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Hi Everyone, Happy Mother's Day weekend this weekend. While working on making some changes for my Webinar Production Agency. I pieced together a new mission statement. Let me know what you think. Our premier agency manages all aspects of our customer's webinars and podcasts to take the tasks off their plate so they a focus on sharing their message. We provide an event team to assist with event management, moderate chat rooms, marketing, video production/editing, and bookkeeping. We put you in the spotlight so that your message can shine.

I'm sorry, for some reason I didn't see this before now. Yes, I used Canva. I'm quite enjoying Canva, although I still think Photoshop is better. There are some things you just can't do in Canva.

Hello Danielle, Thank you, it works perfectly the way the video shows.

Thanks Tawyna and Danielle! She will only be running a few group coaching programs. Not a lot of products at all. She does have a wordpress site. I will definitely check these options out. Glad to be back in the community

Thank you for the welcome and the feedback! I truly appreciate the support. The amount of information and guidance I have already gotten from being here is absolutely astounding. Marie, thank you for introducing yourself and the support. Charlottesville is a beautiful area. I do hope you and Tawnya had a well deserve Mother's Day. (I Googled Mother's Day in Canada to make sure I was correct to include Tawnya) My decision "redesigning your career at this stage" in my life so far is a blessing in disguise. My wife and I recently (3 months ago) purchased our new home. Last month I lost my job of 7 years due to "seasonal downsizing". My wife and I took a hard look at our options. She is a career nurse that makes a relatively good income, but not necessarily enough to carry our current expenses alone. So, what to do? I have looked into getting another job, and there are a lot of postings in our area business administrators, executive assistants, administrative assistants, and small business owners are looking for personal assistants. One evening, while I was preparing a cover letter, my wife asked me if I knew how my previous employer was planning to distribute my workload? That one question coupled with what I was seeing for job postings was a EUREKA! moment. At that point, my cover letters became introduction letters for my services as a virtual assistant. Even though my previous employer was not posting an ad to refill my position, I knew he was going to need help, so I sent an email. My previous boss is now my first client! Tawnya, thank you for your response. It helped me in defining my why. I want financial freedom for my family! I will NOT be put in this position again! My plans and dreams for the future are HUGE, but that is fuel for my fire. I don't expect the journey to be easy, but it will be fun!!!

Hi Chuck, Welcome to our virtual assistant community. You are not the only male in this group. One of our admins in this group is Mark Hunter from Australia. And we have a supportive network here. I am from Charlottesville, Virginia. I am married. We have a 13-year old son. I started in 2017 with just an idea of being a virtual assistant. And with the help of Tawnya, Mark and so many wonderful people in the VA insiders group I am moving right along. Bravo for redesigning your career at this stage in your life. Our network is supportive and willing to help cheer you on. To your success. Cheers, Marie Mason PS. Happy Mother's day to your family. Also, my son's name is Charles.

I've always had issues exporting my videos in Camtasia on my Mac. I finally asked Camtasia how to fix the quality issues and here is the article they referred me to. It has fixed my issues so wanted to post it in here in case anyone has this issue. https://support.techsmith.com/hc/en-us/articles/115007279948-Camtasia-Mac-Exported-Video-Had-Faded-or-Incorrect-Color

Hello, I hate to admit this but I have been a VA insider since June and have yet to start my business. Part of the reason is that I stand in my own way and overthink things but the other part is feeling really lost on where to start. I cannot purchase the VAC program at this time which I know would help me. Where should I begin in VA insiders and VA networking to actually execute steps on starting my business?

I just recently joined the VA workforce. I'm interviewing for positions now. I am optimistic that I will land my first client soon and begin creating my portfolio of work! ______________________________________________________________________________________ Visit my site at - https://rhosecellahdasalla.wixsite.com/website

I am definitely backing away from this for now. I need to earn some real wages first. This is something I could come back to but honestly I really hate MLM type stuff. According to them I can earn a lot, as long as those I recruit don't surpass my level. I've never been very good at getting ahead w/stuff like that anyway. I'm going to reach out to some people I know. I also made some flyers to put up wherever I can. So hopefully I'll find some real clients/work soon. I'll be posting & writing new posts for my blog as well.

Hey there! Welcome to VAnetworking.com --> The Social Network for Virtual Assistants. I am so excited that you have decided to join the friendliest social network on earth for Virtual Assistants. Let me give you a quick intro of who I am. I am Juli and I have not been in the Virtual Industry that long, (1 year) but by being your moderator, I can relate to some of your challenges that you might possibly face that I might have gone through. I was unemployed looking for way to pay off my student loan debt and how to make money at the same time. I saw an AD on my local TV explaining how to make money online, that educated me a bit on how to make money online but through one of those freelancing sites. I was still not satisfied with only working from that platform so I went on Google and found ways how I could make money online, and this is how I found the forum and joined. Fast forward a year later I have a business in place and I am about to launch my website. So I have gone through the path that you now are on. Enough about me and more about you! One way to get to know you better on the forum is through your first introduction to us. I will outline some tips on how to get you started on the forum. First you can do a quick introduction about yourself and this can be done by clicking here http://www.vanetwork...al-Busi-f4.html If you are like me and don’t like to talk much about yourself here is a breakdown to use as a guide to ease those introductions jitters: Your Name: Your Website URL (if applicable): Years in Business: Description of your Business, including any specialties: On a more personal note: What City/Town/State/Country are you from?: Are you married? How long?: Any kids and how old? Hobbies & Interests: How did you hear about us? We love to know how you heard about us so please let us know! i.e. Google search (what keywords did you search?), article in magazine (name of mag?), word of mouth (who?), etc. Please feel free to browse around and get to know others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to private message me or any of the other moderators here or contact us at our help desk Until then, can't wait to see your growth here and your accomplishments. Best wishes.

What do you think?

Thank you, Amber. It does help.

Site Builder is where my website is. And I really love it. So, while I can't use the images from there some place else, it suits me for now. The customization is amazing for free. I've got exactly what I need. I've done a lot of comparison. And some of the cheapest sites have poor customer service, some of the more high-end ones are too expensive, and I just can't stand WordPress. I know lots of people find it useful & simple. But I can't customize it the way that I want, not with the free version. So I've found what makes me comfortable. I need to be able to manage, maintain, and also not be frustrated w/the design. I can't be productive if I'm sitting for an hour trying to figure out how to get things to look the way I want them to. I don't like tons of time spent "troubleshooting". It's a serious drain on my energy.

Thank you Marco. But I find a big differences between the U.S. and Spanish markets.

Hey Brittany - great start on your site and congrats on having it live! Since your site is very white, I'd definitely 2 colors that you want to go with your brand and have those pop. Since you have pink in your logo, definitely go with that and then one more to really make things stand out. I think it will liven it up a bit. Since it looks like you are a solo VA, I would change some of the wording to "me" or "I". You kind of have both singular and plural and it can be confusing to users. So it's better to stick with one or the other. If you are the only person people will be dealing with, then just go with that. And lastly, I'd add a picture of you - it makes it more personable and people can relate more to someone they can "look in the eye". Good luck!

Thank you so much ladies for the great feedback! In regards to coding, I wanted to learn how to design and build websites so I could do that for others. I've done some searching though after I saw what you said, Tawnya. This is something I definitely don't need to know prior to getting my website live. I'll put that on the back burner for now. Thank you!

Hi Hannah, welcome to VAnetworking! I definitely think you could niche yourself and work in the medical field.

Thank you. A UPS Store mailbox is a very good idea.

Client onboarding is basically a phrase someone made up so they could sell you products surrounding that process. Onboarding a client is fairly simple and usually goes in this order: 1. Get them to pay your retainer upfront (usually online through Paypal). 2. Get them to sign your contract (I do this after I get their payment as once they pay it's easier to get them to sign as they want you to start working for them right away). 3. Talk to them on the phone to get pertinent contact information (contact info, passwords, etc.) to help you service them. 4. You can also send them a document stating your business protocols (hours you work, how you'll communicate with each other, how payments are made, holidays, sick-time, etc.) Each VA has different protocols. As you can see, there isn't much process to prepare to onboard a client. The hardest part is getting them to pay and sign that contract.

I am just starting my journey to start my Virtual Assistant Business. I am thinking of doing proofreading and editing. Right now I am in college perusing a Virtual Office Professional Certificate of Achievement. I have two years experience as an Administrative Assistant Intern. I need your advice on what step should I take next. It seems that people on Guru are wanting degrees and three to five years virtual assistant experience. What's your advice?

Hi all! I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Adele. I was a VA for years and then went back into working in corporate America after going through a divorce. Life circumstances at the time just called for that kind of change. I was only a VA on a part-time basis and needed to go back to full-time income -- and quickly! Anyhow, fast-forward to the present. I am now happily remarried and in a much better position. I have decided to take the plunge and delve back into my passion. I assist businesses with their HR, recruiting, and SMM needs. I also assist in a variety of other projects when time allows, such as event and meeting planning and trade show coordination.

I chose Oceanfront VA Services because that's where I'm hoping to be working from in the next few years!

Yes, it's a lot of going back and forth and switching between projects. I found I was wasting a lot of time with admin stuff and emails. I rather focus on a few larger clients. Have you figured out how many hours you could allocate to clients? That might help you out. Don't forget to set aside time for bookkeeping, marketing etc for your own business.

I'm a retired Quality Assurance Manager who started editing part time (I'm a writer as well) and it just grew into editing, copy editing, proofreading and virtual assistance. I'm only wanting to do this part time, as I am writing novels. But jobs and projects and clients have a way of blossoming! So I network with other freelancers to spread out the work I don't want or can't do. I feel like I have friends all over the world now. Good luck in your business! Pat www.editalley.com www.pathauldren.net www.remotegirlfriday.com

I have a client who's Quickbooks online is so messed up I have no clue how to fix it. When I first took over there was years of income that he has put in undeposited funds. I moved all that out into the proper place and now it seems even more messed up. One of his client looks like he has over 300K in credit and another looks like they are behind when they are not....HELP??!! Need an expert!!

Hi there!! I'm Nancy and I am a brand new VA. My previous profession was in social services and health education and I have incorporated my experience into my new business, specializing with healthcare businesses, non profits and disabled business owners and individuals. My business is heavy on the personal assistance services and from the knowledge I have gathered, noone is providing this type of service to the disabled. Of course, I am also offering business support as well. My website is www.avirtualhelpinghand.com I did it on wix.com which is a platform I am very familiar with and I didnt realize most VA's do their sites on wordpress. Hope it's ok. On a personal note, I am divorced with no children, live in Queens, NY and love meeting new people, travel, cooking, and all life has to offer. This new VA venture has been a strong learning curve for me as I had to learn alot of programs and how to do alot of stuff most VAs do. I am still preparing my contracts and planning to learn a few more programs before I officially launch in about a month...I did send out a few cold email pitches but didnt hear anything back..I will DEFINITELY be taking advantage of the free email templates in the stocking stuffer At the moment, I am feeling very overwhelmed, feeling like I need to "do it all" and am in awe of the skills so many VAs bring to the table. Any support and feedback would be helpful. Look forward to getting to know you all better and best wishes and blessings on your own VA journeys

Thank you so much! I will be attending the VAinsiders call today.

Thank you Tawnya for all the great ideas! I have had some ideas for repurposing this, but you have definitely given me a few more ideas to pursue. I truly appreciate the addition as an affiliate, and I will be diving into the Affiliate Marketing Track very soon. I have so many aspects of my startup I am working on right now, and the ideas for what could be done with this business are really coming at a blistering pace. I believe I should partner with other VAs to help get things moving quicker.(My wife says I need to sleep sometime...LOL) I have a truck load of questions for the upcoming VAInsiders Group Coaching webinars! You're welcome Julian! I am glad I could help with a little inspiration to be a better you! And hopefully these tips can help you be more efficient, exceedingly effective, and execute with excellence!

Hi Everyone, Name: Bettina Website URL: No website yet; currently in the process. Years in Business: None; getting ready to start my VA Business Description of my business: My VA business will focus on services for chiropractors, since I have a background in the healthcare industry. My services will include: data entry, proofreading/editing, PowerPoint presentations, blog-related services, social media ad set-up/management, calendar management, and Facebook group management. What city/town/state/country am I from? I am originally from the Chicago area, but now reside in the Los Angeles area. Am I married? Not yet, but I am in the near future! Any kids? Not yet, but working on it! Hobbies and Interests: I love to read, go bike riding with my significant other, and I'm also a history buff! How did I hear about VA Networking? Through the Google search.

Welcome to the forum Charles!

Hi Chuck, welcome to VAnetworking! That is awesome that you were able to bring on a past employeer as your first client. Wahoo!

Welcome to the group Chuck and just know you aren't the only male in this industry. My last survey showed 7% are male although you are still definitely a minority. Here's a post on male VAs which you may find interesting. The best job in the world is one that you love so I see with your skillsets that being a VA should be perfect for you. My husband loves motorcycles and is a motorcycle mechanic and on his weekends he is out in the garage working on his bikes LOL! Fact is, if you love what you do, you'll do it and if you can make money doing it, BONUS!!! I think everyone at some point no matter what they do gets burnout throughout life. The reason for that is usually not that you don't like what you are doing but more that you've lost your purpose/reason. I used to work to put food on the table for my 3 kids but once they grew up I had to find another reason to pump my veins with a passionate cause. Every now and then I find I achieve my goal and have to find another one. Like for years I was single so needed to work to keep my independence so that was my reason. Nowadays I have my home, a husband, etc. so need to find another reason once again else I'll experience burnout again. I'm only saying this because my coach and I talked about it yesterday and here I am again needing to find my reasons. My whole point is that it's normal in different stages of life to feel a bit burnt out, you just need to refocus on your NEW WHY.

Maybe you need to make a list of things you want to get done and set some goals for yourself. Just work on one of the tasks at a time until it's completed so you don't get overwhelmed.

I have been trying to start my VA business for so long that it is ridiculously crazy. Now that I am being told twice a month that I have to move I am stressing to get things done. I remembered today that I had an account here and my friend Regina said this is a really good place for support and networking. I am trying to create my Facebook business page and am feeling so stuck and in a fog. Trying not to overthink things but it happens. Could really use some help! Thank you.

Hi Toni! Great to see someone else from Idaho! How exciting for you and your family to be living off the grid. Here's to continued success for you in the VA industry

Hello Everybody, I volunteer for a very low budget 501(c)3. Hightail used to allow us to mail out audio tapes to 350 people at no charge. They have recently changed their rules. They still allow us to send out as many audio tapes as we please, but to a maximum of 10 people at no charge. Is there anyone out there that have a recommendation of a low cost service. or on that doesn't charge at all? The problem is that these are webinars that go about an hour an a half. They are huge files. Mary PS is there another area I could have posted this? Suggestions welcome!!! Mary

Hello! My name is Jesica. I'm a 38 years old Spanish woman currently based in Lisbon, Portugal. I've recently joined this group because, after several years' experience in the Customer service & Service Delivery in different countries, I've decided to pursue my dream of traveling the world while working remotely. I don't have children and my partner is a traveler by nature, living around the world working with his paraglider. I also speak 4 languages perfectly and I've lived for quite a few years in 3 different countries (Ireland, the US, and Portugal). Day by day, I feel more passionate about this new profession, wanting to learn more and more about this business, enabling my organizational, practical and communication skills to thrive and the most important thing: be part of this VA community. Regards, Jess

The meds thing is OK, after all. Thankfully. I was able to get all of my RXs. They have this thing on the drugstore site, when the Rx is being filled it will often show the price minus insurance, then when it's filled, it shows the co-pay. This always makes me nervous. B/C sometimes it shows your co-pay. So when I see a funny high number I get scared. But it's all good. I will check out the group coaching. I actually had forgotten about that, what with trying to find some income. part-time is all I can manage at the best of times. I also live in a very disruptive environment, noisy neighborhood makes it hard to concentrate for a lot of the time. Some afternoons I have to put earplugs in so that I can think & (try) to block out pounding bass. My current site is by Site Builder. I love it, it's just pricey. But I'm attached to the interface, the current template/design that I have really works for me. Thank you so much for sharing that article with me. I actually wrote an (upcoming) blog post about writing with ADHD. I really need to get my ADHD medication soon so that I can be more in-depth in my research & writing. Oh & I'm not the hyperfocused type, I'm very inattentive & scattered, moving from one thing to another, sort of drifting. Coffee helps, but overall it's very difficult w/o Ritalin. Docs are very wary & hesitant to help me at all. I work best in short bursts.

Cool! Let us know how you go, Melissa.

I love this, so really nice.

Hello everyone My name is Afshan Ahmad and I'm a full time mummy. I have previously worked in a solicitor's office and for a bank for 4 years. After being full time stay at home mum for 4 years I now want to get back into working and focusing on my career alongside my family. Therefore, im interested in setting up my VA business from home and using my previous skills and experiences to get started. I would love if you could share your experience of being a VA please especially mummies. How do you manage with children especially during school holidays or your child is off for some other reason and you have work, meetings etc scheduled.. Thank you very much. Afshan

Thank you, Tawnya, but the merit isn't all mine, to go faster I use a translator and then I check if it's correct.

I have a UPS Store mailbox (Costs me $150/year) and gives me security knowing noone knows my real mailing address. The one thing I love about UPS is that they have a Suite # instead of PO Box. Looks more professional. Funny thing one time someone was in front of my UPS mailing depot and phoned me to say they couldn't find my office. I then had to nicely explain that I work from home and that is just my mailing address.

Awesome idea and way to keep yourself motivated. You could go take some pictures near the ocean and incorporate it into your website and branding. Could keep your colors ocean like or nautic. Sounds like a lot of fun to create actually!

If Zoom works for you use Zoom! Here's an article I found using zoom to put onto Facebook Live I used BeLive for my Facebook Lives.

Thank you, Tawnya, I think the interviews you did on Facebook live really helped inspire me. That and I had several speakers encourage me to do them. Every time I did a Facebook live it flopped. I have zoom and I don't know how to go onto Facebook live with zoom. Any ideas?

Hi Marie, One service I think would be pretty cool as a package would be this. To extend your webinar package by offering to transcribe or create shownotes out of the content that is created. I know some marketers like James Schramko have very in depth pdfs created from their webinars, with formatting and images + transcribed text.

I know that some freelancers charge for words and or by content. So for example per word could start at.50 or $1 as an example or for the whole content at 1000 words $50.

I am thinking about switching to Wave and am currently using Quickbooks. Any thoughts on which one is better?