Continuing to move forwards

Yipee I've had responses to my survey!! And I have contacted Creative Leicestershire about distributing it more widely - hopefully they will help it reach more people.

Now to do the information pack to send out to my respondents......busy, busy. It's the best way to be!!!

Things are moving along...

I'm off to a networking event tonight so hoping to, at the least, meet some interesting people there if not pick up a new client!

I've produced a survey for market research purposes too. I may think I know what services would be useful to Creative Businesses but I could be completely wide of the mark so I thought it wise to ask as many as possible!!! I have also conducted some interviews with a couple of the people I know who run such companies so hoping my services match their needs. If you're interested please click here.

AND I've been contacted about possibly doing some sub contracting work for another VA. Fingers crossed that I a) came up with a decent rate as the forums were strangely empty of actual figures to compare with and b) she gives me the work!!

Things starting to feel rather positive just need it to all turn into actual cash!

Website

The redesign for my website is nearly complete and I really like it! Thanks Ben Harvey! It needs to be live by Wednesday when I attend my first networking event, when I hand out my business card I want the website people then look at to represent me properly rather than the instantsite I currently have.

Fingers crossed for some business anyway!

Exhausted.....AGAIN!

And this has lead me to wonder why I'm putting myself through this stress. It's having the virtually full time job, children to look after and then a business to set up, something has gotta give (you've probably noticed due to cleaner desire comments in previous posts that it is mostly the housework to get ignored)! I'm not so much a 5 to 9er but more of an 8 to 11er!

I do REALLY want RRVA to fly but right at this moment in time I'm just knackered. And will probably continue to feel like this until RRVA is my full time job and well established......

Networking events aplenty!

I have realised that I'm actually about to start attending quite a few networking events in the next couple of months and am hoping that business is forthcoming and good contacts will be made.

First up is the De Montfort University Alumni Association Leicester networking event on the 29th April, then the Leicester North Women In Business Network have kindly let me visit their 13th May meeting to see if I wish to become a full member and then on the 4th June I'll be at the LCB Depot in Leicester networking evening for Creative businesses!!!

So quite a lot to be getting on with....off to work on that elevator pitch and make sure I have enough business cards!!!!!! Wish me luck!!!

Some work to be getting on with

The business cards I sorted out for a friend have arrived today and look really great! She starts her music leadership career as of today so good luck Cherie, inspire those kids!!!!!

Now, off to source a good web designer for my brother's music production (fledgling) company! Where does he find the time?? Air line pilot by day, sleep deprived new daddy of 11 week old by night and also metal type music producer......

All I need now is some clients who will actually pay me!

To rant or not to rant.....

That dilema again and upon reflection I think I'll choose ... not to.

I shall let today's crappiness and frustrations go and try to focus on achieving the dream of being a full time VA, getting that client list to build and moving back to sunny shropshire!

Business goals

Trying to write these. It is a good process as it is making me think really hard about what I want to achieve both in the short and longer terms.

Short term: get 40 hours of client work a month along side current day job
Medium term: go full time as a VA and network my ass off!
Long term - (as in when both kids are at school, so about 5 years time) employ a network of VAs to provide THE service for small and medium size creative businesses.

Right those are pretty straight forward, now to work out how the hell to achieve them and then get on with it!

(post inspired by a discussion on UK Business Labs and a desire to get profitable!)

Wireless router should arrive Tuesday ........

Well allegedly anyway! After me phoning up to find out where there hell it was that is.....I discover that they've frozen the order on the computer system because it won't work with our speed broadband. Oh but they haven't bothered to call and tell me!!! Anyway one that will work should now arrive on Tuesday. At least I'll be able to work from bed then as I seem to be working into the night a lot at the moment.

Am I nearly there yet.....?

This is what I keep asking myself. Can I actually call myself a Virtual Assistant now? Some days I think yes I damn well can, I have a client, I'm joining networking Groups, I'm promoting the idea of Virtual Assistance to everyone I know (which is a fairly hefty number of people) I AM a VA now!!!

But then days like to today happen. I want to sack in the day job and focus, focus, focus on making this my main earning business but the depressingly practical side of me knows that I have 2 children in childcare and a mortgage to pay. I am also not exactly earning much from it at this very moment. I need to turn those contacts into paying clients, I need my face to be more known by my client group and to be recognised as RRVA and not as my current position. AND I need to do that without pissing off my boss as I need my job to pay for everything in the mean time!

Small tasks really....am I now VA??? Probably not quite yet.

Longing for Mrs Mop....

I have been working out just how many hours I can work as a VA without my current employer (for whom I work nearly full time but not quite) getting annoyed and trying to fire me. I think I can take on 40 hours a month comfortably without completely exhausting myself or them putting me in front of some kind of tribunal for breaching their rules somehow.

I know this sounds a bit paranoid but someone I know of lost their job because of conflict of interest and apparently doing their own work on company time. Need to be very careful and basically not Tweet or Facebook about VA related stuff when not on my lunch break or at home. Still I have a business to grow which I am rather serious about and am busily making contact with potential clients.

Plus if I can get 40 hours a month I can employ a cleaner!! That's my idea of heaven........

Big lesson learnt!!!

Yes it was about payment. Having been on training courses and read it everywhere on the VA forums and blogs about always getting payment in advance, guess what newbie, desperate to get going me didn't do......obvious isn't it.

Don't get me wrong, client has paid and everything but the dynamic between us is a bit skewed now. Its a bit too employer/employee which is NOT what I want at all!!!! Plus I was really anxious and I mean worried with sick feeling in my stomach anxious until I actually got the payment....it's my own fault I know.

Anyway payment in advance in future!

Word of mouth referral

I'm rather please with myself today! My one paying client has recommended my services to another business owner that she knows and asked to pass on my contact details to them, yippee!! Word of mouth recommendation is the best marketing.

I need to look into a few services like call handling that this client may well need and I have capacity to handle myself. Anyone recommend a reputable company?