If you want to have a successful work-from-home business you need to be setting goals. If you need to get somewhere you plot out the way before you head off to make sure you don’t get lost. Your business and life are the same. You have to know where you’re going so you can get there.

Most people wanting to start working from home, or wanting to start a new virtual assistant business are wanting to do so because they are looking for a certain lifestyle. What about you?  Do you want to travel and work at the same time?  Do you want the freedom to be home for your kids, while still earning an income?  Is it just that you’re sick of working for someone else?

Whatever your reason is for wanting to work from home there are some things you need to do to make sure it’s not just a dream.  To actually make it happen you need to plan, prepare, get good advice and set goals. Continue reading

Have you ever wondered about expanding your virtual team by outsourcing some of your jobs to contractors in India?   Perhaps you want to expand your virtual team offshore while keeping costs low?

It was about 7 years ago when we engaged our first online contractor from India and I’m delighted to say that he is still working with us today.   That’s not to say every outsourcing story of ours has a happy ending 😉 But from our experience, we have found that with the right online hiring methods, the right virtual team tools, and the right online interview techniques you can have success and profit from your virtual team.

Here are 9 virtual team tips to help you outsource some of your virtual team jobs to India ….

#1 Where possible use a recommended contractor

#2 If it’s your first-time outsourcing offshore, consider using an online outsourcing website like … www.freelancer.com

#3 Ask to see 3 real life samples of their work. If they don’t provide you samples don’t be tempted to short-list them just because they are cheap and say they can do the work.

#4 Look at the feedback, comments and testimonies of past clients. Check their overall rating and how the contractor has responded to negative feedback (if any).

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Do you ever feel that you’re too busy offering your virtual services that you don’t have time to expand your own business?

Have you ever complained that a client is treating you more like an employee than a virtual business partner?

Does your profit go up and down every month because most of your virtual assistant clients are project based?

Do you find yourself working hours that you don’t want to?

If any of those situations sound familiar to you, it could be that you’re not treating your virtual assistant business as a real business.  It’s easy to get caught in this trap when you start offering services virtually.  Many people take the skills they have from past jobs and start working from home offering secretarial services, website services, IT support from home, organisation services etc…The only thing is, that same “job” mentality you had when you were working for a boss, can stay with you.   Unless of course you start acting and treating yourself like a business owner.

To help you jump from the “job working from home” camp to virtual business owner here are 8 questions to ask yourself… Continue reading

Virtual Team Managers face an extra special set of challenges.  Are you leading or growing a virtual team?  Don’t YOU know it!  Connecting at a personal level, developing loyalty and trust, maintaining virtual team morale are all aspects of a virtual team that can present challenges to you that perhaps you’ve never faced before.

One of the first things to determine with a new virtual team member is their suitability to work virtually, within your virtual team.  So growing the right virtual team that will support you and your business starts with hiring the right people. There we are presented with one of your first special challenges as an online virtual team leader…and that is interviewing online applicants hoping to join your expanding virtual team.

If your potential team member lives close to your locality, then of course you can interview face-to-face in person. BUT what about Carol’s example below (perhaps you’ve found yourself in a similar situation) … Continue reading

As I sit in this wonderful hotel lobby by the beach, I thought to myself how great it is to have a business where I can work online or work from home. Then I started thinking of the many obstacles and challenges we faced in building our virtual business and how we overcame them.

That is why I am asking you the question “Do you have a big enough REASON to work from home?”. We call it THE WHY. Do you have a big enough WHY. Others call it your goals or dreams, etc.

Isn’t it funny, we have goals for just about everything. If we have a meeting / deadline, if we are going on vacation, if we are having a party – whatever it may be we have goals and desired outcomes attached to those goals. BUT when it comes to our life course – we think “Ahh that’s mumbo jumbo”.

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I always have a giggle when friends say they are unhappy with their jobs and I ask them what they want to do and they say “I want to do what you do”.

I don’t laugh because to be mean, I believe everyone can and has a right to work from home or work online.  I laugh because many people make it sound like putting on a pair of socks.  The truth is many family and friends don’t actually understand what we do, but whatever it is it’s easy in their minds.

The truth is, Karletta and I have worked hard to acquire the many new skills we need to operate our online virtual business, and that is why I ask the question above.  You see if you want to earn good money online, you need to have specialist niche skills that people need.  If you need specialist skills to start or expand your virtual online business, you need to start getting them now.

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Being an effective  Leader or Manager has its fair share of challenges.  This can be even greater in the Virtual environment.  Leading a virtual team requires lots of minor adjustments, unless your team is in bad shape of course, then a major overhaul is in order.

As I was sitting here thinking about the areas I need to improve when it comes to leading our Virtual Team I thought I would share what came to mind.

Here are some things that you can think about, I would love to have a dialogue with you so feel free to share it and comment.

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It’s easy _ your first client could be your boss OR your ex-boss …

We’ve had a number of people contact us lately for some advice on how to ask the boss to work from home.  Asking the boss to work from home is a great way to get your virtual assistant business going without actually quitting your day job.

In fact, I got my first taste of the “work from home” virtual work lifestyle when I started working my day job from home.   And wasn’t it great!!!    I highly recommend it, for a number of reasons!

So what can you do to get your boss to agree to you working from home?   On an upcoming call we’re going to take you through step-by-step and show you exactly what you need to do, to ask your boss for work from home and how to get them to agree!

As as a little taster here is summary of the 10 Essentials you need to know before you ask your boss to work from home.

Enjoy!

P.S.   If you’d like to receive priority notification of our upcoming call, where we reveal all the little tricks and tips to asking the work from home question, then click LIKE here and say “YES”

 

Over the past few years in our own business we’ve seen first-hand the challenges associated with building trust and loyalty within a virtual team.  And through our years of experience working with many successful online entrepreneurs, we know we’re not alone!   Let’s say we’ve witnessed many a virtual biz “break-up” 😉

Why? In your typical work environment people see each other “face to face” almost every day. People chat about their weekends, get to know each others quirky personality traits and forge bonds as they participate in fun team building activities.

While bringing these activities over to the virtual team may prove challenging, it can be done with some thought and care.  So ask, what virtual team building activities online could I be doing with my online team to boost morale and build trust while having FUN!

Boost Virtual Team Morale with These 3 FUN Virtual Team Building Activities… Continue reading

Want new clients for your Virtual Assistant Biz?

One way to get more clients for your virtual assistant business is to make yourself stand out from your competition. So how do you make yourself standout from the thousands of va’s around the world?

The best way to make your virtual assistant services stand out from the competition is to provide a very niche, specialised service to an elite group of VIP clients.

In this slide show we share 7 Virtual Assistant Niche Service Areas. These services have not been selected randomly. We are sharing with you, the trends we have seen in the industry. These are the virtual services we have personally seen in demand from our own network and clients. They are services that have a very specific, target audience who are willing and ready; cash in hand to buy your virtual assistant services.

So, if you’re a virtual assistant struggling to get more new clients for your business. Take a look at these 7 Niche Virtual Assistant Services. Do any of these services fit with your skill set?

After you’ve viewed the presentation comment below >>> Tell us and others what niche services you are offering!

FREE Interactive Client Treasure Map => Get new clients for your Virtual Assistant Business here:
http://www.onlinevirtualassistanttraining.com/new-virtual-assistant-clients