I’m on a mission here. Sure, when I first started as a VA, if I knew how to do something and a client was interested, I eagerly signed a contract. Then I found that a lot of work I was doing was boring. So I did a little self-assessment and decided that writing was what I really liked to do, so I morphed myself into an editorial virtual assistant. Even then, I found that I didn’t like some writing tasks. So, as Penny Sansevieri says, I went “an inch wide and a mile deep.”
So now, I focus on non-fiction book ghostwriting and editing and business writing (and related support for both). I’m a much happier camper. I’ve built my business up to include other Hidden Helpers and we only do writing-related tasks. Everything that doesn’t fall into my niche gets referred out. In the last 24 hours, I’ve gotten 2 requests for services that I’ve passed on to someone else. One was for editing a fiction book, and one was for doing some invoicing, order fulfillment and the like.
I have to admit, there’s a part of me that “hates” giving a client away. The bigger part of me knows that my business will grow faster and stronger if I stick to the plan of providing the best service I can in an area that I’m skilled in and enjoy. Plus, like that Earl show, I believe in good karma.
I’ve just added a new “Client Testimonials” page. Check it out! If you are a client and have one you’d like to add, email Lauren@hiddenhelper.com.
Jerry Simmons, over at WritersReaders.com is conducting a survey of self-published authors. If you qualify, please hop on over to Survey Monkey to complete the survey.
Jerry says, “I’ve been developing a way to help self-published and print-on-demand authors sell books. In order for this program to work I need an accurate measurement of specific items. I’m providing you with a link below that I hope you will click, then take about 15 minutes to complete a survey that has been put together to measure your experience and needs as an author.”
Everything is completely confidential; there are no names of email addresses collected, just information.
I met Jerry at Infinity Publishing’s Express Yourself! conference. He is a remarkably nice guy, and he has lots of great information. Check out his site!
Wired Magazine just came in the mail the other day. I don’t think I’ve ever read it before–my husband Ed subscribes to it. But an article caught my eye, “Meganiche” by Clay Shirky.
Shirky defintes a meganiche as “a thin slice of the Web that nonetheless reprensents roughly a million users”, or one tenth of one percent of today’s web audience. He further states that a tiny piece of an immense pie is huge. One tenth of one percent of today’s web audience is a million people. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
So, it got me wondering….will “virtual assistance” one day be a meganiche? Unfortunately, there’s no way to know exactly how many virtual assistants exist in the world today. Part of the problem is what your definition of a virtual assistant is. If you mean solely someone who provides administrative assistance virtually, your numbers will be much lower than if you include everyone who provides services virtually, from graphic designers to writers to legal assistants to web designers. I know that VANF has around 3,000 members. Other VA groups may have close to that many people and some will overlap and some won’t.
So how many virtual assistants will have to have how many clients each to turn our profession into a meganiche? Anyone care to do the math?
Wow, what an honor! Liz, over at Successful and Outstanding Blogger has given me a huge honor. I’m a SOB of the week. (It’s a good thing!!).
I received a voicemail from a client late yesterday afternoon asking me to call him. I decided I’d call him this morning and I sent him an email to tell him so. The email bounced back. Mailbox full.
I emailed him at an alternate email address. That one bounced back, too. Mailbox full.
So I tried calling him about 10 minutes ago. I got an automated recording that said, “sorry, this mailbox is full and not accepting new messages. To leave your callback number, press star.” So I did that.
This guy is phenomenally successful and the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet. Think of all the potential business he could be missing because people can’t leave him messages and he obviously doesn’t have time to respond to the old ones.
Does this sound like you? Then it’s time to hire a VA.
I’m almost finished writing my three articles for an upcoming National Speakers Association newsletter. Of course, I need to provide an author box to accompany my articles, so I looked to see what I had. I have author boxes for a variety of uses. I have one I use for my IVAACast articles, which I frequently update depending on what I want to highlight that month. And I have one I use for the promotional articles I post online.
Combine this with needing a professional bio for my website, one for my book, one for press releases, etc., and you end up having multiple, though necessary, versions of basically the same thing. My full bio is a whole lot longer than the one I’ve used in a press release. It’s a matter of editing, editing and editing.
It’s easy to just include your author box at the end of an article and then forget about it. A time-saving tip is to copy it and paste it into another document and name it “authorbox 10-20-06″ or something similar and create a folder with “promo materials” or some other title that makes sense for you.
You really need to customize promotional writing materials for your audience…both the topic and the length.
In writing, one size does not fit all.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeannine Clontz
Phone: 888-547-6392
Email: Jeannine@accbizsvcs.com
Contact: Lauren Hidden
Phone: 866-669-0940
Email: Lauren@hiddenhelper.com
New Book Helps People Achieve Entrepreneurial Freedom
Virtual Businesses Provide an Ideal Solution for Personal and Financial Growth
Arnold, MO and New Cumberland, PA (October 2006)—-According to a recent study by the Key Group, one in five workers will change jobs this year to establish a better work-life balance. But what if this new job turns out to be no more flexible than the old one? Instead of jumping from job to job in search of that elusive balance, many people are turning to home-based businesses.
But finding a business that is profitable, legitimate, and easily home-based is often challenging. Since the late 1990’s, virtual businesses have been rising in popularity among those who have the technical skills and business know-how to serve their customers from their home. Many services can be provided virtually, including: administrative support, bookkeeping, graphic design, writing services, association management, meeting planning, and many others. Solopreneur virtual business owners often call themselves virtual assistants, or VAs. While many new VAs are already experienced with the services they’ll be providing their clients, they find it overwhelming to learn how to set up and grow their business.
In their new “how to� book, Entrepreneurial Freedom: How to Start and Grow a Profitable Virtual Assistance Practice (Biz-E Press, $19.95, ISBN 0-9785941-0-X), veteran VAs Jeannine Clontz and Lauren Hidden take the mystery out of starting and growing a virtual business by taking readers through all the steps they need to have a profitable, enjoyable business that is flexible enough to meet their personal needs. Co-author Lauren Hidden says. “For most, the hardest part of being a VA isn’t doing the actual client work—it’s learning how to write a business plan, how to use contracts, how to set rates, and how to manage your time and family when you’re working from home.�
The topics covered in Entrepreneurial Freedom apply to any virtual business. Some sample topics include: branding, networking, handling difficult clients, marketing, balancing work and family, determining start-up costs, and evaluating opportunities for growth. In addition to the authors’ expertise on these topics, more than twenty professional virtual business owners in different specialties and stages of business were surveyed. Their quotes are sprinkled throughout the book to give readers personal insight from a variety of perspectives.
Also included are links to Internet-based resources, sample forms and contracts, time-keeping examples, and business plans. Co-author Jeannine Clontz adds, “Whether they’re new VAs, or seasoned veterans, most could benefit from examples of what a contract should cover, how to manage and track their time on task, and what other paperwork they need to run a business. The information and resources provided in the book will allow new VAs to significantly shorten their learning curve, while providing more seasoned entrepreneurs new ideas and options to rework and gain focus on their business needs.�
Jeannine Clontz has owned her own successful business for eight years and has a passion for business ethics. Clontz served as the President of the International Virtual Assistants Association (http://www.ivaa.org) while writing this book. An avid volunteer and mentor, Clontz has received numerous awards over the past five years and holds many industry-specific certifications and designations.
Lauren Hidden has provided editorial services virtually since 2000. Hidden’s first co-authored book, Write It Right: The Ground Rules for Self-Editing Like the Pros, helps writers of all skill levels overcome their writing challenges. Hidden is a member of the International Virtual Assistants Association and the Delaware Valley Virtual Assistants Association.
For more information, to purchase a copy, or schedule an interview with the authors, please visit www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com, e-mail sales@entrepreneurialfreedom.com, or call 888-547-6392.
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It’s not just for teenagers anymore…
I’ve discovered MySpace and it’s now my latest addiction. I don’t think it’s the easiest site to navigate, but it does have a lot of cool features. I have a blog over there, too, where I feel comfortable posting things that are a little less business-related. One neat feature is searching your old Alma Maters to find people you went to high school or college with. One such person, an old neighbor of mine, is now a big-time animated movie director. You just never know who you’ll rediscover there.
So hop on over and add me to your friends list.
I just got home from picking up my 4-year-old son, Drew from preschool. I guess the long weekend of playing really wore him out because he was grumpy when I picked him up and fell asleep in the car on the way home, which he hasn’t done since last year.
As I lifted him out of his carseat to carry him into the house, he sleepily opened his eyes and said, “I love you.” Right then, I was truly thankful that I have my own business and could experience a moment like this.
Life is good.