Lyn Prowse-Bishop interviews Donna Toothaker on creating a 6 figure VA business by thinking, acting, working, like the CEO of a corporate business and focusing on core CEO functions.
OIVAC 2011 Interviews Kim Gray
March 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Lyn Prowse-Bishop interviews Kim Gray on the secrets of running a successful virtual assistant business: time, reserves and planning so they are not flying by the seat of their pants.
Virtual Assistant: Agency…or Network?
March 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If you’re a new virtual assistant you’ll want to take up the advice of the veterans and join a few networks. You get some great support, encouragement and advice particularly when starting out.
Most networks will offer a discussion board, and for financial members a publicly-available listing on their website, and potentially access to job leads – which will go out to all on the list depending on how the network is set up.
A few things, in my experience, networks should never do:
- Ask you to assign ownership of your domain name/URL to them;
- Have you sign a contract stating that you will pay them a percentage or fixed amount on any work you receive through the job lead;
- Ask you to send invoices for work received as a result of job leads to the network owner for processing (who then takes the above commission before paying the VA);
- Not have your membership details publicly listed in a directory for access by potential clients;
- Include in their contract that any work you do that comes through the job leads is to be done in accordance with THEIR code of conduct;
- Prevent you from engaging someone else to help with the work.
Let me elaborate on a couple of these points.
If you receive work from a network via a job lead and you send your invoice to the network for processing via their CRM system you are no longer in control of the VA/client relationship. Your invoices should be between you and the client – not you and the network owner who then sends it on to the client.
Whilst a code of conduct is important most VAs will have their own and should not be contracted to follow the code of conduct of the network.
All VAs as independent contractors should be in charge of the way they handle their work including whether they seek assistance or can outsource the work to others. This is because you are an independent business owner. If you are prevented this freedom by the network then you’re not a member of a network but potentially an employee of the network.
If the network you are part of does any of these things then you’re working for an agency. Job placement agencies and temping agencies operate in precisely this way – clients come to them, they find the temp to do the work, send them out, invoice the client and then pay the temp out of that. However, the temp is also in receipt of benefits including superannuation guarantee payments. Because for all intents and purposes the above arrangement makes them an employee of the agency – not an independent member of a network.
If you’re a network owner – or if you use subcontractors to assist you in your VA practice – you also need to be careful because you could be facing untold financial problems if you operate according to any of the dot points listed above.
It’s a grey area … and with the position taken towards independent contractors by the current Australian Labor government, a potentially costly one.
About the Author
Award-winning virtual assistant, Lyn Prowse-Bishop, MVA ASO CAVB PVAA is owner/manager of Executive Stress Office Support (eSOS), specialising in medico-legal digital transcription, virtual author support and executive personal assistant services for clients around the world.
One of Queensland’s most respected and well known virtual assistants, Lyn is also founder of the Australian Virtual Business Network, serves as Australian representative on international committees looking at standards and certification for the VA industry, and is a foundation steering committee member of the annual Online International Virtual Assistants Convention. She hosts Australia’s first internet radio show/podcast for the VA industry – Virtual Business Show – and is Queensland representative on the Board of Independent Contractors Australia.
How can you spend less time in the office and more enjoying life? Visit her site or email lyn@execstress.com to find out.
Why Super Affiliates Rock!
March 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Have you ever wondered what super affiliates do differently? How do they earn such high commissions? What tools and marketing tactics do they use that you can use as well? While there may be a number of things a super affiliate does successfully, chances are they’re also a super reviewer.
The Amazing Power of Reviews
A review is more than a valuable piece of content you can publish on your website, blog, or article directory. A review is perhaps one of the best ways to pre-sell a product or a service. If you sell products, you know that the best way to earn commissions is to pre-sell your information products.
Reviews get the job done because they offer unbiased information. They highlight the pros and cons of a product or service, summarize the benefits and then tell a reader where they can buy the product or service.
However, a super affiliate takes their reviews a bit further.
A Super Review is:
Benefit focused – It highlights what problem the product solves and stresses the benefits. It answers the question the reader really wants to know: “What’s in it for me?”
Personal – It shares examples or tells a story about how the reviewer benefited from the product or service. This turns the review almost into an endorsement. Personal experience is very persuasive.
Unbiased – It provides an honest look at both the pros and the cons of the product or service. If a review doesn’t list any flaws, then the reader is going to be suspicious and not trust the opinion of the reviewer. Nothing’s perfect.
Factual – It provides the raw data too. People make buying decisions based on their emotions. This is why it’s so important to stress the benefits and what problem the product or service solves. However, they reinforce their buying decision based on facts. These facts include price, features, and even where the product can be purchased.
Purposeful – It includes a call to action. While you may have a few links to the sales page throughout the review, a super review always ends with a call to action. For example, “Visit LINK to learn more now.”
To make more commissions and become a super affiliate, take steps to write reviews. Incorporate these ideas and steps to become a super reviewer and watch your profits soar.
About the Author
Becki Noles, Visionary of Virtual Accuracy Companies has been at the forefront of stream-lining coaching and entrepreneurial businesses since 1998. Utilizing her background in marketing, publicity, corporate training, advertising and media, Becki custom tailors and implements individualized action plans for taking coaching businesses to the next level. As a Virtual Assistant her business partners with top business and executive coaches in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Norway and the world over.
Using Google Buzz for Business
December 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Goggle Buzz is one of the newer social networking sites today, and it’s rapidly becoming more popular all the time. One reason, of course, is the Google name that is attached to it. However, it’s not just popular because of this. There is plenty of substance to back it up.
How do you access it?
It’s entirely located within your Gmail account, and it’s free. All you need is a Gmail account.
Who would benefit from using it?
Anybody just looking to catch up with friends could use it. However, it’s especially effective for businesses.
It is inspired by Facebook, Twitter and other popular social sites, as it takes on aspects of each. For instance, it enables you to upload pictures and videos. And you can easily have a conversation with other users. All of this enables you to give your business personality.
So how can your business benefit from it? Here are five reasons you might want to start using it:
Post wherever you are
One of the strengths of Google Buzz is that it works great with mobile devices. This allows you to post wherever you want, quickly and easily.
It even has a feature that enables you to speak into the phone, and it will automatically convert your words into a post. In other words, you don’t even have to write. This only works with certain applications, but it can be very convenient.
And you can let others know where you are posting from, if you want. This could be useful if you want to give your posts more personality.
Convenient
It links with the more established social sites. Therefore, you can see other people’s activity on Facebook and Twitter without even having to leave Google Buzz. This means you can view other people’s tweets right from the Buzz platform.
Segment your posts
One of the unique features about Google Buzz is that you can choose who you are posting to. For instance, you can just post to a certain group of contacts, or the entire Buzz network. It all depends on who you want to see your post.
This is especially useful for businesses. For instance, if you have a list of proven customers, you can do a post only they can see. And you can then write a message for those who haven’t bought from you yet. Therefore, you can tailor your posts to your audience, much like segmenting an email list.
Blog compatible
You can link your Buzz account to your blog. Therefore, whenever you update your blog, it will update your Buzz account. If you have a lot of followers, this could translate into a lot of money provided you have good blog content.
Filter
If you are subscribing to others’ RSS feeds, the Buzz has a filter that eliminates posts that wouldn’t be of interest to you. You just tell it what to block. This saves you time, because you don’t have to sort through hundreds of posts you don’t care about.
The bottom line is, you would be smart to use the Google Buzz, because it gives your business personality. While it will require time and effort, the Buzz can be very profitable for you.
About the Author
Becki Noles, Visionary of Virtual Accuracy Companies has been at the forefront of stream-lining coaching and entrepreneurial businesses since 1998. Utilizing her background in marketing, publicity, corporate training, advertising and media, Becki custom tailors and implements individualized action plans for taking coaching businesses to the next level. As a Virtual Assistant her business partners with top business and executive coaches in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Norway and the world over.
