SVA Forum

[sallymahers]

I'm just looking to ensure I have enough money put aside to cover essential things to start with.

I realise I need a good pc/laptop but what kind of storage or back up do you think?
What other office equipment do you count as essential in your work?
Does anyone have any other golden tips or any online software they would recommend. I've seen many use myhours.com but what about any others? Does anyone use any calendars or similar?

I was considering using dropbox and putting client work in a public folder so they can view anytime?

Any advice you can offer would be great received

Thanks

[dawnjlane]

Don't put your clients' work in a public folder ever, ever, ever. Dropbox can be used but please give them their own folder and send them the link to their folder only.

If you put it in a public folder that's what it becomes - anyone can see it.

I'm going to plug my guide here which will help you out: http://www.virtualbusinessinabox.co.uk/dreamorreality.html. Try the freebie chapters and then think about spending £20 on the full guide (to be published at the end of the week).

Recent feed back form a start up VA:

Overall I think your book is an excellent resource and has complemented my start up processes very well. In fact I found it quite inspirational; thank you for helping keep me motivated and focused on the tasks ahead. Despite having had some intense mentoring with Caroline Wylie at SVA I found plenty of useful info in your book, it is an easy read and I got a strong sense of you, personally, throughout. I expect I will be returning to it as a reference tool again and again and so I think the £20 price point is very reasonable.

The book lists are very useful – I have already put a couple of these in my Amazon cart already.

The timekeeping section was very useful – I didn’t know about the time management apps you mention. You also helped me think through my billing strategy in a clear way, cementing my own thoughts on the principles behind my business.

I enjoyed the anecdotal style of your writing.

I was encouraged by your marketing section. I found your tips on writing an elevator speech particularly useful, and having felt unsure about how to best structure this I am now keen and more confident about putting something together. It has really helped clarify and simplify my main selling points.

All in all Dawn I really enjoyed your book and feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to read it at this stage in my set up. Funnily enough I have been working with a designer on my logos recently and when it came to putting together a slate of what I liked and didn’t like out there, yours was top of my ‘like’ list! You clearly have exceptional talents and I hope that, slowly, I may emulate some of your successes with my business.

Dawn
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Dawn Lane VAcertified MAMS MInstAM
Your Office Online - www.your-office-online.co.uk
Virtual Business in a Box Ltd - www.virtualbusinessinabox.co.uk
dawn@your-office-online.co.uk
dawn@virtualbusinessinabox.co.uk

[caroline]

Actually delving into my brain cells, there's an SVA post on equipment essentials for starting up:
http://www.societyofvirtualassistants.co.uk/2010/08/24/essential-virtual-assistant-equipment/

To answer your questions though:
PC/Laptop - you don't need massively powered PC/Laptop, just one which is reliable... And to make sure it's properly backed up so that if there is a problem you can switch. I tend to go for reasonably low-spec computers as nothing should really be stored on there and I don't do a massive amount of high-capacity work like graphics on them.

Dropbox - if you're going to use this for client work, make sure you also back up the work elsewhere that the clients don't have access to as well - it doesn't track if someone accidentally deletes files, and therefore for me, it's not an ideal back up.
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