Hi everyone!

My name is Meghan. I am a long time reader of Simple Mom (side note: I'm not even a mom and I still read her stuff. Amazing life hacks for simple living) and she posted a while back about starting a VA business. *This initially seemed like a "too good to be true" scenario and since I was working full time at the time, I brushed it off as a pipe dream. *My how time changes things. *Last October I was laid off from my job after being there for 5 years (substantial since I'm only 24) as a result of our division being relocated to Seattle. *I have been actively looking for new opportunities, but to no avail. Through my frustration, I thought back to the VA posts and have come to the conclusion that NOW is the time for me to pursue this. *I have 5 years experience as an administrative assistant supporting two national cosmetic market buyers for Nordstrom. *I loved my job and am very thankful for the knowledge I gained working there. I am*fortunate*enough to be on unemployment for the time being so I won't have to worry about not having funds while I get my business started. *I'm tired of trying to find a cookie cutter job in this market that wants to pay me $12 an hour for $20 of work. *I know my worth and I know I'm good at what I do. *I have a passion for helping and problem solving and I'm pretty darn confident that this is the right path for me. *Can't hurt to try at least. *Not to mention, I've always wanted to have my own business, I just never knew WHAT I wanted that business to be. I think it's pretty clear now.

So, here I am, trying to gather as much information as I can to get the ball rolling. I'm not going to lie, it's incredibly overwhelming. However, I'm ready for the challenge and welcome any advice and or feedback/links anyone has for getting started.

Thanks for your time!
Meg

Not sure why there's so many ***. My iPhone hates me haha

Welcome Meg,

You could start by getting VAF's very own Virtual Assistant's Business Guide. I have reviewed it and it is worth every penny.

My biggest advice though is take your time, make sure you do it right from the beginning to save yourself time and money. I would start by contacting you UI Office to see if they have any programs that allow you to start a business while being on unemployment. Also contact your state and local government to see what is required for business licensing.

Score and the SBA are two other wonderful resources to help you get your business up and running. I do not know about your area but in Pittsburgh several of the colleges also offer programs designed to help the small business owner so check out some of your local colleges too. Many of them charge per workshop or event so the cost is what you make it.

And my final piece of advice, get a mentor. By having a mentor it will allow you to have someone to talk things through and who has been there.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

Everything Lee suggests is a great start! I also recommend www.choosewhat.com as a great comprehensive checklist for starting any business. I also recommend going through VAF and taking notes - LOTS of notes! We're glad you found us and look forward to getting to know you better.

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

Thank you both! I have been taking all kinds of notes since being referred to this site. Information overload! As far as finding a mentor goes, what is the best way to go about doing that? Post and see who is interested?? Also, I checked out that choosewhat website a couple days ago. Very good information, especially for getting the ball rolling on the legal side of things. I need to get a name but am having commitment issues. Thanks again to you both for the advice!!

Meg

Welcome Mehgan,

Thank you for posting to the new member section, the info posted by other members has helped me as well - I just checked out and saved choosewhat website to add to my things to do list to review next week. This VAF website does have a lot of info and when I get on here I have so many notes with helpful info. I love it.

Much Success

Tiffany

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Etc Assistant

Hi Meghan, did you really type all of that on your phone?! Now that is some serious dedication

Welcome to the community and congratulations on deciding to jump forward with starting your virtual assistant business. I'll look forward to seeing you around the boards and hearing more about your experience with starting up your new business.

Here's to your success!

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Haha yes Tess, I did. I have since purchased a desktop though. MUCH easier. Thanks for the kind words