progress, avoid unnecessary stress and minimize wasted time and wasted money.
5. Building Your Business: When you work for someone else, that company does all of the heavy lifting for you as an employee. The company is responsible for building the business so that you will have a place to work each day. Now, YOU are responsible for whether you win or lose. Success or failure is 100% in YOUR hands! You, therefore, have to perform all of the needed tasks to REMAIN in business. This includes constantly upgrading your skill set, setting up systems, marketing consistently and more.
If you would like help with each of these 5 Keys, I invite you to join me for a FREE training call on Thursday, May 31st, entitled “How to Use the Skills You Already Have to Add An Additional $500 – $5,000 to Your Monthly Income…Working From Home”. Click HERE to get the dial-in details!