Are you investing in the right area to grow your business?

By Dee Matheson

I was very fortunate recently to attend the Online Virtual Assistants Convention (OIVAC) that was held in May 2013. What an experience that was.

At first, like most people I bulked at the price that you have to pay because it’s in USD and our exchange rate is not very favourable but having read all about the wonderful opportunities to learn from very seasoned Virtual Assistants internationally and also to open the door for networking prospects with these VAs, it has been worth every penny.

I had so many ah ha moments and the advice, suggestions and know how that was passed on was fantastic.  At no time did I feel that the VAs were keeping secrets and not letting the proverbial cat out of the bag. You could ask any kind of questions and they were answered with honesty and a lot of time with good advice too. Not once did I, as a fairly new VA, feel uncomfortable about asking what one sometimes thinks is a ‘stupid question’.

I have worked and been working for an employer for over 30 years and thought that my skills would be enough but let me advise anyone who is starting this type of business, you have to open yourself up to learn more.  Your skills may be fantastic but that’s not enough. You need to invest in up skilling yourself which was quite an eye opener for me. Just to share one of my light bulb moments was that as a business owner who supplies a service I have to wear two hats, one to get my business going and the other to provide a service to my clients.  Now that’s easily said but when you sit down and work out all the details while wearing these two hats it can becoming very overwhelming.  I know how to do the job but I did not know how to run a business, what my aim with my business is and also whom do I want as a client. These wonderful participants at OIVAC have given me guidance, advice and direction on how to get my business to grow and be successful just like their own.

In summary, I would like to advise ‘old’ and ‘new’ VAs to really consider joining OIVAC or any type of Webinar, quite a lot of them are free, and learn more about this industry because it will only stand you in good stead.

For more details, have a look at my website www.dfm-virtualassistant.co.za or contact me on dmatheson@worldonline.co.za

 

Workload Management: What can you give to your Virtual Assistant?

By Dee Matheson

On many occasions I have come across entrepreneurs who have said, “I wish I had more time in the day to get my admin done, but my clients keep me so busy I just don’t have the time.” This is a major dilemma for many smaller businesses that are either establishing themselves or have been going for some time. The backlog of work is always there and it just piles up and before he knows it, it becomes so overwhelming that the entrepreneur throws up his hands in horror because he just cannot see the wood for the trees.

Hiring a Virtual Assistant has become more popular and most of them have vast experience and excellent know how to get the job done.  An entrepreneur can use a Virtual Assistant for everything from customer service calls to sending out thank you cards to prospective clients.  However, one of the most important aspects is to build a trust factor with your Virtual Assistant very similar to what you would do with a permanent employee. They become a team member who just happens to work remotely and also saves the entrepreneur overhead costs, which is an added bonus.

Here are a couple of ways an entrepreneur can use a Virtual Assistant to get that admin done and give him more time to get on with his business:

·         Scheduling Appointment:  Most entrepreneurs are so busy that they don’t always have time to make appointments or more likely confirm them before they set off to see their client. That’s where the Virtual Assistant steps in and does all of this for the entrepreneur and is in constant communication should the appointments be rescheduled.

 

·         Online Research:  Farm out all that Internet research to a Virtual Assistant. Some of the requests could include finding contact or other information on corporate websites, vetting business contacts and researching specific items.  The entrepreneur must make sure he provides his Virtual Assistant with clear instructions so that what he gets back is exactly what he is looking for.

 

·         Data Capture:  Many entrepreneurs attend functions and conferences and come back with mounds of business cards and other contact material. The Virtual Assistant can capture them onto a spread sheet and they have easy access later to follow up any person of interest to their business.  This is a valuable tool to use when the Virtual Assistant needs to set up appointments for the entrepreneur.

 

·         Bookkeeping:  Keeping tabs on bills and other bookkeeping matters can be one of the easiest tasks to assign to a Virtual Assistant. Many entrepreneurs choose to share their bookkeeping system with their Virtual Assistant who can then follow up on tasks such as outstanding invoices or unpaid bill.

 

·         Managing Emails:  The entrepreneur’s time is precious. A Virtual Assistant can filter emails and respond on his behalf. This email management is easy to do remotely.  Guidance must be clearly provided on how to pick up key emails and make sure the Virtual Assistant copies in the entrepreneur so that they are all on the same page.

 

·         Social Engagements:  A Virtual Assistant is an excellent source to handle tasks such as writing cards, sending out invitations and getting those thank you notes sent. Such tasks can become all-consuming for an entrepreneur.

 

·         Travel Research:  When travelling to conferences and business meeting out of town, a Virtual Assistant is the greatest resource for finding hotels, booking airfares and mapping out the trip itinerary for both business and pleasure. They can also deal with the hassle of navigating time zones when booking or researching international travel options.

 

·         Business Presentations:  Turning raw data into a clear PowerPoint presentation or summarizing research findings can be a huge time consumer when preparing for meetings.  If an entrepreneur provides clear guidelines and what points he wants highlighted in a presentation, the professional Virtual Assistant would supply him with a formatted presentation that he will be able to share with his clients.

 

·         Industry Updates:  There is only a limited amount of time the entrepreneur has available to keep up with industry news and they turn to a Virtual Assistant to keep tabs on the most important happenings.  Some entrepreneurs use the summarised industry information to update their Twitter feed or being up interesting developments in conversation with their clients and prospective clients. This helps the entrepreneur to be on top of his game.

 

To make use of any of these services, contact Dee Matheson on dmatheson@worldonline.co.za or visit her website at www.dfm-virtualassistant.co.za