3 Things to Consider Before Hiring a Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants can be an amazing addition to any business. Virtual assistants provide support to business owners but do so from their own home or office. Assistance can come in the form of Internet marketing, social media, web design, administrative support or any other area of support that the business owner may need.
Virtual assistants are a huge asset to business owners that need support but who do not want to spend the time and money on hiring, managing and paying full-time staff. The beautiful thing about a virtual assistant is that the business owner doesn’t need to pay for taxes, benefits or vacation/sick days.
In an article on MSN’s Business on Main called, “How Do I Hire a Virtual Assistant“, the multiple authors involved with the article share their tips on hiring a virtual assistant and provide advice to all types and sizes of businesses.
However, before you hire a virtual assistant, there are three things you should consider before you set out to hire one.
Read MorePodcast: Blogging for Business (Ep. 8)
We’re pleased to announce that we will be hosting a weekly podcast via iTunes! Each week, we’ll be bringing you a five-minute or less podcast focused on a variety of topics: social media, Internet marketing, entrepreneurship, general business tips and more.
Episode 8: Blogging for Business
I received a question on my Formspring.me account which asked, “How long should my blog posts be and how many posts per week should you be creating to drive the maximum number of visits to your site?”
Let me preface this conversation by saying that like all things that can be done for your business, the way that you blog is often defined by your preferences and the time you have available for this tactic. For every single entrepreneur, this is going to be different. However, there are a few things that we can discuss here that will help you formulate a plan around blogging.
This episode focuses on answering that question.
Subscribe Via iTunes
Click on the icon to the left and you will be taken to iTunes where you can subscribe and download this episode along with all other episodes. Once added to iTunes, you can add the podcast to an MP3 player or simply listen to it from your iTunes account.
Listen from Our Website
You can also listen to the podcast right from this post! To listen, simply click play on the player below. You will not be able to stop and come back to the recording so keep that in mind before starting the podcast. If you have any comments that stem from the podcast, please leave them as a comment here!
Podcast: Working With a Virtual Assistant (Ep. 7)
We’re pleased to announce that we will be hosting a weekly podcast via iTunes! Each week, we’ll be bringing you a five-minute or less podcast focused on a variety of topics: social media, Internet marketing, entrepreneurship, general business tips and more.
Episode 7: Working with a Virtual Assistant
I received a question on my Formspring.me account which asked, “I’m looking at learning more about virtual assistants and how they could benefit me in my business. Also, what sort of costs I am looking at. Where is the best place to start?”
Delegating can seem like a huge expense before you work out what it may really cost. To help with this, I’ve setup a really simple equation you can do at anytime, with any task.
This episode focuses on answering that question and teaches you the equation that I use to cost things out.
Subscribe Via iTunes
Click on the icon to the left and you will be taken to iTunes where you can subscribe and download this episode along with all other episodes. Once added to iTunes, you can add the podcast to an MP3 player or simply listen to it from your iTunes account.
Listen from Our Website
You can also listen to the podcast right from this post! To listen, simply click play on the player below. You will not be able to stop and come back to the recording so keep that in mind before starting the podcast. If you have any comments that stem from the podcast, please leave them as a comment here!
Radio Interview: Social Media & The Virtual Assistant #newmediaradio
Last night I was interviewed on New Media Radio by Monique Terrell and Sam Weaver on the topic of: “Social Media and the Virtual Assistant.”
We had a great conversation around the virtual assistance industry and how social media has affected the industry both from a service standpoint and a user standpoint. In the interview, I share my opinion on “social media assistants” and talk about incorporating these trendy new services into your business without pigeon-holing yourself.
You can listen in to the interview here. I’ve also embedded the radio interview below.
Erin, You’re All About the Money!
This weekend and past week, I’ve had the unfortunate experience of dealing with a non-paying client. Generally speaking, we collect pre-payment on all services and then keep detailed time logs of the work that is complete. We allow our clients to have a period of time to look over the time logs and if they have anything they are unhappy with or wish to clarify, they can do so and we work with them to ensure that they are satisfied.
Every once in awhile, I’ll meet a client who is just awesome. Or, at least it starts that way. The client is happy, excited, we finish some really great work for him/her and over time, develop a relationship that seems like it’s going to last forever. That is until the client runs out of money. Now, we do our best to help our clients make money but we can only do so much. For example, if we suggest that the price on their newest program is ridiculously high and they don’t adjust it, it is not our fault if they do not sell seats into that program.
So, this past weekend, I was dealing with someone who had obviously run out of money. How do I know this? Their eChecks have come back NSF (non-sufficient funds) at least three times and the time between invoice and payment was getting longer and longer. Now, since we had entered into an awesome relationship, I had allowed them to pay-as-they-went. Yes, I know. Stupid mistake on my part in hindsight but this person seemed like a trustworthy person who had appreciated and loved the work we had done to date.
Read MoreThought-Provoking Interviews, Straight to Your Inbox
Erin has interviewed countless experts on countless topics all relating to business ownership. Now, you can subscribe to receive, at no cost, all of these audio interviews! Subscribe below to receive one audio interview, per week, and you'll also receive our newsletter!
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