Hello All,
I am new to this forum and so far I am loving this.
A little about myself:
Back in October 2010 my long term accounting position with a Computer troubleshooting company was outsourced to Mexico and my future was no longer secure.
I decided I could either sit back and feel sorry for myself or I could "put on my big girl panties" and move on. So moving on is what I did.
I took a month off to decide what my future held. That is when I decided to work for myself doing what I know and love.
I'll be honest things have not been as busy as I had hoped but I am NOT giving up.

Any and All advice is welcome.

Sincerely,
Jacki

Welcome Jacki! I am also from Toronto
I started thinking about becoming a VA since January and am now finally getting ready to launch my business. It is not as easy as I thought too. There's so much to know and so many little things to iron out before officially starting. In my opinion a lot of research about the industry helps with putting things into perspective. Joining VAF was the best thing I did because there's a wealth of info on the internet, but VAF has helped me find answers specific to my business and situations.
Good luck with this new venture!

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Malaika Nallawangsa
Quick Works | Virtual Office Assistant

Hi Jacki
Sorry to hear about your job being outsourced, but as they say where one door closes another one opens. Don't lose hope, keep on at it and I'm sure it will work out for you. I think a big part of getting new business in is getting your name out there an networking. It seems to me that referrals and word of mouth does wonders for VA business.
I wish you all the best and please keep us posted!

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Ann du Plessis
www.virtuallythere.co.za

Thank you for your most welcome replies.

Malaika, have you gotten any clients as of yet? We basically started our business around the same time and I have had only two "smaller" clients (both referrals from friends) but nothing substantial. I have started going to alot of different networking groups around the GTA. One I really get a lot from is The Toronto Power Group. (once a month)
Just wondering what you are doing to promote yourself?
Maybe being so close to one another we can network together? Just a thought :-)

Ann, where are you located? Are you in Canada or the USA? How long have you been in business?

Jacki,
I too have just started my VA business and YES... there are a lot of details that have to be done before a successfull launch off I have been getting everything together, since April 1st of this year and I'm still getting them together...lol!!! Well I wish you much success on your journey!!

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Thanks in advance, Teresa

Hi Jacki,
I am sure you are going to love being the captain of your own ship. It takes a little while get going, but you"ll do great!

Welcome to the group. I'm new too. I hope you have alot of success.

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Angela Samuels
AuthorVirtualAssistant.com

Good luck and keep hitting away at it. Ideas to ponder:
* Did you have had contacts/clients you worked with through your old company? Perhaps just a personal note to them to let them know you have set out on your own - and you are hoping they may be able to refer you. (hopefully they will have business for you AND refer you)
* Give incentives for referals
* Join local chamber of commerce
* Attend relevant events - maybe events that are not so clearly relevant - take the business cards, your b3st professional demeanor, your smile AND THEN - NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK