Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

As a business coach, one of the first things I tell my clients is keep your overhead down. Working from home and using contractors instead of employees will help bootstrap your business in a way that works.

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Jean Ann Van Krevelen, social media coach
My Clients
http://www.davincivirtual.com
http://www.designcrafters.com
My Biz
http://www.edgyentrepreneur.com

Great plug for the biz, Jean Ann.  Thanks!

Thanks Jean Ann......I couldnt have said it better myself :) 

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http://www.slowcookermate.com
http://www.twitter.com/yslowcook

You captured that really well!  Another plug for VAs.

I`m too small right now to need those services -- I`m certain that there are others in the same boat.  But what I`ve done is setup a virtual phone office -- it seems like we`ve got a location when you call as there are extensions (and you can setup departments which is great if you`ve got a mobile sales staff) and it directs the calls to another number.  So a caller selects the person they want to call, and then the call gets forwarded to my cell phone, or my partner`s home phone.  If we don`t pick up, or choose not to take the call, they leave a message on our system.  It`s fabulous. Not to mention very cheap (as it saves on phone bills).  I use gotvmail (http://gotvmail.com/rae?r=8776199489  -- that`s a promotional number that gets you free setup).


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Couldn`t agree more, love this approach. You can pay 150 bucks a month for an outsourced secretary (which I do) which might cost a little less than a full time employee. Not to mention benefits, insurance, 401k, and all that.


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Mather Wis

Web Wis dom --Philadelphia Web and Branding Design

HiShine -- Philadelphia Cleaning Service

I hear that all the time but I don`t agree.  Look at it this way - let`s say you earn $75/hour for every hour you work on client billable projects.  That also means you LOSE $75/hour for every hour you work on admin projects, because you can`t bill that!

If you hire a VA to handle your admin work at, just an example of course, $30/hour, You can now spend that hour earning $75 working on billable projects, pay your VA $30 and you have EARNED $45 instead of LOSING $75.

And, since a knowledgeable VA is more efficient than many business owners due to their experience, you may find it only took your VA 45 minutes to do YOUR hour`s worth of work so you actually paid $22.50 instead of $30.  Make sense?


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Lily E. Chambers CPS, CQU
"Why hire a mere mortal when you have access to a Goddess"
www.virtualofficegoddess.com

I had bad experiences with home-based Virtual Assistants before. They usually gave me lousy last-minute output so I decided to look for a company that provides office-based skillful VAs that are being monitored, assuring entrepreneurs like me that my VAs are being productive and are working full-time. A friend referred www.hireinthephilippines.com to me and I'm currently working with one of their VAs. So far, I am happy with their work.

I hope this information could help those who have VA problems.   

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