I have recently been researching online collaboration tools for Net Secretary. There are quite a few out there from very simple to very sophisticated with a broad range of services. The prices for these tools vary from free to jaw droppingly expensive. Online collaboration tools are great for Virtual Assistant businesses, especially when collaborating and sharing with your team (as Net Secretary does). They are also a great way to help risk proof your business, as contact details, current projects etc can all be uploaded to the collaboration tool for everyone to access. Therefore if I am away, on holidays or sick, my team can action items in my absence.

One tool which I am trialling is Airset.  This collaboration tool is currently free and so far it looks like it has everything I need. I can log messages to my team there, upload files and documents we are working on, add contact details of clients, and other features which I haven’t yet fully explored. All of these features are for the eyes of my team only and are in a secure environment that is password protected and encrypted.

I’m not at the stage where I need a portal for clients to login also but this may be something I look at down the track. For now, I think Airset will work well for Net Secretary’s team and enable us to be that little bit more efficient.

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I pride myself on being a technology savvy Virtual Assistant and a bit of a ‘tech head’. I’m pretty good at nutting out most problems with my PC software and helping others with their software issues. However, there is one problem with my Microsoft Outlook 2007 that has got me stumped and has been occurring since I bought my new Dell laptop last year. It freezes at will, shut downs, restarts, comes up with an annoying "The document template is not valid" whenever I try to open an email or an appointment. I also do not have an address book – I cannot link the file to my Contacts to get this happening. I have done some research and I realise it is a compatibility issue when upgrading from 2003 to 2007 or transferring 2003 files to 2007 (which I have done). The ‘fixes’ they suggest have not worked.

So I duly called Dell to see what they could do and to my surprise, I was told I only had the hardware warranty, not the software warranty. So $82 later, I now have the 12 month software warranty helpdesk support. This was something I omitted to look at when I purchased my new PC, perhaps arrogantly thinking I could handle any issues myself. It is a timely reminder that small business should have a software support plan in place, whether it be your partner who is an IT expert, a reliable accessible friend or family member who is expert in IT issues or a paid for helpdesk service, of which there are many around.

Dell were extremely helpful when I previously had issues with my PC not connecting to the Internet and dropping out. They fixed it remotely from Malaysia or wherever they are and because I purchased my system from them, they have all my details on file and I feel confident they can provide me with the support I require (hopefully infrequently!). Virtual Helpdesk Assistants helping a Virtual Assistant!

Now I just have to get around to calling them back to get this darn Outlook problem fixed …

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When I moved into my new office premises in January of this year, I was no longer the traditional Virtual Assistant who worked from their home office. It was a quandary – did I still call myself a Virtual Assistant, a secretarial service, an admin support business or something else? I have decided to stick with the term Virtual Assistant as I feel it describes what I still do as the majority of my work. 

I am also local computer and office support for individuals and businesses in my area, but I also service them virtually, so I believe the term is still relevant. As I see it, I am merely adding another facet to my business by having a shopfront that people can come and physically meet me or hand over work. I still perform the work virtually (I don’t do onsite work) and in most cases can return the completed job via email. I think I have the best of both worlds.

Does anyone have any suggestions of titles to describe what I do? Perhaps Virtual and Personal Assistant (VAPA)?

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I’ve had my blog site redesigned to look like Net Secretary’s website so visitors don’t think they’ve left the site (which they haven’t!). What do you think? I am thrilled with it. It is much easier to use, write and post blogs plus I have lots of new widgets and existing features from the website in the sidebars. There is even a handy Skype widget in the right hand column (you might need to scroll down) which tells visitors whether I’m online or not and they can Skype me.

It’s good to refresh the look of one’s website every once in a while and the blog was something I’ve been meaning to do for a while, so I’m glad I got around to it!

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I wanted to share a really worthwhile tip for achieving extra exposure for your virtual assistant business and setting yourself up as an ‘expert’ in your field. I write a regular monthly column for my local community newspaper called ‘Know How by Net Secretary’. In it I share computer tips, tricks, interesting websites or a shortcut to doing something on your computer. This has helped to increase my customer mailing list as I always put a link to my website at the end of each of my articles. It also has increased Net Secretary’s visibility in the local community as many people enjoy the tips and recognise that Net Secretary brought it to them. I volunteer my time to write this monthly column but the extra exposure and recognition and goodwill it brings to my business is invaluable. So if you’re a Virtual Assistant, this is a great way to bring you back to grassroots in your local community or town and increase awareness of your brand.

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Bookkeeping services were not something that Net Secretary offered previously, although a lot of virtual assistants do. I had previously not had formal training in bookkeeping and to be frank, it’s not really an area I was greatly interested in, having disliked Accounting at high school. However, times do change and the first inkling of change was getting my own books into a different bookkeeping system, having out grown the Tax Office’s E-record. Also, a local client approached me to do his books in Quickbooks, among other secretarial services for him. So that is the programme I have chosen to go with.

I am currently completing a bookkeeping course so that I have the basic knowledge behind it all. The Quickbooks programme itself is easy to pick up.

So there you have it, another virtual assistant service added to Net Secretary’s already wide range of services.

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I was recently interviewed by a journalist from my local regional newspaper about being a Virtual Assistant and IVAD (International Virtual Assistants Day). This was in response to a press release I had faxed to the newspaper a couple of days earlier. I was really thrilled to be speaking to this journalist because I have never received media coverage of any kind for Net Secretary and it was a great way to educate her about what Virtual Assistants do and how I got to be one and why. The journalist was extremely interested in the ‘how’ and couldn’t quite believe I do work for clients, some of whom I have never met. I think the key to getting good media coverage is to have a newsworthy angle that the publication is interested in. In my case, I played up the ‘local’ virtual assistant angle working in an international or global industry while still achieving work/life balance.

I have yet to see the story published in the local newspaper (I thought it may have been in on Friday) but I shall keep an eye out for it and post a link here when it is published.

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For the third year in a row, I will be celebrating with over 50,000 other Virtual Assistants the 3rd Annual International Virtual Assistants Day (IVAD) on Friday, 16 May 2008. On this day, VA’s celebrate individual accomplishments and the important contributions we make to the growth and stability of small businesses everywhere. According to the Alliance for Virtual Businesses, some 90 per cent of VA’s are highly-skilled working mothers who choose to start their own businesses to achieve a better work/life balance. My situation is no different. I started this new career in October 2004 to spend more time with my son, achieve better work/life balance, feel like I am making a difference to clients lives and achieve personal satisfaction from seeing the direct results of my labour. I feel that I have achieved all of this and more. My client list has increased 400% since then, I now have a shopfront in the main street of my town, I have an assistant, and I have won a Highly Recommended in the Australian Achievers Awards. I love what I do and couldn’t imagine being or doing anything else.

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