Congratulations!! Fabulous interview. I wish you the best with your business and may success and prosperity always be at your door!

What a great interview. I am just in the process of 'setting up' and your comments have been extremely useful.

Vanessa, this is such a great interview - your energy and enthusiasm for what you do as a virtual asssitant is so inspiring
Thanks for being such an active part of the community here at VAF - it's really neat to know that you've been a member here since very early days!

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I really enjoyed reading your interview. I especially like hearing how you break up your day. Leaving the house is a must!

Thank you to everyone for your kind comments.

Cortini: Thank you for your comments and inquiring on how I prepared for my team. I knew right from the beginning that I wanted to eventually have a team and so as I began researching the industry and preparing my business for start-up, I began considering how I would implement my team when the time came. As new clients came on board, I kept track of how I handled each of the clients, and what steps I took to meet their needs. Eventually these lists became a policy and procedure manual - not only for me to follow with my active clients to ensure consistency but also for future use of team members.

I began to think of what tasks I would want to delegate to team members and which tasks I would continue to do on my own. Having these policies and procedures in place allows you to effectively add additional team members as everyone knows what to expect.

Today with three team members, we are consistently able to provide the same level of service across the board with all of our clients. Everyone knows what to do when a new inquiry comes in, what happens when the client agrees to our services and how they will be handled from there.

As we continue to grow, we will continue to add to our procedures manual and keep this information up-to-date.

If you have any further questions or more specific questions, just let me know.

Tess: Thanks so much for your comments. I did join VAF shortly after my business start-up. I has been wonderful using this great resource for all my business needs. I am constantly learning from others here on the forum and I love that the forum continues to grow. It doesn't matter where you are in your business, this forums is a great place to learn from each other and ask questions. I have loved not only watching my own business grow but also watching this forum grow as well. I constantly use this site to find the answers to my questions and I always tell people *this* is the place to be.

You all rock my socks!

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Ness, REPA
www.NessLindsay.com

Vanessa,

Great interview!

I especially liked your comments about how you spend your day. You seem to have a great rapport with your team members. Did it take a while to feel comfortable using the services of others?

When I started my first business and realized I needed to sub-contract work I was petrified. My poor friend suffered many agonies as I went through the "but they aren't me!", "but, how can I trust them!", "but", "but", "but"....I took the plunge and it was great. Some of them already know I'm going back in business and are ready to join my team.

Carol
CJ's Virtual Business Solutions

Hi Vanessa, I love your interview, great job. Last night, "Good Friday" 4/10 I made the decision to register my business name and pick a web host. When I read your interview it is very encouraging. You see my husband is a realtor and partners with his mom and I have a thing for anything that has to do with realestate. The market is starting to pick up and I think I've made my decision at the right time just before it really picks up again. I was thinking about also offering web design which at this point in time I am a newbie and I want to help small businesses with data entry or data base management. So, I guess what I want to say is I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket. And I'm not sure that when I create my website should it be more geared for REVA or just Va. This is why I chose Unlimited in my business name. I hope we can bounce ideas off each other. Enjoy your day.

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Have a Blessed Day
~Trish Reisen~

Great interview and some great tips. I'm just starting out and have decided to focus on real estate agents. I currently have my license and have been working as an agent, but am ready to move on. It's great to see there are others being successful. Thank you for the motivation.

I am so glad I found VAF. I am new to starting my VA business and was not quite sure about what direction to go - I am a Licensed Real Estate Agent and am now looking into becoming Real Estate Professional Assistant with the National Assoc. of Realtors in NJ. This will give me a starting point of reference. Am so glad I read your interview....Tina

Good Afternoon All,

First I would like to thank all the wonderful people on this forum. You are awesome!

Carol:

Yes, I did experience the same hesitations as you did. I've been fortunate enough to hire family but I still had many "buts...". I was scared to trust, delegate and let go. However, after a while I was able to delegate properly and my stress began to lessen. Building a team takes time, patience and practice - but it is worth it 100% and I couldn't be more proud of my team then I am now.

Trish:

Congratulations! Stay focused work hard and you will see the rewards. I would certainly recommend finding your niche within your passion. If you have a passion for the real estate industry, then go with it. There are MANY agents out there that desperately need our assistance. Some don't even know it yet! It is our job to show them the hows and whys.
I don't think you would be putting your eggs in one basket. You can focus on the real estate industry and offer a variety of services to this profession. Best of luck to you and I am always willing to bounce ideas back and forth. You can contact me at any time.

Crystal:

Thanks for your comments. Being a licensed assistant is a great way to market yourself. Having my license is my next goal and I will enrolling in phase 1 at the end of the month. I am super excited.

Tina:

I took the course offered by NAR, it was great and definitely worth looking into. Best of luck to you!

Thanks again everyone for all your comments.

I appreciate you,

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Ness, REPA
www.NessLindsay.com