Our segment on the benefits of working at home aired on CBS 4 News.  We are thrilled.  That’s my daughter, Amanda and Amber, and I have to admit, having a camera crew in your house — Rocks!  We had a blast.  Of course, to celebrate we went out to lunch that day and … shopping! It’s moments like these that make it all so worthwhile.

Plus, I think the topic is so important.  How many parents have to take their kids to work when they are sick, just because they can’t stay home.  That’s definitely one of the main advantages we work at home moms have.  My daughter will often tell me that’s one of the best things.   It looks like even the political candidates will get involved with this new law.

I’m so thrilled too that they mentioned virtual assistant.  Once again, we got in got virtual assistants in the news.  Yeah!! Thanks!  Diana Ennen - Virtual Word Publishing, www.virtualwordpublishing.com

  http://cbs4.com/local/Diana.Ennen.sick.2.701349.html

Once again today I was reminded of the importance of setting up your business practices and sticking to them.  When you start your virtual assistant business, or any small business, you need a solid plan of action and a solid business plan for how you will run your business.  This is important, not only in the beginning stages of business, but each and every year as your business grows it is just as important, if not more important-you have more at stake.

 Here are some tips:

1)  Set your policies and stick to them.  For example, I always ALWAYS get my retainer paid in advance.  Well, except for earlier this year when a client seemed so so good and I wanted them so so bad and well, the check was definitely in the mail, it just never arrived.  I’ve been in business almost 24 years.  I coach VAs regularly and tell them NOT to do this, but guess what.  I did it, and learned the hard way.  The only good thing about it, great material for my new book.  (Now that’s looking on the bright side!).

 2)  Set your prices and stick to them.  I always ALWAYS do this.  Except for earlier this year when I decided to lower my prices just this once. Just this one exception.  Needlesstosay, I’ve regretted it since I did it.  What I find is it’s not necessarily the money, but more the confidence.  Now when I quote I find myself second guessing myself, whereas before that didn’t happen. 

3)  Set your hours and stick to it.  Yes, I could easily work 24/7, weekends, etc.  I love to work.  I thrive on it.  But I need to learn to turn it off.  Especially this week when the kids are home for Spring Break.  It’s tough when you see the family going out to the movies, shopping, having all this fun and there you are at your computer, working!!  Now, with a few adjustments I find that I too can join them.  I just need to work my plan.  You truly can do it all.  You just need to schedule it better.  Thank goodness for my timer and my Daytimer and to do list.  Hopefully I’m getting everything I need done and still having a blast.  That’s what it’s all about.

I hope you find these beneficial.  Do you have any tips on working your business the right way.  I’ve love to hear them.

 Diana Ennen, Virtual Word Publishing

Can you imagine my surprise last week when I’m watching the Today Show and Money 911 is on.  Then they start talking about ways to make extra money and valid “good” work at home opportunities.  They then proceeded to list some top ones and right there on top was “Virtual Assistant.”  Yahoo!  I about spilled my cheerios!

The word is really getting out there about us.  And that is so beneficial for all us virtual assistants, whether we are in business now or trying to start a business.  Everytime the media says our name, that helps our Industry.  I just wonder how many people went right to Google and typed in “Virtual Assistant” that day.  Hopefully when they did your company came up.  That’s why we always encourage you to send out those articles and press releases and do a good job on your SEO to get your name recognized. 

On the forum, I always talk about how to take news media and turn it into press.  So I thought I’d share how I took this media and my co-author and I turned it into a press release. 

Also, I’d love to hear what PR you are doing now?  Share with us a comment.   Thanks!  — Diana Ennen/VirtualWordPublishing.com

                                                                                            Virtual Assistant Tops Today Show’s Work At Home Business List O’Fallon, IL – March, 2008 When a Kansas City woman sought advice from The Today Show on supplementing her household income with a part-time job, Today’s Money 911 reporter Jean Chatzky topped her recommended work at home list with Virtual Assistant. Who would have thought? Finally, Virtual Assistants are gaining the respect they deserve. Virtual assistants around the globe who have repeatedly promoted the industry as individuals and as groups are beginning to see an impact on their efforts. Virtual assistants have been talked about, written about, interviewed by, and seen in the likes of Entrepreneur, USA Today, Time, The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Reader’s Digest, CNN News, and more. “We’ve come a long way from the deer in the headlights, wrinkled forehead look once received when offering up ‘I’m a virtual assistant,’ after being asked our profession,” states Kelly Poelker, Director of Academy of Virtual Professionals and co-author of the Virtual Assistant – The Series books. “Each and every article and interview put us one step closer to educating as many people as we can on what a virtual assistant is, and how a business can benefit from our services.” It’s an exciting time to start a virtual assistant business, but there are still a number of people just discovering the profession as a result of the growing media coverage. “I couldn’t tell you the number of people who comment they have been doing this for years and just didn’t know it had a name,” shares Diana Ennen, President of Virtual Word Publishing. Poelker and Ennen would know, too. They have helped thousands of virtual assistants get a foothold in the industry with their Virtual Assistant – The Series books, mentoring, and coaching. Over the years they’ve seen a constant increase in the number of colleges adding a virtual assistant program or course to their curriculum. For example, Red Deer College in Canada has been utilizing the book for many years. The authors state they are seeing about a 5-10% growth in the number of U.S. colleges adding VA programs each year. Most recently, Poelker founded Academy of Virtual Professionals, an online training center dedicated to educating virtual professionals whose signature course is a 16-week program based on the publications. Poelker and Ennen are available for media interviews. To learn more about how to add Virtual Assistant – The Series to your college curriculum, to obtain a review copy or free sample chapter send an email to authors@va-theseries.com. For more information on upcoming classes at Academy of Virtual Professionals, go to http://www/AcademyVP.com.  

Everywhere you turn these days, you see the word, “virtual assistants.”  Isn’t that awesome! Years ago, everyone wondered what a VA was. Now most businesses have one, two or three working for them.  And their businesses have never been better!

Recent press includes my article in Reader’s Digest, and then Karen Reddick is soon to be featured on a segment on NBC, and even newsletters are telling of the benefits of hiring a VA.  Just this week, the Publicity Hound’s newsletter talked about working with a VA.

So, now you know that it’s a REAL home-based business and you see so many talking about it, you’re probably wondering how do I start, or how do I grow my business.  Ta DA … That’s what I’m here for.  I will be posting articles, tips, ideas, you name it on how you can succeed as a VA.  Now, you have to help too.  Post and ask questions.  Tell me about your experiences.  Let this be interactive.  Tell me how I can help you succeed. 

 Let’s grow together! 

Heres’ an article I think you’ll find beneficial.  Lots more to come!

Publicity and Marketing – The Perfect Niche for Successful Virtual Assistants

We all realize how Virtual Assistants have revolutionized the way we work today.  Most businesses now count on their Virtual Assistant the same as they used to count on their secretaries, only so much more.  VAs are a prized and respected part of their client’s team, and unlike secretaries, who often were taken for granted, Virtual Assistants are praised for their professionalism and skills.  Most businesses today can’t imagine where they would be without their VA.  And as the potential for success in a virtual assistant business continues to explode, so does the need for good Virtual Assistants.

Today’s Virtual Assistants need to take pride in their business and also to learn as much as they can about their niche, which is the specialty they have chosen to specialize in. One niche that I highly recommend is to offer publicity and marketing services to clients.  This is an area that is growing in leaps and bounds as more and more authors, businesses, and other professionals realize the need to market their business to get good publicity.  A business can expand tremendously when hiring a Virtual Assistant to help them spread the word about their products or services.  Also, authors today aren’t aware that once they write a book, that’s when the real work begins.  They need to get the word out about their book in order for it to be successful.  That’s where a good Publicity VA comes in.

Publicity and marketing is thrilling to say the least.  There’s such a great rush when your client gets recognized in national magazines, or a TV station wants to do a segment on them and you helped them achieve this success.  Or better yet, when your efforts start resulting in substantial increased sales for them.  Clients will not only keep using your services, but also tell others about this new positive addition they have to their business. And best yet, you too get to feel that satisfaction as you are helping them achieve their goals.

One of my most successful tips is learning how to effectively use any publicity that a client receives.   When clients get national attention in a magazine, newspaper, or TV Segment, or even on a popular website, it’s important to make sure that everyone is aware of this. A press release should immediately go out to announce their accomplishment.  This release should be added to their website and also should go to all their local papers, radio stations, and TV networks.  Media loves to highlight a success story of their locals, so make sure you get this out there as soon as you can.  And you don’t have to wait for the publicity to happen.  If your client lands a major TV segment, you can start sending this press out beforehand in order to get more media for when the event happens. You just want to make sure that the client is fairly confident the segment will air.  Also, don’t worry if the segment gets bumped back, that often happens as breaking news takes priority.  This can almost be a blessing, as then you get to do more publicity before the airdate.

It’s also important to follow-up with the reporters and let them know how much you appreciate the acceptance of your quotes for an article.  When you go the extra step to show them your appreciation, they remember you when the next article comes up and they need help with more expert advice.  Many reporters work for multiple magazines so one good ally can lead to lots of media exposure.  Always keep your PR hat on.  Learn to take any situation and turn it into good press for your clients and your business as well. Stay on top of current events and see if you have anything to offer. Whenever a story hits the press that any of my clients would have a connection to, I’ll send it right away.  Having press releases already prepared for clients on their business is always a great help.  How do you know about these events?  Sign up for Google Alerts under the topics of interest and then whenever a story is written,  you can follow-up with your press release or article to the reporter.  It works!   I also use ProfNet from PRNewswire, which allows me to get daily leads from major news outlets.  You can also consider PRLeads. 

It’s also important to learn how to write a good press release and article and also where to send those.  Make sure that your press releases and articles are newsworthy and also something that interests the readers.  When I write a release, I always think would I read this release?  Would it interest me?  If not, I doubt your target audience would be reading it either.  Plus, be careful to sound too promotional.  You can easily get your message across without sounding like an ad.

Publicity is a great niche for VAs.  I hope you have found these tips beneficial.

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by Diana Ennen, www.virtualwordpublishing.com

In reading all the other blogs here, I realize so many write on what’s happening in their entrepreneurial journey.  I realized how refreshing it is to read, just to see how others are doing.  So I decided to give it a go.

We’ve had an incredibly exciting few weeks.  As many of you know, I am so passionate about working at home and all that you can achieve and I love sharing it with others.  Yesterday I was at my daughter’s school and one of the moms was saying how she dreamed one day of working at home instead of being at secretary at …. and then went into a 10 minute speel on how she hated working there.  She wasn’t talking to me, so I felt odd going up to her and saying, I can help.  You absolutely can work at home with your secretarial skills. Here’s how.  It just reminded me how much I wished everyone knew about our board here!

Jill and I this week did our first live Radio Show.  It was awesome.  I must admit, it’s so different going live.  http://live.cwahm.com, but I’m sure each week we will get better and better.  We hope to have a lot of the mompreneurs as guests.

I sent a lead to a local TV station about the “bad” flu season and how working at home is an advantage because we don’t have to send our kids to school if they are sick.  Hopefully, fingers crossed, they are going to come out next week and tape me and my kids.  That would ROCK!

And probably the biggest news is that Jill and I heard back from a Christian book publisher on our book, Home-Based Blessings, and their interest in it.  It’s just thrilling the journey of writing a book and I’ve learned that I enjoy all these moments to the fullest.  

How are you doing in your entrepreneur journey?  Post a comment and let us know.

Thanks

Diana Ennen, Your Virtual Assistant Mom

www.virtualwordpublishing.com

Hi

With the mompreneurs getting some AMAZING PR lately, I thought I’d share some tips on how to write an effective press release or better known as news release.  Whenever you get any media attention, it’s what you do once you have it that makes it count.  Only a fraction of people will see the TV segment, magazine or newspapers article, however, when you write a press release on it and submit it out, then everyone knows.  Plus, shout out the good news.  Tell your local media, groups you belong to, post it on your blog, website, newsletters, etc. 

To help, I have created a video on how to write a press release.  Now this is my ”FIRST!” in a series of how to videos and it’s pretty rough, but it has some great tips in there I feel.   

http://www.ennenenterprises.com/blog/ 

Also, I have a new PR informational package I’d be happy to email you with how to information on writing a press release, sites to submit to, and press release samples.  Email me at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.

Good luck with your press!

Diana Ennen, Your Virtual Assistant Mom

www.virtualwordpublishing.com 

Cher Klosner of Stardustlullaby.com appeared in a special Valentines Radio Segment at http://www.cwahm.com/loudblog/.  

To make this segment even more enjoyable Diana Ennen and Jill Hart decided to open it up to other mompreneurs who would like to tell us why they love their business, or wish their someone special a Happy Valentines day.  Details Below.  I hope you join us!

Christian Work at Home Moms presents an opportunity for you to be on the air with us with our Special Valentines Day Broadcast.

Jill Hart hosts the Christian Work At Home Mom Radio Show and Diana Ennen cohosts the Success From Home Segment, but for Valentines Day they want to do something special. We want you to be on our show with us. (Special guest that week is Cher Klosner of www.stardustlullaby.com)

Here’s the details:

Call in before Friday, February 8th at 12:00 p.m. EST and leave your message at 214-615-6505, ext 4845. Please keep the entire segment to under 5 minutes to allow time for all who wish to share.

After the beep, take it away by giving …

1) Your Name
2) Your Business
3) Your Website(s)
4) 2 -3 minutes on why you love your business.
5) A special Valentines Giveaway form your site or a special discount. (This isn’t required, but we do highly recommend it. People love to get specials.)

Sign off, with a short — Happy Valentines Day. If you’d like, go ahead and wish your someone special (kids included) a very quick — Happy Valentines day.

That’s it! Any questions, please email

Diana@virtualwordpublishing.com or Jill Hart at Jill@cwahm.com

We also encourage you to tell others that you are on this show via your mailing lists, boards, etc., and if you’d like a CWAHM button, email us. (Again, not required. We just want to spread the word.)

Thanks! Jill Hart and Diana Ennen

I just wanted to mention that Lesley Spencer’s site, HireMyMom.com is getting some amazing press.  In Parents in December, Redbook in January.  With that I’m noticing a lot of businesses who are listing for services that a virtual assistant could handle.  I thought you might want to look into that.  Many of the businesses are paying good rates.  This site connects businesses with entrepreneurs.  Lesley is the Founder of HBWM.

With the New Year, it’s time for virtual assistants to start their marketing big time.  Also, if you happen to offer bookkeeping services, get there and let people know.  1099s are due at the end of this month and businesses are going to be looking for help.  Plus tax day is right around the corner as well.  All of those who have waited, now will be looking for help, and a virtual assistant is the perfect solution.

It’s also a great time to review your website.  Does it sell you well?  You really don’t realize the importance a website has to potential clients.  I hear this all the time when I’m trying to help clients find a VA.  They will go to the VA’s site and when it’s not professional, they come back to me and triple check that I feel this VA can do it.”  You want to sell the professionalism of your services and your site has to have that professionalism.

As always if you have any questions on starting your virtual assistant business, e-mail me at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.  I’m the Virtual Assistant Expert here and I’m happy to help you.

Diana Ennen / Virtual Word Publishing / www.virtualwordpublishing.com

Hi

Since it’s the time of year to write New Year’s Resolutions, I thought I’d share the ones I wrote specifically for the Virtual Assistant Industry.  I hope you enjoy them!  - Diana Ennen 

The Virtual Assistant Industry has grown in leaps and bounds this year and is soon on its way to becoming a household word.  It used to be people would ask, “What is a virtual assistant?”  Now, the question is more, “Who is your virtual assistant?” It brings to mind years past when if you mentioned you were starting a home-based business, people would look at you like you were nuts.  Now operating a home-based business is not only accepted, but also highly regarded.   

This past year, we saw amazing evidence of the power of virtual assistants (VAs) with more and more media coverage, well-known authors and celebrities singing our praises, and businesses and corporations alike commenting on how hiring a virtual assistant has helped them to achieve so much more success in not only their business, but personal lives as well. Thousands of qualified and dedicated entrepreneurs stepped up to meet that demand and now join the ranks of being one of us-a virtual assistant.   When thinking of the VA Industry, brilliance, cutting-edge technology, and enormous dedication comes to mind.  This year lets take our Industry to new heights.  Lets keep our proud tradition of being the best, and lets show the world, that they can’t do without us.   

Here’s are several New Years Resolutions to help you achieve greater success with your business this year: 

Resolution #1 — Make a commitment to get to know two people within your industry on a more personal level every month.  Answer back an e-mail addressed to a VA group with a personal, “Hi. How are you doing? I’m Diana Ennen.”  Also, become active on VA boards.  If networking locally, introduce yourself at a professional organization’s meeting or a conference instead of just being in the background. 

Resolution #2 – Take the time to organize your business and make it easier to run on a daily basis. If you haven’t done so already, invest in a 3-ring notebook and put all the valuable forms you use on a daily basis in there including all your marketing letters, follow-up client letters, proposals, portfolios, etc. By customizing these forms now, you have them available when a client contacts you and are then able to respond to that client immediately with the right professionalism that will convince them to use your services.   Bottom line – You don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time.

 Resolution #3 – Define your definition of a virtual assistant.  There is so much talk today on exactly what is a virtual assistant.  Spend the time this year to focus on what you believe a virtual assistant is and what you believe your clients look for in a virtual assistant.  Develop a mission statement with that definition.   Try this, “At (insert your company name), we strive to provide you with the best (insert what that is) and to always meet and exceed your expectations.  We are committed to (what?).  This can be done while enjoying that eggnog this year, not too spiked of course.  By developing your mission statement, you will find clarity, which will enable you to take your virtual assistant business to the next level.   Also, if you have a mission statement from last year, it’s time to rewrite it and include where you are today with your business. 

Resolution #4 – Get the steps to success down in writing.  For those that have read our book, Virtual Assistant – The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, you might benefit with our new VA The Series Workbook.  It takes you step by step through operating a successful VA business, listing all your goals, development ideas,  and also drives home exactly what you want your business to be.  When you see it in writing, it helps you see where you want to go and how you want to get there. 

Resolution #5 – Make an effort to keep your company name out there.  Send out regular press releases, articles, newsletters, post cards, thank you notes, and frequent follow-up.  Not only can this help your Google status, but it also gains you credibility as an expert. As virtual assistants, being able to work without global boundaries has enabled us to work with clients anywhere.   These steps can help you find the right balance for your next year is more prosperous than ever. We wish you the best of luck in the coming year.  May it be your best year ever with success, happiness, and the right family/work balance that allows you to enjoy every day with peace and serenity.  Stop by any of our sites for additional information on how you too can become a successful Virtual Assistant. 

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Diana Ennen, Author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant - The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and New Accompanying VA The Series Workbook; WordPerfect® OfficeReady® Virtual Assistant Solution Pack, Visit Diana at http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com. Free booklet available on starting a virtual assisting business, as well as several other great articles and tips. Feel free to pass this article along as long as the author’s block is included.     

Hi

With so many new people coming to us from the Family Circle Article where Ellen writes on “Women of ReIntervention,”  I thought it might be a good idea to post some tips on starting a virtual assistant and/or administrative assistant business as that as mentioned in there.  If you have additional questions, please feel free to email me too at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.  I’m the Virtual Assistant Mom here and I’d love to help with any questions you have.   — Diana Ennen, www.virtualwordpublishing.com

Proven How To’s On Starting Your Own Virtual Assistant Business — By Diana Ennen

Setting up a home-based virtual assistant business is relatively easy, but it’s important to have a complete plan of action set out in advance.  I’m a firm believer that the initial planning phase of a business is crucial to its success.  This ensures that you don’t leave any vital steps unaddressed and also prevents any unexpected surprises down the road.  Therefore, I recommend first writing a complete business plan for your business. Nothing technical, just how you plan to operate your business including advertising methods, pricing, business hours, equipment and supplies needed, etc.The next step is to select the appropriate name.  Take your time here as you want your business name to be an asset by appealing to your potential clients.  Your name needs to clearly express what services you provide and not limit you if you choose to expand your business into other areas.  Decide on a name that people would want to call if they have virtual assisting needs.  

To operate a business you are required by law to have the appropriate licenses.  This is your permit to do business locally. It’s a simple procedure that doesn’t require a considerable amount of time.  Contact your city and county officials under occupational licenses for complete details or go online.  Most VAs start out initially as a sole proprietorship and then might change later.  However, you can also start as a corporation (S corp normally) or LLC.

Now it’s time to set up your bookkeeping. I find that the most important ingredient to keeping good books is keeping it simple.  If it’s easy to do, and doesn’t require a lot of effort, I tend it do it more regularly.  You will want to keep track of all your income and expenses.  Save all receipts and pay all your expenses out of your business checking account.  A software program such as Quickbooks is ideal for our type of business.  Not only does it allow you to keep accurate records, but it also enables you to track exactly where the most money is coming from.  This enables you to target your marketing efforts more in that area. 

Now you must decide how much to charge.  Don’t undercharge your services.  Many make this mistake. They feel if they price their services substantially below everyone else, they’ll get more business.  That’s true–you might get more business, but you’ll also be working outrageous hours and not making the kind of income you should.  

Next you need to get those clients. The key to successful marketing is to tell clients what benefits they will receive by answering their main question, “What’s in it for me?”  Keep in mind, you’re not selling your services, you’re selling the benefits of your services.  What can you offer them that would make their business run more successfully.  An example of this would be accurate dependable service done on an “as needed” basis.    It is also important to have an impressive marketing piece. Your brochures, letterhead, flyers, business cards, etc., should look sensational.  Think back on what has caught your eye in the past. Now design your material with that in mind. The most important requirement is that it must be professional and convey that you are more than someone typing documents. Businesses want to deal with other professionals. They don’t want to risk their work, and possibly their clients, on someone who is not.  Let them know this is exactly what they will receive when they seek your services.  Places such as Vistaprints.offer affordable printing. 

Once established, word of mouth is your best advertisement.  When people get professional, accurate, and friendly service they tell others.  If you offer such exceptional service, you can be assured that you will need to advertise only at the onset to get your business started.  From then on, your repeat clients, and referrals from them, will keep your business thriving. Recognition is also a key to success, whether it’s through the Yellow Pages, message boards, newspapers, chats, or school bulletin boards.  When clients see your business repeatedly, they become familiar with your company and when the need arises, they will call you.  Therefore consider where you can advertise that can keep your name out there.  Take advantage of your signature line and often add a P.S. to add emphasis. Now that you’ve got the clients, you need to keep them.  The best way to do this is to always provide them with more than they ask for.  Go the extra mile on all assignments.  Let them know that you value their business and are eager to help them succeed.   

And finally, enjoy your business.  Many start their own business to spend more time with their family.  It’s the perfect way to stay at home and still make an excellent income.  Firmly set your hours and learn to say no.  Remember it’s your business and often your dream come true.  By learning your limitations, you can keep it a wonderful experience that both you and your family will enjoy.

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Diana Ennen is the author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant: the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, www.virtualwordpublishing.com, specializing in publicity and book marketing. Articles are free to be reprinted as long as the author’s bio remains intact.