Before launching my own Virtual Assistant business myself, I made sure to work with other VAs and get educated on the industry.

Before jumping in with both feet into a new business, I tested the waters and realized this industry is growing at a rapid pace.

Before doing anything else, I watched many VAs stretch out on their own only to find it difficult to find, or keep, clients and give up within a year.

So I knew ahead of time, that I had to approach this whole VA business idea differently. I had to learn from everyone else’s mistakes and be extremely wise.

Number one mistake I saw over and over again was a poorly designed website. Unprofessional, sloppy design with HIRE ME written all over it. Now as I learn more and more about website design and how to word copy to attract your audience’s attention, I realize that it’s not something that comes naturally to most people. Yet, instead of hiring someone to do the job right, we VAs feel we have to do it all ourselves, manage every aspect or our business because that’s what we promote right?

WRONG!

We promote that by delegating, your business becomes a tad bit easier and in the long run, more successful.

So why aren’t VAs taking on their own advice? That’s mistake number 2!

But what really gets to me, are the VAs that simply offer general administrative services and complain about the lack of clients.

Calling all Virtual Assistants:

If you are in this industry, you must know and realize that technology is growing on a daily basis.

You must know and realize that people, especially entrepreneurs, are busy.

You must know and realize what entrepreneurs need today and tomorrow.

You must know and realize that it doesn’t matter if you can type 75wpm, if you know how to manage emails, or if you can do data-entry. What you need is to know what other entrepreneurs are looking for. And in order to do so, you have to be ready and willing to keep learning.

Mistake numéro trois! Limited knowledge without the urge to go out and learn more.

I realize there are many online courses that seem to ask for an enormous amount of money. As a VA who is just starting out, funds are normally limited and paying $700 for a 6-week course is simply impossible (been there, done that)

However it is crucial to your business survival! If you don’t have the skills people are looking for, if you’re not staying one step ahead of the game, you simply won’t survive in this industry!

After turning a client away because I couldn’t provide the services she needed, I knew there was only one thing to do. Learn and learn quick! However I didn’t beat myself over it because I’ve been busy learning so many other things. This new skill was added to my ever-growing list of things to learn. And that my friends, is the key to grow your VA business.

I can insert another common mistake made by several VAs here: not having, or keeping to, a certain niche but that’s a whole other story…

Have you heard the buzz around Virtual Assistance but don’t know where to begin?

Are you struggling with the idea of outsourcing administrative tasks to a Virtual Assistant?

Do you find yourself dealing with control or trust issues?

Let me introduce you to the Mini Outsourcing Bootcamp.

In the month of September, Erin Blaskie will be hosting two Mini Outsourcing Bootcamps. These bootcamps are designed to teach entrepreneurs the ins, outs and then some of working with, finding and hiring their perfect virtual assistant.

President and founder of Business Services ETC and  The VA Coach, Erin is a leading VA in the industry and assists some of the top internet entrepreneurs and business owners with their administrative and technical needs. She is excited to be spending two hours per day for three days with entrepreneurs to teach them about outsourcing. These jam-packed sessions WILL help you understand how to take your life back and get at least 2-3 hours of work off of your plate PER DAY.

So don’t delay, visit the Mini Outsourcing Bootcamp now!

But wait, that’s now all! Erin is generously giving each participant access to her exclusive VA Matchmaker portfolios, featuring amazing virtual assistants that you’ll want to hire onto your team, as well as a copy of the 30 Days of Delegation ebook and so much more.

Join her in September to get over your fear of working with a virtual assistant and move into a place of freedom, flexibility and focus!

Mini Outsourcing Bootcamp

Hope to see you there!

Chantal Livingstone
Key Administration

Rieva Lesonsky, Editor-at-Large at AllBusiness.com, Consulting Editor at BizWomen.com and CEO at SMB Connects, spent the last 22 years of her life advocating for women business owners but now that she is an entrepreneurial woman herself, she is following her own advice.

She calls it “The P’s of Success.”

• Imagine the POSSIBILITIES
• PLAN, and every time you achieve your goals, PLAN again
• Be PROACTIVE
• Be PASSIONATE
• Be POSITIVE
• Be PERSISTENT

Although these are pretty self-explanatory, I would like to elaborate and add my 2 cents worth.

Imagine the POSSIBILITIES

Well I’m sure none of us have a problem with imagination. We all imagine ourselves at one point or another in the future… maybe a year from now, or 5 years, even as far as 10 years or retirement! It’s human to dream and imagine the Possibilities of our lives. I know for myself, I have a vision for my business Key Administration, for my children & for my own personal life. I know what levels I want to reach for certain goals.

However starting a new business can be both exciting and frightening. You start off with a dream, a possibility. You envision the big picture. You talk it over with some friends and family and realize Hey, it’s a pretty good idea… Now what?

PLAN - and every time you achieve your goals, plan again…

While you want to reach for the stars, I suggest you plan small and plan often. Keep the big picture in focus, break it down into steps and break those steps down to even smaller steps. Every time you reach one of your small goals, rework your steps, your plan and work towards another one. This eliminates being discouraged when trying to reach a big goal. Make every small step count!

Be PROACTIVE

It’s all fine and dandy to have a plan on paper however it won’t get up and accomplish anything on it’s own. Take charge! Work on some easy goals in between the big ones. Hire some assistants to take care of redundant tasks while you focus on the big picture. Go out into the community (local, online… whichever) and make yourself known as an expert in your possibility!

Be PASSIONATE

“When there’s a will, there’s a way” and when there is passion, there is a will. Your motivation is boosted by your passion. And without complete dedication, there is no success. Assure to keep your passion on the upscale.

Be POSSITIVE

A way to stay passionate about your possibility is to keep positive. There will always be a few bumps, scratches and bruises along the road. Those will create the character of your vision and shape your possibility into new directions. Don’t allow yourself to get down in the dumps. Assess the situation and rework your plan!

Be PERSISTENT

Try, try again… Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go! (T. S. Elliot)

To conclude,

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. (Mark Twain) ~ And keep the P’s of success in check!

C

Just as I thought I was completely happy with my website content, I start learning about copywriting.

Copywriting, the art and science of advertising or marketing, is something that I’ve wanted to look into for quite some time. Due to an opportunity that presented itself in my inbox lately, I’ve started researching the term more in-depth only to realize that I need some major work on my own web content!

Since I was so at peace before, I’m not going to jump and change everything overnight! I plan to work on one page at a time, creating an outstanding web presence clients won’t be able to resist! It’s even hard for me to publish this blog post without incorporating what I’ve learned so far. (Only because I want to learn just a little more before I jump in with two feet)

In the meantime, sign up for our newsletter to receive updates and important tips on daily admin tasks!

For additional tips, you must visit Stacy Karacostas’s awesome website jam-packed with ideas to help you market and grow your small business.

On August 20th, Key Administration celebrated a milestone by hosting a ‘Website Launch Event’. First I want to thank everyone that participated!

As everyone gathered on the call, the purpose of this event was to provide input and criticism on every and all aspect of the site. And let me tell you, everyone was eager to give their two cents which was GREAT! I learned so much on that call and can’t wait to start tweaking all of the suggestions which included:

• too much white space; althought a lot of white space is what I wanted, the vote was unanimous, there seems to be too much especially when viewing the site on a widescreen! Suggestions were to incorporate some colour in the header and/or sidebars
• my picture under Chantal Livingstone requires padding
• spelling and rewording was corrected live on the call
• service sublinks should possibly be permanent in left sidebar
• add a link to the launch special directing visitor to the service page
• too much info in footer
• I do want to have a horizontal navigation menu in the future and insert my mission statement in the left sidebar in the navigation’s place

Most suggestions have been tended to however the colours will take me a few days. I will keep everyone posted with updates!

Our Wordpress Basic Training is scheduled for TONIGHT at 7pm EST!

Please join us at
Phone: 712.432.3900
Access code: 7531730

It is recommended you download our Wordpress Basic Training document before the call. You may find it here: http://www.keyadministration.com/WPBasicTraining.pdf

If your hosting company does not have a one-step install process, please ensure you have the following information ready: 

• Database Name
• Database Username
• Database Password

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, don’t worry, I have two extra guest accounts we may access! Just ask!

See you tonight!

Chantal Livingstone

Always Backup! I repeat, ALWAYS backup your files.

Always.

Frequently.

Prior to setting up Wordpress, I tested a different platform for blogging. It was fine, no complaints however when I uploaded my html-based site, my blog files were overwritten. My hosting company claims it is impossible to retrieve my old posts!

So always backup; keep additional copies! Because chances are, if you’re like me, you hate starting over! And if you find yourself forgetting this important task or simply don’t find the time, you can have this automatically done by outsourcing to a VA.

C

It has taken a few months to put this site together and I’m proud to say It’s done! After spending a few days getting familiar with Wordpress, I spent the weekend tweaking a theme I liked, uploaded the content I wrote over the last few months and tada! Now let’s get to business…