National Association Of Virtual Assistants for Coaches | Assisting each other as we support our coaches

5 Ways to Develop Your Business In September

By kimgray · Comments (0)

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Here at NAVAC, we take business development very seriously. Staying on top of all the behind-the-scenes activities and administrative tasks can be daunting. Virtual business owners have an extra responsibility to stay on top of industry standards, market trends, and economic shifts. We all need help with figuring out the best systems and designing a customized program for our business.

Being able to do the work is much different than being able to market your business to get the work. Marketing and promoting your business in a virtual world takes even more effort because you are invisible. Trust is traditionally built face-to-face with a brick-and-mortar business, but you don’t have that luxury. Instead, you will have to rely on the relationships of others as you build our own relationships.

How will you manage the development of your business from start-up to emerging to thriving? How much will it cost? There, I said it! It will cost you time, effort, and cash from your savings or current income. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can’t afford to invest in your business because your business isn’t generating any revenue. Be smarter and know that you can’t afford not to invest in your business. When you make wise investments in business development activities that could generate revenue and apply what you’ve learned immediately, you’ll win.

With all that said, take a look at NAVAC’s Business Development Workshops for September on our Workshops page. We are offering a few seats in our exclusive classroom to the general virtual assistance public. We have five amazing workshops to choose from, with prices ranging from $99 – $129. Each workshop includes at least three sessions, an online classroom environment, a webinar feature, plus recordings for download. Plus, you can register today and not have to pay until September 3rd!

Here is a glimpse at our lineup of workshops:

Visit our Workshop page to learn more, view our schedule, and register your seat.

Categories : Uncategorized

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Virtual Tea Party: Networking Secrets for On-Line and In Person

By kimgray · Comments (0)

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

All are invited to NAVAC’s next Virtual Tea Party on August 26 at 5PM Eastern. Our guests will be Brad Stauffer and Kat Knecht of Accelerate Your Business Now! Our Virtual Tea Parties are normally for members only, but we are making a change for the rest of 2010! Why the change? Well, NAVAC has some great guest speakers lined up that bring relevant information to our Coaches VAs inside and outside of NAVAC, and we want to share. So, each month, we will hold a few seats for non-NAVAC members to join us for the guest speaker portion of our Virtual Tea Party.

Networking Secrets for On-Line and In Person is the topic that will jump start NAVAC’s September campaign to Take Care of Yourself. Here is how Brad and Kat describe the benefits of their secrets:

“Have you ever wondered what it really takes to be effective in face-to-face networking, as well as in the online social media arena? Do you dread networking meetings, or sit in front of your monitor wondering what to write in “status update”? It’s no secret that it can be challenging and confronting, especially for introverts, and even extroverts that are not clear on what to say. Effective networking, that leaves people remembering you, takes strategic, but very practical ways of being your “official self”. So, join us and hear our personal “secrets” (what works for us) about networking techniques that are engaging, intriguing and that get attention.”

Professional virtual assistants need to master this art of networking in all arenas in order to grow our business. As Coaches VAs, it is just as important that we master this technique so we can be of value to our coaches. Many coaches struggle with finding their target market because their networking skills are weak, but we can help. However, we want to be confident that we can attract our own ideal traffic with networking efforts before we try to assist our coaches. I do hope you will join us for this Virtual Tea Party and learn some “secrets” you can add to your toolbelt. Register here for your FREE seat.

Categories : Celebrations, Events, Free Teleclasses

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Prepare for Your Ideal VA

By kimgray · Comments (0)

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

I just hosted an information call for over 20 interested coaches who are looking to work with a VA. Their struggle with making that decision seems to come from one thing: change. The call was prefaced by an article I submitted that compared preparing to work with a VA with preparing for a new baby. It’s about change and how the change will impact your current world. Take a look at some of their responses to my question, “What do you hope to learn from the call?”

help my VA to be better
what a VA does and how they can be helpful for a coaching business
what tools are available and why
should I hire a VA, what is necessary on my part to have the best experience
what a VA is, and does and whether or not I would benefit from using one
how to position myself with a successful coaching business so I will find myself requiring the services of a VA
pricing, what can I expect from an average hour of a VA’s time
reasons to use a VA
how do I know when it is time
the value of a VA and when it is appropriate to start investing in one, as well as what it is they do
working as a virtual assistant
how to identify what a VA can do, how to find the right VA, setting expectations
determine the benefits of using a VA within my coaching business
an understanding of what a VA can do for me
how to start working with a VA. I can’t imagine having 10-20 hours/week for a VA’s minimum (or being able to afford that)
if I should hire a VA right now as I’m starting up
whether and how I can use a VA in my business and reasonable costs

I am sure you started answering these questions as you went down the list. These are common concerns and roadblocks that we must address in our marketing and recruiting efforts. Since our industry is so diverse and vast, each of us has the responsibility to clear up misconceptions and set aside these fears. Only then will we make a dent in securing a place in this e-world for professional virtual assistance business owners.

Well, if you would like to submit your response to any of these topics, let me know. We are always open to hearing comments from the industry and may include your response in our next post. NAVAC will be addressing these concerns in upcoming posts in September. Our Blogger Team will be chiming in with their stories and suggestions to any of these responses. It is sure to be a whammy of a September here at NAVAC. If you want to participate, enter your comments below the blog post or send your comments by email to kgray at navacoaches dot com.

Categories : Business Growth, va4coaches

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New Businesses Need to Make Room for Growth Too

By shannon · Comments (0)

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

For me, the time that I knew I had to make room for growth has been from the beginning and has had to include the right mix of education, networking, and advice from others who have been there. I started my business last November and quickly realized that if I didn’t continually make room for growth, that I wouldn’t be lasting long.

When I started my business, I thought that I had a good plan of action, that I knew how to promote it, and I knew everything that I needed to know about my business. Then I sat and waited, and waited, and waited. Hmmm! No takers!

I knew it was a good business and that it would allow me to help others, but THEY didn’t know it. So, I started adding new services that I felt would help me out and quickly got into spending more money than I had coming in. After three months of working that plan with no results, I realized I needed to take a really good look at what was necessary.

As I began to look at what I had vs. what I needed, I had to really look at how much I was paying for a service, what benefits I was getting on that service and how it was going to affect my future growth. What was my Return on Investment for that service or program? Just because a service was free or because I had paid a lot of money for it, didn’t mean it was the best program/service for my business. It took a lot of careful thought and tweaking to come up with the right mix of downsizing. One of the best services I wound up adding is NAVAC. It has proven to be the right mix of education, support, tools and networking I could get for my money.

My advice to anyone new in the Virtual world is that growth has to be what is right for you to keep you learning and moving forward and that it has to be ongoing. Always look for ways to simplify and add new skills to grow your business and most important…look for ways to nurture relationships in your business in order to truly grow your business.

Shannon Holloway is a member of our Blogger Team and owner of MyTechMeetings. To learn more about Shannon’s new services for VAs visit her site at http://mytechmeetings.net and download a free copy of her Virtual Event Planner

Categories : Blogger Team, Business Growth

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Make Room for Growth with Self Growth.com

By kimgray · Comments (0)

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

August is Make Room for Growth month here at NAVAC, and I wanted to kick off the month with this amazing resource. I know I attend my fair share of free telecalls and pay for workshops in hopes they will deliver rich, relevant content. Last week, I attended this ‘answer to my prayer’ call with Brian Nicoletti and David Riklan of Self Growth.com. Oh my goodness! I had been looking for a resource to help me with a curriculum around working in a joint venture relationship. Then SelfGrowth.com provided the answer with their Advanced Joint Venture and Affiliate Marketing call. Thank you Brian and David!

One of the first nuggets that David shared was the ‘new school’ of thought for a joint venture that negates the ‘old school’ definition. That was refreshing! I had been stifled by the old definition, but now with that stigma out of the way, I focused on the remainder of the call, thrilled at the possibilities. Then David went on to reveal the prerequisites for a successful joint venture, mistakes people make and how to avoid them. He shared a variety of successful business models, and explained how to use SelfGrowth’s amazing new free e-book, Premier Joint Venture and Affiliate Directory. Get a copy here: http://www.selfgrowth.com/downloadjvdirectory.html

If you are looking to make room for growth in your business, you need to get this guide. Heck, you need to join SelfGrowth.com just to take advantage of all the resources available. How else would you have known about this book if I hadn’t shared it with you? When you join, maybe you will find a valuable resource to share with us that tickles your fancy. I am looking forward to using this guide in our association workshops as we build revenue streams with like-minded individuals.

Categories : Celebrations

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Exactly Who’s the Boss Here?

By Sheila Edens-Brown · Comments (0)

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

After 20 years in the corporate world, I experienced burn-out to the point where just thinking of going to work would make me literally sick. It was at this point that I knew that it was time to put my dream of being a business owner in place.

After going through the motions and getting everything in place, it was time to hang out the shingles. Just the thought of being a business owner was exuberating. I had my first client within two weeks, even though she is taking a break from her business because of the death of her husband, she is still my client and we have had a wonderful relationship. All have not been like her. There were control issues; money problems and just not letting me do my job because they felt they knew better than I how to accomplish the task.

After becoming a part of the NAVAC group I discovered that I was still working under the employee mindset and that my clients were calling the shots.

Kim and the group showed me how I needed to be in control, that this was my business and that I was the one to determine how my business was to be run; I was the boss and not the employee. It was at this point that I revised my policies and payment procedures. A clear line was set as to my office hours, how task would be completed that would benefit the client and myself and that I was the one to determined how the business was to be ran.

If you find yourself struggling with your business and finding it hard to be your own boss you need to become a part of NAVAC. The benefits you walk away with are the wealth that you need for a striving business.

Sheila Edens-Brown is the owner of Sheer Elegance Virtual Assistant and a guest blogger of the NAVAC Blogger Team. She is a Social Media specialist who works with coaches that need to increase their web presence. To learn more about Sheila and how she works, visit her site at http://sheereleegancevirtualassistant.com.

Categories : Blogger Team

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Are You ‘Fully Set Up’?

By kimgray · Comments (0)

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Have you ever heard or read some information that was so close to the truth but just missed making the point? I hate when that happens because then I feel compelled to set the record straight. You are witnessing that moment by reading this post. As I was doing some research for my VA Business Development workshops, I found a series of articles that used the same phrases as my workshop title. Being the nosy sort of individual that I am, I printed them out and read them to find out what folks have been saying about the virtual assistance opportunity. Not to my surprise, I found these common “crucial steps” to take in setting up your virtual assistance business.

1. Do the research
2. Define your niche
3. Get a website
4. Create a portfolio
5. Network
6. Strive for excellence
7. Get trained
8. Be equipped
9. Become an expert
10. Market like a madman
11. Don’t give up
12. Be available
13. Define your services
14. Purchase all the equipment and
software
15. Think virtually
16. Market like a prospective client
17. Read, read, read
18. Be patient
19. Ask for referrals
20. Provide you contact information
21. Communicate

Sounds easy, huh? I think not! A lot of new VAs get bogged down on #7, thinking they have to have everything just perfect. If you follow this theory, you will miss opportunities and leave money on the table. How? Well, a new prospect will appear and you will give them a bargain rate because you aren’t ‘fully set up’. Your prospect is happy and thrilled at your bargain rate and will work you like a Hebrew slave. Then when you ‘get fully set up’ how will you get them to pay your market rate? Hmmm!

That’s why it is so important to add two more to the list.

22. Develop standards to protect you from yourself.

23. Become Your Best Boss and find a mentor to guide you.

Bottom line is this, work with what you have and generate revenue so that you can make regular investments in your business development each month. Set up a schedule for that allows you to take the training and then apply it immediately. If you don’t have an immediate need within the next 30 days, wait until you can use what you learn. Trust me on this — you will lose it! Save yourself some money and frustration by making a plan with your mentor and sticking to it.

Categories : Business Growth

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Employees Don’t Give Permission

By shannon · Comments (2)

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

I think I really was operating my business as an employee until I had my “aha” moment in our Become your Best Boss workshop. It was in defining my ideal client. It was giving myself the permission to be picky about who I would work with so that I would work well with that client. Listening to others go through the process, listening to Kim help me work through who I really am and who I would truly work well with and really digging deep enough to help me spell that out made a change in the way I view myself, my business and how I work with others.

The process of it all, giving myself permission to work with who I want to work with, not who my money tells me who to work with helped me to understand that these are the things that being a Boss and not an Employee are all about. In order to become your Best Boss, not your Worst Employee, you have to be willing to take a good hard look at yourself. Be honest about who you really are and then dig deeper. As someone who was looking at my business as an employee, I hadn’t given myself permission to go there. This group with Kim facilitating is really helping me to see that process through, not only by going through it myself, but also by listening to others who are on the same journey and what they are experiencing and learning about themselves.

That moment that Kim says… “But what does that mean to you?” has become my mantra for changing from being my Worst Employee into becoming my Best Boss.

To learn more about our featured blogger, Shannon Holloway, visit her website at www.mytechmeetings.net. Shannon is a Virtual Events Specialist who works with Virtual Assistants to plan, schedule, and manage events logistics.

Categories : Blogger Team

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Faith Will Keep You From Quitting

By kimgray · Comments (2)

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Working side-by-side with new and veteran VAs on how to strengthen their business, a few basic topics keep surfacing. When I started my journey towards becoming a virtual assistant, I bumped my head a few times. I could never quite get my ‘sea legs’ and find the quality clients I wanted. My initial clients were local, wanted me to be in their space, and paid me less than what I made as an employee! It took me 7 years to decide to find the funds I needed to work past the ‘dip’ (as Seth Godin calls it). Along the way, I discovered 10 pieces of information I needed to have to jump start my official business.

Purpose
Company Name
Tag line
EIN
Domain Name
Elevator Speech
Website
Business Checking Account
$2500 to Invest
Faith

Okay, Faith may not be a piece of information, but without it your business will fail. I have found that when nothing seemed to be going right, my faith kept me from throwing up my hands and returning to the JOB.

I just finished reading half of Seth Godin’s book “The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)”. Just reading half of his book has sparked that “I thought so” in my bones. You know where I heard about his book? From Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour, a speaker at our IAAP Conference in Boston. I didn’t get to go this year, but her article, “Decide On What You Really Want!” mentioned Seth’s book.

What sparked my interest in Seth’s book? Well, I like Seth’s writing and Vernice said that his book embraced the concept of knowing when to quit. You see, quitting the right things and redirecting your energies is much better than quitting at the wrong time. You have to rely on faith to lean into the ‘dip’ and push past it. Read the book for yourself — it’s available on Kindle for immediate download. That’s how I got it.

Categories : Business Growth

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I Learned to Say “No”

By Jay Black · Comments (1)

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Often we may find ourselves in a situation where we are forced to make a difficult decision. On one hand our loss may be one that will sting a little. On the other hand, our gain, after time, may be great. Have you ever faced a dilemma similar to this? I have.

Whenever you are in the beginning stages of your business, you are eager to accept whatever anyone gives you. You may feel that in order to generate income you must work with a client who wants you to lower your fee, who does not accept your standards, or someone who is not your ideal client. The latter is the situation I found myself having to deal with in the earlier stages of my business.

I began working with a client who did not understand the partnering aspect of working with a VA. I totally understand that most coaches or small business owners do not fully understand that aspect, but this one coach was not willing to accept it. I tried to explain and show her how her business would benefit if we collaborated together and were more goal oriented instead of task oriented. After many failed attempts of trying to explain that to her, I bowed to momentary defeat. After much consideration and frustration, I realized that I would have to learn to say “no” to clients who are not my ideal coach clients. Yes, that would mean that I would be possibly turning away money in the beginning, but in the long-run I would have my sanity, peace and joy. Those are riches that money simply cannot buy. After I completed her purchased hours, I said goodbye to my client and revamped my business standards.

Categories : Blogger Team

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5 Ways to Develop Your Business In September

Virtual Tea Party: Networking Secrets for On-Line and In Person

Prepare for Your Ideal VA

New Businesses Need to Make Room for Growth Too

Make Room for Growth with Self Growth.com

Exactly Who’s the Boss Here?

Are You ‘Fully Set Up’?

Employees Don’t Give Permission

Faith Will Keep You From Quitting

I Learned to Say “No”

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