AdminSecret

Are you ready to create different results in your business in the new year? Most of us are. Whatever level of success you may have achieved in 2009, it’s almost certain that you can expand that in 2010. But what is going to be so different about the new year? I can’t foretell the future and I don’t know what exciting ...

[widget:sydni_craighart_featured_author_box] As an established VA, you’ll enjoy the freedom to hand-pick your clients and assignments, work at your own schedule and pace, and set your own rates. To achieve success in the Virtual Assistance field, tenacity and perseverance are essential. Although there are no shortcuts for hard work, the right resources can help you achieve success and prosperity more quickly. ...

Now that you have been introduced to this amazing opportunity, I’m sure you’re really excited about all of the possibilities. You can see yourself working diligently from your home office (in your jeans and t-shirt if you like!), on projects you enjoy, with clients you love and having complete control over your life and schedule. And maybe you’ve thought, “Yes, I ...

Last week we discussed how to enroll new clients by using a solid follow-up system. I wanted to save this portion especially for this week. See, there is a small gap between having an interested prospect and enrolling that person as a new client. That gap is an easy one to bridge. This article will provide you with the knowledge and ...

My name is Sydni Craig-Hart and I am one of the contributing authors at AdminSecret and moderator of the "Executive Assistant to Virtual Assistant!" group. This group is designed for Virtual Assistants or for those interested in becoming a Virtual Assistant. It is a place to ask and answer questions, network, share ideas and generally discuss how to become a highly ...

As an established VA, you’ll enjoy the freedom to hand-pick your clients and assignments, work at your own schedule and pace, and set your own rates. To achieve success in the Virtual Assistance field, tenacity and perseverance are essential. Although there are no shortcuts for hard work, the right resources can help you achieve success and prosperity more quickly. In 9 ...

Virtual PAs have many advantages, professionally and personally but, to get the recognition they deserve, they must tackle head-on the problem of “invisibility”, according to one leading training provider. By picking more strategic tasks and routinely checking in with colleagues by phone or through a dedicated chatroom, PAs can work away from the office successfully without sacrificing their long-term career prospects. ...

As an administrative specialist on IBM's Principal Response Team (PRT) in Charlotte, North Carolina, Clara Sapienza doesn't work in front of the offices of any of the four principals she supports. She doesn't even work in the same city. All of her correspondence with her bosses - only two of whom she has met in person - is made via telephone, ...

When Drena Moothart, an executive assistant, began considering where she wanted to raise her children, she opted for somewhere rural. She and her husband upped and moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Glacier Bay National Park area. Still, Moothart managed to continue working as a well-paid assistant to clients on the coast -- both coasts, for that matter. ...

After 12 years of working in a corporate environment, desktop publishing assistant and account manager Cathy Kessler was getting bored and frustrated with the lack of flexibility in her job. So she decided to start her own home-based business as a virtual assistant (VA), and she hasn't had any second thoughts. With employers cutting overhead costs, it's a good time to ...

What should you wear when you work from home? It's a question I'm asked frequently in my image consultanting business, and one that bears thoughtful consideration. For just as your appearance matters when you report to work in the "outside" world, so, too, does it matter when your commute is just down the hall. Now before you snicker at this notion, ...

Learn the many roles a virtual staff can fill to help grow your business. If you're like most entrepreneurs, you've got piles of paper cluttering your office and to-do lists that seem to be multiplying like rabbits. The good news is that many of the tasks that keep you from being as productive (and profitable) as you could be can be ...

You may perform a variety of services or offer a range of products, but if you want a referral, your description of what you do should be detailed and focused on a single aspect of your business. Your referral sources will find it much easier to get you an appointment with a prospect if your sales message addresses the prospect's specific ...

If you think hard work and good fortune will be your yellow-brick paving stones to career success, you may already be living in fantasy land. Hard work is just table stakes in today's world and luck is too fickle to depend on, says Dallas career strategist Karyl Innis. Your name has to stand for something more distinctive than worker bee in ...

Periodically I get asked for an interview with a VA forum and I’d like to share with you one from early this year. Virtual Assistant Forums has over 1700 members from all around the world and is a lively board forum for those who want to know more about being a Virtual Assistant. Tess was the interviewer and I asked her ...

So you've launched your e-mail newsletter. Is it working? Do your customers and prospects get value from it - and are they more likely to buy from you as a result? Is it really worth your time? The great thing about e-mail marketing is that everything is trackable - your e-newsletter reporting will help answer these questions. Most e-mail marketing solutions ...

Who wouldn't want to work from home on a part-time basis and earn thousands of dollars a month? It's an offer millions of people can't or don't refuse. Unfortunately, some of these folks eventually regret having done business with a so-called work-at-home employer. "It's hard to distinguish legitimate work-at-home programs from people who are just out to get your money," says ...

Q: I operate a small business out of my house. The thought of a potential IRS audit makes me lose sleep at night. Is there anything I can do to eliminate or reduce my chances of being audited? —J.C., San Leandro, Calif. A: There's no reason for an honest business owner to lose sleep worrying about a tax audit. Even if ...

Suggestions to Help Home-Based Businesses Compete The success of home-based businesses across the country proves you don't need to operate out of a commercial space to attract clients. You just have to show that you can deliver. What steps can home-based startups take to project an image of competence and credibility? Here are 10 suggestions. [page] Emphasize the Value You ...

Plenty of Web entrepreneurs start their ventures at home and move into commercial spaces only when they expand. Unity Stoakes and Steven H. Krein did it backwards. They ditched their office space in midtown Manhattan a year after founding OrganizedWisdom, a health search engine vetted by physicians, and sent their staff of nine to work from home. And after more than ...