Starting a business as a solo-preneur has loads of benefits. One of the biggest benefits is you are the boss and responsible for how you do things. This can however also be one the biggest drawbacks because of the mere fact that as a solo-entrepreneur you wear so many different hats. You are the:
- CEO – doing business planning and creating an overall strategy
- Marketing manager –finding clients
- Operations manager - doing client work
- Financial manager – handling income and expenses
- Secretary – scheduling client appointments
- Admin assistant – getting your own processes and procedures in place and handling your own admin
Although all these roles/activities are required to ensure the smooth running of your business, they are not all equally important. Read more »
This is a really tough question to answer since it depends on a lot of different factors, but here are some of the things I learned from experience that help bring in money faster.
1. Marketing is the most important activity in your business. Making money does not happen automatically – even if you are excellent in what you do, have the nicest personality and deliver the best services possible. It also doesn’t help much to sit behind a computer and wonder where your next clients or your income will come from. You need to step out and market your business daily.
Marketing is one of the areas that take most people out of their comfort zones – but it is necessary – because marketing enables you to share your talents and skills with the world. Don’t be afraid to talk to people or to meet new people regularly. Become comfortable telling them about your business and what you offer. Do it in such a way that they understand how you can help them. I’ve learned that marketing and earning more money becomes much easier when Read more »
In a previous post, I talked about valid reasons and some benefits of working from home as a Virtual Assistant. Things such as: walking to your office in less than 1 minute, working in your pajamas, having flexible work hours and control over your live.
For me, working as a services professional for the past 5 years, the benefits of working at home far outweigh the concerns and I cannot imagine ever going back to a corporate office again.
However, there are also a couple of things that are not as glamorous. There are many challenges that you have to deal with on a daily basis working as a Virtual Assistant. So, here is a list of some of the top challenges and some ways to solve each. Read more »
Many women (and some cool guys too) dream of starting a home business where they are available to their family, managing their own hours, making a difference in clients’ lives and simultaneously earning a good income for playing (and paying the bills).
The increasing popularity of becoming a Virtual Assistant makes this dream a reality for many.
The truth is: starting a Virtual Assistant business is not difficult. It is relatively inexpensive and if you have the right skills, the correct equipment such as a PC and internet access, as well as a client or two, you can be in business within a few days.
However, there is a huge difference between Virtual Assistants who deliver virtual services as a hobby and virtual assistants who are serious about making a success of their business and build it a level where they do have a sustainable and profitable income.
The problem is: to become successful as a virtual assistant is not always easy. You need desire, plenty of motivation, constant commitment, good planning, a truckload of perseverance and you have to do it right from the start.
So, here are 10 important steps to get your business off to the right start and to set up the foundation for success: Read more »
In every Virtual Assistant business things often get tough and you might feel like quitting. This is however the time for you to persist in what you’ve set out to do.
Never give up on your dreams because you never know how close you are in reaching them. Be persistent and take action on your dreams daily.
Persistence can be cultivated by a couple of things… Read more »
“Everyone wants to have a good day, but not many people know what a good day looks like – much less how to create one. And even fewer people understand how the way you live today impacts your tomorrow.” John C Maxwell
That is why Today Matters!
John Maxwell wrote in his book, Today Matters that you can create success in your life by focusing on what you do TODAY. Unfotunately, most of the time we miss that success, because we . . .
- Over-exaggerate yesterday – we dwell in the past and constantly think about the things we did or could have done better;
- Overestimate tomorrow – we expect things to be better in future;
….and then we underestimate the importance of today.
What we need to do is to Read more »
Increasing your income significantly, getting more clients and enjoying a thriving business, doesn’t always require a major overhaul. Sometimes it only requires two simple things:
Clarity AND Action!
It is all about getting crystal clear on your goals and what you want from your business and your clients, and then taking action to achieve it.
Read more »
A business that attracts lots of clients is a business that focuses on service excellence.
Any VA can give a service and find some clients, but a Virtual Assistant who focuses on service excellence, will have a business that prosper and will attract clients into long-term relationships.
Now the question is: what is service excellence and how can you ensure your business delivers it?
Well, service excellence is about having:
- Solid beliefs in what you do and how it can benefit your clients;
- Exceptional behaviours and applying those to your client relationships.
- A great attitude;
Service excellence is all about finding ways to make your clients feel good about your services, your business and themselves because they simply feel good when dealing with you.
Here are some great ways to create service excellence in your business: Read more »
Getting long-term clients in a Virtual Assistant business is very much dependent on the following 3 key elements:
- Clients first knowing about you
- Then liking you enough to work with you and also
- Trusting that you will be able to do the work.
This is what I call the “know, like and trust” factor.
Building a Virtual Assistant business and getting clients to fill your business has a lot to do with building solid business relationships. When you “sell” a service it usually brings a more personal dimension into your business (since you work more closely with a client) than when you purely sell a product. Thus relationships with people become a key aspect of your success. Read more »
I always find goal setting fascinating because one of the turning points in my life was when I discovered the power of setting goals. Without really knowing what I was doing, I sat down and made a list of 10 things I wanted to accomplish in the foreseeable future.
I put the little sticky note containing my goals next to my PC and about 30 days later, my whole life had changed. Almost every goal on my list had already been achieved or partially achieved. It was a total eye opener.
I thought by myself, “Wow, can it be this easy to achieve what you want to achieve?” and the answer is a resounding YES.
Setting goals is the most powerful way of getting what you want out of life and out of your business… Read more »
Starting a business as a solo-preneur has loads of benefits. One of the biggest benefits is you are the boss and responsible for how you do things. This can however also be one the biggest drawbacks because of the mere fact that as a solo-entrepreneur you wear so many different hats. You are the:
VA Business, Virtual Assistant | Francis, 11 Apr 12 | 
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