In this program, I will be sharing ways of working with your clients and how to demonstrate integrity albeit in a virtual world. I’ll also offer some effective ways of using Outlook to make sure your clients projects never fall through the cracks.

Congratulations of Taking the First Step in Upscaling Your Virtual Assistant Business!

I’m pleased to welcome you to your self-study program where I will help you to fast track your way to a successful Virtual Assistant business, establish your credibility, expertise, and personal brand. I wanted to provide a quick overview before you jump in to reviewing the program.

First, I’d like to mention that this program is designed to help you to optimize your Virtual Assistant business whether you are just starting out or you’ve been in business for a while, but are struggling to reach the level of success you desire. I’ve provided tools, strategies and resources to help you find and connect with potential clients, keep the clients you are working with and continually market your business almost as if it’s on auto-pilot.

This program combines online coaching with workbook style Q&A, enabling you to clarify where you are now, where you want to get to, and practical actions you need to take to get you there. I will prompt you with questions, tools, and suggestions which will give you insight and further impetus to succeed in your business.

Think of me as your business partner, that person to accompany you on the journey to getting 'there.'

There are three modules to this program and you will have access 24/7 to review them on your own schedule. All the modules have been produced in transcript format, so you can access for review and/or clarification. The entire program can be accessed at any time, though I do recommend you watch them in order. Each module will offer recommended assignments and I strongly encourage you to do the assignments as they will help you in getting clear on your messaging and insuring you get off on the right foot.

Please note I have been offering my courses for several years, and though I do my best to keep everything up to date, you may find something in the course or other programs I offer that requires an update or you find a stretagy to be outdated. Should you find areas which require my attention updating, please email me at [email protected] so I can change for others. To show my appreciation for this action, I will gift you a one-hour private VA Mentor Coaching Session with me (a $197 value). Additionally, the images may be mis-numbered. This is due to the fact I pulled apart a more comprehensive program for this mini-course. I ask you to kindly overlook this issue. :-)

I'm going to tell you a bit about myself here as we get started so you have some background on me and why and how I became a virtual assistant.

I decided to ditch my corporate office job when I gave birth to my son Spencer in 2005. My parents offered to have me run the Internet Sales Division of their furniture business and among many perks, the most valuable for me was being able to bring my infant son to the office. In late May 2009, sadly their two retail locations fell victim to the economy and had to close. Although my internet division had been a success and was the only part of the company that remained profitable, it could not exist without the stores.

So, in scouring the Internet for ideas of how I could have a successful business working from home, I quickly discovered the category “Virtual Assistant.” And literally within 2 days I had my first website up and running. I called my company "A Virtual Assistant 4 You" and I had dreams every night about how I was going to market myself. I was confident that business was just going to come ‘flowing in.’ Build it and they will come. Well, despite all my business knowledge, I will tell you that it was still not as easy as I had envisioned. It has been an interesting journey but back when I was just starting out, I truly wish I had access to a program like the one I am about to introduce you to.

In January 2013, I re-branded my company, now called "Upscale Your Business." In this business model I work with clients serving as an Administrative Consultant and Social Media Strategist. So although I still function on many levels as a VA, my current business is designed to attract clients who are looking to streamline their business processes and their social media marketing efforts. I have created and marketed my unique 'business acceleration systems' ultimately helping them achieve their next level of success.

Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, I have had regular requests for coaching from new or struggling Virtual Assistants who had found themselves on my website and who were impressed by how I was marketing my business, the testimonials my clients had posted, and how I have a streamlined and systematized Virtual Assistant Business. I was getting emails and phone calls from people who wanted to ‘pick my brain’ and I’m fine with that and I’m always happy to provide resources, advice, and suggestions. But it started to take up far too much of my time, so I thought it would be best to assemble a self-study program where I can share my knowledge and learned wisdom without having to dedicate so much time to so many people who really want to know my secrets to success. In 2015, I achieved a milestone in my business of reaching six figures. In 2016, I exceed that milestone and brought in $130k. I say this not so much to brag--though it still blows me away--but to share with you what could be possible for your Virtual Assistant business--IF that is what you want.

The second reason I’m offering this program is that I have had a not-so-great experience in finding quality subcontractors to assist me and my clients. I’d like to contribute to our industry by helping to bring more awesome VAs to the marketplace and elevate our reputation at the same time. This is a fast-growing industry and so many entrepreneurs are being coached to hire a VA. And it’s my hope to expose more entrepreneurs to exceptional VAs rather than ‘so-so’ VAs!

In speaking with potential clients, it amazes me how often I hear that they have hired one, two or even three virtual assistants who did nothing but disappoint. I hear stories of VAs who make a mess of projects, which the clients then have to redo themselves. It appears many VAs don’t return phone calls and don't update their clients with project status, so the clients are in the dark and frustrated. Often VAs over promise and under deliver. And I’m shocked to hear horror stories of VAs who simply took money from a client and then disappeared. So, although the clients may save a few dollars by hiring low charging VAs, in the end they might as well have taken their money and lit a match to it. Clients who decide to work with me understand that I may charge a higher rate, but they also have confidence--through my website or referrals plus our initial consultation--in knowing they will be in good hands. Unfortunately, most clients initially look for cheap rather than quality, and sometimes they have to learn the lesson the hard way. But don't you want to be the person they come to when they make that discovery? My intention with this program is that you will have the tools to design a Virtual Assistant business which will highlight your expertise and have your ideal clients clamoring to work with you.

There are a few items to mention as you begin to review the six modules of this program.

The first and most important item I want to highlight is that the hardest lesson I learned when starting out is not to expect business to come just because you're open for business. I can assure you it doesn't happen that way.

Next…the amount of time that you can expect to dedicate to getting your business off the ground is ultimately going to depend on your income goals and desire to succeed. If you don’t have a ready source of clients, there is a lot, probably more than you imagine, you’ll need to do, and we are going to cover all of this during the program.

Some VAs just want a very ‘part time’ business. I've worked with some terrific part-timers, who are in this business simply because they enjoy the work and want to have a little extra income, but are not looking to make a fully-fledged business from it. But to get those clients will still require the information I’ll be imparting during the program.

I also wanted to state that in this program I will not be discussing what you should charge. There are a vast array of websites who offer charts, formulas, and worksheets on how you can determine what your rates need to be in order to cover your overheard and make a profit. You can find these pretty easily. I have settled nicely in what I would consider my “sweet spot” as far as pricing. But your sweet spot is going to be up to you to determine.

I know that the virtual assistant industry would recommend that you don't price yourself too low. They say it actually hurts the industry and I will agree with that, but when you’re starting out it’s hard to care about upholding an industry standard--you simply want to make your own money. It is more difficult to get people to pay a 'high' rate before you have a proven track record.

But I want to tell you that when you finally do land on how much you want to be paid for your time and services, I would encourage you not to allow concessions. I certainly am a proponent of “let them try you out.” We all come across and understand there are clients who are tentative as to whether they want to work with us, and in those cases you may decide to offer a trial period at a reduced rate. Just make sure that you outline in your agreement that, if they're satisfied with your performance, beyond the introductory period regular rates will apply.

Your ‘trial’ period does not mean that you work for them for free. Stay away from that altogether. A trial period should be a set amount of time (be it a few hours or one month). If you offer your services for an hourly rate you can suggest, “Maybe start with just five hours and see how it goes." You could even offer potential clients, if at any point during the trial period they are not happy, a refund less the time you have already put in on their projects.

The people that I've actually given concessions to, the ones that I offered a 'special' introductory rate, those same clients, when they've used up their introductory period with me mostly moved on. And I correlate their not continuing to the fact that I gave them special rates. It's just a pattern that I’ve noticed. My overall assessment is that the people who were bold enough to ask me for a lower rate are always shopping for a better rate.They want caviar service on a french-fry budget. So no matter what you have come down to, it's probably still not enough. And that's really the bottom line.

These are some of the reasons I don’t want to be responsible for advising you on the rates you should charge. If you google--much more about google to come--if you google “Virtual Assistants,” in some cases you will find fees advertised, and based on the quality of the websites and the services offered, you can form an opinion as to how you compare and where you feel you fit fee-wise now, and how much you might eventually be able to charge once you are established.

I want to provide you with every possible way for you to research me, learn a little bit more about me and my business and how I run my business.So I encourage you to take some time to review some of these platforms.

• FACEBOOK 'UPSCALE VIRTUAL ASSISTANT' GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/UpscaleVA Request to join so you can share with the group what's happening in your business, pitfalls you've learned that others should avoid, and valuable resources you come across (I share plenty of tools). Plus, you can ask for support from me and other group members when you need it.
• FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/UpscaleYourBusiness
  
• TWITTER: https://twitter.com/UpscaleYourBiz
• LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/JaimieSkultety
• PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/UpscaleYourBiz/
• YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC31T1O9IDTzDrsPsj6sDN2A/

Resources Rolodex

Over the years I have tried and tested many, many tools and services to help me maximize productivity and grow my business (and my client’s businesses). Throughout the program modules I share some links to pre-vetted resources that I personally have reviewed and/or used which have not only made the cut, but I find to be the best, based on both what they offer and their value. I share these shortcuts to with participants of this course because by sharing these I will be saving you many, many hours of research and testing out the hard way.

Please note that some of these may be an affiliate link, which means I receive a typically small thank you commission for making the referral. More importantly, note that I ONLY make referrals for pre-vetted resources that I have personally used and would recommend whether they compensated me something or not.

My entire Resources Rolodex--which is updated on a regular basis--is offered as a bonus item to participants of this course.

Workbooks

There are three PDF workbooks below. I suggest for you to print these out so you can clarify where you are now, where you want to get to, and practical actions you need to take to get you there. Then, when you're ready, you can proceed to Module 1 – Getting Started. Enjoy the program!