Starting a Virtual Assistant Business during a Recession

There's a rumor going around that it's a bad time to be a small business owner. To that, I say… please keep your rumor mongering to yourself. This could be the perfect time to start a virtual assistant business.

I've been working as a virtual assistant since 2004, almost 5 years, and this month I'm bringing in my biggest monthly paycheque yet.

I'm not the only one experiencing this phenomenon either. As business owners have to find ways to get more done with less money, many more of them are turning to virtual assistants to help them out.

If you're considering starting a virtual assistant business, don't let the media reports put you off. Instead, do your own research. Talk to other VAs. Research your market. Discover what services you could offer that would make their lives a lot easier right now. Then make your own decision about whether or not this is a good time to start a virtual assistant business.

Even though it's a good time to start a virtual assistant business, it's not a good time to waste your time and money figuring out how to do so. If you want to cover all your bases, and get your Virtual Assistant business going quickly, I would recommend you find a mentor to get you on the right track, and keep you there. Otherwise you could make a lot of costly mistakes.

Another affordable alternative is to purchase a virtual assistant training program, like the Virtual Business Startup System. This program walks you through all the steps of researching your market, writing your business plan, and even getting your first clients. It's the same system I used when I started my business, and I still follow the principles I learned from the program, so you know it really works.

Best of luck on making your virtual business a reality!

How Do I Find a Virtual Assistant for My Business?

I received a dm today from one of my Twitter pals, wanting to know if a VA could help her. She had realized that it would save her time and money to outsource some of her marketing tasks, but she wasn't sure how a VA could help - or how to go about finding the right VA for her business.

If you've been thinking about working with a VA, but haven't been sure where to start, you might find my response helpful as well:

Hello,

I know what you mean… I outsource some of my own business tasks to other VAs and it’s frustrating when I have to track down my projects, or get them back only to find out they were done incorrectly.

From what you described, a virtual assistant could definitely be a good choice for you. I’m a member of VAnetworking.com and they offer a free resource that might help you. It’s called Finding the Ultimate Virtual Assistant for Your Business and you can download it on their blog.

It’s also a very good idea to ask for references, and I would be very reluctant to work with any VA who isn’t prepared to provide them.

In my own virtual assistant business, I specialize in article and press release marketing. So, I help my clients get targeting web traffic for their businesses by writing and submitting articles and press releases for them. That’s one type of online marketing that’s very effective and can get good results quickly.


I hope this helps you begin thinking about the possibilities!

Why Your Virtual Assistant Business Needs a Professionally Designed Logo

I began 2008 thinking it was time to start treating my business like a real business. That meant it was time to start investing real money.

How did I come to that conclusion?

Well, in 2007, I had listened to a free teleseminar with Kathleen Gage where she talked about how to make real money online... One of the things she said was that people were often impressed by the amount of money she makes. (Kathleen, it was a long time ago, so please forgive me for my rough paraphrase!) Her response to that was, with everything she invests in her business, she expects to make a lot of money.

Of course, spending money blindly isn't going to help you either. You have to know what things are important to spend money on, and what things you can get away with doing on the cheap.

Your logo is worth spending money on, and that was my first big investment of 2008. I was using a logo I had created with my limited Photoshop skills, and it certainly didn't convey what my business was about. So, I contacted Lara at Designed by Lara. She created a beautiful logo that I felt captured the professional, but fun, approach I take to my business.

You can see it below, but it looks much nicer in action here.

Everyone says a logo is important because it helps build your brand... but I realized very quickly that a good logo also affects how YOU feel about your business. Kind of like how my day can't start until I wash my hair and put a bit of makeup on. Knowing my logo looked good made me feel like I was really ready for business, and I wanted to work even harder at making WAHM Articles succeed.

If you're thinking 2009 is the year you want to start making some real money from home, maybe it's time to invest in your logo too.

If you're thinking this is the year you're ready to get your virtual assistant business off the ground, the Virtual Business Startup System comes with some professional looking logo templates you can use to get your business off on the right foot.

Next time, I'll share another of my wise investments. And if you're thinking of starting a virtual assistant business, you'll really like this one!

My Personal Best (and Worst) of 2008

2008 has been quite a rollercoaster year for my Virtual Assistant business! At the beginning of the year, I still considered myself on sabbatical from the VA business I launched in 2005, and I wasn't even sure when I would be ready to return to work.

The end of 2008 finds me with an exciting year behind me.

• I'm involved again as a member and volunteer at VAnetworking.com, the very best place for successful and aspiring VAs online.
  
• I have amazing new clients, exciting new ideas of what a virtual assistant business can look like, (no more cookie cutter websites and businesses for me!)
• I'm a lot smarter and I have a much better sense of my direction than I did 10 or 11 months ago.
  

I also began this year with a renewed desire to treat my business like a "real" business. No more playing around and staying in the safe zone. I decided if this was ever going to become the business I want, I would have to be willing to invest real money, make strong commitments. I was ready to take risks - when I made mistakes, I wanted them to be big, but my successes would be even bigger.

This month, I'm taking some time to reflect on what I've done, what worked well, what was a miserable failure, and where I want to be by this time next year.

Over the next several days, I'll be sharing my best and worst moments of 2008 with you here. But before I start spilling all mine, I'd like to ask you about yours!

Here are some of the questions I've been asking myself. How would you answer them? If you'd like to share your answers below, I'd love to read them. I think we can all learn from each others' experiences.

What was your best decision?

What was your biggest mistake?

Best money spent?

Worst time waster?

What do you want to differently in 2009?

Writing a Tagline for Your Virtual Assistant Business

Does your new Virtual Assistant business need a tagline? I always thought mine did... my first online business had one that was kind of catchy (I thought): "Write solutions for your small business."

It was even easy to come up with a tagline for this blog!

But it's been two years since I've owned WAHM Articles, and I still can't come up with anything I really, really like! But, maybe I've been banging my head against a brick wall for nothing. Here's a different perspective on whether or not you should have a tagline for your business.

What Do Taglines Do? by Colleen Davis

Are taglines really that necessary for a business?

That’s a difficult question to answer because there are so many different companies who approach the subject in a wide variety of ways. Some companies are known for their taglines. Who doesn’t know that Nike’s tagline is Just Do It? They managed to make their tagline such a major part of their business that they were able to embrace it as part of their brand name.

But other businesses have taglines I’ve never even heard of. There are some large companies that actually do have taglines but so rarely use them that I have to question if it was worth making one to begin with. For other companies they might have a tagline that was initially big but eventually faded from their company’s identity until most people around today really don’t know what it is.

So should you consider getting one for your company?

Taglines give you a chance to further shape your brand name. Your company name, logo, and tagline will likely be the three most important factors in forming a strong brand name. The more ways you have of getting people to remember you the better the odds are of getting your name widely known.

Consider the impact a tagline might have on something like custom business cards. A catchy, perhaps funny tagline might be just what your business cards need to give them that extra edge. When people see the tagline they’ll quickly remember who you are, or they might learn something more about your business, though that depends on the tagline.

Some taglines are made to specifically describe some aspect of the business, or some part of their company’s goals. Others, like the Just Do It tagline, are more about evoking a specific emotion or feeling rather than describing anything about the company itself.

One test you can use to consider whether or not a tagline is needed is to figure out just how strong your corporate identity would be if you didn’t have one. Could you get custom business cards that have a strong enough brand name already that you don’t really need that extra touch? If you feel that your brand name is capable of standing on its own already, or if you feel your logo is enough, perhaps you could just ignore taglines altogether.

If you are going to make tagline be sure that you keep it short and to the point. Taglines are a lot like logos in that they’re meant to help a person better remember a business. If you start to get too long or complicated with your tagline than no one is going to remember them.

The best taglines are typically only a few words long, and this helps them stick with people. Often they’ll create some strong emotion or be funny enough to help a person recall them.

It can be rather difficult to come up with a good tagline, which is why I would suggest really considering whether or not you need one before you do anything else.

For more information, you can visit this page on business card printing and custom business cards

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

So what do YOU think? Does your VA business really need a tagline? I'm beginning to think that maybe no tagline is better than the wrong tagline.

When It's Time to Turn Down the Perfect Project

Yesterday, I had to tell a prospective client that I was not the best choice for her next project. It really hurt me to do that, because this is someone I would LOVE to work with, and her project is a perfect fit for what I do.

One thing I have learned this year, though, is to manage my time carefully. If I don't value it, no one else will either.

These days, with my neck injury, I only have a few hours a week I can do any activity at all. I can choose to spend that time maintaining relationships with the wonderful clients I already have. Or I can put it all into a new client, a new project, and let everything else fall by the wayside.

I've decided for me, the right thing to do this time was to say no to this "perfect" project. Because if it was really a perfect project for me, the timing would be perfect too.

10 Critical Tips for Clearing Office Clutter

I haven't been able to work very much these past few days, due to a neck injury. Thank goodness for my awesome Virtual Assistant who keeps everything under control when I can't!

But I found this article that was recently published on my article directory, and thought I could type long enough to share it with you. :) As 2008 is winding down, it's a good time to declutter our offices, our minds and our businesses. Enjoy!

10 Critical Tips for Clearing Office Clutter by Janet Nusbaum, The Organizing Genie

Having trouble finding your desk amidst the clutter? Follow these easy steps, consistently, and you'll experience greater focus and productivity as a result.

1. Define the purpose of each space in your office and be sure that everyone who shares the space understands how it is to be used.

2. Keep only high-use items on your desktop - computer, telephone, project files, good lighting, notepaper, stapler, To Do list, calendar/planner, and only what you are working on right now.

3. Use vertical space around your desk effectively - put photos and calendars on your wall, not on your desktop.

4. Organize supplies in a desk drawer organizer or supply drawer within “fingertip reach” of your desk chair.

5. Place a wastebasket, recycling bin, and/or shredder where you process your mail.

6. Trim the F.A.T. - File, Act, Toss. Professional Organizer, Barbara Hemphill tells us that the only choices we have for dealing with paper is to File it, Act on it, or Toss it.

7. Create zones in your workspace for incoming and outgoing paper, filing and a work surface. Resist co-mingling each zone.

8. Create an Action File System and place all "action required" items in the system. The Action File System works in-conjunction with your calendar. Simplified Spaces can help you implement this system in your office or home.

9. File non-action required papers in an accessible "reference file system"

10. Schedule office clean-up/organizing on your calendar, or you will always lean toward a competing priority. Face it … most of us would prefer to do about anything else than to spend a day organizing their office or home.

Being clear about what activities you want to perform in your workspace and where, having clear surfaces in which to work, and the tools you need to perform those activities in easy access, will significantly improve what you're able to accomplish in a day. In the process, you'll reduce your stress level and free up time and energy for what matters most.

This is an preview from our upcoming booklet "The Simplified Office - A Complete Guide to Clear Office Clutter for Good!

Janet Nusbaum, AKA The Organizing Genie, an Organizing Consultant, Speaker, Coach and author of 'Mom, Can I Help Around the House?' helps individuals, families and businesses organize life and navigate transitions. Grab a copy of Janet's FREE special report "Shelf Life of 75 Common Household Products" here, http://www.TheSimplifiedHome.net. Get even more help deciding what to keep and what to toss by visiting her blog - http://www.TheOrganizingGenie.com.


Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com