5 Virtual Assistant Business Tools

For a virtual assistant it is your job to have available to you those tools that will allow you to help your clients run their business easier. Not to mention, these tools will help you run your business abit easier too. Most of these tools listed below are free applications however, one of them even though is something you will need to purchase, it is essential to have in your virtual assistant business.

Payloadz – This is a great application you can use if you or your clients have downloadable (ie digital) files you would like to sell to others. The process is relatively easy to add your files to and then you are able to sell your digital products on your site. Payloadz records the transactions received with the customer name, date of purchase and item bought. There is a fee once you have used up a certain amount of space. Just go to http://www.payloadz.com and check it out.

Backup Data Storage – As a virtual assistant you are responsible for many files including your client files. The last thing you need is to have your computer crash and lose all of the data. The easiest way to control this and prevent this situation from occurring is to have a external hard drive. An external hard drive costs about $130-$200 (depending on the amount of storage space) however, this is a worthy investment for your business. You can go to Staples or Office Depot and search for external hard drives.

Vista Print – This is a pretty well known provider of marketing materials for the small business owner and entrepreneurs such as business cards, letterhead, pens and even shirts now. And for good reason. Their prices and services are of high quality and worth while to check out for your virtual assistant business. You have the control over the layout of your business marketing materials on the screen and you can sign off on the printing and then you can have the materials shipped to you within a week, if desired. Go toVista Print

Survey Monkey – Sometimes you are looking for a way to collect the thoughts of your clients to see what services they may wish or perhaps you are needing to receive feedback on a program you just created. Survey Monkey is a free program that will allow you to customize your survey to fit your needs and then they will reveal the code you will need to add the survey to your website or send in a newsletter. You can read more at Survey Monkey.

Google Tools - Now, Google is very well known, however, are you aware of all the “hidden” gems Google can help you with as a virtual assistant? You can share documents and excel files with your clients and update files together (go to Google documents). Also, you can share email with them so you can both have access to the email but if needed you can handle it for your client. (This is under the Settings tab in the upper right navigation) The same is true with the Google calendar - there are viewing and/or sharing capabilities to set appointments. These “tools” are located on the top navigation bar once in Google Mail.

For a virtual assistant it is smart to be aware of the tools you can utilize to help you and your clients’ success in business. It is your job to oversee your clients documents, calendars, emails and even marketing at times. Allow your clients to know you can handle these tasks for them and then it takes the burden off of them and you gain more assurance with your client.

Teresa Morrow is on Florida Board of Advisors with The WECAI Network ™ (http://www.wecai.org) and Editor at Large at WE Magazine for Women ™ (http://www.wemagazineforwomen). She has over 15 years working with various industries to include property management, landscape architecture and financial planning firms in executive administrative positions. Key Business Partners manages online promotion for coaches and writers allowing the business owners to focus on their clients. She cares about her clients and offers a 3 day ecourse on how to start effectively promoting your online business. You can contact her via email at keybusinesspartners@verizon.net or visit her website at http://www.keybusinesspartners.com.