As a fellow virtual assistant recently congratulated me on my 6 year anniversary, she commented that I was fortunate to make it past the 5 year milestone. I am happy to have made it this far but I think it was more the good business sense that was passed on by others that got me to this point. As virtual assistants, I am sure that many of us have seen firsthand the things that keep business owners from succeeding online. I am not sure what the statistics are because there seem to be so many variations, so I won't share. I do know from experience (I tried at least a couple online ventures that did not take off) and from talking to prospects, that the following seven reasons are some of the factors that contribute to the failure of online businesses. No Action. Have you ever decided to take up a new hobby, (eg. golf) go out and purchase all the equipment needed and then never go to the golf course? Well, this is an obvious reason but nonetheless major reason that some businesses fail. Purchasing the material, doing the research, even setting up a website will lead to nought if you don't take action! Unrealistic Expectations. Its funny how some people believe that all it takes to make money online is to setup a website and tell a few friends about your business and like magic the money starts rolling in. Most often, these are the people that give up before giving the business a chance to succeed. Lack Of Commitment or Divided Commitments. A lot of people start their business on a part time basis while they work full time outside the home. This can sometimes contribute to the failure of their online business as some quickly loose the commitment that is necessary to market and grow the business. Responsibilities at home. Lets face it, most people start an online business so that they can work at home on their own schedule. This can be the downfall of many. Inability to manage time and divide priorities can contribute to business failure. Cutting Expenditure in the wrong places. I will be the first to advise that is not necessary to have a huge budget to start an online business. However, it does take some money to get things going. When you decide to go take your business online, a domain name and website is necessary and your best bet is to NOT use the free options that are available. Your online presence is a representation of you and you should put your best into making that representation as attractive and effective as possible. Failure to plan. What happens if your idea does not take off? What happens if it does and your business becomes an overnight success? What do you expect of the business in the first year? The first five years? By not having a plan you are planning to fail. Failure to delegate. You knew I would say it! A vast majority a businesses fail because their owners try to become everything in the business. Many try to justify their actions by reasoning that they are saving money by doing everything themselves. They do this at the detriment to their sanity and to their businesses. Show me a business that is succeeding online and I will show you a business where the owner is delegating the tasks that are better left to someone else. There you have it, my list of seven reasons that many online businesses fail. As the old saying goes forewarned is forearmed so think about the things that you are doing or not doing and give your business a fighting chance.

For quite some time I have been working alongside my brother on his design projects. I have been watching and learning and getting involved in a few of his projects, or at least as much as he allows me :-) I only recently started another site, Free To Be You Designs, that gives me an outlet for pent up energy and a medium for relaxation. Its going great so far and since we are celebrating our 6th Anniversary here at Five Star Executives, I thought, what better way to celebrate than to host a giveaway for my fellow virtual assistants Yep, that's right, something for my fellow VAs. A chance to win a custom designed Wordpress theme for your blog or website (if you run your website on wordpress). Right about now you probably have a few questions so I will try to clear them up below. What Will I Really Win? The winner of this contest will receive a completely customized wordpress theme to match his/her business identity.  So if you have been struggling with or tired of looking at your old WP theme that everyone else has, this is the contest for you. What If I Do Not Have A Website Or Blog? Here is the great part. If you currently own a website, I can install wordpress for you. If you do not own a website of blog at all, just purchase your domain name and I will give away free hosting for one year! How Do I Enter? Recently there have been so much confusion about what qualifies a person to call themselves a VA, that sometimes we loose site of the "blessing" that this industry has been to many of us. It certainly has been a blessing to me. So all you have to do to enter this contest is, leave a comment saying why you will like to become a virtual assistant or what being a virtual assistant means to you. That's it! Please do so before September 30th, 2008 and consider that your entry. If you write (linkback) about this contest you will automatically receive a second entry. When Will The Winner Be Chosen? The winner will be selected and notified on October 3rd, 2008. I look forward to working with the winner, but I am getting ahead of myself, go ahead and leave your comment below :-)

I cannot believe that we are now six years old!!! What can I say...time flies when you are having fun. There have been many ups and downs. Times when I felt like throwing in the towel and other times when I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I remember when I decided to start this business, I went out to Office Depot and Target in sleepy Jacksonville, FL and purchased everything that you can imagine for an office. Boy was my start up cost high. Looking back, it didn't need to be. Upcoming VA's, don't run out and purchase a whole lot of fluff , it really was not necessary then and it certainly is not necessary now. My very first client, actually I took on three new clients all at the same time. They were the local hairdresser, the Avon lady and a convenience store. I made a total of $125 for designing their fliers :-) It was not virtual but their referrals brought me a lot of virtual work over the upcoming months. Some may say that I got off to a good start but by the 4 month I still was not making anything near what my salary used to be. I realized that I really had to start talking. I practiced my speeches at home, I am a virtual assistant, I .....I was more than prepared whenever anyone asked what I did, now that I left my "big time" position. I was more than ready but I quickly learned that my speeches could be more effective if I spent time listening to what others had to say at my local networking efforts. Boy did I ever listen! I went home at nights and composed drafts for emails to send to those I had spent time with and invited them to lunch where we can further discuss their issues. I gave some of them temporary solutions, offered my assistance and gained their trust. I gained a few friends and later gained more than a few retainers. One if my very first,  Jason Connelly from Just Media in Valley Stream, NY. This came because I took some time to assist a small business owner in Jacksonville, FL and he new a friend, who had a friend who needed assistance with his inventory! From their it was all just one glorious blur. I cannot thank my loyal clients enough for all the support and patience with me, especially Marva Hewitt, for becoming my guinea pig with the many conferencing and collobortion programs available. I want to thank my clients and friends for all the candy and flowers, but really, this is my time to give something back to you. Thank you all for wanting to play a part in my upcoming plans for Each One, Reach One, a program for disadvantaged teens. I especially want to thank my precious team, cause I just couldn't do it without you. To Merlene, Frank, Cynthia and Wally, we butt heads from time to time but its all in good fun. To my fellow virtual assistants, who have all pitched in to help when I am drowning, Carlana Charles, Renee Bouchard, Jennelle Thompson, Alicia Donaldson, Terry-Anne Redhead, Amanda Gould, Christine Alexander, Camelia Joseph. You have my eternal gratitde. I did not want to make this a speech but it already is so I finally must say thanks to the faithful prospects who have waited to get on my waiting list. There is light at the end of the tunnel and the wait is almost over. We six years old, we're six years old! I cannot wait to see what the next six years bring. Crystal