Hi everybody

#1

I’m Shona and I joined SVA about six months. I’ve been quietly watching from the wings and soaking up all the information. I’ve finally made the leap and will be starting my little VA business in February. My website is nearly ready, I’ve registered as a sole trader, registered with Companies House, registered with the ICO, have insurance lined up with Policy Bee (just need to hit the button). Have contracts lined up with Koffee Klatch, bought a new laptop, monitor and printer, have 365 installed and ready to go.

Scary but really exciting - is there anything obvious here that I’m missing please ? I’m trying to be as thorough as possible before D Day.

Thank you everybody
Shona

#2

This sounds amazing, and well done.

One tip - you will always feel like there are things that need to be done before you launch. Even now I am continuing to work on my business and I learn something new every day.

My business has been running for 2 years :):blush:

Good luck with everything!

#3

Congratulations and well done, Shona. I am tearing my hair out trying to decide what laptop and printer to buy. Do you mind me asking what laptop and printer you settled for?

#4

Thank you Keira that makes me feel much better

#5

Hi there, I got. Dell inspiron with high RAM, 65, plus a LaCie external plug in hard drive of 4 tb. The printer is an HP office jet with print, copy and scan :+1:

#6

Thank you so much for sharing, Shona. Most grateful to you.

#7

Hi Shona
Well done. My business has been running for 8 months now. Felt a little discouraged as things have been slow, but then reading various comments from everybody has helped me to stay motivated. I now have 3 clients. I still work as my business is not yet generating enough income yet.
All the best for the future.
Petula

#8

Congratulations Shona. I’m still working on my website but I launched in September as I already have 2 clients plus my regular job. My advice is that you don’t need to know everything before you start, I tried learning so much my head hurt, it’s better to learn as you go.
I use my existing HP laptop and we have a HP all in one printer. To be honest, I’ve not yet used the printer for VA work as it’s mostly email and Dropbox.

#9

Hi Shona,

Congratulations on being so organised and methodical with your setup! Wishing you all the best with the launch! Have you thought about where your ideal client hangs out, (virtually, e.g. Facebook), and set yourself up on those platforms? Might be worth starting to scout around and getting your head around their pain points etc. :slight_smile:

All the best,

Hannah
Apex VA

#10

Thank you Hannah, I’m working on my LinkedIn and Facebook profiles and have also joined some small business forums, getting exciting now

#11

Thank you Petula, I’m prepared for a slow start up, just not too slow I hope !!

#12

I’m on a bit of a learning curve and think I’ll jump in and try and figure it out, so much to get in place but I’ve got to jump in at some point. Thank you very much

#13

Hi Everyone!

I have started my VA journey this week :blush: it was an impulse decision but one I know I was made for. I’ve been an EA in finance for 10 years and just didn’t really know this was a thing!

I’ve set up Instagram and Facebook and am learning all my marketing strategies through there. I work full time so I won’t be disheartened if it takes a while to build up.

I’ve set up a square space profile and will start my website this weekend. I used to play around on piczo as a teenager so hoping that’ll be of some help! Haha

I have a question fir VAs with clients.

Where do u get your contract templates for when on boarding a new client? Do u go to solicitors for these things?

Thanks so much x

#14

Hi Elle,

Congratulations on setting out!

In answer to your question, I purchased all my contracts from KoffeeKlatch. I bought a package that included a year support in the private Facebook group so I was able to ask questions etc. They provide VA specific documentation. Also got my associate contracts from there!

Hope that helps,

Hannah