Today Impacts Tomorrow’s Successes

“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 »

Increase Your Profits This Year With Clarity And Action

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 »

4 Sure Ways to Get More Clients

Virtual Assistant, do you know

-the average small business owner spends up to 40% of their time on routine administrative tasks

What an excellent opportunity to build your virtual assistant business and clientele.   Go and Google ‘small business directory’ and search for small business owners that fit your niche.  I was amazed to find a directory with 196 small businesses listed in the Vaal Triangle on one of the 5+ business directories for our area. 

-potential clients don’t know where to find you

I read a blog post the other day where a guy raved about his virtual assistant.  He surely did a good job  because one of the comments was:  “Sounds like a great idea. How do you go about finding a good one?”  His answer was:  “Look on virtual assistant directories.”  So … is your business listed on virtual assistant directories?  Make sure potential clients find you … list your business here

-there are more than 1.7 million South Africans on Facebook  … and that was a year ago

Do you have a Facebook business/fan page?  With a significant 40% plus of Facebook users over age 35 (CheckFaceBook) the idea that Facebook is just for college kids was put to rest long ago.  Get involved in social media and start to build relationships.  Get yourself on Facebook and start mingling with others because if you don’t have a “facebook footprint” you are losing out.   Oh, and while we are on the subject, become a fan of Be-VA-Wise and receive valuable updates about the virtual assistant industry.

-more and more CEOs will use social media in future

Two recent posts by Mashable highlighted how ‘up to date’ CEOs use social media for business exposure and that “business leaders of tomorrow will be versed in social media”.  Another excellent opportunity often overlooked because we tend to think virtual assistants only do normal admin tasks. If you’re interested in social media and have the necessary experience and knowledge, this might be an excellent niche to consider.  The business leaders of tomorrow might not have enough time at hand to spend on social media and a virtual assistant might be their answer to social media involvement.

The virtual assistant industry is surely gaining momentum in South Africa … ensure you are on the forefront to pick the best of the crop when small business owners are looking for virtual assistants.

Do You Have The Nimbleness to Be Successful?

Starting your own virtual assistant business nowadays is actually easy.  Yeah it is!  With the help of the internet and all the free information available, all you have to do is Google “starting a virtual assistant business” and “wallah” you have 526 000 results in 0.26 seconds.

Or is it really that simple?

Well, maybe if you only want to start a business.  But if you want to run a successful VA business you have to dig a little bit deeper into the qualities and characteristics needed to help you put bread and butter on the table.

Now if you thought 526 000 results in 0.26 seconds was good, when you Google “characteristics of an entrepreneur” you’ll get 1 570 000 results in 0.12 seconds. Wow!

Ok, enough of the statistics.  In my eyes there are 5 essential qualities or characteristics that stand out above the rest and I am convinced that if you possess these qualities you have what it takes to make a success of your Virtual Assistant business and career.

1.    Self-motivation

As a Virtual Assistant and independent business owner, you are the boss and should be able to motivate yourself.  You determine your pace, motivate yourself and know that if you don’t work you don’t earn an income, and the “no money no honey” phrase is your motivation to be in the office on time, schedule your work in advance and make sure your mental strength is fed on a daily basis with a positive attitude.

2.    Confidence and the Ability to Organize

 Virtual Assistants normally work with several clients and need to keep their workspace and projects well organised and has to have confidence in what they are doing. Although this seems to go without saying, it does take a lot of effort and planning to stay on top of matters and procrastination, tardiness and delay can be fatal to your success.

3.    Initiative and Resourcefulness

Resourcefulness, initiative and pro-activeness are excellent qualities of top Virtual Assistants.  Various clients mean different tasks and sometimes you will have to put your ‘problem solver’s’ hat on and come up with the answer that is baffling your client.  You should be able to take initiative, dig around, do research and become their vast resource of information. 

4.    Intelligence and Good Communication Skills

 Intelligence does not mean you should be a Harvard Scholar but it means that you should be Virtual Assistant Wise.  You should be a quick thinker, know what you do and how to do it.  If you add to it the ability to communicate with clients in a positive, understanding, clear and to the point manner you will definitely set yourself apart from your competitors. 

5.    Professionalism

Professionalism is perhaps the most important quality of all and can best be described as a mixture of courtesy, integrity, class and excellence.  Professionalism is paramount and will distinct your business from just a ”work from home” job to a successful virtual assistant business.

Do you posses these qualities?  Excellent!! 

Our e-book “Jumpstart Your Virtual Assistant Business” is an excellent source and addresses the above and much, much more.  For more information about this fantastic business guideline, visit http://www.be-virtual-assistant-wise.com/jumpstart-virtual-assistant-business-ebook.html

The Most Important Question

(and answer) to grow your virtual assistant business

I believe more and more Virtual Assistants are trying to “make it out there”, but are they REALLY growing their businesses into viable, profitable enterprises?

The most important Question you have to ask yourself as a virtual assistant business owner is …

Do I have a website?

The word virtual says it all.  The synonyms for virtual are:  practical, fundamental, near, effective and essential.

To be a virtual assistant means that you are not physically present in your client’s location, but you are virtually present which imply that you are almost present, effectively reachable and nearby.

In my eyes “virtually present” means that you are “present on line” and to be present on line you NEED to have a website!  Full stop. 

And if I may be particular, not only “just a website” but a professional looking one.  With a professional website, your business is open to the World 24/7, 365 days a year. 

A website is your online brochure where you are going to establish client confidence and rapport and to a great extent improve your overall business image.

When internet savvy clients are looking for virtual assistants in a VA-directory, odds are that they will be looking for website links and if you don’t have one, they will nine out of ten times move to your opposition’s listing, click on their link and never even return to yours.

Having a website means that you are not that local little business anymore.  It means that you have crossed all geographical borders and are an internationally recognized virtual assistant business.

 Can you really afford not to have a website of your own?

 And the answer is ….

…  NO!

Imagine this …

Imagine if you had a chance to build a business without spending ALOT of money on recourses.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful?

Well …

why don’t you do just that?

It’s no secret that forums are one of the most powerful business-building tools on the planet, yet we refrain from using it.

Why?  Are we scared?  Don’t we have the confidence?  Don’t we have the time?  Or are we just plain uninformed?

Building a virtual assistant business is never easy.  There are numerous things to take into consideration and sometimes money fly without being noticed.  You have to pay for this, that and the other in order to build a successful business and valuable information doesn’t come cheap.  And that is not enough you sometimes feel all on your own with nobody to talk to, to ask questions to or to share your experience with.

Put your hand up if you have ever experienced the above?   Tough isn’t it?

Well, believe it or not, you are not alone in the virtual world.  There IS a place where you can get support for FREE!! Read more »

4 Ways to….Stretch Your Pay Check

Pricing your services correctly will help you stretch your pay check.

According to Wikipedia “price is the quantity of payment or compensation for something.”

In Virtual Assistant terms, I would like to rephrase it to “price is the quantity of payment or compensation a client is willing to pay for the services delivered by a Virtual Assistant.”

Set Your Price Like a Pro  and STRECH that pay cheque

Although it is important to determine your hourly rate upfront, I firmly believe that you should evaluate each request for services and each client on merit and set your price accordingly.

The easiest way to evaluate a request is to: Read more »

Choose Mastery

One of the inevitable aspects of life is that we are bombarded with millions of choices each day. It starts early morning with choices of; will you snooze the alarm another 5 min, what you will wear, what you will make for breakfast, what road to take to work, what email to read first…. It just goes on and on… and we make all these choices on a daily basis without even really thinking about it.

But, have you ever thought about the process of making a “choice” and how it works? Read more »

Virtual Assistant Success Secrets

How do you define Virtual Assistant success and what (if any) is the secret of successful VAs?

Well, Virtual Assistant success can be defined in many different ways. For some, it can mean financial riches. For others, it mean reaching the top in their field. Some simply define success as living a fulfilled and contented life.

Whatever definition you choose, we all know that real success depends on a combination of different factors, coming together over a period of time.

Although there is no real shortcut to success, I believe there is a secret in becoming a successful VA: a secret so simple that it is often overlooked….

The secret is: Start with the “basics”.

Please share your thoughts and add what you believe can contribute to Virtual Assistant success.

5 Dynamic Marketing Tips

“Marketing is not an event, it is a process . . .

It has a beginning, a middle, but never an end.

You improve it, perfect it, change it, even pause it, but you never stop it completely”

You may deliver the best virtual administrative services and support in the world, but if your target market doesn’t know about you, you won’t make a dime. Why be average?  Use your own dynamic approach and make sure you end up head and shoulders above the crowd… Read more »