Archive for: VAs

Take a Peek at The Naked VA

woman peekingOne thing I’ve noticed about the virtual assistant industry is how supportive we are of one another, some even more than others. Many VAs have started online or local networking groups, while some offer mentoring or coaching, sometimes for profit but often just for the sake of helping others.

Ruth Martin of Maplewood Virtual Assistance definitely fits into the latter category. Her blog, The Naked VA, offers an in-depth look at our industry, providing valuable insight both to aspiring VAs and to entrepreneurs who may be in need of a virtual assistant. To provide a broader perspective than just her own experience, she regularly interviews other virtual professionals, and I was recently honoured to be featured on her blog.

Read my interview on The Naked VA.

If you have a question you’d like me to answer, whether it’s about the VA industry, my own business, or something else altogether, please leave a comment or send me a message, and I’ll do my best to answer it.

Global Meets Local at Business Networking Event in Burlington

Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants GroupThe Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants Group sure has grown since four local VAs decided to get together for lunch in March 2007! We now have regular monthly meetings and 16 members with a variety of skills and specialties who collectively support hundreds of businesses, so when we learned that the third week of May had been declared Global Virtual Assistants Week, we were eager to get involved.

One of the goals of Global VA Week is to provide an opportunity for face-to-face networking for virtual assistants at the local level. Since we’re already doing that, we decided to focus on the other goal: to educate local business owners about the benefits of working with virtual assistants. After a couple of very busy months of planning and organizing, we’re looking forward to a successful event at the Burlington Art Centre on Wednesday, May 18.

You should attend if:

  • You are a busy entrepreneur or small business owner interested in cost-effectively decreasing your stress and workload and improving your efficiency
  • You coach others who are starting or already running a business and need to know what resources are available to them
  • You’d like to network with other local small business people and enjoy good food in a beautiful venue
  • You are interested in becoming a virtual assistant and would like to know more about the profession
  • You’re already a VA and would like to network with your local colleagues

The highlight of the evening will be a presentation by Mr. Dave Howlett, founder and Managing Director of RealHumanBeing.org, who will be giving a 15 minute portion of his renowned “How To Connect” presentation. I’ve not yet had the pleasure of hearing him speak, but I’ve heard wonderful things about him and am really looking forward to it!

We’re truly thankful to Techno Metal Post, The WQ Gift Company, Energy Savings PowerGard, and Workload Solution Services Inc. for their financial support. If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor as well, please let me know and I’ll be happy to connect you with our sponsorship person.

Tickets will be available at the door for $20.00, which includes parking and food, but you can save $5.00 off the admission cost if you pre-register online.

I hope to see you there!