I've been a VA/Administrative Consultant for a few years, however I've worn many hats a long the way-- and have never really focused seriously on promoting my business and bringing on clients until the past 6 months.

Honestly, I had one client that didn't work out in the very first month and I think that really set back my confidence for a while. However, I recently updated my resume just because it had been over 5 years since it was updated, and that's when it hit me! Wow, I've done so much over the span of 25 years! Why would anyone NOT want to work with me. (this is me...building myself up!)

Everything I've ever done/handled for my client or within all my roles etc. has been mainly PR/Marketing/Social Marketing/Blogging/Research related. I've used Groove and Client Spot to collaborate and work on any projects etc. I've never actually handled traditional administrative tasks such as calendar management or email management. (for myself, of course- but not for a client)

I will be having my first consultation with a potential client next week who is looking for basic administrative help to start with. So, here it goes. This is going to sound like a crazy, very basic question. For those of you who handle such tasks for your clients on a regular basis, how do you handle calendar management? Do you first wait to see what they are using and then make suggestions of how you will share? I know if they use Google Calendar, that's simple to share, but do you typically just share calendars, or do you utilize a log me in service to manage calendars/email etc. for clients?

I know this seems so basic, but I just want to make sure I have all the right suggestions/ideas to offer this potential client when we talk about how I would manage his calendar. (And I guess I'm really just talking the technical side here....managing and updating the content and scheduling for him...is not what I'm concerned about.)

Thanks so much! Deep Breaths!

~Donnamarie
Time Saving Concepts
http://www.timesavingconcepts.com
myva@timesavingconcepts.com

I am not a pro here to answer that but here is how i would do it: i would go with his flow. U need to be prepared to follow any option he will give u and have some of your own suggestions on the side to offer. If u see him open for discusion on the matter you will suggest to use the way you feel more comfortable to work on. If you see him strict on his way you need to be ready to adjust. Most important is to feel confident that u can do the job and since u have such a backgrownd i am sure u do!

So have no fear and go get ur client!

Donnamarie,

Wait to see what the client uses. Like you stated if it is Google, no problem. I manage calendars for a couple and each is different. One we coordinate with Tungle, one I am on their exchange server and one uses Google. I also have a few clients that I have remote access to so I can just go into their computers directly.

Once you know what he/she uses you will be able to make suggestions on how to best coordinate.

__________________
Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

Lee's answer is the best for covering the most common options. If it's online, then it's easy to share or update. If they are on their own server, they'll need to give you access or allow you to log into their computer.

__________________
Kimberly
Facebook Marketing Magic!