* Please tell us about the resources you’ve used thus far and would recommend to others (or steer them away from). Take a moment to share your educational background (both academic and work-based) and point out things that have helped or hindered you along the way from that education.
Boy, this question could take years to answer! I am a member of several online forums and groups for small businesses, women, and virtual assistants. I would definitely recommend that others become involved in online networking. It is the best tool to use for viral marketing and exposure. I have written articles pertaining to both of my businesses and distributed them online. I was a member of the Chamber of Commerce for a year, but that didn’t seem at all beneficial for me, so I dropped it. I am in two of the local phone directories, as well as an online directory.
My administrative background was primarily front office, so everything I’ve learned about computers and technology has been mostly self-taught. I would probably warn others to get as much training as they can ahead of time; this sure would have made the learning curve a lot gentler, and also broadens the scope of services that a virtual assistant has to offer. I brought to my virtual assistance excellent customer service skills, though, and an innate ability to work with words in various contexts, and both of those skills have helped tremendously. My greatest resource, I would say, has been the small handful of other virtual assistants that I’ve been fortunate to count as genuine friends, and the ones who have shared their projects with me, allowing me another avenue to use for training and growth.
In my hypnotherapy practice, I’ve been able to use my intuition and love of the mind and how it works to fuel my passion and desire to become a good and effective hypnotherapist. I attend monthly hypnosis teleconferences on a variety of subjects, keep current with continuing education requirements, and read avidly to further educate myself. Here again, I think it would help greatly if I were to add more certifications to my repertoire, and I will be able to do that in time.
For both businesses, I consider my greatest obstacle my ability to talk about myself in public. I need to get to a place where I feel somewhat comfortable giving seminars, or walking in to a place to offer my brochures and business cards. I’ve done a little of the latter (not enough, though!), and am working up to the former by using the classes as a springboard.
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