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Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: Instant Teleseminar

Instant Teleseminar is a great virtual event presentation platform. What I love about Instant Teleseminar is that it’s easy to use, and it’s really reliable. Your attendees can access the calls a few different ways: by telephone (with an option for local dial in numbers as well), by webcast or even by Skype. So you have a greater chance of people attending your event with these options. You can show powerpoint presentations, and you can even play pre-recording music or recordings into your presentation, to make them really dynamic. The calls record automatically so no worries about missed recordings. And my favourite feature is the Autopilot – so you can pre-record and the call will play back at your scheduled… Read More »Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: Instant Teleseminar

Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: Mailchimp

Mailchimp is an email service provider that has really caught on with people in the last year or so. It has had a free version for a long time, with some limitations, and many more people are starting to use the paid levels as well. What I like about Mailchimp is that their whole system is quite easy to use and I really like the reporting features they have. If you have fewer than 2,000 subscribers you can get a free account that allows you to send up to 12,000 total emails each month. That’s a lot if you don’t have a big list so it’s a good deal if you have the numbers. There are some quirks that I… Read More »Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: Mailchimp

Favourite Tools or Virtual Assistants: Carbonite

Carbonite is an online backup system that you can easily use to keep all of your files backed up regularly. It’s an annual fee of about $60 and when you install it you do a full backup once, and then Carbonite keeps updating new documents every day and keeping your backup current all the time. You don’t have to do anything else – no worry, no need to even think about it! One of my favourite features for Carbonite is that you can log in to your account online and you can access any of your files – anytime. So no need to worry if you are traveling or using another computer, you can grab what you need easily. I… Read More »Favourite Tools or Virtual Assistants: Carbonite

Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: GQueues

GQueues is an awesome way to keep your task list organized. It’s a simple task manager that you can access from anywhere, and it integrates with your Google Account too. You can set up as many ‘queues’ as you like, and add as many tasks to each queue as you need. It’s also got some great features, like sharing queues with others, tagging and much more. There is a free version, but the paid version is only $25/year and is more dynamic than the free version. If you are like me, and you like a simple to-do list to keep yourself organized, try GQueues. I use it to keep track of all of my client work and my business tasks,… Read More »Favourite Tools for Virtual Assistants: GQueues

3 Secrets to Building a Great Clientele For Your VA Business

When I talk to VAs about how their business is going, the biggest struggle I hear is that they are having trouble finding clients. So we dig a little deeper – to find out why they are having trouble. The main cause that usually comes up is that they are not marketing their services to anyone in particular. In fact, they are wasting a lot of their networking time because they are not being specific enough. There is the fear that if they are too specific they will have to turn away business from potential clients. That’s not true. You are welcome to work with anyone you want to! Marketing to a target industry is just good business planning –… Read More »3 Secrets to Building a Great Clientele For Your VA Business

What’s Your Earning Potential As a Virtual Assistant?

One of the questions I get asked often is how much money a VA can make. Well, the answer to that question is similar to the answer to this one: how long is a piece of string? The fact is that when you are a small business owner, you are the one in control of how much you earn in your business. If you want to have a small, part time business that allows you to be at home for your family and work around a busy schedule, then you can choose to do that. If you want to work full time as a solopreneurs, and work only during regular business hours, and you just want to replace the income… Read More »What’s Your Earning Potential As a Virtual Assistant?

The Never Ending Balancing Act

As a business owner, no doubt you have had some experience trying to balance your home and work lives at some point. The key to doing this well is to put some rules in place that you follow, and that others follow as well. For work-life balance there can sometimes be a fine line that needs to be amplified – so you don’t lose sight of what’s important at that time. On the one hand, you want to be sure that you don’t immerse yourself in work every waking hour of the day. My son has seen me using the laptop while we watch TV at night and he asks, ‘Mom are you working?’ but I’m really just on my… Read More »The Never Ending Balancing Act

It’s right in front of you!

As you reflect on what to do next in the various parts of your business, where you do you tend to look? Do you research on the ‘net for the latest trend? Do you get ‘shiny object syndrome’ – where you get easily distracted? Or do you look to where you have been already? Keeping up with trends and new stuff is a good idea in your business, but when you are looking to build your business, you could be looking away when you should be looking within. Think about all of the things you have done in your business to date. Maybe you have done research, or writing, or planning or strategizing. What have you done with all of… Read More »It’s right in front of you!