A Virtual Assistant partnership is similar to any other relationship, business or otherwise, it takes two willing parties to make it successful. Find a VA that shares your same values and clearly understands your goals. Below are 3 principles that are important to a successful Virtual Assistant relationship.

TRUST: to place confidence [in]

As business owners, we all know it not easy to relinquish control of certain aspects of our business to others. Working virtually only adds another layer of insecurity. It is important that both parties are trustworthy. Both parties have specific expectations and you have to trust that the other will meet them. Below are a few examples.

Client has to trust that his Virtual Assistant will do the following:

• Effectively communicate by agreed upon technologies (email, phone, fax, etc)
• Understand tasks and projects assigned; if not, follow-up appropriately
• Recognize priorities and meet all deadlines
• Provide complete confidentiality (client files, passwords, banking information)

The Virtual Assistant has to trust that her client will do the following:

• Effectively delegate tasks or projects in an organized and timely fashion
• Will not micromanage
• Make payments in a timely manner as established in their contract

RESPECT: to consider worthy of high regard

Respect for me, comes from the golden rule – treat others as you want to treated. Be respectful of the other’s business and time. The respect should be mutual. Below are few tips of how to show respect to each other.

• Email correspondence should be detailed and concise to eliminate redundancy
• Schedule times for calls; don’t assume the other is always available
• Establish a project timeline and stick to it

HONESTY: fairness and straightforwardness of conduct

As we all have heard before — honesty is the best policy and it definitely should be included in your business. Honesty ties the other two principles together. Often times, the more honest you are with the other party the deeper the trust and the more respect you will get. I believe the most important tip about honesty is below.

The client has to be honest in conveying project expectations and the VA has to be honest in representing her abilities in completing it.

Bonus:

GRATITUDE: the state of being grateful

Gratitude is an extra bonus because it is (perhaps) not required in a relationship but it definitely doesn’t hurt. A little gratitude goes a long way! There are plenty of ways to show gratitude but here are  just a few ways to start:

• The best way to express appreciation to an awesome Virtual Assistant is to refer her to your business associates. It’s probably one the highest compliments you can give her.
• You can offer a testimonial for her website or recommend her on LinkedIn.
• Last but not least, you can just say thank you – job well done.

What principle do you believe is important to a Virtual Assistant and client relationship?

Hopefully, these 3 tips will help you keep your website secure. Do you have a tip to add? Please share your tips below.

If you are like me, you are happy to welcome the summer season. This summer marks a fun online event that promotes education about the Virtual Assistant industry. A Virtual Perception Podcast (AVP) presents “AVP’s  Summer of Success which kicked off  the first day of summer, June 21st.

The purpose of this series is to educate entrepreneurs about Virtual Assistants and how to successfully work with one. The AVP’s Summer of Success has new and interesting tips on the AVP blog provided in audio, video or post form from established Virtual Assistants from across the industry.

If you missed any tips last week, you can catch up on the AVP blog. Last week’s topics covered Password Security 101,  Communication and Delegation with Your VA among other interesting posts. You can read my guest post today on the AVP’s blog entitled “3 Things to ‘Forget About’ When Selecting a Virtual Assistant”.

So, if you are an entrepreneur that is considering working with a Virtual Assistant and you want to learn ways to successfully with one or if you currently work with a VA and you want new ideas to implement in your relationship, check out the AVP blog from June 21 –July 9 -2010.

Also, don’t forget to check out AVP’s Summer of Success Beach Bag O’ Fun contest. It is open to everyone and it offers a cool goodie bag just in time for the beach season. Participation is easy — all you have to do to enter is comment on any Summer of Success post. Go for it!

Here’s to your summer of success!

In April, the Virtual Assistant Forums celebrated three years online with the VAF Bash. The Virtual Assistant Forums is a free online community offering  friendly support,  endless information and  business resources for aspiring, new and established Virtual Assistants. I had the pleasure of being the event coordinator for this event again this year. It was a great experience and I worked with several awesome VAs.

Among the several contests take took place  during the VAF Bash was the special monthly blog challenge question. The featured question was “How has VAF impacted you or your business?” After being inspired through recent events; I thought I would take this opportunity to answer this question just for fun.

You may already know that VAF is a wonderful starting point for aspiring or new Virtual Assistants. VAF was definitely the number one resource I used in starting my business. Besides, great information, it offers great friendly support. I have formed several trusted relationships since  being a member in 2008. What you may not know is that almost 2 years later VAF continues to impact  my business but in different ways.

As I mentioned, I was inspired to write about VAF because of recent events. In May my WordPress website was hacked. Yikes! Unfortunately, I was only one of many that were afflicted by malicious hackers. Shame on them! Through the ordeal of repairing my website I turned to others to help me. I received encouraging emails and support from several VAs; however, I would like to highlight two of them.

One of the first people I turned to was Christina Nelson of Vital Office Solutions. She is the resident VAF WordPress guru. She even has a WordPress Q & A blog entitled: Dear Christina. I sent Christina a panicked email early one Monday morning. I know that we all love to receive those HELP ME emails first thing Monday morning. Well, Christina without hesitation searched my website trying to locate the problem. She offered several tips to rectify the situation before leaving for a prior engagement. (Sorry Christina for interrupting your morning.) I also found out later that she had been suffering from laryngitis. I did not even know she was sick; she selflessly squeezed me to her schedule without complaint.

I have another example of a VAF member that went above and beyond to help me out of my predicament. Her name is Pam Deyerle, owner of A Perfect Word. Pam is a veteran Virtual Assistant offering transcription services for over 10 years. She sent me a Private Message (PM) explaining that she received an error upon trying to enter my website. I told her that I knew there was a problem but did not know how to fix it but I was open to suggestions. Well, Pam came through in a big way – the next PM was a solution on how to repair my website. The direction that I received from her was right on point.

Needless to say, that VAF continues to impact my business through other supportive members’  that freely give of their time and knowledge. I hope I can return the favors in the future – what a great community!

Please feel free to share your comments or stories below.

Recently, I admittedly have neglected my blog. Initially, I was optimistic about the possibilities of having a business blog. I thought I had devised a great plan when I established it in August upon the launch of my new website. My plan was to write a series of posts pertaining to the ABCs of Small Business. I believed it was a great idea because of two reasons. First, I would already have a topic in place for a number of weeks and this would allow me to be consistent. Second, a series would keep my readers coming back for more. That’s wonderful, right – not exactly. I started off strong but became less interested in writing each week.

Well, fast forward 7 months and a blogger’s remorse has set in. What I feared upon entering the blogger’s world had returned. I didn’t really know what to do; so I did nothing.  I wanted to start fresh but did know how. Although, I was often inspired to write by reading other blogs, news or my current obsessions; I felt obligated to finish this series. Might I add, that many were not reading.  This was hard to admit for the organizer and planner in me with a finish what you start attitude. So with the recent arrival of Spring I decided to give my blog a pick-me-up and give myself a break.

I am moving forward with my original goal to provide useful information to small business owners but with a more open mind on topics. Interested in reading more? Subscribe.

Please tell me, have you every experienced any blogger’s remorse?

Alyssa Avant is a Christian writer, speaker and blogger.  She is also a wife and mom to three amazing kids.  You can find her at http://awriterforhire.com or http://beautybydesignonline.com.

Please tell us about “A Writer For Hire” and what led you to start your own business.

I started A writer for Hire out of a need for income.  It is a ghostwriting business; most of my clients have online businesses.  I started out doing more article writing, but now I mostly do blog posts and blog management.

You offer article marketing and blogging services. What  is the difference between the two?

An article is longer usually up to 600 words; on the other hand, a blog post is usually between 250-350 words, while an article is 450-600 words.

There is sometimes controversy surrounding ghostwriting on blogs — what is your take?

As long as the writing is authentic and in the niche I see no reason not to hire a ghostwriter to save yourself time.  My clients usually write a small paragraph or keywords and information on the topics. I have learned to capture their voice and most of their readers don’t realize they don’t write the blog posts.

You have multiple blogs and clients – how do you organize your time to successfully write for all of them? Do you have an editorial schedule?

Just this week I have re-evaluated and I am actually letting some things go.  It feels good and I’m excited about being able to have less on my plate.  Yes, I do have a schedule of client work on Tuesday / Thursday, planning on Friday’s, ministry stuff on Mondays, etc.

Do you have any encouragement or tips for individuals that suffer from writer’s block?

Walk away! Sometimes a breather is just what we need.

What is Faith Leaps and how does it help others in their business or ministry?

Faith Leaps is training for taking the leap of faith into speaking, writing and or ministry.  It helps a person to find their “calling” and what they truly want to chase after.

You wear many different “hats” such as author, speaker, talk show host and business owner –what’s most rewarding?

The most rewarding of these is speaking.  I love to see the light bulb moments when people “get” what I’m sharing with them from God’s word.

What is your favorite scripture or biblical principle in which you apply to business?

Jeremiah 29:11 God has plans for us and he wants to prosper us and not harm us. That is encouraging to me.

Why care about Facebook?

Currently Facebook has over 400 million users and remains one of the fastest growing online social networks. While Facebook started out as primarily an application used by the college aged crowd, the fastest growing demographic right now is 35 and older. This means Facebook has the ability to reach not only the younger demographic but their parents as well.

Understand Your Goals For Using Facebook:

• Facebook Fan Pages are indexed by the Search Engines which means a fan page can help your business or organization get found by people searching for you.
• Connect with an audience interested in your program or business.
• Promote your business or provide news updates about your industry.

Promoting your page:

• Create engaging and *sticky* content. Add video or photos and post updates regularly. Each time you post on your Fan page, those updates will go to your Fans Live Feed.  Give fans a reason to come to your page and engage with your Page.  If you have a blog, be sure to post your blogs posts on your fan page with a link back to your blog.  You could also use an application like Networked Blogs to do this as well.

• It’s important to note- You want encourage people to visit your page and for them to do some interaction. Facebook has recently implemented a methodology where the likelihood of your updates showing up in your fan’s News feed when they first log in is higher if you have a page with more activity and more visits to the page.  It’s a mistake to just sit back and think that if you build it, they will come.

• Draw on your exisiting networks. Use email lists or other promotional materials to encourage people to be come a fan.  Promote your Fan page link in your email signatures or with a fan box on your website that allows web visitors to click to become a fan directly from your website (with code provided by Facebook).

• Use custom HTML to create a “landing page” for your Fan Page. You can create custom pages with  email opt-in sign up boxes along with images and links back to your website. You can set it so that anyone who is not already a fan will land on your custom page by default. This is a great way to engage a potential fan from the beginning.

• Suggest to Friends- Use this feature (located right under the profile picture) to suggest to your friends to become fans of your page. Also, post an update asking your current fans to suggest your page to their friends (and be sure to tell them how to do this.) Each time someone becomes a fan of your page, it shows up in their friends’s newsfeeds which helps to increase your page’s visibility.

Guest post by Kimberly LeRiche- Founder of JK Virtual Office Resources which provides Social Media and Internet Marketing Virtual Assistance to small business owners and solo entrepreneurs to help them establish and increase their online visibility for their business and their brand. She’s addicted to scouring the internet for the latest social media buzz and staying on top of latest happenings in social media marketing. Her other services include setting up new social networking profiles, social media management and providing tips and recommendations for how to effectively use social media.

The #1 New Year’s resolution is losing weight. Keeping fit is one of the most important things a person can do for themselves. We all know why we should workout; it’s good for our health! After sitting down in my chair in front of my computer for hours, I look forward to getting up and getting in some exercise. I divide my workout in half. I work out in two 45 minute segments which is the right amount of time for me. Prior to this I used to finish an entire workout at one time but I didn’t work out every day. Now when I’m done with my mini workout I go back to work. Then a few hours later I finish the rest of my workout.  I also add in my stretching and resistance exercises at the end of each segment. If you have a problem sticking with an exercise plan, find someone to work out with. If that isn’t feasible at least have someone that you can report back to. Someone that you have to be accountable to. You can help each other by comparing notes and having someone to call when you need a little push.

I have my own system which I have been using for years now.  Every month I print out a free calendar and use that for the current month.  I divide up my workout schedule into 2 or 3 boxes for each day. When I finish with an exercise I jot down which one I completed in the designated box. This is done every day for the whole week. At the end of the week I total up each box for a grand total. At the end of the month I know exactly how much exercise I got in that month and what type. For me it’s divided up into the 3 major categories: aerobics, resistance training and stretching & toning. At the end of the month I look at last year’s calendar which is underneath this year’s.  I compare the two to see how it looks. Sometimes I compare it before the month is up just to motivate myself. This is just an example that I am throwing out to you.

The important thing here is to have some kind of plan, anything at all. But have a plan. If you don’t you will most likely fail. If you want to succeed at anything get a plan. Don’t worry about falling off the wagon, it happens to everybody. Just pick yourself up and start over again. Try different plans, if one doesn’t work find one that does. If you are the type of person that likes to be around people then join a gym. That doesn’t work for me as I just don’t go but it works for a lot of people. There are options available, you just have to find out what they are and pick one that works for you.

How to Sit at a Computer

How to Set Up an Ergonomically Correct Workstation

How to Exercise While Sitting at Your Computer

JoCarole Carpenter, President of Shore Office Services. JoCarole is a seasoned Virtual Assistant and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in upper level management and administration. Her specialty is providing solutions for solo-preneuers. Courtesy of www.shoreofficeservices.com. All rights reserved 2010.

Mark  Winebrenner is the President of the Christian Business Networking Association (CBNA). It is a free national online community of Christians in Business for the purposes of networking and sharing information and ideas. Mark graciously agreed to be interviewed for A Virtual Blessing’s inaugural e-newsletter.  He shares several great networking tips and advice.

When and why did you start the Christian Business Networking Association (CBNA)? What is its purpose? We incorporated the name 2005, receiving our non-profit status in 2006.  At that time there were no venues or events at which Christians in business could network together on a regular basis.  Furthermore what we saw were a gluttony of business networking options in the secular marketplace but not a place to learn how to be better networkers.  Finally and most importantly, we wanted to create an environment in which Christians could both serve and be served by their brothers and sisters in Christ and be part of something bigger than themselves by helping to grow the community of Christians in business.  So many great things can happen with Believers gather together for help, encouragement and mutual edification.

Before you were President of CBNA, what was your profession or background? My career started in the hospitality industry, specifically front office operations in hotels.  I managed desk clerks, bellmen and night audit operations.  Then I transitioned into apartment management when I learned to balance hospitality for residents, managing property maintenance and the sales team.  This is when my sales career began in leasing apartments; a great marriage of both sales and management.

After 9 years I launched into the world of the self employed working as an independent sales rep for the Christian Business Phone Book and imprinted promotional products.  I still have a small promo product business.  My 12 years with the phone book was a key catalyst in bringing Christians in business together for networking.

What makes CBNA different from other networking groups? I am a strong believer that as Christians, our business is our strongest platform for serving the Lord.  We spend more time at work than any other single aspect of our life which includes time with our family.  Part of any ministry is service part of which is to our family in Christ.  When you combine those two thoughts, it is logical to consider that the greatest opportunity to serve your Christian family is in the marketplace.

Therefore we want to provide an environment in which not only can you grow and improve your business, but you can serve your brothers and sisters in Christ by helping them with their business.  I think this is just important as any Christian service.  The possibilities and impact we can have in the lives of others and our impact in the marketplace are endless.

I know you actively participate in both offline (face-to-face) and online networking. How do you think social media will continue to shape the world of networking in the near future? All indicators show continued evolution and growth.  One thing I read is that you will see more traditional websites incorporate a social media component.  For example there are social media sites launched by a specific companies where consumers of those products can share experiences, tips etc… Instead of that company starting a group under a large network such as Facebook, they start their own.

This encourages me that niche groups will continue to have a voice.  I believe there is need and interest for business networking specifically within the Christian community.

How much of a business owner’s marketing strategy should involve networking? Can a person network too much? Networking has been and continues to be the most cost effective way to grow or maintain a business and communicate your message.  Whether it is the actual owner or employees, companies should have a presence in the community via networking.  How much? That is subjective to the companies size and needed goals for networking.

Yes a person can network too much.  It is all about balance. When your networking follow up is awful, it is one significant indicator you are networking too much.

Many business owners are often frighten or overwhelmed by networking. Can you offer any helpful tips to overcome these feelings? Great question.  It also speaks to one of my earlier comments that there are few places to go and learn how to network, which is part of our platform.  Tips to overcome?  First you are not alone.  On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being best, the average networking skill level those we surveyed graded themselves is 3.5.  Therefore you are in good company.  Secondly, start slowing but start.  Thirdly ask for help.  Finally read.  There are several good books on networking.

Is there a right or wrong way to network? What are the most common networking mistakes? Wow, there is a huge list but I will share the single largest mistake most people make.  Networking is not direct selling.  If you go to networking events or set 1 to 1 networking meetings to sell, you are not networking and doing more damage than good.  The best networking philosophy is to network for the purpose of helping others get where they want to go, not you.

At this time of year, many people are setting goals- should we set networking goals? Thanks for the slow pitch question.  Absolutely.  I am amazed how many people will agonize over the design of their business card or brochure, spending hours if not days and weeks to finalize, but spend not a second to write a business networking plan.  A brochure communicates a message.  So does your approach to networking.  How many people are communicating a horrible message in how they network.

Speaking of goals, where do you see the CBNA in the next 2 years? I wish the Lord when give me that information.  What I know for now is that we will continue to develop the networking events that have started, grow our Marketing Teams and expand our online community.  We have been looking at other markets and are waiting for the Lord’s direction and timing.

Image Credits: CBNA

This interview was featured in our bi-monthly e-newsletter.  Please subscribe to our mailing list if you want to receive upcoming issues.  Feel free to contact  us at info@avirtualblessing.com if you are interested in being featured or want to recommend another Christian business.