What’s keeping me busy…

Now that I’m 6months pregnant with our 3rd child, I’m trying to lay low and be as domesticated as possible. I’m having a difficult time recently and the husband says I should just rest and contemplate on things. I’ve started to finish all my contracts as VA but since I just started my coaching campaign, I can’t just leave the internet and stay offline. Its better to have one business going left so I’d funds coming in. I just wish I’d have more coaching sessions so it keeps me afloat. 

Things in my personal life have also been (I can say) getting better. Torn and burnt relationships may be coming to a good close just before the year ends. Only sad thing i, that the hubby has decided to once again try his luck with his application for a post in Papua New Guinea (where his uncle is based). I’m not sure if I’m ready for that. I say yes just to let him feel everything’s okay, but I have my apprehensions. 

Anyway, that’s what I have been up to. Not much but still  

Skype changes

I’m frankly quite disappointed of the changes on Skype. I’ve been using Skype ever since I started my  VA business and have relied a majority of my phone calls on it. But now as I tried to renew a subscription, there has been changes like I would have to pay for my own number even if I already have a subscription, which by the way, have increased prices. 

I wish they’d bring back what they used to charge and the policies that came with it. It was much better then. I was actually hoping that they will bring better services to their subscribers but at the rate they’re going, I might as well get myself a MagicJack.

How Twitter helped my business

I’m not a tech geek but I know my way around the Internet. After a few days of tinkering with Twitter, I finally found a possible solution on how I can market my virtual assistant services. So how can you Earn Money from your Tweets?

1. Make an account on Twitter

2. You can opt to join Tweetlater for easier posting

3. Look for Twitter directories and add people targeted to your niche.

4. Post, post, post!

Try these ideas and see if it would work and help your business.

Benefits in getting a Virtual Assistant

I wanted to share today the benefits for clients in getting a virtual assistant. So why exactly would you have to hire one? Let me enumerate the top reasons :

• Pay only for the time used for your business
  
• No overhead costs like physical office, computers, equipments, office supplies, etc.
• You do not pay for vacations, time-off, sick leaves, maternity leaves, health benefits, coffee breaks, government taxes and mandated benefits.

 So getting a virtual assistant would definitely help you and your business. Hire now!

More advantages

I’ve been contemplating on my business for the past few weeks. Thinking as to why I decided this was the best job I ever accepted. And here’s some reasons why :

1. I don’t travel from home to work, therefore saving time and money.  
2. I don’t spend on office uniform or business clothes
3. No traffic!
4. I get to spend more time with my family
5. Laid-back feel in my home-office setup, therefore, less stress
6. No politics
7. Flexible working hours (maybe or maybe not)

Just a few of what I consider as my perks on this job.  

Now Accepting Paypal Payments

The best way to pay. 

International.

Secure.

Hassle-free.

My Virtual Office

As I have mentioned on previous posts, I have been in this industry for quite some time now, and as preparation, I’ve made a substantial investment for my virtual office. I’m always on the lookout for new programs and constantly upgrades or change my setup. 

• Desktop -  Pentium 4, 120GB HD, 1.5GB RAM, Windows XP Pro SP3, Combo Drive
• Laptop - HP Compaq Presario V3000, Intel Core Duo, 80GB HD, 1GB RAM, Windows XP Home
• Notebook - MSI Wind Edition U100 LXP8 Intel Atom N280, 1.66ghz, 2gb RAM, 250gb HDD, Windows XP Home
• Wireless (WiFi) Network - Apple iPhone3G 16gb
• Printer - EPSON 3-in-1 printer, scanner, photocopier
• Microsoft Office 2007
• Quickbooks Plus 2007
• AVG Pro Antivirus; Spybot Search and Destroy
• Dropbox
• GoToMeeting
• FireFTP
• Messenger/VOIP - Yahoo, MSN, Skype (voicemail and forwarding available)
• Internet Connection - DSL 1mbps; Backup - Globe Wireless Internet

Always check on this list for updates.

What to Never Forget

As the title goes.. let’s never forget these things when being a virtual assistant : 

My being a virtual assistant has taught me a lot of things especially about discovering things about myself. People often mistake this job as a regular employee-in-an-office sorta’ work. Well, let me tell you this.. it is not.  Always consider this as a business. As YOUR business. Here’s how it works : You get clients who you assist in certain aspects and they pay you for your services, which is your business. The business of providing services to clients. You may have to work for just 1 or 2 clients at a time, depending on their requirement and your agreement with them. 

Now that you consider this as your business, it would be easier for you to work on a professional level, not whine about little things like payment (well, this is big LOL) and schedule. Let’s discuss schedule. Normally, if you want to work for US companies, you HAVE to work with their schedule. Which is mostly night time for us. So what do you do? Test the waters. See if you are able to work nights and sleep in the morning. Let everyone in your household know your current work time and tell them what hours they can and can’t disturb you. If at all possible, don’t go back to your normal hours during the weekend, as it would definitely affect your weekdays or at least your Monday. What you can do, if this is not possible, you can take a really long nap on the afternoon of Monday, just so you can go back to your usual supposed body clock. 

 Another important thing… Clean your desk. Don’t think that because you work at home, you can do whatever. A clean desk would definitely make a difference when it comes to working. You would feel better, therefore, work better. So get up and clear that work station.

Let’s have these things work out for you first.. then we’ll go to the more gory details like payment.. next time See yah! and Goodluck.