I’m sorry to tell you this, but some unpleasant and unexpected events are likely to take place during your freelance career. To help you anticipate what these events could be and to prevent them from impacting your business, I’ve created a disaster recovery exercise so you can implement steps and future-proof your business against every eventuality.
One of the most popular questions asked by members of my VA Handbookers Facebook group is which laptop they should buy. Because I thought it would be easier to have a source to point people to when they asked this question, below is a comprehensive list of all the things you should consider when choosing a laptop for your VA business.
In my blog post on how to choose a laptop for your Virtual Assistant business, I mention that I use a Chromebook in conjunction with a “regular” Windows laptop to run my business. This interested quite a few of my readers so I thought I’d tell you more about Chromebooks and how they work so you can decide if they are something you’d like to use as well.
Many people have told me that they thought they needed to get an office or have a ‘proper’ desk set up before they could be a freelancer, so I want to show you that this is complete and utter nonsense. Virtual Assistants can work from anywhere they like and you shouldn’t let the lack of an office prevent you from setting up your business.
When I’m trying to talk a client through a task it always helps if I can either see what they’re looking at on their screen or they can see what’s on mine so I can show them what to do. A really easy way to do this is to use the free screen-sharing facility on Skype.
If you’re a Virtual Assistant who charges by the hour then you’ll need a way of recording your time. Clients need to know they’re paying solely for the time you spend on their task, and it kinda helps if you know how much to bill them for! If you charge by the project then you probably won’t need a time tracker, but if you charge an hourly rate then you will.
Effectively and efficiently managing email accounts is a vital skill for any Virtual Assistant. From the multitude of emails you personally receive to the ones for and from your clients, if you know how to firmly take control of all the different accounts and emails, you’ll not only be a better VA, but your clients will adore you.
