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Why the Philippines for Virtual Assistants?
The demand for both onshore and offshore virtual assistants had been growing for over a decade now, with no signs of slowing down. For offshore virtual assistants, most of the top locations for VAs (as well as other types of skilled, virtual workers) are...
The Rise of the Virtual Assistant
Using virtual assistants, or “VAs,” to support and grow a business is a hot topic these days, especially within the realm of online business owners. In fact, search “virtual assistant” and half a billion results come up! You may know what a virtual assistant is and...
Operationalizing Purpose & Culture for Tangible Results
Authored by: Barbara Turley, CEO - The Virtual Hub Mirror Mirror on the wall. Who has the best company culture of us all? Company culture, purpose and core values all seem such ethereal concepts. Fancy words and ideas of who we think we are, who we...
Culture Eats Strategy! – The Importance of Organizational Culture
Authored by: Barbara Turley, CEO - The Virtual Hub Culture eats strategy! I’ve heard that said many times and found myself nodding my head in agreement. It’s only now I realise that, while I agreed, I really had no basis for my agreement aside from it...
Bootcamp and Backstepping – Revisiting Our Company Purpose
Authored by: Barbara Turley, CEO - The Virtual Hub I always used to wonder exactly how a company’s purpose truly connects to things like operations, culture and decision making. Purpose statements can seem kind of vague, floaty and, honestly, disconnected! ...
The Journey to the “New Normal”
Authored by: Barbara Turley, CEO - The Virtual Hub In my last entry, I talked about The Virtual Hub’s recruiting challenges that have cropped up because COVID-19 has shut many businesses down and so many are out of work. I also alluded to how we, as business owners,...
What Now? Transitioning from the Old to the New Normal
Authored by: Barbara Turley, CEO - The Virtual Hub"Try to anticipate and prepare ourselves for what’s to come" In my last series about how I, and the team at The Virtual Hub, have been navigating 2020 since the pandemic hit and unfolded over the last...
Onshore vs Offshore Virtual Assistant – What’s the Right Choice For You?
So you’re ready to “level up” your business and grow your team with a new virtual assistant. Congratulations! Whether you’re set to hire a VA as your very first team member or looking to add a VA (or two!) to your existing team, you’re facing a few important...
Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, Phase 3: Listening to the Crisis
Authored by: Barbara Turley, CEO - The Virtual HubPIVOT? Oh, wait … maybe not. Actually no let’s do it … Surprise! We’ve been talking about the need for businesses to pivot in order to survive this crisis. And then it...
The Benefits of Outsourcing: Understanding How it can Help Your Business
Love it, hate it or completely clueless about it, outsourcing and its benefits have been the buzzword in the entrepreneurial world since Tim Ferriss blew it open in his infamous book The 4 Hour Work Week, which became a bestseller in 2007. ...
Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, Phase 2: To Pivot or Not to Pivot
Authored by: Barbara Turley, CEO - The Virtual Hub Running at full tilt but feel like you’re moving through mud at the same time? Yep! I’m right there with you on that one! One day, everything was “normal,” and the next we were all at home,...
Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, Phase 1: Crisis Management Plan Fiascos
Authored by: Barbara Turley, CEO - The Virtual Hub Overnight, we went from business as usual to total chaos! Everything changed. Obviously, I’m referring to the global COVID-19 pandemic that has turned our personal lives and businesses...
The Importance of Project Management Tools in Virtual Teams
Overseeing projects is a complex undertaking. Business owners need a reliable system to help them plan and execute all parts of the project management process and be able to communicate properly with those involved at the same time....
How to Maximize the Time of Your SEO Specialist With a Virtual Assistant
If you’ve been doing business in the online world for a while, you’re probably familiar with the terms “SEO” and “SEO specialist.” What does SEO stand for? SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, put simply, means that you look for ways to...
How Types of Leadership Influence the VA Personality You Hire
Have you ever thought about how types of leadership might influence how you go about hiring team members? There are many types of management styles in practice in the workplace, and each one determines the kind of people you employ. ...
How to Be an Entrepreneur with Weekends Off and Stress-Free Holidays
Learning how to be an entrepreneur who enjoys weekends off, has the occasional holiday breaks, and still be on top of things is important when you run a business. Finding the balance between work and play is key, but it’s not often easy. ...
How Explainer Video Software and Tools Can Help You In Your Business
Videos have become such a major part of today’s marketing landscape that businesses have joined in on the trend and use videos in their digital marketing efforts using explainer video software. This may be largely due to the fact that...
How Online Photoshop Alternative Tools Can Help You and Your Virtual Team Achieve Great Designs
If you’re looking for online Photoshop alternative tools that your virtual team can use to create graphic designs and collateral materials for the promotion of your business, there is a myriad of choices available on the web. Finding one that’s right is just a matter...
Successful Entrepreneurs’ Reasons for Outsourcing Work to Virtual Assistants
If you’ve ever felt like your business has gotten you in the grind for too long and you haven’t got enough time on the clock to get everything done, you’re not alone. There are good reasons for outsourcing work but it isn't until you're bogged down with work that you...
How a Virtual Assistant Can Help to Amplify Your Content Writing
Are you getting the most value from your content writing? Most businesses are aware that producing regular, quality website content is a great way to build credibility, draw in an audience, and boost website traffic. The challenge is...
How to Manage Your Business Security Systems Before You Hire a Virtual Assistant
Are you ready to hire a virtual assistant? One concern that we hear frequently is that entrepreneurs are worried about their business security systems — protecting their business before hiring someone who works remotely. It makes sense –...
Ways to Improve Work Performance: Getting the Best from Your Virtual Assistant
A common concern when hiring a virtual assistant is ensuring that you actually boost work productivity, rather than creating a new job for yourself. Not only that, ideally you want to be able to know how to be productive and create a long-term relationship with...
Growing Scalable Businesses with A Virtual Assistant
How does the term "scalable" tickle your fancy when it comes to business growth? It’s a term which has grown in the business lexicon over the last few years, especially if you work within the digital space. “Scalable” evokes visions of explosive business...
Learn How to Be Productive With These 10 Simple and Easy Tips
In today’s hectic world, often times we find it too difficult to know how to be productive in our daily lives. We pour 100 percent of our efforts into doing as much as we can but there are times when there’s just so much to do that we can’t...
3 Steps in Overcoming the Challenges of Virtual Teams
We had the pleasure of having Matthew Barby, Global Head of Growth & SEO at Hubspot, on the Virtual Success Podcast where he talked at length about how he leverages virtual teams to drive large content & growth strategies. He also...
Virtual Business: Why Teamwork is Important for Success
In most brick-and-mortar workplaces, there’s a focus on why teamwork is important for the success of the business. For virtual businesses, teamwork is no less important; however, it can represent more challenges due to the remote...
How to Run a Business Without Doing it Yourself
Want to know how to run a business without you at the helm? You’ve probably wondered at one point in your entrepreneurial life if it was possible to manage a business and not be in the thick of things, because perhaps you want time...
In Charge from Afar: How to Manage People Virtually
How to manage people is a perennial challenge for managers in all industries. When you manage people virtually, those challenges take on a whole new element. Many aspects are just like what you will find in a co-located workplace, except...
Managing Virtual Teams By Setting Expectations Right
Managing virtual teams is no easy feat. It entails juggling people from different locations and tracking what everyone else is doing, which can sometimes seem too much for anyone already overseeing a business. Entrepreneurs hesitate...
The Onboarding Checklist for Successfully Starting Your Virtual Assistant
When you hire a new virtual assistant, you want them to be up-to-speed as quickly as possible. Your onboarding process plays a key role in the success of the virtual assistant and in ensuring that things go as smoothly as possible....
Is it Time to Use Social Media Scheduling Tools?
If you’re a marketer, chances are you’ve already thought about using social media scheduling tools. Social media can get pretty overwhelming if you don’t have access to the right social media scheduling tools. Managing social media goes beyond just taking a picture,...
Workflow Management Tips to Help You Supervise Your Virtual Assistant
Have you thought about how to make things more efficient in your business? When you’re working with a virtual assistant, it’s important to make the most of the relationship by having good workflow management practices in place. An...
3 Content Marketing Tips Your Virtual Assistant Can Execute For You
Ever felt the need for proper content marketing tips at any point in your entrepreneurial life? I have. In fact, I’ve been going through a process for the past 3 months of getting one of my other ventures, Energise Wealth, ready for...
Membership Sites: How Your Virtual Assistant Can Help You Build One
Have you thought about developing a membership site? There are a lot of good reasons to create one - a private area for your clients, creating a knowledge portal, leveraging a new income stream… Whatever your underlying goals, there are a lot of benefits to membership...
What is a Virtual Assistant?
As an entrepreneur, you likely began your journey managing all functions in your businesses. You completely controlled your operations, and you know exactly what makes your business tick because you've managed it solo. But now that your...
Technical Skills You Need to Delegate Tasks to VAs Successfully
Skills to effectively delegate tasks are critical to have in any type of business regardless of industry, product, service or business model. In fact, knowing how to delegate tasks successfully should be a mandatory part of any business training. It is...
Why VA Mistakes on Your Business Process can Lead to Success
What happens when you believe you have the perfect business process and your virtual assistant STILL gets it wrong? Virtual assistant mistakes are so infuriating and can drive you demented. I know because I have been there...
The Qualities of a Good Leader in a Virtual Environment
Leadership is never an easy path. When you throw a virtual environment into the mix, there are even more challenges. The qualities of a good leader are thrown more sharply into focus when you need to successfully manage a team that...
4 Ways to Build a Positive Work Culture With Your Virtual Team
Your work culture helps to shape everything about your business. It dictates the experience of your customers and the attitudes and beliefs of your team members. It can be a huge factor in the overall success or failure of your...
How Your VA Can Help to Manage Your Social Media Campaigns
Social media campaigns can take up a lot of your time. The thing is, successful campaigns aren’t created with a “set and forget” method, they require monitoring, interacting, and potentially making changes based on feedback. For any...
How to Scale Your Business Systems With the End in Mind
I’ve always been one to start things with the end in mind and build businesses from Day 1 with a view on how they will look in five years’ time as a potentially saleable asset. That often meant making fast decisions around taking on people...
10 Best Productivity Apps for You and Your Virtual Assistant
“Getting more done” is always a priority in any business, and productivity apps often have a role to play. If you’re working with a virtual assistant, it’s important that you’ve got the best productivity apps in place to help...
Qualities Every Virtual Assistant Needs to Have
Having a personal assistant in this modern world of complexities is inevitable. A personal assistant nowadays can either work in your office space daily or can be your virtual assistant. A virtual assistant is one who does almost all the...
Delivering Effective Constructive Feedback to Your Virtual Assistant
Giving and receiving constructive feedback is part of a healthy working relationship with your virtual assistant. Consider a time when you’ve ever received constructive feedback at work. Was it received in-person, or via a...
Online Research Techniques Your Virtual Assistant Can Use
Research is an indispensable part of any business. When you’re aiming for growth, your first move is to always look for information on how you can get ahead of the competition and what the current and best market trends are. And though...
How Providing Offshore Jobs to Virtual Assistants Exploded My Business
Never in all my years in business did I expect that discovering a niche by chance would lead me to successfully provide offshore jobs to virtual assistants — but that’s exactly what happened! Have you ever heard of someone launching...
Balancing Workload and Preventing Virtual Assistant Exhaustion
Working remotely has many benefits and is an increasingly popular work mode. You don’t have office overhead, you set your own hours or workload, and you can access talent from anywhere with an Internet connection. A virtual assistant...
The Qualities of a Leader: What Differentiates Leaders From Bosses
All organizations have bosses, but how many can confidently say they have leaders? The terms may be used interchangeably (and are often confused), but if we look closely, not all bosses are leaders. After all, the qualities of a leader are...
5 Ways to Effectively Handle Conflict in Virtual Teams
Managing virtual teams can be very rewarding, but it’s not without challenges. If you’ve ever had the situation where conflict pops up and then seems to blow out of reasonable proportion, you’re not alone. If anything, the remote...
How a VA is Helping Karen Rudkin-Moody Boost their Business
Karen Rudkin-Moody, Marketing Manager and Co-Founder of Ryan Moody Fishing, is passionate in providing a simple and easy means for people to fish better with their tried and tested online fishing course, Barra Basics. She shares with...