Welcome back!

Each Tuesday I'll be sharing the inside scoop on people, products & ideas you can take to the bank. While each Thursday will be dedicated to the how-tos', tips, techniques that you need to know to run a successful business.

What's a W.A.H.M. To Do? (Weekly ideas to take action on!)

Work At Home Idea

Virtual Assistant

A bright shining business opportunity for moms, it’s one of my favorite recommendations for someone with secretarial skills and the determination to learn common web tasks.  Virtual Assistants provide support to businesses and entrepreneurs from their own home office – saving their clients money and reducing their need for onsite staffing and overhead.

Many VAs specialize.  They may serve only Real Estate Agents, or be well suited to serve Writers and Public Speakers.  A big niche is serving Internet Marketers.  The VA learns the ropes of managing the top shopping carts and affiliate programs and support the IMer who can then focus in on their money making activities.

 

Gold Medal Mentor

Whether you're just starting out or you've been in business for awhile, finding people that you can trust to give you the information you need, when you need it and at the right price for your current pocket book can be hard work. I mean, how are you to know who you can really trust? How can you be sure that the people that say they can teach you what you need to know really have the skills to do so? Outside of sharing business ideas that will work for YOU, one of the most important things I hope to accomplish with this series is to introduce you to the people that you can trust.

To that end, I am privileged to introduce you to my good friend, Nicole Dean.

You'll see the phrase “my friend” a lot when people are promoting stuff to you on the internet.  In some cases, I'm sure it's true but sometimes, I wonder. In THIS case, Nicole Dean is actually, even out in the real world, a dear friend of mine and I'm absolutely blessed to know her.

I met Nicole about 6 years ago in Kelly McCausey's forum (you'll see a pattern start emerging a few posts down the road 😀 ).  At the time, I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do on the internet to make money.  I started a blog then quickly ditched it.  Then partnered with another lady from the forum to form what eventually would become Moms In A Blog BUT I needed to make some “quick” money while I was figuring out how to make money with my blog.  I turned to the forum to ask the question, “How?”  I actually think I said something more like, “What can I do to make money NOW?” and started seeing people talk about internships.  An internship online is essentially where you provide services in exchange for learning opportunities.  Fortunately for me, Nicole decided that she could use some help and didn't mind me tagging along so I could see her processes and start learning from her.

All told, I was an “intern” for Nicole for almost 12 months. Yes, that means that I worked for free for almost a year but let me tell you something.  I could not have spent any amount of money to learn what I learned about internet marketing and making money online than I did working with Nicole during that time.  During that time, I was learning from Nicole and creating a virtual assistant business.  A 2-pronged effort to making money online.  Passive income from my website and actively making money as a virtual assistant to several clients.  While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this approach to everyone, it's a big part of the reason I am where I am today.

Through the years, Nicole has continued to grow and prosper. To this day, Nicole is the same as she ever was. Open, approachable and willing to help.  A kinder person you'll never meet but the real reason I want to share Nicole with you is her brain.

Nicole is not just a pretty face.  She is a savvy business woman who has a knack for taking the most difficult concept and bringing it down to a level that makes it easy to understand and simple to implement.

She has a way of teaching you how to do things without ever having given a formal lesson. She speaks and brilliance flows from her mouth.

Because she strives to make the internet a better place, you'll never see anything short of extraordinary quality from Nicole.  She has resources for everyone – from the newbie to the expert online business owner.

You can watch Nicole in action at Nicole On the Net.  You're sure to be entertained and inspired with information like how to build a list or generate traffic as well as the ever popular posts on computer butt and weird niche Wednesday.  If you visit Nicole's site, make sure to tell her Tracy sent you. 😀

Recommended Resource

This week I have two resources from Nicole Dean that will help you get started with a virtual assistant business.

1.  Get Paid to Help – Become a Virtual Assistant

At only $14.95, this course is filled with stuff like:

  • 2 Hour Downloadable Course Audio Detailing How to Establish Your Virtual Assistant Business Start to Finish (mp3 file)
  • Accompanying Workbook with Notes Section (pdf file)
  • 5 Virtual Assistant Website Templates
  • 1 Newsletter Template
  • 5 Videos teaching you: Search Engine Optimization, Setting up Your Blog in WordPress and Blogger, Creating Your Newsletter & Using Your HTML Newsletter in Aweber
  • 1 Video Critique of a Virtual Assistant Website

2.  Guide to Starting a Virtual Assistant Business

This guide will cut your learning curve with an investment in your business of just $16.95

  • What types of services potential clients are looking for
  • Benefits of being a virtual assistant
  • What skills you need to get started
  • How much you can expect to make
  • The question of VA Certification
  • Equipment & Expenses needed to get started
  • Where to find clients
  • How to get referrals
  • How to stand out from the rest of the VAs
  • Common industry practices
  • Tips & advice for starting & running your VA business from people already in the trenches

 Which one should you get?

If you're still trying to figure out is becoming a virtual assistant might be the right step for you then I'd go with Option 2.  It will give you more of an overview of the what being a Virtual Assistant (VA) really is & the things you need to do to get started.

If you know that you want to use your existing skills to become a VA then you'd be best off buying Option 1. You'll learn exactly what you need to do to get up and running in no time.

If you've decided to start (or re-start) your virtual assistant business please let me know so I can cheer you on.

I'll be back on Thursday with the Lesson Two of Smart Blogging Skills.  In the meantime, I hope your day is filled with Joy.

P.S. If you missed any of the posts in this series you can read them HERE

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