When Joel and I first met Paula online we knew she was our kind of people. She's smart, fun and easy to talk to. I hope you enjoy her interview.

1. When did you start your business?
January 2008

2. Why did you choose to become a Virtual Assistant?
In 2007 I realized I had hit a “brick wall” in my corporate career. I began looking for a new job but wasn’t excited about getting another j-o-b. Then one day I watched a TV news interview of a successful VA out in Montana and realized I could do that! I purchased a couple of books on how to be a VA and with a little prior planning I quit my corporate job and established my new business.

3. What advice would you give new and aspiring VAs?
I have two:
Polish your networking skills and force yourself to get out of the house and meet people.
Do not buy anything at the office supply store until you absolutely have to!

4. What resources have helped you in your business?
I recently read The Commonsense Virtual Assistant and recommend it to new VAs. My local business assistance center and my local chamber of commerce have been a huge help in getting me clients.

5. Share something about yourself.
Being self-employed I tend to work too much. I am not comfortable “just sitting around”. Realizing I need to relax more I recently took a knitting class. It’s the perfect hobby for fidgety people and it gives me the mental break I need.

6. Additional comments you'd like to share.
If you are considering a career change I highly recommend becoming a Virtual Assistant. There is plenty of work for all of us!

Paula's Contact Information:
Paula Hill - Virtual Assistant
Website: http://paulahill.com
Blog: http://paulahill.com/paulas-blog/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/paula_hill
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/panther.city.paula
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulahill

Jo first contacted me after being referred by a fellow member of Find Virtual. Joel and I immediately knew she was the type of person we would enjoy working with. It's been a pleasure to coach Jo as she's growing her business in the UK.

1. When did you start your business?
I started the business in October 2008.

2. Why did you choose to become a Virtual Assistant?
I have a family and wanted to continue working whilst being there for my children.

3. What advice would you give new and aspiring VAs?
Have faith that you can do it and have faith in your abilities. Its hard work but the benefits for my family have been immense!

4. What resources have helped you in your business?
I have had experience of all of these but have found a real gem in 2 VA business coaches that helped me focus when I had lost my way and their advice has been invaluable. I didn't read many books but did subscribe to other VA blogs and forums.

5. Share a success story or something about yourself.
I have changed my focus to being a Virtual HR Officer and am now on the verge of signing a contract with a company for over £10k a year... I still get to work from home and be with my children!

Here's to your continued success Jo!

Joanne Jinks,  HRVA
Website - hrva.co.uk
Blog - hrva.co.uk
Twitter - Do You Need My Help
Facebook - Joanne Jinks
LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/jojinks

Jennifer Bourn of Bourn Creative was the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Northern California Virtual Assistants Meetup group today.

Jen made the point that each page on our website should have a goal. We need to take time to decide what the goal is for that particular page and then be sure that everything on that page is working toward that goal.

That was just one little tidbit I took away from today's presentation. Bourn Creative provides a ton on information on their blog and I highly recommend you visit their blog today.

Your website is one of your greatest marketing tools. Has it been around for a while? Are prospects intrigued by your website or does it drive them away? It may be time for a makeover. Here are 4 website marketing makeover tips:

1. Professional design. Ask a couple of trusted colleagues to review your site and give you their honest opinion as to its attractiveness and professionalism. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars to have an attractive, professional looking website. However, you do want a website that shows you are a professional. An obviously 'home-made' website turns prospects away.

2. Targeted, clear marketing messages. Ask these same trusted colleagues for their feedback on the marketing messages on your website. If it's unclear what your services are or they seem unfocused, prospects will look somewhere else for what they need. Your website messages need to clearly show prospects what it is you can do for them.

3. Concise content. Short, punchy sentences and bullet points work much better than long rambling paragraphs. Your content should let visitors know why they should do business with you. You may want to get some assistance in writing compelling copy for your website.

4. Call to action. Is it clear and obvious what you want your visitors to do? How can they contact you? A clear call to action is vital to convert prospects to clients.

Additional tips for your website can be found at an earlier blog post.

Article writing is a great way to begin to establish your expertise. It can also be great for generating traffic to your website. But many hold back because they are not sure how to get started or what to write about.

If you can write a letter to a friend, you can write an article. Everyone has to start somewhere. The more you write, the more comfortable you will become and the better you will be at article writing.

Two easy was to get started writing articles are:

1. Write the 'how-to' article. Provide specific, detailed steps on how to do something that you already are an expert at doing. An example could be '5 Steps to Grooming Your Dog'. (That works best if you happen to be a dog groomer; but you get the idea).

2. Write a list of tips on a topic your target market is interested in. For example, '6 Tips to Easy Article Writing'. It doesn't need to be complicated.

How do you know if your article writing efforts are paying off? Is anyone reading them? Do they visit your website after reading an article? There are ways to track how many times your article is visited and if people are visiting your website after reading an article. Most of the article directories have tools that you can use to track these things.

Another great way to track your articles and where else they may be posted is to set up Google Alerts for the title of your article. You may be surprised to find just where else your article is found.