Revolutionary Spotlight — Rosalind Harris
Owner: Rosalind Harris
1. How long have you been in business?
13 months
2. Why did you start your business?
To take advantage of over 25 years experience as an administrative professional and to have more control and flexibility over the type of work I do and companies I would like to work with.
3. What types of businesses do your service?
Not-for-profits, pet trainers and behavioral therapists, associations and professional membership organizations, concierge services, web designers, financial advisors
4. What is your niche?
Not-for-profits and professional membership organizations
5. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned since opening your virtual doors?
That it is possible to be responsive and still say no to clients without compromising the relationship
6. What resources can you not live without?
Up-to-date equipment and technology, VA forums
7. What’s the best part about being a VA?
Freedom to make business choices, being able to handpick clients and projects
8. What’s the greatest thing you’ve done for your business?
Recently upgraded my computer and printer and purchased new accounting software. Joined two VA Forums.
9. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Achieving VA certification, becoming a certified woman-owned minority business, having a significant online presence, utilizing what I’ve learned to help others enter the industry and grow successful businesses
10. What the biggest obstacle you face in your business? How did you overcome it?
Biggest obstacle is educating the business community about the virtual assistant concept and industry. Haven’t overcome yet. It’s an ongoing process.
11. In your opinion, what’s the best feature of the Revolution?
The size of the Revolution is the best feature. For a time, I participated in VANA and felt overwhelmed by the sheer size of the group. With the Revolution, you have an opportunity to develop closer relationships and friendships. I’ve become quite friendly with Angela Smith of Accu-Assist. She was very welcoming when I joined the REV and we continue to correspond outside the forum on a regular basis. The second best feature is that everyone openly shares their expertise and tries to help one another.
Blurry Business Lines
One of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn as a business owner, is that one cannot be all things to all people. I think entrepreneurs have a general desire to be all things (partner, confident, friend etc.) to their clients. As a virtual assistant we spend a great deal of time with our clients learning the ins and outs of their businesses. In the process we learn a great deal about out clients. We learn their likes and dislikes, whether or not they have families and other personal information. Sometimes its hard to not to mix the lines of our personal and professional relationship. I don’t believe that it’s hard just on us, I think our clients have a hard time monitoring that line as well.
Sometimes it is important to set boundaries and make sure you stay within those boundaries as much as possible. It is equally important that you share those boundaries with your clients so that everyone is on the same page. Why you ask? There will come a time when you will need to part ways with a client. Letting a client go is hard enough without making things more difficult by blurring the lines of the business relationship.
How do you know when it is time to part ways? Access the relationship. Do you enjoy working with your client or do you dread picking up the phone when you see their phone number in the caller id? Des the client respect your office hours or do they call you after hours or anytime of the day or night? Is the client consistently giving you rush or emergency jobs not allowing for the proper lead time? And lastly, the biggest question of all. Have you spoke to your client to address these issues and still the problem remains? Then…it may be time to part ways. It’s nobody’s fault, sometimes we just need to admit we you are not a good match. In fact it is in both of your interests to admit it’s not working out and move on.
Let’s be honest here, if you are not happy than you really aren’t doing your best work for your client and that WILL spill over into your other client work. To make the transition easier, try to find a suitable replacement for your soon to be former client. Your replacement should have a similar personality type and a similar working style to your client. For example, if your client tends to always need projects done at the last minute and you know someone who enjoys working underpressure (yes some people do thrive in high pressure situation) it could be a win win situation for everyone involved.
The point here it to remember that you are the business owner and only you know how you want to run your business. Make sure you have a clear definition of what you want and make sure your clients understand and respect that definition as well. By setting and sticking to those boundaries, you can enjoy your business AND your clients for years to come.
Attention Virtual Assistants: Here’s Your Chance To Be Heard
Do want to recognize a revolutionary VA who you feel is at the top of their game? Here’s your chance!
The third annual OIVAC will take place in May and part of the fun is presenting awards to two deserving VAs during the IVAD event but we need to have nominees for these awards! Who do you think deserves the honor of being an award winning VA?
Nominating a VA only takes a couple of minutes. You just need to tell us the contact information of the VA and a short paragraph about why you feel they deserve to be nominated and that’s it. We will take it from there and have the nominee tell us more about themselves.
As mentioned, there are 2 awards…
Thomas Leonard International Virtual Assistant of Distinction – for a VA who has been in business for at least 5 years and contributes to the success of the VA industry.
Janet Jordon Achievement Award – for a VA who has been in business for less than 5 years and has reached some type of milestone in their short career in the industry.
More information on the entire process can be found in the Eligibility Criteria documents available at http://www.oivac.com/vadayawards.htm. You will also find the Nomination Form there as well.
Nominations are due by March 30.
Send your nominations to nominations@oivac.com.
Follow up check!
I’m a firm believer that simply following up with your leads can lead to paying clients. It really has worked for me. You can’t just send out a sales letter or email to a prospective client and leave it up to them to get in touch with you.
I’ve written an ebook on the subject of follow up for virtual assistants, and I’m working on a second edition, to cover even more scenarios.
One thing I’ve been faced with since I wrote that book was simply being too busy to keep on top of my follow up. Bad, bad, bad. When I do take the time to follow up on quickly cooling off leads, I do notice a difference.
Let’s look at a scenario.
You sign on a new retainer client and everything is going great. Full steam ahead. After a couple of months, something comes up in the clients’ life that causes them to either dramatically reduce their hours, or cut off the retainer all together. Total bummer.
It’s easy to forget about these people when you’ve moved on and taken on another client in their place.
But what happens if you take a couple of minutes to follow up with that person?
Just write a brief email:
Dear Old Client,
I hope everything is going well with you. I have some hours available next week, and thought I would offer them to you, if there’s something I could be helping you with.
I sincerely enjoyed working on your projects, and I’d like to let you know I’m here if there’s ever anything I could help with, even on an hourly basis.
Regards,
Your name.
It’s not hard. And it’s effective. Sometimes people are constantly putting something off, and all it takes is a simple prompt to put them into outsource mode.
Try it!
Have you planned for contingencies?
We have all done it. Been so busy researching and being caught up in the planning and startup phase of our businesses that it doesn’t cross our mind to plan for unexpected issues and for when things go wrong. Let’s face it, life happens and usually happens to the best of us, but unexpected issues only become a problem in the smooth management of any business when it is not planned or allowed for.
So as a responsible business owner, what can we do?
To begin planning for contingencies, it is important to write your very own Policy and Procedure Manual. Without considering it further, some people would say that having a Policy and Procedure Manual in a small business is unnecessary but I beg to differ. Having a Policy and Procedure Manual for any business type and structure has a number of advantages. These include:
* Assists in creating clear standards for organising information both internally and externally
* Becomes a training tool for casual employees or subcontractors
* Takes into consideration and allows for future growth within your business
* Details exactly how you require particular tasks to be completed and why
* Assists you in meeting legislative requirements (if any for your business structure type)
* Aids in branding your business
* Aids in presenting a professional outlook to your customers and suppliers
* Helps to prepare you for when problems do occur, because you have already thought about them and allowed for procedures to be followed if and when they occur
We won’t be able to stop contingencies from occuring. We can only control how we deal with them and the lasting effects on our business. Take the first step today!
Written by Kylie Short, owner of Tilda Virtual Services.
Bees do it!
Yeah, they do!
Have you ever really watched them, and how they buzz their way from flower to flower? They may seem somewhat fickle to the observer but the flitting about is really just the bee’s way of “doing her job” of collecting the flower nectar.
Some of us do it, too. Marketing that is! Going from idea to idea; trying to find the ideal solution to getting customers to our “virtual” door!
But in order for your marketing to work, unlike bees, you must find one, or two, or a few more really effective ideas to use to build trust with prospective clients. And then stick with them.
How often have you thought, if only I had more clients…? Or, how can I get more clients? What about…how can my prospects know I can help them?
Well, what do you do? Do you have a way to capture names of new visitors to your Web site? Do you keep in touch on a regular basis? Do you have an offer they can’t refuse? Can they find you easily if all of a sudden they decide they want you?
Let’s look at these points individually:
How often do you think about getting more clients?
To some, thinking about finding clients is much like thinking about chocolate or cigarettes; you do it everyday and sometimes more than once. Especially, if you’re low on them at the time; you’re just starting out, or if you want to shore up your current list.
How will they know you can help them?
You have to tell them, and do it again and again. Think…how many times did your mother have to tell you to do something before you finally did it? Unless it was with a threat to your life or limb, more often than not, it took more than four or five times before you finally “heard” your momma’s admonitions!
To put this into perspective; initially, your message is at your Web site. But prospects don’t usually keep coming back to your Web site…so it’s necessary to figure out a way to either lure them back to your site or get you to stay in front of the interested prospects. This is commonly accomplished by a newsletter, ezine, blog, email campaign or direct mail.
Are you able to capture names of visitors to your web site?
Once you get prospective clients anywhere near your “door”, so to speak, you want a means to know who is “visiting”. Think of how you communicate with those around you in “real” time…think outside of the “box”.
No, really…outside the box!
Like, how do you interact with those at the grocery store? Or with a young woman or a guy at school or church, or the office, who’s caught your attention? Sooner or later, your conversation turns to the exchange of names, addresses or telephone numbers.
Do you keep in touch with prospects on a regular basis?
Going back to the “bees” thing, we know bees flit around the countryside, going from flower to flower. Of course, they get their business done, but we can’t do it quite like that.
If we jump from one thing to another and never stick with a specific direction or plan, always looking for something new but not “cultivating” what we already have, we’ll never know the true value of our list of visitors or potential clients.
And, conversely, they won’t be able to know our value either!
Do you have an offer they can’t refuse?
This can be something as simple as a complimentary report to lure your target market, or perhaps you’d offer a bonus of a free hour of service.
Can they find you easily?
What if, on the spur of the moment, they want to contact you to do some work for them? Is your contact information, including your full name, prominently listed and easily and quickly found on your Web site or in your email signature.
How many times have you been at a Web site that caught your interest but for the life you you could not find an email address or even a telephone number. So you were unable to contact the person who offered the service.
Instead, your course of action was to jump back to Google; that business lost your business, and in all probability will never know why!
Okay, so they’ve read your ezines, and your “staying in touch” email. But they can’t use your services after all.
Now’s the time to make lemonade! Particularly, if you routinely include in your “marketing” email the suggestion that your prospects consider working with you on a referral basis.
Above all, no matter what marketing methods you choose, the effectiveness will come most easily when your “PC” shows; that is, you are “persistent and consistent.”
Taking Advantage of a Poor Economy
So many talk these days is of how the US economy is suffering. People are losing their houses, companies are downsizing and the stock markets are struggling. However, as Virtual Assistants we should be rejoicing and excited about this prospect.
While many people are worrying about the poor economy and how it will effect them negatively, as a VA we should be seeing how this can effect us positively. Utilizing the poor economy to our advantage is a great way to grow your Virtual Assistant business. As many small businesses struggle to stay afloat and begin to let their employees go, we can promote the value of a Virtual Assistant. These companies would value a VA’s expertise and skills while at the same time realizing that there are so many advantages. It is time to review your marketing materials and have them reflect the world around us. Utilizing swings in the economy is just one of the several ways to turn your business into a thriving business.
How you use these downswings will allow you to stand out from others. If you can make sure that the clients that you gain see the financial values in having a VA vs. an in-house assistant during tough economic times and grow to depend on you and your skills, then during a boom they will also see the advantage of continuing your relationship.
7 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Virtual Assistant Website
Internet.
Business.
Profit.
To fully integrate all of these words into a successful merging you will need another word. Traffic. Every article you will find about making your site or company successful will in most cases include the importance of generating traffic.
So, we all know that in the core of it all, traffic is the most essential thing to a successful internet based business company. Aside from ensuring that you have a great product to sell, and you have your company’s internal organization well taken care of, it would be time to get to the nitty-gritty of things, generating traffic.
If you already have a site and you think that you’re not getting the traffic that you’re supposed to be getting, then its time to put a plan into motion. If you are in a competitive business, you should always be a step ahead of your competition, increasing your traffic flow should have been done starting yesterday.
Timing is essential, that’s an old adage known to everyone. But with generating traffic, you should always be on your toes and be a day ahead of everyone.
To help you out in generating more traffic for your site, here are 7 surefire ways to increase traffic to your virtual assistant website.
1) Invest in good advertising with search engines
Google’s Adwords provides great advertising schemes that are very popular and assures great traffic, although this surefire way to increase your traffic will cost you money. While some would shy away from spending money to increase traffic, it is imperative that you weigh the pros and cons of spending this money.
2) Exchange links and create backlinks
Exchange links with sites that complement your business, but it comes with a word of caution: you will need to make sure that you do not become a link farm. Create and distribute newsworthy press releases to create backlinks to your website. Not only do press releases create backlinks, but they can attract the media as well.
3) Use Viral Marketing
Viral marketing allows you to spread the word about your company and product without any costs or low costs. Be creative, create a You Tube video, a flash movie…the possibilities are endless.
4) Use proper keywords or keyword phrases for your content
Search engines look for certain keywords and phrases that they will show in their results pages. In doing so, having the right keyword and keyword phrase is a high requirement in ranking high in search engine results pages. You could write your own content or you could hire someone to do it for you.
5) Write Articles that can lead traffic to your site
Submit articles to article directories and ezines that support your service or product. Be sure to create a powerful, catchy byline.
6) Join forums and form online communities
Capture a market and show your expertise and credibility. When you have a good foundation for your site, people will trust you and your site and will pass along this information to people they trust. Traffic will certainly increase because they know that you can provide what they need.
7) Offer newsletters
If people know what you are about and your existence is shared with others, you will find loyal traffic that can provide you with more traffic by recommendation. If you arouse the curiosity of your customers they would be pushed to help you with your traffic.
6 Ways to Get Your Articles Read
There are many people who dread having to write white papers, articles, actually any type of content. Many feel like it seems to be too much work and a waste when no one reads it anyway. To some people, reading articles seems like work to, especially if the article is boring and very bland. Well, articles are supposed to be read, that’s their purpose to impart your message and information. If it is not read then it is a waste of time and effort.
But all the same, articles have to be written to be read. It’s just a matter of making them good. Making a good article doesn’t have to be strenuous and straining. There are just some points needed to be reminded of, and some guides to follow. Once you get the hang of it, writing articles could be fun, as well as profitable for you and your site.
Of course, when writing articles, you need to write about something you know or are an expert in. When you write about it, you won’t have a hard time because you already know what it is and what it’s about. It’s just a matter of making your articles creative and interesting.
To make sure that your articles get read and enjoyed, here are six red hot tips to get your articles read. These tips will make your articles readable and interesting.
1) Use short paragraphs.
When the paragraphs are very long, the words get jumbled in the mind of the reader. The person reading will quickly disregard the paragraph and move on to other articles that are both eye catching as well as a good read. Paragraphs can be a single sentence or even…gasp…a single word.
2) Make use of numbers or bullets.
As each point is stressed, numbers and bullets can quickly make the points easy to remember and digest. As each point, tip, guide or method is started with a bullet or point, readers will know that this is where the tips start. Format your bullets and numbers with indentations so your article will not look like a single block of square paragraphs. Add a little bit of flair and pizzazz to your articles shape.
3) Use Sub-headings to sub-divide your paragraphs in the page.
Doing this will break each point into sections but would still be incorporated into one whole article. It would also be easy for the reader to move on from one point to another. The transition would be smooth and easy and if this happens, you will not lose your reader’s attention.
4) Provide a good attention-grabbing title or header.
If your title can entice a person’s curiosity you are already halfway there in terms of getting a person to read your article. Use statements and questions that utilize keywords that people are looking for. Provide titles or headers that describe your article’s content.
Use titles like, “Tips On Marketing Your Business Effectively”, or “Tips For Marketing Inexpensively” .You could also use titles that can command people, for example, “6 Ways To Get More Business”. These types of titles reach out to a person’s emotions and makes them interested.
5) Keep them interested from the start to the finish.
From your opening paragraph, use real life situations that can be adopted by the reader. Use good descriptions and metaphors to drive in your point, just don’t over do it. Driving your examples with graphic metaphors and similes would make it easy for them to imagine what you are talking about. Making the experience pleasurable and enjoyable for them.
6) Utilize figures when necessary and not just ordinary and insipid statements.
Using specific facts and figures can heighten your article because it makes it authoritative. But do not make it too formal, it should be light and easy in them and flow. Like a friendly teacher having a little chat with an eager student.
iGoogle, do you Google!?
Google is a pretty awesome thing. There is no need for me to link to Google, or explain what Google is. It’s basically even become a verb - don’t tell me you don’t Google your potential clients!
The number of tools Google has available are amazing. I thought it would be interesting to hear what other VAs use Google for. Here’s my list:
- Google Docs - Connie McVicker and I use this to collaboratively write our ebooks.
- Google Reader - This is where I get my favorite RSS feeds.
- Gmail - Does anyone not have a gmail account? It’s wonderful.
- Google Calendar - Note to self - sync calendar with Outlook calendar. Great tool.
- iGoogle - Customized homepage, where I can get my local weather, news of choice (based on topic) and even find out what time the sun will set.
- Google Analytics - To find out how many visitors I’m getting to my site.
- Google Search - Kind of goes without saying.
So, what do you use Google for?
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