Hello all,
I came across this site a few days ago and think it is just great. I am still in the planning stages of my business but can't wait to get up and going as a VA. I've been a full time Admin for 10 years now and am very excited about this new cross-road.
If anyone has any words of advise or wisdom I would LOVE to hear from you. There are always all those questions when adventuring into something new like this (i.e. how do we get paid for our services, where is a good starting point for advertising, etc...).
Many thanks and I look forward to our virtual friendships!
Caroline

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Caroline Fraser

Hi Caroline, welcome to the community You've found a wonderful resource of information, but even more than that there is this amazing network of fellow virtual assistants.

Make yourself at home and don't be shy about sharing your questions and comments on the boards.

As far as words of wisdom, my best advice is to treat your business as if it's already very much established. That is, if you plan on devoting 4 billable hours a day to clients, and 2 non-billable hours to your own business - start now, utilize ALL six hours (or however many it is for you), every weekday. Spend the time getting your contracts in order, creating policies, determining your target market, etc.

You'll be amazed at how far this approach will take you.

Wishing you much success!

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Hi Caroline,

I am not nearly established but I cannot agree more with Tess. I was in the research phase for a long time and this forum is an incredible resource and I am already beginning to make friends as well as get advise from it, invaluable! Once I decided to get my business up and running I gave myself a bit of additional time before my 'launch' to get used to what I wanted my new schedule to be and to get my family and friends used to it too!!! It soon became clear that this had been a very good idea because not only did it allow me to self discipline (I'm sure you don't need me rattling on about working from home being a very different feeling to going to the office) but more importantly in my case it gave me a chance to set up some boundaries with my family and friends that I didn't even know needed to exist.

Good luck with your new venture!

Amy

Thank you ladies for all your words of wisdom. Trust me, any little bit can help especially for a totally new adventure like this.

Merci beaucoup once again

Caroline

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Caroline Fraser

Welcome Caroline!

This is a great place to ask questions and find answers.

Look around the forum first because there's lots of information out here that may already answer your questions.

Look forward to seeing you around!

Mimi

Hi Caroline
I am from Ontario, Canada as well!!

I'll be launching my new business soon and I am very excited and I look forward to communicating with you as well to see how you're business is coming along!

Good luck

Mary

Hi Caroline! Welcome and congratulations on starting your business.

Like Mary I am also in Ontario.

You've gotten lots of great advice.

Words of Wisdom I could add? When you setup your first website you want to put yourself into the shoes of your ideal client and create your content around their needs, not yours. Ask yourself - what do they need? what questions will they have? what kind of businesses do they have and how can you help them?

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