Tag Archives: Administrative Support

Might be a Great Target Market for an Enterprising Virtual Assistant

August 26, 2010 – 10:00 am

I love listening to NPR in the evenings. This week, they’ve been doing a three-part series about doctors in primary care. In this series, they reported on the catastrophic shortage of primary care doctors who provide basic health care (they make around $150,000 a year compared to the multiple six-figure incomes of specialists), and took [...]

By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Marketing, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (4)

Another Idiotic Post About Virtual Assistants

August 11, 2010 – 10:00 am

Saw another idiotic post about Virtual Assistants come through on my Google Alerts. Articles like these are responsible for miseducating the marketplace into thinking Virtual Assistants are some kind of substitute employee–which they are not.
It’s also why we have so many new VAs coming into this profession thinking they are substitute employees filling a position. [...]

By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (9)

Why Would I Work with a Virtual Assistant?

July 12, 2010 – 10:00 am

You might be asking yourself, “Why would I pay someone else to do administrative work I can do myself? It seems like it would be easier and cheaper to do it myself.” The operative word here is “seems.” Because in all honesty, trying to do everything yourself actually exacts a heavy price in [...]

By Danielle Keister | Posted in Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Also tagged , , , | Comments (1)

The Difference Between Project Work and Providing Support

July 6, 2010 – 10:00 am

Here’s one way to understand the difference between project work and providing support:
A one-time project is like a one-night stand. You are strangers and don’t know each other at all. You do it once and never see that person again.
Occasional project work with a repeat customer is like a booty call or friends-with-benefits. You might [...]

By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Also tagged , , | Comments (1)

Administrative Support IS a Speciality All Its Own

April 12, 2010 – 10:00 am

Guess what, people? Administrative support IS a specialty in and of itself. You CAN specialize in just administrative support and do as well as any other kind of specialized service professional. The problem, the reason why clients don’t get it much of the time and why Virtual Assistants as an industry are not earning well, [...]

By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Marketing, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Also tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Do You Understand the Difference?

February 2, 2010 – 10:00 am

Sometimes I’ll read things from other Virtual Assistants and I have to wonder whether they understand the difference between a project and providing support. In case you’re confused, I thought I’d talk about it here…
A project is something that is basically one-off, one-time work. It has a start and a finish. Web design is a [...]

By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Also tagged | Comments (1)

You are Not a Generalist

November 20, 2009 – 10:00 am

I frequently hear Virtual Assistants refer to themselves as “generalists” and I always wonder why they denigrate themselves like that. It’s like saying “I’m just a mom” or “I’m just the help.”
It’s certainly not attractive marketing-wise. It portrays what you do as unimportant and of less value or consequence. It implies that there is no [...]

By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Marketing, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (7)

Who Are You Attracting?

August 18, 2009 – 10:00 am

Way back in the beginning days of my practice, I fell into the niche of providing administrative support to the local small retail biz scene, which was fine for then, but after a few years I realized I didn’t enjoy the niche. Too many of the biz owners were too new, too green, too flaky. [...]

By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Marketing, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Also tagged | Comments (1)

This Cracks Me Up

April 20, 2009 – 10:00 am

Have you been catching any of the flame wars between the two offshoring companies, GetFriday and CatchFriday? I had a Google alert come in over the weekend and the latest just cracked me up:
http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=1390&catid=120
See, GetFriday is the Indian company mentioned in Tim Ferriss’ book, “The 4-Hour Work Week.” Well, you know how a lot of [...]

By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Also tagged , , | Comments (7)

What Frustrates You in your Virtual Assistant Business?

July 23, 2008 – 10:28 am

I’m very much interested in hearing about some of your very real and valid frustrations as a Virtual Assistant business owner. I’d love to hear from you by email or, even better, by leaving your comments here.
Some of the things I’m curious about:
How many of you are still trading hours for dollars? How hard are [...]

By Danielle Keister | Posted in Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)