7 Benefits of working with a Virtual Assistant

1. Cost Effective

   Cost-cutting may not be the only reason to utilize a virtual assistant, but it’s certainly a major factor. Virtual assistant services convert fixed costs into variable costs, releasing capital for investment elsewhere in your business thus avoiding large expenditures especially in the early stages of your business.

   Increased Efficiency

   Companies that do everything themselves have much overhead costs. A virtual assistant solution can provide a cost structure and economy of scale to give your firm an important competitive advantage.

   Qualified Help

   Hiring and training staff for short-term can be very expensive and temporary employees don’t always live up to your expectations. Virtual assistants are highly skilled professionals that let you focus your human resources where you need them most.

   Complete Projects Quickly

   A good virtual assistant company has the right resources to start a project right away. Handling the same project in-house might involve weeks or months to hire the right people, train them and provide the support they need.

   Focus on Your Core Business

   Every business has limited resources, and every manager has limited time and bandwidth. Virtual assistant services can help your business to shift its focus from nonessential activities to more essential work that serves the customer and can free up time for managers to set priorities with more clarity.

   Level the Playing Field

   Most small firms simply can’t afford to match the in-house office support services that larger companies maintain. Virtual assistant services can help small firms act "big" by giving them access to the same economies of scale, efficiency, and expertise that large companies enjoy.

   Reduce Risk

   Every business investment carries a certain amount of risk. Markets, competition, government regulations, financial conditions, and technologies all change very quickly. Professional virtual assistant providers assume and manage this risk for you, and they generally are much better at deciding how to avoid risk in their areas of expertise.

Not convinced? I don't blame you. Diving into something new can be scary, trust me, I've been there, done that. So I invite you to just try out my services for 1 hour a week, for 4 weeks. It's a minimal investment for you, but will give you the opportunity to experience the benefits yourself!

Organize your life

I find that one of the biggest challenges that my clients face is just wanting to become more productive, but not finding the time to do it all. We want to do it all! I think that is just the way that humans are made to be: Wanting it all, but not having the resources to do it!

Being a Virtual Assistant, not only do I take on the tasks that take up your time, but I want to help my clients become more productive, even when they don't need me.

One of my biggest ways to hep clients become more productive is to get them organized. Organization makes everything flow smoothly and effortlessly.

Take the time to empty out and sort your inbox out and discover new opportunities that were waiting on page 6 of your inbox page.

When you schedule your work and and schedule time for yourself in a planner or online calendar, it gives you a visual and a goal and has proven to make you work harder and relax more.

If you don't need it, throw it out. Paper clutter not only look messy, but it makes you feel cluttered and overwhelmed. So just toss it.

Benefits of Virtual Support

The Benefits of Support: Why Getting Administrative Support is Critical to Your Business Success

You want to MAKE money, right?

As a small business owner, did you know that trying to do everything yourself is costing you 40-60% in lost revenue?

Constantly working IN your business on non revenue-producing work that would be more productively and cost-effectively performed by a highly-skilled, knowledgeable professional is losing your business significant income.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the average small business owner spends up to 40% of his or her time on routine administrative tasks. This may even be on the conservative side as some business owners who have made an effort to track their time for a week or two have been shocked to discover they were actually frittering away 60% of their time on unproductive, time and energy-draining "busy" work.

Doing the Same Thing Yields the Same Results

Doing everything yourself can only take you so far. In fact, doing so wastes money and resources rather than saving them. Your business will never grow beyond where it is today unless you get support. The more administrative, non-core, energy-draining activities you can delegate and eliminate from your plate, the more you will be able to move your business forward in becoming more efficient and profitable.

Ideally, as the business owner, 80% of your time should be focused exclusively on activities that create the most value and profits. The more time you can spend planning, strategizing, marketing, networking, and creating and delivering your revenue-producing products or services, the greater your business will grow and profit.

7 Benefits You'll Reap By Getting the Right Help

More Energy. You'll have more energy by letting go of work you hate or don't do well.


More Time. You'll have more time for the energizing work you love, and to enjoy the fruits of your labor.


More Focus. You won't be distracted and overwhelmed with work you shouldn't be doing as the business owner.


More Productivity. With more focus, you'll be more highly productive and effective, getting more done in less time.


Less Stress. When you are getting things done and actually making progress, your happiness, energy and creativity levels will soar.


Stronger Foundation. You will be creating and instilling a strong foundation for continued profitable growth in your business.


Increased Profits. All of these benefits together are the key ingredients for generating revenue.

12 ways to take the stress out of big projects

We all have big projects we must accomplish at different points in our lives. It may be a normal part of your job or a fund-raiser for your child’s sports team or doing a home improvement project. Whatever the case, if you plan ahead, you can eliminate much of the stress that could accompany a big project.

Here are a few tips:

1. Break down your project into categories and then to specific tasks in each category.

2. Estimate the time it will take do each task. Err on the side of over-estimating rather than under-estimating.

3. Add up the time it will take to complete your project so you will know how much time will need to be devoted to the project.

4. Set a deadline for the completion of your project.

5. If your project allows, delegate. Assign tasks with clear instructions and deadlines. Plan to follow-up periodically.

6. Working backwards, schedule the specific tasks/deadlines and follow-ups, allowing some extra wiggle room for unexpected delays. Plan to finish your project a couple of days ahead of schedule to reduce your stress level.

7. Know your peak energy times and schedule your tough jobs then, if possible.

8. Do big projects during big chunks of time and small ones during small scraps of time.

9. Do projects that require concentration at times when you won’t be interrupted at a place where there are few distractions. If you work in an office, consider going in during an evening or weekend when no one else is there. Make sure to take some time off during the week to compensate yourself.

10. Inform others of times when you do not want to be interrupted and when you will be available. Record this information on your voice mail. Give polite, but firm reminders when you are interrupted during your no-interruption times.

11. If necessary, go to a location away from your office or home where you are unlikely to be disturbed.

12. CELEBRATE the completion of your project!! If others are involved in your project, make sure to involve them in the celebration.

Respot By Beverly Coggins
Contact information: Bev@1-2-3GetOrganized.com or Bev@MomAudience.com.

Networking Now!

Before I started my own business, I envisioned life, working from home, getting on my laptop and watching client requests poor in. There I would sit sipping my tea, and figuring out what assignment to work on first, all while tapping the heels of my bunny slippers. Then I woke up.

When you dive into being an entrepreneur and running your own business, there are many things you need to consider: Equipment, Marketing, Research, the list goes on really, but I think the most important tool of all is the art of Networking. Especially if you work at home, networking can be the added skill you need to secure clients and make connections.

I've had many clients who put things like networking to the side and truly believed that through advertising was the only way they could build their business. You must understand that networking is something you need to do now in order to succeed in your business.

How can you Network? There are 2 ways you can network with other people: Online & Offline.

Networking online is fairly simple in our day and age with applications like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, in a couple of mere seconds you can connect with people all over the world. The art is to make sure that you listen and respond to other people as well. If you just talk talk talk, or shall I say "type type type", your going to lose a person's interest and they may think you will not have the time or interest to listen to them.

Networking offline, may be a little bit difficult, just because you need to find events, but the actually talking, face to face, is also fairly painless. Checking out your local chamber of commerce, business associations, and networking groups will give you great places to start to get the word out about your business and the products or service your provide. The same concept is fairly the same as with networking online: Listen. Listen and ask plenty of questions. Potential clients and referrals like to know that you are interested in them and their thoughts as well. You need to gain their trust before you can gain their service.

Networking is something that can't be put off. It's super easy, and is a great way to gain referrals, plus make great connections.

Network Now!

Happy Independence Day!

Today is the 4th of July. A day we have been celebrating for many years as the day of our Independence. A day of celebration of the freedom that we have, a freedom that many countries are still dying to have, and praying to have. Many people can argue all day long about our government, president, economy, war, but one thing that we can't argue about, is the freedom that we have that so many other nations are lacking.

So take the time today to be grateful for your independence and your freedom. Also think about how you are spending your time. Are you doing the things you really want to do? Are you taking advantage of this freedom you have?

Go out and do the things you really want to do today, and everyday. When you partner with a virtual assistant, you get the freedom to focus on the more important aspects of your business and your life.

So what are you waiting for, go watch the fireworks!

Off to a great start!

So I finally made the decision to get my website re-vamped and it looks completely awesome! Thanks to April at www.aprilshowersblogdesign.com, my website looks personalized! Plus, I get to have a blog section that was missing.

Having a blog is a great way to connect with readers, clients, and future clients. I can't recommend it enough to business owners and entrepreneurs when they ask me what is the best way to connect with clients. It's also an amazing resource to get people to come back to your website!

So I hope you subscribe to this blog, bookmark it, or however you're remembering things these days, because I love to blog. Hold on to your seats!

Thanks again April, and check out her stuff!