Virtual Assistants, what is your biggest mistake?

Tina and I were talking the other day about our ‘big mistakes’. You know when you do something wrong, realize what happened and get that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Every VA has had a big mistake, it almost seems like a rite of passage!

So we thought it would be fun to make a big old list of our ‘big mistakes’. Partially to get a chuckle out of it, and also so that we all know that everyone does make mistakes (and thankfully most mistakes are easily fixed in the online world, phew!)

I’ll go first… I’ve made my fair share of mistakes over the last few years. The one that comes first to mind is when I scheduled a teleclass bridge line for one of my clients. Unfortunately for me, I seem to have a natural talent at mixing up numbers. So I reserved the bridge line and then proceeded to set up a thank you page and autoresponder - which all included the bridge line of course. While I thought I was being super efficient, it turned out that I reversed some of the numbers and so both the autoresponder and thank you page included the incorrect number. To top it off, the teleclass summary I sent to my client with all the details for the call, also included the incorrect number.

On the day of the teleclass - disaster struck. My client called me in a panic and another VA on the team was also calling as the teleclass registrants were calling her about the problem. Luckily I was in the office and able to get the correct numbers quickly so all parties could connect and start the teleclass.

It was a very stressful few minutes but I learned my lesson (even though I still feel a bit of panic every time I set up a teleclass!).

I’d love to hear from you … What’s your “Big Mistake”?

Tina and I are excited to announce the next training program available for Virtual Assistants.

On February 2nd, the “Video, Webinar and Podcasting for Virtual Assistants” program, will launch the 2009 Hot Skill VA Training ’specialty’ programs.

Led by Michelle Shoen, this program promises to be a fantastic one. Here’s just a sample of what you will be able to do once you these skills under your belt:

• setup and record webinars for your clients - everything from setting up the webinar through to creating a recorded video of the session
• create online promotional videos - help your clients produce videos that can be posted on their sales pages to assist in marketing efforts
• create video based information products - record and create information based videos that can be sold as products online
• create audio podcasts - editing and production of audio podcasts that can be submitted to iTunes and other podcasting directories

Join us for a free ’sneak-peek’ on Tuesday, January 20th. On this 1 hour call, Michelle will share:

• The top 5 things that clients are asking for help with
• What you need to know to start offering this as a specialty
• How much you can charge for these services
• How to get started in this specialty

Reserve your spot for this call at www.HotSkillsVATraining.com/video.

“See” you there!

~Cindy

There’s a buzz out there these days ….. the title “Online Business Manager” is getting out more and more and both Virtual Assistants and online based business owners are eager to learn what it’s all about.

It’s been a couple of months now since my partner Tina Forsyth officially launched her new book “Becoming an Online Business Manager“. If you don’t know what an OBM is or you want to learn how to become one, you owe it to yourself to add this to your collection of essential business books.

The easy to read chapters have ignited all kinds of discussion and not only are Virtual Assistants waiting in line to learn how they can become an OBM, business owners are eager to learn where to find one.

Tina has all kinds of fantastic stuff planned for the next few months related to her book. To learn more, visit her website at www.OnlineBusinessManager.com