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Tag Archive: administrativeassistant

  1. How to Find a Trusted and Reliable Virtual Assistant

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    Starting a new venture with a Virtual Assistant can be scary. I get it. Your business is your “baby” and it’s growing. BUT you’ve only got so many hours in a day and so many hands to work in your business. It’s now time to look for administrative support. But how do you find someone you trust enough to hand over work?

    Below I have outlined several ways to find a trusted and reliable Virtual Assistant:

    1. LinkedIn

    LinkedIn recommendations are a great way to read about a potential Virtual Assistant you are interested in utilizing. LinkedIn recommendations are like references without having to reach out and talk to a reference. You can get a sense of who the Virtual Assistant has worked with in the past, how long they’ve been a Virtual Assistant, as well as industries they’ve worked in. These recommendations can also shed light on their expertise in optimizing conversions. LinkedIn recommendations are a great sneak-peek into their world, revealing their skills and capabilities

    2. Ask Your Network

    Ask colleagues and those in your network who they would recommend for a Virtual Assistant. Word-of-mouth referrals are a great way to see who other people are using as their Virtual Assistant, what kind of tasks they hand over and how satisfied they are with their VA. If someone is happy with their Virtual Assistant, you’re going to hear about it. It’s like your favorite dessert at a restaurant, you’ve got to tell people about it!

    Ask colleagues and those in your network who they would recommend for a Virtual Assistant.

    3. Online Presence

    As you start looking into those word-of-mouth recommendations, how does their online presence look? Are they active on their social media? Do they post relevant information from their field? What can you learn about them and their services by their online presence? Do they have good reviews? Doing a quick dive into a Virtual Assistant’s social channels will give you another glimpse into who they are.

    4. Schedule a Call

    Schedule a call with the Virtual Assistant you are interested in utilizing. Nothing beats a conversation! Typically, discovery calls are free, but be sure to have an idea of what you need assistance with and be ready to talk about it. While a Virtual Assistant may not have experience with a specific task you are inquiring about, they may have experience with something related that can easily be adapted to what you are seeking. Don’t put the “kibosh” on a Virtual Assistant if they don’t have experience with a specific task. Some tasks are very specific to certain industries, so if you really like the Virtual Assistant you are talking to, and they have years of experience in a similar area, it may be worth a try! A quality VA will be able to adapt and learn quickly to new tasks and may even offer new ideas on how to streamline your process!

    These are just a few ways to find a trusted and reliable Virtual Assistant. If you are serious about needing help, know what tasks you’d like to hand off, and are ready to take your business to the next level, then I suggest using these methods to find a Virtual Assistant.

    Before you know it, your business will be humming along like a well-oiled machine and you’ll wonder why you didn’t start working with a Virtual Assistant sooner!

  2. 5 Tips on How to Have a Successful Relationship with Your Virtual Assistant

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    5 Tips on How to Have a Successful Relationship with Your Virtual Assistant

    If you work with a Virtual Assistant, I have 5 tips for you on how to have a successful relationship:

    #1 – Trust – Once you have found a quality Virtual Assistant, trust them. Trust that they will have your best interest in mind and that they will do all that they can to support you administratively.

    #2 – Have good communication. Be clear and concise and be ready to answer any questions your Virtual Assistant may have.

    #3 – Create a schedule. Check in regularly with your Virtual Assistant so you know where they are on your projects.

    #4 – Along with the tip above, don’t micromanage!

    #5 – Give valuable feedback. We all have areas we can improve upon. Emphasize your Virtual Assistant’s strengths, but point out areas they can approve upon and a good Virtual Assistant will be open to hearing those areas.

    If you’re looking for a Virtual Assistant, click here to have a chat with me!

  3. What’s Your Time Worth?

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    Assigning work to a VA that doesn't need your attention gives back time and space for an abundance of other things.

    More and more people are starting their own small or home-based business. In order for them to maximize their potential, they really need support of all kinds. Working in a collaborative relationship with a Virtual Assistant is an excellent way to get that support. A quality Virtual Assistant will have your best interests in mind.

    Virtual Assistants (VAs) provide administrative support while working in long-term collaborative relationships with only a handful of clients. Using their own equipment while working in online work spaces, Virtual Assistant’s support their clients’ needs from their home office.

    Assigning work to a VA that doesn’t need your attention gives back time and space for an abundance of other things, which may include:

    • Increasing revenue and profits
    • Increasing productivity and stability
    • Growing your business – seeking new clients
    • Spending more time with family and friends

    Don’t waste your valuable time on administrative tasks! If you want to be professionally successful and live a life you have always wanted, then utilizing the service of a Virtual Assistant is a good business decision!

    IF you’re on the fence about utilizing a Virtual Assistant, then let’s have a chat! Contact me here.

  4. Want More Time in the Day? Delegate!

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    Want More Time in the Day? Delegate!

    Every business owner is busy – busy finding new leads, busy with current leads, busy managing current clients and busy managing the day-to-day tasks of running a business like phone calls, emails, bookkeeping, appointment setting, social media marketing, etc. If you would delegate the day-to-day administrative tasks to a professional virtual assistant, what could you do with those free hours? Close on current leads? Increase your productivity? Shine like a rock star with your current clients? Increase your revenue and profits?

    So you’re paying someone to do your administrative tasks? Many business owners, scoff at the idea of paying someone for something they can do themselves. But in the end, how much more money will you have saved by not wasting time on those tasks? You have now freed up that time to work on the part of the business you love…the part that brings in your revenue. Now I would say that’s a smart business owner!

    Giving crucial administrative tasks to your virtual assistant maximizes your productivity and is a win for you!

  5. How I Find Clients for My Virtual Assistant Business

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    How I find Clients for My Virtual Assistant Business

    I started my journey in my own virtual assistant small business 12 years ago. I did this while working full-time in the corporate world. While I loved the benefits of working from home as a virtual assistant, I didn’t realize how hard it would be to juggle family, my full-time job and finding a way to get my virtual assistant business off the ground. The hardest part for me has been finding clients. I am not an extrovert by nature so giving my business a voice was and is tough for me. Over the years, I have tried different avenues on getting my business the face time it needs to get clients interested in me. Below I have listed the different avenues I have taken and how they worked for me.

    In-person networking – While this was the most terrifying for me, it became easier over time and eventually became something I loved. This avenue supplied me with a huge stack of business cards to which I am utilizing today (through LinkedIn) and I can honestly say I have a client from attending an in-person networking meeting. In-person networking is time consuming and can be expensive, but it is not dead!

    Cold-calls – This avenue was another terrifying reach for an introvert like myself. I wrote a script, practiced and eventually made the first terrifying phone call. What I realized though, it’s not so scary once I learned not to take a refusal of my phone call personally. Busy business owners don’t always want to be disturbed by a “sales call.” You will get people like that and you just need to move on.

    Mailings – I made several attempts to send postcards to many of the contacts from my large stack of business cards. I received a few responses from this avenue, but no signed-on client. It’s time consuming to create the postcard and costly to send. Not the best option, for me.

    LinkedIn – This avenue has worked very well for me. I took that huge stack of business cards went through it and connected with those very same people I already met face to face. Sending a message on LinkedIn that I’d like to connect and referring to our previous meeting helped them recall me and made for more connections. Along with those connections, I sent messages reminding them of my virtual assistant services. I also use LinkedIn Premium (paid monthly subscription) and have benefited greatly from their “InMail” services. I can go into more detail on how to use that at a later date, but I have had 5 interested potential clients in one week!

    All of these avenues link together and have given me great exposure to other small businesses. I recommend trying different avenues until you find one that clicks and gets you many hits!

  6. Virtual Assistants Are Business Owners

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    Virtual Assistant Tips #18 – Video Series

    “Virtual Assistants Are Business Owners.” Before asking about fees, please consider what you are getting when you hire a professional virtual assistant.

  7. Client Testimonial

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    Virtual Assistant Tips #17 – Video Series

    “Client Testimonial.” If you are on the fence about hiring a virtual assistant, then you need to hear this client comment.

  9. A Virtual Assistant’s Time is 100% Productive Time

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    Virtual Assistant Tips #15 – Video Series

    “A Virtual Assistant’s Time is 100% Productive Time.” When you hire employees, you’ll be paying for their downtime, holidays, vacations and other unproductive times. With a virtual assistant, you maximize your efficiency and only pay for their productive hours.

  10. Working with a Virtual Assistant Gives You Time Back!

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    Virtual Assistant Tips #14 – Video Series

    “Working with a Virtual Assistant Gives You Time Back!” Why would you hire a virtual assistant to handle something that you could do yourself? The truth is, if you are serious about reaching your goals and also enjoying your life, that you can’t do it all!

  12. Your Business Needs Change, So You Must Too!

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    Virtual Assistant Tips #10 – Video Series

    “Your Business Needs Change, So You Must Too!” Just as seasons change, so does your business. A virtual assistant can help relieve some of your workload, so that you can concentrate on the heart of your business.