Greetings everyone! I am new to this Virtual Assistant website and would appreciate any and all helpful hints on getting going with my Virtual Bookkeeping business. I have been building up myself for the past five years to do this and now that I have all the necessary equipment and knowledge (which I know there is so much more to learn) and thought I was ready; until I started trying to get some clients. I only have a couple but would like more. Eventually, I would love to just stay home everyday and work! Having four kids here during the summer can be a challenge but I have been doing this for a long time so it's nothing new to me! Also, going to school online for the past several years has taught me how to be extremely organized and make the most of my time but now it's time to get out there and market, market, market!! Any suggestions? All will be welcome! Thanx!

Rachelle

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Rachelle Muller
Virtual Bookkeeper

Hello Rachelle,

Welcome! Congratulations to you on getting your business up and going.

Marketing always begins with a plan so it is imperative that you know who your target customer will be. Are you marketing to attorneys, e-commerce, coaches, real estate agents, etc.? This will determine where you need to market your services and how you will do this.

Think about social networking for starters. Do you have a blog? This is a great way to get the word out about your expertise in the business services you will provide.

VAF offers an entire category devoted to Promoting Your Virtual Assistance Practice.

Take a look and if you have any questions or comments, please post back and we'll gladly help you.

Regards,

Janine

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WRITE FAB RFP PROPOSALS & land THE VA job. WinningRFP unveils soon! SignUp www.WinningRFP.com

Hello and welcome to the forums Rachelle
I think you'll find that most new VAs in any niche face the same challenge - finding ideal clients to work with over the long term.

My best suggestion is always this: if you plan to work 4 billable hours per weekday with clients but are only working 1 right now (or, whatever those numbers are) you should be spending the balance of that time on marketing your practice, seeking out clients, networking locally, etc. etc. until your client schedule is full. And then you should continue with a minimum of one hour every day toward marketing/networking efforts to keep the stream of new prospective clients coming in.

Janine sent you to a great resource on the boards, be sure to check it out. There's also a niche forum devoted to Virtual Bookkeepers so you might want to jump in there as well.

Wishing you success!

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Welcom to the site. I'm just starting out as well, and getting clients can seem like a daunting task. Try talking to some Accountants, I recently spoke to a friend who works as an accountant, and she said she has many clients who need bookkeeping services that her office doesn't have the time to take care of, and she plans to forward this business to me.

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Jaime Yerbury

Welcome, Rachelle,

Definitely head over to the Virtual Bookkeepers thread! Lots of GREAT information there.

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Leona Martin
A Plus Admin Services

to the forum! I agree with Tess. Visit the Virtual Bookkeepers forum category. You will find lots of useful information to help you start your VA business.

Wishing you the best!

Lynn

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Lynn Mallory
AM/PM Virtual Office Assistants, LLC

My best suggestion is to comb the forum for lots of 'tried and true' ideas from successful VAs. And, I think the marketing and social media articles in TVE Magazine might be of use to you, as well.

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

Tess

I love that! So many think that once they have clients that's the end of the marketing. I know I did that too for a while and then when a client didn't renew their retainer I was like in a panic. I love the setting aside time each day to marketing.

What helps me too is to plan what I'm going to do in that time before it happens. What I found I'd often do is use that time to market, but by the time I actually got down to marketing I had 5 minutes left.

Also, I found what helps is to constantly be building on the marketing that you are doing. Say you are sending out articles and press releases, constantly build your database of places to submit to so each time you have more quality sites.

Thanks!

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Diana Ennen, www.VirtualWordPublishing.com
Author of Virtual Assistant the Series 4th edition

Originally Posted by JYerbury

Welcom to the site. I'm just starting out as well, and getting clients can seem like a daunting task. Try talking to some Accountants, I recently spoke to a friend who works as an accountant, and she said she has many clients who need bookkeeping services that her office doesn't have the time to take care of, and she plans to forward this business to me.

Funny thing is is that I am also an Accountant! I have only 2 classes left before I obtain my MBA in Accounting and then study for my CPA of which I WILL pass the first time! My problem is the marketing aspect. I really do not know how to go about doing it. I don't have a blog set up and I really don't know where to start. I have some blog sites that I can set one up and I also have many press release sites that I can do the press release thing (of which I did but to no avail) so I don't really know about that either. I guess I am just not the marketing guru I need to be. I would really like some tips on marketing and other related materials. I have gotten some good info in these threads of which I will definitely take the time to look at and maybe something will strike me in the head and it will all seem so clear! haha!! I am hopinig anyhow! Thanx for all the support!!

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Rachelle Muller
Virtual Bookkeeper

Originally Posted by DianaEnnen

Tess I love that! So many think that once they have clients that's the end of the marketing. I know I did that too for a while and then when a client didn't renew their retainer I was like in a panic. I love the setting aside time each day to marketing. What helps me too is to plan what I'm going to do in that time before it happens. What I found I'd often do is use that time to market, but by the time I actually got down to marketing I had 5 minutes left. Also, I found what helps is to constantly be building on the marketing that you are doing. Say you are sending out articles and press releases, constantly build your database of places to submit to so each time you have more quality sites. Thanks!

You know, I have several press releases sites of which I have tried once to put my press release on them but to no avail. I am a very good writer and can whip up some extraordinary articles and letters but maybe I am going about this the wrong way. Marketing has really not been my strong point but I have gotten a lot of good ideas here! thanx to all!

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Rachelle Muller
Virtual Bookkeeper