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