By Brandon Landry

As a professional Work At Home Virtual Assistant for nearly 12 years it is important to me that I provide you with the 3 common mistakes that Home Based Businesses, Work At Home Virtual Assistants, and young entrepreneurs make that continually destroy their success time after time.

Here are the 3 mistakes that entrepreneurs need to digest so they can avoid the same mishaps that others have experienced.

Mistake #1: Procrastinating

Excuse: “I really want to be a powerful Home Based Business entrepreneur and know that I need to write up that business plan I promised to do but I don’t feel like it right now and I really want to hangout with my friends”..

Why put off for tomorrow what you can get done today? People cry and complain about being broke and swamped with debt but they are not willing to invest at least 60 minutes a day into their business. Stop for a minute and think about this, “Every second of your life that you waste you can never get back. What if those seconds added up to the minutes you needed to make yourself financially free, forever?”

Mistake #2: Trying to bite off more than you can chew because you do not want to share.

Work At Home Business owners and especially Virtual Assistants overwhelm themselves when they look at a business as a bunch of stuff that they have to get done at one time. STOP! That’s why you outsource what you do not know how to do and prioritize the things that you are really good at. Success magnets like Henry Ford had no interest in being his own accountant, attorney, book keeper, negotiator, and contractor, and designer; he focused on doing only what he was naturally good at and outsourced the rest to skilled professionals.

The right question is: “What small chunks of work can I begin with right now?”
The wrong question is: “How am I going to finish all this work?”

Mistake #3: This is too much to handle, I don’t have enough time in the day!

Running a Home Based Business is not like running a marathon. It’s not about “who get’s finished first” but instead “who is consistently productive every hour of the day”.

Tip#1: Use the Time Boxing method- Focus on completing a specific # of task per day in a specific amount of time. DO NOT reward yourself with a restroom break or lunch break until you’ve finished the task 100%.

The purpose of sharing these mistakes and tips are to teach others what to avoid when owning and operating a business; I share my success secrets because I believe in the phrase, “each one, teach one”, and would be doing a disservice to other aspiring entrepreneurs if I did not share what has worked for me.

By Lisa Taliga

If you’re scratching your head wondering what to put in your Virtual Assistant business plan, you’ve come to the right place. There’s nothing worse sweating over a blank piece of paper or screen, not knowing where to start. You don’t need convincing that you need a business plan, as you already know that you need to follow some kind of roadmap if your business is going to be successful.

So, what should go into your business plan? Here are the main elements of a Virtual Assistant Business plan:

1. Your vision and goals - where do you want your business to be in one, two, even five years? How much income do you want to make, how many clients do you want to have, in what industries? This is a great starting point for your business plan because it’s a great motivator.

2. Legal and financial requirements - in this section, make a note of what legal structure your business is operating under, your budget, insurances, business name, licenses you’ve obtained, your business bank account and bookkeeping method.

3. Your service offering and rates - decide what services you’re going to offer now, and what services you’re going to offer within a certain time frame. Also write down your hourly rates and retainer rates.

4. Office and equipment requirements - what software, hardware and other office equipment do you need to invest in? Whereabouts will your office be located in your home?

5. Service agreements and policies - make a note of any service agreements or contracts that you’ve drawn up in your plan.

It’s well worth investing time into a written business plan, so you won’t be carrying vague ideas around in your head. You find it easier to stay focused and on track.

However, don’t get stuck on getting it perfect! It’s not a ’set and forget’ document that you shove into a drawer, rather it’s an evolving part of your business that you should consult at least quarterly, because it will change and evolve all the time.

By India Jordan

Virtual Assistant jobs are out there, you just have to know how and where to find them. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Your Current and Former Employers

The first place to start is your current and former employers. If you are currently working or have worked for someone, let them know about your company and what you are doing. A plus to “advertising” with them is that they already know you, your qualities, your personality, and the quality of work you provide. Draw up a proposal. Let them know how utilizing your services can benefit their company.

2. Job Boards and Search Engines

Careerbuilder.com, Monster.com, and HotJobs.com are examples of job boards. Google.com and Yahoo.com are examples of search engines. You can use both to find clients who are looking for help by using specific keywords. Keywords are what you type in when you are searching for something on the internet. The more specific your keyword is, the more relevant the results will be. For example, a generic keyword like “work at home” will more than likely return a lot of scams. Most legitimate companies don’t post job leads using those phrases. Here is an example list of keywords you can use when searching for clients.

Example Keywords:

• “remote contractor”
• “must have home office”
• “independent contractor”
• “freelance”
• “freelance job/s”
• “1099 Contractor”
• “Virtual Assistant”
• “remote office”
• “1099 employee”
• “must have home computer”
• “virtual worker/employee”
• “online work”
• “telework”

You can also use these keywords with search engines like Google and Yahoo. Note: Make sure to put the “” marks before and after the phrase. Surrounding your keywords with quotations shows more specific results from the search engines. The search engines will only show the results with that exact phrase. If you don’t use them, it will look for either/or.

3. Fee-Based Websites

Fee-based websites have already completed the hard work for you. These sites have searched the internet, job boards, etc., and found the legitimate jobs for you. All you have to do is apply. Buyers beware, however; not all fee-based job sites are legitimate. Make sure you do thorough research of the company.

4. Freelance Websites

You can also browse some freelance job sites like Guru and Elance. These sites allow freelancers to bid on projects posted by individuals or companies. If your bid is accepted you will be awarded the project. Most of these projects are short-term, but are a great way to build your clientele and your portfolio.

5. Work At Home Websites

There are also some free work-at-home websites that you can use to find clients. This has its pros and cons. Most of the time the job leads are unresearched, limited, and old. Also you can be sure that they have been applied to many times by others seeking work at home jobs. The upside is that someone has kindly searched for and posted these job leads for you. You will still need to research these job leads for legitimacy.

6. In Your Neighborhood

Well…not literally in your neighborhood, but you know what I mean. In other words, in the area you live. Why not have some flyers made and pass them out to local vendors? You can also have them posted in local grocery stores. Have some business cards made and leave them with local business owners and managers.

Have your business cards handy to pass out when you meet people. This is a good networking strategy as well. Be prepared to explain what you do when someone asks. I remember when I started my Virtual Assistant Business people would ask me what I do and I found it hard to explain. So be prepared and keep it simple.

7. Networking and Word of Mouth

Networking and word of mouth is an excellent way to get your name and company out there. Get to know fellow Virtual Assistants. Sometimes they will have an overflow of work and will subcontract or outsource the work to another Virtual Assistant (VA).

Joining associations and organizations is another way to network. There are several organizations out there just for VAs. Some VAs have found success in locating clients by joining their local Chamber of Commerce.

So now you know how and where to find the virtual assistant jobs and clients. Go get them…..