You’ve got the skills - you can type, you’re good at keeping books, you’ve read up on drawing traffic to your website, have a great ability to interact with others and know a lot about scheduling and time management. You’ve got the desire - you know that you don’t want to spend the rest of your life working for someone you don’t care much for: it’s time to start thinking about yourself and the people who really matter in your life. You’ve got a plan, and all that’s left is figuring out the best way of putting that plan into action.

Are you up to the challenge of becoming a virtual assistant? You will be - once you team up with the right partner and start moving along the paved road to success.

When you have the skills and the drive, the only thing standing between you and success is your lack of experience. When you make a connection with someone who has already traveled down the path, it’s easy to gain experience - it’s easy to figure out what skills you must keep working on and to follow a plan that brings results along with it (at least it is once you have that plan).

No one - not even entrepreneurs like virtual assistants or other business owners - reaches their goal without support. Even though you may want to work independently, a mentor, teacher or partner can be there to answer questions and make sure that every turn you make helps you to keep moving forward and reaching (or surpassing) your goals.

Whenever someone makes the choice to enter a new career, there are more than a few things to consider. There’s no time that this is more apparent than when your new career venture includes going to work for yourself - whether as a virtual assistant, a consultant or the owner of another small business.

There are going to be places like the Small Business Association that offer general resources to entrepreneurs, but if you are indeed starting a VA business, do you know where you’ll turn to find resources for virtual assistants that will help ensure that you’ve got everything you need set in motion?

VirtualU is set up to offer the resources that you need - coaching, help laying out a business plan, tips for recruiting clients, choosing a specialty and a network of other VAs who have already been there and know the ropes.

What better resource is there than someone who has already gone through? Where else can you go to network with others who are starting out and, like you, have specialty services - people with whom you can exchange clients or get some help when you need backup?

Knowing where to turn is key to a successful business - because, invariably, there are going to be times when you need direction. Why make starting a great business more difficult than it needs to be?

Once you’re committed to becoming a virtual assistant and you have the training that you need to get started, it’s important to look at the ways you’ll market yourself.

Running a VA business, after all, isn’t just about providing services. Like any other business, running a virtual assistant office is going to take bookkeeping skills, administrative talents and marketing.

One key to marketing your VA business is having a great website. Here are 4 reasons why this is important:

1. Clients are going to find you online; their assessment of your website forms their first impression of who you are.
2. A professional looking website will establish your credentials as a professional.
3. A great website with current information and a great topical focus is going to help you to show prospective clients that you’ve got what it takes and you have a business focus.
4. Your website can inform clients about what your VA business specializes in. If you have a focus on real estate or law, make sure that your site reflects that - it can help you to draw the right clients.

When you’re running a virtual business, your website is a storefront, a resume and marketing materials - all at the same time. If you plan on running a successful VA business, you’ll want to be sure that your website is working for you.

Kandra Hamric - Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Train to Be a Virtual Assistant
From One Virtual Assistant to Another
Real Estate Virtual Assistant Blog
888-REVA-USA (738-2872)

Becoming a virtual assistant isn’t really as simple as saying “I think I’m ready to start my own business, I want to work from home and I think I’ll give the virtual assistant field a try.” First, you’re going to need to have some administrative skills and experience. You’re going to need to have a business plan, and the tools that you’ll need to operate your business on a day to day business - a computer, certain software, a phone, fax capabilities (whether you have a fax machine or use an online service), etc.

Becoming a VA also means that you’ll need to develop some basic skills that all virtual assistants should have.

Virtual assistant skills start with basics like multi-tasking and just being able to sit down and work independently. Then there are communication skills - you’ll need to be able to be personable and knowledgeable when you answer calls or emails for one of your clients, but you’ll also need to keep the tone professional.

Similarly, if - as a part of your virtual assistant business - you offer a particular service, you’ll need to have the skills necessary to do the job well. For example, if you offer to write and submit press releases for your clients, you’ll need to know the basic construction of a press release, and you’ll need to know the best way of getting the word out to those who can act on the information. If you’re going to offer bookkeeping services as a part of your VA business, accounting is a great virtual assistant skill to have.

However, not every skill is going to be that specific. Marketing skills should be a priority - both for your clients and for your own VA business. Customer service skills are really important too.

Kandra Hamric - Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Train to Be a Virtual Assistant
From One Virtual Assistant to Another
Real Estate Virtual Assistant Blog
888-REVA-USA (738-2872)

No matter where you are in your virtual assistant business, you’ll find that the right virtual assistant training is the key to taking your business to the next level.

When you’re just starting out, you’ll find that VA training helps you determine whether you’ll provide general administrative services to your clients - answering incoming calls, addressing emails and managing schedules - or whether you’ll provide specialized services. You’ll find that training in the beginning helps you figure out how to run your business.

However, there’s always more to learn - no matter who you are or what profession you’re in. There are software skills to develop, new marketing tactics that will help you to get ahead, new services that you can offer to your clients. Continued virtual assistant training will help you to keep your business running smoothly; continued training means that your business will continue to grow and expand along with your skill set.

Those os us at Virtual U know the importance of ongoing training: we’ve continued to learn the skills that are sought and we’ve seen the impact it has had on our businesses. We provide VA training because we’re just as committed to making sure that you have the skills that you need to take your VA business to the next level.

Kandra Hamric - Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Train to Be a Virtual Assistant
From One Virtual Assistant to Another
Real Estate Virtual Assistant Blog
888-REVA-USA (738-2872)

When you’re thinking about becoming a virtual assistant, one of the things that you’re going to hear (probably enough times that is makes you a little crazy) is “What do virtual assistants do anyway?”

Here’s the good news: the question is a lot less pervasive than it used to be. Here’s the better news: the real answer is that virtual assistants put the skills that they have to work helping others.

No matter what your skills are, you’re likely to find that it’s not that difficult to find someone who is looking for help with something that you’re really good at. Consider these four examples:

1. Some virtual assistants are great at web design or at writing blogs and taking care of other internet marketing tasks. There are plenty of businesses that need help when it comes to online marketing.
2. Some people are just really great at providing customer service and triaging emails and phone calls; plenty of small businesses need someone who can be there for their customers but don’t have the space that they really need to bring someone else into the office.
3. Some people who make the choice to be a virtual assistant have great desktop publishing skills - they can make gorgeous print marketing materials. Some businesses, well, let’s just say their marketing department (if they have one) is lacking a certain creative vision.
4. Some people have experience in a certain field - like real estate - but don’t want to head into an office each day. There are others in that field who love what they do but don’t have the time to really focus on things like listing coordination.

In all of these cases, the answer to the question of what virtual assistants do becomes a little more concrete. Some virtual assistants specialize in online marketing. Some specialize in desktop publishing, administrative tasks or some other office service.

The key is that virtual assistants - once they have the training they need - provide valuable services to many different businesses - and they do it all from their own offices, working with clients who are a good fit for them.

Kandra Hamric - Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Train to Be a Virtual Assistant
From One Virtual Assistant to Another
Real Estate Virtual Assistant Blog
888-REVA-USA (738-2872)

Lately it seems that there is an even greater drive for getting into business. It’s not always about starting your own coffee shop or clothing store; more often than not, it’s about people who want to work for themselves, put their skills to use and only answer to themselves and to their clients.

Many of these people fall for work at home schemes that they see on TV - the ones where people brag about buying a vacation home with their earnings from working at home. Others, however, look for ways of providing a great service, working hard, being committed and dedicated with a more legitimate business.

From that group, many decide that what’s best for them is to become a virtual assistant. Some go on to be successful, others - those who don’t get the training and guidance that they need - aren’t as lucky.

If you think that you’d like to become a virtual assistant, why not take a simple step to ensure your luck and your success? All it takes is learning from those who have walked the walk - training provided by someone who, like you, wanted to become a virtual assistant and built a successful business - and learning which tools you need, what best practices are, information about networking, virtual assistant marketing and more.

Kandra Hamric - Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Train to Be a Virtual Assistant
From One Virtual Assistant to Another
Real Estate Virtual Assistant Blog
888-REVA-USA (738-2872)

When you’ve made the choice to start a business as a virtual assistant, you know that not everything is going to go smoothly right away (something that’s true of starting any business really - no matter how well you plan, there’s always going to be something that you can’t control). As a result, it’s a good idea to be aware of resources for virtual assistants.

1. Virtual Assistant Training is the key to getting your business up and running as painlessly as possible. When you turn to VirtualU for your VA training, you’ll find that you get the tools that you need to start your business as well as tips from someone who’s been there: who started where you are and has built a successful business.
2. Join Virtual Assistant membership site. In a members only location, you’re able to take advantage of the best resources available - that are only available to a select few rather than to anyone who wants to see them. You’ll also be able to get support from others who are in a similar situation and work out the details of smoothing out your business.
3. Another great resource for virtual assistants is to join a VA network. Like the VirtualU membership site, these networks allow you to connect with other VAs so that you can brainstorm solutions to anything that’s going on that you just can’t seem to figure out on your own.

In other words, the best resources that are available to virtual assistants are those that allow them to meet others who are in a similar position, to make connections with other VAs who have different specialties and provide a foundation for your business.

Kandra Hamric - Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Train to Be a Virtual Assistant
From One Virtual Assistant to Another
Real Estate Virtual Assistant Blog
888-REVA-USA (738-2872)

Yesterday we touched on general virtual assistant marketing and how it can benefit you and how you can put what you learn to work for your clients. Today, we’re going to look at slightly more specific virtual assistant marketing - your website.

When you create a website for your VA business, you’re going to want to make sure that your site sets you apart, but not in a bad way. In other words, when you create your VA website, you’ll want to make sure that it looks professional: a professional website makes you look like a pro, a sloppy website - on the other hand - is going to make it look like you just throw projects together. Would you rather look like a pro or someone who rushes through just to get the work done?

(Hopefully you answered that you want to look like a pro)

Similarly, when you create a website for marketing your VA business, you’ll want to keep your content current. Here’s another example. Let’s say that you create your website and think, “well, that’s done, I’ll never have to do that again.” What message will that send to your prospective customers?

Not updating your website will hurt you in a number of ways. First, it will show that you’re not in touch with online marketing. Second, you won’t be updating information as you grow as a virtual assistant. If you started by offering one set of services, but don’t update your website when you start to offer something more, how will anyone know about it? Third, readers who come back to a website a few times and don’t find anything new aren’t going to keep coming back.

Now let’s look at the other side of the coin. When you update your website regularly - even if you do it by keeping a daily blog - you can offer something of value to those who come to your site. Not only will you be providing information about the services that you offer, but you can also contribute a few marketing tips, let your prospective clients get to know you a little bit and draw the search engines to index your site.

By giving the search engines something to come back for, you’ll be able - in time - to draw more traffic to your website. More traffic = more leads. More leads = more clients.

So, if you were to take a VA training class, what would you learn to include on your website? You’d learn the importance of a great welcome page, what to include on an “About” page, how to write copy for your services page, how to include a news page. You could learn about the importance of blogging and how to optimize your content for the web.

Of course, you’ll also learn more about marketing your VA business online - something that you’ll find is essential to the success of your career as a virtual assistant.

Kandra Hamric - Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Train to Be a Virtual Assistant
From One Virtual Assistant to Another
Real Estate Virtual Assistant Blog
888-REVA-USA (738-2872)

In order to run a successful business as a virtual assistant, there’s one thing that you’re going to need more than others: clients. How do you get clients? The primary way is by marketing your services.

Virtual assistant marketing is something that can be done in a number of different ways:

• 1) You can be sure to tell everyone you know what you’re doing and ask them to tell others
• 2) You can register your virtual assistant business with business directories as well as in virtual assistant networks
• 3) Register with Virtual U and connect with other virtual assistants - everyone has a different specialty; this way you may find ways of sharing business with others who have a focus that’s different from yours
• 4) Create an effective email signature that helps you to market yourself
• 5) Learn fundamentals of online virtual assistant marketing - using articles, press releases, websites and blogs

Of course, you’ll also need to develop a marketing plan for your VA business so that you can make sure that you have an idea of what you’ll be doing to get the word out about your services.

And here’s the best news: the marketing strategies that you have for your own business won’t just benefit you - they’re going to be plans that you can put to work for your clients as well.

Kandra Hamric - Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Train to Be a Virtual Assistant
From One Virtual Assistant to Another
Real Estate Virtual Assistant Blog
888-REVA-USA (738-2872)