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3 Fast and Easy Ways to Kick-Start the Growth of Your Business!

November 2, 2012 by Chris 43 Comments

Business growth is one of those terms that is thrown around a lot nowadays. For me, this used to simply mean increasing revenue.

As a business owner myself, I’m focused. My eyes are ‘on the prize’.

However, in my pursuit to continue to grow my own businesses, and start-up new ones – I have come to a realization. Actually a few… And I’d like to share these three quick tips that I hope you seriously consider taking on board, so that you can start growing your business a little faster in today’s market.

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When Is A Virtual Assistant Not A Virtual Assistant…!!?

March 30, 2011 by Chris 25 Comments

Note from Chris: This is a guest post by Michelle Dale. Michelle is an extremely successful virtual entrepreneur in her own right. Here are a few insights from her on the world of outsourcing and working with VA’s.

Most entrepreneurs, especially those pursuing an online business venture, will at some point consider investigating how hiring a Virtual Assistant – or even many Virtual Assistants, could benefit them and their business.

For those of you who are new to this concept and still trying to learn what a “virtual assistant” actually is, you will undoubtedly find a lot of different options available for you to choose from, and not every virtual assistant option maybe right for you, so here is a quick “VA 101” which I have put together for you which is based on the wide variety of Virtual Assistants I have come across in my own career.

If you find a VA online, they could be one or many of the types of VA listed below, for example, you may find a solo-VA working offshore, or an online business manager who is also a consultant and has a multi-VA team. The absolute best combination I have found is to work with a variety of different VA’s and use a combination of the possibilities out there for different areas of your business, especially if you are looking to utilise outsourcing for all of your staffing requirements. Once you have worked out what you need, you can then choose your Virtual Assistant or combination of Virtual Assistants wisely, based on how you would like them to fit into your business. Once you have the combination right, that’s when your business can really reap the benefits of this awesome industry.

In a nutshell, independent virtual assistants are generally business owners just like you, and they assist all kinds of individuals online with their businesses. I have listed the most common ‘types’ of virtual assistant below, but each one is essentially a virtual assistant in some way, shape or form.

Solo VA’s

This I believe is where the industry began many years ago, traditional PA’s and administrative assistants found a way of working from home and servicing a client base over the Internet, thus allowing them to step out of their role in the workplace and into a virtual role. Solo VA’s have since come a long way, and they have branched out from the more general services such as diary management, call answering, customer support, transcription etc… into offering online marketing services, and in some cases creative and technical support. They generally work alone, servicing a small client base, which allows for a more intimate one-on-one service with their client. Solo VA’s can be excellent multi-taskers. The downside of a solo VA is that if they truly are solo, then the times when they are away from their work, you may need to seek an alternative until they return. In some cases the VA may have a plan in place for handling work while they are away and you will need to ask them about this directly.

Multi-VA Teams

These are usually teams of VA’s who collaborate online for a single VA company. They will either be groups of VA’s with similar skills, or different skills depending on the company hiring them. Almost always the multi-VA team is made of up freelance independent business owners and they can either work full-time, part-time or on an adhoc basis for the main VA who developed the team. Most multi-VA teams will have a primary VA, the one who developed the team, and more often than not, they will be the primary point of contact for clients at all times, and may still also provide services themselves. The good thing about multi-VA companies is that they often have resources available to “step in” during holidays, so there is no disruption to any ongoing services.

Offshore VA’s

Offshore VA’s have come to be known as the VA’s who work in countries with a lower cost of living, generally “offshore” from the western world. Two very popular countries where offshore VA’s can be found are the Philippines and India. Whilst of course many of them do not speak native English, you can find offshore VA’s who speak excellent English, and they are able to communicate with you very well. Particularly, VA’s who have come from call centre environments are often able to speak conversational English surprisingly well.

The benefits of offshore VA’s mean that entrepreneurs and start-ups can cost-effectively get the support they need within their businesses, and for anyone on a shoestring budget, this is an ideal solution, because rates tend to be lower to match the economic climate where the VA lives.

Online Business Managers

Online business managers have likely taken on the role solely as a manager, and generally won’t be the ones performing the VA services anymore. In many cases, they have a multi-VA team themselves who they will utilise in order to provide a wide range of services for a larger number of clients. Online business managers often started out as virtual assistants and they moved into hiring a multi VA team – they should be very experienced in working online, and have excellent project management skills for those looking to carry out larger scale projects and business expansion, which they need more of a right hand kind of support for. This solution is ideal if you have a variety of tasks you need doing and don’t want to spend time on training and quality control. A skilled online business manager can do this for you, perfectly.

Virtual Consultants

Virtual consultants will likely have had a great deal of experience as a virtual assistant, and over time, they developed more of an “expert” status after handling a multitude of tasks and clients. Some online consultants will remain solo, while others may have multi-VA teams with them. The consultant will want to work with you more as a partner and advisor, and they will often charge clients based on their experience and ability, rather than on a skill or service set. You will need to talk with the individual, sometimes in great depth, to find out how they are able to assist you with your business.

Virtual Intermediaries

Virtual intermediaries are companies which are set up to introduce you, the client, to a suitable virtual assistant. They will generally have a significant database of independent professionals, for which they will take down information from you on exactly what you’re looking for, and then they will carefully consider your requirements and find a suitable match. The great thing about these introducers is that it cuts out all the leg work for you; they’ll generally screen the VA’s beforehand to meet a minimum standard, and keep profile and rates information on file. If they don’t have someone suitable within their database, they will set to work in finding a match for you using their resources.

Example: Chris is the founder of the brilliant service “Virtual Staff Finder,” which can help you find pre-qualified offshore solo-VA’s, for almost any requirements.

Whatever it is you’re searching for, there is a virtual assistant out there for you. Questions? Comments…? You know the deal – go for it, below..!

Ask the Readers: How Important is Social Media When Building a Business?

November 11, 2010 by Chris 28 Comments

Social Media for Business Growth

Hi everyone, and welcome to the second VBL Discussion post. I must say, I was really happy with the first discussion on the Hardest Thing About Being a Blogger. There were some great points raised by all who commented and I even picked up a few ideas, myself! Which was the whole point… To share ideas. I sincerely hope you got something out of it, too. If you commented last week, thank you for adding to the discussion and the community in general.

This week I’d like to kick off a discussion on Social Media and how important, or not, it is to entrepreneurs looking to build a business – either online or offline.

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Why Are So Many Internet Start-Up’s Failing Today?

October 31, 2010 by Chris 55 Comments

Online Business Failures

This guest post by Don Silver is the FINAL post in the awesome VBL Guest Post Month!

To all of you who contributed, and those that have commented on all the excellent posts from everyone, thank you, sincerely, for making October such a great month – and the one with the most traffic EVER, here at Virtual Business Lifestyle

I’ll see you guys on Monday with my October ‘Virtual CEO’ Monthly Report!!!

In the real world of brick and mortar business, every day millions of people are dragging themselves from their comfortable beds, performing their morning rituals of washing and breakfast to head to their jobs. In their daily grind some are thinking that there must be a better and easier way to make a living.

All these millions know someone or know of someone who has “made it” by quitting their boring existence and become their own boss using their own computers in the comfort and ease of home….

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3 Awesome Steps to Virtual CEO Success

October 18, 2010 by Chris 22 Comments

you keys to a Virtual CEO success

This guest post by Ben Lumley is part of the VBL Guest Post Month!

There are 3 keys to achievement: Common Sense, Hard work and Stick-with-it-ness – Thomas Edision

I wanted to look at something that a lot of the readers of virtualbusinesslifestyle.com will be very familiar with, Chris’s goal of becoming a Virtual CEO by the end of 2010. What I would like to do though, instead of looking at the mechanics of how he is reaching this mother of all goals, is identify 3 keys to Chris’s current and future success.

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How To Use Paper to Help Your Business Virtualize!

October 15, 2010 by Chris 23 Comments

How To Use Paper to Help Your Business Virtualize

This guest post by Stu Lustman is part of the VBL Guest Post Month!

I’m Stu Lustman and I virtualize some but very little of my business so far.

Disclaimer: I am trying to virtualize more than I do now.  Also, I may bring up technical topics but I am not a techie. My business is in commercial finance.

Unlike many who jump into the lifestyle design concept, I already have a business that I enjoy doing that I am trying to virtualize and location independent-ize for myself.

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Entrepreneurs: How’s Your Karma?

October 13, 2010 by Chris 19 Comments

Guest post by Adrian Swinscoe

This guest post by Adrian Swinscoe is part of the VBL Guest Post Month!

Many of you will be familiar with the concept of karma. According to karma theory, every action has a consequence and good acts will have positive results and bad acts will produce negative results. In more common terms, karma is explained by various sayings like:

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Top 3 Surefire Ways To Effectively Delegate To Your Virtual Team

October 12, 2010 by Chris 40 Comments

Screen Shot 2013-09-01 at 1.37.04 AMHave you ever delegated to your virtual team, but been frustrated with the finished result? It just wasn’t what you were expecting, and you didn’t feel that your VA really understood what you were trying to get at. Well, you’re not alone, this happens to a majority of entrepreneurs starting out in virtual delegation, and can often lead to them giving up entirely and going back to the old reliable — themselves!

I am going to share with you now the “Top 3 Surefire Ways” to delegate effectively, quickly and easily to your virtual team so you can get your tasks and projects back right – first time, every time….

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Baby Boomers and the Virtual Business Lifestyle!

October 6, 2010 by Chris 28 Comments

This guest post by Steve Thomas is part of the VBL Guest Post Month!

Most blogs and articles about online business are geared toward the twenty or thirty something crowd. These young people have become disillusioned with the world of work and want to spend more time traveling and enjoying life. Fine for them, but what if you are forty, fifty, or older?…

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Why I Want to be a Virtual CEO (Part 2 of 3)

July 21, 2010 by Chris 28 Comments

Location: The Beach, Cebu – Reading / Viewing Time: 4mins

So, here we are with the second part in my short, but sweet three-part series of videos on why I want to be a Virtual CEO. In the last clip I discussed being location independent, which basically means I will be able to work from anywhere, any time I like. The goal here is to make it as seamless as possible, however, so nobody even knows I’m traveling, etc.

In this clip I talk about something that, as a true entrepreneur, I do definitely struggle with. And thats being able to act on some of the ideas and plans I put down on paper, be able to expand my business portfolio, and diversify my earning potential as a business owner. So many ideas, so little time…!

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