Virtual Assistant Industry
Hiring a Virtual Assistant
We often get asked by clients to guide them through the process of hiring a virtual assistant. What questions to ask your virtual assistant; how much they should pay; what checks to make; what they should expect. A lot of these questions are obvious to us, because we hire VAs all the time… But to…
Read MoreHow many secretarial skills do you use in your VA business?
Had an interesting chat recently with Rosemary Parr who runs Scottish PA Network – we were chatting about the different skillsets VAs and PAs have…and that’s why the transition can sometimes be difficult. I thought it might be useful to run a poll: Certainly on the SVA Forum there’s some debate about what is unique…
Read MoreSVA turns 14!
SVA started in 2005 and is now officially the oldest active virtual assistant organisation in the UK. Just 7 VAs got together with (the infamous!) Alan the Geek in a restaurant in Edinburgh in June 2005. The idea was to promote virtual assistance as a profession and spread the word about how VAs could help…
Read MoreTackling Late Payments
The Small Business Commissioner, Paul Uppal, has been tasked with tackling late payments for small businesses… We all know the pain of juggling cashflow because a client has been late to pay. The knock on effect means you can’t pay your own suppliers – or maybe it means you are late paying household bills? Getting…
Read MoreOIVAC earlybird offer!
Every year international virtual assistant veteran Sharon Williams (The 24 Hour Secretary) pulls in favours from her little black book of virtual assistant contacts and gets everyone online for 3 days in May at the Online International Virtual Assistant Convention (OIVAC). OIVAC Virtual Assistant Conference – what you get: You’ll learn a variety of skills,…
Read MoreAnti Money Laundering Regulations for Virtual Assistants
If you offer bookkeeping or accountancy services, you should be registered for Anti Money Laundering Regulations. Over the course of the last 18 months or so we’ve been working closely with VAProMag and HMRC to achieve two aims for the VA industry: Clarity surrounding who needs to register – including consistent advice when people call…
Read MoreVirtual Assistant Insurance
Virtual Assistant Insurance Over the years we’ve done a variety of articles on why virtual assistant insurance is needed: Virtual Assistant Insurance Claims – what can go wrong? VA Nightmares Policy Bee – our recommended insurer And we included professional indemnity insurance in our VA Standards for Approved VAs who appear on our FIND A…
Read MoreVirtual Assistant Training Standards
At the UK Virtual Assistant Conference this year, I shared with you the rising numbers of complaints which I’ve had about Virtual Assistant Courses or start up training. In the background over the past year or so, I’ve been working with industry leaders to discuss this issue. Why are virtual assistant training standards needed? It…
Read MoreVirtual assistant training scams
From the 2019 Virtual Assistant Conference – Caroline’s session “Skill or Scam” showing how virtual assistant training scams are on the rise and how you can help stop them. I’m very aware “virtual assistant training scams” isn’t the most positive title! However the objective is to point out how important collaboration is to the UK…
Read MoreThe UK Virtual Assistant Survey
Ever wanted to know what goes on behind the doors of the UK’s virtual assistant businesses? Well now you can find out, without going undercover or utilising subterfuge… Each year Society of Virtual Assistants collates a series of questions that build into a snapshot of the VA industry. The report itself is full of info…
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