Maureen and I met online while we were in British Columbia. We had the opportunity to meet in person on Monday and get to know each other better. I wish Maureen much success in her business.

When did you start your business? Jan 2010

Why did you choose to become a Virtual Assistant? I lost 3 jobs in a year due to the economy. I’ve always wanted to be my own boss so I thought it would be a good time to give it my best shot!

What advice would you give new and aspiring VAs? It’s so easy to become overwhelmed learning everything. I started and then had to back up. I took a coaching course which helped me define my niche, target market, catch phrase, some marketing ideas… it gave me a better place to start.

What resources have helped you in your business? Networking online & offline. I use different social media sites for building online connections. Meeting other VA’s through VAnetworking.com & keeping in contact with them also keeps me focussed and encouraged. Offline networking includes events through BNI and Chamber of Commerce. I use AWeber for my newsletters and I can’t live without my iphone or ical. I’ve also joined the Women’s Enterprise Centre and have connected with a mentor through them.  I take a lot of webinars through BizLaunch (they are free and very informative).

Share something about yourself such as a hobby. I just moved onto 2 acres and have 98 chickens, 5 pigs, 4 sheep, 2 bunnies, 2 canaries & lots of wild birds and deer. Whenever I need a quick break, I step outside & say hello to them. They help me regroup, de-stress & I love it! And yes, we sell fresh eggs everyday!

Additional comments you’d like to share. Owning your own business is great, but a lot of work. It is imperative to keep a cheering squad close to you because there are days you wonder what you were thinking! Then you have days that you realize you wouldn’t change it for the world!

Maureen’s Contact Information:
Maureen Floris, Kairos Business Solutions
Website: www.kairosbusiness.com
Twitter: @kairosbusiness
Facebook Page: facebook/Kairosbusiness

Virtual assistants are busy helping their clients build and grow their businesses but don’t always put into place those same systems to grow their virtual assistant business. This 3-hour workshop is designed to help you grow your business. It’s not skills training but business coaching. Sue and Joel D Canfield share more than 50 years of experience working with small businesses. They love teaching others how they can have the deep satisfaction they get from their work and the life it allows them.

Special Note

This is an information packed workshop. We’re aware that you can’t possibly absorb it all in a single sitting. That’s why the cost of the workshop includes a 2-CD set containing 5 hours of audio and over 50 pages of reference materials and notes for you to review at your own pace as often as you like.

Topics:

Marketing Your Services 101

• Basic concepts of permission marketing; Dos and Dont’s

Defining Your Ideal Client

• How to identify your target market, clearly define your ideal client, and questions to ask yourself to determine if a prospect is your ideal client

Networking Creates Word of Mouth Referrals

• The importance of networking in person, how to effective network, role playing

Converting Prospects to Clients

• How to prepare to interview a prospect, questions a prospect may ask and how you can answer them, questions you should ask your prospect, questions to determine if the prospect is your ideal client

Effectively Marketing With Your Newsletter

• Various newsletter tools available and basic information about them, where to find content, what the reports mean and how you can use them

All attendees will receive these free reports:

• Identifying Your Ideal Client and Target Market
• Networking Creates Word of Mouth Referrals
• Converting Prospects to Clients
• Effectively Marketing With Your Newsletter
• Bonus Tips: Grow Your Business as a Chief Virtual Officer
• John Jantsch’s 17-page report 7 Steps to Small Business Marketing Success

Bonus #1: All attendees will receive access to the Members Only Forum at no additional charge!

Bonus #2: Every attendee will receive a copy of the 72-page workbook Building Blocks: Succeed as a Chief Virtual Officer.

Cost: Early Bird Special (Register before noon June 30, 2010) $75

Regular Price (After Noon June 30, 2010) $100

Register Here: http://sacramentovaworkshop.eventbrite.com/

I first met Marie online just before she left her corporate job to launch her virtual assistant business full time. From the moment we connected I was impressed with Marie’s spirit and obvious passion to help other people.

1. When did you start your business?

Well, I started putting things in motion August 2009, officially opened for business February 1, 2010, and dove in full-time (leaving a corporate job of 7 years) on April 1, 2010.

2. Why did you choose to become a Virtual Assistant?

I was finished with being undervalued and underpaid by my employer. Owning my own business had been a dream of mine for a long time and after facing several disappointments at my corporate job that culminated in utter frustration last July (2009), I started researching my options. I knew I wanted to work from a home office, I knew what I was good at and I knew what I enjoyed doing … when I discovered the VA industry, it just clicked. I’m a helper by nature, and I love being in a support role and seeing those I support succeed. Being a Virtual Assistant would bring all the things I needed and wanted together into my dream career! I knew that I would work harder than I ever had, but I’ve always felt that I would be better off working 12 hours a day for myself than 8 for someone else in an unfulfilling, boring job.

I’ve only been out on my own for a few months, but I can already tell you that I feel like I have the best job in the world. Even on the difficult days, I would not trade it for anything. My goal is to be a VA until I retire at 55 and to never again be anyone’s employee.

3. What advice would you give new and aspiring VAs?

Network, network, and network some more! Join Virtual Assistant Networking Association (VANA), FindVirtual, VA Forums, IVAA, and any other VA networking sites that work for you and get active on their forums. The VA industry is the most supportive, friendly industry I’ve ever had the pleasure to be a part of and you can learn so much from your fellow VAs who have been around the block a time or two. I started hanging out at VANetworking in August 2009 and I can honestly say that if has been like going to school to be a VA. I’ve made some great online friends, met VAs who live in my area, found a local VA group to provide friendship and support, and got connected with my first 3 clients from networking with other VAs.

Face-to-face networking at live networking events is also very important. The majority of your business will come from networking (online and off) and word of mouth/referrals. I highly recommend joining local small business and entrepreneur-focused networking groups. A great place to find networking groups in your area is www.meetup.com. Its free and easy to use.

Mentoring and coaching is also critical to a VA’s success. You need to have the support of someone who has been there, someone who will help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities that you may not be aware of. A good coach and mentor will also give advice and criticism in an honest, helpful and friendly way, and be there when you need to vent.

4. What resources have helped you in your business? Forums, blogs, coaching, books?

Like I said, the VANA forums have been an amazing resource and I follow several VA and VA Coach blogs (Virtual Moxie, The Gritty VA, Chief Virtual Officer’s Blog to name a few). I also get a lot out of the group coaching calls that you and Joel host. I’ve been able to apply things I’ve learned on those calls right away with my prospects and clients and, because funds and time are tight for me right now (that’s how it is when you’re a start-up!) the calls are ideal for me. Eventually, I’ll have the resources to spend more time with a coach (I’ll probably be hitting you up for that when the time comes, Sue!) but until then, the coaching calls are a perfect fit!

5. Share a success story or something about yourself.

Well, I consider my journey in getting my VA business started to be my biggest success story so far, so I’ll leave it at that. A few things about me that not many people know are that I was once in an improv comedy group, I had another small business on the side a few years ago in which I designed and sewed one of a kind clothing and accessory items on eBay, and once upon a time I was a social work major at CSULB!

6. Additional comments you’d like to share.

I truly enjoy knowing you, Sue, and I love your coaching group!

Marie’s contact information:
Marie Fitzgibbons, Deadline Met Virtual Assistant Services
Website: http://www.deadlinemet.com
Blog: Do not have one yet … soon!
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DeadlineMetVA
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/deadline.met
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deadlinemet

Our monthly group coaching calls have been great! Here are the topics we’ve covered so far:

• Marketing Your Services
• Defining Your Ideal Client
• Networking Creates Word of Mouth Referrals

The next call will be on June 1, 2010 and the topic is Converting Prospects to Clients.

Today I’m announcing a special promotion. Anyone who provides a meaningful comment on any one of our blog posts here at Chief Virtual Officer between now and May 30, 2010 will be entered into a random drawing to win the next coaching call on June 1, 2010 free!

Learn more here about the call on June 1 on Converting Prospects to Clients.

It’s fairly easy now market your business in a passive manner. Just schedule regular Tweets and autoresponders. You never have to lift a finger? But is this really the best way to market? No, it’s the lazy way if it’s all you do.

You want to be a proactive marketer. That does not mean you want to become a pushy sales person. You do want to really connect with people with a specific purpose in mind. Don’t just aimlessly market to everyone.

Proactive marketing includes effective follow up. Instead of waiting for your prospects to call you after they’ve downloaded your free report or attended your teleclass, send a follow up message by email or even pick up the phone and give them a call. Set up a time to discuss your services with them now that they’ve had a chance to review your free report or attend your teleclass.

When you follow up you need to do so in a focused, organized manner. To do that you need to take these steps:

1. Assess the current challenges of your prospect
2. Ask your prospect what their desired outcome is if they use your services
3. Present a solution that fits your prospects needs and will give them that desired outcome
4. Provide a clear call to action

Another important way to proactively market your business is to get out there. We often get so busy we never seem to leave our office. There’s always just one more thing to do, one more Facebook post to reply to, another Tweet to send out, another email to respond to. When’s the last time you got out of the office and attended a live, in-person networking event, meeting, seminar or conference?

Though social media is a lot of fun and can be a great way to network, nothing replaces the face-to-face connections you make when attending networking events. So get out there and network in person!

Once you’ve connected with someone in person, take time to follow up and stay in touch. Call someone you met to meet for coffee. It’s a great way to get ideas and information from your new contact, find out who their ideal client is so you know who to refer to them and then allow them to ask you about your business.

What will you do this week to be proactive (not pushy) in your marketing efforts?