IVAA NEWS
IVAA Board Says Goodbye to Outgoing Board Directors
IVAA Board members serve for 3 years to oversee IVAA operations. Our greatful appreciation to these wonderfully dedicated board members:
- Doreen DeJesus, President
- Lara Nieberding, Secretary
- Laura Pumo, Membership Director
- Nancy Seeger, Marketing Director
- Kylie Short, Research and Development Director
Newly Elected Board Members - Starting April 1
Congratulations to newly elected board directors to the IVAA board. IVAA is a non profit trade association and board members are nominated and voted by the members of the International Virtual Assistants Association. Please welcome:
- Kathy Colaiacovo
- Patty Dost
- Michaelle Dvornik
- Jama St. John
- Yvonne Weld
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Wow...I cant believe that a year has already gone by since I put on the IVAA President hat. I want to thank my board as well as the countless volunteers for all the work they did this past year. We have accomplished a lot for our members and it was because of the combined efforts of each and everyone of them.
In a few weeks, IVAA will be hosting their Annual Summit in Memphis, TN. Will you be there? There is still time to register if you haven't already done so. This is the perfect opportunity to meet some of the leaders of our industry as well as learn some best practices for your business.
As usual the IVAACast team has put together some great reading so enjoy!
Virtually yours,
Doreen DeJesus, President
Charging what your VA services are worth is simple. Just do it! :) But in order to do that you know be clear about the value of what you offer. When you start to think about pricing your services, or updating your prices, you need to consider how much value your clients are receiving. That value is calculated not by dollar figures but by the benefits and result that you create.
When your prospects start looking for a Virtual Assistant, they are really looking for a solution. No one says "Wow - I really need a Virtual Assistant to make my life perfect".
Instead, they are looking for a help to organize their business, with their marketing or to take better care of their clients. Since your prospective clients are focused on these benefits, you should be too. When you start to create your service menu, it's important to keep your client's goals in mind.
Try this exercise - put yourself in a prospective client's shoes.
- What is it that my ideal client is really trying to accomplish?
- How will they be able to measure their progress?
- What will be the costs if they don't take advantage of my solutions?
Once you get clear on the answer to these questions, there are three simple steps that you can use to create compelling packages that both serve your clients' needs and create a consistent income for you.
- Create several options that are focused on specific results - When you offer just one package for your clients, you aren't letting them customize your services to their needs. This one-size fits all approach may turn potential clients away. Try offering three different levels of services - an all inclusive option, a mid-range option and a basic option. This provides enough variety without giving your prospect too much choice (which can be overwhelming).
- Include bonuses and incentives to make the offer juicy and compelling - These little extras can have little or no cost to you, but they significantly increase the value of your services in your client's eyes and show that you are concerned about their needs. The nature of your bonus will depend on the particular solutions you offer, but make sure it's something that your clients will really appreciate and supports their goals.
- Eliminate feelings of uncertainty by offering your personal guarantee - As a Virtual Assistant, you may not be entirely responsible for the ultimate outcome of the work that you do with your client. For example, despite a social media VA's best efforts their clients may not get an increase in followers unless they create compelling content and have a back-end strategy for turning that interest into dollars. However, you can and should ABSOLUTELY guarantee that you will deliver everything you promise and give the client what they signed up for.
By following these three simple steps you'll be able to focus on the value you offer and prove your worth to your prospective clients. Understanding the benefits of your services to others is important in showcasing your value properly. And ensuring that you are compensated for what your solutions are worth!
Many Virtual Assistants find out pretty early that starting a business from the ground up is challenging, to say the least, and finding enough customers to fill your available time slots takes time. This is why many of us turn to subcontracting in the beginning. The benefits of working for another VA are not just limited to income generation. In this article I will touch upon some of the reasons you may want to start looking at this type of work and how to find it.
Working for a more experienced VA can be helpful in the beginning. When you are just starting out, it takes time to become comfortable working in your new environment without all the technology and equipment you may have been accustomed to in the past. Quickly you may start running across holes in your capabilities. Working with another VA gives you a chance to ask for advice to overcome these challenges whereas your own clients are expecting you to be the expert. Another reason to consider subcontracting is you don't need to spend the time and money marketing to new clients. The other VA has already done that and in return you will work at a lower rate than you would charge clients you obtained on your own.
Some ways to find subcontracting work are through professional memberships such as IVAA. IVAA has a very active RFP system where oftentimes other IVAA members look for members to add to their team. By going through IVAA, they know that the VAs who respond are serious about their business because they have made the investment to join. There are other forums and listservs that experienced Virtual Assistants use to find their team members as well. Many of the VA educational organizations (online classrooms and universities) also promote recruitment of their members, and graduates of these programs often feel a connection to other Virtual Assistants who have come up through the same training.
As we get closer to the IVVA Live Summit, this is probably one of the most effective ways to put your name out in the VA world. Every year I hear many of the experienced VAs mention that they go to the Summit to put faces (and personalities) with the names. Though we are a virtual industry, there really is no substitute for face-to-face networking. You certainly can increase your chances of being noticed by participating in these types of events.
The experience you receive while subcontracting is really priceless. It will give you the confidence to market your skills and expertise because you have actually performed the work and have been successful. Once you have subcontracted for one VA you will find it much easier to work for others, as referrals are very often shared in our industry.
Susan Kovalesky, owner of Balanced Bookkeeping Solutions, is our featured Member for IVAACast this month. Susan has worked in corporate accounting for 25 years but opened her "virtual" QuickBooks Consulting business two years ago. Susan has been a member of IVAA for six years. She joined IVAA when she realized there were so many virtual professionals who could support her as she made her way through the virtual world. She is thrilled to be able to do what she loves to do but do it at home.
Susan stepped in as the Co-Chair of this year's Live Summit and she also oversees Registration for the Live Summit (talk about busy!). She was thrilled when Lara Nieberding asked her to take over the Co-Chair position because she loves working with everyone on the committee and seeing all the energy people put forth to make Summit a great event.
Her biggest challenge has been finding time to fit in everything. Since bookkeeping and accounting is her livelihood, this is her busiest time of the year so she has lists of things that need to be completed by April 15 so her clients are satisfied before she leaves...for Summit.
Susan is really looking forward to this year's Summit because there is a LOT of first-time attendees. She is also going to work the registration table so she will see all of her friends first and see all the new faces when they arrive. Susan prides herself on having a "photographic" memory so once she sees people at registration she said that will make it easier to talk to people all week (maybe we should make this a challenge!).
Susan's biggest hope for people attending Summit is they feel comfortable and realize they have a tremendous amount of support from people they meet at Summit and continue relationships long after. She also hopes attendees take advantage of the various sessions available. Summit can energize you and help improve your business! Another hope Susan has is that people take advantage of the non-workshop opportunities to meet people and learn from them (check out the schedule for the reception on Tuesday night, Dinner with Strangers, etc.). People are so welcoming and you can learn something from everyone and make wonderful friendships.
Susan encourages people to volunteer in any way they can, big or small. When you volunteer, you meet people and it's easier to contact people when you need help or refer people when you have the opportunity.
For fun, Susan loves to attend the Philadelphia Phillies' baseball games. She is married to her husband, Jeff, and they will be celebrating their 25th anniversary in June. She has two daughters, Sarah and Emily. They just built a pool a couple of years ago so a lot of her downtime is spent by the pool listening to music, watching the Phillies, and having fun.
Christine Bearse spent over 20 years in various project, restaurant and office management positions before the dream of owning her own business came true. She has built a business doing work she fully enjoys, works with fabulous clients and is on the never ending quest for better ways to streamline business operations through the use of technology. When she isn't building websites or managing client projects, she is spending time with her husband and two young sons.
Sydni Craig-Hart, Sydni Craig-Hart, The VA Success Coach™, is Founder of Executive Assistant to Virtual Assistant!, a company dedicated to providing Administrative Professionals with the support, tools and resources they need to create a highly successful, profitable Virtual Assistant business. Visit VASuccessSecrets.com to listen to Sydni's FREE audio class "How to Start and Grow A Profitable Virtual Assistant Business ...In Less Than Six Months."
Colleen Wietmarschen is the owner of Clerical Plus Virtual Business Support Specialists. She is entering a new phase of her business concentrating on author assistance, ghostwriting, and blogging for clients, as well as project management, and other administrative services. She volunteers for the IVAACast Newsletter as well as committees for IVAA Online and Live Summit conferences. Visit her newly-designed Website at ClericalPlusVA.com.