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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LinkedIn has long been the most business-oriented social network.  Originally biased towards professional males and job seekers, it has evolved considerably over the last few years and is currently undergoing a wave of changes slanted towards helping it not just compete with Facebook and Twitter – but carry more weight.

So why should you used LinkedIn if it sits in fourth place behind Facebook, YouTube and Twitter?

LinkedIn captures an audience tired of the spam and irrelevant chatter across Facebook:  One that is serious about business. There is still a social element (which LinkedIn is working hard to increase) but it consists of a focused group of people who are passionate about their professions.

If yours is a B2B business, this is an ideal social network for you.  Let’s take a look at the top three ways to use it.

Image courtesy of Jurgen Appelo

Setting up a virtual assistant business is a lot of work. It can take months from the time you decide to become a VA to the time you’re actually ready to launch. If you’ve reached that stage, congratulations! It’s a big step and one that deserves celebrating.

Now that you’re ready to get down to business, you’re probably eager to land your first client. Unfortunately, posting flyers in your neighbourhood or even launching an awesome website are unlikely to bring you immediate results. Apply one or more of the following strategies and you’ll soon find yourself on the way to success.

1. Tap into your existing network

You may be thinking that you don’t yet have a network because your business is too new. Think again! Your network is basically everyone you know: friends, family members, former co-workers, your hairdresser, and even the receptionist at your doctor’s office. Make a point of letting everyone know that you are open for business, the services you offer, and the type of clients you’re looking for.

If you’ve started your business after being downsized from your job, your former employer may be struggling to maintain a timely workflow following the reduction in staff, and they may be willing to take you on as an independent contractor for a few hours a week to help them through the transition.

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that someone wouldn’t be interested in hearing about your business simply because she is a stay-at-home mom or a CEO with a large staff. Everybody knows at least 200 other people, and unless they know what you have to offer, how can they connect you to their cousin’s neighbour who urgently needs your assistance?

2. Join a local business networking group

Even though you can serve clients virtually anywhere in the world, the reality is that people prefer to do business with someone they know, like, and trust, and this is accomplished best by meeting in person. Many networking events include an opportunity to introduce yourself and your business in front of the group, and although this can be nerve-wracking the first few times, it’s a great way to let others know how you can help them.

Keep in mind that relationships do take time to develop (which is why step #1 is so important), so don’t expect someone to engage your services after only one or two meetings. However, there’s definitely something to be said for being in the right place at the right time, and it has been known to happen!

3. Check out job boards

Job boards are a wonderful tool. They can help you launch your business; they can provide a consistent income while you’re building your business; and you can even use them to provide additional income when you have occasional slow periods in your business.

There are several types of job boards for you to consider:

Regular Job Boards

Although most positions advertised on Monster, Workopolis, the Job Bank, and similar sites are for traditional employment, you may occasionally find organizations who are specifically seeking someone to work from home or a part-time assistant. Educating them about the benefits of hiring a VA instead of an employee may go unnoticed, but it never hurts to try!

Freelance Job Boards

With sites such as Elance, oDesk, and Freelancer.com, you don’t have to worry about explaining the benefits of hiring an independent consultant – that’s exactly what they’re looking for. The downside of these sites is that you’re frequently competing with offshore virtual assistants who are willing to work at much lower rates than we can accept here in Canada. On the other hand, there are clients who recognize that you get what you pay for, so it may still be worth exploring these opportunities.

Virtual Assistant Job Boards

Many sites have a Request for Proposal (RFP) system where anyone in need of a virtual assistant can post their requirements and VAs can then submit a proposal for suitable opportunities. Most of these sites, including VA Insiders, the Canadian Virtual Assistant Connection, the Real Estate Virtual Assistant Institute, and the Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants Group, require payment of a membership fee in order to receive copies of the RFPs. Virtual Assistant Forums is free to join, but regular participation in the discussions is required before you gain access to the RFPs.

Some job boards simply work like classified ads. You apply for the position and communicate directly with the client. Others work as a go-between. All agreements, payments and work are managed through the job site. Both situations have their pros and cons.

Always make sure you’re working with a legitimate company and job site. Check references. Read reviews. In addition, always research your potential client. Make sure they’re legitimate and that they follow through on their commitments. Better safe than sorry!

Check out the various options to determine which may be right for you. In all cases, consider the fact that you will be competing with many other qualified professionals for the opportunity, so your proposal must be stellar. It’s a good idea to ask a friend or colleague to proofread it before you submit it, because even if your language skills are top notch, it’s very easy to overlook your own errors.

Securing your first paying client will be one of the most exciting moments in your life! It might happen today, or it might take weeks, but if you’re persistent, your efforts will pay off.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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.

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Image Courtesy of Freudenthal Verhagen/Stone/GettyImages

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

If you’re like most marketers, you’ve been using Twitter for a long time now… Perhaps even stopped using it.

Tweets go by so quickly.  Auto-tweets have removed the novelty from Twitter, drowning users in a sea of impersonal, shallow tweets. You’re only allowed 140 characters to say what you want to say (around 90, if you want people to recommend when they Retweet).  And everyone seems to say the same thing; mostly endless links to blog posts nobody reads.

Fortunately, a small percentage of the Twitterverse knows exactly how to leverage Twitter.  If you run a B2B-type business, many of these may make up a large percentage of your potential client base.

The rest make up a strong networking community, whether or not your business is retail or service-based.  So learn to use Twitter like the crème de la crème, and you’ll soon discover these top three tips really do work.

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.

With record-breaking statistics on the number of ads being viewed each month, online video has become a very powerful tool for small business owners.

Web based video productions are usually short and informative. They’re a marketing strategy that lets you connect with potential clients in a personalized, professional way to build rapport.

With video being used more often than ever before, the opportunities to engage potential clients in a more meaningful, entertaining way are endless. They’re easy to host and can be used to:

• build your brand
• introduce yourself and tell your story
• drive traffic to your website and welcome visitors once they arrive on the home page
• showcase your products and services
• drive traffic to your website
• teach customers how to use your products
• advertise specials and discounts in ways that text and pictures alone can’t

Now that we know what online video is and how they can be used, lets find out the top 3 benefits of using video for your business.

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.

If your audience is predominantly female and anywhere from twenty-five to sixty-five, Pinterest ought to be one of your foremost social networking strategies.

And if you don’t believe this, just take a look at your Facebook feed – and count all the Pinterest and photo shares.

Pinterest is also a social network for those who are visual learners, so if your target market is both female and visual in expression, you can’t afford to ignore it.

Let’s take a look at the top three reasons why Pinterest can help grow your business…