Well Elance is giving you an opportunity to find out. Answer this question: How would you use a virtual assistant to grow your business or improve your personal life?

The winner will be given a credit for $5000.00 worth of services on Elance. Give it a try because you never know. If you don’t win send us an email and we’ll give you 10% off our 5-hour retainer package, so you can experience the possibilities of working with a Virtual Assistant.

By the way, here is the link: Win a Virtual Assistant.

Good Luck!

CRG 

From time to time I need to interview Virtual Assistants to pick up extra work that my team cannot get to. With the right questions if is fairly easy to hire the right person who would compliment my existing team.

The same is true when I am interviewed by potential clients. Right off I can tell that the majority of them are uncertain about the questions to ask during the interview. In these cases I usually just volunteer information to put them at ease.

How do you interview your potential Virtual Assistant? Each individual has different style of course and the questions asked will also be determined by your needs. In the article Top 10 Questions To Ask Your Potential Virtual Assistant I have addressed this in detail but for now here is a run down of questions you don’t want to leave out from your interview.

1. How long have you been a virtual assistant?
2. What is your administrative background?
3. What are you primary skills and rate you level of confidence?
4. How many clients do you currently support?
5. What kind of work have you undertaken on the pat year?
6. May I contact your clients for a reference?
7. What are your working hours?
8. What are your fees?
9. What does your fees not cover?
10. Are you willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement?

There you have it. Click for the full article.

CRG

• The iphone
• The Blackberry
• The ipod
• Email
• The internet
• Virtual Collaboration
• The Virtual Assistant

Yes I have added the Virtual Assistant to that list. VAs are now the driving force behind many small and not so small businesses.

So what is a Virtual Assistant anyway? I would say that a VA is a highly skilled professional and entrepreneur who provide services from a remote location to other entrepreneurs, businesses, executives etc.

Due to the growing list of technologies a Virtual Assistant can now stay at home and provide the tasks normally assigned to the office assistant. Not only that, many VAs have gone so far as to provide web design, marketing, bookkeeping, desktop publishing, the possibilities are endless.

As a Virtual Assistant I have worked with clients just up the street and clients thousands of miles away. Thats the beauty of working virtually, proximity does not matter.

So do you have what it takes to move into this billion dollar industry? Well I must emphasize that you must have the capacity to help others. For me that is what being a Virtual Assistant is. The skills that I have perfected over the years has only been to make my clients shine.

Aside from that you must be first rate at the services you decide to offer, you should have some business management skills, you should have an idea of how you would market your business. Finally you need to be motivated, motivation will take you through the rough spots.

You can read more on motivation for Virtual Assistants here.

Comments are always welcomed.

Crystal

FSE