I am a paid member at VANA, I got in on the early bird special for $99. Honestly, I probably won't renew it and will just stick with the free membership in the future. I have rarely accessed any of the "paid for" services, and what I have accessed I wouldn't pay $249 for. Don't get me wrong, I like VANA and think it is a great source of information but you can get the same thing here (and other places) for free.

I'm willing to pay a nominal fee for some services, but IMPO I think $249 is just too high (although it is comparable to other sites), especially for the newcomers who haven't generated much business yet. As far as the RFP's go, they don't come around often enough and your are bidding against 7,000 other VA's. Most of the RFP's are for web design, which is great if that's what you do. You do get some free advertising (which I haven't utilized), but then again you are advertising mostly to other VA's, I think your advertising dollars would be better spent on a website that caters to your target market.

I don't have any experience with VBSS, I looked into it when I first started out, but I thought it was too expensive.

I don't want to seem like I'm picking on VANA, but it was the topic. Personally, I feel everyone should be careful where you spend your money at and make sure that what you're getting in return matches the cost. There are so many organizations out there that charge $200+ for membership, which can empty your pocketbook in a hurry. I would recommend asking for a free trial even if they don't offer one, to make sure it's going to benefit you and your business before spending the money.

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Rebecka Melson ~ Virtual Business Services