My name is Novella Robinson b.k.a Novie....I am truly an newbie not just to this site but starting my business....I have plenty of admin experience from assisting with the starting of an trucking company(i had no idea about this but jjummp in with two feet to help a friend) to assisting with starting up two churches in atl. and plenty of other projects....I have a passion for helping people fulfill their destiny hence the name"Doing Business With Dystiny) I am currently in the Start Up phrase and truly consider this website to be a Godsent......my priary aim is to help est. small business companies with all their needs......I also want to do an answering service and customer service/support......any feed back I mean any feedback would be greatly appreciated... I currently reside in columbus ohio....work a fulltime job.....also in the process of having a book edited and working on relaunching my show"Novies Corner" on blogtalk radio and youtube................I super excited in case you cant tell but also a bit overwhelmed...I am an bit of an perfectionist....and this is a lot of information to take in....you will be hearing from me a lot

I'm glad you found us and look forward to getting to know you better.

Ummm... feedback... you should treat this forum as if it was an extension of your website. Check for typos, make solid sentences, etc. Many potential clients search forums such as this one to get a sense of who they may be dealing with in the future.

Let us know what other questions we can answer for you and good luck!

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

Welcome to the forum Novella! The first thing I would do is to browse the forum as you'll find lots of advice and resources that will help get you started. You can learn a lot from other VA's and avoid the same mistakes that have been made as well as finding out best client practices, software to use etc.

Lily is right when she says about seeing the forum as an extension of your website and business as our posts do come up on search engines and potential clients can view them also so it is important to make an impression even when we're just chatting.

Do you have a website yet? If not, check out that section of the forum for recommended hosting and you can even submit your site to be reviewed by members. You'll find that the majority of forum members are willing to lend a hand for whatever you need. Good luck with your business!

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Sabrina L. Williams
For a bird's eye view of your business

Hi Novella! Welcome! You will be amazed and happy you've come across this forum. It will help you reach your goals much faster.

I 2nd & 3rd what Lily & Sabrina said about presenting yourself on the forums. I'd like to add just a couple of things to that as well. As soon as you can, be sure to setup your profile and create a signature. I'd also like to mention that, not only client's peruse these forums, but so do other VA's. At some point you may decide you would like to sub-contract to someone, and they will likely look through your posts first to get an idea of your character, skills, and knowledge in general.

Again - welcome and may you reach all your goals & dreams in 2012! It's going to be a great year!

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Pam Blackman - The Process Coach
Get more done in less time by streamlining!

Welcome to the community Novie
You've received some excellent advice already. I'd only like to add that one way to combat the overwhelm is to start a notebook and take notes as you're reading through the forums. When you come across something you'll need or want to implement or further research for your own business, write it down.

As you continue reading through and taking in information you'll find you have a nice action plan to work from to help get your business off the ground.

Looking forward to seeing you around the boards!

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Ladies,

Thank you so much for your feedback, I must admit I was a bit embarrassed when I reread my post and noticed all the typos, I guess I was so excited that I just typed without reading.

I want to thank you all for all the vital and sincere recommendations and information that has been provided on this site, I think Im addicted because, I spend hours literally hours on this site especially since I was recently laid off and decided that it is time for me to go ahead an launch out in the deep.....

Ummmm...Dystiny. Still might need to work a little on the punctuation. You have all commas and no periods above.

We want you to succeed! So I sure hope you don't mind the feedback and please don't be at all embarrassed. This is the safe place to get that feedback, AND the Lord knows I've been there before! In fact, I've edited this post 3 times now.

You sound a lot like me, in that you say your are a perfectionist, so I would imagine that you may appreciate getting the feedback. I know I appreciate it when people catch my stuff. For instance, don't you just hate it when you've been talking to somebody for 20 minutes - and the whole time you've had eyeliner smeared across your face - and they just let you keep walking around like that?!

I can also tell the excitement, and in some of your other posts, I can see a little anxiousness. All totally understandable! All of us have been there at some point or the other. So, if you can, just take a few deep breaths and know it will all work out as it is meant to. If you just walk it out, enjoy the ride, and don't get too ahead of yourself this will be an AMAZING journey for you.

You're gonna do great!!!

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Pam Blackman - The Process Coach
Get more done in less time by streamlining!