This article is by our guest writer Diana Ennen, who is also the Author of Virtual Assistant: The Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, & The Corel Word Perfect Office Ready Virtual Assistant Solution Pack. She also owns a website: http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com
Setting up a virtual assistant business is relatively easy, but it’s important to have a complete plan of action set out in advance. I’m a firm believer that the initial planning phase of a business is crucial to its success. This ensures that you don’t leave any vital steps unaddressed and also prevents any unexpected surprises down the road. Therefore, I recommend first writing a complete business plan for your business. Nothing technical, just how you plan to operate your business including advertising methods, pricing, business hours, equipment and supplies needed, etc.
The next step is to select the appropriate name. Take your time here as you want your business name to be an asset by appealing to your potential clients. Your name needs to clearly express what services you provide and not limit you if you choose to expand your business into other areas. Decide on a name that people would want to call if they have virtual assisting needs.
To operate a business you are required by law to have the appropriate licenses. This is your permit to do business locally. It’s a simple procedure that doesn’t require a considerable amount of time. Contact your city and county officials under occupational licenses for complete details or go online. Most VAs start out initially as a sole proprietorship and then might change later.
Now it’s time to set up your bookkeeping. I find that the most important ingredient to keeping good books is keeping it simple. If it’s easy to do, and doesn’t require a lot of effort, I tend it do it more regularly. You will want to keep track of all your income and expenses. Save all receipts and pay all your expenses out of your business checking account. A software program such as Quickbooks is ideal for our type of business. Not only does it allow you to keep accurate records, but it also enables you to track exactly where the most money is coming from. This enables you to target your marketing efforts more in that area.
Now you must decide how much to charge. Don’t undercharge your services. Many make this mistake. They feel if they price their services substantially below everyone else, they’ll get more business. That’s true–you might get more business, but you’ll also be working outrageous hours and not making the kind of income you should. Call others in your area and see what they are charging. The average prices being charge today are between $35.00 and $100.00, depending on the specialty. I personally recommend starting no lower than $35.00/hr.
Now you need to get those clients. The key to successful marketing is to tell clients what benefits they will receive by answering their main question, “What’s in it for me?” Keep in mind, you’re not selling your services, you’re selling the benefits of your services. What can you offer them that would make their business run more successfully? An example of this would be accurate dependable service done on an “as needed” basis.
It is also important to have an impressive marketing piece. Your brochures, letterhead, flyers, business cards, etc., should look sensational. Think back on what has caught your eye in the past. Now design your material with that in mind. The most important requirement is that it must be professional and convey that you are more than someone typing documents. Businesses want to deal with other professionals. They don’t want to risk their work, and possibly their clients, on someone who is not. Let them know this is exactly what they will receive when they seek your services. Places such as Vistaprints offer affordable printing.
Once established, word of mouth is your best advertisement. When people get professional, accurate, and friendly service they tell others. If you offer such exceptional service, you can be assured that you will need to advertise only at the onset to get your business started. From then on, your repeat clients, and referrals from them, will keep your business thriving.
Recognition is also a key to success, whether it’s through the press releases, articles, message boards, newspapers, chats, your website, radio or TV, when clients see your business repeatedly, they become familiar with your company and when the need arises, they will call you. Therefore consider where you can advertise that can keep your name out there.
Now that you’ve got the clients, you need to keep them. The best way to do this is to always provide them with more than they ask for. Go the extra mile on all assignments. Let them know that you value their business and are eager to help them succeed.
And finally, enjoy your business. Many start their own business to spend more time with their family. It’s the perfect way to stay at home and still make an excellent income. Firmly set your hours and learn to say no. Remember it’s your business and often your dream come true. By learning your limitations, you can keep it a wonderful experience that both you and your family will enjoy.
Category: Home-Based Business
Blogging is quickly becoming the new favorite for small business marketers. Mainly because of the amazing results they received when they blog regularly. And publicity isn’t the only benefit to blogging. There are many ways that blogging can add merit to your business. In fact,
The Wall Street Journal recently featured The CWAHM blog in an article on how blogging can help small businesses create a buzz for their products and services. The results from this were amazing and prove that blogging truly works: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120526706660828097.html?mod=ITPWSJ_20.
Here are the top ten ways to use blogs to increase your business revenue.
1. Ad revenue – Offering paid advertising on your blog is one of the easiest ways to see tangible evidence of the benefits of blogging.
2. Link swaps – Swapping links with other like-minded bloggers increases your standing with search engines. One of the biggest blogs available, problogger.net, recently completed a survey in an attempt to find where bloggers get the most traffic? The overwhelming response? Google at 46%. This shows us how important search engine ranking are. Link swaps are just one way to improve yours.
3. Reviews – Another growing trend online is that of the customer review. People appreciate reading the thoughts of others before they purchase a product. It doesn’t seem to matter how big or small the product, either. Posting reviews of books you’ve read, CDs you love, etc, is a great way to generate traffic for your blog.
4. Free offers – Who doesn’t love a freebie? There are many ways of using freebies to your advantage.You can offer a free ebook when someone signs up for your newsletter is an easy way to build your subscriber base. Many blogs also offer contests for those who post comments or interact in other ways on the blog.
5. Blog tours – Being a part in a blog tour is like being the next stop along the railroad. If set up correctly, the tour will send participants from one blog to the next to read more about whatever topic the tour is covering. I’ve participated in many blog tours for book releases. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to bring new readers to your blog.
6. Networking – It goes without saying that building relationships with people is one of the oldest ways of gaining long-time, loyal customers (or in this case, readers). Taking part in the comments discussion on blogs and forums is a great way to do this. The key, though, is to be authentic. Don’t simply blast places with the link to your blog; take part in the discussion and provide useful information – not just your URL.
7. Directories – Listing your blog in blog directories is probably not the best way to generate traffic, but it can be useful in certain ways. It’s a great way to connect with other like-minded bloggers and possibly generate some link exchanges, etc.
8. Press/Media – Getting media attention can be challenging. One great way to bring your blog to the attention of the media is to send out Press Releases when something newsworthy happens on your site. For instance, when I offered a free e-book on my site for Mother’s Day I put together a press release to announce it to the world.
9. Consistency – Posting on a regular basis is key. Try to find a schedule that works for you and stick to it. Even if you can’t blog every day, work to get posts out there two to three times a week. Most blogging software, including WordPress and Blogger, allow you to set the date and time our post will be published. Utilize tools like this to keep your blog consistently updated with fresh, new content.
10. Updates – Finding ways to keep your readers informed is a sure-fire way to keep them coming back to your blog. There are a quite a few ways of accomplishing this, such as offering a newsletter, setting up a Feedburner.com account, and making your RSS feeds easy to find and subscribe to.
Are you one of those people who are guilty of just stuffing your receipts into a folder and thinking ‘I’ll sort that out when I’ve got time’? Do you need a more organised bookkeeping system, nothing too flash, just something that’s simple and easy to manage?
Follow my tips below and you’ll soon have that simple and easy-to-manage bookkeeping system that won’t bring you out in a cold sweat whenever you hear the words ‘tax return’. And I promise you, it works!
1. Gather your supplies!
Get hold of a large ring binder, divider cards, A4/letter-sized paper, stapler, pen, all your business receipts and invoices, plastic folders and a large coffee (or whatever else you prefer!).
Then lock yourself away for a couple of hours.
2. Get Organized
You now need to organize your ring binder into the following sections:
Invoices – Unpaid — this section is for your outgoing business expenses that have not yet been paid i.e. supplier invoices. Write on the top of each invoice the date it needs to be paid by and place all unpaid invoices in ‘date to be paid’ order with the earliest one on top.
Invoices – Paid — this section is for your outgoing business expenses that have been paid or you’ve paid at the time service was rendered, i.e. that ream of paper that you bought from the office supplies store. Staple each receipt on to a blank piece of paper rather than just putting them directly into the ring binder. This just makes it easier to see at a glance all your receipts and you can also make notes on the paper. Also write on the top of each invoice/piece of paper the method of payment.
Receipts – Unpaid — this section is for all your invoices that you have sent to clients that have not yet been paid. Write on the top date payment is due and put them in date order so that it’s easier if you have to chase overdue invoices.
Receipts – Paid — this section is for all your invoices that have been paid. Write on the top the date it was paid and how it was paid i.e. cash, check, credit card etc.
Bank Statements — this section is self-explanatory! Just keep everything in date order.
3. Schedule It In
Now that you’ve got your system in place, schedule in each week/month to keep your bookkeeping binder up-to-date. In between updating place all your receipts and invoices in a plastic folder so that everything is together when you come to update your system–it would be too time-consuming to add each receipt as you get it!
What Next?
Depending on how far you want to handle your own accounts, you can either hand your very organised bookkeeping binder over to your accountant at the end of the financial year for them to prepare your final accounts, or you can maintain your own books with the use of financial accounting software.
Either way, you’ve now got a bookkeeping system that is simple and easy-to- manage and won’t cause you to break out into a cold sweat at the very mention of the words ‘tax return’.
Working from home is growing in popularity in this unsettled economy. It’s great for the working parent as they can be there for their children and save money by avoiding the long commute day in and day out. Bosses are growing to appreciate this style of work as working from has actually proven to churn out more productive workers. However, when working from home there are always the temptations to stray from your work or just plain getting distracted. It may sound like a dream but it takes some serious discipline to work out of your house. Here are five tips to increasing your productivity as you stay home and work:
1. Stick to a schedule.
If you’re used to a 9 to 5 day then carry that over with you as work you from home. If you fall into a trap of putting things off and laying on the couch until 11 or 12 you’re going to get behind and this whole idea of working from home will go up in smoke. It’s imperative you treat each workday the same as you would if you were going into the office as normal. Wake up and shower and get dressed professionally. Don’t turn on the television; go to your workstation and begin tackling your day.
2. Set up a true workstation.
If you have your computer in the family room where there are distractions galore then move it to an unused room away from these temptations. You have to create some semblance of an office setting. Do you have a comfy couch with cozy blankets at your office? No, you don’t.
3. Let everyone know where you can be reached.
Give out your cell phone or land line numbers to your clients and co-workers. If you change your email address then let this be known. There can be no miscommunication and nobody will care about your excuses. The prevailing theme you must remember is that you’re still doing the same work; you’ve just changed locations. Consider it as you got moved to another office.
4. Leave your work at home.
As you’ve already developed a schedule (see step 1), you must stick to it. Once five o’clock rolls around it’s time for you to leave work and live your life. If you don’t follow the schedule you’ll fall into the trap of sneaking away to your computer during family time and odd hours when the rest of the people you work with are away from the office. You have to stay on the same page as your industry and Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. are probably not peak hours.
This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who is an industry critic on the subject of types of credit cards. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.
Business Opportunities And Ideas: Having racked your brains for weeks to find the perfect home business idea there can be a sense of elation when you finally decide this is it – I’ve found my big idea. The excitement can soon evaporate however when you’re faced with the next challenge – actually turning the idea into a real live business. This articles guides you through the process, suggesting what you need to be doing and why.
1) Research your market and evaluate your idea
Before you launch any business you need to evaluate you business idea ask yourself these questions:
* Is there a market for your product or service, if so is the market growing, stable or shrinking? Who says the market exists?
* Is the market in your location or accessible to you? If so is it big enough to support the business opportunity, or put another way, can reach a big enough market from your location?
* What are the risks associated with the business?
* Has the business idea been proven by another business elsewhere? Does the business model stand up to scrutiny?
* How prone is the business opportunity to competitors? Are competitors likely to be able to undercut you or offer a better product or service that you can’t match?
* What will you make from the business? Is the Return On Investment (ROI) worth the risks involved? Will you actually make more money than you spend?
Don’t be afraid to ask other businesses that service the same customer for their advice and feedback on your idea.
2) Plan ahead
It’s often said that failing to plan is planning to fail and it’s true. One of the biggest causes of business failure is a lack of cash usually because the owner did not plan for all the expenses that would be incurred. The great thing about a home business however is the low start-up costs – you won’t need a penny for office space or rates.
Create a business plan
To avoid this create a business plan. It doesn’t have to be much, it doesn’t even have to be a formal document (unless you’re raising finance) but document what you are going to sell, whom you are going to sell to, why they are going to buy from you, how you are going to deliver it and what you are going to charge them. Set yourself some goals and deadlines – most of us work hardest when we are working to achieve a deadline.
Find some funding
Create a list of all the expenses you expect to incur and if you’re giving up another income to pursue this business make sure you have at least six months of living costs saved up on top of that. Ideally you want to fund the business from savings, if you can’t then think carefully about delaying starting until you have – alternatively you can use loans and credit cards, but make sure you think carefully about the risk you’re taking on by doing so.
3) Promote yourself
Start talking to people about what you do. Get known in the relevant business community by networking and above all else start telling your target market that you exist. Make sure you do one thing every day that makes at least one more customer aware that you exist and are able to help them.
4) Get organised
Working from home is not the easy option, the husband, wife, kids, parents, cat, dog and anyone else who regularly visits your house will feel they can interrupt you at any time. On top of that there’s the distractions that fill a modern home (TV, Internet, music, the garden, etc.) so you’ll need to set some boundaries – ideally you’ll want somewhere private to work without being disturbed.
5) Just Do It!
Don’t be put off by fear, you’ll almost certainly make mistakes but they are rarely as drastic as they first seem and if you’re doing something to move your business forward every day then sooner or later you’ll arrive at your destination – a successful home business.
How To Turn Your Home Business Idea Into A Home Business [Business Opportunities And Ideas]