Hi All,

I've been struggling the past couple of weeks with getting my website up and running. The problem hasn't necessarily been the design...it's been the services. So many people know me as a person who just...well...get's things done; whatever it may be. So now in starting my own business, I'm having a hard time narrowing things down and really wanted some advice. My largest area is HR. I'm an HR student and am graduating this Spring. However, I've listed out off of the things I can and am willing to do. Thanks for the help in advance.

Human Resources/Human Capital Management Assistance

Recruitment/Retention:
Competitive Advantage Research
Contact Organization
Resume Screening
Rubric Development Assistance
Job Descriptions
Job Fair Planning
Interview Scheduling
Reference Review
Application Packets
Advertisement Placement
Online/Newspaper Job Postings
Social Networking (Facebook/MySpace)

Onboarding:
Orientation Planning
New Hire Packet Preparation
Staff Handbook Preparation


Training and Development:
Training Materials Preparation
Pre/Post Training Evaluations
Analysis Report Preparation
Performance Evaluation Rubric Development


Other Small Business HR:
Internal Policy Review*
Diversity Management*
Staff Manuals & Handbook Preparation
Research (Team Building, Diversity, etc.)




General Administrative Services

PowerPoint Presentations
Spreadsheets
Order Equipment or Supplies
Proofreading
Mass Mailings
Brochures/Flyers
Customer Relations
Form Creation

Project Administration Assistance
Calendar & Task Management
Contact Organization
Document Management
Research

Personal Assistant Services
Vacation Planning & Travel Arrangements
Party Planning & Ideas (Family Gatherings, Birthdays, and other family events)
Photo Album Organization
Appointment Scheduling


Event Planning
Site Location
Invitations
Vendor Management
On-Site Assistance (Limited to the day of the event. Washington Metropolitan Area ONLY)

Gia,

It looks to me like you have your "Services" page done! This is a very nice categorization of the skills you are offering.

Lezly

Thanks Lezly,

I wasn't sure whether to post this there or here since I'm trying to figure out my target market...I don't know if I should go down the event planning road or not. I'm just really confused.

Hi Gia!

I agree with Lezly! You have a nicely defined services page! I would go with those services if that's what your niche is. If you're offering more than what's listed, you could provide a more generalized category and state that you offer more than what's listed. So, it would be a way for prospective clients to call/email you to inquire further.

Try not to get hung up on specifics. As you build your clientele, you'll find that you enjoy doing one thing more than the other. It will allow you to be more selective in offering service that YOU want to provide--not what former employers expected you to do. Scan some VA web pages like I did. I kept a list of services that I wanted to provide and made sure to exclude things I don't enjoy doing at all.

You'll find that as you keep your options open from the beginning and you target a certain audience, you'll wind up offering services you love and it will be a win-win situation!

Hope that helps!

Hi Gia;

I was classified similar to you having been in a sales operations support role - that's what we did - get it done regardless of who's area or what it was.

When I created my site - I went the opposite way and at first did not list specific services. After four months now, I am going in reverse - identifying what I don't like and don't want to offer.

As it is your business you can either list what you have; which by the way is a great list of services or you can list only those that you ideally want to do with a line stating others services available.

Probably didn't help much, but you are on your way to a great start. Good luck - let us know what you decide.

I am similar in my large list of services, except my specialty is PR and marketing. I found that is fine to list on the website and even printed up a 2-sided 'services card' that I handed out with my business card. The key in having a wide variety of services is how you pitch yourself. You don't want to confuse your audience as to what you are since VA's are still a growing and fairly new industry. When I networking the leads meetings, etc. I try to make my message very clear on what it is I can do in general and then network and set free consultation meetings to show specifically how I can help and individual business owner or busy professional.

Originally Posted by Kathya

Try not to get hung up on specifics. As you build your clientele, you'll find that you enjoy doing one thing more than the other. It will allow you to be more selective in offering service that YOU want to provide--not what former employers expected you to do. Scan some VA web pages like I did. I kept a list of services that I wanted to provide and made sure to exclude things I don't enjoy doing at all. You'll find that as you keep your options open from the beginning and you target a certain audience, you'll wind up offering services you love and it will be a win-win situation! Hope that helps!

It is wonderful that you are so versatile. Every client you meet will want something different and as time goes on, you can decide what you want to offer.

I agree with the others that the list you have is a great starting point. Especially if those are the services you like doing the most.

As a note, the term "Virtual Assistant" has been around for many years. Some VA's on here have been doing it for more than 10+ years. I can't find the thread this subject was discussed on but hopefully Lily will visit this one and let you know about how long VA's have been around.

Good luck and do let us know how your list finally comes out

Andrea~

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Andrea Jackson
http://www.connecthim.com

Thanks so much for all of your help everyone!

I was sitting here working on my list and had filled up a page and was thinking wow this is too much... but now I am thinking I don't offer enough after seeing your list. Wow.. You have some serious skills.

I have signed up for a quickbooks class at the community college to see if this is something I want to offer. I also am going to go and take some free SBA classes to update my skills... (being unemployed, I am trying to do things to keep my skills fresh until I get my career off of the drawing board).

I agree with everyone that said you should put a statement that this is not a complete list of everything you can do. Hopefully people will call you to check to see if you can handle something that you did not list.

good luck...

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Tamera
“Let me manage the daily tasks for you.”