Posts Tagged ‘virtual assistant’
The Approved Virtual Assistant Scheme – VA Standards
SVA came into existence in 2005 to: Promote best practice in the virtual assistant industry; create industry wide VA standards; and Help UK VAs find clients. As part of this we run a FREE listing for all VAs who abide by the following rules. More information on how to comply can be found on the…
Read More6 Skills You Already Have to Work From Home as a Virtual Assistant
Introduction For many people, working from home as a virtual assistant sounds like a dream come true. You can develop your own schedule, tempo and modus operandi while helping a company grow and thrive at the same time. Taking the plunge from a 9-to-5 office job to a remote virtual assistant might seem daunting at…
Read More9 Collaboration Tools for Virtual Assistants
The virtual assistant industry has its ups and downs. Obviously, you have flexible hours, the autonomy of work, and no daily commute. However, collaborative work can be a struggle. Virtual assistants predominately work in solidarity, and the work assigned can very often be completed alone. That being said, communicating with teammates and bosses plays a…
Read MoreHow many billable hours in your Virtual Assistant business?
Billable hours: As a solo virtual assistant, how much of your time is billable? In other words, if you work a 40 hour week, how many hours do you charge out to clients, and how many hours do you spend on your own admin and marketing? e.g. if you work 40 hours and bill 20…
Read MoreEssential Virtual Assistant Software
We haven’t compiled a list of essential virtual assistant software for a while – mostly because the same ones pop up frequently: MS Office, Express Scribe, etc. Shockingly, the last time we did it was 2014! A lot has changed! Companies merge. They will move from a free to a paid model and restrict access…
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 MoreCatch Caroline and Michelle on The Apprentice!
Eagle eyed viewers of BBC1’s The Apprentice might have spotted Caroline and fellow SVA member Michelle Smith of ValueAdd doing deals with Karen Brady’s team last night… (Note the glass of wine – typical Glaswegian fashion. Michelle: We need to stop being such cliches!!) Filmed during the summer heatwave, we were sworn to secrecy about…
Read MoreThe Never Have I Ever Game – For Virtual Assistants
Virtual assistant games: Feel free to share – our new game for virtual assistants: Never Have I Ever! 0 = REAL VA 1-5 = ESTABLISHED VA 6-19 = NEWBIE 20 = Are you even a VA??? By the way – it’s not the only game SVA has… If you would like to try out the…
Read MorePrice increase letters
Over the years we’ve been asked for examples of price increase letters – each VA business is different and you will know your clients best, but here’s a few ideas about how you can increase your virtual assistant rates without alienating the clients. Why raise your virtual assistant rates? Firstly, remember that your clients will…
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