A force to be reckoned with!

Since I started my VA business just over a year ago I have had an amazing success. I started just one day a week, six months later I went full time and six months after that I now work with a great team of Associates.

This could so easily not have been the case if back in the early days I had fallen into the trap that awaits unsuspecting VA wannabes.

I researched the subject and I asked lots of questions, not least because I am a canny Northern Lass and very tight with my money (not that I had any when I started up), but because I am a cautious girl as well.

I came across a multitude of sites that offered me qualifications, directory listings, training and more, all in exchange for my hard earned cash. If I hadn’t been so canny I could seriously have spent thousands at the outset thinking that was the only way to get my VA business up and running.

Then I made an amazing discovery. Delving deeper into the world of VAs and you will find this huge community. They don’t compete against each other in the way that a standard industry would and they have the vision and the foresight to collaborate with each other. Working as a team makes the individual suddenly a much stronger force. You only have to look at the humble ant for example; on his own he can’t do much, but by working together look at the incredible weight they can carry.

I first came across SVA – The Society of Virtual Assistants, founded by Caroline Melville. Their forum was full of people doing what I wanted to do and helping others along the path. I had never come across this sort of help and support before, especially so freely given.

I then met the lovely @DeeVAS on Twitter and she took pity on me and invited me to join this amazing group called VASG on Skype. The difference this made to me was astronomical. All of a sudden there was this instant support by a complete group of strangers all of whom had something in common and believed that in order to achieve their goals, you had to collaborate. By being given access to a fantastic group of VA’s at all stages of their business from Start Up to many years of experience, my business has gone from strength to strength because we love to talk! A lot!

We talk about the latest software, the most efficient way to do things, answer tech questions and introduce each other to great ideas whether we are in start up phase, growing a business to get out of the rat race or being a full time VA with many years of experience.

You know how I feel about collaboration and this is a huge part of why the VA industry is so strong and growing. VAs are not targets to make other people money; they are smart, savvy, switched on Entrepreneurs in their own right. We ask questions, we make demands, and always ask for more than we have, and we like to test things to destruction. It’s in our nature. That’s way when we recommend a product or service to our Clients they know they can trust our recommendation.

I have been working with three companies lately in order to take some existing excellent products and to enhance them for the VA industry. They have listened to our feedback and responded accordingly, some things they have been able to do for us instantly and others will take longer, but what shines out is their eagerness to work WITH US. They understand that by collaborating with us it will enhance their products, make our lives easier, more efficient and allow us to share their great products with our Clients and make them more efficient and effective as well.

The support and feedback they have given us has been outstanding, their customer service has exceeded our expectations and they are genuinely a pleasure to work with.

I would like to publicly thank Xero, CapsuleCRM and MinuteDock for their efforts and support over these past few weeks. We aren’t always the easiest bunch to please that is for sure, but between us we have some great collaborative integrated solutions to look forward to over the coming months.

So, if you are a supplier out there and think the VA community may be able to further your company's interest please do get in touch, we will be happy to test your products and services to destruction. We are not for the faint hearted and we don’t endorse products from every company that comes our way. However, we will offer constructive feedback, to let you know whether we think it worthy of our Clients, to tell you what works and what doesn’t, we will even introduce you to our existing suppliers so you can talk collaboration and integration.

Feel free to get in touch, or leave your comments below on how collaboration has worked for you.

11 comments:

  1. Interesting stuff Helen and well done for your sucess. I've used a VA in the fairly recent past (with mixed results) and considering this move again. Two questions if you don't mind - how do you give assurance to your clients of confidentiality and security of data etc. and how do you handle telephone calls?
    Thank you
    Dorothea

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  2. Thank you for your questions Dorothea, I am sure my colleagues will be interested in replying to this as well.

    Personally I am registered with the Information Commissioner under Data Protection. I have a contract with my Clients and I am also happy to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement should they require it. I have secure remote back up that I pay for each month which can only be accessed by me, or by my Client if I allow them access to the files.

    In terms of phone calls I work with a team of professional call handlers, we operate a full call answering service for our clients, the phones are answered in our clients company names, we ask as much information about the client as we can so that we can better handle the incoming calls and then forward messages to the client on receipt. As we have handled the calls we have much more than just call Mr Smith back please.

    I would always suggest checking out testimonials and references when working with a new VA. Granted trust takes time to be earned, but be assured, our business depends on our ability to keep information confidential and secure.

    As I said, I am sure some of my colleagues will have comments on this as well.

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  3. Hi Dorothea

    How would you ensure this from an employee? It's exactly the same process with the same risks involved.

    Your VA should sign an NDA, they should be using professional email, be working in a professional environment and have set service standards in terms of response. That minimises a lot of the risk involved.

    As far as phone calls go, they should have a phone system which allows them to answer calls in your name and assign dedicated numbers for you to use.

    Helen - thank you for the mention of SVA and your kind words!

    Caroline

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  4. Yay! Fab post Helen

    @Xero, @CapsuleCRM and @MinuteDock have revolutionised my working life as a Virtual Assistant.

    Xero - the simplest online accountancy system BAR NONE!

    CapsuleCRM - online customer/client relationship management system.

    MinuteDock - online timesheets that, well, work!

    The beauty of ALL three is that they INTEGRATE with each other seamlessly. So not only do we have VAs who collaborate but also software that does too.

    Nice one!

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  5. Helen

    Would be great to see you add http://edocr.com to your tool kit. Had a great meeting with Nicola today and I am sure she would be able to discuss with you about its application within VA market.

    Best regards
    Manoj

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  6. Hi Manoj, had a very quick look the other night and not sure how applicable it would be to VAs though can see opportunities for clients, I will have a chat with Nicola and give it a proper look over rather than the quick glance I had time for and come back to you.

    Regards

    Helen

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  7. Helen, fab post once again!

    I would just like to support you in your comments re: trust, and also support what Caroline said about employment.

    I always assure new clients, and especially those who have not used a VA previously, or has had a bad experience (which unfortunately does happen), that you treat the process of selecting a VA the same way as you would employing in the usual routes.

    Check out their background, website, contact their current and previous clients for solid testimonials.

    Baby steps is the way to go in the early stages to ensure you are a good fit, I'll be honest, VAs are not one size that fits all, this works both ways. You have to build a solid relationship and in turn trust for the working relationship to blossom into a long term one.

    I love being a Virtual Assistant, and it has become even more enjoyable since joining forces with the other VAs and being a part of the VASG. I have learned so much, and that's the beauty of doing what we do, each day comes with new learnings and enables personal and professional development, sometimes when you don't even realise it.

    So thanks Helen once again for an inspiring post and bringing to light what a special support network we have.

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  8. I totally agree Kelly, it should be treated no differently to the recruitment process, you need to make sure that you 'fit' each other. One advantage of VAs working closely together is that if the 'fit'isn't right they can help you find someone who is right.

    The beauty of working as a team ensures that this relationship works, as we have more than one client you benefit from the experiences we gain in other areas, we actually have much more rounded businesses, and as part of the VA community we always know a man who can when you need something.

    I love the collaboration in VASG, it just gets better every day.

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  9. Helen - what a great article.

    I would like to thank Caroline Melville (now Wylie), for creating the Society of Virtual Assistants as this is still one of the best FREE resource for VAs in the UK, who are at all stages of their business life.

    I most certainly did not take pity on you Helen, I loved your tweets and interacting on you via Twitter was so much fun!

    I am amazed at your work ethic and I have loved how so many VAs, across the land have really taken our "collaboration not competition" ethos to heart. Their have been teething problems but that is not unexpected. I think we have wonderful community at VASG.

    Helen you have done stellar work bringing our growing community, to the attention of suppliers AND negotiating discounts for our organisation. I am pleased that you agreed to join our little group which is now blossoming. I can't believe we as a group have achieved so much, in less than a year of existence.

    Long may our achievements continue!

    Dee.

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  10. Helen - what a great article.

    I would like to thank Caroline Melville (now Wylie), for creating the Society of Virtual Assistants as this is still one of the best FREE resource for VAs in the UK, who are at all stages of their business life.

    I most certainly did not take pity on you Helen, I loved your tweets and interacting on you via Twitter was so much fun!

    I am amazed at your work ethic and I have loved how so many VAs, across the land have really taken our "collaboration not competition" ethos to heart. Their have been teething problems but that is not unexpected. I think we have wonderful community at VASG.

    Helen you have done stellar work bringing our growing community, to the attention of suppliers AND negotiating discounts for our organisation. Your work ethic has been first rate and I am pleased that you agreed to join our little group which is now blossoming. I can't believe we as a group have achieved so much, in less than a year of existence.

    Long may our achievements continue!

    Dee.

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  11. Hi Helen what an excellent post and so comprehensive, you have summed up the VA service very succinctly.

    I agree that without the support of the VASG girls I would possibly not still be running my business; it has taken a long time to build my own profile and business network, and I nearly gave up trying to convert the business community to accepting/ using VAs. My sincere thanks go to them, I now have so many good/ supportive clients.

    I also use an Agreement for the Provision of Services, which ensures confidentiality and hopefully dispenses with any possibility of mis-understanding from either party. I don't think any reputable VA business should have a problem with signing an agreement regarding confidentiality etc.

    I always promote the VASG to my potential clients it offers assurance of back-up for particularly large job requests as well as cover for specialist tasks and sick/ holiday time, as between us we can arrange affiliate agreements.

    It is important to consider the closeness of the relationship between a client/ VA, you have to work closely together so make sure the VA/ client you choose suits you, your business and you personality, as well as your requirements/ specialities.

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