Sally Kuhlman owns
Virtual Simplicity – "the backbone of your business" – and she's a busy and impressively productive VA living in California. Setting boundaries, however, is also important in her practice. With a background in business management and administration, Sally works with entrepreneurs; she also specializes in partnering with non-profits, providing administrative, marketing and technical support. In addition, she mentors and coaches small business owners and fellow VAs to get organized, stay focused, and create balance in their lives. Teaming up with co-author Yvonne Weld, Sally has just published an ebook entitled
Managing Your Thriving Business for Success. And her most recent achievement: nomination for the prestigious Thomas Leonard International Virtual Assistant of Distinction Award at this year's
OIVAC. Many thanks to Sally for sharing some of her secrets with us here!
Feel free to reply to this thread with any comments or questions you may have for her.
How long have you been a professional Virtual Assistant and how many hours a week do you currently devote to your practice? I have been offering virtual assistant services since 2002. I officially opened my business, Virtual Simplicity, in 2004. I devote A LOT of hours to my practice. On average, I do about 20-40 billable hours a week myself (in addition to subbing some work to other VAs) and then spend another 15+ managing my business. I work on weekends once or twice a month to get caught up on things.
How many hours a week do you devote to marketing and networking? Five or more.
What is your niche or specialty and how/why did you go in that direction with your practice? My specialty is helping people stay focused and organized. I do a lot of website and blog maintenance in addition to newsletters and other marketing and administrative support.
You market yourself as a Virtual Assistant but also as a coach. Can you please explain your functions in each role and why being a coach is an important part of your practice? As a VA I am there to support my clients, as I coach I am able to help them get focused and stay focused on their goals. The two overlap. I target my coaching business to new VAs but I often find that I am coaching my other clients. I love coaching entrepreneurs because I love to see people succeed. Sometimes just a little bit of coaching will bring someone past whatever it was that was blocking their success.
What titles (top 5) are in your personal small business library?
Get Clients Now by C.J. Hayden
Testosterone-Free Marketing by Denise Michaels
Create Your Own Future by Brian Tracy
Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
The Art of Follow Up by Jaime Lee Mann (ebook)
Do I have to stop at five? I love reading!!!
Where is your workspace located and how do you have it set up? My workspace is a small office off my bedroom. It used to be a balcony that we converted into an office. I have two big windows looking out at the trees. I have two desks, one for my computer and one for everything else. I have a nice set up of shelving and drawers from the Container Store.
Do you feel training and certification is/should be an important aspect of being a professional VA? (Why, why not?) I think training and certification can be helpful but are not necessary. I believe experience, talent and networking skills can take you far in the VA world.
Which business policies, if any, did you install in your practice after realizing the hard way they were necessary? Boundaries of my time, when I work, when I will answer the phone, when I will return phone calls and emails. It's made all the difference in the world setting boundaries! Once I got clear on what I wanted and communicated it to my clients they were very understanding. If you tell people what you need they generally respect that. When I was first in business and eager to please I let my clients walk all over me. One would even call on Sunday afternoons and weekday evenings after 9:00PM.
As a business owner in a service industry, what are your feelings about the phrase 'the customer/client is always right'? I believe the customer should always be listened to and acknowledged. When there is clear communication between client and VA, things usually go smoothly.
What do you enjoy most about owning your own business and working from home? The flexibility and being able to chose who I work with and when.
Are there any drawbacks or challenges to the lifestyle of a VA that you can think of? Working too much! It's easy to become a workaholic when you are a VA. It's important to draw boundaries between work and family time when you run a business out of your home. Just because you are there on your computer working while your kids or significant other are home doesn't mean you are actually there with them, if you know what I mean.
If so, how do you handle them/overcome them? Just like I said about setting boundaries with clients, it's also important to set boundaries with family. Let them know when you are available and when you are working. If you say you will be available for them at 4:00 PM then make sure you are.
Top three weekly industry blog reads?
http://www.mannmadetime.com/blog/
http://www.yvonneweld.com/blog/
http://jorrenco.blogspot.com/
What have you learned about yourself since starting your practice? I learned that I have very high expectations for myself and need to give myself a break sometimes.
Biggest goal for 2008? Take more time to relax and enjoy life while maintaining my successful business.
Visit
Sally's blog!
Comments from Sally's clients:
"I highly recommend Sally Kuhlman of Virtual Simplicity for a variety of reasons. Sally is intelligent, creative and honest. If you are a self employed professional, whether you have staff or not, Sally is a valuable resource. As a result of her input and insight, your business will experience increased productivity and earnings. Handling various marketing strategies for our practice has been priceless."
-Dr. Maria Merritt, Chiropractor
San Rafael, CA
"Sally Kuhlman, the owner of Virtual Simplicity is fantastic! She has helped turn around my manufacturing business. She is efficient, timely, easy to work with and a real go getter. I appreciate her urgency in my career. It is so important. I can ask her to do different tasks from being a photographer; build my Website to sending me all my reports on time to keep my business running smoothly. Hats off to Sally, she's Terrific!"
-Toni Tierney, Toni Tierney Designs
Fashion Designer / Manufacturer in Children and infant wear
Interview with Sally Kuhlman of Virtual Simplicity
Stuck in startup? Stop dreaming. Start DOING! 
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