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 "...a
must-read for anyone considering
a home-based
job." - Fortune
Magazine
About
the Book
In The
Two-Second Commute: Join the Exploding Ranks of Freelance Virtual
Assistants,
readers discover a simple but empowering self-employment solution that
is fast becoming an international phenomenon—the Virtual
Assistance
industry.
As
recently featured in Business Week and Time
Magazine,
Virtual
Assistants (VAs) are home-based entrepreneurs—work-at-home
moms and
dads,
retirees, military and Foreign Service spouses, people with
disabilities,
homeschoolers, and aging boomers sick of the rat race—who are
running
their
own shows from spare rooms and basements, offering business support
services
to other small businesses via email, phone and fax. It's one of the
most
explosive industries of our time, with entrepreneurs helping other
entrepreneurs
around the globe—an incredible symbiosis! And it’s
all brought together
by the Internet.
But
most exciting of all, "VA'ing" is offering thousands of individuals
their
first chance to stretch their entrepreneurial wings.
The
runaway success of the co-authors' Portable Career &
Virtual
Assistant
Training Program™ (developed for active-duty US
Military Spouses
and
being delivered on military bases worldwide) demonstrates the strong
demand
for a quick and user-friendly "virtual career" program. The
Two-Second
Commute: Join the Exploding Ranks of Freelance Virtual Assistants
is
based on this popular, groundbreaking training, and provides a complete
how-to guide that is liberally peppered with tips and pointers
submitted
by VAs from all walks of life.
Highlights
of the book include:
- Is
"VA'ing"
For You? Being a VA is not for everybody, and we'll tell you why! A
series
of exercises and self-assessments helps readers evaluate their
entrepreneurial
profile, identify pitfalls and potential trouble spots, and begin to
self-select
"in" or "out" of this challenging new career path before making serious
commitments.
- Special
Section! -- "Spouse with a Mouse™" [This segment is
phenomenally
popular
in Staffcentrix trainings!] -- Anticipating changes in the household
that
come with launching and growing a home-based business. Is your spouse
or
partner ready for you to have a Virtual Assistant business? Includes
exercises
for couples to help identify and spark discussion of core values and
goals
of the family as a team.
- Getting
That First Client, Launching & Marketing Your VA Business, Do I
Really
Need a Business Plan?, and Leveraging the Media to Grow Your Business
(plus
a hilarious communications exercise for two, with toddler-level Legos)
are just a few of the areas Durst and Haaren cover with their usual
panache,
a dash of sass, and their earned-it-in-the-trenches style!
- VA
Toolbox:
General Resources for VAs, plus special resources for work-at-home
moms,
entrepreneurs with disabilities, military and other "trailing" spouses,
and “cheapskates” (freebies for small businesses).
Readers
of The Two-Second Commute: Join the Exploding Ranks of
Freelance
Virtual
Assistants benefit in three key ways: They learn about their
individual
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT), and the role
these play in the successful launch and operation of a VA business.
They
are inspired throughout the book by the success stories and
“war
stories”
of those who have come before them. And they gain practical
information
and tools for building a business as a VA -- the home-based,
self-employed
professional they only dreamed they could be, leveraging the Internet
to
help small businesses grow rapidly, smoothly, and successfully.
CHAPTERS
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1
Why Become a Virtual Assistant?
- personal & professional reasons to
explore this
industry
Chapter 2
Exploring Virtual Assistance
- virtual assistance defined
- industry demographics
- services, fees, and trends
- why businesses work with VAs
- international outlook
Chapter 3
Reality Checks & Self-Assessments
- exploring important considerations -
motives,
lifestyle,
family, children, etc.
- entrepreneurial self-assessment
- VA readiness self-assessment
- Spouse With a Mouse™ - from our
Department of State
and US
Armed Forces training programs, a special section to help your
"significant other" understand what it will be like to have a business
in the house.
Developing a "Service Menu" That You Can Live and Grow With
- inventory your values, interests, and
skills to
determine
your most marketable skills
Chapter 5
Estimating Costs and Setting Fees
- projecting your costs, picking your
"salary", setting
your hour, and our special formula for calculating a reasonable
baseline fee
- comprehensive fee survey (see what other
VAs are
charging)
- getting paid -contracts, credit cards,
invoices,
retainers, etc.
Chapter 6
Setting Up Your Business and Your Office
- naming and registering your business
- forms of business ownership
- permits and licenses
- insurance
- home office setup
Chapter 7
Building a Healthy Foundation for Your Business
- defining your ideal client, interviewing
clients,
partnering with clients
- the art of virtual communications
- SWOT analysis - discovering your
Strengths,
Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats
- the benefits of "niche marketing" -
identifying your
target
market
Chapter 8
Let the Marketing Begin!
- image is everything
- talking about what you "do"
- marketing and email
- your Web site - your "global billboard"
- press releases
- harvesting the local "business crop"
- leveraging the media
- guest lecturing
- our 5 favorite marketing techniques
- the Strategic Marketing Plan - your
blueprint for
building
a successful business through effective marketing
Chapter 9
Pulling It All
Together and
Keeping It There
- a collection of tips, tool, techniques,
and pointers
for
making your business a success
Chapter 10
The VA Toolbox: Resources and Information
- VA trade groups, email lists,
certifications and
training
programs
- specialized resources for homeschoolers,
"trailing
spouses", work at home parents, and people with disabilities
- resources and other information for the
"frugal VA"
About
the Authors
Christine
Durst is the CEO and co-founder of Staffcentrix, LLC, and is
credited
with having founded
the
virtual assistant industry in her home in rural
Connecticut in 1995, with the launch of MyStaff.com. In 1999, with
Michael
Haaren, she co-founded the International Virtual Assistants Association
-- the industry’s nonprofit parent organization -- and served
as its
first
President.
Michael
Haaren is the COO and co-founder of Staffcentrix, LLC.An
ex-Wall
Street attorney, he is the co-founder and COO of Staffcentrix, LLC, and
co-founder of the International Virtual Assistants Association, which
he
served as its first Vice President.
Together,
Chris and Mike developed the Portable Career
& Virtual
Assistant Training Program™ -- a comprehensive
workshop series now
being delivered to US military family members around the world, and the
e-Entrepreneur
Training
Program™ for Foreign Service family
members.
International
authorities on Virtual Outsourcing, Durst and Haaren appear often in
the
media, including Forbes, The Washington Post, The Wall Street
Journal,
US News & World Report, Business Week, Inc. Magazine, The
Singapore
Straits Times, and The London Times.
They
have also presented before the United Nations, the President's
Committee
on Employment of People with Disabilities, the Presidential Task Force
on Employment of Adults with Disabilities, and several Small Business
Administration
Blue Ribbon Roundtables. They appear at national industry conferences
such
as the National Association of Realtors, the Department of Defense
Spouse
Employment Conference, Workforce Innovations, and the Association of
Job
Search Trainers. They also appear frequently in training engagements
for
military spouses and family members at military installations
nationwide,
and regularly lead popular train-the-trainer programs to certify others
to deliver their Virtual Assistance training in the US and
abroad.
| Just
some of the clients we're worked with: |
US Dept of State |
US Army |
US
Air Force Europe |
Air Force Aid Society |
US Air Force Academy |
US Air Force |
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