But how do you find the perfect virtual assistant who understands your style of working and who can make positive contributions to your business? Working with someone you haven’t met in person can be challenging at the beginning, but over time, this working relationship will only get better. In this two part article, we look at a few important factors you need to weigh in before taking a call and actually hiring a virtual assistant:

1. Decide if you would prefer to work with a freelance virtual assistant or hire the services of a virtual assistant agency instead. Hiring an agency affiliated VA usually means better professionalism, quicker delivery of completed work and more accountability. In case, your personal VA is on leave or unable to work for a short period of time, most agencies will assign a stand-by VA for you so that your work does not get hampered.
2. Most VA’s work for multiple clients on a regular basis and only you can decide if you are more comfortable with a VA who works only for you or one who delivers work on as – needs basis. Having said that, you also need to decide if you would prefer to recruit a VA who is in the same time zone as you are (which will make communication easier for the both of you) or if you are comfortable with the idea of hiring a VA who is based in another country. Some clients insist that the VA have a thorough knowledge of certain language styles such as UK English, and such preferences may be better addressed by a VA who resides in the same country.
3. What work do you plan to assign to your virtual assistant? Most VA’s are comfortable in all areas of business and claim that they can deliver great results irrespective of what the job actually entails. However, if you are sure that you want a VA to specifically work on data collection, a business proposal or admin related work, you would be better off hiring a VA who has the right expertise and proficiency in one specific area. For instance, if you want a VA to help out with HR related activities, check the resumes of assistants who have done an HR course and who can relate examples of prior HR work for clients.

In the next part of the article, we look at a few more factors which will help you hire the right VA.

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Why hire a virtual assistant at all?

• Firstly, you’ll save plenty of time and money.
• You don’t have to bother yourself with the hundred other little details that are a part of any start-up or full-fledged company, simply delegate work to your VA. You’ll find that you have plenty more time on your hands for the really useful stuff.
• You don’ have to worry about which part of your office to give to your VA or invest in any office equipment either.
• Imagine this- you only pay for the number of hours your VA works for and it does not include vacation time or sick leave.
• Going through a lean time at work? No worries, you can hire the services of a virtual assistant on a needs-only basis, or depending on the duration of your project.

Here’s how you can have a great working relationship with your virtual assistant:

• Be clear about what you expect your VA to deliver with regard to a project.
• Fix each deadline or milestone beforehand so that there are no nasty surprises!
• Decide on a time when you are available to answer any doubts your VA may have or when you are free to discuss any project developments.
• Choose your mode of communication- phone, video chat, fax or emails.
• Honesty pays- if you feel your VA isn’t delivering what you expected, it’s better to point this out to her and give her the necessary guidance.

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a)     First of all, decide which room you will use as your ‘office’. Make sure that your dedicated workspace is free from any other distractions or noises coming from within the house or from outside. Also ensure that your new ‘office’ has enough power sockets for your equipment, an internet connection as well as a dedicated phone line connection.

b)    Decide on the kind of furniture that is appropriate for you. You will need a large enough desk, a comfortable chair which gives your back and arms good support as well as one or two small cabinets for storing files. Think carefully about the kind of computer or laptop you would prefer to invest in and along with that, purchase a printer and a fax machine to enable you to handle work more efficiently. In fact, many brands sell an all-in-one printer machine which has multiple functions and which may also be lighter on your wallet. If you feel the need for extra equipment, you can always purchase them later.

c)     In this age when almost everyone carries at least two personal handsets, keep one sim card exclusively for your clients and for other official purposes. On the other hand, having a dedicated telephone in your room is also a good option for taking client calls and may give prospective clients the impression that you are a professional and reliable VA.

d)       One of the most important decisions you need to take includes deciding what kind of virtual assistant services you will offer as well as your work times. When you are a newbie, it is best to stick to a niche area that you are comfortable with as that could help you get more projects.  With regard to work times, honesty matters as you need to take into account other factors which may also require your time- such as housework or an educational course which you may be pursuing. Set aside those hours at which you feel you can perform at your best and during which you can give undivided attention to your clients. Unless you have a genuine reason, never alter your work times during a project as that could inconvenience your client to a large extent.

As you take up more projects, make the necessary additions to your resume as well so that your prospective clients always get an updated resume. Being a virtual assistant may be challenging but you’re sure to love being your own boss!

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Internet research is not merely about putting together sheets of data. It also includes:

• Possessing adequate knowledge about the topic to research.
• Compiling data and creating appropriate bar charts, pie charts, comparison charts etc as well as presenting the data using spreadsheets and word documents.
• Having knowledge about the right search engines to use.
• Putting together the correct sequence of keywords which can give you exactly the information you need.
• Verifying the validity and accuracy of the data.
• Using proven methods of internet research.

In fact, our virtual assistants can also help you put together an awesome business proposal by enhancing its feasibility with the aid of the right statistical figures or conduct an online study into helping you understand the business potential of your corporate venture. Our virtual assistants can assist you by conducting market research, undertaking surveys, talking to customers directly or conducting any other form of internet research you want at the moment. And, no, we don’t mind scouring the internet for the best deals on designer wear for you or giving you a list of the latest movies showing at your favourite multiplex. Whether your internet research needs are for business purposes, for your personal requirement or even just out of curiosity, our expert virtual assistants have an answer for everything. Give Virtual Clone a call today or drop us a mail to find out how we can help you. Get a taste of our services no matter where you’re located in the UK!

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When you hire one of Virtual Clone’s expert Virtual Secretaries to help take care of the financial concerns of your organization, you are assured of prompt service that is both accurate and which is delivered within a quick turnaround time. With our virtual secretary  by your side to assist you, you will be in a position to check the financial health of your company on a daily, weekly or quarterly basis. Our virtual assistants will keep you updated on a regular basis besides undertaking any other finance related task you request or giving you advice on any financial aspect. Our virtual assistants are well-trained to render the following services:

a)     Financial Services

-       Petty cash management.

-       Account servicing & reconciliation.

-       Sales, Vendor Purchase Orders, Customer Purchase Orders Management

-       Year end computation of Sales & other taxes.

-       Creation of monthly, quarterly budget.

-       Inventory Management.

-       Business Plan Proposal & Development

-       Creating Spreadsheets, pie-charts, graphics or other data compilation.

b)    Book-keeping

-       Maintaining accounts in excel sheet.

-       Cash flow records

-       Bank & credit reconciliation records.

-       Balance Sheet Management.

-       Any other specific records.

Our virtual assistants are trained to work with a number of accounting software such as Tally, QuickBooks, Peach tree etc. Virtual Clone is here to take care of all your financial worries. Get in touch with us today for a highly competitive quote!

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• How do you build new contacts on your own?
• How do you maintain prior established contacts on a regular basis?
• What are the measures that you can take to build your network and to receive referral orders?
• How do you begin a social networking campaign?
• Where should you ideally begin if you are keen on building up a marketing team and how should your business position itself?

These are just a few of the questions that all organizations are compelled to answer at one time or the other and if you too feel that you could do with professional expertise at hand, then it’s time to open your office to the wizard of marketing strategies- a Virtual Assistant. If you want a fresh perspective on the right type of marketing campaign to adopt or need expert help in sprucing up a social networking page, then you can be assured that a virtual assistant, who is an expert in her chosen niche, is the answer to your problems.

Hiring a virtual assistant who could be sitting practically anywhere in the world has so many advantages to offer. On one hand, it saves you plenty of capital and time whereas on the other, distance does not become a hindrance to the wide source of talent that is available on a global scale. In fact, depending on what your organization actually wants; a virtual assistant can help you in outlining your marketing goals and other objectives. She can also conduct necessary research or further study into the best sort of marketing plans that are guaranteed to work for your targeted audience and market. A VA can also give you plenty of viable inputs and help you in putting together material for brochures, sales pages, newsletters, email campaigns and even update your Twitter or Facebook page on a regular basis.

Leave it to your VA to broaden your client base by communicating regularly with your target market and to send relevant emails or conduct the appropriate follow-ups as and when required. A VA who has specialized in marketing can also suggest new out of the box ideas to help you tap into a new customer segment or to expand your existing operations. Looking for a VA to help you turn things around in your organization? Give Virtual Clone a call today and let us help you get noticed for the right reasons.

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When you are still trying to gain a foothold in your venture, the last thing you want to do is to add to your expenses. Hiring a new employee to take care of responsibilities may work out to be a more expensive proposition than you imagines. But consider the reverse scenario- getting the help and expertise of a person who is available at fixed times during the day to help answer your mails, complete pending work on files, put together a business proposal, plan a marketing campaign or fix meetings for you can leave you with more time for much more important things.

What should you keep in mind before actually hiring a Virtual Assistant?

a)     Have a clear idea about what you want the VA to help you with. Overburdening a VA can lead to botched up results.

b)    Get the details clear by discussing important parameters such as when do you want the VA to work for you, her hourly rate, her time zone as well as the estimated time for completion of the project.

c)     Don’t simply handover confidential details about your venture to a person you met online just two days back. Doing a thorough reference check and asking for a resume is important. It gives you an idea as to what you can expect from hiring the VA.

d)    Draw up some form of a contract with the terms and conditions clearly outlined. Make sure that you have ownership rights over any content and work generated and that details of your project are not shared with anybody else.

e)     It’s a good idea to give your newly hired VA small tasks to complete at first. Depending on her capabilities and project completion date, you can then assign more important tasks later.

Virtual Clone is UK’s top rated Virtual Assistant agency with clients from all across the country. Our team of highly qualified and well trained virtual assistants deliver top-notch work and meet any deadline set by you. Give us a call today to find out how Virtual Clone can help your new business venture soar to new heights.

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So what are the must-know tips to keep in mind if you are serious about exploring the possibilities that becoming a virtual assistant can offer?

-       The first step is to do a bit of reading about what a virtual assistant actually does as well as the pros and cons of becoming one. If you are serious about giving it a shot, remember to keep your mind open about possible challenges that lie ahead.

-       Decide what your competitive advantage is and hence the kind of services that you will be offering. As a newbie, it’s best to stick to one service and after you get the hang of the responsibilities involved, to diversify further.

-       You also need to decide how many hours you will be working for from home. Some clients prefer to employ virtual assistants who are in the same time zone whereas others may not have any such concerns. However, be honest about your working hours with any potential client.

-       Prepare a resume that stands out and use your social networking connections to spread the word about your new ‘job’. If your prior job experience is an added bonus factor, don’t forget to include that too.

-       Spend time in establishing new online connections and interacting with potential clients. It is best to take up jobs which are easy to complete and which you are fully confident about. Once you have a few such small jobs on your resume, you’ll stand a better chance of getting bigger projects in no time.

Remember patience does pay. Here’s wishing you luck on your new big venture.

The post How to become a Virtual Assistant appeared first on Virtual Clone.

Yes, there is. A virtual assistant is just what you need to help you run the show efficiently and without missing a deadline. Here’s the best part- even if an employee demands to have an individual cabin with a computer and a reliable Internet connection, your VA will make no such demands on your time and money. That’s because she will report to you online through phone and e-mail, and not in person. Since our virtual assistants are well-equipped to handle any kind of general administration work, database management, accounting and web research, you can assign all kinds of work to her or even hire more than one virtual assistant to assist you. Need a batch of invoices to be ready by 9am? No problem! Your VA will get the work done at a time that you choose be it day or night.

Virtual Clone is here to help make your life so much easier and without making a dent in your wallet. With a range of value added services to offer, hiring a virtual assistant offers you so many benefits that shouldn’t be missed. Mail us today to find a virtual assistant who matches your requirements perfectly!

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We understand that as a business owner, there are much more important responsibilities to look after. However, a virtual secretary with ample time and experience on her hands can help to sort out your contacts, client details and other must-know information based on your client’s demographic location, product inventory, amount of business generated from each client, pending orders etc. In fact, a online secretary can neatly organize any data for you based on the filters that you choose to have. Imagine how wonderful it would be if you could access your online or offline database and get any information or statistic that you want in less than a minute. Besides setting up your database for you, our VA’s can also-

-       Design and maintain your database as and when required.

-       Enter customer names, demographic details and other information.

-       Create reports with regard to clients for a specific time period such as products purchased and revenue generated.

-       Create any statistical reports, pie- charts and graphs.

-       Processing and updating of any new data.

Once your database is updated and organised properly by your virtual assistant, you’ll feel a big difference in the way you view important data again. In fact, you’ll find that your productivity at work will also increase because you’ll have ready to view reports which reflect the health of your business. Give Virtual Clone a call and we’ll get one of our virtual assistants to help you today!

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