Virtual Assistants – A New Breed of Work at Home Entrepreneurs
According to a 2004 study, the Center for Women’s Business Research reports there are an estimated 10.6 million privately-held, 50% or more women-owned firms in the U.S., accounting for nearly half (47.7%) of all privately-held firms in the country. Astonishing, isn’t it?
It’s the dream of millions to start their own business and utilize their computer to make money at home. Now, with the help of Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker’s book, Virtual Assistant – The Series, 3rd Edition ($29.95, Another 8 Hours Publishing), it’s a reality! With the latest technologies, the rapid growth of the Internet, and the business community recognizing the benefits of partnering with a qualified virtual assistant, the virtual revolution has begun. And there is no end in sight!
What started out in the 80’s as home-based word processors has grown into what we are seeing today. The local limitations are gone. The boundaries are erased. Modern advancements and the sheer power of the Internet coupled with enterprising, cutting edge entrepreneurs such as these authors have skyrocketed this industry. They know the technology. They have the resources. And they’ve written the book on it! A book so powerful that it’s cited as the “bible” for the virtual assistant industry. Virtual Assistant – The Series is currently used as training material for VA courses including: Red Deer College’s VA Certification Program (in Canada); and other higher level learning organizations and colleges who are recognizing the potential for growth and continued education in the VA industry.
Priscilla Y. Huff, Author of 101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women, 3rd. rev .ed, states, “It’s more than just a startup manual, it is written by professional virtual assistants (VAs) who combine their knowledge and experience with practical tips from other successful VAs to help ensure your own success in this exciting new venture. Virtual Assistant – The Series is an essential tool for launching one of the most exciting new entrepreneurial ventures–becoming a professional virtual assistant.”
This book leaves no stone unturned. Virtual Assistant – The Series is a complete guide to starting and running a successful and PROFITABLE practice. It covers the nuts and bolts that are the foundation of a successful practice including business and financial planning, bookkeeping, marketing, and setting up a business. Plus it offers information on domain registration, creating a web site, and most importantly, how and where to find clients.
Virtual Assistant – The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA 3rd Edition Revised ISBN # 0-9742790-5-6 is available at Amazon, Borders, and online bookstores everywhere also at www.VA-TheSeries for $29.95 plus $5.00 shipping and handling. (First and second editions published under the title Up Close and Virtual).
Also available is Virtual Assistant the Series Workbook, a must have to complete the set. For a limited time the Virtual Assistant The Series Workbook will be available as an ebook, with a holiday special of 15 minutes free coaching from either author, Ennen or Poelker, and 10% off next coaching session (if requested). Authors are also available for media interviews by contacting Diana Ennen at (954) 971-4025 or diana@virtualwordpublishing.com
Contact:
Diana Ennen
www.virtualwordpublishing.com
(954) 971-4025
diana@virtualwordpublishing.com
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Holiday Marketing Magic for New Year Success
Can you believe it’s November already? The holidays are here and then the start of a new year will be upon us. Now is a perfect time to reflect on your business and see if it is all that it can be. Is it running at full speed and do you have all the clients that you need?
If not, it’s time to get those engines moving and start into action before the New Year begins. I know, it’s the holidays and there’s a lot’s going on. But also it’s the perfect opportunity to connect with your clients and get a head start on potential work for next year. You will find that communication is so much easier when you can utilize holiday greetings, holiday goodies, and holiday presents. Holiday gifts and candy will ease the way to a “Hi, how have you been? Send me more business!” Or for those new potential clients, “Hi, how are you—You need ME.”
First, reconnect with ALL your clients and let them know how you appreciate them and perhaps how you can help them with other needs they may not even know you offer. Send a personalized holiday card or greeting. For local clients stop by their office and drop off presents, popcorn tins for the staff and/or their favorite coffee for their afternoon pick-me-up. For potential new clients, drop off a Holiday cup full of wrapped candy with your business card or perhaps get your business name printed on the candy bar.
For all you Virtual Assistants or word processors out there, don’t forget to stop by any small post offices or UPS shops and offer to put your business cards there. Many of these places will add your business card holders directly to the counter. Think how much traffic is going through these places shipping out those presents and what great exposure that can be. And the best news is that they usually do allow business cards with a business card holder. Just think about it, people waiting impatiently in line, pick up your card and BINGO—New Client.
Other tips include:
Ø Read and research new things. So many great promotions are going on now with the holidays and New Year coming. Look to them and see what’s out there and how you can apply it to your business. Take advantage of the teleclasses and seminars that are offered by the pros. Yes, they are going to try and sell you something, but by golly the information you receive will be worth it and you don’t have to buy.
Ø Join Associations: Join the association that you’ve heard about by so many but haven’t made the commitment yet. Start the New Year with a firm commitment to attend at least one engagement a month or more. See what a difference it can make in your business by talking with pros in your industry or networking with businesses, who might utilize your services or products.
Ø Get moving online. Go to the message boards and chats and network. Meet people and introduce you and your business. Offer tips and suggestions and actively be a part of the forum. I’ve been in business since 1985 so this year I will be celebrating 21 years in business. I owe a lot of my success to being active on the boards and letting people get to know me and trust me.
Ø Your Website. Now it can all go to waste if they these potential clients get to your website and see a unprofessional, poorly built, error-ridden, mess of a site. Take a look at your website and see if it is the best that it can be. I constantly update mine at http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com to try and provide tips and suggestions for those starting a virtual assisting and also tips on publishing and, of course, our new books in our online bookstore. I know the importance of changing it frequently, so people will come back to see what’s new.
Look to the overall appearance, the professionalism of your wording, the explanations explaining the benefits you provide, etc. In fact, everything in your site needs to convince a client to work with you. Now ask yourself, does it do that? Is this something I can be proud of? Too often we throw together a website, just to have it done. Remember this can often be a client’s first impression of you. Is it selling you well?
So this year as others are shopping and preparing for the holidays, you can instead be preparing your business for the New Year. What a gift that would be for YOU—to start your business off with a bang and lots of new clients you secured in your holiday marketing efforts.
November is a great time to reflect back on the year and plan for the next. Why not plan to make next year, your best one ever! Good Luck and Happy Marketing.
*****************
Diana Ennen, Author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant - The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and Accompanying Workbook; WordPerfect OfficeReady Virtual Assistant Solution Pack, (http://www.corel.com) and Visit Diana at http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com. Diana@virtualwordpublishing.com. Free booklet available on starting a virtual assisting business, as well as other great articles and tips. Feel free to pass this article along as long as the author’s block is included.
If not, it’s time to get those engines moving and start into action before the New Year begins. I know, it’s the holidays and there’s a lot’s going on. But also it’s the perfect opportunity to connect with your clients and get a head start on potential work for next year. You will find that communication is so much easier when you can utilize holiday greetings, holiday goodies, and holiday presents. Holiday gifts and candy will ease the way to a “Hi, how have you been? Send me more business!” Or for those new potential clients, “Hi, how are you—You need ME.”
First, reconnect with ALL your clients and let them know how you appreciate them and perhaps how you can help them with other needs they may not even know you offer. Send a personalized holiday card or greeting. For local clients stop by their office and drop off presents, popcorn tins for the staff and/or their favorite coffee for their afternoon pick-me-up. For potential new clients, drop off a Holiday cup full of wrapped candy with your business card or perhaps get your business name printed on the candy bar.
For all you Virtual Assistants or word processors out there, don’t forget to stop by any small post offices or UPS shops and offer to put your business cards there. Many of these places will add your business card holders directly to the counter. Think how much traffic is going through these places shipping out those presents and what great exposure that can be. And the best news is that they usually do allow business cards with a business card holder. Just think about it, people waiting impatiently in line, pick up your card and BINGO—New Client.
Other tips include:
Ø Read and research new things. So many great promotions are going on now with the holidays and New Year coming. Look to them and see what’s out there and how you can apply it to your business. Take advantage of the teleclasses and seminars that are offered by the pros. Yes, they are going to try and sell you something, but by golly the information you receive will be worth it and you don’t have to buy.
Ø Join Associations: Join the association that you’ve heard about by so many but haven’t made the commitment yet. Start the New Year with a firm commitment to attend at least one engagement a month or more. See what a difference it can make in your business by talking with pros in your industry or networking with businesses, who might utilize your services or products.
Ø Get moving online. Go to the message boards and chats and network. Meet people and introduce you and your business. Offer tips and suggestions and actively be a part of the forum. I’ve been in business since 1985 so this year I will be celebrating 21 years in business. I owe a lot of my success to being active on the boards and letting people get to know me and trust me.
Ø Your Website. Now it can all go to waste if they these potential clients get to your website and see a unprofessional, poorly built, error-ridden, mess of a site. Take a look at your website and see if it is the best that it can be. I constantly update mine at http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com to try and provide tips and suggestions for those starting a virtual assisting and also tips on publishing and, of course, our new books in our online bookstore. I know the importance of changing it frequently, so people will come back to see what’s new.
Look to the overall appearance, the professionalism of your wording, the explanations explaining the benefits you provide, etc. In fact, everything in your site needs to convince a client to work with you. Now ask yourself, does it do that? Is this something I can be proud of? Too often we throw together a website, just to have it done. Remember this can often be a client’s first impression of you. Is it selling you well?
So this year as others are shopping and preparing for the holidays, you can instead be preparing your business for the New Year. What a gift that would be for YOU—to start your business off with a bang and lots of new clients you secured in your holiday marketing efforts.
November is a great time to reflect back on the year and plan for the next. Why not plan to make next year, your best one ever! Good Luck and Happy Marketing.
*****************
Diana Ennen, Author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant - The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and Accompanying Workbook; WordPerfect OfficeReady Virtual Assistant Solution Pack, (http://www.corel.com) and Visit Diana at http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com. Diana@virtualwordpublishing.com. Free booklet available on starting a virtual assisting business, as well as other great articles and tips. Feel free to pass this article along as long as the author’s block is included.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Black Friday Sales at Online Bookstore
Hi
It's time to start your holiday shopping and there's no better place than to do it online ... Stop by Virtual Word Publishing for some fabulous books! Happy Shopping!
Margate, FL (November 2007) – Shop early this holiday season and with just a quick click of a mouse, get gifts the entire family will enjoy. At Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com, find books from starting a home-based business or virtual assistant business, to sci-fi thrillers, children’s books, Christian books, cookbooks, and more. And just in time for the Black Friday Sales to save big.
From delightful children’s books like Zip, Burp and Hula, to the fiction thriller, Sledgehammer, readers of all ages will find what they are looking for at the newly revised online bookstore.
For those entrepreneurs who always wanted to start a business, nothing can beat business and how to books on those topics. That’s what business books such as Virtual Assistant – The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and the accompanying VA the Series Workbook as well as Corel Word Perfect Office Ready Virtual Assistant Solution Pack offer. How to books that direct readers step-by-step through the entire process of starting a virtual assistant business with pros that know exactly what needs to be done to run a successful business. That’s the true power of words.
The authors, Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker, are also offering the following holiday specials: For the first time ever the Virtual Assistant – The Series Workbook will be sold as an Ebook (for a limited time only), with an added bonus of a free 15-minute consultation with either author, Ennen or Poelker, and a coupon for 10% discount on a future one-hour coaching session.
Perfect for the holidays, the bookstore provides Christian and inspirational books, cookbooks, e-books, and more. But what makes this bookstore unique is that the bookstore offers more than just the books alone. For example, the children’s book, Zip, Burp and Hula comes with a matching coloring book and paint by number book so children can delight in coloring along with the characters of the book. Virtual Assistant – The Series has the accompanying workbook. Virtual Assistant Solution Pack comes with over 70 templates of business forms needed to start a virtual assistant business.
And for holiday cooking, look to the Bizymoms Cookbook. 151 pages of recipes perfect for holiday cooking as well as yummy desserts, crockpot delights, and meals the whole family will enjoy. Email for a free sample at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com
Stop by the bookstore today at www.virtualwordpublishing.com and experience the magic that only a good book can offer. Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker are both available for media interviews by contacting diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.
It's time to start your holiday shopping and there's no better place than to do it online ... Stop by Virtual Word Publishing for some fabulous books! Happy Shopping!
Margate, FL (November 2007) – Shop early this holiday season and with just a quick click of a mouse, get gifts the entire family will enjoy. At Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com, find books from starting a home-based business or virtual assistant business, to sci-fi thrillers, children’s books, Christian books, cookbooks, and more. And just in time for the Black Friday Sales to save big.
From delightful children’s books like Zip, Burp and Hula, to the fiction thriller, Sledgehammer, readers of all ages will find what they are looking for at the newly revised online bookstore.
For those entrepreneurs who always wanted to start a business, nothing can beat business and how to books on those topics. That’s what business books such as Virtual Assistant – The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and the accompanying VA the Series Workbook as well as Corel Word Perfect Office Ready Virtual Assistant Solution Pack offer. How to books that direct readers step-by-step through the entire process of starting a virtual assistant business with pros that know exactly what needs to be done to run a successful business. That’s the true power of words.
The authors, Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker, are also offering the following holiday specials: For the first time ever the Virtual Assistant – The Series Workbook will be sold as an Ebook (for a limited time only), with an added bonus of a free 15-minute consultation with either author, Ennen or Poelker, and a coupon for 10% discount on a future one-hour coaching session.
Perfect for the holidays, the bookstore provides Christian and inspirational books, cookbooks, e-books, and more. But what makes this bookstore unique is that the bookstore offers more than just the books alone. For example, the children’s book, Zip, Burp and Hula comes with a matching coloring book and paint by number book so children can delight in coloring along with the characters of the book. Virtual Assistant – The Series has the accompanying workbook. Virtual Assistant Solution Pack comes with over 70 templates of business forms needed to start a virtual assistant business.
And for holiday cooking, look to the Bizymoms Cookbook. 151 pages of recipes perfect for holiday cooking as well as yummy desserts, crockpot delights, and meals the whole family will enjoy. Email for a free sample at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com
Stop by the bookstore today at www.virtualwordpublishing.com and experience the magic that only a good book can offer. Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker are both available for media interviews by contacting diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
