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Top Ten Posts of the Day
Posted By: LovableGeek
Posted On: 03 September 2010 - 01:57 PM | Title: Education
Hi again,
I have read some books and am cruising the web etc. I find a lot of interesting programs about how to start a VA business but have found nothing about what skills are required. This all assumes that a person already has the skills.
I am interested in editing, ghost writing, that sort of stuff. I have a BA in Journalism and an MA in History, but my skills are quite rusty. I also have 15 years as a community director for multi-family homes, so i a have a lot of good experience behind me.
I would love to talk to some people who are involved in manuscript editing and such to find out what is going on in that particular part of this field. I mean, is Strunk and White still valid? Is the Chicago Style still the best around?
I am interested in taking some classes and found ED2GO. Has anyone used this particular group? |
Comments: 0 :: View Comments |
Posted By: LovableGeek
Posted On: 03 September 2010 - 01:40 PM | Title: Startup costs
Hello everyone,
I am just beginning to look into virtual work. I am looking at start up costs. The first thing i wanted to know about was what type of insurance a person needs to be working from home. I called my insurance co. but their underwriters have no idea what to do with this. any suggestions? |
Comments: 2 :: View Comments |
Posted By: dawntrenee
Posted On: 03 September 2010 - 01:27 PM | Title: Problem in 1shopping cart
| I have a client that uses 1 shopping cart and recently she changed her logo and layout of her thank you page the people receive when the sign up for her list. We updated the default Thank you page link in 1 shopping cart and I even tried to setup a custom template and all we keep seeing is her original thank you page??? Any suggestions |
Comments: 0 :: View Comments |
Posted By: JudyatKVA
Posted On: 03 September 2010 - 10:44 AM | Title: Need for Teachers
Is there a need for MS Office teachers and Internet basics for students? Perhaps even for "older" folks just learning the internet? This is something I've long wanted to do, but am unsure how to go about it or what to charge. Any feedback is appreciated.
TY,
J  |
Comments: 1 :: View Comments |
Posted By: Patty M.
Posted On: 03 September 2010 - 09:48 AM | Title: contract fee as a retainer
I have a potential client ask for my pricing and referred to a 'contract fee as a retainer'. Is this just a retainer, like 10 hours for $XXX, 20 hours for $XXX, etc. Or is this something else I'm not aware of?
Thanks for any enlightenment you might shed.
Sincerely,
Patt M |
Comments: 2 :: View Comments |
Posted By: Jerri G
Posted On: 01 September 2010 - 04:36 AM | Title: Digital Signature
I'm feeling a bit funny asking this but, what are digital signatures and how do I get one. I wrote my signature on paper and tried to scan it, that didn't work, I coud barely see it. Then I put another piece of paper on top and adjusted the darkness that still didn't work. What am I doing wrong? I see some posts that read scan in your signature. But to where and how?  I want to be able to digitally sign my contracts and certain documents. |
Comments: 12 :: View Comments |
Posted By: Dana Fortier
Posted On: 31 August 2010 - 08:57 AM | Title: Stick-Tight Clients
Let me first say, I really, really like this client. Warm, funny, great to be with, we always end up laughing during our phone calls.
Bad: Because we get off-topic, we don't get anything accomplished.
Here's what I've been doing for the past two years: we have a bi-weekly phone call (usually an hour) and when we get off the phone, I realize we covered only about 1/3 of what we needed to cover, so I send an email with my questions. Client responds with partial answers, or, at worst, no answers at all.
I fired the client 4 months ago, but had loose ends to wrap up.
Four months later, (this week), I again fired the client. Client won't let go. Wants to "re-establish our relationship".
Problem is: I'm focusing my business somewhere else, and plus I've gotten VERY DEFINITE about who my clients will be. And this client doesn't fit the profile in any way, shape or form.
Second part of my problem - I know anyone I could possibly refer this client to wouldn't appreciate the humor and warmth, so what do I do?
I really don't want to keep this client, but I can't focus my energy effectively if I keep this client. |
Comments: 11 :: View Comments |
Posted By: Julie1975
Posted On: 30 August 2010 - 03:39 PM | Title: Oil and Gas Companies
| Has anyone or does anyone work with Oil and Gas companies? If so what has been your experience with them and also how did you find they responded to the idea of a Virtual Assistant? They are my ideal client as I have a fair bit of experience working in that industry. I have had some clients from smaller companies but not much from the bigger companies that use staffing agencies for their contract work. Those staffing agencies also tack on a 10-20 percent increase to the rate to cover their services. I feel that a Virtual Assistant would be much more cost effective for them as well as a benefit to their business. Any thoughts on this or experiences? |
Comments: 2 :: View Comments |
Posted By: AssistingOthersVirtually
Posted On: 30 August 2010 - 06:47 AM | Title: Craigslist, Kijiji and other advertising avenues
Hello All!
Happy Monday morning!
I have been exploring different websites to advertise and promote services I offer. Does anyone get serious clients from websites like Craigslist or Kijiji? I have been advertising on Craigslist and find that the responses are ridiculous - people are just joking around or if I do get a non-joking inquiry the person just wants to find out what my location is or what is my URL. I have read other posts in this forum as well and responses seem to indicate that Craigslist is not the place to find ideal clients and most people who search on Craigslist are looking for bargains. Yet I have read other posts where some VAs on virtual assistant forums have indicated they have found good clients on Craigslist to work with. Mixed signals  and I'm not sure I want to continue to advertise on Craigslist. I have posted an ad on Kijiji but with no responses.
I do network at different networking opportunities with BNI, Chambers of Commerce and women's groups because I don't think it's wise to rely on only one way to advertise or promote my business.
Any feedback or advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
Barb |
Comments: 2 :: View Comments |
Posted By: KarenSalter
Posted On: 30 August 2010 - 06:01 AM | Title: How would you respond to this?
I'm curious about how other VA's would respond to this situation.
Background - I worked for Raven on a barter basis for over a year. Hours in return for advertising and promotion. I completed the terms of the agreement and she kept asking for more and more. In the process I learned that her sphere of influence was not nearly what she represented it to be. I did a few hours work for her at a reduced rate. Then when I "drew the line" and said our barter agreement is complete. She agreed and went and bartered with another VA. At that time she pulled all advertising and promotion of me off her site and radio program. I received two short term clients from this - one was a project basis and one I had to struggle to get paid for work completed. This was over a year ago when it all "ended."
Fast forward to last month, a person contacts me about doing some work. Raven referred her. I send Raven a note and say thanks.
My policy for referrals: current clients receive 1 hour service for anyone referred who SIGNS a retainer agreement. Non clients/past clients get a thank you. I have never had any complaints about this and 95% of my business comes from referrals.
So I get the following emails from Raven:
From: Raven
Sent: Friday, August 27, 2010 2:16 PM
To: Karen Salter
Subject: ******** now your client....how cool is that
Karen do I get any referral bonus or free service forreferring *******,,,she is my dear friend and she a huge client you'll benefit big time from. I am suprised you never told me I heard it from her after I sent her copies of things you did for me and really solde her on using you
On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 5:27 PM, Karen wrote:
Hi Raven,
Yes, I think **** is very happy with the work I’ve done for her so far. She is very good to work with.
My referral policy is 1 hour free service for each referral. This is not priority service so you need to give me plenty of notice when you want to use it.
Virtually yours,
Karen Salter
From: Raven
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:20 PM
To: karen@saltervirtualassistants.com
Subject: Re: **** now your client....how cool is that
okay ...how much in advance?
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 6:50 AM, Karen Salter wrote:
2 weeks for a small 1 hour project.
Virtually yours,
Karen Salter
From: Raven
So I give you a huge client and all I get is a small 1 hour project okay I'll keep that in mind. I do know other people to refer her and others to |
Comments: 10 :: View Comments |
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