D_Victoria_Virtual_Assistance

We've all heard the expression, "You've come to a fork in the road." This usually symbolizes a choice you need to make. Do you go right or veer left?

As the owner of your business, you will be faced with many different forks in the road. Decisions that you will need to make; some will be easy and others will be extremely hard. One such decision you may face, is the decision to raise your rates.

The decision to raise your rates can come with a multitude of emotions: excitement, fear and even self-doubt.

The best way to face a tough decision such as this is to look at it from all sides. Then, ask yourself some key questions.

Let's say you have determined that your rates are...

This isn't going to be a long post, I am going to get right to the point today. I wanted to share a few simple words of encouragement, words I like to call, "The Ladder Philosophy".

When you feel as though you will never reach the top of the ladder you are climbing to get to where you want to be; instead of looking up at the long path ahead, look down to see how far you've actually come.

Rock on.

This month's VAF blogging challenge question is:

How has being a member of VAF made an impact on you and your business?

To put it simply, VAF is one of the reasons my business is here today. You see, early on in my search for independence (ie: becoming an entrepreneur), I stumbled upon Virtual Assistant Forums and several other Virtual Assistant forums as well. The VAF stood out to me because not only was it is a forum, it felt more like a community rather than a place to just post questions and look for answers.

Community is important to me. When I first arrived here at the VAF, I was a little scared, very excited and very wet behind the ears. What made an impact on me the most, was the fact that...

Having a brand new website is a lot like having a new car. Everything about it is exciting, the colors, the style and what's under the hood. And you can't wait to get the car out on the road to see it's true potential. The big difference between having a new website and having a new car is the direction of traffic. With your new car, you are usually driving from one destination to the next. With your new website, you want to drive traffic to your site and very rarely (if ever) away.

With that in mind, here are some tips on how to drive traffic to your website or blog. In fact, I have used many of these methods for driving traffic to my website or to clients' websites.

1. Use video - create and post videos on...

As a teenager, I dreamed of being a writer. Many evenings were spent writing stories, plays and poems. My stories ranged from downright silly, a play where the main characters met New Kids on the Block, my idols of the time. To serious, a dancer who was in a terrible car accident and lost her ability to walk. The story followed her through waking up from a coma, to being rehabilitated, falling in love with her physical therapist and finally, dancing once again.

I was determined to be a writer and in high school I took journalism and creative writing classes. It was during this time though, that my dream slipped away.

I wrote a story for my creative writing class and mustered up my confidence, walked up to my...