The Gritty Virtual Assistant Blog

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.

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.”