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Best of the New VA Advice Blog 2014

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Best of the Best 2014I’d never considered writing a “best of the best” for the year type of post before. But then I saw that Kelly McCausey at SoloSmarts sent out a little challenge, asking readers to put together a top 10 list of their favorite posts from their blog for 2014.

Instead of just choosing my favorites, I really wanted to cover your favorites. So I took a little trip into Google Analytics and came up with your top 10 favorite blog posts at New VA Advice for 2014.

Here they are!

♦This is a guest post series on taking care of your health while working from home.

The Healthy Work at Home Woman Series

 

♦This is a series of posts where I had a cross blog conversation with another work-at-home solopreneur mom about time management, illness, work/life balance, income streams and everything in between.

A Peek Into the Lives of Two Work at Home Moms

 

♦This post is about a handy little tool that turns your email signature into free marketing for you.

Cool Tool: Wisestamp for Email Signatures

 

♦The series posts seem to be quite popular! There is a set of them where I interviewed successful virtual assistants and asked them for tips and advice for someone just getting started. These two posts in that series were very popular:

Start up Stories: Michelle Mangen

Start up Stories: Tess Strand

 

♦This post talks about what we cover in the live version of the General Transcription Bootcamp course.

General Transcription Bootcamp: Learn a Valuable Skill to Increase Your Business

 

♦I think the title of this next post makes it pretty self-explanatory.

What Tools Do You Need to Start Your VA Business?

 

♦In this post, I give some action steps to get you moving forward if you’re stuck while building your VA business.

What’s Holding You Back?

 

♦These last 2 posts are some of the oldest on the site, but still some of the most popular. I update the resources in them every couple of months.

Websites to Help Virtual Assistants

Forums and Groups for Virtual Assistants

 

There you have it! Do you have any posts you would add to this list or any thoughts on what you’d like to see more of in 2015?

Start up Stories: Ruth Martin, Maplewood Virtual Assistance

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This article is one in a series called Start up Stories. These stories are about women I’ve come to know and admire who are successful in the Virtual Assistant industry. My hope is that they serve as inspiration for you, proving that, regardless of your current situation or obstacles, it is truly possible for you to live the lifestyle you want.

Ruth Martin Maplewood VARuth Martin, aka the Details Diva, is the owner of Maplewood Virtual Assistance, (MaplewoodVA), Maplewood Virtual Assistance, an online business support services firm specializing in online business and project management, marketing and writing services, and executive level business support. Ruth Martin brings 20+ years of business management and marketing experience to each project she touches. And, if it’s nearing the Christmas season, you’ll find her taking on the role of #1 Official Santa Helper aiding Santa in writing letters to children across North America at her seasonal business, U Write Santa. U Write Santa

Here’s her story:

Who/what inspired you to become a Virtual Assistant?

I’d like to begin by first thanking you, Alicia, for the invitation to chat with you and your readers. I love what you’re doing here and reading through the inspirational stories that are being shared.

When I first began doing virtual work I had never heard of the term virtual assistant or VA. When I discovered VA industry organizations such as VAnetworking and IVAA I’d already been working virtually for around seven years serving local clientele in the non-profit sector.

After joining several virtual assistant organizations, the connections and friendships I created exploded my reach and took my business to new levels. These memberships opened so many doors that I couldn’t have imagined if I focused only on a local clientele roster.

How did you go about getting started?

Quite by accident, actually. My last employment position was in 2000 as a director of a non-profit organization that included operating a retail store, public speaking, live trade events, and overseeing a staff of 40. Following my maternity leave I took our son back to work with me daily – the board of directors were fabulous about setting up a nursery in my office. It wasn’t until our son began walking that I knew I needed to make the decision to place him in daycare or shift directions with a home-based career. “We” (my son and I) gave notice and within 60 days I had my first two virtual clients contact me about working with them.

Both of these clients knew me for years after serving together on the board of directors at the non-profit. Here’s where knowing people and networking over the years prior paid off big for me.

I made the leap to become an independent contractor, an entrepreneur, the wheel master of my destiny working with these two local businesses. It was the beginning. I’ve never looked back. Those local clients expanded to seed a client-base spanning across the US and Canada as I later established an online presence and joined the VA organizations. I was very lucky to have clients before having a formal business because many virtual assistants market for months or even as long as 1-1.5 years before landing their first client let alone building a full roster of clients.

Did you have any savings or financial support in order to start your business?

No, I did not require financial support. I was lucky that one of the areas my husband works in is IT meaning we always seem to have multiple computers and office equipment in the household. My first computer wasn’t the newest or fanciest but it got the job done and was loaded with the latest software that I needed to execute the tasks asked of me.

Was there ever a point when you thought it wouldn’t work out?

Never once, Alicia. No, I came from a background of over 20 years in marketing and business management. I was comfortable in running a business from my years of overseeing the non-profit. I understood the commitment and mindset that was needed to be an owner verses an employee. I was used to making projections and putting the pieces in place to reach and surpass those goals. I know how to produce outcomes and make the magic happen. I have pretty lofty standards. I knew I’d be working harder for myself than I had ever worked for anyone.

If you could go back and change one thing you did when starting out, what would that be?

Choose a shorter corporation name. There are a lot of characters in my formal business name to fit on a bank debit card. Thankfully, I can incorporate MaplewoodVA in many elements of my marketing which is easier when character count comes into play.

What is your best advice for someone considering becoming a Virtual Assistant?

Always remember you are in business, to be in business. It’s imperative that you fully understand what fair market pricing is for your services (yes, do the math and know the various price models within your service offerings) and know how much you must earn as base pay to cover your operational expenses, marketing expenses, FICA, taxes, IRA, continued learning expenses, business growth expenses, and then pay yourself a wage.

I’ll tell you a secret – it is okay if your base rate is higher than others as long as you can justify the value and benefits you bring to your clients. Don’t follow the herd – stand out always. Do your homework before opening your doors.

Too many VAs price based on what they saw another do and this is the first step in the pathway to shutting down their business in less than 3 years. Rarely do two businesses have identical operational expenses. 60% of VAs will close their doors in less than 3 years…80% in 5 years, many because they don’t recognize operating a business is vastly different than being an employee.

If you don’t like sales or marketing, don’t open your doors. You can’t risk being invisible and stay in business. You must believe in your skills and services and desire to market these knowing that your business is exactly the answer many are seeking. Your business fills a specific need and the sooner you pinpoint that need, the easier marketing will be, and the sooner clients will flock to you.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Alicia, I’d like to add in one more tidbit of advice. Before deciding to do anything in your business ask this question, “Is what I’m doing right now helping me grow my business and/or accomplish my goals?” If the answer is “No” then don’t continue. You owe it to your clients to be a successful business so you can continue to stick around for years to serve them.

Have you forgotten how to market? Or, maybe never really learned from the start? If you’re nodding your head then you must listen to Ruth’s marketing audio recording. Head over to her page and sign up for the free audio – Have You Forgotten How to Market. Remember, as Ruth always says, “Your customers will drive your marketing presence, and in turn, your marketing frequency will drive your customers (to you).”

 

Interview with John Hardy, Virtual Assistant

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You might be familiar with my series Start up Stories where I interview successful virtual assistants and ask them some really personal questions about how they got started in the industry. It’s great to learn from those who have been doing this a lot longer.

But what about someone who started not all that long ago? What about someone who’s just a little further along the path than you who is making this happen and has clients?

Well, here you go. I interviewed John Hardy, who has been a virtual assistant since 2011, via Google Hangout. I asked him about how he got started, who supported him along the way and how he landed his first client. He was more than happy to share his story in the hopes of helping someone else.

Check it out now!

Two ways to watch:

Click the link here and watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Zze2S3-Ng-E

or watch embedded video here on this page:

Start up Stories: Tracey D’Aviero, Your VA Mentor

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This article is one in a series called Start up Stories. These stories are about women I’ve come to know and admire who are successful in the Virtual Assistant industry. My hope is that they serve as inspiration for you, proving that, regardless of your current situation or obstacles, it is truly possible for you to live the lifestyle you want.

TraceyDAvieroTracey D’Aviero has been working virtually for 15 years. Her company Your VA Mentor is located in Osgoode, Ontario, Canada and specializes in providing training and mentoring support for Virtual Assistants.

Here’s her story:

Who/what inspired you to become a Virtual Assistant?

I began working from home before actually knowing about the virtual assistant term/industry so my story begins a little differently than most. See answer #2. 🙂

How did you go about getting started?

Basically, my VA business came out of my consulting business. I had gone back to college after being out of high school for about 5 years, and I took my catering management diploma. I was working in restaurants but kept getting more interested in the admin side of the business.

I had gathered much experience in the admin field during my time in the workforce between high school and college. I started to work on my own as a food & beverage consultant for local restaurants in 1998. I was working from home doing their training manuals and setting up inventory programs, and helping them manage their controllable costs.

As I tried to expand my client base, I soon realized that the restaurant industry was not a really viable target market, because few restaurants at that time had the money to pay out to consultants. So I decided I needed to find out who could use my skills, and also pay me well for my work. 😉

I hit the Internet and I came upon the ‘Virtual Assistant’ term at that time, and realized that for more than 8 years this was exactly what I had been doing. That was in 2006. I decided to get some training in Internet Marketing and my business started to be built from there.  I saw people like Tawnya Sutherland from VAnetworking and Craig Cannings from VAClassroom and they inspired me a great deal, to learn all I could and really develop solid skills to support amazing clients.

Did you have any savings or financial support in order to start your business?

I did not have any formal financial support to start my business – in 1998 nor in 2006 – but I was lucky enough to be the second earner in my family and my husband was making enough money to sustain our household. My son was born in 1998 (yes, that’s when I started my consulting business!) and so I was able to stay home to raise him while still earning income.

In terms of getting started as a VA, I was the queen of ‘cheap or free’ for setup and ongoing costs, and I believe that it is not necessary to spend a lot of money before you hang out your shingle as a business owner. If you start with the skills you have now, you can get revenue coming in the door before you start spending in other areas.

Did you have the support you needed to start your business such as a family member/significant other/mentor/coach?

My parents were small business owners and I learned a lot from them in terms of how to treat my customers. They were very lucky to have great customers in their business, and it came from the service they provided for them. I also remember my Dad being very fussy about who he would choose to work with, saying ‘no’ to many people over the years. I think that was called his Ideal Client, though I didn’t know it at the time. 🙂

My business really grew, though, when I started working with a marketing coach in 2009. I didn’t really know what I was doing with my marketing, and so I really had to learn the principles and the strategy behind that. It’s something that I teach my own students and coaching clients now, because it’s the one thing that many people don’t consider when they are starting their own business – that you have to tell the right people about it!

Was there ever a point when you thought it wouldn’t work out?

There are lots of times I still think it might not work out! Running a business is an ongoing learning experience. We try things and we fail, and we try other things and we succeed. The best plan is to make a plan and then carry it out, and assess it – so you can learn from it for next time.  Realizing that you always need a strategy for growth in place is the key that makes a business successful.

If you could go back and change one thing you did when starting out, what would that be?

Most definitely I would get the support from a coach – I didn’t get that until a few years ago, and I saw huge growth in my business just by learning from someone who had already been there. I went from being a small contributor to my household, to an equal partner, even making more than my husband some months.

What is your best advice for someone considering becoming a Virtual Assistant?

My best advice is to really consider that running a business takes a lot of knowledge about things that are not related to what your services or skills are. You need to educate yourself about what you don’t know, and put a strategy into place to help you market your business constantly, to the right people. If you can’t sell yourself, your business will not work out. It’s easy to get the training and support you need to be successful, so just do it.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

I think the questions really answer it all. Great list. I guess I would just say that I believe that anyone who wants to start their own VA business should do it. It’s a great industry to be in, as long as you realize that you are a business owner. You need to learn what you need to know to run your business well, and get the support you need to keep yourself moving forward all the time.  Find out what you need to know about running a business and then get going!

You can learn more about Tracey on her website www.YourVAMentor.com and feel free to download her Complimentary Business Assessment on www.yourvamentor.com/biz-assess.

 

Start up Stories: Loretta Oliver, VA Helper Blog and Podcast

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This article is one in a series called Start up Stories. These stories are about women I’ve come to know and admire who are successful in the Virtual Assistant industry. My hope is that they serve as inspiration for you, proving that, regardless of your current situation or obstacles, it is truly possible for you to live the lifestyle you want.

 

Retta OliverMom, affiliate marketer, cross stitcher, writer, blogger, wife, finder of lost shoes…Loretta Oliver, married to the comic book geek of her dreams and mother of four boys ages 10 to 14, has been working from home full time since 2001, starting out working for others and gradually moving into working for herself. Now she has a busy transcription service business, two profitable blogs, and a host of other internet marketing projects on her virtual resume. She recently started up the VA Helper Blog and Podcast in order to connect with other VAs where she offers help and support along with her co-authors, myself included.

Here’s her story:

What inspired you to become a Virtual Assistant?

I sort of fell into being a virtual assistant by accident. I’ve been working from home since 2001, but not always as a virtual assistant or as a transcriptionist. It took me awhile to get to that point.

2001 was a bit of a rough year for me. I had my youngest son in February of 2001 and I went back to work less than 2 weeks after he was born. February of 2001 was just plain crazy – Ethan was born, but then right after that Noah was very sick and was in the hospital for several days and I had to stay at the hospital with him during that time. And as soon as all that was over I was back to work full time 40 to 60 hours a week as the evening manager in a telemarketing office where we not only did the selling, we did our own collections in-house as well.

By September 11 2001, I realized that I was really not happy with this job anymore, I didn’t like some of the business practices that were going on behind the scenes, and I started looking for something that I could do part time from home. I wanted to spend more time with the kids and less time in the office, so that was my initial goal. I’m sure that’s a realization that a lot of people in the United States had at that time, I think we all ran on pure emotion for weeks afterward.

The first thing I found was WAHM.com, which back in 2001 was a great resource for someone that wanted to work from home. These days in 2010, not so much, but that’s a totally different topic.

I knew from being there that it was possible and there were people making money working from home, so in December of 2001 I walked into the office on my birthday and said, “I quit.” Handed in my keys, cleaned out my desk, and I have worked at home ever since. Anyway, I’m rambling a bit there…

How did you go about getting started as a virtual assistant?

Totally by accident. I was working online jobs doing document coding and proofreading work while learning how to put together a website, learning some HTML on the side when I had time. I started doing virtual assistant work without even realizing that’s what I was doing. Someone would ask how to do something in a chat room or on a message board and I would tell them how I did that task, then sometimes they would say, “Can you do it for me? I’ll pay you $XX.” And it just sort of happened.

So I started offering general virtual assistant services for $10 per hour to see what would happen. When I first started I was doing pretty much whatever came in; someone would fill out my contact form and tell me what they wanted done and if it was something I knew how to do I would take the project, I didn’t really have any structure back then. Over the past eight or nine years I’ve really narrowed things down and now I’m at the point where I’m focused on the transcription work and not offering all those generalized things. Focusing in like that really helped me to be able to take more projects and manage my time better.

Did you have any savings or financial support in order to start your business?

“Financial support” and “savings” were not in my vocabulary when I got started, but I was very familiar with “debt” and “small budget.”

Was there ever a point when you thought it wouldn’t work out?

There were MANY points when I thought it wouldn’t work out. I can’t even begin to go over them all. Sometimes there would be a slow week, or a slow month, and I’d wonder if I was doing things all wrong or if I needed to change it up and do something else. My husband teases me that I need to learn to be as patient with myself as I am with our kids.

Did you have the support you needed to start your business such as a family member/significant other/mentor/coach?

I’m very lucky in the fact that my husband has always been supportive of my decisions. I think there were a few moments there in the beginning stages where he was probably worried about if it would be enough money to replace my previous income, but he never said so out loud. He would ask if I needed anything, he would take the kids to the park or a movie for awhile if I needed time to finish a client project, just little things like that made life easier. Even now he’s extremely supportive and we make our schedules work. He heads off to work pretty early so I get everyone ready for school and pack lunches, Brian works full time at his day job and then comes home to cook dinner and run the kids to baseball, basketball, and golf practices in the evenings. He even puts up with me staying up until 2:00 am working on side projects and client files.

If you could go back and change one thing you did when starting out, what would that be?

Well, I took a really round-about way to get to where I am and it took me a few years of working at home to realize what I wanted to actually DO, but knowing me I probably would take the same winding crazy messy path to get here.

What is your best advice for someone considering becoming a Virtual Assistant?

Don’t get caught up in overanalyzing and torture yourself by thinking about doing it for two years, just jump in there and give it a shot. If it doesn’t work out at first, that’s absolutely okay, failure happens and we learn from it. You can try something else… That’s the nice thing about the internet, it’s flexible and you can try new things until you find the best fit for you.

You can connect with Loretta on Twitter: @retta719. She’s always up for a chat! And don’t forget, she’s the host of the VA Helper Podcast at www.vahelper.com, which also includes free reports and tips for service based virtual assistant businesses of all types.

 

Start up Stories: Tess Strand, Virtual Assistant Forums

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This article is one in a series called Start up Stories. These stories are about women I’ve come to know and admire who are successful in the Virtual Assistant industry. My hope is that they serve as inspiration for you, proving that, regardless of your current situation or obstacles, it is truly possible for you to live the lifestyle you want.

Tess Strand photoTess Strand began freelancing as a virtual assistant in 2005 while traveling and living in India for an extended period of time. Interested in facilitating others’ business goals Tess founded the popular online community for VAs, Virtual Assistant Forums. In an effort to continue to bring quality information to aspiring VAs, Tess authored the Become a Virtual Assistant eBook, available at the Virtual Assistant Forums website. She is also the founder of Virtual Assistantville, a premium directory of professional virtual assistants dedicated to evangelizing the industry and educating business owners on working with professional VAs. Tess recently authored The Smart Business Owner’s Guide to Virtual Assistance a guide for business owners considering professional virtual business support as an alternative to in-house employees.

Here’s her story:

What inspired you to become a Virtual Assistant and how did you get started?

I believe in serendipity wholeheartedly and I’m sure it’s no coincidence that I discovered the virtual assistant industry right around the time I was running out of funds to continue to pay for my portable lifestyle. I’d been in India for about two years at that point and while the fashion shows and Bangalore radio voiceover gigs I’d been doing for a few months for income had been a lot of fun I knew that if I wanted to remain in the country for the long-haul I needed American dollars.

I started looking on Craigslist for something I could do and there was a consultant to the New York publishing industry looking for a ‘virtual assistant’ – a term I’d never heard before. In reading through her job description I realized I would be perfect for it. I sent her an email with my information and we were working together – me in India, her in NYC – within the week.

Did you have any savings or financial support in order to start your business?

Because I was living in India when I started working virtually I wasn’t burdened with the usual credit card debts, high rent/mortgage costs, etc. that we’re used to in the west. I think my apartment cost about $85 a month and the internet connection I had installed so that I could work was maybe $30 a month (VERY expensive by local standards). I had the laptop I’d brought with me from the States and learned very quickly to utilize free or inexpensive online faxing and file sharing services. It was literally just me and my laptop at that time – and given the inexpensive lifestyle in a country like India (even as a traveler) I didn’t feel the strain of startup that I know some of my colleagues have had to endure.

With all of that said, one thing those early days taught me is that you don’t need a decked out home office, a pricey phone system, an expensive printer, or a fancy scanner to get up and running. I didn’t even have a cell phone at that time but used Skype instead. While I have certainly grown accustomed to having an iPhone now that I’m back in the States I still don’t use a printer and I am essentially a paperless practice.  It’s still pretty much just me and my laptop. 🙂

Was there ever a point when you thought it wouldn’t work out?

When I first moved back to the United States after living in or traveling to and working from places like India, Nepal, Iran, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Singapore for the previous four years I was a little nervous about the transition. Would I be able to raise my rates appropriately and still keep all of the clients in my now-full virtual assistance practice. I had been taking clients by referral only for nearly three years at that point so I had done zero marketing – and it was a concern, knowing that I would have to charge a lot more, and manage a pretty complicated move while still keeping client projects moving and upcoming deadlines in mind.

In the end though, it was fine. With open communication with my clients about rates, the move, and what would be intermittent availability while I got settled, it all worked out. And I didn’t realize how widespread wi-fi was in the U.S. – so I landed at my hotel and was able to get to work on a few loose ends that first night back.

What is your best advice for someone considering becoming a Virtual Assistant?

Because of my role as founder and curator of Virtual Assistant Forums, I see people enter (and leave) the industry all the time – they often come in timid, uncertain, feeling intimidated by what they see as a community of successful VAs. And while many of the members at VAF are very successful (there are numerous 6-figure VAs on our boards) there are members at all levels of business development and we all work together to share information and support. Some of those VAs make success look easy, and that can be intimidating – but it’s important to remember that even those 6-figure VAs started right where you are. They had a first day, first consultation, first client, first project… we’ve ALL been there.

I remember looking at another small business forum (before I’d started VAF) and feeling like every single person on that board knew a million times more than I did and had so much more experience than I could ever hope to have (and I’d been working as a VA at that point for a few months already!). I understand the self doubt – even if you’re really excited about working toward your dreams to open your own virtual assistant business those fears naturally creep in. But it’s so important not to let that fear be the driving force behind any decisions you make about what you are capable of doing.

There are no hard and fast rules about who can or can’t call themselves a virtual assistant (although there are some who would like you to believe otherwise.) The internet allows people to reinvent themselves every single day. As long as you have the drive, the commitment, and the fortitude to either hone or learn the skills your potential clients will be relying on your for there is nothing that can stop you from being an awesome VA and a very successful business owner.

To connect with Tess (and an entire community of awesome virtual assistants) sign up for a free membership at Virtual Assistant Forums!

 

Start up Stories: Michelle Dale, Virtual Miss Friday

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This article is one in a series called Start up Stories. These stories are about women I’ve come to know and admire who are successful in the Virtual Assistant industry. My hope is that they serve as inspiration for you, proving that, regardless of your current situation or obstacles, it is truly possible for you to live the lifestyle you want.

Michelle Dale PhotoMichelle Dale is an accomplished online business consultant and Virtual Assistant who has been in the industry for 7 years, developing her business while traveling through 6 countries. Along the way she met her husband and now has 2 children. Michelle has expanded www.virtualmissfriday.com into a multi-6 figure, multi-VA team supporting a global client base. In addition to working with clients she now mentors colleagues in the industry with achieving their own online service business goals through her business programmes, resources and one-on-one mentorship.

Here’s her story:

What inspired you to become a Virtual Assistant?

When I was 23 I quit my job, sold everything and booked a one-way ticket to Egypt from the UK to begin a new life. At the time I had no idea how long I was going to be gone, or what I was going to do for a living. Once I arrived and started settling into my new life I quickly realised that I didn’t want it to end, and if I was able to start a business online I could potentially keep this kind of lifestyle going indefinitely.

At that point I began researching possibilities of businesses I could operate online, I came upon virtual assistance and then decided that would be the perfect choice for me, 7 years later, I’m still doing it, I’m still maintaining the same lifestyle and I have never looked back.

How did you go about getting started?

I began researching on the internet everything I could possibly find on running a service based business online, I also read a lot about internet marketing and online business in general, since I knew I would not be able to find clients locally, I needed the ability to work globally.

From there I discovered I’d need a website and decided to learn Photoshop and Dreamweaver to build it myself, it was a huge learning curve for me having come from more of a financial banking and mortgage background, despite it being intense, it was a lot of fun and I discovered I had a creative passion which I wasn’t aware of in my former life. Being entirely self-taught I then began servicing some ‘guinea pig’ clients free of charge to test all my theories before moving into paying clients.

Did you have any savings or financial support in order to start your business?

No, I had a notebook laptop and no money to financially support the business, but I had moved to Egypt where the cost of living was very low, which allowed me to live very economically while I went through initial stages every start-up goes through.

Was there ever a point when you thought it wouldn’t work out?

This is an interesting question, in fact, I probably went through that point every 6 months, and I don’t think any business owner who is always striving to do better ever stops going through that point, it’s just that the goal posts change. There were various targets I aimed for to truly consider my business to have worked out how I would have liked it to, and when I reached those targets, I created new ambitions and goals, and I often considered whether they would work out or not, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether they do or don’t, what matters is that we always try, give it everything we have and never give up.

Did you have the support you needed to start your business in terms such as a family member/significant other/coach/group/mentor?

No, in fact when I started my business I was completely alone, in a new country, no close friends, no family. I would have loved a mentor but at the time they were hard to come by in this type of business, and I didn’t feel like I could really relate to anyone in the VA industry, I wanted a different type of business, so I tended to be drawn to more successful entrepreneurs in general sense through reading their blogs and advice. About a year into my journey when I was just starting to find my feet with it all, I met my husband, and he was incredibly supportive, and now works in Virtual Miss Friday with me.

If you could go back and change one thing that you did when starting out, what would that be?

I wouldn’t change a thing, although I made some pretty costly mistakes over the years, I believe every mistake I made was of significant importance to my success today. The fact I made them allows me to confidently know I am giving the best advice and support to my colleagues in the VA industry, based on actual personal experience.

What is your best advice for someone considering becoming a Virtual Assistant?

The best piece of advice I can give is to find someone who you can look up to or aspire to be like, and then learn, learn, learn as much as you can from them. If you look at their VA business and you say to yourself, “that’s where I want to be” then try to find a way to get into their brain and pick it as much as you can. It will fast-track your own success rapidly.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Learn to listen, learn to be patient, be determined, find what drives you – never give up.

Would you like Michelle to help you with your business and success online? Visit her learning centre at www.TheVARoadmap.com where she has created a complete range of programmes and resources based on her experiences of developing her own multi-6 figure VA business at www.virtualmissfriday.com.

 

 

Start up Stories: Michelle Mangen, Your Virtual Assistant

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This article is one in a series called Start up Stories. These stories are about women who are successful in the Virtual Assistant industry. My hope is that they serve as inspiration for you, proving that, regardless of your current situation or obstacles, it is truly possible for you to live the lifestyle you want.

Michelle MangenMichelle is the single mom with a teenager, understands the challenges of running a home-based business and being the sole source of income. She launched her VA business, Your Virtual Assistant, in 2008 following a career in property management and construction. Michelle works primarily with solopreneurs in a wide range of industries who need bookkeeping support and general administrative help. Here’s her story:

What inspired you to become a Virtual Assistant?

The nutshell version – in 2006 I went to London to visit a friend. While there I read a romance novel and the main character in the book was a Virtual Assistant. At the time I had no idea if it was really an industry or something made up for the purposes of the story. I went to Google and discovered….yes, it was indeed an industry.

Fast forward to the winter of 2007. At the time I was living in Wisconsin and was driving 99 miles (one-way) to work. That particular winter was brutal, with approximately 100 inches of snowfall. Needless to say my drive time was horrendous and scary. By the end of the winter I knew I just couldn’t do it anymore. I went into my boss’ office in March 2008 and told him that before December of 2008 they had to replace me.

It wasn’t until July 2008 that I gave serious thought to starting my own business. I did a lot of research and knew I had the skill set and ambition to launch and manage my own Virtual Assistant business. I launched December 1, 2008.

How did you go about getting started?

All the wrong ways probably! I knew so little about the internet then – I was regularly on the internet but always for a very specific purpose. I found a website I liked (for a therapist, not even a Virtual Assistant) and hired the guy who designed her site. Over the course of Sept-Nov 2008 we talked on the phone and he gave me some coaching/consulting and built out my website. I hired a copywriter to do my writing as I hate writing, especially when it comes to talking about myself.

Did you have any savings or financial support in order to start your business?

I did not have any savings or financial support when starting my business. I financed most of my business startup costs on credit cards. Luckily my employer had waited until the 11th hour to replace me so I had about 20 hours of work per month from them at a much higher rate than I was going to charge new, incoming clients.

Was there ever a point when you thought it wouldn’t work out?

Getting clients at the beginning was hard. I soon learned that just having a website was not nearly enough.  For the first year I cried myself to sleep more times than I wish to count. I have a son (and get no child support) so it was crucial that I managed to feed him. I was making a substantial salary in my job and in my first year of business I earned about $22,000 (gross).  I began paying for necessities on credit cards. Before starting my own business I had no credit card debt so it was incredibly mentally difficult for me to go so far into debt in order to make my dream a reality. By year two I earned over $60,000 and years three and four have both been six-figure years.

Did you have the support you needed to start your business in terms such as a family member/significant other/coach/group/mentor?

I was discouraged with finding clients when I first started so I signed up for a Michael Port coaching program (paid for it on a credit card). It was worth every penny. While it didn’t necessarily bring me more clients I did implement a lot of changes to things I already had in place.

If you could go back and change one thing that you did when starting out, what would that be?

The cliché “Hindsight is 20/20” certainly applies to me. I would do a lot of things differently if I were to “do it all over again”. Here are the most important ones.

  • I would take some type of virtual assistant course from others who have been there, done that.
  • I would have gotten my blog started much sooner.
  • While having a website is necessary in our business SEO is an important aspect that shouldn’t be overlooked.

What is your best advice for someone considering becoming a Virtual Assistant?

The best advice I can give to someone who is just starting out (or considering becoming a VA) is to start building relationships now. Join groups, networks and forums (such as Virtual Assistant Forums). The relationships you nurture will become a key part of getting more clients and a network in place. Don’t exclude anyone (well, except spammers!) as you never know who knows someone who needs what you offer.

In closing, I’ve learned so much over the past four years and putting it into one post would take forever. I truly believe with the proper mindset, systems and relationships things will work out. Be open and willing to learn new things. Invest in yourself and your business. Yes, I still have a bunch of credit card debt but I don’t pay for anything on them anymore.

Join Michelle and Tess, founder of Virtual Assistant Forums on Thursday, February 7th, 2013 at 6:00 PM ET for a free call and Q&A session. The topic will be “Things I Wish I Knew Before I Got Started”. You can sign up here to get a reminder and call-in details.

You are also invited to register for Michelle’s six-week online “Becoming a Virtual Assistant” Course which will be starting on Tuesday, Feb. 12th.

 

Start up Stories: Amy Marre, The Transcriptress

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This article is one in a series called Start up Stories. These stories are about women who are successful in the Virtual Assistant industry. My hope is that they serve as inspiration for you, proving that, regardless of your current situation or obstacles, it is truly possible for you to live the lifestyle you want.

Amy_MarreAmy Marre is the author of a bestselling Kindle book about the ins and outs of transcribing on Mechanical Turk. She’s a Turker herself, as well as a freelance writer and blogger, not to mention a refugee from the more traditional world of publishing (the non-writing side). Amy’s mission is to help Turkers discover transcription as a viable income path, within and beyond Mechanical Turk. She also hopes to show the world that Turking is a surprisingly useful source of side income, debunking the very common myth that one can only make a few pennies a day on the service. She’s also visited here before with a guest post. Here’s her story:

What inspired you to get into transcription?

I had done a little transcription on the side when I was in school—nothing serious, just helping out a friend with a big research project. So when I started working on Mechanical Turk (known as “Turking” by those who do it regularly) for a little extra income, I was intrigued to find that transcription was one type of work you could do there for money.

I tried it and found I really liked it, including the learning curve. Although I was only Turking for some side income, it made sense to me to only do the work that paid me the best and that I enjoyed the most. Transcription was one of the few types of Turking tasks that fit both requirements, so I stuck with it.

How did you go about getting started?

The great thing about Mechanical Turk is that as a marketplace system, once you’re in, you can do most forms of work that they have. For each type of Turking work, that involves fewer hoops to jump through than you might have if you were trying to get into that industry in the world outside of Turk. Even transcription-company tests inside of Turk, I’ve since found out, are not nearly what they are outside of Turk! In most cases, the work itself is expected to weed out those who seem not to be able to get it.

So, because I was already on Mechanical Turk (something anyone living in the US can do, after a 48-hour waiting period), I just took the fairly basic qualification tests for each transcription company as I found them, and was able to begin transcribing that way. But you’ll notice I said “as I found them”—that’s because sometimes, on Turk, the challenge is discovering who offers the work you want to do!

Although you can just search Mechanical Turk for a given type of work, it’s useful to narrow your field only to companies that are reputable. So that was a process of research on Turker forums and other sources, to find out which company I wanted to work for based on pay, management, work availability—those types of things.

Did you have any savings or financial support in order to start your business?

I was lucky to already have another source of income. It needed supplementing, but I knew that if transcribing on Turk didn’t work out, there were other types of work on Mechanical Turk (surveys, categorizing, writing) that could serve the purpose of providing the side income I sought. And if none of those worked out, then I knew I could always move off of Turk and try other things. (I am the type of person who usually approaches these things with a plan B!) But for some reason, I really wanted to make Turking work. And transcribing seemed like a good way to do that.

Was there ever a point when you thought it wouldn’t work out?

Honestly, no. I was fortunate. Transcribing as a Turker worked out well for me, and I didn’t have any serious bad experiences. I mean, having to transcribe to specific styles was definitely much more involved than I had done in previous transcription. However, I was familiar with the concept of style from publishing, so that probably gave me a leg up on getting comfortable with what was involved.

Also, I’m an accurate listener and a little obsessive, so I equipped with the traits to transcribe well. Maybe the hardest thing was that I tended to go over things too many times in the beginning! But that was never a deal breaker. I just figured I’d get faster with experience, and I did.

Did you have the support you needed to start your business in terms such as a family member/significant other/coach/group/mentor?

I found the Turker forums to be useful in terms of general information. I’m one of those information junkies who usually feels that if I can teach myself enough about something, I can do well at it! It turned out to be true for transcribing. I also have a very supportive family who were patient with my process, so that was great. And because I asked so many questions, I ended up becoming friendly with staff members at certain Turk transcription companies, who were thankfully also patient and ended up being a good source of support, too.

If you could go back and change one thing that you did when starting out, what would that be?

Hm, I think I did it all in a way that suited me: tons of research on the work in general and on the companies, then more research and trial and error to find out how to do the work well. I guess I could list a bunch of things that I wished I would have known, or resources that I wish had been available.

But, well, that was why I wrote the transcription-help book and blog that I did, so others could avoid having to go through so much trial and error and get started more effectively. Based on what I know was out there at the time, I feel that I armed myself as best I could. I did find out that there is a lot of information to digest, before you can really get a solid grasp of what the business is like on MTurk. But I think that is true of many work-at-home income opportunities, at least if you’re doing them seriously.

What is your best advice for someone considering becoming a transcriptionist with Mechanical Turk?

I would tell them that typing speed is not the important thing! It’s all about providing an accurate, grammatical, style-consistent transcript. That’s helped along by being a little obsessive and developing your listening skills. So although a lot of people approach me about how they can type faster, I believe this work is about being good at understanding the context of what someone is saying. And then, of course, being able to type fast enough is very useful. But it’s not a typing job first. First, it’s about being a fluent listener.