I am going to start using Facebook Live. Haven’t tried it out yet. I tried Periscope and liked it but I could not save the videos to my phone for some reason so gave up on it. So I’m going to call it one of my favourite tools, because I watch a lot of people using it now, but this is a blind recommendation (for once!). Maybe I’ll circle back in a week or two and tell you my favourite things about it! 🙂 See you there!
We have talked before about how to make up service packages for your clients. Service packages help you to get paid for your expertise, they help you to specialize your services for a select group of clients, and they help your clients know exactly what they will get for their money. It can be a challenge to nail down your packages if you offer a wide variety of services, but once you do, the next step is to price them accordingly. If you are accustomed to billing by the hour, then you will actually be able to do this part more easily than you think. To set your rates, you first have to determine a billable rate. Your billable rate… Read More »Pricing Your Virtual Assistant Service Packages
Are you stuck on creating service packages for your Virtual Assistant business? You’re not alone. It’s one of the questions I get asked most often – how to create service packages. Virtual assistants know that when we charge clients for a package of services, we all benefit. Trading hours for dollars is not a bad business model, but there are downfalls to it. One of those downfalls is that you max out how much money you can actually earn. Because it is based solely on your time, and you only have so much time, you hit an earnings ceiling, and sometimes that happens very quickly. Or, if you choose to work 60 to 80 hour weeks to earn more money… Read More »How to Build a Virtual Assistant Service Package
Audacity is a free audio editing software that I use a lot in my business. My clients record their training calls and Audacity makes it very simple to edit the audio to add new sections, take out what we don’t want, and even merge two audios together. It’s an invaluable tool for me, because it helps me provide an add-on service for my clients. I also use it to do all of my own audio work. I really enjoy it! It’s got a lot of other great features too, like a sound mixer and audio recording software. I use it very simply in my business. 🙂 It is very easy to use too. What more could you ask for? Check it… Read More »Favourite Tools for VAs: Audacity
Here is a cool stat for you from a great infographic from Virgin Entrepreneur: 95% say face to face meetings are essential for long-term business relationships. Now I know we are all virtual professionals, and I’ve done my fair share of hiding behind my computer screen. ‘I don’t do in-person meetings.’ ‘I don’t do Skype or Facetime.’ ‘Thanks for the invitation to coffee, but I only do phone meetings.’ ‘You can only reach me via email. It’s how I work.’ I’ve said these things to my clients and potential clients. I still say them! BUT in terms of networking, there are many cases where meeting face to face (either in a small business setting or a large event) can really fast-track your business… Read More »7 Tips for Better Face to Face Networking Results
Square is such a handy payment tool. If you want to take credit cards in your business, it’s a simple solution whether you are doing business in person or over the Internet. It’s a simple device & app for your smartphone that allows you to process orders and send receipts to your customers. The money you collect gets deposited to your bank account the following day, making it faster than Paypal. The fee is slightly higher – about 3% – but can be worth it if you are at a live event or in my case this week Paypal wouldn’t accept my client’s credit card. (Paypal makes up its own rules sometimes!) So I ran it through my Square without… Read More »Favourite Tools for VAs: Square
Have you ever wanted to fire a client? The anxiety that comes with not being happy working with someone can paralyze you. I know, it’s happened to me. You open your email and you see their name. Your blood pressure rises. You read every little inflection in their emails with a negative voice. You complain to your colleagues (hopefully not on public social media!) and your family about said client. It’s time to fire them. But here’s the thing – it’s business, it’s not personal. That’s what we talk about in today’s training call: How to Fire a Client. There is a good process that you can use that will help you to still be a good business owner even… Read More »How to Fire a Virtual Assistant ClientÂ
If I were to ask you what your value is, how would you answer? It’s a bit of an open ended question but it’s a really important one to consider as a business owner. Do you actually know your own value? So many things we do in our business come down to the value we bring to the client. I tell all of my clients (and anyone else who will listen!) that people want to know two things: what you can do for them and how much it will cost them. That’s it. Nothing more! Both parts of this rely very heavily on how valuable you are to your clients. This training session is about recognizing what you bring to… Read More »Do You Know Your Own Value as a Virtual Assistant?