At the Chief Virtual Officer blog you will find lots of information and resources for your virtual assistant business. We blog about what's happening in the industry, how to communicate with clients, what it takes to run a successful business, marketing tips and much more.

In addition, we offer coaching to help virtual assistants succeed in business. Whether you are just researching what it takes, have just started your business or are an experienced virtual assistant, we have coaching programs tailored to your needs.

Visit our Coaching page to learn more about our individualized and group coaching programs.

We've also published a book for virtual assistants, The Commonsense Virtual Assistant - Becoming an Entrepreneur, Not an Employee, and an action guide, Building Blocks: Succeed as a Chief Virtual Officer. You can read more about them on our Books page.

So take some time to peruse our site and let us know how we can help you succeed in your virtual assistant business.

Tomorrow is the day! We're launching our monthly group coaching calls.

Join us for April's Group Coaching conference call on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at 11:00 am PST. We have arranged our schedule for a 60-minute call. If we need to stay on the call for 90-minutes, we've left our schedule open to accommodate that so you get all your questions answered.

All who register will receive by email after the call:

• John Jantsch's 17-page report 7 Steps to Small Business Marketing Success
• Bonus Tips: Grow Your Business as a Chief Virtual Officer, a 10-page report

Win a copy of the book, Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch! Each attendee during the live call will be entered into a drawing and the winner will be announced at the end of the call.

On this call you will learn:

• Basic concepts of permission marketing
• Dos and Don'ts of marketing your virtual assistant services
• The importance of marketing by networking
• and more...

Register for the call. Only $20!

Everyone wants more clients and more money and they are looking for ways to get that without spending a lot of money or even time. Instead of thinking of marketing as an expense, view it as an investment.

New virtual assistants struggle with this concept. Before they have any clients, they don't want to spend any money. Yet investing in their business can help them get new clients.

It doesn't have to be a large investment. Let's say you decide to invest just $20 per month to build your business. There are still many ways to market without spending much money. A small monthly investment of just $20 though can have great returns. So what can you invest in for $20 per month to grow your virtual assistant business? Here are a few ideas:

1. Set up an account at Constant Contact that includes the additional images option. The first 60 days are free and after that it's $20 per month for up to 500 subscribers. You can sign up here. Then create your newsletter, start building your list, provide valuable information, and start developing leads.

2. Participate in a monthly coaching call. There are lots of free calls out there and other affordable ones. We offer a call for $20 that provides the recorded call, free reports, drawings for free product, and a forum area to get additional assistance. These calls provide valuable tools to help you market your business. Learn more at our website.

3. Create and distribute fliers or brochures at local networking events or mail to local business owners. Include some tips on how they can grow their business using your services. For $20 or less you can create and mail at least 20 fliers or brochures each month.

These are just a few ideas on how to affordably invest in your business. What other ideas can you think of?

It amazes me how many of us do what we think we have to do to earn money but really hate the things we do. On the other hand, when you love what you do, you find yourself energized and excited!

Joel and I love helping other people succeed in business. Our complimentary coaching sessions have helped those who have taken advantage of it to figure out what it is they really love to do and how to reach their goals. It makes us feel so good when someone says after a complimentary coaching session the following:

"Thank you for taking the time to talk with me this afternoon; I am so happy I decided to take you up on your offer for a complimentary 30-minute consultation. Talking with the two of you left me feeling energized about my business and, for the first time in months, excited about my future endeavors as a Virtual Assistant. I look forward to being co-coached by you and want to thank you for all you do, and for being a positive 'voice' in our burgeoning industry."

—Paula Hill, Virtual Assistant

What is it that you love to do?

In a recent survey, we asked which virtual assistants would prefer - individual or group business coaching? We also asked them to explain why they chose individual or group coaching. Out of the 77 virtual assistants who replied, 37.7% chose individual coaching and 67.5% chose group coaching over individual coaching. Some chose both as they felt there was value in both individual and group coaching. We've compiled the replies and would like to share them with you.

Benefits of Individual Coaching

• Tailored to specific business needs, questions, concerns and issues
• Focused attention from business coach
• Accelerated learning curve
• Allows for privacy
• Able to learn and absorb more without being distracted by other's concerns
• Able to get all your concerns addressed
• Focus on VA specialities
• Flexibility in scheduling a coaching session

Respondents that preferred individual coaching made the point that because we all learn differently and each business is different, the personalized attention is preferred over the group coaching model. Others preferred individual coaching because in group coaching sessions sometimes one individual's challenges are focused on, leaving the rest of the group feeling as though they did not have an opportunity to address their concerns.

Benefits of Group Coaching

• Getting feedback from a group of peers
• Sharing of ideas and a variety of viewpoints
• Ideas and thoughts shared an individual may not have thought of themselves
• Learn from more experienced virtual assistants
• Additional support from a group of peers
• Creative synergy of a group
• Feeling of team spirit
• More cost effective

Group coaching was preferred by many because they appreciated the opportunity to bounce ideas off a group of people. Particularly since virtual assistants usually work alone, they like being able to feel like they are part of a team in a group coaching environment. In a group setting, there may be questions and scenarios brought up by others in the group that an individual had not thought of asking. Most also felt the group coaching choice was more cost effective. In a group there is the value of learning from peers in addition to the coach.

So Which is Better?

The question can only be answered by the individual virtual assistant. There are benefits to each type of coaching and quite a few virtual assistants said they'd like to do a combination of individual and group coaching. You need to decide what works best for you and what fits within your budget.

Chief Virtual Officer offers both individual and group coaching at affordable pricing. Before you decide what works best for you, contact us for your free 30-minute coaching session.