Davis Virtual Assistants

Good morning!

Today’s edition of What Would Lori Do? has your name written all over it if you’re thinking of launching your own Virtual Assistant business. If you’ve been doing your research, you know just how tough living and breathing the “virtual lifestyle” is, and more important how dramatically different it is from working in Corporate Cubicle Monkey Land.

If you really want your own VA business, you need to stuff that gorgeous brain of yours with best practices, virtual tools of the trade, and lots of hardcore and time-tested information. You need to buddy up with someone who’s going through what you’re going through, plus you need to get advice, support and mentoring from a very successful Virtual Assistant. You need to learn how to market yourself and your business, as well as acquire those skills which business owners need to outsource.

What Would Lori Do? Well, I’ll tell ya! I would consider becoming an apprentice to another Virtual Assistant who’s been in business for a significant amount of time. I would investigate DavisVA.com’s Virtual Assistant Apprentice program and see if it’s a good fit for me, my style and my budget. I would set my plans in motion and not wait for tomorrow …

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda? I don’t think so, campers. When you want something, you don’t put off until next Friday, next month, or the new year. You start right here and right now, and move forward. You investigate my Virtual Assistant Mastermind offerings, and determine if what I bring to the table matches up with what you need. You contact me for a VA consultation and discuss my apprentice program. You don’t sit around, pick the lint out of your belly button, and wait for things to fall in your lap. Carpe VA, my Killer Sharks, Carpe VA!

What Would Lori Do? I’d shake a tail-feather and call one of the most successful Virtual Assistants in business today, and let her know I want what she’s got. 866.611.LORI.

Good morning!

Who can ever forget Elmer Fudd’s quest for wabbits? I sure can’t! Elmer and Bugs Bunny trading tit for tat as the hunter of all hunters tries to find his prey which is directly in his sights.

Today, I’m hunting for all my Guppies who are ready to jump out of that confining fishbowl and into the deep end of the business pool. Just like a gerbil gets nowhere fast as he runs on that spinning wheel, you’re exhibiting the same bit of nonsense as you swim around and around … and around … that 10″ diameter fishbowl.

Success comes when you build a team of professionals who have your very best interests at heart. You’ve got the legal and accounting houses of your business in order, and you’ve brought on an amazing PR person. The website and blog are up and running and fully-branded. What, do tell, are you missing? (Wait for it ….) That’s right … you’re missing the administrative support member of your team. No matter the business model — university professor, attorney, bookkeeper, coach, web developer, internet marketer, [fill in the blank with your business model] — that business model has some level of “paper-pushing” which must be accomplished each day in order to keep the business in business. Indeed, when YOU’RE handling all the paper-pushing aspects of your business, you’re doing yourself a great disservice because you’re not focusing on your money making activities.

You folks know me well enough by now to know I look at business owners in one of two ways: Guppies or Sharks. It’s the former I’m targeting today, and I’m comin’ to get you! I want you to understand your lack of action regarding administrative team building is bringing you down even lower than a Guppy on the business food chain. You’re losing money (and doing so daily), you’re not creating new info products, and you’re not giving prospects (and dare I say your clients!) the face and phone time they desperately need and deserve. You’re returning the phone calls and booking the appointments and managing your calendar and posting your articles and updating your blog and [fill in the blank with other administrative stuff you shouldn't be doing]. Your Sharky competition, on the other fin, has outsourced her administrative back office, plus she’s got her 2009 marketing activities all set and ready to go. Sharks got game, Sharks have a team, and Sharks are getting the very best of you. It’s time to change that, right here and right now.

I want you to begin to graduate from the fishbowl-dwelling Guppy to the Killer Shark that lives deep inside you. You can do this, and the good, sassy and geeky folks at Davis Virtual Assistants will be with you with every stroke of your fins. Look, I know outsourcing seems a bit scary and possibly outside your budget. The truth is it’s not scary when you partner with a professional and well-known Virtual Assistant company. Your budget? That’s the easy part and I’ll show you how to devise and stick to yours!

Today (not next Tuesday and not next month) is your day to break free from the Guppy pack and launch your outsourcing activities. I’ll hold your fins and together we’ll jump into the big business owners end of the pool. Contact the Virtual Assistant, right now, and I’ll show you the power and wonder of outsourcing!

Fins up to all my Killer Sharks who are snuffing out the competition! For all my Guppies, I recommend you partner with a Virtual Assistant so you too can play with the big girls and boys in the deep end of the business pool.

HTML Coding. You need to learn the basics, DavisVA.com offers such a class(!) and our next HTML Basics Webinar is coming up this Thursday, August 21, 2008. Two hours of virtual classroom instruction where I’ll give you a skill you’ll use for life.

I know when you look at a “Page Source” everything looks like hieroglyphics to your eyes! I once felt the same way, that is until I began to understand the simple mechanics behind coding. There is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to learning to code, so let go of those preconceived notions you’ve got roaming around in that gorgeous head of yours. As with any new system you learn, there are methods to the madness, and the HTML “madness” is quite easy to understand. DavisVA.com’s HTML training is designed for newbie coders who need to know the basics, and for those folks who are petrified about learning to code. Plus, we’ve got you covered after your training is complete, with free and lifetime access to your instructor should you have any follow up questions, want us to review your code, etc. With those other trainers, you’ve got to pay for the “privilege” of after-the-training follow up. Whatever. Next!

Register now for DavisVA’s Virtual HTML Training webinar coming up this Thursday, 8/21/08. I’ll “see” you in class!

If I had a dime for every time someone asked me, ‘Lori, can you do this for me?’ I could have retired five years ago!

I absolutely L-O-V-E being able to work from home. Love everything about it. From the 30-second commute to cherry picking DavisVA’s clients, from my amazing staff and DavisVA’s partners. I am well-suited for the Virtual Assistance industry. I think part of it has to do with my aggressive style. I’ll pick up the phone to call that potential client–unlike some VAs, who appear to be utterly afraid of using the telephone. It’s a virtual world, campers, and yet, you MUST not be afraid of telephonic and face-to-face communication.

I feel like a 6-year-old who’s running around the playground at school and shouting, ‘I know something you don’t know! I know something you don’t know!’ (Yes, yes … I know it’s early!)