Pinterest is the newest and latest craze in the social media arena. First and foremost, Pinterest is the highest visited social site to date. During a six month period, Pinterest has boasted over a 400% growth rate, out numbering Facebook and Twitter during the same time period. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s important that we charge what we’re worth, and charge based on the value that our work provides to clients. However, it’s often a ‘stuck’ place as service providers muddle through what works and what doesn’t work in charging and getting value-based rates. Below you’ll find seven keys that will guide you in gaining confidence in charging and getting what you’re worth!

1. The first sale is always to yourself. You must be extremely comfortable with, and confident in, the rate you propose to prospects or you won’t make the ‘sale’. If you don’t accept your own rate first, then your prospects will follow suit. You must have 100% confidence in the value your services provide to the client and have that confidence and commitment in that when stating your rate.
2. Focus on outcomes and results – - not tasks/projects. Ultimately, your prospects likely don’t care what is involved; they just want to know that they’ll receive the result or outcome they’re looking for. It’s not about what you’ll DO, but more about what end-result your clients will receive. Make that your focus.
3. Remember that consumers believe “you get what you pay for”. You want clients who have the expectation that you’ll deliver great results. That is what will keep people talking and keep the referrals flowing. Knowing that clients believe ‘you get what you pay for’ allows you to charge for that high value that clients get in working with you.
4. Involve emotion in the prospects so they decide from their heart, not just their head. Emotion will make your prospects take action to hire. You can appeal to their heart and emotion by speaking to the value, results and outcomes. When your communication is all about your fees, you involve just their head. They will over-think and won’t move forward.
5. Communicate long-term benefits in working with you. It’s easier to charge for your value when your prospects understand long-term benefits in working with you. Effectively communicate how they will benefit for months and years to come, by hiring you now.
6. Ask questions of the prospect to express value. Including the prospect in evaluating the value in working with you helps to guide them to take action. Examples include: What will this mean to your business? What would happen if you didn’t move forward? What would be the effect on revenues, or time? You want prospects to arrive at determining great value in working you for themselves.
7. Know your own value. You bring more to the table than you think you do. Consider your path, your journey and your life experiences – - all of these add to your value. Your jobs, your education, your training, your expertise, the courses you’ve taken, the books you read, all make up and increase your value. It’s not solely about the services you provide.

In addition to your personal value, know and understand the financial value that your services provide to your clients. If working with you increases their bottom line, this also is part of your value and what you want to be comfortable and confident in expressing.

Donna Toothaker is a Virtual Assistant, Author, Speaker and VA Success Coach. She is CEO, founder and coach of Step It UP VA Coaching, and the creator of the 6 Steps to 6-Figure VA Success System. Donna passes on the valuable information she learned throughout her many years as a virtual assistant and business owner to others, opening the doors of her coaching programs assisting VAs in the pathway to great success. Donna’s ability to laser focus and joyfully guide others makes her THE choice of VAs across the globe for a coach who gives the recipe for 6-figure success.   

Starting a business as a Virtual Assistant can be a very rewarding career choice.

But it takes a lot of work to ensure that you have the necessary tools in place to get off to a good start. Unfortunately many of the Virtual Assistant businesses that have never been a success weren’t so, because they were started on a belief that all that was needed was a computer and a desire to do business; but it takes so much more.

The first thing you need to ask yourself is if you have the skills necessary to back the services that you are going to be providing to your clients.

The first and perhaps most important skill is the ability to type and perform basic word processing. Believe it or not, there are many people that have started Virtual Assistant businesses that don’t even possess this basic Virtual Assistant skill. Any other skills you decide to offer over and above that should be in line with the skills that you possess as an individual. It can’t be stressed enough to always stick to what you know and only offer other specialized services, such as graphic design, bookkeeping and web design, if you actually have those skills.

If you are insistent that you want to specialize in an “up and coming” area of Virtual Assistance such as internet marketing or social networking, remember that there are amazing training programs available to teach you those skills. However, don’t begin to offer these services until you are confident in your abilities to do a fantastic job for your clients; take the time to learn and practice these skills first.

Another important thing to keep in mind is to first develop your own business plan.

Many don’t take the time to do this because they believe that it has already been determined that the Virtual Assistant concept is solid. Although it may be a solid business idea, determining that your individual business will be as solid is critical to your success. At the very least, you should take the time to conduct a SWOT analysis (review of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) of your competition as well as a PEST trends analysis (Psychological, Economical, Sociological and Technological) which will determine all those things that could affect your business, your potential clients and how they would do business with you.

Building a successful Virtual Assistant business takes dedication and a committed person.

Becoming a small business owner will mean that you are no longer punching a clock. As a business owner you become your business; this effectively means that if you have a deadline of tomorrow at 9am and at 7pm the night before it isn’t done, you will be working. Also, as a business owner you will find that not all the time you are spending on your job will be billable. Unlike a “normal” job where you work 9-5 and are paid for the entire time, as a business owner you will find that there will be some tasks that you undertake during a day that you cannot bill your client for, yet must still be done. In this manner, not every hour you spend in a day working will you be getting paid for.

Finally and perhaps most importantly, if you wish to start a Virtual Assistant business, it is critical that you have a strong support system as well as a resource network.

Your strong support system might be family members or friends that are behind you 100% and believe in what you are doing. Without having that support it will be hard for you to flourish. There have been some that have grown successful Virtual Assistant businesses despite the fact that their spouse does not support them; the way they have done this is by finding their support elsewhere. One such place to look for this support is by joining a Virtual Assistant forum or association that has supportive members.

Once you have all these tools in place, you will be well on the road to not only starting, but building a successful Virtual Assistant business.

Perhaps the best thing about starting a Virtual Assistant business is that you will find that most other Virtual Assistants are always willing to help out the “newbies”, as they affectionately refer to them. The Virtual Assistant business is a very open and sharing network and most experienced Virtual Assistants are willing to lend a helping hand and share their insights and experiences.

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Tawnya Sutherland “The VA Expert” is a modern mensch for Virtual Assistants wanting to learn, share and grow their business at the largest social network online today for VAs:  www.VAnetworking.com

Become a Virtual Assistant in just 30 days at www.VirtualBusinessStartups.com

If you work with clients who need website help then the topic of using WordPress as a website or content management system has probably come up. Most clients will want to know why they should choose WordPress and what the advantages are.

Here are some suggestions on how to answer the question ‘Why should I choose WordPress as my website?’…

It’s free – You only pay for hosting, no additional fees for expensive software (ie. like Dreamweaver which is hundreds) or monthly fees for a builder type program. Read the rest of this entry »

Many new Virtual Assistants begin with taking whatever assignments they can get and as many as possible. It is easy to lose both your way and focus. One of the most important things a new Victual Assistant can do in his or her business, next to writing a business plan, is to find a Niche and Target Market. Without finding a specialty that you love and a target market you WANT to serve,  burn outs can happen quickly.

Finding a Niche is also a great way to stand out from the crowd. It also allows the VAs to charge more for their services. Read the rest of this entry »

Want New Clients For Your Virtual Assistant Business? 

Avoid this costly MISTAKE …

[True Story]  I was recently engaged by a client to find a suitable virtual assistant to provide additional support in her rapidly expanding business.  The role was an excellent long-term online position.  That meant a long-term contract.  Long-term income!    The client was especially looking for someone with a positive attitude (“service with a smile” so to speak).  Read the rest of this entry »

Working with and supporting a coach takes a level of dedication, determination, and excellence. A Coach VA must be immersed in the coaching industry in order to effectively support a coach. She must understand the vast opportunities that a coaching business has to offer each target market. A Coach VA doesn’t need to know how to work within each target market, but she does need to know how to position the coach and her business for success, growth, and profitability within that market. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s no secret that economy is not where it should be today; however, don’t fret, there are still ways to invest into your businesses without any dollars to be spent.  We all know that to keep a business alive and in front of the public’s eye is not an easy task, and many of us create business plans with the addition of funding that is necessary to market and advertise; however, when economy is not good, we simply can’t afford to spend money that we may not even have.   The solution…you don’t have to. Read the rest of this entry »

If your VA practice has slowed down due to the unsteady economy, your thoughts may be turning to how you can bring in more revenue, or even replace some of the clients who may have faded away.

Either way, if you are good with numbers and have at least some bookkeeping experience, here’s an easy way to not only get the word out about your VA services, but expand the services you offer to a wider audience at the same time. All without any hard selling. Read the rest of this entry »

With more than 120 million members and nearly 2 billion people searches per year, LinkedIn is a key resource for building your brand and your business. If you’re new to LinkedIn or haven’t quite found its usefulness yet, there are a few things you should take into consideration to get things rolling with LinkedIn. Read the rest of this entry »