Skye was (is) actually a customer of mine and somehow we started chatting and she mentioned that she does this Virtual Assistant stuff. Well I had heard about it before, but was extremely leery of giving up any control... especially to someone I've never met in real life.
With a slap in the face by the online gods I immediately felt different when chatting with her. Right away I wanted to be friends, I trusted her and decided to take a chance.
Holy sweet baby jesus hallelujah. Best decision ever.
- tell us a little about yourself, where you live what you do etc.
I live in Louisiana with my husband and our two fuzzy-four-legged-children but I originally hail from Texas. I’m a Texas girl to the heart! If you need proof, I’d show you my Texas flag tattoo. ;) I’m currently a full time 9-5er but I’m working like crazy to build my virtual assistant business so I can work from home starting in 2013.
- you recently launched this service, what inspired you to do this?
It pretty much just fell into my lap. I went to a blogging conference last June and met up with a couple of ladies who were looking for some help running the behind the scenes blog business. and that is really where it all started! So I guess you could say that inspiration kicked me in the behind to get things started? After a few trial weeks I decided that I could really get into this and started thinking about how to brand myself, what kind of market I would work best in, and what I could really offer as a virtual assistant.
My three spiritual gifts are administration, helps, and creative communication. and seriously, getting to be a virtual assistant allows me to share those gifts with others who NEED it. It is the most fulfilling work I have ever done. I didn’t think i’d ever find work that made me feel appreciated and validated. its quite honestly one of the best feelings in the world!
- what types of advice can you give others for better time management or organization
number one - develop a system that works for you. If you are a serial paper piler, a file folder system will never work to organize you. You will just have piles of file folders everywhere instead of paper. Think about how your brain organically works and come up with a system that works in its favor. It might take a couple of tries but if you organize in a way that naturally fits your other brain systems, it will work out better in the end and you are more likely to stick with it.
number two - take breaks! I get bug-eyed with highway hypnosis if I stare at the computer too long and it gets really hard for me to concentrate on what I’m doing. therefore the work I’m doing is worthless and I’m not managing my time well. When that feeling starts to hit I take a break from the computer altogether and walk outside. do the dishes. fold some laundry. throw the ball for my dogs. just something to give my eyes and brain a break!
- what types of services do you offer as a va
I really focus on helping out bloggers, handmade business owners, and online business owners - so any services that help them run their businesses better I can do. Format and edit posts, watermark pictures, update inventory in your shop, create branded documents and newsletters, manage sponsors, giveaways, and guest posters - that is really the short list. My mission statement is to offer services to bloggers, artists, creatives, and business owners so they can spend more time creating and less time doing! :) any help you need in those categories is what I can offer. and if I don’t know how to do something, I will figure it out!
I live in Louisiana with my husband and our two fuzzy-four-legged-children but I originally hail from Texas. I’m a Texas girl to the heart! If you need proof, I’d show you my Texas flag tattoo. ;) I’m currently a full time 9-5er but I’m working like crazy to build my virtual assistant business so I can work from home starting in 2013.
- you recently launched this service, what inspired you to do this?
It pretty much just fell into my lap. I went to a blogging conference last June and met up with a couple of ladies who were looking for some help running the behind the scenes blog business. and that is really where it all started! So I guess you could say that inspiration kicked me in the behind to get things started? After a few trial weeks I decided that I could really get into this and started thinking about how to brand myself, what kind of market I would work best in, and what I could really offer as a virtual assistant.
My three spiritual gifts are administration, helps, and creative communication. and seriously, getting to be a virtual assistant allows me to share those gifts with others who NEED it. It is the most fulfilling work I have ever done. I didn’t think i’d ever find work that made me feel appreciated and validated. its quite honestly one of the best feelings in the world!
- what types of advice can you give others for better time management or organization
number one - develop a system that works for you. If you are a serial paper piler, a file folder system will never work to organize you. You will just have piles of file folders everywhere instead of paper. Think about how your brain organically works and come up with a system that works in its favor. It might take a couple of tries but if you organize in a way that naturally fits your other brain systems, it will work out better in the end and you are more likely to stick with it.
number two - take breaks! I get bug-eyed with highway hypnosis if I stare at the computer too long and it gets really hard for me to concentrate on what I’m doing. therefore the work I’m doing is worthless and I’m not managing my time well. When that feeling starts to hit I take a break from the computer altogether and walk outside. do the dishes. fold some laundry. throw the ball for my dogs. just something to give my eyes and brain a break!
- what types of services do you offer as a va
I really focus on helping out bloggers, handmade business owners, and online business owners - so any services that help them run their businesses better I can do. Format and edit posts, watermark pictures, update inventory in your shop, create branded documents and newsletters, manage sponsors, giveaways, and guest posters - that is really the short list. My mission statement is to offer services to bloggers, artists, creatives, and business owners so they can spend more time creating and less time doing! :) any help you need in those categories is what I can offer. and if I don’t know how to do something, I will figure it out!
We've worked together for about a month now and although I've been so busy I can barely send jobs over for her to do, she still represents my company in the best way. Skye helps me manage some of the emails that need a response, but not necessarily a response from me. She is my new part time project coordinator and I can't wait to use her more often- in a good way of course.
Trust me handing over things is tough. My advice is to think about the things that you can let go of or even the things you hate to do- why use your time on those things? Pass them along and that extra time you gained can be used for so much more.
Business stuff aside, we text and totally give each other belly shaking giggles. She is funny and so easy going... hello her business packages are named after Mexican food. That's legit.
Skye McLain- Virtual Assistant
Mention that I sent you & take $10 off any package!
(excludes just the scoop 2hr mini's)
Mention that I sent you & take $10 off any package!
(excludes just the scoop 2hr mini's)
she sounds pretty awesome. argh i need a virtual assistant. but then again i don't know if i could give up some control after being self employed for so many years. :\
ReplyDeleteSeriously Dana you would love her!! Give up the stuff you can, I get emails all day asking for free stuff (yes seriously) I just forward those she handles it. Little stuff that eases up just a bit of your time, its worth it!
Deletei'll think about it for sure :)
DeleteWow that sounds like a complete dream job!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Holy crap... Ppl email you all day for free stuff?! Any way that's awesome that you have help... You definitely seem to be crazy busy.
ReplyDeleteyes everyday! its crazy!!
DeleteI have a hard time with delegation myself. I work from home with 3 part time jobs: running hubby's cabinet biz, my blog, and my JAFRA cosmetics biz. Just taking care of emails is quickly becoming a 2 hour deal every morning, with me starring and folder-ing like crazy. If I (we) keep growing, I would seriously consider hiring Skye. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete