KIM REYES is a wife, mom, and entrepreneur in the virtual assistant niche of blogging. And just like most of us who are taking the great launch into the industry, getting potential clients to change their employer-employee mentality can be just as challenging as it is for her to change her own employer-employee mentality. Putting a dollar sign on her worth met numerous challenges that not only affected her financially, but also overall as an entrepreneur.
Below is her story on how she used her "issue" to change her own mindset to find her voice to be a banner in changing the mindset of her clients.
Q: When and why did you choose to become a virtual assistant?
A: I started offering my virtual support services in 2008. My reason was quite shallow back then, and I had no idea that virtual assistance would be my career now. I was in my second year in college and the "in" thing was netbooks. While all my classmates were using netbooks, I was lugging around this huge, old laptop. I wanted a netbook so badly, but I didn't want to ask my parents for one. So, I looked for a way to earn income without sacrificing my academics. I searched online and found oDesk (now Upwork). My first job was to write blog posts for a travel site and manage the site's community.
I enjoyed the work so much that I decided to continue even after college. The work setup that virtual assistance offered me was perfect because I love to travel. It became even more perfect when I had kids, because it allowed me to be hands-on while still being able to work.
Q: What challenges have you faced since becoming a virtual assistant?
A: Being a virtual assistant as a college student was okay. But choosing that career path after college, in a time when virtual assistance wasn't widely known in the Philippines, was difficult. I was judged and told that I wasted my education from a top university in the Philippines to be "just an assistant." I was asked the big question all the time: "When will you get a real job?" I eventually learned to shrug those comments off.
My other challenge was competing in a Filipino market of virtual assistants. Filipinos charge (and are expected to charge) low for virtual support services. Despite the fact that I've taken steps to further increase my skill level, potential clients would still expect me to charge low simply because I'm from the Philippines. I met a great VA coach and colleague, who pushed me to charge according to the value I give a client - not according to my location.
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IT'S MY ISSUE
KNOWING YOUR WORTH
7
Starting your own business is not as scary as you may think, but it’s not as easy as hanging a shingle out saying open for business. So what are the steps to starting a business?
The answer to this question varies depending on several factors: what type of business you want to have, your location, and what need you plan to meet.
The first thoughts in starting a business are on how much money you want to make, the name for your business, and a good location for your business to be successful. Other things to think about are: is there a market for your service/product? Will your service/product make money? and What, if any, competition will you have?
What should be first on your mind?
Your next thoughts after you answer those questions, research the market get as much information you can and talk to people in your area of interest. If it’s a store location, visit the store, check out the inventory, pricing and customer traffic. You can get help with any part of starting your business with the resources from your local Small Business Association (SBA) or SCORE. These are helpful sources that provide seminars, classes and mentors which will help you start on the right foot.
Now that you have found your niche and done all your research it’s time to decide what type of business entity you will be. There are 4 types of business entities: sole proprietorship (LLC), partnership, corporation (S/C) or cooperative? Each one of these choices has its advantages and disadvantages. I suggest talking to a business lawyer to understand the differences between them and a business tax expert so they can explain the differences between them from a tax perspective.
In finding a name for your company, it should be a name that represents your products/services. You want a name that people will remember because it’s catchy or they associate an acronym with the name (United Parcel Service- UPS). The same holds true for your logo. Make it simple but eye catching (Exxon-tiger).
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BY Tonya Franklin