Blog Archives

How to Deal With A Difficult Client

November 21, 2011

A difficult client is every virtual assistant’s worst nightmare. These clients call excessively and are always changing their mind. These clients can be rude, disrespectful, and even worse, may want you to lower your rate. So how do you handle a client like this? Stay Calm – This is one of the most important things that you can do when you’re dealing with a difficult client. It is also a lot easier said than done. Try to remember that clients have bad days too, and maybe you’re the scapegoat. Above all else, do not lose your temper. Losing your temper can cause you to say things you shouldn’t. This may not only cause you to lose the client, but it could damage your professional reputation. Know What You’re Worth – It is easy to underestimate yourself. Decide what you are worth and do not let clients talk you into lowering your rates. A difficult client may try to get you to do more work than you initially signed on to do or may try to get you to accept less pay. They may try to do this in different ways and may even attempt to lay a guilt trip on

Where do I find Virtual Assistants?

November 15, 2011

If you are looking for a virtual assistant, there are a lot of places that you can look online to find assistants. Make sure you know what tasks you want the assistant to complete for you and what your monthly budget is when you start your search. This will likely help you to weed out people and narrow down whom to hire. Agencies – There are many agencies on the internet that have a roster of people who work for them. You tell the agency what you are looking for and your budget, and they will find someone that meets your description. The more information that you provide, the better match you will receive. If you require someone with specific education or experience, that should be provided as well. Bidding Sites – Many freelancers/work at home businesses advertise their services through various bidding sites such as Elance or Odesk. You can head over to these sites and browse the services offered to see if you can find someone who would match your needs or you can post your own ad to find someone. Chances are you will get lots of options for you to consider. One advantage to these sites

What kinds of Tasks can my Virtual Assistant Do

November 10, 2011

You can have your virtual assistant do pretty much any task you can think of, provided they know how to do it. Even if you are not sure if there is a task they can do, you can always ask them and see if they are capable of it. Some examples of tasks Virtual Assistants complete for their clients: - Creating presentations - Answering phones - Data Entry - Billing - Marketing - Social Media updates - Customer Newsletters - Customer Service phone calls - Website updates You can also find virtual assistants who specialize in certain areas such as web design. This type of assistant would help you with all items that would be related to your website from design, SEO, promotion, maintenance and more. Before engaging their services, ask them exactly what they can provide for you. Another specialty for virtual assistants is real estate. Your assistant can help you manage your listings and promote the properties that you are representing. If you are looking for this type of assistant, it is best to find one who has worked in the industry as then they will understand the industry better. Most people only think of virtual assistants as

Being a Niche Virtual Assistant

October 26, 2011

As a virtual assistant, you can do a variety of work. But some people prefer to stick to something specific whether it is a topic or a specific job. Maybe this is something that you would want to consider, but what exactly does it entail? Niche Virtual Assistant A niche virtual assistant means that you specialize in one type of work for your client. Maybe you have an accounting degree and want to stick to doing books for your clients. By being a virtual assistant, you can do the accounting for a variety of clients. But as a virtual assistant, you can also assist with anything accounting related for your clients that does not always have to do with the books. Maybe they run a blog about accounting and want you to write some articles or maybe they want you to create some spreadsheets for them. But you may also choose just to do accounting but for whatever industry of people that need your help. While this may restrict you a little bit, by specializing in just one area, you may find it easier to get clients as you will have more value as you are an expert at what

Why you need a Website

October 19, 2011

These days, if you do not have your own website, then you pretty much do not exist. This is especially true if you are trying to do any kind of business on the Internet. Without a website, you are hard to take serious and you may have difficulty getting clients. But fear not, this is easy to solve! With a small investment, you can have a website up and running very quickly. There are many sites that will give you a website for free and they will have templates to help you get started. You may prefer to set up a blog instead which is like a website but is a bit more fluid so you can add to it easily. Depending on the types of services you are offering may help you determine which site is better for you. You should definitely get your own domain name. A free site likely has a URL such as yourname.freesite.com which does not look very professional so take ten dollars or so and get your own domain name. If you are running your business under your personal name, then it may be best to just register yourname.com but if you are calling