Ella Thinks…

If you’re hunting for an online job but doesn’t have the skills to be a web designer or programmer then being a virtual assistant maybe the job for you.

VA’s (Virtual Assistant) is the term used for being an online admin assistant or online secretary. Nowadays, a lot of businessmen opted to hire a VA instead of a secretary for various reasons. Offshore VA’s offer cheaper rates than actual secretaries. Online website owners also hire VA’s to help manage their websites or to market them.

So what do you need to be a VA?
Skills required are proficiency in Microsoft Office Applications such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook. A VA should also be web savvy. It would help a lot if you would know how use advance searches online because most of the job requires internet researches. Excellent oral and communication skills are also required. Some clients would require you to talk to merchants, clients and customers on their behalf so fluency in the language is required.

A good and reliable computer is the best tool used by a VA. You should also have a fast and reliable internet connection. Some clients would require a dual monitor computer for more productivity.

Oftentimes your clients will be based outside of the country, integrity and trust is very important in maintaining a good working relationship with your client. They would give you their trust in accomplishing the project on time so its crucial for a VA to take care of their trust.

So if you’re planning to apply for a VA post, start by enhancing your internet and computer skills and you may be on your way to a satisfying career.

Nope! This doesn’t mean I am newly washed!

While sifting thru the cobwebs of my memories, thinking of what to talk about on a monday morning, I decided to surf the web about my hometown New Washington, Aklan. I was surprised to find out that not even one blogger talks about my hometown! I felt compelled to create an article about my hometown. (This will be a weekly feature!)

I’ve always wanted to bring friends here in our province, but since the fare is expensive and this is miles away from Manila, featuring New Washington in my blog is the next best thing!

My parents were both born here in New Washington, Aklan. My dad came from Ochando, while my mom came from Malogo. I was born in Ochando but was raised by my parents in Manila. I didn’t grew up here, but my parents always schedule our summer vacations here.

I can still remember how different it was before… rough roads, and the streets are very dark at night. We used to bring our flashlights with us as we walk home from church (Polo to Malogo, since no public vehicles are available after 6pm). Now this small town has evolved from being a rural town into a tourist spot!

What I loved most about this place is the beach! My grands parents house is just a few blocks away from the beach. I remember telling my friends in Manila “tatawid lang ako, dagat na!”. (I love seeing their envy faces everytime I do that!) This is where I first saw a perfect sunset! The beach is as serene as a river during summer. My mom scolded me before as I went home all wet from the beach… I went to the beach alone and I was only 7 years old. She was horrified when she saw me walk in.But who could resist such beauty of nature?

When I went back 4 years ago, our hometown has changed. We now have Sampaguita Gardens, Maria Mercedes Resort and a whole lot more! (watch out for my weekly post about the best places here in New Washington!)

Who says Boracay is the only place to visit in Aklan?

1. Practicality - lesser operation cost, no employment tax, and cheaper hourly rates

2. Sales & Marketing - VA’s can provide online sales and promotion of your products. They can make your website rank in search engines.

3. More Personal Time - VA’s can help you organize your schedule and even eliminate you from time consuming tasks like reading emails, online payments and purchases. You can even train your VA to act like you while you’re on vacation. You can now enjoy your vacation without having to worry about missing important emails or even phone calls.

4. Delegation - If you are running a business and you want your personal secretary or other employee focus on other things, you can delegate tasks to your VA’s instead. Increasing your company’s productivity.

So what are you waiting for? Hurry and find your self a good VA today!

(For inquiries on where to get a VA, click here)

I came across an interesting blog earlier about the disadvantages of getting an offshore Virtual Assistant. I can’t help but disagree! There are a lot of criticism thrown on offshore virtual assistants like me and I am compelled to react.

Language Barrier - Yes, I agree that English is my second language. In fact, I still feel more comfortable in speaking Filipino however, this doesn’t mean that we are not competitive enough to comprehend or communicate using other languages. If this is the case, then I guess the call center industry here in the Philippines wouldn’t be as successful as it is now if not for our good communication skills. Not all offshore virtual assistants have poor communication skills. Let’s not generalize.

Interest in the client’s business - I can’t seem to understand why offshore virtual assistants are being criticized for not having vested interest in our client’s business. I believe that this has nothing to do with geographical location. As a virtual assistant, your main goal is to protect and help your clients business achieve targets and increase sales. Loyalty and integrity is not based on geographical location of a person.

Internet access - yes, I agree that as virtual assistants, we rely on the internet. It is difficult or maybe impossible to work for a client without it. India’s internet outage is an isolated case and shouldn’t be taken against us.

The industry of Virtual Assistants is now becoming more and more competitive. Bidding wars between offshore and onshore providers continue to heat up at oDesk, iFreelance, etc…Business wouldn’t be fun without competition, right?

I am really overwhelmed with the number of hits and responses that I got from my post “Bidding Wars of Virtual Assistants”. This so far is my top post, ever since I started this blog. (yipee!) I wanted to thank everyone who read and posted comments to this post. (Keep it coming, please!)

The issue of whether an onshore virtual assistant is better than an offshore virtual assistant is very difficult or impossible to resolve. Both have different advantages to offer.

I personally enjoy this kind of competition. It actually challenged me to perform better at work and even exceed the expectations of my clients. Ever since, I have always been competitive at school and at work. And this “virtual competition” is actually different from what I am used to. I found myself fighting over an unknown territory. I must admit I am just new in virtual assistance, in fact, I just started November of last year. I found this career self-fulfilling, rewarding and challenging all at the same time.

Offshore VA’s have the advantage of offering lower rates because of lower costs of living. But again, this doesn’t imply that lower rates are equivalent to poor services. I must give credit to offshore VA’s for working outside of their comfort zones. We actually try our best to bridge the gap of the time zone by working during the graveyard shift.

Onshore VA’s have the advantage of working on the same time zone and understanding the culture. They also have the advantage of doing personal marketing to companies located within their state.

In the end it is not the readers, nor the blog writers who will decide on this issue. The answer will always remain on the client’s end. They will be the ones to decide whether an onshore or offshore VA will be best for them. For you guys, which will you prefer, onshore or offshore VA’s? (just a thought…)

I’ve been looking for an all-in-one messenger service for months. Im actually tired of downloading different instant messenger services, aside from that, my computer is slowing down upon start up just for opening my IM programs alone.

Being a Virtual Assistant, IM is a very important tool for our job. Through IM’s VA’s can communicate to their clients for urgent tasks. This also lessens the mails flooding in our inbox. Aside from that, questions and clarifications are addressed right away. So it is crucial for VA’s to look for an all-in-one messenger service that will suit your needs.

One of the challenges that I encountered before was, some all-in-one IM’s do not integrate g-talk. Thanks to a dear friend (tonette), she introduced me to Meebo!

Meebo is a website instant messenging service, and best of all its FREE! No need for you to sign up for new accounts and no downloading required! (Woohoo!) You can connect to your clients at your AIM, yahoo, MSN, ICQ, Jabber and G-talk accounts.

Best part is, for website owners, you can add “meebo me” widget that will allow your visitors to chat with you directly! For virtual assistants like us, this is helpful for obtaining clients as well!
This widget is embeddable to your website.

Go ahead try it out!

I’ve been in the business of Virtual Assistance for a few months now and I have loved every single day of it.

If you are still on a crossroad and still undecided of what type of online job you would like to pursue, here are some reasons why you would want to be a virtual assistant:

* VA’s work from home. If you miss your hubby or your baby, you can talk and play with them anytime.I don’t have to miss any important milestone in my baby’s life!
* You don’t have to worry about transportation expenses!

* You control your own time!You can take a break whenever you want to!

* Being a VA gives you the opportunity to meet a lot of new people online. You will also learn different cultures cause most of the clients will be based outside of your country.

* You will learn a lot of new things! It’s a constant learning process.

* No routinary work! Every day is a new day with different tasks and projects to work on.

* Constant skill development.

* Being a virtual assistant can be financially rewarding.

As a VA there are many obstacles. As with many jobs organization is easily at the top of the list. I need to be able to grab all of my client’s information quickly and get to work on their projects. I also need to keep track of how much time I’m working on each task in the project in order to invoice correctly.

Previously I was using multiple programs to get this done. Having to open different files, emails, and sites to get all the information for one project and keep track of everything. But no longer! ClientSpot is my one location to keep everything needed.

Once I create a project I then added tasks, files and comments as I work. If it is a project that I need a lot of interaction from the client or I am working with a subcontractor then I can add them on as a user. They can also upload files in the project and I can create tasks for the subcontractor with a due date right for all of us to see. One of the biggest time savers in this section for me is the tasks.

Each task shows the time on it and any comments. I can create a due date for it and then it will show up on the calendar. But adding the time for each task in this same program cuts down on having yet another browser window open on my computer and creating spreadsheets. I have it broken down by the minute how long I or my subcontractors have worked on a project. At the end of the month or project I can easily pull all of the hours for invoicing. Again, saving me a ton of time by keeping track of it all in the same spot.

A major time waster I find is having to go back and forth in my emails for log ins and clients comments on projects. By adding them as a user I can have them comment directly in ClientSpot. I can upload any files they have sent me and I can go and put any log in info for projects right into the project comments. I open one program and have literally everything I need to get to work.

Now that I can grab everything quickly I can add more projects to my day. It’s amazing how much time you spend looking for all of this information in one day. Especially when you work on multiple projects in one day. Hours a week spent pulling up all of this information can now be spent on new clients and new projects for current clients. ClientSpot can give you more hours to your day!