As the old saying goes, you only get one chance to create a good first impression. When you are running your own business, it’s imperative that within the first few seconds of meeting you or being introduced to your business, you create a great first impression. In the following series, we’ll give you some simple […]

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When starting your virtual assistant business, after getting together all you equipment, getting excited over your business cards and web site, there comes the sudden realisation that here you are, all ready to go and there isn’t actually a queue of people knocking down your door to work with you. Yikes!
One of the questions I’m […]

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You should allot a certain portion of your day to email and to regular mail. For example, allot one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon to handling all your written communications. Unless you dedicate specific time slots to the handling of email and post, you will soon find yourself on the […]

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When you are dealing with family in the course of your workday, it is important to schedule your activities as much as possible. With small children, you must take time when you need to, but you should also work hard to make sure you dedicate a specific number of hours to your workday.
For more advice […]

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Remember that owning your own business is not the same as being employed in a job. Some people go to work and coast along, playing games or enjoying online social networking (Facebook and co.), some socialise over the kettle or printer, and others, most often those who are paid in a commission or tip environment, […]

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As the owner of a Virtual Assistant business, you will find hundreds of distractions that vie for your time, energy and focus. Common distractions can include children, family and friends, neighbours, pets, constant telephone calls, mail and deliveries, household chores, television (Lorraine Kelly or Loose Women anyone?) and so many more.
As the owner of your […]

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Create email templates.
If you answer an email to the same question more than once, create an email template so that next time you are asked the question, you already have an email ready to send out

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File your emails.
In a similar vein to the last point, have a filing system for emails that have been dealt with. When you have replied or dealt with each email, file it away or delete it.

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Sort your emails.
Hands up who has an inbox with more than 10 emails in it? If you have, it can be a huge waste of time trying to find what you are looking for and the clutter can be overwhelming. Have files for incoming email and set up rules for all mail that can be […]

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When you are a virtual assistant, especially when your practice is becoming full, you spend a lot of time juggling your schedule so you can fit in all the needs and requirements of all your various clients. As you become more and more busy with client work, it is often easy to forget to schedule […]

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