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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.

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.

Thank you, Amber. It does help.

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 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.

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

I have been following up with two emails instead of three. I am unsure how to remove my emails from potential clients spam folders. I do not think I have an email campaign as I am responding to RFPs. I hope this is making sense

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.

Amber that was so so so helpful thank you so much. Amber do you have a link so i can see how your looks and Tawnya thank you so much im going to check hers out now :)

I highly recommend Lastpass and it's free

What do you think?

Hi and welcome to our network! You have great experience behind your belt and you should do well in this career as a freelancer/VA. Congrats on almost getting your website finished as that is a huge accomplishment in the beginning stages. Pat yourself on the back! I hear you about the roller coaster of emotions you are going through right now. We never stop worrying about our babes right? Hunting scorpions, now that's a first I've ever heard anyone doing here, ugh...I am not a bug fun so wouldn't have fun doing that HAHA! Enjoy the boards!

My all time favorite picks are: 1) Project Management - Asana 2) File Sharing - Google Docs 3) Messenger - Skype

I think keep the descriptions simple, don't give them too many options or things to think about. Provide a pay pal buy button under each service description and a call to action like 'download my FREE working with a VA ebook' or "You may also like my book editing services <<click here>>" the link would then lead to the next service description. Do this for all your service options on your home page. Which would have an icon or image for each with short description that opens to a new page with the service details, buy button, freebie ebook and call to action or upsell for another service. >image/ icon >title e.g. transcription services >short dot point description of service >PayPal buy button >link to download ebook >link to another service offering hope that helps amber

Yes, they have a great deal right now, hoping to get in on that before it goes away. I was thinking more long-term, hopefully by then I'll be earning money & can take the increase in price.

Thanks, This is helpful.

It's like exercising. If you can find a way to exercise that you love doing ie) playing hockey then you'll do it all the time. Glad you found a website program that works for you as that means you'll use it to it's fullest.

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.

I got only 40 hours in a week and it was really hard for me to maintain a plethora of clients, what i do is just focus on the big ones and excuse the others.

Layla, go into the accountability area in your VAinsider membership and start listing everything you think you need to do. Also list some of the critical money marks you have to achieve (and by when) and we will help you with a gameplan to get past these roadblocks you are having.

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 TJ and welcome! So looking forward to getting to know you and seeing your business grow in the future. Enjoy the archives and if you have any questions, just ask

Hi TJ, welcome to VAnetworking! Sorry for the delay in welcoming you. We just wrapped up our week-long conference so am finally catching up at the forum. Let us know if you have any questions about starting up.

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

Hi Theresa, welcome to the forum! There are some amazingly helpful people and resources here - I'm sure you'll learn everything you need to know as long as you have the time to take it all in. It can be overwhelming at first, but I promise it's not only fun it's worth it. ------------------------------------- When you ask about other ways to network, are there ways you have tried already or are you completely new to networking? I'm guessing you've told at least one friend or family member you're going to start a business and work from home...so you did network with at least one person. Unless your business is a secret (I've seen it happen) in which case you may not have networked at all. The best way to start networking is to work out what you will say when people ask you: What do you do?With this question, what you want to communicate is some of your services. Try to figure out what the other person does before they ask you this and you can tailor your answer to the needs of that person. If you have never networked before you may want to put together an elevator speech. You can find more about elevator speeches in this thread (including a super-helpful fill in word document from Candy B.) What are your rates? Right after you talk about what you do there are some people that want to dive right into the rate discussion. Don't let them. Tell them your rates or packages vary depending on the services required and that you'd love to set up a time to talk further so you can see if you can help them and then you'd be happy to provide them a rate. Unless you have time to educate the potential client about rates and how $30 is not expensive right there at the networking event, you're going to want to save the discussion for a later time. How long have you been in business?Especially for new business owners, you do not want to answer this with a perky, "I've been in business a week and a half!" That doesn't build trust or make the potential client feel all warm and snuggly. Respond that you have been in the secretarial industry for x number of years and it was a natural transition to do it for yourself rather than someone else. This showcases your experience, not when you applied for your business license. Can you do X for me? Sometimes people will ask you on the spot if you know how to do something. Be careful, because you want to make sure you aren't getting sucked into giving free advice they can then go home and tell a cousin, friend, or mom and have them do the work instead of you. Be friendly and helpful, but don't give away the farm. Oh, and if you don't know how to do what they're asking, never just say "No." That shuts down the relationship. Tell them you don't take care of that but you know someone that does and you'd be happy to provide a referral. Then they will see it as a favor and it gives you a chance to follow up with them to see if they need your services. (If you don't know someone to refer them to, come to VANA and ask around, we have people that can do just about anything between all 8,500+ of us!) While these may be the most popular questions that pop up at networking events, they are certainly not the only questions that arise. As you become more confident talking about your business you will get so that you know what people are asking for and be able to answer, but the only way to get to that point of comfort is through practice. Lots of practice. As for the car wrap, I've never met anyone that got a client from car wrap...people just don't make split decisions about outsourcing secretarial work when they're driving down the road and stop at a red light. At least, not in my experience. If anyone has experienced anything different I'm sure they'll let you know!! Hope this helps. Also check out the links in my signature line to get some helpful starter tips on how to use the forum! You're going to have a blast here, just get ready and hang on for the ride!