What Should I Look For In A Virtual Assistant?

June 26, 2008

Every Virtual Assistant should present at least 3 professional references and 1 Character reference. The references should contain a name, phone number and/or an email address and the Virtual Assistant should confirm she has asked for permission of each reference.
The V irtual Assistantshould have a skill set matching your business requirements and needs. If you need support in a variety of areas, make sure you are partnering with a Virtual Assistant who comes with a wide range of experience in business and business operations.
Communication is vital in any business relationship. Choose a Virtual Assistant who understands and is comfortable with your communication needs. It is important for you to indicate if you require frequent contact or if you prefer minimal interaction. If you like minimal interaction then it is best to find a VA who is a self starter and knowledgeable. If you require frequent contact, you’ll want a Virtual Assistant whose client base allows plenty of time for you, and has a low amount of clients. Being clear about this from the start will prevent misunderstandings. Communication is always a two-way street.
Finding a Virtual Assistant “fit” is crucial when hiring a Virtual Assistant. Look for a Virtual Assistant with personality and level of professionalism. How easily conversation flows in your initial phone interaction usually indicates if the fit is good. If your business requires a high level of professionalism, you will want a Virtual Assistant who projects herself this way to you. If your business is not so formal, you can select a Virtual Assistant with a casual manner.
Verify the Virtual Assistant’s computer platform is the same as yours, and the skills set is the same or advanced.
Be sure the Virtual Assistant is available during the same hours you need assistance. If you need access to your Virtual Assistant during normal business hours and the time zone.
There should be a business agreement clearly defining the role of your Virtual Assistant for tax purposes and the contract should be simple yet cover all areas that are important to your business requirements.

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Don’t Go Crazy - Hire A Virtual Assistant by Bonnie Jo Davis

June 19, 2008

Susan Holmes is an author and professional speaker. She travels frequently and hates coming home to piles of bills, unheard telephone messages and thousands of e-mail. Susan works harder and harder spending most evenings and weekends doing administrative chores and spends the workday servicing clients. No matter how hard she works Susan cannot get ahead. She begins to suffer from the symptoms of stress. She can’t sleep, doesn’t bother to eat regularly, suffers from anxiety to the point of feeling paralyzed when confronting the mess on her desk.Susan wishes Superman really exists so that he can swoop into her home office and rescue her from the foot high stacks of paper on her desk that are threatening to topple over. Susan tries to keep up as best as she can but soon she is so overwhelmed that she turns away paid speaking engagements in order to do administrative work.

Can you identify with Susan? Do you dread opening your office door because it isn’t a pretty sight? Hopefully you have a friend like Michelle. After months of trying Michelle finally talks Susan into having lunch. Michelle is taken aback at how tired Susan is and how unhappy she seems. After Susan confides in Michelle she gets silent and stares at the table. Michelle jumps in an offers Susan a solution that will both relieve her of her stress and allow her to pick up more speaking engagements.

What is this magical solution? It is a Virtual Assistant (VA). Michelle has been using a VA for several years because she once was in Susan’s position. Michelle explains to Susan that her VA handles all of her administrative and marketing tasks in addition to answering the phones from a remote location. The benefits of working with a VA becomes clear for Susan as Michelle tells her that she only pays for the time her VA works for her and that benefits and taxes are not an issue. Susan begins to think about all of her tasks she can outsource to a VA that would allow her to take on more speaking engagements. Susan also realizes that a VA can market her book and her articles and search for more lucrative speaking engagements. Michelle then explains that a Virtual Assistant handle a multitude of tasks including:

Answer phones
Business correspondence
Article Submission
Paperwork
Design marketing materials
Typing
Document formatting and clean up
Proofreading and editing
Marketing
Direct mail
Voice and e-mail monitoring
Research
Select and ship gifts
Travel arrangements

Lunch is soon finished and Michelle is suprised to see that Susan looks more alert and happy. Michelle offers to search for and screen VA’s while Susan organizes the work that needs to be turned over when someone is hired. Finally, Susan tackles those stacks of paper on her desk and the dust bunnies with gusto. Within just a few hours she is ready to delegate work and a few days later, thanks to Michelle, she begins working with Alice. Susan and Alice create a set of tasks that Alice will handle daily and then Susan packages up all the paperwork from her desk and sends it to Alice. In addition to the daily work Alice does she also motivates and supports Susan in her business goals.

Several months down the line Susan shares the secret of her success with her other friends and one by one they seek out and hire a Virtual Assistant. Lives are improved and businesses grow at a fast pace.

If you can identify with Susan then you need a VA. Don’t let money issues hold you back. A VA can be suprisingly affordable when you calculate how much more billable work you can accomplish instead of handling daily tedious tasks. Go through that messy pile of papers on your desk and organize them with an eye towards delegating everything that you can. Seek out and hire a VA that will help you avoid going crazy and you will be glad you did!

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Bonnie Jo Davis is a Virtual Assistant who helps small businesses succeed by taking over those daily tasks that can drive even the most level headed entrepreneur crazy. For more information about Bonnie visit Davis Virtual Assistance.

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FREE Ask Erin Live Q & A Session Every Friday

June 6, 2008

An exciting new way to interact with me!

(FYI: This will be my only blog post on this subject unless you decide you want regular updates! :))

I’m going to be hosting an absolutely free, live Internet TV streaming Q&A Session every Friday from 1-2PM Eastern.

You can come and ask me questions about:

Internet Marketing
Virtual Assistance
Blogging
Social Networking
Building Your Virtual Business
Passive Revenue
Affiliate Marketing
And More!

You simply type your question to me and I answer it live. You’ll see and hear me give you my response. To get full details on how to get setup and to get reminders about the sessions, please send a blank e-mail to: info2071-339224@autocontactor.com. That will also automatically sign you up to get the updates.

Now, I won’t be using this time to talk about regular client work so clients… if you’re at all tempted to come and hog the floor asking questions about your projects, I won’t have it!

I really want this to be a place where you can get advice on many areas of business from me as I do have a lot to share and I love to connect with people regularly.

So, join in on the fun. You’ll get full setup details by sending a blank e-mail to info2071-339224@autocontactor.com.

See you soon!

Erin Blaskie

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A Must Do! The Free SHIFT-IT Now! Webinar with Christina Merkley

June 3, 2008

Discover Strategic Tips to SHIFT Your Life For the Better!

Are You At a Personal or Professional Crossroads?

Are You Craving More Creativity, Authenticity and Personal Fulfillment?

Are You Ready to Bust Through Your Limiting Barriers and Self-Sabotage to Finally Create a Life You Love?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions above, join Christina Merkley, The SHIFT-IT Coach for a FREE 75-minute webinar on Monday, June 9 @ 7PM Eastern (6PM Central, 5PM Mountain, 4PM Pacific) as she shares her best SHIFT-IT tips!

Register immediately for this information-packed 75-minute long webinar where you will learn:

Lessons from Christina’s own successful SHIFT-IT journey from tired, depressed corporate consultant to creative, soul-satisfying livelihood as The SHIFT-IT Coach (based on a lovely island in the Pacific Northwest);

How to appreciate yet move beyond your own personal history and life story (stop defining yourself via your past and drop old, worn out thinking, assumptions and programming);

Tips (and a free graphic coaching tool called The Magnetism Map) for getting clear about what you really, really want in life (how to create a compelling, good-feeling Personal Vision that ignites new energy within you);

Hints about what naturally happens when you start to focus on what do want as opposed to what you don’t (the power of carefully applied Law of Attraction knowledge);

How to deal with the inner and outer ‘Peanut Gallery’ in your life (the resistant naysayers, critics and other saboteurs who can wreck havoc with your confidence, chutzpah, and momentum);

The very important role that aligned and ‘feeling good’ action plays in your SHIFT-IT Process;

The most important relationship of all in your life and how it impacts every other single thing in your experience (why you will want to cultivate this relationship before taking any other action).

Register Today: http://shift-it-coach.com/free-webinar.php

Can’t make the time of the live call? No problem! This webinar will be fully recorded. Receive the follow-up link to the video and watch as soon as its ready (but you’ll need to register in order to receive the follow up link). Plus get the complimentary 30+ page Magnetism Map booklet, so you can create your own Personal Vision!

‘See’ you on the call.

Erin

Technorati Tags: Christina Merkley, SHIFT-IT Coach, The SHIFT-IT Coach, www.shift-it-coach.com, SHIFT-IT Webinar, law of attraction, Erin Blaskie, virtual assistant, virtual assistance, virtual assistants, BSETC, www.bsetc.ca, Magnetism Map