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eBooks
In the spirit of community, we'd like
to find out if you, our members, would
like to contribute to an ebook we're
writing called, A Day in the Life of
a Virtual Assistant. If you would like
to write about your day and have your
profile included in this compilation,
please contact us at ebooks@TheVirtualNation.com.
We'll post this on The Virtual Nation
website and if your 'Day' is selected,
you will receive a complimentary ebook
for your contribution.
What's
Up with TVN?
Green Office Solutions
We're officially moved into our new
digs! This is very exciting for us
even though we only have a handful
of local clients. We took Friday, September
8 off and moved into our offices and
spent all weekend moving and organizing,
but we were back to business (not as
usual) on Monday, September 11. It
was a happy day for us, yet a sad day
for our Nation with the 9/11 memorials.
We'll include a few photos in the next
few weeks so you can all see our neat
and tidy offices.
Since we merged our businesses in
April of this year, we've really grown
tremendously. We just signed up our
first international client this week
(Hurray for Canada)! Thanks to our
Virtual Team, we have been managing
all of our projects pretty well. We'll
continue to keep you posted.
Another Note
This summer whizzed by us so fast,
we haven't even had a chance to report
on our July 29 Brainstorm Session.
We had a very small, but dynamic group.
We had eight people all together and
it was a very friendly atmosphere.
We accomplished a lot and we'd like
to know if you'd like to see us continue
our in-person sessions once a month,
in addition to possibly hosting small
group Brainstorm Sessions via Teleclasses.
Send us an email to Brainstorm@TheVirtualNation.com with
your comments, feedback and any suggestions.
Featured
Article:Managing Your Own Virtual
Assistance Team
- Part 1
By
Patty Benton
www.moretime4u.org
The
business sector is becoming more
aware of the benefits of hiring
Virtual Assistants (VAs) to assist
with their project needs thanks
to some great virtual assistance
organizations and industry leaders.
As a result, many VAs are becoming
overwhelmed with the workload
and how to effectively handle
the quantity of their work. In
order to address this issue,
some of the larger virtual assistance
organizations have created "teams" of
VAs to assist them with any overflow
work. Many other VAs have expanded
their business as far as they
can on their own and are now
considering working with subcontractors
to complete their work. However,
they are faced with many doubts
and questions about the process
and success.
Some
questions they might be asking themselves
are "How do I find quality VAs?
How do I know another VA will do
the work the way I do? How do I ensure
it will be the quality work my client
expects and deserves? How can I trust
another VA with my client? What if
they try to steal them? How do I
pay the VAs? If I have too many projects
going on, how do I track them?" These
are just a few questions of the questions
that VAs have and that might potentially
scare them into turning away the
work instead of subcontracting it
out. Before you run scared, we highly
recommend you read this article too
as it explores these questions. Part
2 of this series will share the answers/solutions
to these questions and more.
How do I find
quality VAs?
Most VAs belong
to listservs. A listserv is an excellent
communication tool that offers its
members the opportunity to post comments,
questions or suggestions to a large
number of people at the same time,
within a predefined interest group.
When an end user submits a post to
a listserv, the submission is distributed
to all of the other people on that
listserv. Most VA listservs are similar
since they allow VAs to network and
support each other.
This is a
great way to find other VAs. By reading
the posts, it becomes apparent who
in the VA community is knowledgeable
in a variety of software and skills.
A VA can then contact these VAs to
see if they are interested in working
on a subcontract basis to accept overflow
work. Interested VAs should send an
email to listservs that they belong
to, stating their interest in contracting
with other VAs to complete overflow
work. Once a VA, or multiple VAs have
expressed interest, the lead VA needs
to take the time to talk to each VA,
selecting ones who best fit his/her
work style and have the skills needed.
The goal is for a lead VA to find his/her
subcontracting team BEFORE he/she needs
them. This will allow the VA to comfortably
accept work and provide a smooth transition
to the subcontractor assisting with
the overflow. Please refer to the end
of this article for some great VA listserv
resources.
How do I know
another VA will do the work the way
I do?
It is imperative
for VAs to let go of this concern now!
No VA will do the work exactly the
way another would. Instead of worrying
about how a VA works, a VA should focus
on finding another VA that produces
the same quality of work. It is important
to understand that in the subcontracting
process, a lead VA will have to let
go of the process and allow the other
subcontracting VA to complete the project.
If not, it will be difficult to keep
a consistent team of highly qualified
VAs.
How do I ensure
it will be the quality work my client
expects and deserves?
This is difficult,
but it can be handled it in a few ways,
depending on the project requirements.
One idea is to have check-in points
throughout the project. At each check-in
point, the subcontracting VA should
submit what he/she has completed thus
far, for review to ensure they are
on track before proceeding further.
The sooner this process is implemented,
the less time will be wasted if they
are not on the correct path. He/she
should always check the project thoroughly
when the project is completed by the
subcontracting VA and before it is
submitted to the client. In addition,
the lead VA should allow for ample "clean-up" time
as every now and then it will be necessary
before a project is submitted to the
client. Finally, the lead VA should
always schedule enough turn-around
time from when the subcontracting VA
submits work and when the client expects
it.
Part 2, will
explore the following questions:
- How to trust another VA with clients?
- What if they try to steal them?
- How
is a VAs paid?
Part 3, will
explore:
- If there
are too many projects, how should
they be tracked?
Some recommended
free virtual assistant groups to join:
- homesecretaries-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
- varebels-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
- VirtualAssistants-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
- work_the_web-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
(Look to see
if your state or region has a VA group.
For Colorado VAs, go to http://www.coloradovas.com
)
Some recommended
membership required virtual assistant
groups to join:
* The Virtual
Business Group - http://www.virtualbizgroup.com
* International Virtual Assistants
Association - http://www.ivaa.org *
International Association of Virtual
Office Assistants - http://www.iavoa.com/
Another article
by Patty Benton on "Using
Subcontractors":
- http://www.moretime4u.org/articles/Using_Subcontractors.htm
You have permission
to reprint this article electronically
or in print, as long as the text and
byline remain unedited. A courtesy
copy of your publication would be appreciated.
© 2006 JERPAT
Virtual Assistant. All Rights Reserved
About the author: Patty Benton is the
owner of JERPAT Virtual Assistants
and JERPAT Web Design, www.moretime4u.org,
which provides affordable administrative
and Web design support to coaches,
small businesses, religious organizations,
and realtors. Additionally, Patty is
a coach for new entrepreneurs interested
in venturing into the virtual assistance
industry that is affordable to all,
and she has also written an e-book
that takes virtual assistants through
the process of setting up their business.
Visit her coaching site at www.virtualvacoach.com
for program details and great business
resources. She has also partnered to
establish the ministry Acknowledging
Christ Together at Work www.actatwork.com.
If you would like to receive Patty's
articles and other tips in your mailbox
every month, you can sign up at http://www.mortime4u.org/home.html.
Upcoming
Events
4 Weeks to a New You!
Brought
to you by Gillian Hood-Gabrielson
http://www.healthieroutcomes.com
Are you and your body on speaking
terms? If not, in 4 short weeks you
will learn the secrets for reclaiming
control over your eating habits, learn
to eat guilt free, discover eight steps
for achieving Physical Wealth and how
to use a simple formula for eliminating
stress and anxiety from your life!
This Event
Is For Women Who...
- want to start living now instead
of waiting until they lose weight
and get in shape.
- are chronic dieters who've tried
and failed and can't take diets anymore.
- made repeated attempts to stick
to an exercise program and haven't
been successful.
- want to learn how to eat on the
run and still lost weight and get
in shape.
- constantly find themselves overwhelmed,
stressed out and frustrated.
- own their own business and feel
their business is running their life
instead of them running the business.
This four-week event is no hype, no
sales pitches, no fluff, no nonsense.
This event is the REAL DEAL!
Best of All,
It's Complimentary!!!
Healthier Outcomes' "New You
TeleSeminar Event" is a once in
a life opportunity to learn from three
of the country's most respected Intuitive
Eating, fitness and business coaches.
[Note: Although this has already started,
feel free to jump in and take advantage
of the remaining sessions.]
WHEN
September 6, 13, 20, & 27
- 2006 at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT
Click
here to register today!
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Disclaimer:
The Virtual Nation™ does
not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability
of any of the paid advertisements above or the
quality of any products, information, or other
materials displayed, purchased, or obtained by
you as a result of an offer in connection with
any ad. You are responsible for handling your own
due diligence before purchasing any product or
service.
Thank You for Joining Me!
**IMPORTANT**
You are receiving this ezine because you subscribed
on our website or purchased one of our products
or services. If you've received this ezine from
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With Gratitude,
Michelle Ulrich
Want to share your gratitude? Mosey
on over to the Gratitude
Club and check it out.
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