It’s Virtually Done (IVD) Blog

I’ve been away, but it is time to come back. During the first quarter of 2007, I had my 3 busiest and most successful months. It was great! But something needed to give, and it was my blog. Then I determined that I had new subscribers, and I felt like I was letting them down, so here I am.

Last December I announced that I was going to speak at a local chapter of IAAP (International Association of Administrative Professionals) in January. The weather had other plans, and the meeting was cancelled due to ice.

The meeting has been rescheduled for June 13th. The topic is Being Your Own Boss: Today’s Virtual Assistant. To register and more information, go here: http://www.iaap-otc.org/index.htm. If you’re local to the Portland Metropolitan area, I’d love to see you there!

I was asked to speak at our local community college about virtual assistance. The small class called Office Systems and Procedures has a text book that mentions virtual assistance as a career option, and they wanted to hear from someone working in the field. I was tickled to tell them about being a VA and answer their questions. We’ve arrived! And if you aren’t convinced, there’s a novel with a virtual assistant as its heroine too (“Highland Fling” by Katie Fforde).

I didn’t think that I would like working for a client with other VAs, but I was wrong.

You know how it is popular in school to work in teams? I used to dread that. I would be the person taking on most of the work, and other team members would “skate.” Sometimes it was difficult to get team consensus.

I wasn’t eager to work on a VA team, but a year ago I received an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. And before too long I was on another VA team, and I love it. Here are the advantages:

Someone to call for advice to mutually support the client

• Built in back up for when there are emergencies, illnesses, or vacations
• It’s like having an office team without the office
• Cross training of duties
• Brainstorming of ideas for finding the smartest solutions

VA teams are a good idea from the client’s point of view as well for all of the same reasons. When there is too much work, additional VAs become a necessity.

I’ve had a few wise clients who are all on the same page, the page that says, “Document the procedures that you do for me.” That shows wisdom because it makes sure that there is agreement on how tasks should be handled, and ensures that there’s documentation on how to do things should the VA become unavailable.