LinkedIn is a fantastic way for Virtual Assistants to find clients. By optimising your profile and using LinkedIn’s unique networking features, you can showcase your VA skills, build credibility, and connect with people you want to work with. In this post, I’ll show you how to use LinkedIn effectively and write a stand-out, client-landing profile. Why do Virtual Assistants need a LinkedIn profile? In my opinion, Virtual Assistants need a profile on LinkedIn for a number of reasons. Because the purpose of LinkedIn is to act as a place where people can do business with one another. LinkedIn is ..read more

I frequently see members of the Handbookers Facebook group say they struggle to find work despite posting regularly on social media. But posting random content without knowing what to say, where to say it and who to say it to is about as effective as shouting out the window. To get clients, Virtual Assistants need a solid marketing strategy. You can’t just post random stuff on every social media platform and expect to get work. Well, you can and you may but I guarantee it will be phenomenally hard work and unlikely to result in the types of clients you want. You will save a huge amount of time ..read more

ChatGPT is revolutionising the way VAs work and frankly, we all need to keep up or risk becoming obsolete. If you’ve ever used ChatGPT you’ll know that it can do some absolutely incredible things including getting through twice the amount of work in half the time. But did you know that using ChatGPT’s custom instructions will produce even better results? Watch the short video below to find out what ChatGPT custom instructions are, what they’re used for, what mine say and why using custom instructions for your Virtual Assistant business will make a mahoosive difference to the accuracy of your r ..read more

AI is the most groundbreaking advancement in the history of the Virtual Assistance industry and I am all over it. New technology and AI are evolving at an unprecedented rate and any VA who wants to stay competitive really should stay on top of these changes because, just like our clients, we need to stay relevant if we want to stay competitive. Many VAs say they aren’t interested in AI as they offer traditional PA services, but AI is already incorporated into numerous day-to-day admin tools VAs use such as Grammarly and the transcription platform Otter. AI is a game-changer for Virtual Assista ..read more

Whether you’re still in the process of setting up your VA business or have already started working with clients, managing your time can be a real challenge. Your schedule as a business owner will be very different from when you worked as an employee, so having an effective task-management system in place will make a huge difference. A system like my very own task-management calendar. The video exercise I show you below will help you create a calendar I’ve used myself for many years. I didn’t think it was anything special but when a business owner friend remarked on it and I said “But doesn’t e ..read more

Another great quick-win task to suggest to your clients is monitoring for plagiarism. This is actually something my own Virtual Assistant does for me every month as I like to know my content isn’t being used without my permission. Not only is this a great service to offer clients, but you can also check to see if your own website content is being stolen. About the Quick Win series I decided to create this Quick Win series because I realised many Virtual Assistants are sitting around waiting for their clients to give them tasks instead of making work for themselves. In order to be a successful ..read more

I’m not sure if there’s a Virtual Assistant in existence that doesn’t use Canva. The Swiss Army Knife of online design tools, Canva has more features than you can shake a stick at. Because Canva is a Virtual Assistant’s best friend, I thought I’d tell you how I personally use it and point out a few handy features you may not be aware of. I should start by saying this going to be quite a lengthy post so I’m going to have to assume you already know what Canva is and are familiar with the basic features. This would be the longest post in existence if I explained how to use it from scratch so if y ..read more

This is a Virtual Assistant case study and interview with Tom Lingard. Based in Birmingham, Tom set up his VA business, The Remote Assistant in August 2020 and specialises in creative projects. Outside of the office Tom enjoys exploring the wonderful sights and scenes of the UK and also loves travelling the world as a digital nomad. What did you do for a living before you became a VA? Prior to becoming a VA, I worked for a university as PA to the Director and later as a programme coordinator. I worked with staff at various levels and was involved in a variety of interesting projects with sever ..read more

At some point, a client is going to ask to change a clause in your Virtual Assistant freelancer contract. This is perfectly normal and there is no need to panic. However, while a contract is just a starting point, knowing how to negotiate a clause and navigating the process can feel overwhelming – especially if you’re a new VA. So to help you, Janet (the international contracts lawyer who wrote my VA legal docs) and I had a discussion about how to professionally deal with clients who want to change a clause and how to ensure you come out on top. Originally a video interview, I had our conversa ..read more

What do we want? Fabulous, well-paying clients! When do we want them? Right this second! Every freelancer needs to find work, but do popular outsourcing websites like Upwork, People Per Hour, 3desk, Fiverr, Guru, and oDesk actually lead to well-paid work for Virtual Assistants? Read on to find out. Ahh, the joys of today’s gig economy. Great when you need a cheap taxi or a burger in a hurry, not always so good when (like those overworked, underpaid Uber and Deliveroo drivers) you’re the one providing the service. Take Upwork, for example. Upwork is just one of a growing number of websites wher ..read more