Online networking is definitely something I would encourage you to do. Its the ONLY way I have promoted my business and it works!

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Alyssa Avant
http://alyssaavant.com

Hi Fiona,

I see you are based in Australia. Tough we all have similar issues and questions along the way, sometimes those problems are different according to where in the world we live. I would suggest you also join the group VAIG ... Virtual Assistant International Group. It's a Yahoo group run by Kathie Thomas of A Clayton's secretary. Kathie is a veteran VA based in Australia and many of the members are Aussie. Perhaps introducing yourself there and asking questions will help you with Australian demographics.

But don't go away and keep us posted! VA Forum is the best on the net!

Good luck.

Lynne

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The Wordpro Wizard
www.wordprowizard.com

Hello Fiona...I hope things have gotten a bit better by now. Everyone here has said some great stuff. I have been trying to figure out how I will be able to get what I need done for my business while I continue to work full time, keeping up with my teen, etc.

Some ideas that I have had are:

Dedicate one day a week to just working on starting my VA business. (already mentioned)
Setting up pages on various social networking sites, aside from the usual like, MySpace, face book, and twitter.
Keeping fliers and business cards on me at all times.
I even talk to the parents of my daughter because some have their own businesses and can use me.
Some cities have calendars or event sites and I use them to post what I am working on.
Blog Talk Radio is an internet radio site where you can start your own show for free, I thought it may be beneficial to not only start a show on there but also reach out to other hosts and see if I can get onto their show to talk about my business.
There are free conference call numbers that may be helpful for you and enable you to reach out to more people.
Creating webinars for your business could be helpful as well.

I am convinced that everything I need is right at my fingertips; I just have to look at it differently.

Hopefully something I have mentioned will help. And thanks to everyone who responded, your advice has helped me as well.

I also work full time, have a preteen daughter and am in the start-up phase of my VA business. It's definitely a challenge. I joined my local Chamber of Commerce and attended my first Business After Hours networking event last week and handed out business cards and brochures. I've already received a call from a local business owner who I met there. They hold these events once a month and they seem to be well worth time invested.

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Carol Aldridge
www.ProgressiveBusinessSolutions.net

Originally Posted by MarindasBookkeepingServices

That magnet idea is a good one. And I know that Vista offers one for free and you only have to pay for shipping.

I saw free sign from vista also. I was thinking about ordering one myself. Thanks for letting us know that they can work.

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Teressa@Reese Virtual Assistant
www.reeseva.com