I am extremely excited
and happy about my career
Interview with Lynne Norris - the Virtual
Assistant
| Please
tell a few words about yourself, your qualifications and your work history. |
My name is Lynne Norris and
I am the proud owner of Norris Business Solutions, a virtual assistance
company. I am from Pennsylvania, USA, and have lived here all my
life. My work history includes 12 years of administrative experience
and an Associate Degree in Business.
| How
did you become a a freelancer? How did the internet help you in this process? |
I became a freelancer after
trying to work outside the home as a secretary and juggling the schedules
of three children as well as a home life. I found that it just didn't
work for me. I started doing research into work at home careers and
decided with my administrative background that becoming a virtual assistant
was exactly what I wanted to do. The internet has allowed me the
freedom to work with clients all over the world and has also given me the
freedom to operate my business out of my home office.
| How did you
find the elance.com web site and what was your first impression? |
I actually found Elance, through
an internet search. When I first got to the site I was extremely
impressed. Elance matches work at home professionals like myself
up with clients and makes it much easier to get started working freelance.
| Think back
and describe how you won the first work assignment at elance and how managed
to increase your earnings at the marketplace? |
It took me several months to
win my first project but over the last year and a half I was able to steadily
increase my earnings working through Elance because of the reputation you
get for providing quality work through Elance's rating system. It
helps to attract more projects and good quality clients.
| Do you advertise
your services elsewhere / use other marketplaces? |
Yes, I do advertise my services
elsewhere, including my website, www.NorrisBusinessSolutions.com,
but I do much of my work through Elance.
| How do you
organize your daily work? (do you share assignments with others or do everything
on your own, how much do you work a day, your schedule, etc.) |
I work mainly on my own, although,
I do periodically recruit help from other Elancers when work gets piled
up and I need additional help. I work approximately 6-8 hours per
day during the weekdays and sometimes a few hours on Saturday (if a big
project needs worked on).
| Do you think
it makes a difference where you and the buyer of your service live, or
geography has absolutely no importance today? |
It has made no difference to
my clients and myself as to where we both live. The geographical
differences are no hinderance whatsoever. So much work can be done completely
by email that even shipping costs rarely are a problem.
| Do you
miss personal interaction with your clients or telecommunications technology
totally make up for it? |
I do sometimes miss having the
personal interraction with people during the day but I am emailing or on
the telephone with clients and other virtual assistants so much during
the day that I rarely get lonely.
| How does the
fact that you work at home affect your lifestyle? |
Freelancing has given me a chance
to have the more flexible schedule that I and my family thrive on.
If I want to take a day off I just work my workload in around the time
I would like to take off and let me clients know I will be out of the office
that day. It is really great! I am extremely excited and happy
about my career.
| What would
you suggest to people who want to start a freelance career and work
independently from home? |
Do as much research as you can
about your chosen career. Find out what it takes to succeed and the
equipment, education, etc. that you need. Join discussion groups,
ezines, etc. that are related to your career. Having a support group
of other related professionals has been great for me. I belong to
Staff Centrix,
a Virtual Assistance Organization, and their influence has been so positive.
Also, Elance is a great place to start your freelance career. There
is so much opportunity there.
Norris
Business Solutions Website
|
