When you’re ready to begin interviewing for a virtual assistant, use these six criteria to make sure you’re bringing in the right person to your team.

When you’re ready to begin interviewing for a virtual assistant, use these six criteria to make sure you’re bringing in the right person to your team.
Take a look at your to-do list, are there tasks on there that are taking away the time you should be using on your business? If so, it’s probably time to start looking for a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant (also called a VA) can free you from the administrative tasks that aren’t an effective use of your entrepreneurial time. One advantage of a virtual assistant is that they work remotely and as needed so you don’t have to spend as much as you would for an employee that works on site, all the time .. you know, the clock punchers. So .. ready to contract a VA for your business? If you are, here are some tips on finding one and working with one successfully.
A common dilemma that many who are starting out on their entrepreneurial journey as a virtual assistant face is: What should I charge for my rate? They look at their competitors and set their price on the lower end of the price range that they observed .. or worse, compare to those rates on bid-to-hire sites, which are notoriously low. The reasoning behind this seems to make sense, they want to compete and they don’t want the price tag to be the reason they didn’t get that customer. So let me be clear: This is NOT a good strategy. Period.
Considering entering the virtual assistant industry? There are a lot of attractive benefits: no commute, no office dramas, and possible the freedom to make your own hours. If you’re new to being a VA, here are some tips to help get you started.
Training your virtual assistant requires the use of certain tools to better equip them to function in the capacity that a client requires. While video is an option, sometimes screen sharing is a faster and easier option than producing a video. While there are many choices, here are three options to get you started.
How often do you use the word “no” to protect your time, productivity and creativity? You are probably aware of the power of “no” when it comes to the concept of time-management as a whole, but you may have overlooked it purely as a technique to boost your productivity and more so to your creative output.
Are you going to stop in at the Small BIZ VT Summit this week and have a meet & greet with some of Vermont’s small business assets? Held at Burlington’s Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, this first time event is going to be great, so come on down!
People too frequently confuse affordable with cheap; I see the two as being very different from each other. Cheap is exactly that, it costs very little and has no value. Affordable on the other hand is measured not just in how much it cost, but in how much value that cost returned. Help your clients to see and identify the value in your service, what obstacles and challenges you will be able to help them overcome, how you will be able to help them move themselves and their business forward, and how much time you will be giving back to them.
Before you switch from working in a traditional office to working from a home office you will need to set a few rules. These are rules for both your family and for yourself and help keep you focused, and distractions to a minimum. If you have already made the switch, then hopefully you have already worked through these, but if not, read on to discover what you can do to regain some sanity, and get some work done. After all, this is why you became a virtual professional, right?
We aren’t all Project Managers by nature, but the role of a virtual assistant in business is evolving and suggests we will all need to acquire basic skills in project management. A large portion of the workforce already consists of people who grew up using social media and other social communication tools, giving rise to a work environment that is driven more by collaboration. How can you enhance your project management skills without additional training? By developing and adapting the following skills that you already have.