» Virtual Assistant

Publicity Specialist Niche

Leslie — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:00:45 +0000

My friends Cindy Greenway and Tina Forsyth are offering the first ever Publicity Specialist training program via HotSkillsVATraining.com. Lead by publicity expert Diana Ennen, this 3 week program has been designed to provide Virtual Assistants with the skills, understanding and strategies needed to execute effective publicity campaigns.

Submitting articles and press releases here and there isn’t enough and contacting the media, when you really don’t know what to say or how to present yourself can be intimidating. However, master these skills and develop a plan, and you (and your clients) will be sure to be rewarded with great results.

To date there are very few Virtual Assistants who specialize in the area of publicity, yet business owners everywhere are desperately searching for support in this area. A Virtual Assistant that can provide this support is sure to have clients knocking at her door who are willing to pay a generous rate.

In addition, a Virtual Assistant who can provide this service to other business owners, can certainly build on her own publicity! All strategies can be applied to a VA business as well!

This program starts Monday, January 25th — learn more at http://xrl.in/4ae5.

Myths About Virtual Assistants

Leslie — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:41:08 +0000

by Heather McMillan, Virtual Assistant

1) I want to use a virtual assistant to save myself money, because they are cheaper per hour than employees.

This is the largest misconception businesses have about virtual assistants. If you compare hourly pay of your employees versus hourly pay of your virtual assistants, you will find the virtual assistants is generally MUCH higher. However, you are saving money in that you don’t pay for hardware, utilities, office space, payroll taxes, worker’s compensation, and benefits (insurance, vacation, sick days, etc.) for a virtual assistant. Sure you can find virtual assistants for $10.00 per hour and under. However, they are going to be from another country offering less than stellar communication and English grammar skills.

Or they are not going to stay with you long term, when they realize how much money they owe the IRS. You see, as a self-employed independent contractor, they must pay quarterly taxes. When the IRS decides they want their 25% of the $5.00 per hour those VA’s have been earning and not paying self employment taxes on to this point, they will likely have to up their rates or cease to offer services. And believe me, sooner or later, the IRS will catch them. See theathomesecretary.com/why-use-a-va.html for cost comparison chart.

2) My virtual assistant should be ready to take projects from me 40 hours a week.

Unless you are paying your virtual assistant for 40 hours a week to work for you, he or she must have other clients. She cannot drop other work to rush to what you’re doing (at least not always). Be understanding that if you use your VA for about 5 hours a week, it may take them a day or two to get to your small tasks depending on what order and priority your work request falls in the scheme of all their other requests. Hopefully, she will effectively communicate with you when she can get to your project. But no VA should stand by 8 hours a day doing nothing but waiting your email unless you’re paying her for all 8 hours that day.

3) My virtual assistant is better skilled because she has completed a VA training program online.

This is a huge misconception. VA Training programs do not enhance a virtual assistant’s skills as far as working on your projects. VA Training programs mean that the VA knows how to run a VA business from marketing, networking, setting up shop, time management, etc. It does not mean she’s competent in MS Word, html, ezines, or whatever you need them to do. VA programs don’t train virtual assistants in career skills, only business ownership skills. Now, taking classes in MS Excel or being MS Office Certified, those are good training courses to look for in a VA.

4) I’m using a freelance site to get a VA. So I will get one that is competent and screened.

The freelance sites do not screen applicants to see if they are truly qualified to complete the projects they are bidding on. Some of the sites will call to verify references or credentials, but this in no way means the person is capable of doing what you need them to do. It just means that they didn’t lie when they said they were employed by so and so for such and such dates. You take your chances as much with a freelance site as you do with an advertisement online.

5) Using a VA means more work for me, because I have to tell my VA what to do and how to do it all the time.

In the beginning, you may experience a little more time spent showing your VA how things are done. But if you get one skilled in most of the services you are seeking, the tasks that he or she has to learn won’t be so bad. And the VA should have those new things down by at the very least after the second time performing a certain task. If not, you may need to reconsider your chosen VA.

6) There is no way I can trust a virtual assistant with confidential information!

This is incorrect. Many virtual assistants are bonded or can get bonded. Also, you can always ask to contact other clients the virtual assistant currently has or recently had where confidential handling was involved. Nothing says reliable like a first hand account from a paying client. A virtual assistant should be willing to give you these references, and if not then you might have cause to worry.

7) I have a hard time delegating, so I shouldn’t use a virtual assistant.

This is the very reason you should use a virtual assistant. Little steps at a time can turn you into the master of delegation. You just have to make certain in the beginning you have an extremely competent and experienced virtual assistant to begin learning how to delegate projects ad hoc. Start out small, and keep adding as you feel your VA has mastered what you’ve already delegated. Before you know it, your time will be so free you may find yourself starting a second business!

I can’t work with a virtual assistant, because I can’t afford to pay for the software or hardware that my VA needs.

This is a big misconception as well. As long you don’t have any custom proprietary software that you use for your business, your virtual assistant should be supplying her own software or her own hardware. Your virtual assistant is also responsible for purchasing a fax line, a phone line, and broadband internet. If they try to get you to pay for those things, consider it a red flag.

Knowing more about what your virtual assistants do and don’t do is a great way to make certain your relationship with a virtual assistant is the most successful it can be. After all, a virtual assistant can greatly enhance your business and your productivity.

For the last five years, Heather L. McMillan has worked with clients and companies dba as The At Home Secretary. She is also offering virtual assistant coaching through her company Secretaries on Demand – http://www.secretariesondemand.com. She enjoys writing fiction and poetry, reading history, gardening, being active in Girl Scouts and pit bull rescue groups. She is always eager to offer advice and direction for those who seek to better their lives and their careers.

No More Excuses!

Leslie — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:50:36 +0000

I will give my blog the attention it deserves. I spend time working on my clients’ blogs, but not on my own. It’s like the cobbler’s children have no shoes! (And when I was a flight attendant, we never traveled, LOL.) So realizing the importance of a blog and the fact that I love to write, I will make (not find) the time to create posts for this blog.

Top 10 Rules of Email for Virtual Assistants

Leslie — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:35:08 +0000

By VAnetworking Member Dawn Goldberg

You are a highly skilled, multi-talented VA and you have great ideas. As a VA, communication is key to building relationships with your clients. And you’ll probably be communicating with customers of your client. Actually, to the clients’ customers, you are the client. E-mail is a vital tool in your business as a VA, increasing efficiency if it is used correctly.

As helpful as e-mail is, you want to make sure you are communicating with and representing your client in the best manner. Here are ten rules that will help you do just that.

Know your client. Does he want one e-mail a day with a summary of everything, or does he want one subject per e-mail?
Number the items you want your client to respond to. That way nothing gets lost, either for your client or you.
If your e-mail asks for feedback, use Outlook tasks to set yourself a reminder. It can be awfully easy to send off an e-mail, breathe a sigh of relief that it’s off YOUR plate, and then promptly forget about it.
Send messages to your client in plain text. That way you don’t have to worry about her spam filters or funky formatting. If you must send in html, find some way to differentiate your replies. In an e-mail discussion where every reply is blue, it’s too difficult to see whose reply is whose. Use purple (my favorite) or some other color for your replies.
If you’re sending an attachment, get in the habit of attaching the document first before you enter in the recipient’s name. That way if you accidentally hit send before you attach the document, it won’t go anywhere.
Use signature lines. Create signature lines for each client. Make your clients look bigger and better by having a company signature. In addition, create a signature for all e-mails you send on your own behalf. Using your name and company name will remind your clients and others of who you are, what you do, and what you stand for.
E-mail is not confidential. Protect your client by using discretion when sending e-mails.
Don’t assume that your client got an important message from you just because you sent an e-mail. E-mails do not always reach their destination. If you don’t hear back, call to make sure he got the message.
Read your e-mail out loud before you send it. Does it say what you want it to say? Is there anything that could be misinterpreted?
Sometimes it is better to have a voice to voice conversation with your client than to send an e-mail. This is especially true in awkward or stressful times. When difficult situations arise, pick up the phone instead.

E-mail is an amazing technology: quick and casual. Just beware that very quickness and casualness when using e-mail.

Stop by the Virtual Assistant Networking Assocation (VAnetworking.com) today and find that VA you’ve been looking for. They are waiting, ready to assist you with all your business needs.

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*Source: Virtual Assistant Networking Association
The ever popular, friendly, informative, educational & resourceful network for successful and aspiring “IN THE KNOW” Virtual Assistants and Achievers globally that everyone online is talking about.

Virtually Done ~ The Cream of the Crop!

Leslie — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:22:28 +0000

You know how everyone either has a PDA or wishes they do, especially a BlackBerry®? Well, I like to think of myself as the BlackBerry of Virtual Assistants. According to their advertisements, a BlackBerry can power the passions you pursue and simplify your life. As your VA, I too can help simplify your life by keeping you on track and handling the time consuming tasks that prevent you from pursuing the endeavors that you are truly passionate about.

However, one thing that a PDA cannot do is think ahead of a client or take initiative with a project. Not even the world renowned BlackBerry can anticipate and resolve problems without data input. As a business owner, you need an assistant that can free up your time, not one that requires micromanaging. Let me help manage your business, not just your small tasks. You don’t need a BlackBerry, you need me!

Contact Virtually Done Today!

The Trademark BlackBerry® is owned by Research In Motion Limited and is registered in the United States and may be pending or registered in other countries. Virtually Done is not endorsed, sponsored, affiliated with or otherwise authorized by Research In Motion Limited.