Q. |
When
did you go into business for yourself? |
A. |
Just
this summer. |
Q. |
Why
did you decide to go into virtual assisting? |
A. |
I
liked the fact that I could help businesses with
their admin needs without leaving my home; saving
them money as well as saving money (fuel, daycare,
etc.) myself. |
Q. |
What
is your background in your field of expertise? |
A. |
I
have over 16 years of admin experience |
Q. |
Did
you research the industry before launching your
business? |
A. |
Yes
I did. I found that this industry (virtual assisting)
can be difficult for businesses to accept. I hope
to change that. |
Q. |
Are
you a member of any trade organizations? |
A. |
Yes,
this organization, Elite Office Support. |
Q. |
What
do you enjoy the most about being self-employed?
|
A. |
Being
home with my daughter and being here to meet my
sons when they step off the school bus. When they
have a day off school, we have lots of fun exploring. |
Q. |
What
do you enjoy the least about being self-employed?
|
A. |
Definitely
the initial insecurity. It’s difficult to
get a business like this going. I’m not giving
up anytime soon!! |
Q. |
Do
you have employees? If so, do you have any positions
open, including subcontracting opportunities? If
so, how would someone inquire? |
A. |
I
don’t as of yet. |
Q. |
Do
you have family members that help you out with your
business (including pets that may sleep in your
lap or on your keyboard while you attempt to type)?
|
A. |
My
husband is my biggest supporter. My 2 year old daughter
insists on taking documents off the printer for
me. |
Q. |
What
is your specialty or niche, if any? |
A. |
I
absolutely love to type. Whether its transcription
or creating new forms and documents, I sincerely
enjoy it. |
Q. |
Do
you have any client testimonials you would like
to share with us? |
A. |
Maybe
soon.
|
Q. |
Why
should I hire you as my VA? |
A. |
I am disciplined when it comes to my work. The
work I have with attorneys and in finance settings
taught me the importance of confidentiality and
deadline driven projects. |
Q. |
Who
would be your ideal client? |
A. |
Most
definitely non-profit/charity groups because the
one of big reasons for hiring VAs is to save clients
money. |
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
would love for this to work out for me. I think
it would be wonderful to branch out to different
countries. |
Q. |
Is
your office in your home or do you rent space? |
A. |
My
office space is in my home. |
Q. |
Do you find it hard to stay focused if working from
home? Is your office completely separate from living
spaces? |
A. |
Not
at all. I seem to do quite well working to the beat
of a ‘Wiggles’ song and the sound of
my daughter’s laughter. |
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. |
Not
as of yet. I have noticed that on nights the kids
go to bed and I’m not quite ready, I feel
the urge to think about a new project or request,
or work on one. It actually gives me something to
do on yucky days and nights. |
Q. |
If
you had to give advice to someone wanting to start
a virtual business, what would that be and why?
|
A. |
1) Do not be afraid to push
your ideas, no matter what people might tell you.
2) Be proud of yourself for taking
the initiative to make a better life for yourself,
your family, and those around you.
3) DON’T GIVE UP; no matter
what!! |
|
For further information, please
feel free to contact Shawna:
|
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