I am very passionate
about my VA practice
and desire to see others
also become successful.
Interview with Janet L. Jordan - Master
Virtual Assistant
| Please
tell a few words about yourself, your qualifications and your work history. |
My background includes over 34 years of consulting,
coaching, human resources, marketing, training, motivational speaking and
executive support experience. A master virtual assistant certified
by VACertification.com, I’m the president and CEO of Janet L. Jordan, MVA
Your Virtual Assistant, a Dallas, Texas based virtual assistance practice.
My training experience includes five years with Jostens Learning Corp.,
a global leader in educational software. As a small business owner
for over two decades, I bring a fresh, insightful viewpoint to the coaching
and consulting arena. I also serve as an advisor, mentor at smallbusiness.com,
askme.com as well as SOHOJobs.org and understand the dynamics of running
a small home based business, or a major corporation. I’m a founder
and serve on the board of directors of VACertification.com, an independent
certifying body for the virtual assistance industry. As a motivational
speaker, I feel I’ve made a positive difference in the lives of thousands
across the nation.
| How
did you become a home based virtual assistant? How did the internet help
you in this process? |
My virtual assisting practice dates back to 1980. Long
before the term "virtual assistant" was coined. As a widowed, single
parent, I was then Janet Langford. I left the corporate arena of
Xerox Human Resources department and raised two small children doing home
based secretarial work. The latest technology then was an Osborne
portable computer (25+ lbs.) and a telephone. My clients consisted
of insurance agents, speakers and other road warriors who needed an expert
in typing, travel arrangements and customer relationship management.
I enjoyed the concept of staying at home. Opportunities opened up
for me to become a trainer for Jostens and I accepted. Although I
enjoyed training tremendously, I never forgot the freedom and entrepreneurial
spirit of being at home. Eventually, after five years of constant
travel, I became the executive and technology administrator to the president
of a small training company in Dallas Texas. In 1999, after marrying
a wonderful guy who encouraged me to work at what I enjoy, I started a
VA practice here in Dallas. Since I was working for a training company
at the time, I was keenly aware of the limited training options available
in the VA industry. So, both facets of my practice started almost
hand in hand.
| How did you
manage to get your first client? Where do you advertise your services? |
My clients usually find me through other clients or organizations.
As I recall, my first client here in Dallas contacted me through an organization
for Virtual Assistants. That's one reason I feel it's so important
to become a part of industry and community collaborations, as well as discussion
groups. I advertise my business with a WebDecal on my rear car window,
search engine positioning, networking in my local community and I also
send welcome letters to new businesses in the Dallas community. I
also have developed a marketing resource center for potential clients,
to assist them with their web presence.
| 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.) |
My ideal work schedule is M-Th, 9-5 Central time. Sometimes,
if I am working on a project, it might require a little more flexibility
in my time. I have three retainer clients and two project clients.
I am able to do most of the work for them myself. However, I do have
backup VAs that I collaborate with when I go on vacation or need overflow
assistance. I normally turn to my expert coaches at Virtual Assistance
U or my former students (GVAs) to help me out. If all else fails
or if geographically they need a VA to help with a convention or show onsite,
then the list at VACertification.com has been helpful.
| Do you think
it makes a difference where you and the buyer of your service live, or
geography has absolutely no importance today? Do you miss personal
interaction with your clients or telecommunications technology totally
make up for it? |
I have one client that requires onsite assistance to coordinate
and prioritize his mail to be forwarded to him while he’s on the road.
Other than that, I don’t think geography is a boundary in what I do.
I could even have the mail for my client forwarded to my P.O. Box for handling.
We may do that at a later date. There are definite alternative solutions
available. With voice interactive meeting rooms such as WebTrain.com,
that incorporate webcams, whiteboards, application sharing and more, you
get plenty of personal interaction. This technology has been invaluable
in the training aspect of my practice.
| How does the
fact that you work at home affect your lifestyle? |
Operating my home based VA businesses has been great for
my lifestyle. It brings more balance to our home. I can catch
lunch and a movie with my retired husband during the slow times of the
day. Because of the flexibility in schedules, I’m able to underpromise
and overdeliver to my clients. Everybody’s happy this way.
| What would
you suggest to people who want to start a freelance career and work
independently from home? |
I would highly recommend it, providing you have the background
experience, proper training and discipline to handle working from home.
Many feel that just because they have a computer, a mouse and internet
access, that they can start a VA practice. Failure comes quickly
with that kind of thinking. If you have a solid background, get good
training or coaching, then you should have no problem. By coaching,
I don’t mean hanging out on a discussion list and expecting to let that
serve as a guide for getting established. There are several great
coaches, training programs and mentors like SCORE to help you successfully
launch a home based business or VA practice. It’s been said that
the question that many people ask now is, “What is a VA?” By 2005,
the question will be, “WHO is your VA?” In order to meet the demand for
capable VAs, we will have to be properly prepared.
| As I have seen on your
website you are providing assistance for people who want to follow your
path and become a virtual assistant. Please explain this activity as well
as your upcoming conference. |
I am very passionate about my VA practice and desire to see
others also become successful. As I mentioned earlier, I started
the training facet of my practice almost simultaneously. I could
see the real lack of structure in our industry. Although we work
from home in a comfortable environment, we really don’t get to sit around
in slippers and bathrobes all day. Our product deliverables must
be excellent or clients will stop using us and eventually our industry
could die. Virtual Assistance U offers a solid, comprehensive training
program for those desiring to launch a VA practice. This innovative
eAcademy operates on three levels: Our 16 week training program,
our one day Boot Camp for existing practices, as well as various introductory
and continuing mini courses. We are recognized as the “Benchmark
for VA Training”. All classes are conducted using state of the art
voice interactive technology so that VAs are capable of delivering “world
class” service to clients globally. I also teach a virtual assistant
introductory course for FunEd in the Dallas community.
It’s my pleasure, along with several other industry leaders,
to collaborate and produce an annual VA Conference. The 2nd Annual
VA Conference will be held in Dallas TX on September 13-14, 2002 at the
Holiday Inn Select – Love Field. Workshops and a global online forum
will take place with virtual assistants around the world. It’s a
great time for VAs to meet face to face and network while enhancing their
practices.
| Please list your web
sites and links recommended for those interested in a VA (=Virtual Assistant)
activity. |
DallasMVA.com
– My VA practice
VirtualAssistanceU.com
– My VA training center
VACertification.com
– Independent certifying body for Virtual Assistants
IAVOA.com
– Online Virtual Assistant community and web presence support center for
VAs
VirtualBizKit.com
– One stop shop for your web presence
VAConference.com
– Annual VA Conference information site
NameTag4U.com
– Marketing items for VAs and VA clients
|
