Comments for Society of Virtual Assistants

Comment on Protected: SVA Premier May 2013: Finding blog content by Caroline

Caroline — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:33:22 +0000

Comment on Choose the best virtual assistant course by Caroline

Caroline — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:51:43 +0000

Hi Angela
It might be difficult to work as a client VA on that basis, but you could certainly do subcontract work for another VA who would then take over if you were unwell. A good book to read would be “The VA’s VA” – we have an interview with the author here: http://www.societyofvirtualassistants.co.uk/2012/11/15/unusual-niches-patty-of-time-is-of-the-es-cents/

You could also look at working just on small projects via People Per Hour, Elance, Guru.com, Odesk outsourcing sites – although the rate of pay on most of these is pretty dire.

Hope that helps,
Caroline

Comment on Choose the best virtual assistant course by Angela

Angela — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:33:32 +0000

I have been reading about becoming a VA and as I am disabled I was hoping I could do this when I have my better days and when not well leave it until tomorrow is it possible to do this??

Comment on SVA UK Virtual Assistant Blog Hop – Can I make a living from being a virtual assistant? by Caroline

Caroline — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:57:39 +0000

A lot of people will use a simple spreadsheet to record their time – others will use more complicated systems that track start/stop times like MinuteDock, MyHours or Timestamp. If you google “time tracking software” you should get a few ideas.

Comment on SVA UK Virtual Assistant Blog Hop – Can I make a living from being a virtual assistant? by Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:32:24 +0000

Hi all,
I recently decided to take the leap into self-employment and am currently completing the Business Enterprise Scheme which has been really useful. They’re not able to give me any advice concerning software used by a Virtual PA to record time spent on individual jobs. I would guess it would work in a similar way to that in which a solicitor records their time in order to bill clients correctly. Can you recommend any inexpensive software or do you simply record your time on a spreadsheet. If the latter, are clients happy with this method or do they expect to see something more scientific? Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Comment on Marketing Friday: Get more clients now! by Heather Greig

Heather Greig — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:55:23 +0000

Create an ‘elevator pitch’, just one sentence long describing what you do.

Then rehearse it as often as you can – it is amazing how often what you think in your head, does not come out of your mouth!

Comment on Top tips for Outsourcing: Test Your Virtual Assistant by Kerry

Kerry — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:59:06 +0000

Absolutely Caroline, I do this myself when I take on other VAs to support my business. It’s the only way of ensuring quality and avoiding hand holding in the future.

Comment on Choose the best virtual assistant course by Angela Dawson

Angela Dawson — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:35:36 +0000

I love this article, Caroline. I love the frankness and openness about it.

As someone who is embarking on a new VA training course having resigned as being a licensee for another training company, it is very interesting to see how trainers are perceived. I have an outline of my business model and it’s good to see that some of that is contained within the positive elements of this article.

I want to be a VA trainer because I love being help to people and I love the training delivery. I also see myself as more of a mentor. I like to share my experiences as a VA and advise people accordingly. I quite often get people contacting me to pick my brains and I’m always more than happy to help them.

I do think a VA trainer needs to have the industry knowledge. I think it’s the personal experiences that you can share is what a lot of newbie VAs value the most.

I am in no way an expert and would never profress to be. I just love doing what I do and if I can help others get a leg up, then this makes me happy.

Comment on Virtual Assistant Blogging Ideas for May: by Heather Greig

Heather Greig — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:52:09 +0000

Trying to decide the topic of the blog can be the most challenging bit!

I try to (not always with success) keep an eye on what is happening in the business world and pick up themes and trends from there (password hacking, smoking ban, Bank holidays, etc.)

I am thinking about running a series of related articles soon on a ‘how to/why should I’ type basis. I have a few ideas – just need to get them down on paper!

http://virtualpersonalassistantni.wordpress.com/

Comment on Choose the best virtual assistant course by Steph Middleton

Steph Middleton — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:17:43 +0000

Lol! Yes we should – I’ll get to work on designing one right away…. although if we design an expert-o-meter, does that mean we think we are experts in what makes an expert?? Hmmm… might have to think that one through a bit more