January – 2010 – The Gritty Virtual Assistant

Monthly Archives: January 2010

January 27, 2010 – 10:00 am

Show Me Your Office Space!

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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I got a lot of messages yesterday from folks who enjoyed seeing my office and found inspiration and ideas for adding more beauty and function into their own spaces. A few even sent pix!

I love seeing other peoples’ offices as well so I thought it would be fun to start a post on just that. Shoot me over a pic of your office space to [word at grittyva dot com] and I’ll post it with your name/business and a link back to your website. I’ll add folks and their pix as I get them.

1. Vee Smith of My Super VA:

veesmith

I absolutely adore Vee’s shedworking office! What a lovely space, Vee.

By the way, did you know there is an entire community of shedworkers/shedworking? They seem to be really big over in the UK particularly, but I know for a fact we have some “shedworkers” here in the States, too. If you have a shedworking office, would love to see your building!

2. Mirna Bajraj of MB Asistencia Virtual

mirnab Ooo, Mirna, I really LOVE that painting!

3. Arlene de Waal of Jill of Virtual Assistants:

What a bright, airy space you have, Arlene. LOVE those colors and textures!

4. Debbie Aubrey of FastFingers:

I really like that wall color, Debbie! You’ll have to tell me what it’s called.

5. Jodi Rothhaar of A Virtual Advantage LLC:

jodysoffice

Jody’s office window looks out onto the view of the cove where she lives. Don’tcha just love living on the water, Jody?!

6. Julia Lilly of 360 Admin:

julial Very sleek and polished, Julia!

7. Libby McInyre of McIntyre Office Assistance:

Hey, Libby, I like your little friends up top there. I bet they keep you good company during the day, LOL!

8. Nikki Campos of True Virtual Assistant:

We have similar wall colors, Nikki. And those curtains are gorgeous! Oh, what a cute little screensaver you have, too. Is that your daughter?

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January 26, 2010 – 10:00 am

A Tour of My Office

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Here’s an article I wrote and published today in “The Portable Business™.” If you’d like to subscribe, go here:

danielle012810

Aesthetics are very important to me. The space in which I work has a a very powerful effect on my sense of well-being and I love to be surrounded by things that are beautiful, fun and practical all at the same time. Form + function, don’t you know!

1. So here is my desk area:

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I adore my L-shaped glass desk. It’s the CEO series from Dania and it’s huge with workspace for miles. It isn’t the most practical thing because you have to dust it much more often, but I absolutely love the beauty of it. Plus, in a smaller office space such as mine, it helps open the room up and reduces the feeling of crowding a large desk in a small room normally gives.

I also have the separately purchased ergonomic keyboard tray that slides out in front of the computer. With the amount of time I spend on the keyboard, this is critical to wrist health!

keyboard

I have a rolling filing cabinet under my desk.

rollingdrawer

This is great for keeping tickler files and other things you need on a daily basis at your fingertips.

This is my latest pen holder:

penholder

As you can see, it’s not technically a pen holder at all. I don’t like typical office organization tools; they’re so boring and humdrum. I like to find interesting and unusual holders and things at antique stores and yard sales. This latest holder was actually a Dollar Store find. I like the Asian-style flavor and it certainly holds more than the typical pen holder.

My corner cabinet:

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2. I love my zebra chair!

chair

It’s stylish, fun and practical. I have never liked high-backed office chairs with arms. Even in my corporate days, people thought I was crazy to be turning my nose up at the expensive executive chairs I was given in favor of something much easier to move around in. I can’t stand those dang chair arms getting in my way.

3. This is one of my filing areas:

filingarea

I have a very sturdy Hon two-drawer lateral file. I prefer lateral files because a) they take up less floor space by using space along the wall instead; b) they offer greater filing capacity; and c) contents are much easier to file and access than in front-loaded drawers.

I like to use colorful binders for documents and manuals I refer to frequently. They add visual interest and style to the room. On the top shelf, you can see that I like to use glass vases to hold my creative supplies.

artsupplies

The small vase holding my Sharpie collection is actually a glass candle holder I got from Target. I’ve also found interestingly patterned and textured holders from Toilet & Bath departments, LOL.

4. This is my basket of small electronics accessories:

basket

I found this gorgeous double-walled basket at a yard sale last summer for $1. This where I keep all my extra cords and chargers. It’s practical while adding beauty to the room. I use ziplock bags to keep things organized.

baggie

All the cords and plugs and accessories for my cell phone go in one bag. All those for my digital recorder go in another. All those for my camera go in another, and so forth. Then I mark the baggies with a Sharpie so I know which bag goes to what.

5. “The Wave” by Hokusai is one of my favorite classics.

thewave

I have this awkward space underneath my office window. I couldn’t figure out what to do with it for the longest time because the baseboard heater always threw a wrench in the works. When I came across this panoramic poster online, I knew it would be perfect visual interest for that area. I took it to my local craft store where I had it Color-Plaked which adds this clear, durable texturized coating over the top of the particle-board mounted piece. The way they do the wall-mounting in the back (they call it Color-Float) is ingenious. I couldn’t begin to describe it, but it makes the piece stand out from the wall for a really interesting effect.

6. I use split tubing to organize computer and electrical cords.

splittubing

This is a great way to disguise those ugly cables and cords. Since my desk is glass, I have nothing on which to screw in any kind of cable organizer so this is perfect. I got mine at Home Depot where you can get one pkg of 8′ split tubing for a mere $2.99. Cords are easily tucked into the tubing with your fingers. The tubing is also easily cut with scissors so you can measure out precise lengths.

7. I have a badass surround-sound computer speaker system which is great for listening to music, movies and business teleseminars.

speakers

8. This is my vision board:

visionboard

I created my board so that it could be used as a permanent art piece as well as a vision board. It hangs on the wall in front of where I sit at the computer so that I look at it each and every day. What I did was take three cork panels and glue them to a piece of cut particle board. I then painted the entire thing in a pretty plum color and had the frame shop screw-in the hanging wire. Voila! I use clear pushpins on my cut-outs so whenever I want to update my board with new intentions, I just swap things out.

9. This is my printer:

printer

I recently switched to an all-in-one printer/copier/scanner so I could free up more desk space. I love the sleek, all-black coloring as well. I really don’t know much about which brands are better than others when it comes to printers, but I’m very happy with this HP Photosmart Plus and I have to say, HP has some fan-freaking-tastic customer support.

10. This is my glass whiteboard:

whiteboard

I could not live without this thing, seriously. Whenever an idea flits through my head, I can swivel around in my chair and capture it instantly. I use it for my to-do lists, too. I save on so much paper and once I complete something, I simply wipe it away. I recently found a magentic glass whiteboard vendor in California and am so stoked! They are very expensive (the size I’m getting is a bit over $700), but to me well worth it. Shipping would cost an extra $600+ so we’re making a roadtrip out of it down to San Fransisco to pick it up ourselves.

Resource: Craigslist is awesome for finding great deals on office furniture, equipment and supplies. I got my practically new, perfect condition Hon lateral file drawers that way for $50 from a company going out of business. They would have cost well over $300 brand new. The whole reuse/recycle/repurpose mentality really appeals to me, and if you ever want something that is mail-order only, pop in a search of Craigslist and you just might be able to pick it up locally without the wait.

PS: Email me a pic of your office space and I’ll share it here on my blog with your name/business and a link back to your website!

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Cool Stuff, Fab Ideas, Personal Musings | Tagged Office Space | Comments (2)

January 25, 2010 – 10:00 am

Are you a Non-Listener?

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I like what Keith Ferrazzi had to say recently to his mailing list:

“Failing to listen well is rude. I don’t care whether you’re talking to the Queen of England or your intern. It very loudly communicates, Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn. And as a master relationship builder, it’s your job to care.”

As a Virtual Assistant/Administrative Support Consultant, it’s your job to listen well. This includes all forms of listening, not just with your ears. Being attentive to written details and instructions is a form of listening that is absolutely essential to what we do. It’s a critical demonstration of your competence and qualification.

Now, don’t confuse this with asking clarifying questions when you need more information to get an accurate picture and understanding. That’s a sign of an attentive listener who wants to do a great job. But when you can’t follow simple instructions and ask for all kinds of hand-holding, particularly when the answers to your questions are right there in the instructions, you waste people’s time. That’s not only rude, it’s incompetent.

I am ruthless about how my time is expended; I have to be. So do clients. I absolutely will not waste it on people who disrespect my time by abjectly refusing to read and pay attention. No one is going to want or continue to work with you if you have a problem listening–in all its forms.

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged Administrative Support Consultant, Keith Ferrazzi, Listening SKills, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants | Comments (0)

January 21, 2010 – 10:00 am

One Way to Sort the Ideal from the Unideal

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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I was reading an ezine recently where business owners were advised to offer a variety of ways for prospects to contact them. The reasoning was that if prospects can’t reach you the way they prefer, they’ll call someone else.

And this might be good advice at a very general level, particularly if you are in a commoditized, project-driven business that requires a great deal of volume in order to be financially successful. You aren’t in a position to turn anyone away when you’re in that kind of business and you are more or less forced to be at the whim and dictate of customer preferences.

But solopreneurs can be more choosy. In fact, their survival depends on being choosy about clients because a professional service business filled with unideal clients who negatively drain the solopreneur’s time and energy will take down said business faster than a cheetah felling an antelope.

This is very true in our business as well. If you are in the business of administrative support (not project work), you don’t need to work with everyone in the world. It only takes a handful of ideal retainer clients to be financially successful.

So what I was thinking as I read the aforementioned advice was how I actually use limited communication methods as a way to weed out unideal clients. For me, one characteristic of an ideal client is that they are very adept and comfortable with technology and particularly with communicating by email. I’m not interested in taking phone calls all day from prospective clients, 99% of whom I will never work. I couldn’t if I wanted to or I’d never have any time to get any work done.

Therefore, I have a very specific path set up for consulting with me. When I hear from a prospective client who has completed the consultation form on my website, I know that there’s a 50/50 chance they’ve read a fair amount of information on my site. This is where I want them educated first about what I do and they can weed themselves out if there’s not a fit.

When they complete my consultation request form, that also tells me this is someone who isn’t going to be a pain in the ass by sidestepping my processes and, thus, more likely to be the kind of client I can work with easily and happily. I have no interest in clients who have been to my website, but instead of filling out my consult form, email or phone me instead. I know from past experience that those are the folks who are almost always going to be difficult to work with moving forward. I don’t return those phone calls and those who email me, I refer to my VA organization instead.

Is that a head-spinner for you? I know it shocks a lot of people. But you see, you don’t have to be at the mercy of the rest of the world. (And personally, I think the business culture today breeds and enables a lot of really childish, indulgent, self-entitled behavior in our society that does NOT make the world a better place. I refuse to participate in that, but that’s a whole other post.) Getting back to the topic at hand, your business and the clients you work with have to be a fit for you, too. It’s not just about what clients what. It’s about what you both want and need from each other. There has to be a mutual fit for anything to work moving forward.

I realize a lot of new Virtual Assistants who don’t have clients yet or who are still growing their practice will think this is crazy talk, LOL. They are still in scarcity mindset so this won’t make sense to them at all. But if you are further along in your Virtual Assistant practice, you know a bit more about what I’m talking about. You’ve worked with more than your share of clients who turned out to be completely difficult and energy draining. If you are looking to work with more ideal clients, the ability to follow your protocols is one of the telltale clues you can use to establish whether a prospect is someone you will be able to work with well or not.

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged Communication Protocols, Ideal Clients, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants | Comments (5)

January 20, 2010 – 10:00 am

Dear Gritty VA: What Advice Do You Have for a Vagrant Virtual Assistant?

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Dear Gritty VA:

I am currently planning and readying my new Virtual Assistant business for its grand opening in about a month and a half, but my husband is in the military and we will be moving all over (this is why I am starting this business). So my question is two-fold: Do you have any tips for a vagrant VA? And will there be different laws to follow depending on where you are located? –CD

As you recognize, that’s the beauty of a business such as ours. It does not require any kind of physical brick and mortar presence, there are no geographic constraints and we can do the work that we do anywhere. You don’t elaborate much so I’m not sure what kind of tips you’re thinking of, but here are a few thoughts off the top of my head:

1. Set up a virtual collaboration office with a service like HyperOffice (they charge a monthly fee) or software like Groove (one time software purchase; requires hosting). These are not merely project management programs–these are full package organizational tools that you can set up by client so that each “collaborative office suite” has it’s own shared calendar, contacts/address book, project/task management section, full real-time document filing and sharing, forums and wikis you can set up, and all kinds of other things–all in one.

2. Perhaps set up your email accounts in an online tool like Gmail. That way, you can have online access to all your communications wherever you have an Internet connection. It’s funny I should recommend this, since I’m not personally a fan, but I can see the potential advantages for someone in your position who moves around a lot.

3. Get an aircard (also called “mobile broadband”). This is a little “stick” you plug into your laptop that gives you Internet. Wherever you can get a cell phone signal, your aircard will work there as well. Which means you could be anywhere, in your car, at a park, whereever, and still have Internet access. I use Verizon and have been very pleased.

4. Get a remote access service like LogMeIn. This will allow you to log into your homebase when you need to whenever you are away. There is a free version, but there are all kinds of wonderful extra tools you get with the pro version, which is what I use.

As far as different laws to follow depending on where you live, yes, that might be the case. Different cities, counties and states have their own licensing and tax obligations. Some cities (like mine) requires a separate business license in addition to the state business license you may have to take out (also required in my state). Others don’t require any separate or special registration at all. Some areas might have special zoning or laws pertaining to home businesses. Some cities or counties might require you to file their own business tax reports in addition to what you might be required to file federally or with the state. It will be your job as a responsible business owner to research those each time you move.

I want to also stress that it’s important to go straight to the source–contact the pertinent state and local agencies and ask them those questions. Their directions and information will be the only ones that matter. You don’t want to rely on the guesses or opinions of others as they are not going to be paying your penalties or fines or dealing with problems if you end up not doing something right based on their “helpful” advice.

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Dear Gritty VA, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged Gritty VA, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants | Comments (1)

January 19, 2010 – 10:00 am

Where Do You Get Stuck?

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Wouldn’t it be great if all we had to do was network, have business owners immediately want to work with us and instantly sign on for our retained support without any questions?

The reality is that getting to actually work with retained clients takes a bit more effort. You have to get at least some small idea about the new client’s business. You have to gain some insight into their challenges and goals and where your support can best fit in with those things. You have to be able to articulate your value in a way that makes sense to them so that they aren’t asking you, “Why should I pay you $X when I can pay bozo over there $5/hr.

Am I right?

So I’m curious about where VAs are finding trouble spots in their consultation process. Do you have any particular stumbling blocks when it comes to conducting consultations? Are there any areas of the consultation process you’d like to be better at? Or maybe you feel like you do well in your consultations, but the clients aren’t signing on or calling back. Is that the case?

Whatever the issue is in your consultations, I really, really want to hear from you. Shoot me an email (or use the submission form here) and let me know where you feel you are getting stuck and what you’d like to improve.

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged Client Consultation Process, Danielle Keister, Gritty VA, Virtual Assistance, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants | Comments (0)

January 15, 2010 – 10:00 am

Where Do You Get Stuck in Your Consultations?

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I’m working on putting together a special learning module that expands on the concepts for conducting consultations that I share in my guide, “Breaking the Ice: A Step by Step System for Confidently Navigating the Consultation Conversation and Converting Prospects into Retained Clients.” Right now, I’m a bit stuck trying to figure out what should be included, how many sessions are needed to cover all the material and how to organize the outline, and I thought you all could really help me out.

If you are a Virtual Assistant/Administrative Support Consultant still growing in your consultation skills and would welcome some additional hands-on help, I need to get a gauge about where you are specifically getting stuck. Do you feel like you’re doing well in consultations, but then not getting the clients? Are there particular parts or topics in the consultation that you struggle with? Is lack of confidence your stumbling block?

Please email me at [danielle at virtualassistantnetworking dot com] with any of your stumbling blocks and where you’d love to get help. I’m working on something really great for you!

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Great News, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged Breaking the Ice, Client Consultation Process, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants | Comments (0)

January 14, 2010 – 10:00 am

Will You Join Me in Letting the People of Haiti Know They Are Not Forgotten?

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With all the human rights abuses and natural disasters that happen all over the world, it can sometimes feel really overwhelming. You think, omigosh… I’m just one little ol’ person. I’m not Amnesty International or Red Cross. What can I do that will have any impact at all? I can’t shoulder this burden of human woe and misery all by myself.

How I ended up answering that for myself long ago was to give myself permission to not take on all the cares of the world. As a mere mortal, you can only do what you can do. No one is ever required to shoulder the world’s burden alone. The Universe is pretty smart at divvying up life purposes. Your life purpose might not be foreign aid and volunteer humanitarian relief (and if it is, trust me, the Universe will let you know). But you can support those efforts through your financial contributions and spreading the word. What we as individuals might think is only a tiny, meaningless drop in the bucket is actually huge because of what all our collective drops amount to together. So I trust and leave it to the Universe to make the right opportunities known to me about when, where and how I can help, and I remind myself that every effort, not matter how humble, contributes to the whole and matters very much indeed.

To reduce the overwhelm, I do tend to focus on helping my own community and countrymen first. Like I say, we can’t be responsible for all the cares in the world… it’s just too much to bear all by ourselves individually. I sort of look at it like the concentric ring theory… if everyone took care of their own backyard and community first, problems could be taken care of locally and support could eventually overlap beyond local boundaries and extend outwardly from there.

At the same time, I fervently believe that we are all our brothers’ keepers. There are just certain events and situations that catastrophically exceed the community and resources available to our fellow human beings in other parts of the world… the kind of community and resources we in the U.S. are blessed and fortunate to have. Those are the needs that end up speaking to me and that the Universe calls to my attention. And Haiti is in such need of our support right now. Can you imagine living through that kind of devastation and not having the kind of medical care and emergency support that we have in our own country? Can you imagine the misery and suffering and despair and utter feeling of hopelessness? I just can’t sit back and not help in my own small way.

Here’s what I plan on doing… First, I’m going to make a personal donation today to a Haiti disaster relief organization. I ask you to do the same. Remember, every single little bit counts. Your $1 donation is as helpful and important as the next person’s $1000 donation so please contribute something, anything. It really, really matters.

Then, I’m going to make a second donation of 10% of all sales on my Virtual Assistant business products this month. I don’t tend to market that stuff much because it’s not the real business I’m in (I’m in the administrative support business), but you may see a slight increase in marketing so that I can beef up the contribution efforts of my pledge. If you are in my affiliate program, please do let your audience know that 10% of their purchase will be going to Haiti disaster relief. (And in case you are wondering, you will still get full commissions from all your referrals).

Please join me in letting the people of Haiti know the world cares about them in their time of need right now.

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Personal Musings | Tagged Haiti disaster relief | Comments (0)

January 13, 2010 – 10:00 am

Consultation Fees?

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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A member of my Virtual Assistant community asked a great question today that I thought I would share here as it’s excellent food for thought. This member has been asked by clients on occasion if she would come to their offices and teach them how to do a thing (the “thing” itself doesn’t matter) so they can do it or manage it themselves. She basically wanted to know if this was a good opportunity or something to avoid, and if she did offer it, should the rate be significantly higher. Here’s my advice to her and you:

One reason doing something like that should be offered at a substantially higher fee is because of the on-site, personal one-on-one training and attention. Anytime you have to leave your office, it puts stress and strain on your normal systems and operations, especially if that’s not the thing you are normally in business to do. That time and energy away creates a significant expense for the business and takes away from other work and clients–time-wise, availability-wise, space-wise, energy-wise and money-wise. So yes, I would definitely offer that at a considerable premium fee to make it worth your while. Doing so also creates an additional layer to your top-tier offerings and signifies to clients that this is a special, premium service.

Whenever you get into work that takes you out of the office, it creates significant impact on your profit margins and to the time you have left available to you and your other clients. As solopreneurs, this is a particularly important consideration for Virtual Assistants/Administrative Support Consultants. What you might want to consider offering instead (or at least additionally) are online training classes where you can stay in your own office (thus reducing the expense to produce and conduct them) and teach several clients all at once. That kind of offering is going to be much more profitable for you all the way around.

I think this is a great opportunity for any Virtual Assistant as it is client-focused. This is exactly the kind of thing that I’m always touting to Virtual Assistants–there are so many more avenues for creating additional revenue streams and passive income from clients (not other VAs) that they just aren’t exploring. This is a perfect example of the kind of supplemental, complementary stand-alone offering that Virtual Assistants could be marketing to clients and prospects separately from their retained monthly administrative support.

Qualifier: That is, IF it’s something you want to be doing/offering. It’s perfectly okay to tell clients, “that’s not what I’m in business to do.”

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged Consultation Fees, Virtual Assistance, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants | Comments (3)

January 6, 2010 – 10:00 am

Dear Gritty VA: What’s Your Website Advice?

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Dear Gritty VA:

I found your website today and am very impressed. I am new to the world of Virtual Assistance–actually, today is my first day! My 2010 goal is to build a professional Virtual Assistant business, the kind of quality practice you describe in your website. It seems that one of the first really big steps is to design and build a website. Can you share any advice on selecting a host web service geared to Virtual Assistants or what pitfalls to avoid? The seemingly endless options are overwhelming and building the right website is a step I don’t want to take lightly. I’d really appreciate any insights you can share. Thanks. –FS

Oh, this is always a tough one for me to answer because honestly, I think the best business advice is to hire a professional (meaning, someone with actual design training and not someone who simply owns the software) to design your site so you can stay focused on the business-building and simply provide the designer with the direction. Unless, of course, you actually have the design and technical knowledge to do it yourself, and even then, we can often be too close to our own “product” to see the forest for the trees, so to speak. But I know the reality is that most VAs do not start their businesses properly capitalized so I’ll speak from the bootstrapping route.

As far as hosting, you don’t need a service that is geared toward VAs. Basically, it just needs to have reliable servers and great customer service. There are so many out there and we could both wear ourselves out just trying to go over all the particulars of things to look for and what ones to avoid. I don’t have the energy for that today, LOL, so I’m just going to give you a recommendation: A2Hosting.

I had been with another hosting company for years and years… had all my sites hosted through them as well as my web client sites. But the company got sold a couple times and went from being an absolute gem to an absolute dud. I mean, I can’t even begin to tell you how horrible they became…. horrible, horrible offshored customer service, constant server crashes, problems getting into your own accounts (they’d change the password on you without telling you and then you’d have to waste all kinds of time sitting on the phone trying to get your damn info)…. I’m about to die just remembering all the crap I had to go through with them. It was a nightmare.

So I went shopping around and tried many of the hosting services that are frequently recommended. And they sucked. But eventually I found A-2 and tried them out and I could not be happier. Actually, ecstatic would be a better word. I have not had any problems with their servers. They have fantastic in-house 24/7 telephone support on top of an easy-to-use online support ticket system (depending on what you prefer). They’ve got a Fantastico control panel with all the bells and whistles. I have moved all of my sites and as well as the client sites I manage over there and I could not recommend them more highly. They personally “walked” with me through a few more complex site transfers, all the while continuing to be their very personable and cheery selves. They’ve also got a sale going on right now of 40% off any hosting plan for new customers. Here’s a page where you can view all your plan options and discounts.

As far as the site design goes itself, you don’t mention where you’re at in terms of know-how on the web design thing so I’m flying blind here. That being the case, one route you could take is self-hosting a blogsite from WordPress.org (do not go with WordPress.com as you have no control over hosting, have fewer capabilities and people have lost their sites before going that route). A hosting company like A2 has one-click installs of WordPress. You could also hire someone who already has the know-how to do the installation and then work with them to customize a template. Lots of folks recommend Wordpress as being easy as pie, but truthfully, it is a bit more complicated than that and if you don’t have the know-how, you can expend a lot of wasted time and energy concerning yourself with all the ins and outs. And getting the site to look like a professional site and not just the same generic template that everyone has seen on a million other sites takes some doing . You’ll have to weigh that out for yourself. Personally, I learned long ago not to waste my time with things I’m not good at and hire those who are. It saves all kinds of time, aggravation and ultimately, money.

I should add that your site will always be a work-in-progress. It’s the most important piece of marketing collateral you have and should always be in a constant state of improvement as you learn more about marketing and your clientele and how to better articulate your message to be more compelling and have more meaning for them. So the good news about that is that it doesn’t have to be perfect, get something up and then work from there. And if design isn’t your forte, at your first opportunity, find a pro to partner with to help you so you can have a visually attractive site with your own unique visual identity that will help draw people into the all-important content and facilitates their ease and use of the site.

As far as content goes, one of the biggest pitfalls in our industry is that VAs are recycling the same, tired old industry rhetoric so their sites sound exactly alike. This frustrates clients and doesn’t do anything to differentiate the VA from the herd. The one thing that makes literally everything easier–your marketing, your networking, your work, finding client…everything–is to focus on a target market. I can’t stress this enough. Narrow down one audience to speak to and then study and learn everything about them. The direction this focusing on a target market gives you will make everything less overwhelming and vastly more effective and expedient.

It’s important to remember that when your product is a service, it’s invisible… meaning, it’s not something a person can physically hold in their hand. That’s why your “packaging”–hich is what your website is–becomes so important. It’s the physical, more tangible representation of your business and image. If your site looks amateurish, prospective clients will think the caliber of your service may be amateurish as well. Any money you invest here in making your site top-notch, professional, polished and unique is an investment in your success.

38gde Now, getting direction in your marketing and messaging efforts can be overwhelming in and of itself. If you have any trouble in that area, I’ve figured all that out for folks in my guide, “Understanding Your Value: How to Craft Your Own Unique Marketing Message and Make More Money with Alternative Billing Strategies.”