‘
Make it work’ has long been the maxim of virtual assistant (VA) Janine Gregor long before celebrity Tim Gunn of
Project Runway fame sensationalized his tagline on national television.
Since opening
Your Virtual Wizard in March of 2006, Janine Gregor has developed a reputation for getting the job done and doing it right. Known for her perseverance and determination to find the best solution for her clients, she was once dubbed, “The Thinking VA” by one of her long-term clients who stated, “...I have to pass the credit on to my Virtual Assistant Janine who took my plain boring one pager and turned it into this attractive announcement."
Specializing in business and promotional writing, Janine utilizes her talents to promote fundraising events for non-profit local and national organizations.
A recently successful 2010 book drive to establish a library in Swaziland was helped along by
a press release written by Gregor and released to the local media resulting in a television interview.
The author of “
20 Goof-Proof Ways to Find Material for Your Article or Blog” and “
Get Your Facebook Statuses Noticed” Janine Gregor can be reached at
info@YourVirtualWizard.com. Janine
blogs regularly, is active on
LinkedIn, and you'll also find Janine dispensing her VA wizardry and wisdom on
Twitter.
Where she found the time to do so, we're not sure
but Janine graciously sat down with us to answer a few questions about being a successful virtual assistant:
How long have you been a virtual assistant and what drew you to the industry?
I officially named my business and opened my doors in March of 2006. However, I would often create resumes and cover letters for friends and co-workers and had a cottage business since the early 1990’s. I subcontracted for about 2 years before deciding to go out completely on my own.
What drew me to the virtual assistant industry initially was necessity. After moving from NJ to Florida in 2005, I realized how spoiled I had become as I left behind a quarter-mile; really easy commute each day to and from my employer. Once relocated to our new state, I found it difficult to find a challenging position without taking on a much longer commute to a larger, nearby city. Although good jobs in my field were available, I realized that a tiresome travel exchange was a waste of my own time; could eventually become an unnecessary financial burden while also leaving a negative impact on the environment. I also wanted to be available for my family as I had good flexibility with my time before our move.
Having been employed for 25-plus years with large companies, I began to analyze the next phase in my professional career. One of the first actions I took was to place a dollar value on the time I would spend commuting versus time working. My time was valuable! Understanding that I wanted to be so much more productive with my work life, I spent several months researching numerous at-home possibilities. As I worked part-time evenings as a computer instructor and held a full-time project management position before I left NJ, I was familiar with the newest computer technology which would allow me to set up a good home office. I also successfully completed numerous online college credit classes so this also served to influence virtual administrative possibilities. Of course, entering the virtual assistant industry also solved the commute issue I so dreaded.
What was the start-up phase like for you and what was your biggest hurdle/triumph?
Start-up was slow and often agonizing. I began with a business plan and rewrote this over and over filling up 2 spiral notebooks. Within that plan, I listed my passions with ‘writing’ appearing time and time again as something of great interest and fervor. I hold two advanced degrees in marketing and management so I knew that I wanted to integrate my writing with sales, marketing and promotion. But I was not sure who my ideal client would become nor did I know what type of writing services would be desired. Defining my ideal client along with the services I enjoyed took weeks to determine. Eventually, I concentrated on those writing services which could have a viable impact on small businesses. I knew I wanted to be a part of making real changes for clients. These services were narrowed down to public relations and internet marketing work for coaches, authors, speakers and registered dietitians. I finally had my ‘ah-ha’ moment!
My biggest triumph was finally realizing that I needed a niche market and then deciding to concentrate marketing opportunities solely on that target market. As with many entrepreneurs, there is a ‘fear’ of excluding potential customers from a probable pool. I came
out of the starting gate promoting my services to ‘small business owners’ and ‘real estate professionals’ but realized soon after the real estate market tanked that my ‘bread and butter’ clients began to taper off one by one. So I took ‘small business owners’ and defined this market further. I absolutely enjoyed working with coaches, authors, speakers and registered dietitians so I concentrated exclusively on these industries. I still work on real estate work and stay in-tuned with the industry but I promote much more heavily on coaching sites. When the real estate market returns, I will be ready!
What is the one thing you ‘wish you’d known’ when you first started out?
I truly wish I had known two things: that it would take time to build a good reputation and that there would be lean months to pull through. I learned later rather than sooner, that I should never stop marketing my business; even when I am working or when my billed hours are low. In fact, using the ‘down time’ to market full swing is really ideal so I now look at those slow times as a ‘gift’. Once I changed my thinking, I redid my website, my blogs and updated all of my social networking sites when I lost my real estate clients.
What is your specialty/niche and what makes you an expert or leader in your field?
My main specialties are e-newsletter design and creation, editing, article marketing, blogging and email marketing. I am an ‘ideas’ person and give great thought to finding unique ways to promote a client’s business. I’m not afraid to make a suggestion and clients seem to appreciate this aspect about me. I’ve been referred by my clients as a ‘change agent’ and ‘The Thinking VA’. I like taking an idea and shaking it upside down. Marketing through the written word allows me to express these creative ideas.
I’m a leader in my field because my actions offer the desired results. I often volunteer my time for non-profits and for a local school to promote events and fundraisers. After one press release goes out, contributions come in. Guaranteed. This is very satisfying work. I helped set-up an email list for a local school and we now have several hundred new email addresses ready to receive an e-newsletter to help promote school events. Prior to setting up an autoresponder program, this particular school relied upon students to communicate with parents regarding school activities. As the mother of a teenager, I can personally vouch that information from the school to the parents is either selectively filtered or never conveyed by the students at all! With school budgets cut so drastically paper flyers are a thing of the past so I was grateful to set up a program where parents could receive electronic announcements directly from the school.
How do you define success?
For me success is a journey. It is not one, ultimate event rather it is a series of small winning occasions. Success has also meant something different at varying times in my life. My setbacks have helped to build on my successes.
If I am living up to my commitments and providing value to those who work with me, I am successful. When I have made every effort to do the best possible job I can do without compromising integrity, I am successful.
When did you realize you were ‘a successful virtual assistant’? I became a successful virtual assistant when I could securely put my ‘name on the day’ and felt that no one could take that away from me. Success was completing a full day’s virtual work and being content that I had done my very best. The rewards of this success were apparent when referrals started to come in from my clients. And then those clients referred others.
What are the top five tools or resources you use on a regular basis in running your own business?
Beside the standard tools such as Outlook, Word, my phone, my computer, etc., one of the top tools I use is a book... an old fashioned
Roget’s Thesaurus. (Although there is an online version, I find it much faster to grab my book.) I do not like to use repetitive, plain words when I write so I refer regularly to my thesaurus to find new words to use when I compose text. I also enjoy learning novel words and I’m nearly always surprised to find another definition of a word that I did not know. I find that using original words helps me to become a more interesting writer. I’m tickled when I use an unusual word and someone replies to me using the same verbiage.
2)
VAF - another tool or resource I find helpful to run my business is Virtual Assistant Forums, which I attribute to being one of the finest forums available for virtual assistants. Without the help from my fellow members, I honestly do not know if I could have moved my business forward. It was the support from VAF members which prompted me to find my target market and become an independent VA after subcontracting for 2 years.
3)
Spiral Notebooks - I have cornered the market on the use of spiral notebooks. (I wait until they go on sale after school begins.) Even with daily computer use, I still use notebooks to jot down ideas for blogs and articles, remind myself of changes I would like to make on my website, and goals I would like to reach. ‘Paper to pen’ is very therapeutic for me. When I jot down one idea quickly, another comes to mind so I find greater speed when using notebooks. Typing out ideas in a word processor program can ‘get lost in the shuffle’ with all my other electronic documents. I like to grab my color-coded spiral notebooks when I am inspired and find this to be both portable and practical. Jotting down ideas in a notebooks is a nice change for me from being in front of typed electronic text all of the time.
4)
PDF995 - I purchased PDF995, a PDF creator several years ago and this program continues to be one of the most useful, inexpensive programs I regularly use.
5)
Footstool - My footstool is one of the most important pieces of equipment I own. I originally used this stool when I made a commitment to exclusively nurse my son (one of my greatest personal accomplishments). 14 years later, my trusty stool found a functional and sentimental place under my desk to rest my feet. I spend many hours at my computer and I’m too short (5’4”) for the chair and desk height. My trusty footstool is where I rest my weary feet after walking the internet all day!
I have a 6th favorite resource:
Logmein – To enjoy the beautiful Florida weather nearly 10 months out of the year, it made sense to use Logmein to connect with my desktop via laptop so I could work while enjoying the outdoors. My office is networked now but I still use this program when I take my laptop to the library or if I want to work on a client project when I am not in my office. When I need to access a client’s desktop, this is also my remote program of choice.
What’s your number one source for new clients?
Referrals are my number one source for new clients. Blogging, social networking, replies to RFPs and LinkedIn are also good sources for new clients. I also participate in a Monday morning sales call on Biznik and I find clients there just by participating on the call and commenting on articles and discussions.
Has your ideal client profile changed at all since you first started your business?
When I first opened my virtual doors, as a subcontractor I handled more one-off projects by clients who were chosen for me. But I yearned for a more established relationship with my own selected clients. As a subcontractor, I would complete a particular task but after being involved with a client’s business I knew I could offer so much more. I could improve a website, assist in the establishment of a thriving blog, help with social networking, design a newsletter, edit an eBook and so on. I wanted to be more than just a task-doer; I wanted to be a client’s partner and a springboard for new ideas.
I am really a collaborative soul. As a subcontractor, initially my ideal client profile was someone who just needed my services but as an independent VA, my ideal client is someone who values my ideas and suggestions and views me as an investment in their business and not simply as an expense.
What is your most important business policy?
I have a few important business policies so it is difficult to choose one. I work 100% virtually and I make that clear during the client consultation.
I am also very upfront with my fees and late payment policies and I reiterate this in the consultation, the contract and my welcome letter.
I do not work on a ‘trial basis’ either. When I have been asked to work on a ‘trial basis’, I say, “You don’t hire a plumber or an attorney on a ‘trial basis’, why should you expect anything else from me?”
I do not give free time away. I will give free initial advice but after that, I charge.
Another policy that I make perfectly clear is that I need good, regular communication from a client in order to work effectively. It is important to me to have feedback and share ideas. I understand that clients are busy and regular communication is not always possible but I cannot work well if I do not have open communication with a client. This last policy has never been a problem as there are now many ways to communicate; some better than others but I do explain that a client will need to either speak to me or send me an email (not a 140 character text message) to answer questions and exchange thoughts at some point during the week.
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made with a client and how did you fix it?
Biggest mistake was to make myself available to one client 24/7. The client would email me at night with questions requiring lengthy answers that she could answer herself with a little googling. Initially, I felt obligated to answer these questions anyway but this became terribly unproductive and made me feel ‘used’. I fixed that by sending an email which reiterated my work hours and that I would charge an extra fee for any off-hour questions via email. That solved that problem.
How do you feel about social networking for business – do you implement it and if so, has it been a successful addition to your marketing efforts?
Social networking for business is an integral part of my overall marketing plan and something that I work on each day. LinkedIn, VAF, Biznik, Facebook and my blog are sites I concentrate on the most.
I do not use these sites to ‘find clients’ rather I participate because I learn from others while offering the opportunity to proffer my own knowledge.
Social networking for business is as important for business as handing out a business card or creating a business flyer but is never the substitute for personal marketing. I urge ever business owner to find the networking site for their needs and stick with it.
What’s your best advice for aspiring VAs thinking of starting their own practice?
I receive emails from new VAs asking for advice. I explain they will need a good website, a good business plan which includes a solid marketing plan. I have spent time convincing new VAs that they need to shift their thinking from ‘employee’ to ‘business owner’ before they open their doors. It took me a while to understand, “I am a business owner and I make the rules.”
How do you balance work and family and what challenges have you overcome [when it comes to living a balanced life]? What challenges are you still struggling with?
I struggle with working more exercise into my daily life. So much of my day is spent at my computer; I have to make an appointment with myself to get out for a walk or a bike ride. The best solution is to exercise before I sit down at my desk in the mornings and I have stuck to this plan.
Otherwise, my work does not interfere with my family life and my family life rarely interferes with my work life. When my son was younger and I took college courses online, I learned to manage my time which I have applied to my current work day habits. But I have to give credit where credit is due... I could not have completed my college courses or set up my business if I had not had the support of my spouse. He will take on many of my home tasks if I am busy. He regularly fills-up my gas tank!
Sadly, outside of my immediate home family, though, I do not really have overwhelming support for my work. But I do not believe my situation to be exceptional. I have had close friends and family refer to my job as a ‘work at home gig’ or in most cases, people never bother to ask me, “How is your job?” I admittedly struggle internally with those with whom I am close but do not feel that what I do is valid work. This can be disheartening. I have learned to accept what I cannot easily change. But what has helped to alter this negative perception [ever so slightly] is that while so many around me have lost their jobs, my own job continues to thrive.
Looking ahead, what’s your five year plan?
I would really like to open a multi-VA practice specializing in start-up for entrepreneurs with a branding arm. I am good at promotion and management so obtaining clients is not a problem. I envision a solid staff of VAs who can build a client’s website, work with him/her on social networking, handle the finances, launch a client’s product or service and then take that one step further to brand the client’s business. I imagine a complete ‘soup to nuts’ practice.
If that plan should not come to fruition, I would like to increase my own business to include graphic design and advanced multimedia services.
What do you love most about being a virtual assistant /self employed businesswoman?
Besides the obvious answer, which is being available to my family and the lack of commute time, I simply enjoy being the master of my time. If I want to start work at 9:05 am, I can. If I want to work until midnight, I can. If I want to volunteer, I can. Since entering the virtual assistant industry, I realize how valuable my own time is to me. I am accountable for my own time management and I am a more productive worker as a result.
Interview with Janine Gregor of Your Virtual Wizard
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