What can I learn from Virtual Assistants?

A lot actually! Which is why I created the Virtual Assistant Conference BY VAS, FOR VAS.

Firstly, thank you to our major sponsors, GigSuper, eMatti, Rachel Allan, Beyond the Maze and The Sassery - you all rock!

What a jam packed 2 days we had.

It’s now been over a week since the inaugural VYVA Conference and I’m still uploading recordings from the sessions! Will this conference ever end? 

Perhaps not - but that’s not a bad thing. 

Because bringing rockstars from the VA Industry together is never a bad thing!


Our conference had been planned as an in-person event in glorious Sydney in March 2020 but the universe had other plans. After 2 postponements it was time to call it and let this baby roll out online. After all, isn’t that where VAs feel most at home?

Contrary to popular belief, VAs actually love to connect with each other F2F so it was a shame we couldn’t move ahead as planned, but in typical VA style we did have some contingency plans in place!

Firstly we set up 3 spaces where VAs could come together to attend the online event. These were in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. We had almost half of our attendees at these ‘hot spots’ so there were still plenty of connections to be made.

Secondly, we ensured that the online space was warm, welcoming and allowed for plenty of networking and sharing of knowledge and ideas.

And finally, we sent everyone an awesome goodie box filled with treasures including headphones, business books, candles, flasks, snacks and stationery! #PINKBOX

To that effect, I feel we conquered the Covid demons and we did in-person as only VAs know how.


Now, let’s get on with the show.

The show started with a resounding bang, being Kate Toon’s booming voice through our online platform, Airmeet. As far as MCs go, Kate is a superstar - if you’re after one, talk to her! I’d love to MC too, but I know Kate is ahead of me in that game and I can’t recommend her enough.

We also scheduled Kate to be our first speaker, talking about Surviving the Client Dating Game.


Are you a DOM or a SUB?

Kate has been in business long enough to know that the client relationship is a complicated maze and that we need to know exactly what our roles are for things to go smoothly.

Whether you're a ‘dominant’ or a ‘subordinate’ you need to make sure your client is the right fit for you and that you are stepping up, or stepping down at the right stages.

Is the relationship long term or short term? Who loves who the most? 

It’s business, but yes, hearts can be broken.

After an early morning siesta by the pool we returned to hear all about Time Management and Planning from Carly Reading, InkBlot VA.


Is it a scheduled life?

Schedules, diaries, ‘blocking out time’ are all things that raise my hackles and ensure the hippie child in me rears up to scream ‘not on my nelly!’ because, let’s be honest, I won’t be told. 

But to run a successful VA business you do need to wrangle the hours and the commitments and corral them into some kind of order. Herding Cats was the name of a VA business I knew a few years back and I thought that was a pretty apt description, so with that in mind, having tips and tricks provided to us by someone who loves Time Management so much she even designed and created her own planner (you can order yours here) called ‘It’s a Scheduled Life’ was definitely going to be useful.

Whether you’re inspired by flying unicorns or tacos (thanks Asana) or more of a paper-based planner, Carly had a holistic approach to organising your time and projects. 

Remember, your brain isn’t for storing reminders!

Speaking of which, you’ll have less to remember if you niche down in your business! So we invited niching rockstar, Lyndal Harris to the stage.


Will niching mean missing out or scoring more?

Lyndal isn’t a niching expert as such - she’s actually a podcasting expert. But it’s her story of how she moved away from general admin to The Podcast VA that is so inspiring. 

Deciding to focus on one area in your business can feel so daunting, but when you do it, it frees you up to do it EXTRAORDINARILY well! 

You can really focus, learn and specialise. 

It’s a leap of faith, but if there’s a market for it, it’s rarely going to be overly risky. I think everyone has one thing they really shine with, and they should just allow themselves to shine as much as possible.

Niching helps you communicate your USP better and of course it helps you EAT! 

I didn’t know what that meant either. But it’s build ‘Expertise, Authority and Trust’. Cool huh?

We then adjourned to the deck for a grandiose meal of Paella and sausage rolls. Weird combo, but trust me, it works. 

With tummies full, what better time to get Rachel Allan to talk to us about Marketing?


Is ‘Buy My Stuff!!’ marketing?

Apparently not.

Modern Marketing is all about building relationships and making connections. It’s no longer the big sell, the fancy pitch, the ‘I’m bigger than I am’ messaging. And Rachel Allan is all about helping women in business get this right.

It’s all about human’s supporting humans. And we can do that by being genuine and understanding what problem we solve. Then we can help people with that problem find us and our solution. 

Rachel spoke about how we no longer float about without a plan and hope for the best, but instead we need to have a strategy. Luckily for us she then showed us her own marketing model which you can also learn about when you purchase her fabulous book ‘Authentic, Dynamic, Savvy’.

As Rachel said, ‘Marketing can seem very overwhelming, but it shouldn’t be’. 

We finished up the day riding in elevators and talking about pitches.


How can your pitch build your business?

In this session, I took the reins and spoke about the idea of an elevator pitch and how by understanding your USP and your ideal client, you can easily educate people quickly about what on earth it is that you do!

And no, not everyone you speak to will be an ideal client, but educating people about what you do teaches them something new and also builds your business community. 

How many of you have friends or family who don’t have a clue what you do? Work with them until they could easily spot a potential client and communicate with that person how YOU could solve their problems.

We followed this up with some online speed networking which was FABULOUS! 

One to one chat sessions where members who have seen each other online for years finally had a chance to chat and connect!

AWESOME!

Then, we all packed up our bags, headed to the mezzanine for some cocktails to end the evening. But not too many because we had another full day ahead.

****

Day 2 started with a significant dose of heartstring pulling and inspiration showers. 

Shauna Upson has certainly faced some hurdles in her time. With a stroke, a major motorcycle accident and a resulting business hiatus, she has been able to run a successful copywriting business while managing the many ongoing effects of these significant challenges.

Shauna’s story was also a strong reminder that things don’t always go as we plan, and we need to consider what our contingency plans might be should we be unable to work (or get out of bed!). 

It was apt that we also had the insurance session coming up later in the day, because we truly never know what life will throw at us. 

But we can approach it with as much positivity and humour as possible and that’s something Shauna has in spades. 

Shauna also spoke about a different kind of insurance; Building your business network and leaning on them when you need to. 

That’s what I love most about Virtually Yours - it’s members know they can ask for help and support will be there.

Speaking of supportive VAs, we had Sam McFarlane up next from Sam Says Social who is a social media specialist and wanted to spill all the beans on Instagram for business.


There are many moving parts to Instagram.

Honestly, who’d have known there was so much to Instagram. I feel like I only scratch the surface with this program because the deeper elements (let’s call them ‘Reels & Lives’) are a little terrifying.

That’s actually why I’d want someone like Sam on my side with social media because she makes it less scary and she’s there to hold your hand. She doesn’t jump up and down yelling about what you should do on social media - she simply explains and shows you. And that eases my pain. No weird dance moves from Sam Says! Phew!

Anyway, back to the session. 

Sam showed us the moving parts of instagram but my favourite thing was learning about displaypurposes.com - I’d never heard of it and it’s so handy for working out your hashtags! 

Perhaps that can keep me distracted so I can keep avoiding Reels & Lives….

Another thing Sam said was that Instagram is about conversations - not just yelling ‘buy my stuff’.

Which was a great segue into Ingrid Bayer’s session about Networking. But not before we had some mini-naps in the foyer for our morning tea break.


Do you really need to network in business?

Honestly, can’t we just all create our website, SEO it to within an inch of its life and then wait for the biz-goodness to come our way?

I wish! 

But while we know that you are unique and awesome, you aren’t going to be easily found considering how many businesses are connecting online and F2F around you. And we know the road to success lies in these 3 words - Know, Like, Trust.

We simply can’t look past good old fashioned networking when it comes to building the know, like, trust factors. We need to do a combination of online and offline networking to build our business community. 

Ingrid spoke about networking without expectation of something in return and this is so right. Networking is about getting to know other people and working out how you can help others. If we all do that, then you’ll have people around you working out how they can help you too. 

While I commend Ingrid’s patience in regards to listening to a fellow plane passenger talk about concrete for 90 minutes, I don’t recommend talking about yourself for that long if you can avoid it! 

Networking is one piece of the puzzle when it comes to seeking opportunities and that’s where we went with Korryn Haines up next.

OK, so Ingrid’s session didn’t actually work on the day, but she did record all the lovely goodness straight away and sent it through. In the meantime we were super lucky to have Kate jump on into the ring and critique 3 attendee websites!

If you haven’t had Kate rip your website apart, get onto it! It’s website/SEO gold!


Are you an opportunity seeker?

Start looking for opportunities and I can guarantee you that you’ll find plenty. You just need to open your eyes to the possibilities.

Korryn Haines is the master of seeing opportunities and running with them. She says she’s no good at doing it for herself (just good for her clients) but I know this simply isn’t true.

When we met she plonked herself next to me at a VA conference and started chatting. Opportunity seeker. 

When she sees magazine publications, award entries, incredible courses - she takes aim and fires. Opportunity seeker.

She doesn’t sit back and let these things pass her by. 

And you can be like that too - you just need to know that opportunities come in all shapes and sizes and you need to plonk yourself down in front of them.

You just need to be brave like Korryn!

Speaking of brave, there’s some things we don’t need to be brave about because we can get insurance for them instead!


Do you need insurance for your business?

The session on insurance probably had a number of attendees squirming in their seats, wondering again, do I really need insurance?

If luck is on your side, maybe you will never need to use it, but that’s the whole point of insurance - it’s a gamble. And what the gamble is, is whether or not you meet someone who wants to sue you - whether you’re in the right or not.

You can do everything by the book and still find yourself in court because guess what? You need to prove your innocence. And this requires money. Yup - even if at the end of the day you’re found to be not guilty and the other party is told to pay all fees, you may still find yourself out of pocket thanks to various random costs including time away from your business.

Did you think of that?

I hadn’t really thought about it that way until Philip Watson said it either. 

I’m glad I’ve got insurance! 

Do you?

Maybe it’s time to make that call….

Hey, another segue!

Speaking of calls….


Who answers the phone for your clients?

Well it’s not me. I don’t even answer my own calls. I have a team of VAs who respond to my calls and direct my customers to the right answers without me needing to lift a finger. Heeeaven!

The reason I do this is because not only do I hate answering the phone, but because I know my clients want to be heard. And this is what Hanna Finlay spoke about in her session. 

Understanding why reception is valuable and the emotional and financial impact of it is important to consider before you explore offering phone answering services to your clients. 

If this is something you’re considering, you need to understand tech, have back up plans and be clear on what size reception offering would best suit you.

And apparently people still have faxes - so maybe consider that too…. 

(Say what?!?!)

OK, so maybe Hanna’s internet went on vacay while it was meant to be sharing her gloriousness with us, but she did record the above and sent it through on the same day. 

But while the tech gods cursed her, we rolled on (with sorrowful tears) and did an excellent quick session with Lee Doherty from Admin & Co and Chris Alleyn from AMC Biz Solutions.

Lee shared 5 tips around working with teams and Chris shared his 3 top tips around business finance. These two know their stuff and I’m so grateful that they stepped up on such short notice - you rock guys!


Last but certainly not least...

...Yours Truly finished up the conference with a doomsday sounding session called (da da daaaaaaa) ‘Fear Of Failure!’

But fret not - it was actually all focused on success and working out what your own version of success looks like.

Because we can’t make decisions easily, or track how we’re going, if we don’t have some huge AFL-style goal posts to aim for.

So think BIG and ask yourself ‘when I finish up with this business, what’s the main thing I want to have achieved?’ 

And then stick to that lane, enjoy the ride and reap the self-chosen rewards!

And that, my friends, was the last session of our 2 day online (and partly in-person) conference for 2021.

It was a blast!

Note: I’ve already been asked about next year’s event and I’m super keen so stay tuned for details on dates and location. You can join our waitlist here!