Why Do New Virtual Assistants Seem to Want Everything for Free?
Over the past two years we have gotten awesome feedback about our free ebook, 25 Ways to Revolutionize Your Virtual Assistant Business. I’m a little biased, but I think that it’s an awesome resource, as do others and judging by the emails that Dale, Heather and I get every month we remain quite pleased with it even after 2 years.
Yesterday we received this email:
I had expected to find real, concrete information about starting a VA business such as: how much HTML do I need to know to start doing websites, how much should I charge, what do I do about taxes, etc. All I’m getting is fluff!!!!!!!
Hey, I think I’ll start a blog and talk about this kind of stuff!
We responded to this person directly, but the more I think about the direction of new VAs, the more perturbed I become.
When did everyone start wanting everything for free? Did we forget the old adage “it takes money to make money?” I personally spend about $2000+ every year on continuing education for my business. If I’m not up to date on the latest and greatest for my target market, what good am I as a Virtual Assistant? It’s imperative that all VAs continue their education at every turn. Not only does it benefit you, but it benefits your clients, and in the end it makes you more marketable as a VA.
I was a Virtual Assistant before I realized what a VA was. Then when I first heard the term “Virtual Assistant”, I researched the heck out of it to double and triple check to make sure that it suited me and what I was doing in my business. If think you have the skills to be a VA, do a little research about the industry. Buy one of the VA industry surveys here or here.
I love this question:
how much HTML do I need to know to start doing websites
Uh, it depends. If you don’t know how to create a professional website, don’t do it. Spend the money to make money and hire a professional to do it. If you want to learn the upkeep of a website take a class, either online or through your local community college. If you think you have to do website design or coding to get clients you don’t. I know plenty of VAs out there who would never think of offering this service. You can’t be all things to all people, so if you don’t have the skills, don’t take on the task.
how much should I charge
Uh, it depends. What are your expenses? What kind of skills are you bringing to the table? What specialty skills do you possess? What is your cost of living? Do you live in New York City or in New Dheli India? Who are you targeting? If you target the work at home mom crowd, I’m going to have a totally different response than if you were asking me about top producing real estate agents. Rates vary across the board, across the country and across the sea. If you want a free rates calculation spreadsheet, let me know. Or again, buy one of the VA industry surveys here or here to learn more about what other VAs charge.
what do I do about taxes
Uh, it depends. (Do you notice a pattern here?!?!) What State do you live? If you reside in Canada, what Province do you live in? If outside of North America, what country do you live in? Are you a sole proprietor, LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, etc.? Talk to a CPA or your country’s equivalent, because you will be hard pressed to find another VA who is going to give you financial advice like this.
As many of us know, it can be extremely difficult to provide concrete information that works for everyone because there are too many variables. Do your research, hire professionals to help you. Above all, take your business seriously. If you do, you will be richly rewarded.
One last thing, does the table of contents say that the book is going to delve into the above topics? No, it was designed as a “pump you up” ebook, with lots of motivation to propel you in the right direction.
Why Should You Set Goals?
Wonder why some people could not even achieve an inch of what they dream of becoming? Blame it on pure dreaming and lack of setting goals for achieving their dreams.
Setting goals is a very significant part of success and positive accomplishments. It is like scaling a 20 feet building and marking early on what feet you would like to reach at this specific period.
People who set goals literally create a map of their target achievements in life, marking where they should begin, where to pause, where to delve a bit, and where and when to stop. Once this map is created, it allows the map drawer to check where he is in the scheme of things and whether or not he is making some achievements that will take him closer to his/her goals.
By setting goals, people will know how they are doing and what they should be doing to achieve their targets or dreams in life. They will know if they can relax or if they have to double their efforts when they are falling short of what is expected of them.
Goal setting means a person is proactive in dealing with challenges that may affect his/her plans. Being proactive means one is able to outline possible difficulties that may occur as well as the solutions to these difficulties. By doing this, a person is not easily scared or defeated when challenges occur because he has already prepared for them. He knows they can happen and he has prepared a solution or strategy when that time comes.
Setting goals will enable people to track their progress in whatever endeavor they have set out to do. It will help people become more confident in themselves and more motivated to achieve their plans.
However, goal setting is not enough, as this should be accompanied by a positive outlook and self-discipline. A person may have a blueprint of where he wants to go, but if he does not have the necessary discipline to carry out the plan, then nothing will come out of it.
To be successful in goal setting, the goals that one has set for himself should be realistic and based on his/her capabilities, as well as selected and important external factors. Being too ambitious in setting up goals can make the goals unrealistic and difficult to achieve. However, do not also set goals that are too low because this might discourage one’s vision instead of achieving it.
It is also necessary that the person setting the blueprint for his/her direction should also include a time frame within which the goal will be achieved. This way, he is able to determine if he has to fast track his/her strategies or to slow down a bit. Goal setting will also help a person check if he is performing within his/her plans or if he is doing things towards the achievement of his/her plans.
Once you have achieved something, even a little of what you hoped to achieve, then you should always give yourself a pat in the back to keep you motivated. But do not be too complacent with any little achievement, as this may cause you to backslide.
Setting goals can be used in any aspect of one’s life - from one’s personal or family life, to his/her career and finances. Goal setting can be as simple as setting a target weight when you wish to lose pounds or something big, like earning your first million.
When setting goals, it is always important to set standards that would suit your present situation, your capabilities, and other factors that may influence the achievement of your goal.
How Self-Esteem Impacts Our Confidence Levels
Our belief in self has a profound effect on our confidence and on the quality of both our lives and business. Today our focus is on business. If person A believes that he lacks the basic skills to solve problems, ex. marketing, networking, sales, etc. then he may lose heart and give up. In contrast, person B, who may have less ability yet strong self belief, stands a much better chance of being successful. This is because his belief in self gives him the confidence to try and try harder again.
Think back to high school or college. Have you ever wondered why only a few students in a class asked questions? Could it be because the remaining students understood all of the critical points made during the lecture? Or is it because they lack the confidence to ask a question? More often than not, it is the fear that stops students from asking questions. In other words, they lack self-confidence. The only way this confidence can improve is when they start believing in themselves.
This is why belief in self is so important, especially in business. It gives an individual the confidence they need to shoot for the stars. It overwhelms negative thoughts, and drives away the fear of failure. It is the best antidote against lashing out at yourself, which can turn several talented persons into under-achievers. It gives business owners the confidence that they have nothing to loose. On the contrary, they realize that they have everything to gain by asking a question, even if it happens to be a silly one.
Abraham Lincoln is a fine example of a man who believed in himself. He lost every election until he went to the Senate and stood for the post of the President. He did not allow his failures in professional and personal life to erode his self-belief. Had he done so, the history of the US would have been different.
Belief in self gives us the confidence to accept failure. It teaches us the importance of positive thinking. Those who have high self-esteem don’t talk about failures; instead, they try to find out why they did not succeed. They look for lessons that can be learnt from their experience. This is not a simple issue of semantics. It is the power of positive thinking, and it is available to only those who have self-esteem.
Once again it is self-esteem that gives us the confidence to enter a new group, and become a part of it. Those who lack self-esteem are very reluctant to approach a new group. They don’t want to expose themselves to the ridicule of being seen as shy, nervous or ignorant. They would instead prefer to stay in their corners.
In fact, lack of self-esteem stands out like a sore thumb at parties, meetings, conferences and social or official functions. Individuals with low self-esteem avoid introducing themselves to others. They prefer to stay in the shadows, away from the sights of others. However, their colleagues who enjoy high self-esteem dominate the discussions. They are sought after by others for information. They are also invited to other meetings and parties — all because their self-esteem gives them the confidence to open up before a group of strangers. It is the same student syndrome that is reflected in an individual’s working life too.
Lack of self-esteem is one of the greatest myths of introversion. Typically the business owner will blame their introverted personality on the fact that they just “can’t get out there.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. Introversion is just that, a personality trait. It is not the deciding factor in who we are and what we offer the world. If this describes you, then you most definitely need a self-confidence boost.
Nothing will change in your business life until you have self-respect, and the self-belief that you are as good as others. You must realize that you are not the only one who has strong and weak points; others too suffer from the same defects. The only difference is that the others project their strong points whereas you may project your weak points. All that you need to do is refocus your priorities. If you do this, you will find the elusive self-confidence.
Are you struggling with self-confidence or introversion issues in your VA business? Is your business where you always dreamt it would be? If your VA business is suffering in any way, we are here to help you make it into the “im-possible” dream. The Virtual Assistant Revolution is just that a REVOLUTION. We want to help you change the way you think about yourself and your business. Our goal is to show you that there is more to the current state of your VA business. If you want to introduce a new product, gain the skills to offer a new service or if you want that six-figure VA business, it’s yours for the taking and we want to give you the tools to make it happen.
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!
Online collaboration tool
I made a post about my new favorite program in my own personal blog, but thought I would share it here with all of my fellow VAs.
It’s called Client Spot. It’s an online collaboration tool for virtual assistants to use with their clients. I just love it. It does cost some money, but I can add my team members and clients as well as projects and files. Each project is it’s own little area, and all tasks and files associated with the project is in the same place…which was lacking from another tool I’d tried.
It’s extremely easy to use, and there is a calendar which is saving my life. I can see at a glance what items are do for which client, so I’m improving my over all efficiency.
Between Client Spot and the fact that I’ve recently acquired a VA to handle my own incoming email, I feel like a brand new woman!
I don’t know why I haven’t done this sooner.
If you’re looking for a tool to help manage your work flow, check it out.
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