Q. When did you go into business for yourself?
A. April 2006.
Q. Why did you decide to go into virtual assisting?
A. It gives me a chance to do what I love from home.
Q. What is your background in your field of expertise?
A. I have 20+ years of clerical experience.
Q. Did you research the industry before launching your business?
A. Yes.
Q. Are you a member of any trade organizations?
A. Elite Office Support I also plan to try and join other organizations in the future.
Q. What do you enjoy the most about being self-employed?
A. Being my own boss.
Q. What do you enjoy the least about being self-employed?
A. Marketing, fear of not getting any business.
Q. Do you have employees? If so, do you have any positions open, including subcontracting opportunities? If so, how would someone inquire?
A. No.
Q. Do you have family members that help you out with your business?
A. My husband, he is there to listen to my fears.
Q. What is your specialty or niche, if any?
A. I don't have any at this time.
Q. Do you have any client testimonials you would like to share with us?
A. I've only had one customer so far, and she was pleased with my work.
Q. Why should I hire you as my VA?
A. I am honest and dependable.  If I am unable to do a job I will say so.
Q. Who would be your ideal client?
A. Anyone who can use my services.
Q. What are the long term goals you have for your business? (i.e., do you intend to expand, focus on a specific niche, branch out to more countries, partner with other VAs, etc.)
A. I hope to get some long-term clients.
Q. Is your office in your home or do you rent space?
A. My home.
Q. Do you find it hard to stay focused if working from home? Is your office completely separate from living spaces?
A. It is in the back of my house.
Q. It is well known that though working from home can be very rewarding and flexible, it also has some serious stress-inducing capabilities, such as a tendency to work far more than your general business hours due to the close availability of your office and eagerness to please clients. Has this presented a problem for you? If so, how have you handled it?
A. So far I have not had enough business to run into this problem, but I do not feel that it would be a problem, as one of the reasons I want to work from home is to have time with my husband.
Q. If you had to give 3 pieces of advice to someone wanting to start a virtual business, what would they be and why?
A.
 1) Know how to market yourself, otherwise you will not find clients.

 2) Talk to other VA's, so that you can learn the ups and downs of running your own business.

 3) Have the money to spend on starting up a business, because it is difficult to do unless you can pay for advertising, equipment, and to be able to join organizations.
 

For further information, please feel free to contact Ruth:
Contact Information
Contact:     Ruth Powell, Owner
Email:         This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web:         www.ruthssecretarialservices.com