Exploring A Career As A Virtual Assistant

2009-07-29 | Filed Under Books R Me, Virtual Assistance |

Exploring A Career As A Virtual Assistant
Virtual Book Tour Stop #1

My VA colleague, Jessica Maes, has just launched her book Exploring A Career As A Virtual Assistant and she is currently on virtual tour to promote it! Jessica operates a busy Virtual Assistance practice from her home office in Madison, WI. Additionally, Jessica has taught a class at the University of Wisconsin through the Minicourse department called “Exploring A Career As A Virtual Assistant” since early 2009. The class has had great response based on the ever growing interest in the Virtual Assistance industry and the current job market conditions that have people exploring their career options more vigorously than ever before. Jessica wrote the book so that people beyond driving distance to the University can learn much of the same information she shares from the comfort and convenience of their own home. After all, this is a book about working virtually, so sharing the information offsite is a natural fit! You can read a free sample from the book by clicking here.

As part of this tour stop, Jessica is available to us today to answer your burning questions about the Virtual Assistance industry! Post your question by leaving a Comment below. Jessica will respond in the Comments section so be sure to check back!

To celebrate the book’s launch, Jessica has a few goodies to offer us. The first is a 20% discount off the purchase of the book. Simply use the promo code THANKYOU during check out.

The second is that one lucky ready will receive a free copy of the eBook version of the book! To be eligible to win, you simply need to post a question about Virtual Assistance in the comments section of this post. The winner will be chosen at random and announced here in a couple of days.

The book is currently available for immediate download via an eBook format and in hard copy. To purchase the book, click here.

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5 Responses to “Exploring A Career As A Virtual Assistant”

  1. Jessica Maes Jessica Maes on 2009-07-30 3:02 pm

    Hi Everyone!

    Melodee, a million thanks for hosting me on my Virtual Book Tour – much appreciated!

    Thanks to everyone that took time to read the post. Should you have questions, feel free to send me an email.

    Best,
    Jessica Maes
    jessica@jessicamaes.com

  2. Stephanie Stephanie on 2009-07-31 2:12 pm

    Hi, Jessica and Melodee!

    I am an aspiring VA and I think that one road block that’s been holding me back is that it seems that the VA industry is becoming quite competitive and that creating a niche is very important. My problem is that I’m a very well rounded person (jack of all trades but master of none) and I also have a LOT of interests that I would like to pursue. Do you have any advice for the VA who chooses not to niche at the beginning of starting her business? Is success possible without creating a niche (or a highly specific target market)?

    thanks and good luck on your book tour

  3. Melodee Melodee on 2009-07-31 2:35 pm

    I understand how you feel, Stephanie. I’m definitely a jack of all trades myself :-)

    I’ve been successful getting clients without a niche – either to an industry or the services that I provide. BUT I’ve found that it’s made marketing my business difficult. And, since you spend a lot of time learning new stuff as a VA (one of the perks!) I was using up too much time trying to learn too much stuff! Plus, now that I’ve been doing this for a few years, I’ve found that there are some tasks that I enjoy doing more than others.

    So I just recently started marketing myself as “supporting the technical side of business” – working with websites, blogs, e-newsletters and software support. That doesn’t mean I don’t do other things, but it’s making my marketing attempts much easier and more productive.

    Hope that helps!

  4. Jessica Maes Jessica Maes on 2009-08-01 9:25 pm

    Hi Stephanie,

    Thanks for your comment! Do you define niche as working with a certain type of business owner (like Realtors, or Authors, or Coaches, as examples) or only doing certain work (like online marketing, for example)?

    Either way, Melodee hit on what I would recommend too. Determine the services you love to provide to clients and market yourself as an expert in those areas. You will likely find that potential clients are either looking for someone with a broad base of skills or with specific needs – which usually happen to be technical in nature (shopping carts, social networking, e-newsletters…).

    Also, I want to mention that although it can feel competetive, it really isn’t. Be “you” through and through (don’t pick the skills you market based on what you think the public needs/wants – build your business around the things YOU love to do) and ideal clients will come your way.

    Cheers and best of luck,
    Jessica

  5. Stephanie Stephanie on 2009-08-04 12:07 pm

    Thanks so much for your replies. I think sometimes all of the “newbies” out there get caught up in what they think a va “should” be rather than what kind of VA they “want” to be. Good tip to keep in mind. :)