PierToPeerCoaching

What are you worth? (or pricing your VA services!)

I make no apology for the contentious question - I think it's good to think about this carefully and adjust your ideas if they are not serving you well!

In the current economic climate with shops offering sales and discounts to draw customers in to buy, it may seem tempting to drop the price of your services.  My accountant firmly steered me away from such thoughts when I established my limited company in 2006 (after three years as a sole trader). 

He showed me a handy little chart that clearly showed whenever as business owners we cut our prices we then have to attract even more customers just to keep standing still!  A recipe for disaster if we already are busy...unless of course we want to work 7 days a week.

From VA to Virtual Lettings Agency...or how to transfer your skills

When I set up www.katebacon.com in 2003 I didn't have any bigger ambition than to run my own VA service from my home office.

Six years later and I've turned into a serial entrepreneur with not one, but three businesses!  What happened...and could you do it too?

I'm a big fan of making meaningful connections (not just in business but in my whole life) and simply by enjoying meeting people new ventures have emerged when the time has been right.

The VA Business Start Up Course - Autumn Term 2008

Launch your VA career by joining one of our Group Tele-Class courses this Autumn...

"The VA Business Start-up course is fantastic! The e-book that accompanies the course is a goldmine of information and resources. It's informal and easy to read, but the content really sticks. The tele-classes are very useful in exploring different aspects of a VA, and working through it with other up and coming VAs is very beneficial. Kate is very motivational and encouraging and really makes you dig deep into what you want from your business; her enthusiasm is infectious! The course has really helped shape my thinking for my VA career, both in terms of how it will work as a business, and how I can (and will!) shape this to fit me, my interests and my life. I can't wait to get started!"

Katie Macdonald

IMAGINE...what it would be like...

* To learn without having to go anywhere - simply dial into the group tele-classes from the comfort of your own home

* Get support from fellow participants - build relationships that will last

* Be encouraged by your tutor who has created her own VA business to fit her life

Margaret Griffiths - VA Business Start Up Course Graduate

When did you first think about setting up as a virtual assistant, or VA, and how did this come about?

I first heard the term Virtual Assistant about one year ago through the pa-assist website and then again at the Times Creme Exhibition and it led me to think about what I could do when I retired. A thought then occurred to me that this was something I could do at my own pace and in the comfort of my own home and utilise all the skills I had acquired over the years.

Kate Hope - VA Business Start Up Course Graduate

When did you first think about setting up as a virtual assistant, or VA, and how did this come about?

I was looking for a more local PA job (at the time I was commuting from Northamptonshire to West London every day) and whilst searching the internet, happened to chance upon an article about Virtual Assistants. I hadn't really heard of the concept before, but it instantly made sense to me. I'd been keen to find a new challenge, which would hopefully draw on my existing skills and experiences, and running my own business seemed like a fantastic way to develop myself beyond the Director's PA role I was involved with at that point. I discussed the idea with close friends and family, many of whom thought it was an excellent idea. The timing couldn't have been better; I wanted to work nearer home (let alone AT home!) and to be able to be a little bit more flexible with my working hours, to try to fit in with my husbands' unusual working schedule.

Micala Wilkins - VA Business Start Up Course Graduate

When did you first think about setting up as a virtual assistant, or VA, and how did this come about?

I first thought about setting up as a VA at the beginning of 2007, knowing that Pier to Peer Coaching offered a service to not only coach about this topic but also a practical step by step guide to setting up a business. What Kate offered was value for money when you consider some of the alternatives out there. Many other organisations offer advice but this comes with a cost too, and having a one stop shop for coaching and business set up that was relevant to a VA seemed the most logical way forward. I commenced a VA course with Kate in February 2007 having given serious thought that this course could help me turn the dream into a reality.

Janet Walker - VA Business Start Up Course Graduate

When did you first think about setting up as a virtual assistant, or VA, and how did this come about?

My boss was suddenly made redundant in May 2006 and I resigned. The job had always been challenging, which I enjoyed, but the last two years were seriously over-pressured and after I left I spent several months at home, catching up with a long list of things (and people). I decided it would be a 'pray, wait and see' time. I just knew, though, that I could not return to a commuting, full-time role in an organisation. Part-time work, perhaps, and/or the chance to work mostly from home, seemed good options.

Various possibilities seemed to open up but nothing concrete. During this time I noticed occasional articles and comments in secretarial publications and websites on Virtual Assistance and setting up home businesses; I was vaguely intrigued and kept the cuttings in a file. It all reminded me that, ten years before, I had attended a conference on Teleworking and written a report for my company on the pros and cons, concluding that, as an Executive PA, "I could not ever envisage myself wanting to become a remote provider of secretarial services". It now seemed to me that, although providing secretarial services remotely is perfectly valid, there might be more to being a VA and therefore taking this route might be more attractive to me than I'd once thought.

WE Connect

I recently attended an introductory seminar run by WE Connect a new organisation that is linking women-owned businesses with multi-national corporate clients. The idea is to raise awareness in the corporate sector of the difference potentially gained by working with businesses run by women, and give those smaller providers a link to decision-makers within these global brand name companies.

Whilst at the stage of expanding my own VA business, I'm not sure I'm quite ready for the challenge (but may well be in the next few months - watch this space!)

A coaching colleague of mine, Suzanne Doyle-Morris was one of the first women-owned businesses to be certified for the scheme and writes about her experiences with the process in her blog.

I'm speaking at IQPS - Central London Branch in April

I'll be speaking on the topic of "A Personal Experience of How to be a Successful Virtual Assistant" at the Central London Branch of the IQPS on Tuesday, 22 April 2008 at 6:00pm at The Civil Service Club, 13-15 Great Scotland Yard, London SW1A 2HJ (nearest tube: Charing Cross or Embankment).

Bookings must be made in advance, by 16 April (£5 members, £7 non-members) contact me by email and I'll forward you the booking form.

Train to be a VA on the weekend!...course starts Saturday, 3 May 2008

Imagine...if your working day looked like this...

- I am free to take my children to, and collect them from, school and spend quality time with them

- I take time away from my home-office to build connections through networking in my local business community

- I work "office hours" that suit my schedule

- I work on projects that stretch me and allow me to learn new skills

- I work with clients who appreciate me

Make the dream reality... by joining the Group Tele-Class option of the VA Business Start Up Course, starting, Saturday, 3 May 2008 at 11:00am. For a full course outline and to book your seat now (LIMITED PLACES AVAILABLE) click here.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What participants are saying:

I can HIGHLY recommend (Kate's) brilliant start-up course to anyone who is just joining the world of Virtual Assistance. I'm enjoying our (group) tele-classes enormously and learning absolutely loads as I go...

Kate Hope
www.katehope.co.uk