Working with a Virtual Assistant :: Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants Group

Top 3 Reasons for Outsourcing Your Bookkeeping

yellow piggy bank Welcome to the final day of our 5th Anniversary Blog Tour!

Today is also International Virtual Assistants Day, which acknowledges the dedication, experience, expertise and determination of virtual professionals worldwide, and exemplifies their integrity and commitment to provide superior administrative and other business support services virtually.

Thank you for stopping by to celebrate with us!

Outsourcing grants businesses the freedom to dump non–core, yet important sectors of its administration on companies specializing in that area.

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Top 3 Benefits of Hiring a VA

by Angela Spisak

being chained to your business Welcome to Day 10 of our 5th Anniversary Blog Tour!

There are many wonderful reasons to outsource some of your daily tasks to a Virtual Assistant.

If you are thinking you would like to free up some of your time take these some of these benefits into consideration.

Image Courtesy of Freudenthal Verhagen/Stone/GettyImages

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3 Ways to get the Most from Your Virtual Assistant

by Sheila Penton

smiling assistant Welcome to day 9 of our 5th Anniversary Blog Tour!

Are you thinking of hiring a Virtual Assistant or wonder if you are getting the most value out of the one you already have?

Here are three tips to help you work more efficiently with your Virtual Assistant:

When giving a new task be clear and concise. Think of the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How involved. By answering all these questions up front it will be less likely your assistant will need to interrupt you for clarification later.
Present one task at a time, making sure your assistant fully understands what is expected before you move on to the next item. As an assistant, I like to repeat back what I think is expected of me to my client to make sure we’re both on the same page.
If you need something in a hurry, make sure that it is clear that the task is high priority; ask for an estimated delivery time and regular progress updates if necessary. But try to resist the temptation to ask for status updates too frequently—interruptions will only make your task take longer.

Good communication is essential when working virtually. Find what works best for you and your Virtual Assistant and you’ll soon be wondering why you didn’t hire one earlier.

Photo courtesy of imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Top 3 Reasons to use a Virtual Author’s Assistant to Promote Your Book

by Janet Whiting

author working Welcome to day 7 of our 5th Anniversary Blog Tour!

Congratulations! You have written a book. Or maybe you are only just thinking about it. Either way, you need to promote it or no one will know.

There is a lot of work involved in the promotion of a book.

book or author’s website
media kit
press release
book reviews
social media
virtual book tour

I am sure your head is swimming with the thought of it. And most of this needs to be done before you publish. You realize you need help.

Here are my top 3 reasons why you should consider using a VAA (Virtual Author’s Assistant) to promote your book.

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Top 3 Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Support Your Blog

by Janet Barclay

virtual blog support Welcome to Day 5 of our 5th Anniversary Blog Tour!

Do you regularly blog as a way of marketing your business? Good for you! If not, what’s holding you back? Is it lack of time? Lack of ideas? Lack of confidence in your writing abilities? Maybe you’re just a little intimidated by the technology of blogging. But none of these issues needs to prevent you from having a great blog!

Have you ever considered partnering with a virtual assistant to help you get your blog off the ground, or to keep it going? Maybe you should! A VA can support your blog in any or all of the following ways, depending on the particular obstacle you’re struggling with.

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5 Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Support Your Business

by Janet Barclay

Virtual assistants can add exponentially to your time each day. When your VA works on tasks that don’t generate income but are nonetheless necessary to your business, it allows you to focus on those that directly impact your earnings.

A VA can do the same type of work as an onsite assistant, as long as he or she has the right technology in place. Here is a list, not comprehensive by any means, of various activities that a VA can manage on your behalf, along with the technology that helps them perform these tasks.

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Why Hire a Virtual Assistant?

by Janet Barclay

overworked business owner As a business owner, it’s nearly impossible to do everything on your own. Whether you have a strictly online business, a direct sales business, or a traditional bricks-and-mortar business, it’s unlikely you have both the time and the skills to complete all of the necessary tasks.

Fortunately, current technology allows you to contract with an entire team of professionals, without hiring a single employee. Virtual assistants come in many forms, from administrative, to technical, to very niche-specific.

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How to Avoid Virtual Assistant/Client Mismatches

by Janet Barclay

angry client questioning her invoice Last month, many GHVA members participated in the 6^th Annual Online International Virtual Assistants Convention (OIVAC), where we had the opportunity to learn from professionals in the areas of business, technology, communication, coaching, marketing, and social media as well as commercial technology experts, VA coaches and trainers.

One of the speakers was OIVAC founder Sharon Williams. In her presentation, Letting Go of “D” (Difficult) Clients, Sharon described ten types of “bad” clients:

Categories Tips and Resources for VAs, Working with a Virtual Assistant
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How to Find a VA That Rocks

by Janet Barclay

feedback form excellent Sarah Shaw of The Entreprenette Gazette recently asked a number of business owners what their virtual assistants do for them and how they found them, and we’re very proud that the Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants Group was mentioned as one of the places to find great VAs!

There are a number of questions you should ask when looking for the virtual assistant that’s right for your business.

Many of your questions will probably relate to your specific needs, such as “What experience do you have working with [a particular software program, online service, or industry]?” You may also want to ask how their past work experience and training relates to the needs of your business.

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