EAtoVA – Page 3 – Virtual Assistant Success Strategies

Wil Hart on April 26, 2013

Hire Yourself, Fire Your Boss

I have no doubt that you are an amazing administrative professional. The skills that you currently possess may be enough for you to get starting in your new career as a Virtual Assistant. Although you will need to acquire new skills (as normal), the base knowledge and skillset that you possess could put you on the road to becoming an entrepreneur. What do I mean by that?

You Have The Needed Skills

The work that you are doing right now as an Executive or Administrative Assistant is currently paying your bills, correct? Great! It doesn’t matter if your in a law firm, an investment company or in the healthcare industry, your skillset is a wonderful asset to you. Think of the many activities that you engage on a daily basis. You are probably experienced in some or all of the following: Continue Reading>>

Wil Hart on April 23, 2013

Is Virtual Assistance A Real Business?

Many people are fed up and are looking for another way to support themselves financially. Does this sound familiar to you? It is possible that you have reached your limit of dealing with office politics, feeling unappreciated by your superiors, or just tired of the monotonous grind that you have experienced ever day for a number of years.

One of the points previously mentioned may have driven you to this blog. You may have heard a little bit about the Virtual Assistance industry. Perhaps the grapevine of communication has heightened your curiosity about how you can use your administrative skills to build a business of your own. Is it possible to replace or even exceed the income that you currently have? What really is a Virtual Assistant and is it a real business?

Continue Reading>>

Wil Hart on April 18, 2013

How To Start A Virtual Assistance Business

Wil Hart on April 12, 2013

How Can You Eat An Elephant

Running a business has been compared to eating an elephant! That is a weighty thought when you consider that an elephant may not be able to fit into your home, let alone on your dinner plate. Similarly, thinking about starting a business (or keeping up with the one you have) may seem daunting.

Is the goal of running a successful Virtual Assistance business elephantine in your mind? Believe me, it’s totally okay if that is how you feel at this time. Many people want to become a Virtual Assistant because they have been laid off from their job. Many others feel that they have hit the glass ceiling of compensation and thus feel under-appreciated and under paid. Some want to be home when their children arrive home from school. Still, others are caring for ill relatives and need to earn a living on their own time. These various situations motivate individuals to look for another vehicle that will enable them to create their lifestyle. What is your reason? Continue Reading>>

Wil Hart on April 10, 2013

The VA Success Cafe: Episode 14

In your Virtual Assistance business you will need basic tools to re-create the environment you once had when you were employed. What are some of the tools that you need? A good place to start is to take stock of technology that you already own before begin making purchases.

Wil Hart on April 3, 2013

The VA Success Cafe: Episode 13

In this audio you will learn the importance of increasing your knowledge of technology. Doing so will increase your efficiency, reduce your effort and save you money. At the same time, you will learn why it is necessary to consider the taking in the right type of knowledge so that you will improve work and personal life.

Wil Hart on April 1, 2013

How Can You Keep Your Client Work Organized?

Are you a Virtual Assistant who is looking for an easy way to collaborate with you clients and stay organized? If you are having difficulty staying organized in working with your clients, you may have too many locations where you store stuff.

For example, if you have 5 different clients that you work with, where do you save all of your communication? Is it difficult for you to keep track of the instructions that you receive via email? Does information get lost between the time you hear a voice mail to the time that you complete a task or project? It would be great if you could retain all of this information in one place. Well, the good news is, you can!

Basecamp is a fantastic resource that enables you to stay organized and focused when working with clients. Basecamp is online collaboration and project management software. Keep all of your data in one place so that you and your clients can review the same information at the same time. Additionally, you can edit and upload new versions of documents that you share. Why is this important for you? Basecamp will help you to stop losing emails and post it notes and voicemails. Upload all of the client notes that you have to Basecamp. Never lose a task or forget where you made notes about an important conversation.

Why is it so easy to keep track of files and conversations in Basecamp? Everything that you add to this tool is date stamped. You can get a visual timeline of the projects that you are working on currently. This let’s you know what is complete and where you may need to take action on specific project.

It is important for you to get and stay organized in your business. Impress your clients by staying on top of the tasks that you two have agreed on. Use Basecamp as the answer to the problem of being disorganized. Being disorderly is a choice. Therefore, make the choice of taking control of all of your business activity. Decide to be the captain of your business’ organization by implementing tools that will help you to serve your clients in a systematized and orderly way.

Wil Hart on March 29, 2013

3 Ways to Use Evernote For Your Business

If you would like a tool that gives you instant access to data that you have collected, you have no need to look any further than Evernote. Why can this be an effective tool for your Virtual Assistance business?

Keep Track of Everything

Evernote has so many cool features that you just cannot get enough of using this awesome app! You can track absolutely everything that comes to your mind. One of the first things that you may want to do with Evernote is to start saving data so that you can see how easy it is to collect information.

If you have photos or images that you want to keep online instead of on your smartphone or camera, you can save them in Evernote. The same goes with audio and text files that you create. When you upload data you can use the tagging function that will enable you to do an easy search for your files.

Inside Evernote I have a notebook called Business. This is where I put all of my business ideas that come to mind. The app on my smartphone gives me 24-hour access to my Evernote account. I use this app to organize product launches for the EAtoVA community. You can consider ways that you can Evernote to keep track of business opportunities, ideas and tasks.

Safeguard Client Details Continue Reading>>

Wil Hart on March 1, 2013

Start Your Virtual Assistant Business Part-Time

If you are currently employed with a company working as an Administrative Professional and are wondering how you are going to transition into your own home-based Virtual Assistant practice, the thought may have crossed your mind to start your business part-time. This likely led to a number of other questions, such as “How do I get started,” “How will I balance my job, family and business?” and “Can I really do this and be successful?”

The good news is that you can create a profitable business that you work in part-time. You and I both know of many individuals who have been able to maintain two or even three sources of employment simultaneously. It would be no different if you were to choose to start your Virtual Assistance practice while you maintain your current job.

There are a few things that you will need to consider if you are going to start a part-time Virtual Assistance business, such as:

What is my current situation? As with any endeavor in life, especially when there is a demand on your time and financial resources, it is imperative to consider your circumstances as they are and not how you want them to be. Ask yourself:
- How much time do I have to devote to my business endeavor?
- How much financial support can I dedicate?
- How will my part-time Virtual Assistance business affect the time that I spend with my family?
- Will my quality of life improve or suffer by taking on this challenge?

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. The point is to honestly assess where you’re at and what needs to happen in order to make your endeavor successful.

Who will I serve in a part-time capacity? I’m asked all the time, “Will clients be interested in working with me if I’m only available part-time?” And the answer is Yes! Why is that? It is because when and how you work isn’t really their concern. Remember, they are looking for a solution to a problem, not a Virtual Assistant. Here is what you will need to do. 1) Focus the client relationship on solving their problems. 2) Be clear about your availability and meet the agreed upon deadlines. WHEN you actually do the work is a non-issue.We currently work with several Virtual Assistants. They each have different circumstances and different schedules. When they do their work for us is not something we worry or care about. Once a task is assigned, we just want it delivered on time and as we agreed. What this means for you is that you’ll want to focus on providing services that aren’t necessarily time sensitive (that have to be done during normal working hours). You do this by matching your skill set with what the client is looking for and then honoring your commitments.

How will I manage my time and clients? Time is our number one resource. We all enjoy the same portion of it each day. You, as a part-time VA, will have to determine how you will use your allotment of 24 hours. First, be mindful that you do not need to tell your clients that you only work part-time. Every day, you treat your employer as your biggest client, right?

When you enroll a client on a part-time basis, they only need to know that the agreement that the two of you made will be honored. Therefore, even in a part-time situation, make only commitments that you can keep. This means not over-committing yourself or making promises you can’t keep. Be honest about what you can do and you’ll quickly build a trust with your clients that will likely lead to more work and referrals to others in their network.

Is pursuing a part-time VA business the right goal for you? It can be if you honestly assess your current circumstances. Decide whether or not you have the time to commit to building your business. You also need to determine if you have the financial means to support your business. It is also important for you to be realistic in your commitments to clients. Many are getting this accomplished. By reviewing the points mentioned in this article, you may be able to start a part-time Virtual Assistance business too!

Wil Hart on February 15, 2013

Read Your Way To Success

Think for a few minutes about the last book that you have read. How long has it been since you started or completed a book? Reading deeply and widely can help you tremendously in your Virtual Assistance business. Let’s take a look at several of the benefits that you can gain from picking up a book (or iPad or Nook or Kindle 😉

Reduce stress – By cracking open a book you allow yourself to disengage from what is going on in your life at that very moment. Of course this depends on your choice of reading material. Put this to the proof. If you need to relax, choose a reading topic that will take you to a place of serenity.

Increase vocabulary – Keep a pen and paper close by when you delve into your next book. You are likely to pick up a few new words of which definition you do not know. Avoid “thinking” that you know the meaning of a word. If you cannot readily define a word while at the same time provide a few synonyms and antonyms, then you do not have a good grasp and the word in this case is new.

Improve thinking ability – As a Virtual Assistant, you will face many business challenges. Reading widely and deeply can assist you with decision-making. You will begin to notice patterns in your business behavior that you may need to adjust, discard or adopt.

Broaden specialized knowledge – Would you like to improve your marketing skills? Maybe you need to develop some technical abilities. Choose any field of knowledge. If you choose to do so, through reading and application, you can become an expert on the topic.

Enhance writing skills – Good writers are good readers. If you have a blog or even desire to write a book some day, reading widely will build within you a wealth of knowledge on writing style, story-telling and content delivery.

Truly, the rewards that result from reading are endless. How many of the benefits listed above have you received from reading widely and deeply? Take note of other advantages that you have gained. Focus on how reading can help you establish and accomplish goals. It can empower you to overcome the most difficult mental blocks. When you open your mind through reading the experiences and ingenuity of other people, enriching your life and business is a guarantee.

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