Keys to a Successful 10 Years as a Virtual Assistant

10 years as a successful virtual assistantIt was 10 years ago in June 2005 that I first started working as a virtual assistant. The previous year I had stopped working in the corporate world after my youngest was born. I was now a stay-at-home mom. But my husband’s colleague needed an assistant who could work from home helping her with her real estate business. My husband suggested she contact me.

When I started working for Marcy in 2005, virtually from home, I hadn’t even heard of a Virtual Assistant (VA). Within three years though my VA business grew from that one client to about a dozen clients. Today, 10 years later, not only do I have over a dozen clients, I have a team of six subcontractors that assist me.

So, what are the keys to my successful ten years as a virtual assistant? They include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Reliable service. When I say a project is going to be done by a certain date, clients expect it will be done by then.
  • Setting expectations and exceeding them. Right up front I discuss expectations with clients and subcontractors so all parties know what to expect. Then we put it in writing. My goal is not to meet expectations – my goal is to exceed them!
  • Sharing success stories. When my clients succeed, I like to share their stories with my networks. This increases client satisfaction and generates great word-of-mouth referrals.
  • Great communication. This is perhaps the most vital key. It’s very important to have, not good, but great communication with each client, subcontractor, and anyone else I communicate with in my business.

These are just some of the keys to my success. So much more I learned from the guidance of my husband and business coach, Joel D Canfield. We’ve both written much on the subject of customer service and marketing. We’ve put on workshops on the subject. I have link to Amazon for new and aspiring virtual assistants to learn more about how they can succeed as well.

Today I celebrate! Happy 10 Year Anniversary to me!

Virtual Assistant Interview: Collette Schultz

Collette SchultzI’ve known Collette Schultz for several years and we met up in person back in 2010/2011 when we first traveled through Wisconsin before moving here. Collette is one of my social media account managers. I interviewed her and here are her responses.

1. When did you start your business?

In March of 2007 I started my service business and now to compliment that I’m adding affiliate marketing to it.

2. Why did you choose to become a Virtual Assistant?

There were a few reasons for starting as a VA.  My passion to learn technology, adding supplement income to the family and a dream to become full-time doing what comes naturally to me.

3. What advice would you give new and aspiring VAs?

Watch and learn from other people in the industry.  You’ll make mistakes and that’s ok; just don’t make the mistake more than once.  Don’t go crazy and try to be involved with too many networks.  Pick three and get involved.  Ask questions and share your stories.  You have to invest in your learning but don’t waste your money.

4. What resources have helped you in your business? Forums, blogs, coaching, books?

The main resources are real people and mentors that worked in the VA industry.  Diane Hess, of Hess Business Professionals & Associates, was the first person that listened and took me on as a subcontractor.  While working for her I went to free forums and eventually joined Solo Masterminds, NAMS and Linkedin.

5. Share a success story or something about yourself – a hobby perhaps.

It’s been twenty years that I’ve been working and educating in the accounting profession.   In addition, I’ve taken the values and hard work from building our family farm and turned it into a virtual business.  For the business owner, I deliver remote office support, product reviews and a directory of subcontractors to meet their needs.  For the service providers that desire to subcontract I provide education, resources, inspiration and project opportunities .

6. Additional comments you’d like to share.

Operating this business has proved I’m successful.  It’s a lot of hard work but it fills my passion.  The best thing about being a VA is you get to choose what kind of services to offer.  The smallest things can help another business.

7. Links to any online profiles you want to share.

Join my LinkedIn group of more than 3,200 members http://tinyurl.com/qb4za9c and visit my website for more resources http://savvysubcontracting.com

Virtual Assistant Interview: Leigh Anne Aston

I’ve known Leigh Anne Aston for several years and we’ve worked together on many different projects. Among other things, Leigh Anne is my primary account manager for my social media management services. I interviewed her and here are her responses.

  1. Leigh Anne AstonWhen did you start your business?

Officially 2007

(Unofficially 2006 – I was still working full-time in the corporate world and doing some VA items on the side.)

  1. Why did you choose to become a Virtual Assistant?

To have more control over what I was doing. I felt this was the best next step in my career.

  1. What advice would you give new and aspiring VAs?

First, contact Joel and Sue for a consultation. (That’s what I tell everyone who asks me.) Then, set a schedule and stick to it. You’ll want to try to be everything and do everything for everyone in the beginning. Set your goals AND limits and then go from there. Make sure you leave time for yourself.

  1. What resources have helped you in your business? Forums, blogs, coaching, books?

First and foremost, Joel and Sue.

I do a lot of internet research when I need to try to figure something out – utilizing LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, as well as just plain old internet searching. I also belong to the International Association of Administrative Professionals, which is a wonderful place to exchange knowledge with members from all over the world.

  1. Share a success story or something about yourself – a hobby perhaps.

My main hobby these days is reading. (I read trashy romance novels with happy endings, in case you’re wondering.) Up until a few years ago, I absolutely hated reading. I was good at it, but it was always (and I mean from the time I learned how, always) a chore. A few years ago I was prescribed progressive bifocals. That’s when we found out I have “double vision” and things didn’t line up for my eyes the way they do for most other people. One eye is higher than the other. After having prism adjustments added to my prescription, I was looking at things completely differently. After getting the new glasses, I remember the first time I read a letter Jesse brought home from school. I was about half-way down the page when I realized I wasn’t using my finger to keep me on the right line of text. It was “eye-opening” and so exciting to know there wasn’t anything wrong with my desire to read, it actually was truly a chore all along. I read practically nonstop in my spare time now. Although, I will say, I read almost exclusively on my tablet (love those e-reader apps).

  1. Additional comments you’d like to share.

Just to always, always be true to who you are and do the best your are capable of doing.

  1. Links to any online profiles you want to share.

@leighanneaston

http://www.linkedin.com/in/leighaston

https://www.facebook.com/AstonAdminServices

https://www.google.com/+LeighAston

(and my website is www.astonadminservices.com)

 

It’s Raffle Time!

It's Raffle Time!

Who doesn’t love a raffle?

Here at Chief Virtual Officer we’re always looking for new ways to help promote our clients, their books, and their businesses. Since we have several fiction authors who need help promoting their books, one strategy we use online is giveaways. I recently learned of an online raffle tool and decided to give it a try myself before offering it as a service for our clients.

It’s called Rafflecopter. The basic version is free. So here’s my test using it for the first time. I’ll be giving away a copy of my book, Succeed as a Chief Virtual Officer: Setting Up a Successful Virtual Assistant Business. All you have to do is “Enter to Win” below and visit our Facebook page for a chance to win a free copy of this book.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

After this raffle I’ll be able to determine if this is a tool we can use for our clients successfully. Have fun!

My Meeting Time Web App

One of the greatest advantages of being a virtual assistant is the freedom it gives in terms of location. You can literally sit anywhere in the world as long as you are connected and have a place to work from! But in the same way that assistants are more mobile, so are clients. Meetings are as likely to be scheduled with Cambodia as Kansas these days, and not to mention the business travel that goes with it.

With this increasing mobility also comes the increasing complexity of managing multiple time zones. Scheduling a meeting with more than two time zones can be a real pain, trying to find a time that is not in the middle of the night for anyone. Fortunately there are plenty of handy little apps to help with that, one such addition is myMeetingTime.com which makes scheduling meetings across time zones a breeze.

mymeetingtime

Features

  • Ability to add as many locations as you like
  • Works with cities, countries and the most common time zone abbreviations
  • Automatically recommends you the best time for your chosen locations, to adjust it you simply drag the bubbles along the time line
  • Highlights if the selected time is within the “business hours” for all participants (no more call suggestions!)
  • Makes it easy to share the selected time, either by copying it to an email or sharing a link to the view

How to use it

Using myMeetingTime.com is very simple:
First, set the host location by starting to type in the input boxes. The system automatically guesses which location you are trying to type so just hit “enter” when the right one shows up. Then enter all the participating locations, you can enter as many as you like. myMeetingTime will now recommend you a time that works for all the chosen participants. If you would like to adjust the suggested time, simply drag the big blue bubble along the timeline until you find a suitable time.

Once you’ve found a set of times you like you may either share it via email by clicking on the “Share via email” button and copy the text to your email, or you may share a link to the view, using the “Share as link” button. Sharing a link means that your recipient will see exactly the same time suggestion that you have on your screen, making it easy to communicate about. If you often need to convert times between the same time zones, you can add those times to the timeline and then create a link and bookmark that link. That way you don’t have to keep entering the same locations over and over!

This information was provided by David from myMeetingTime. David came across my Twitter profile and noticed I offer a lot of good advice for virtual assistants. He wondered if his new little app for managing meetings across time zones would be valuable for my network. I asked him to provide us with more information so we could write a blog post about his app and share the link to it.

I’m excited to have such a quick, easy way to manage meeting times now. Give it a try and share your thoughts below.