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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.

Hey we have a great trend going here! Danielle is an Innovator that collaborates with the Maker (me), who collaborates with the Visionary (Tawnya). This is the start of a really creative team!

I apologize for not seeing your poll yesterday. I like the layout and graphics of the first one the best. If I could give some pointers. When choosing your color (colour) palate, it can be useful to view your design across several devices. This is usually only discussed in the aspect of web page layout and responsiveness, but with the multitude of not only screen sized, but also screen resolutions, the material the screen is made of, the preferred setting of the device user, I find it useful to view my designs across many different devices. With that said, I would recommend adjusting the huge of your pink background if you are going to use the white text color. Your design looks fine on a LCD computer screen and an iPad with bluelight filter on. But, there is significant white bleed from the text into the background when viewed on an LED computer screen or a smartphone that is not configured to filter blue light. I have just started a Canva account if you wanted to share your logo file with me my profile is @ChuckKanupp. I would be pleased collaborate with you. Cheers!

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

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.

Thank you, Amber. It does help.

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 just wanted to introduce myself, my name is Maralee and I am very very new to the VA idea. Still going through the free resources available on the site and am getting a TON of information. My poor brain is a little overwhelmed but I am really really wanting to stay home and be able to make my own schedule while having fun and being able to help people. Getting started does anyone have any tips and tricks for free or cheap programs to start out with? As we don't have a ton of money to throw at this, and my hubby is not for sure convinced I will stick with it. Which is kind of fair as I keep getting ideas and run with it for a little bit and then stop So any advice would be so appreciated! Thank you so much!

My creative type is Maker. Creative Strengths: Focus and dedication, ability to achieve mastery Untapped Potential: Taking creative risks, finding joy and play in the process Ideal Collaborator: The Visionary Driven, focused, and dedicated to the creative process, the MAKER has mastered the art of manifesting ideas and visions in three-dimensional form. Society greatly benefits from the work of MAKER types, who develop the systems, structures, tools, and innovations that the rest of us rely on. One of the hardest workers of all the types, the MAKER is almost always busy solving problems, making headway on personally meaningful goals, and completing projects. There are few things that bring you more satisfaction than applying your brain power to crafting things and making progress in any form. You tend to excel in design, crafts, architecture, and other fields that blend artistry with business and technology. You’re driven by tangible results, and you know how to deliver. A quiet type, you enjoy collaboration but generally prefer to work alone so you can focus on your own creative process. You know how to play the long game, and you’re not afraid to do the unglamorous legwork that goes into building something of value over time. Your gifts of focus and dedication can lead to achieving mastery and coming to be seen by others as an authority in your field. Your biggest challenge? To connect more deeply with your intuition and emotionsin order to bring forth ever more authentic and original work. Productivity is only half the equation of doing great work—the other half is inspiration. Creating the space to dream, imagine, and play can keep your work from becoming rote and mechanical. Combine forces with the enterprising VISIONARY to take your creativity to new heights. The VISIONARY’s soaring imagination gives you permission to dream bigger and envision the impossible—and to fearlessly risk failure in order to make it a reality.

Hello. My name is Laweesa McCray and I am seeking advice on becoming a virtual assistant.

Great tips Chuck! Thanks for sharing!

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.

Great tips Chuck! Surely needed that for myself. All the best!

Hello everyone! I'm Chuck (Some call me Charles, that's okay too). I am just getting started in the virtual world of assisting as one of those rare males in this profession. I don't have a business URL yet, but I am working diligently to to get that up and going. I have spent the last 20 years helping businesses become better through leading up as an employee, informal business coaching, and advising on system/process implementation to improve different aspects of business. My business is general virtual assistance helping small, medium, and large businesses Maximize the BIG THREE Es of Business, Efficiency, Effectiveness , and Execution! My education is management information systems and psychology. This education coupled with my experience in the military and the business world helps me to assist others accomplish what needs to be done in a technological world where change is the number one crippling factor. I specialize in business systems, social media implementation, web design, and tech support. My wife and I currently live in Vero Beach, Florida. I am originally from Lenoir, North Carolina. We have been married for 26 years and have two kids away at university. Our daughter is studying veterinary medicine at the University of Louisville, and our son is in the masters program for classical vocals and composition at the Boston Conservatory. YES, we are extremely proud of them! Being the nerd that I am, I am actually turning my hobbies into a virtual assistant business. My hobbies are actually web design, social media profile initiation, and business coaching for friends, family, and associates. So, I figured since I do this stuff in my free time, why not go professional and get paid to do it! Like they say, "If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life." This does lead me to a question though. Has anyone else experienced burn out, or other pitfalls, from the psychological shift in doing something as a hobby but now having the responsibility of getting paid for it? I would love to hear your thought or experiences around this. Please leave a response, because I really don't want to get headed the wrong direction! Thank you all for being here. We can all work together to make one another better! Chuck Kanupp

Welcome to the forum Charles!

Yes, congrats on your first client! I remember when the doors shut down on the computer service company I was working for leaving all the customers hanging. What I did was contact them all and offered to finish their jobs for free for them. A couple of them ended up keeping me as their Virtual Assistant and that's how I got my first clients.

Hi Madina, welcome to VAnetworking!

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.

Thank you for pointing where to start! The link is of great help as I am also just starting to build a career as a Virtual Assistant. I've set up a test website for my VA business and the free resources on the link will surely guide me to find clients and grow my business. Looking forward to more learnings and earnings!

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and to the world of VA's. I have been working hard the last month to get everything up and running for my VA business. All that is missing is my Social Media set up and launch. And I can't for the life of me wrap my head around how to even start. This is harder than designing a website and creating content. I will be on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram but I have never even used Instagram or Twitter personally. What are some good resources on how to get started or what a good first post would be? Thank you in advance!

I want to start my VA business providing services to Chiropractors, since I have a background in the healthcare industry--I actually worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant. How would I market my services to chiropractors?

Thank you, Tawnya!

You can promote your website through on-site and off-site links. Posting on forums and answering questions on Yahoo Answers or Quora will help promote your off-site links. This will boost your SEO because search engine algorithms are looking for external sites that link to your page. Every time you make a post on a forum, for example, search engines recognize that as an external link. It's important to remember that some external links are more valuable than others. Linking to sites with more external links themselves will help boost your page. Good luck!

Pricing can always be a difficult question. In my practice, I charge at an hourly rate. I find the hourly rate model to be flexible enough to suit a diverse set of clients. Perhaps if I had an ongoing relationship with a client and could get a better sense for their specific needs week after week, only then do I think it would be beneficial to set a flat fee arrangement.

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

I am going to share with you some broadcasting software tools that I have come across that might help you or someone else in the group. Broadcasting Software Review Hi Mary, I like using a couple of tools. A. One is https://www.loom.com It allows you to create 100 videos for free and provides you tools to edit them. You can choose between the following: · Audio only · Video only · Or you can screen share and see a video of you on the corner. The paid version allows you to do unlimited videos and it has a low cost to it. B. Another tool you can use is: https://stageten.tv/ · You can easily create live shows with remote guests. Video feeds from phones, cams, screen share, and game streams. · Connect with your audience and live stream to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch. · Stand out from the crowd with multi-cam shots, custom graphics, video clips, and unique stream formats. Not sure about the pricing. I think they do have a free version or a trial C. Here is another tool www.zoom.com I love using zoom too because it allows you to have a free version. The free version Meetings Online Meetings, Training & Technical Support Video Webinar Marketing Events & Town Hall Meetings Conference Rooms Build Collaboration-Enabled Conference Rooms Zoom Phone The next generation enterprise phone system Business IM Cross-Platform Messaging & File Sharing · You can connect with your calendar · You can schedule meetings onto zoom · You can also stream to YouTube and Facebook live · You can also do a whiteboard and draw or type a text and screen share it. D. Another great tool that has advanced features https://belive.tv Here are some great features for it. · You can do solo videos · Interviews or · Talk shows · Boost brand & Engagement using custom logos, frames, and colors · Stay organized · Screen share your presentation and bring photos from your Facebook album to your broadcast · You can also share it on Facebook live or Twitch · It has a free 30-day trial · The prices are reasonable · I think Tawnya has started using this one recently Hope this information will help you in selecting what tool works best for you. It depends on who your audience is. What social media platform they hang out in. And what tool will serve you best? Something to keep in mind. As your needs grow then you will want a tool that can grow with you.

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

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 :)

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.

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.

This is what I use and have never had a virus: 1. Windows Defender which comes FREE with Windows 10 (kept updated) 2. SuperAntiSpyware - I have the paid version so it runs in the background but the free version works too as long as you regularly keep it updated. 3. Malwarebytes - I also run this which might be overkill

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.

My situation is similar. I started back in 2016, then had a long hiatus, due to my illness. I'm in a rush now, my head is buzzing with business ideas, but if I don't make money soon, I don't know how I'm going to make it. My landlord just raised my rent, so the pressure makes my ADHD brain even more scattered. It can be very difficult to prioritize & focus

Sorry I missed this question... I've been using retainer pricing with my clients all along for the past 20 years and never have any issues with them not liking it. My clients don't have the same tasks each week so it's hard to do packages for some of them. Working on hourly retainers that they prepay upfront works for us both. They get a bit of a discount paying upfront and I don't have to race around the end of month. Here is an informative blog post I wrote on pricing your virtual assistant services.

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.

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?