Today I have a visitor. I’ve interviewed Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant.

Tell me about yourself
I was an Executive Assistant for many years, but when I turned 50, I realized I was so tired of corporate politics…you know what I mean…so I decided it was time for a change. I researched different career paths, but none really seemed to “fit” until I found Virtual Assistance. I set up my VA business, and I’ve never looked back!

Why did you have these e-books written?
I did a LOT of research when I was setting up my business – such as what kind of business structure was best for me, how to set up my home office, how to determine my rates, the best ways to market my business and how to get over my fear of networking. It was hard work and took a lot of time. So, to save others all that research, I put what I learned into a series of e-books I call “The Adventures of Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant.”

What is the series about?
It’s all about how to become a Virtual Assistant. The first e-book, Vanessa Has a Dream, describes how I left my job and decided to become a VA. It’s an unbelievable story, but I swear my adventures are as real as I am!

In the second e-book, Vanessa Becomes a Virtual Assistant, I discovered my company name – with a little help from the Universe and my mother – created a business plan template, and chose a business structure. As a bonus, I’ve included a link to a downloadable version of my business plan!

The third e-book is called Vanessa Sets Up Her Home Office. It’s full of practice advice on choosing the right office equipment and supplies for a VA business. There are research notes about computers, fax machines, scanners, ways to access the internet, and lots of good stuff. I even take my readers on a trip to my local office supply store in Washaketa, Wisconsin. What a fun place to shop!

My latest e-book, Vanessa Determines Her Services, Niche and Rates, includes a list of 300 services that VAs can provide – with the appropriate training, of course. I was amazed at how versatile VAs can be!! There’s also a downloadable Client Contract template.

What do you want the readers to get out of the series?
I hope that telling my story will give new Virtual Assistants the guidance they’re looking for when starting their own business. And I hope they enjoy the “personal touches” that I’ve included in all the e-books.

How can the readers contact you if they want further information?
They can email me, and I’m also on Facebook.

How much does your e-book cost?
Vanessa Has a Dream is free! Vanessa Becomes a Virtual Assistant is only $2.95, while Vanessa Sets Up Her Home Office and Vanessa Determines Her Services, Niche and Rates are very affordable at $4.95 each.

Where can the readers purchase your e-book?
They can find all of the books in my series at http://www.VanessaAndruz.com/Products.html.

Vanessa, thank you for stopping by my blog.

You are very welcome. Thank you, Sue, for having me.

About the Author:
Melodee Patterson of Short-term Solutions is a VA who, much like Vanessa, got tired of the corporate life and struck out on her own. She’s enjoying her role as chronicler of Vanessa’s amazing journey. (She does ask that you refrain from calling Vanessa a “fictional character.” Apparently Vanessa is a bit touchy about that fact.)

Vanessa Andruz

Book Summary:
The Adventures of Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant series is not only full of practical advice for prospective Virtual Assistants, it’s also a fun story. You’ll meet Vanessa’s parents who live in Sedona, Arizona, where her mother reads auras for a living; Vanessa’s friend, Marci, an insurance adjuster unlike any insurance adjuster you’ve ever met; and Vanessa’s ex-husband, Mark, currently living with his “beach bunny” in Cozumel! Check out the series today.

I know you think you can and should do it all. I disagree. You’ve developed your niche market and your specialized skills. That’s great! Now your client asks you to do a task that you have no experience doing. Instead of taking on a task that you don’t know, why not enlist the assistant of a fellow virtual assistant?

I have a client that has a half dozen different virtual assistants working on her team. She recognizes that each one has specific skills and talents. Imagine you are a small business owner starting a retail business. Would you really hire one person to be your accountant, attorney, salesperson and business coach? No. You would hire individuals specializing in each area so that the work they each did was the best and made the best use of their time.

I encourage you to build a network of fellow virtual assistants and then freely refer business to each other. There’s plenty to go around. Instead of getting stuck and caught when you cannot accomplish a task you don’t have the skills for, your client will be impressed that you were able to find someone that specializes in that particular skill.

I have found that I love the general administrative tasks that involve lots of typing, data entry and ten-key. Several clients have had me compile spreadsheets of contacts to include names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, websites, and additional notes. Many find this type of work tedious and boring. So give me a call if you need someone to handle that type of work.

On the other hand, I have not had extensive experience with setting up shopping carts. Yet many solo professionals now need this type of work. If that’s your expertise, let me know so I have someone to refer those prospects to when they approach me for that type of work.

Working together, virtual assistants can grow their businesses. There is enough to go around!

One of the biggest mistakes a virtual assistant can make is to try to market general administrative services to everyone. It’s vital to define your niche market – who is your ideal client? Once defined, you can then create your core marketing message aimed directly at your ideal client.

Newer virtual assistants often have a hard time defining their niche. They may feel that to get started making money, they need to offer general administrative assistance to any business owner. This, though, just causes them to get lost in the growing crowd of VAs.

With a clearly defined niche market, your prospects know you are the right person they need and they will be more comfortable contacting you than another VA who offers general admin with no clearly defined market.

So what market do you want to reach? What do you have a passion for? What are you doing that no one else is doing?

To effectively market by email you need permission to contact your readers. This can be done by having a sign-up box on your website or even a sign-up sheet at your location. It is very important to comply with the federal laws. If you don’t have permission, don’t send an email.

Some of the US Federal requirements when sending commercial emails are:

1. A real, clearly identified “From” address
2. A real, working “Reply To” address
3. Clearly defined content
4. A real, working unsubscribe link
5. A clearly identified address

Using an email campaign program such as Constant Contact can help you stay spam-compliant.

Virtual Assistants have revolutionized the way many small businesses work today.  Small business owners now count on their Virtual Assistant the same way they used to count on their administrative assistants.  Many small businesses and solo professionals know they need to market their business; but they aren’t sure where to start or if they have time to do this. 

Since small business owners wear many hats, including that of CEO, the sales and marketing departments, customer service, and bookkeeper, they often have little time left for building their business. Some have turned to virtual assistants to help them in areas of content creation, link building, social media and networking, press releases, article submissions, and blogging.

Here are 5 ways your virtual assistant can help you market your business:

Content Creation
Create articles and blog posts and have your virtual assistant post them regularly. This will create more traffic and search engine hits to your website.

Interviews
Your virtual assistant can contact and organize podcast, blog, and enewsletter interviews.

Profile Management
Having trouble keeping up with growing your Facebook, LinkedIn, and other online accounts?  Your virtual assistant can help you manage these accounts and use the tools to grow your network.

Web Updates
Your virtual assistant can often update your website for much less than a web designer.

Research
Have your virtual assistant do market research for you.

Virtual assistants are independent contractors which means you don’t pay employee taxes or benefits. Virtual assistants also work on an as-needed basis which means no long term commitment is necessary. Using the services of a virtual assistant could be the answer to your business success.