Virtual PR » Becoming a VA

Get started today as a VA…

admin — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:12:05 +0000

So do you want to become a Virtual Assistant yourself? The most efficient and effective way to be on the road to success with your new Virtual Assistant business is to have all the tools you need at your fingertips. And I have that complete VA business start-up system just waiting for you, all in one box!

Tawnya Sutherland is a longstanding virtual Assistant with many years experience under her belt. She has now released a fantastic 30 day course which is all you will need to get yourself set-up and started as a VA. Not only will it keep you well-organized and motivated, but you will also have the best VA toolbox available to build, maintain and grow your business in just 30 days.Plus you will have the expertise of Tawnya Sutherland, a Veteran Virtual Assistant, to help guide and keep you on the straight and narrow, along the way! Click here for further information & to sign up today: Virtual Assistant Course - Get Started todayThe course presently costs $495 or £250 (It is worth over $1500). When you consider how much you will be earning as a Virtual Assistant, this course will have paid for itself within a week of you working full-time. Or compare it to the cost of a year at college or university this wouldn’t even cover the cost of your study books, nevermind the annual fees (min $2000/£1200).

Click here for further information & to sign up today: Virtual Assistant Course - Get Started today

Virtual Assistant

£11.31

The importance of being organised in the workplace

admin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:40:17 +0000

Michael Faraday once said, “The five essential entrepreneurial skills for success are concentration, discrimination, organisation, innovation and communication.”

Organisation is a pillar in success. Without organisation one cannot work, create a successful career or think strategically. Organisation in the workplace is seen as unimportant – as long as you can find the papers, eventually, what does it matter? Well, honestly, it does. Without being organised at work you are at the risk of:

losing precious time
not being able to keep track of documents
spending more time on tasks than originally intended

Working at home is no different. You need to have your desk organised and have impeccable time management skills. You need to be professional and always, but always on time. This will increase your productivity in the office and help you with getting the right things done. Being more productive is not difficult once you have organised your workplace, whether it is at home or in an office.

When working from home, you must have a room for yourself where no one else enters. This is paramount to working from home and personal productivity as you need everything to be organised in your way and for nothing to get lost (or maybe eaten by a toddler!) – in short, a guarantee that anything that you leave in a certain place will be there when you are back the next morning. Among the best things you can do for your personal productivity is to ensure you have online organisation system and a filing system to help you stay focused on the task at hand and stop you from drifting into various other things that can crop up when you are working at home. You must also remember to organise your time properly – too much work and no play can not only ruin your personal relationships, but will impact on your work performance after a while.

All in all, remember why you are doing this – with the proper organisation, you can spend that extra time with your family that you wanted. Just remember, being organised takes less work than the other option – wasted time.

Dressing for working from home

admin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:12:51 +0000

Dressing for working from home - does putting a suit on help motivation or could I work in my pyjamas? If you work from home the debate of whether getting dressed for work in a home business or staying in comfortable clothes like your pyjamas is on your mind.

Working from home affords you a sense of freedom, in allowing you to do what you want, when you want to and how you want to. This includes being afforded the luxury of wearing whatever you want. There are no hassles of deciding what to wear. You don’t need to worry about make-up or making sure, if you are a man, that you are cleanly shaved. The question is: is this the right route to go? When asked, most people who work from home find that they miss deadlines, cannot focus and accomplish less. This contributes from the fact that they do not feel professional or under any sort of pressure. Working in your pyjamas might be comfortable but the frame of mind you are putting yourself in is not self-sustaining to a successful working in home atmosphere.

Dressing for work gives you the impression that you are a more professional candidate. It gives you the confidence and motivation to carry on in your work. Most people, who work from home, readily testify that dressing up for work at home can have a number of benefits. The benefits range from personal productivity, time management and business productivity. When you dress for work, you are giving yourself two personas. The professional at home and the home-maker. Being able to slip into these two roles will become easier once you set a schedule for yourself. When you are in your clothes for work, you will be able to focus on work because your clothes will reflect how you feel.

Leave the pyjamas for bed, the jeans for movies and dress up for work: you are worth it and so is your business.

Should I hire a Life coach? What are the benefits?

admin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:38:10 +0000

There was a time when life was simple. With the ever increasing demands on our daily lives, complex is now the new simple. It is because of this complexity that we need someone to guide us through the wilderness of life. A life coach is a modern version of a guardian angel, someone who helps you cope with the demands of life. A life coach will help your organize your life, maintain a balance between work and home or facilitate a strained relationship. You should hire a life coach for the following reasons if you want to:

solve a financial problem
achieve a enhanced balance between work and your home life
increase your efficiency and effectiveness
developing self-confidence or self-worth
develop your career
achieve more out of life
set realistic goals
increase the pleasure and excitement in your life

If you have answered yes to one or more of the above, then you should find a life coach. Using or hiring a life coach is paramount to leading a successful and structured life. The benefits of hiring an online life coach or either a personal life coach that can have face-to-face meetings with you will be well worth the money spent. A few of the benefits from gaining a life coach is having a sense of clarity when viewing where your life is at the moment, and where to move to from there. You will have a personal consultant with the expertise to help you with your particular problem, depending on their field of expertise. You will constantly have support when you fall into a problem or when you need to execute something. Your life will be filled with a sense of joy and energy. A personal life coach will help you organize your life and better manage your time. In a world where so much is happening, can you afford not to be without a life coach? As J.P. Morgan once said, ‘You can't pick cherries with your back to the tree’.

Cons of Virtual Assistance

admin — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:11:12 +0000

Although becoming a Virtual Assistant and working from a remote location is a fantastic opportunity for many people, to be really successful it is important to be efficiently set up and this is not always cheap from the outset.

You will need to purchase enough equipment to enable you to provide a good and continuous service to your clients. This means at least two PCs, probably a PC, Laptop and PDA would be ideal initially and most importantly a good back-up system. You are not going to be a home typist but a real business, which means you need to be reliable in all circumstances. You will also need plenty of office supplies such as paper, envelopes and ink.

If you do not have any spare cash then look at borrowing and speak to your local chamber of commerce or enterprise group for information on funding sources and good low rate loans. You will need a business plan in place to go this route but that is no bad thing - in fact it could be a great benefit to helping you see the bigger picture and plan carefully. I would strongly recommend you get a business plan in place before anything else. Be realistic about what you will earn before taking on any debt.

Whatever your reasons for wanting to become a Virtual Assistant (VA): You may want to become your own boss, be more independent, continue your active and highly professional working life but without commuting or other constraints found in corporate environments. Perhaps you need to be flexible with your working hours due to commitments or just want a better life/work balance or you may just want a second income. Do not ever lose sight of this, it will be your motivation & driving factor which will help you continue when times are hard.

There is no doubt that being a VA will have many benefits and fun aspects but you would be foolish to think it does not come with it's pitfalls too. The secret to being successful is being prepared for all eventualities and difficulties. Preparation is key to success.