A longtime member of the Virtual Assistant Forums, Bette is from Ontario, Canada. She describes herself as a 'generalist,' but her skills in client services, marketing, and administration are outstanding, and she's even increased her business to the point of hiring assistants. Congratulations on your success, Bette, and many thanks for sharing your thoughts with us here.
Please feel free to comment or respond to Bette within this thread.
Tell us how you got started as a VA.
I telecommuted for one of my corporate jobs as a Marketing Assistant. So when my last child was born, I knew that I needed to work from home to be closer to my children. Since I had already been working virtually I knew there must be a market for it. So I researched the term “virtual assistant” and decided to take my corporate experience and help small business owners in their back-office needs.
What are your specialties, and how did you come to focus on those areas?
I consider myself a generalist, and I don’t really have a niche market that I market to. My corporate world background is in sales and marketing. I found that many business owners did not have a regular client service system in place to keep in touch with clients and prospects. I would say that my specialties are follow-up calls, scheduling appointments with their clients, event planning, e-newsletters, and editing of documents for print.
In what ways has your business changed since you started it?
My business has changed in the sense that originally I was only marketing my services locally, where now I market globally through the internet.
What's your favorite thing about being a VA? Your least favorite?
My favourite thing is being creative and resourceful and then sharing those resources with my clients. I would have to say the least favourite is bookkeeping and collecting from clients.
From your website, it appears that you work with a team of VAs. Please tell us about that aspect of your business.
I do have a team in place that I call upon when I need help with projects. I was able to take a weeks vacation this summer without a computer, and yet my clients were still being looked after in my absence because of the systems that I put in place.
What types of clients do you like the best?
My favourite types of clients are the overachievers, the ones that need help in their business and are able to delegate and trust another person to get the job done. I prefer clients that are open to ideas and trying new things, especially if what they are doing is not currently working.
What advice do you have for us regarding client relations in general?
Communication is very important! Make sure that all parties know what is going on at all times. Also, have your systems in place before you get too busy and then are too overwhelmed to do anything about it.
Please share your overall experience in locating clientele. Where do you find new clients? What's your favorite way to market Ash Business Services?
Most of my clients have come from local networking groups that I have attended. I’m finding that now my clients are coming through referrals of previous clients. I have a monthly newsletter as well, and I have been very fortunate in attracting new clients as well.
What's it like balancing work and family life? You have three growing children …
Yes, I have three children, who still require a great deal of my attention. I balance my work and family by working around their schedule. That’s the great part about having a back-up team, because I am able to ask for help when I need to focus on my family and yet meet a business deadline.
So far, what would you say has been your greatest success as a VA? What has been an 'opportunity for growth' (i.e., blunder that you made, and learned from)?
My greatest success as a VA has been growing my business, and giving outstanding service to the point where I am getting referrals from my clients. My biggest blunder would have been not having a previous client sign a contract before the project started.
Do you have favorite software or other tools you'd like to recommend? What's your most used office tool?
My most used to tool would have to be
www.myhours.com. It’s been phenomenal in tracking my time and generating reports for my clients, so that they know how I spend my time.
What's your office set-up like? What bit of equipment or other business gear are you presently hankering for?
I recently did a blog post about my office. You can read about it here
http://bettecreek.blogspot.com/2008/...ew-office.html The one thing I have been wanting is an ergonomic chair, because I spend many hours sitting down at my desk.
What new skill(s) have you recently acquired, or are you now seeking to acquire?
I’m currently learning how to design Wordpress Websites so that I can offer it as a service in my business.
Where would you like to be with your business a few years from now?
A few years from now I would like to be offering a wide range of services, so that my clients don’t have to look far for their business needs.
Any 'outside' interests you'd care to mention? Not that you have much free time.
I enjoy scrapbooking. It’s the creative side of me I guess. I also enjoy spending time with my family.
What keeps you getting up in the mornings?
My children and my business, without one I wouldn’t have the other.
What words of advice would you give to anyone starting out as a VA?
Make sure you have your processes in place and organized before you get started. Make sure you have a contract for each client that signs with your company.
If money were no object, what would you do with your time?
Probably the same things that I am doing now, sprinkled in there with more traveling. I’d probably volunteer more of my time too. I currently volunteer on the Parent Council at my children’s school, as well as extracurricular activities that they are a part of. There are many charities that desperately need volunteers. I want to teach my children that we are very blessed with abundance that others don’t have.
Some of Bette's client testimonials:
"Bette is a real time and lifesaver. With Bette's help I now have my taxes complete on time, my office is organized and I'm up to date on all of my bills. It feels good to have my family life organized and have fun with my family! Thanks so much Bette."
- Tracy Kyne
"ASH Business Services has been great in helping me getting my business image together! Bette is very professional, hard working and dedicated to doing a great job. She has been a great asset to my company and I would highly recommend her Virtual Assistant Services."
- Small Business Bookkeeping
Be sure to visit Bette's website at
www.ashbusinessservices.com.
Interview with Bette Creek of Ash Business Services
Stuck in startup? Stop dreaming. Start DOING! 
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