Tuesday, August 14, 2007

5 Reasons Solo Professionals Need a Virtual Assistant

My latest article:

5 Reasons Solo Professionals Need a Virtual Assistant.

Having worked with a few solo professionals in my time, I have noticed a few things:

Solo professionals often bite off just more than they can chew. They do this because they want to succeed. I think that they feel that if they take on a little bit more, they will do more and, therefore, succeed more. Stop spreading yourself too thin and get the help you need.

They often forget that they can't do everything. Everyone is an expert at something, but no-one is an expert at everything. Solo professional doesn't need to mean "lone wolf". If you aren't good at something, get someone else to do it. Your clients will appreciate that the work is done well and not just completed.

Solo professionals tend to focus on too many things at once. The old phrase, "do one thing, and do it well" comes to mind. If need be, get a virtual assistant to help you mange your greatest resource - your time. A good VA can weed out those time wasting emails and voicemails. They can help you prioritize your schedule and help give you the time to spend on your area of expertise.

Solo professionals can have a habit of mixing business with pleasure. Sometimes it is difficult to keep a handle on your own finances and keep your personal money separate from your business money. Hire a virtual assistant who specializes in bookkeeping and get them to help you budget and plan how and where you spend your money. They can also handle the "divorce" of your personal and business finances.

Solo professionals are great at what they do and they get paid accordingly. They can also have more expenses than a professional that is in a partnership or firm. Hiring a virtual assistant is more cost effective for the solo professional than hiring in-house administrative assistance. Since the VA is private contractor with their own office, you don't have to put out money for more space, equipment, health benefits, and other employee related costs. Also, since a virtual assistant is only paid for the time that they work for you, there is no money lost to long lunch breaks, personal calls, or even sick days.

If you are a solo professional, and if you need some help, consider hiring a virtual assistant to partner with you for your success. You will be glad you did.

To find out more about virtual assistants and how they can help you as a solo professional take a look at www.righthandmanva.com

Thank You Blog Carnival Visitors!

Thank you to all of the visitors who stopped by to check out the Carnival of Virtual Assistants. The first edition was a great success. I have had over one hundred visitors (which is a lot for my fledgling blog) since the Carnival was posted.

Next month's Carnival of Virtual Assistants is already shaping up to be a great event. We already have a lot of different posts that will be of interest to virtual assistants and their clients. The Carnival will be hosted by Angela Wills in September at her blog - InTouchVA. In Ocotber, your Carnival host will be the incomparable Kathie Thomas. Kathie has one of the definitive blogs about the virtual assistant industry - The VA Blog.

So, all of you blogging VAs, start sending your posts in so that they can be included in September's Carnival of Virtual Assistants. Just follow this link and add your post: http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_2071.html