things that you can equate with money[2]. Meanwhile, John Locke and D. Hume propagated the quantity theory, in which the value of your money will clearly depend on how much cash is being circulated in the market[3].

 

By these theories alone, you already have a good idea that money, whether you like it or not, has a big role in making the world go round. People have so much faith in its use and value.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Different Roles of Money  in the Business

 

Based on the definition provided by Kern, it’s safe to say therefore that a business without money is like a boat drifting without an oar. Better yet, it’s going to be like building a castle in the sand. The dream of expansion and better business opportunities are nothing but figments of your imagination. But how does money play a key role when it comes to the overall success of your business? According to Business Studies Online (BSO), there are different ways on how money can boost businesses. This includes the following 4 points:

 

1. Money can be used to buy fixed assets.

Fixed assets are physical things that the company or an individual intends to use for longer periods of time. A good example could be machinery if you’re running a brick-and-mortar business. Likewise if you have an online business, for example, like me, you can use money to buy your company and yourself, PCs and laptops. They are essential to the success of your operations.

2. Money can be utilized to purchase raw materials.

Money becomes a major player in the working capital cycle. You need it so you will be able to continuously come up with products that your customers require. It doesn’t really matter if you’re working online or offline.

 

3. Money can pay expenses.

A business without expenses is non-existent. Whether

you like it or not, you will incur costs in different forms. Where you are and what you do, doesn’t really matter[4], although how much you’re going to pay may actually vary. For example, if you have your own office—which, in this sense, means you’re not operating your business from your home—you will be paying for your rent, electricity, communications (such as your telephone and Internet connections), to name a few. Meanwhile, if you’re doing business in your home, you can get rid of your rent, which may probably save you a few hundred dollars. In this case, you are incurring expenses whatever and wherever your business is, though some factors can determine if you’re going to pay more or less.

4. Money is needed to hire people.

Why do you need to bring people to your business? The answer is very simple. You need them so you can become more productive and more efficient. William Leiss author of Under Technology’s Thumb believed in the definition of Adam Smith when it comes to human capital. According to Smith, a person’s talent—which could have been developed through his education, experience, and apprenticeship—will always have a corresponding cost or expense.[5] This only means that you acquire the services of a person to run the different aspects of your business. In return, you will pay for his or her hard work and time by means of salary.

 

It’s at this point that you have to realize how important it is to make money, but how do you exactly do it? Are all the things you heard about earning money true?

 

The Different Truths and Myths in Making Money

 

Money was, is, and will always be the talk of the town. More than ever, because of the intense competition and the wide customer market, there are more business owners who want to lead with their marketing campaigns by acquiring more money to move forward, hire the best people to do the job, and create new products and services.

However, you should remember that not everything you read and know about how to make money, is actually true. There are some theories that are completely false, and if you aren’t really careful, you could  find yourself broke.

Top Myths that You Have to Get Rid Of

 

1. Debt can help increase your wealth.

I don’t know why there are so many people who think that they can make use of their debt in order to prosper their business. No matter what you do, a debt will always remain a debt that you need to pay at a certain  time. If you go on default, it has the power to drain your bank account and whatever resources you have in your business. It doesn’t mean, however, that to obtain a debt is bad. Instead, you could use the debt to act as leverage to your equity. If you’re basically starting out, debt can be considered as investment - something that you can add to your meager capital, which may come from your savings and other income. If you ever hear someone who became a millionaire because of debt, you better tell me!

 

2. All angel investors are rich.

It’s really true that there are angels around us, especially when you’re thinking of starting and running your own business. That’s why there are more business owners who are looking for their own angel investor in the hope that they can obtain the right funds to begin their operation. There’s only one thing you must avoid thinking, though - not all business angels are born with a silver spoon in their mouth or are sleeping in millions of dollars. Some of them are just earning a little more than a hundred thousand every year, which, to a millionaire’s standards, hardly constitutes as richness. Others have negative net worth attached to them. The only good thing about them is they are as bullish as you and are willing to go leaps and bounds to finance your business and help you explore your potential.

 

3. It’s very easy to start a business.

As for me, I’ve spent two years of my life running my own outsourcing business, and yet I am and will always be a work in progress. You may already have positive cash flow going into your business, and it can give you

some sense of stability and security. However, you must also remember that when you’re in business, you have to actually learn how to face the different challenges that will come your way. Moreover, the U.S. Small Business Administration released in May 2005 a study about the performance of small businesses in the market. In their Survival and Longevity in the Business Employment Dynamics Database: Monthly Labor Review, there were around 671,800 businesses that opened but 544,800  closed shop within two years of operation.[6] Only two–thirds were able to survive beyond two years, and around 44 percent reached their fourth year.

 

4. As long as you have the talent, you can already expect growth in your business.

Talent is indispensable in a business. It guarantees continuous development and expansion. However, if you’re just starting up, it’s the industry that you pick that will matter more than your knowledge or your skills. For more than twenty years, there has been an increase of 4.2 percent of companies that are into office and computer equipment that made it to the list of Inc 500. This is

significantly higher than those garnered by the hotel and food industry.

 

Meanwhile, according to Entrepreneur Magazine, in their article “Newest Trends and Hottest Markets,” the following are considered to be the top well-favored industries today:

• Internet marketing and search engine optimization
• Health and fitness
• Technology security consulting
• EBay
• Performance apparel
• Products and services geared towards the Hispanic market

 

So far, there’s no clear study that focuses on the real impact talent has on the growth of new businesses in any industry.

 

Top Truths that Can Guarantee Enormous Financial Freedom

 

Does the idea of making money make you feel scared?

Don’t be - fortunately, there’s still equilibrium in this

world. It only means that if there are myths, there are also truths when it comes to making money. What’s more, they are your key to your financial freedom.

 

1. It’s definitely market, market, and market!

You can have the best product or service in the world; but if you don’t know how, why, when, and where to market, you can already prepare for the early demise of your business. In broader sense, marketing means providing what your targeted customers need and want. Thus, as what Neil Borden suggested in his article The Concept of Article Mix, there should be a conscious effort of the company to not only promote their products and services but to also make their marketing strategies customer-oriented.

 

 

2. Internet marketing  spells thousands of savings for you.

The computer age has proven to be truly beneficial not only for business owners but for customers as well. In a study conducted by Nielsen, about 85 percent of Internet users all over the world have purchased at least one item from the www World Wide Web.[7] Moreover, for the past two years, there has been an increase of around 40 percent of Internet shoppers, from as little as 600 million to more than 900 million worldwide. On the other hand, there are considerable numbers of business owners who dare to focus more on online advertising than any other form of marketing. This can be attributed to the fact that there are more and more people who are going online. In a report released by James Belcher of eMarketer, Americans’ spend at least 1 hour every day on the Internet and less than 30 minutes reading magazines, newspapers, or books. Making things more lucrative  for businesses amount to savings they can get from Internet marketing. In a study conducted by TNS Media, which was released in September 2006, businesses that market products and services online spend only about 6.4 percent of their advertising budget compared to the 38.2  percent for print ads. Yet despite the lower expenditure on online advertising, online ads have the capacity to reach a wider audience. Furthermore, there is also a vast wealth of information that you can be derived from the Web. Market research has never been this

easy, allowing you to tap  both local and international markets. You can greatly reduce your sales force and your overheads. The majority of small businesses can actually start operating from the comforts of home as long as they have a broadband connection. Nevertheless, it’s important that you expand beyond your Internet marketing by advertising in traditional mediums as well. After all, there are still a number of people who don’t visit the World Wide Web all the time.

 

 

3. There’s more to running a business than money.

Money is important —there’s no way that you can deny that. But you definitely need more than funds to run your business productively and efficiently. You have to learn how to practice patience and determination. After all, positive cash flow doesn’t come easily. You also have to increase talent in your organization if you hope to compete aggressively in your chosen market and industry.

 

Don’t milk your profits from day one – you need especially in the early days and even years to reinvest between 60 – 80% of your profits back into your business to make it work, and that depending also on the amount of the original investment that you put in.

 

4. There are great benefits when you outsource your work.

I know that there will be some people who will be raising their eyebrows by now, and I really don’t have to write down the criticisms that this business strategy receives from different industries. However, if you learn to look at the situation in finer detail, you will realize that outsourcing can mean lots of savings, flexibility, mobility, and convenience for business owners, particularly those who are just starting out.

 

By definition, outsourcing is transferring the execution, and sometimes the management, of certain business aspects to third parties.[8] Normally, the provider and the supplier enter into an agreement that outlines the method of transfer of these services, the nature of the services, and the mode of compensation. Nowadays, there’s hardly any aspect of business that you cannot outsource.

 

There is, however, a common misconception that’s related to outsourcing. Often, people believe that companies outsource their products and services to other providers, especially those located in other countries, simply to take advantage of the lower labor costs - that is false. After all, in the end, the goal of every successful  business is to come up with something that is of superior quality. Lower labor costs will only be a short-term agenda. The truth is that companies are willing to outsource certain aspects of their operation, and even highly important ones, if they foresee that other individuals will be able to do the job much better.

 

Outsourcing also helps in the expansion of the business. This is especially true when a small company suddenly experiences a boom in their market share. It would very difficult for them to cope with the increased demands, even if they have the machinery and the money to do so. With outsourcing, companies can reach out to additional manpower that they need, especially because these people are already established in their field, and there is no need for the company to provide extensive orientation to the new workers. The provider, furthermore, can forego training and other development programs.

 

There’s also greater mobility for both the firm and the supplier. They can enjoy flexible hours and work in different areas and still produce the desired results. Along the way, the business owner will be able to cut down on fixed costs and other expenses associated with operating their business in the traditional way.

 

Moreover, outsourcing can provide managers with the back-office support that they need whilst lowering the expenses incurred by their businesses. Backend operations are still expensive, more so when you’re trying to specialize in a niche of your industry. However, you cannot let go of them for the simple reason that they are crucial to the performance of your company. Back-end functions such as accounting and administrative tasks are just as important as front-end functions such as sales and marketing. When you outsource these activities, you will have the opportunity to focus more on the core competencies of your business while the third party, or the supplier, smoothly manages the operations of your back-office support.

 

Chapter Two

 

Let’s Talk about Losing Money

 

Okay, am I seeing stares right now? Am I feeling some jaws dropping? I know this chapter will come as a surprise to you. You are probably thinking in your seats, “What’s wrong with this guy? Who would think about teaching someone how to lose money?”

 

Most of you who are reading this may have been truly working  hhard just to get the so-called financial freedom that you like. You have worked 9 to 5, grueling hours checking and rechecking papers; playing around with Microsoft Excel, hoping to balance out figures; or calling all clients with the wish that you can strike a deal. That could be the same scenario when you’re operating your own business—especially if you’re doing everything on your own. I know because I’ve been there a long time ago, before I attained the real financial freedom, after I applied all the learning I have gathered listening to my mentors, reading other business management books, and, of course, enriching my own experience.

 

But before you put this book down, you have to remember this: You need to learn how you lose money, most particularly the truths and fictions about it.

 

This way, you can already identify the common pitfalls of  running  a business and prevent yourself from falling into them.

 

If you learn to avoid the common pitfalls of running a business, just imagine how much you will most certainly save.

 

Why Do People Lose Money?

 

If there are individuals today who are gaining money, there are definitely more of them who are losing wealth. But if you’re going to look at it closely, these are the same people who actually are scared about losing their profits or savings (but then again, who isn’t?). You may ask, though, “Why do people, even the smart ones, constantly lose money?”

 

The concept of business tells you that it’s going to be real easy. However, the actual process of making money is a whole new affair. In the book High Probability Trading: Taking the Steps to Become Successful by Marcel Link, you will know that around 90 percent of traders in stocks and other commodities always lose money. Moreover, it takes more than just determination, patience, hard work, and even business strategies to find the right ingredients in making it in the world of business.

 

Here are four basic reasons why you can and will lose money. Keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive list. Nevertheless, these are the common reasons people lose money:

1. There is the negative thought or mental attitude right at the back of your mind.

 Generally, business people are like blind-sided horses. They can look at everything in just one location. Even with the best strategies at hand, many of them tend to plant into their minds a very negative attitude. They believe that they can actually lose with their endeavors; hence, they tend to focus their energies in making rewards rather than in the risks that they could possibly meet along the way. Unlike successful investors who create business strategies and techniques based on expectations that will allow them to get rid of their negative mental attitudes, those who lose are the ones who are concentrating more on how they won’t eventually lose their initial investment, and in so doing lose great opportunities in the process.

 

2. You allow fear to take over you.

Have you ever been to a casino? If you have been truly observant with the players, you will realize that there are actually major players who are holding on to their own stakes, hoping that they won’t lose them during the course of the game. For example, try to sit in a no-limit Texas Hold’em ­­­­­­­-— players who are not really afraid to fail and lose once in a while will be able to play the game right, because they can concentrate more on their strategies. This is completely opposite to those who have instilled fear in their minds and hearts.

3. There’s too much responsibility at hand.

In case you don’t know, too much responsibility can make one irresponsible. There’s definitely a huge problem that you will be facing if you don’t know how to delegate the work at hand to your employees. You will never be able to attain higher-quality work, simply because you cannot spend as much time as you can in every aspect of your business. This includes administrative and marketing factors. There’s also the huge tendency that you will not be able to finish major tasks at hand, especially if there are a lot of deadlines that you need to beat in one full day. Most of all, you will probably lose all of the best opportunities since you don’t have any more time to accomplish or even assess their impact on your business.

 

Improper delegation may have stemmed from the fact that the majority of business managers these days are looking for perfection. Thinking that their employees may not have the capacity to accomplish the different jobs at hand, they would rather do them on their own instead.

 

 

4. You pick the wrong kinds of people.

A business without people cannot prosper, but then again, you’re not just looking for a group of them. You should make sure, too, that they are the right ones. This means that their educational background, experience, and passion are the ones you’re looking for to fulfill a particular job. Employees who don’t and can’t function well are a huge liability to the company. Their salaries drain your business of investment and profit,  and yet they cannot contribute greatly to the growth and development of your business.

 

Of course, worth mentioning too, is the wrongful analysis of businesspeople when it comes to their

ventures. Some don’t even know that they are already becoming victims of scams, whilst others go on without even thinking if the business is feasible in the first place.

 

 

Effects of Losing Money

 

Have you ever lost something that you’ve been working so hard for? I remember a few years ago when I needed to sell my car, just to pay some of my important bills like credit cards, mortgages, and bank loans. It was nerve-wracking for me, and for a time, I felt so depressed deep inside, though I would rather keep it to myself.

 

Indeed, the effects of losing money don’t just stop when you no longer have enough funds in your bank account or in your pocket. In a recent study conducted by a team of scientists in University College London[9], it was revealed that a person who undergoes financial loss may develop a financial pain. It happens when a particular portion of the brain, known as the striatum, is functioning so hard, increasing fear and pain. This is also the same reason why they tend to focus more on how much they can lose, rather than on what they can gain in a particular opportunity. This research, which you can read in the Journal of Neuro-science, will give you more insights on how the brain can affect your business management decisions.

 

On the other hand, financial strain can put you at an elevated risk of developing emotional problems. This is especially true when you are suffering from an economic setback and you have no other choice, but  to lay off some of your employees. A group of researchers conducted a study with 756 employees who became presently unemployed for not more than 13 weeks. Through interviews and series of tests, it has been found out that unemployment can actually begin a series of cycles of poor physical health, depression, and personal control loss, among others.[10]

 

What’s the Real Deal about Losing Money?

 

Nevertheless, though, you should remember that not all philosophies about losing money are actually true. Some of them are plainly myths, which mean they are caused by wrongful perceptions from the business owners, who may perceive that financial losses are things that they can control, and that there are only certain factors that eventually lead to their occurrence.

 

When it comes to truth about losing money, here are some of the things that you should believe in:

1. You are losing money because you’re doing all the work on your own.

In a recent study conducted by the SBA (U.S. Small Business Administration), small-enterprise business persons perople will likely spend around 40 percent of their time doing routine work.  This means that a business owner would have wasted 40 percent of the opportunities that he/she may have grabbed, if only he/she had focused more on marketing and sales too.

 

This is one of the major reasons businesses are hiring virtual personal assistants. These are people who act as personal secretaries. They are the ones who make and take calls, respond to normal queries, organize special promotions and joint ventures, market your products and services, and perform other menial jobs.

 

The savings to your business are vast, as you don’t actually need to have them at your own office, they can work from home or a subsidiary of your business located in another country.

 

2. Debt can make you lose a lot of money if you don’t know how to use it wisely.

If you remember, we have talked about the importance of acquiring debt for the right uses. You can use it to function as leverage to your equity so as not to definitely drain all your finances for your business ventures. However, things can turn out real bad, if you don’t know how to use it wisely.

 

A classic example of how debt isn’t managed wisely is when your income is far less than your expenses. When you can hardly pay your personal loans because you’re more concerned about your next trip to the Caribbean, then your business, is  a ticking clock. You should make sure that among all other kinds of expenses, you prioritize your debt and that money for debt servicing can be easily deducted from your gross income.

 

3. When you take a risk that you cannot withstand, you’re going to meet your ultimate downfall.

When you are in business, then you know that you are going to be facing a lot of risks. After all, there aren’t any specific guarantees, though with proper planning and implementation of the plan, you will have an idea if you’re going to succeed or not.

 

Nevertheless, you will eventually experience financial loss if you don’t know how to make calculated risks. This happens when you enter contracts and deals that aren’t clear to you. It may also occur when you don’t hire real talent in your business. Most of all, you will lose if you cannot afford to take the risks. When you know how to manage the risks effectively in your business, the margin of error will get smaller, and there are lesser negative consequences that you’re going to face.

 

4. Too much borrowing doesn’t provide you with the kind of additional capital that you need.

Surprisingly, there are still businesses that tend to stay afloat simply because they keep on borrowing money from banks and other lending institutions. Perhaps they do not fully understand the possible negative implications of the situation. First, they need to increase the prices of their products and services just to be able to also increase their income. They will also have to lessen their expenses, usually chunking down a big portion on the salaries and advertising costs, which normally take a large part of the expenses pie. Moreover, they will be paying high interest rates the more loans that they acquire. The return on investment, too, will become too low and more difficult to achieve.

 

 

 

The Fiction behind Losing Money

 

There are always two sides of a coin, and if there are truths, there are also a number of myths that may have a profound effect on your financial status, inviting more losses rather than gains in the end:

1. Doing the traditional business methods is still the best option for you.

This is a completely wrong notion, though it doesn’t necessarily mean that old methods of doing business are already out-of-date. It’s just that today, you are already presented with countless choices on how you will be able to bring down the costs of your business while still earning profits. In fact, because you can cut your expenses to the minimum, you can enjoy  a bigger income. For example, you have the World Wide Web that can allow you to do business right in your own home. This can save you the variable costs you may possibly incur from renting an office. There are annual increases on your rent as well as the costs you have to pay once you decide to terminate the rental.

 

You can also lower your advertising costs to as much as 80 percent by making use of search engine optimization, pay-per-click campaigns, and other Internet marketing procedures. Most of all, you can save on your salaries/ expenses if you outsource some of your projects and tasks to other home-based employees.

 

2. If you focus on the get-rich-quick schemes, you can definitely make it.

Do you know that you can actually lose as much as $10,000 every year just because of get-rich-quick schemes?[11] These are so-called online opportunities that will guarantee easy returns on your investment. The truth of the matter is, there’s no such thing as fast profits. In fact, if you will try to calculate it, traditional businesses need between 3 and 5 years before they can fully recover their initial investment. For those who are in the online business, it will take them more or less a year to do so. Simply put, if something is awfully good to be true, then it may not be true at all.

 

 

3. You don’t need to have a business plan  when you’re not thinking about financing.

Let’s just suppose that you have thousands or millions of dollars in your account, or perhaps your savings are enough to cover all the expenses you  incur for your initial operations. Do you think you no longer need a business plan for it? The answer is a flat no. You still have to make a business plan even if you’re not actually considering applying for a loan in a bank or any lending company. Keep in mind that the real purpose of the business plan is more than acquiring the much-needed money to operate. You also need to have it so you will be guided on what you have to do to meet all or even the majority of your objectives. With your business plan, you can assess how much you may earn today and in the coming years, the expenses  that you will incur, as well as the marketing strategies that will give you more or less the kind of profits that you expect. The bottom line is that the business plan will provide you the guidance you definitely require, especially if you’re just starting out.

4. You no longer need an accountant, most especially if you’re doing a home-based business.

Unless you have no dream of expanding your business, you have to attain some form of stability. More than the profits, you need to obtain secure cash flow. This is the point when liquid assets and your investments can provide you with better financial positioning. Even if you’re the smartest accountant, you may need the help of a full-time one if you really want to focus on the other important facets of your business. He or she can guide you when it comes to taxation, better payroll schemes, as well as more efficient forecasts for your business.

 

Chapter Three

 

How to Get Money and Make More Money

 

The first two chapters introduced you to the real world of money. They are not simply bills and coins. They are badly needed by an individual, organization, community, or even a country so they will be able to obtain financial freedom. You’ve also discovered the truths and lies about it. So I hope that by now you’ve understood that no matter how much debt you have, you will never be able to increase your wealth with it. After all, you’re still going to pay for the principal amount, along with the interest. Nevertheless, you may be able to use them to purchase necessary equipment or as a form of additional capital.

 

By now, too, it becomes a lot clearer to you why you will suddenly realize that you have a depleting bank account—that you really haven’t saved any asset, in the form of cash, simply because you have fear in your heart. You just don’t like to take some risks! Hence, you don’t experience any financial growth, and you convert whatever you have to expenses.

 

Chapter 3, on the other hand, takes money to a whole new level, and I firmly believe that this will be something that will surely capture your attention. Who knows you may be begging for more later on? Needless to say, what you may be interested in is how you can actually obtain more money. Is it simple? What does it take to see a lot of digits in your bank account?

 

The Real Concept of Wealth

 

Brian Tracy said it bluntly in his book Getting Rich Your Own Way: Achieve All Your Financial Goals Faster, wealth is something that is derived from other modes or sources. You can actually earn lots of money, but you can only consider yourself wealthy if you can actually make your money work for you. This means that your money can help you generate more money .[12]  Simply put, what’s really important is you are able to add more value to your money through a number of things: you go into business or make some investments.

 

How to Become Wealthy through Investments

 

When you are talking about finance, investments actually mean the buying of any item or a product that has its own value, with the hope that you will gain favorable returns in the future. In other words, your main aim is to make use of your money so that you will be able to make more money.

 

So far, there are three basic types of investments that you can do:

1. Cash Accounts  

Are you seeing green? Obviously, every time you hear about cash, you will never fail to imagine those crisp green bills that could be the last ones in your pocket. However, when it comes to investments, you should go beyond this. Cash accounts can come in a variety of forms. You have certificates of deposits, money market funds, as well as checking and savings accounts. If you’re basically starting in the world of investments, you may want to start out with these because of the following benefits. For one, you wouldn’t have any hard time accessing them (as they are very liquid). If you happen to have a checking or savings account, you may have noticed how convenient it is for you to present your check or feed your ATM card and viola! Your cash is with you. You can earn with minimal interest—you don’t need to sweat for it. These financial institutions automatically credit the amount to your account. Most of all, you don’t lose a lot, just in case the risks go against you.

2. Stocks

These are a little bit more complicated than cash accounts, but you will still be earning something out of them. There are already many companies that offer stock options to their employees, so you may like to ask the management you’re working for if they’re open for stock purchases. However, if the company you work for doesn’t have stock option, you can simply look for any corporation whose stocks are open to the public. The investment you make to the company is referred to as share. Hence, if you own 1,000 shares in a corporation with a total number of 100,000 shares, it means that you are a 1% owner of the company. You can earn money from your stocks in two ways. First, you have the dividends. You can also earn whenever you sell your stocks at a price higher than the purchase cost.

3. Real Estate  

This can be somewhat more expensive to venture into, and you may be affected with the recent slump that’s happened globally. Nevertheless, the real estate business still remains one of the best investment methods for a lot of reasons:

 

i. There are different choices for you.

 

You can always purchase a home and sell it later at the most convenient price for you. Or you may build complexes or apartments and have someone rent your units. Better yet, if you have some idle land, you can always sell it per square meter.

 

ii. Real estate properties appreciate.

 

This could be the biggest advantage when you’re investing in real estate. Unlike other properties such as equipment where their value diminishes the more you use them, the value of your house and land will increase, and more so if they are situated in prime areas.

 

iii. You don’t have to work that hard for your real estate to profit

 

The only things that you may have to worry about in your real estate properties, are the maintenance costs for your them as well as payments for insurance. After that, you can simply wait for the money to come to you.

 

A new mode of real estate investment today  is the REIT, or real estate investment trust. In here, you simply have to purchase shares of stocks from real estate public companies. They are in-charge of several properties, ranging from commercial spaces such as shopping malls to residential areas, like apartments, condominiums, and houses.

 

How to Invest Wisely

 

Investments are risky. Thus, it’s very important that you  remember these 3 basic rules when it comes to investing:

1. Allocate your assets properly.

If you place all your money in stocks and you lose, what else is left for you? That’s why you have to learn how to diversify your portfolio. Choose the most convenient kind of investment opportunities for you and scatter your money over them. If you don’t have any idea where

to invest or how much you have to allocate for each of your investment portfolios, make sure that you always ask help, guidance, and support from a portfolio manager.

 

2. Observe proper behaviour when it comes to investments.

With investments, you win some and you could lose some. Because the market can definitely fluctuate, there will be times when you will be at the losing end. For instance, if you invested your money during the 1970s, you will likely experience one of the biggest declines in the value of your investments. Surely, you would feel disheartened and would stop investing simply because of your fear and frustration.

 

The reality hurts, but then again you always have the opportunity to bounce back. If you allow negative emotions to reign supreme in your mind and heart, you won’t be able to take advantage of the good times, where you can definitely recover what you’ve lost and, in fact, gain some more.

 

You should also get rid of greed. If you remember in the late 1990s, there was the onset of the tech rally. The dot com revolution. A lot of investors were attracted to information technology for the simple reason that it is a practically easy field, and the returns were very high. They forgot about the need to allocate their money to multiple portfolios. Then things changed and subsequently those investors were greatly affected by the crash. According to Wikipedia the dot-com bubble crash resulted in $5 trillion of market value in technology companies being wiped out in 2002 to 2005[13].

This scenario tells you that unless you diversify your investments you could loose a fortune!

 

3. Be highly specific of your goals.

The two basic tips mentioned above will mean nothing if you don’t have any goal in your mind. What’s the real purpose of  your investment? How much do you like to earn as your return? You need to be able to provide yourself with investing objectives as different kinds of portfolio have their own advantages and disadvantages. For instance, if you like to have some cash during your retirement years, you may like to invest in bonds as well as in stocks.

The Art of Budgeting

 

We have mentioned that for you to be able to increase your wealth, you should be able to add value to your money. But where does budgeting fit in here?

 

Wealth is still computed by how much money you have, minus how much you owe to a company or an individual. You will never be able to call yourself a wealthy person when you have $1 million worth of assets but have $1.5 million worth of debts. No matter what you do, even if you work 24 hours a day 7 days a week, if these values won’t change, you’re still a very poor person. One of the best keys to ensure  you can keep your expenses or debts at an all-time low while you increase your sources of revenue is to make a budget and stick to it.

You must keep in mind that a budget  is not the following:

1. It’s an exact amount.

When you make a budget, you don’t always go for the exact amount, unless the costs of items in your budget won’t change in any given period. Otherwise, you have to make your own closest estimate.

 

2. A Budget stops you from accumulating debt or spending.

There are a lot of people who may feel apprehensive about making a budget since they believe that they will no longer be able to spend anything afterwards - they think that they can’t watch any more movies, buy new clothes travel to other places, or just learn to live life to the fullest. I’ll tell you that this is completely absurd! My partner and I have been doing this for years, and yet  we don’t have to experience the feeling of being deprived.

 

A budget, however, should make you aware of your limits—to the things that you can only afford. It should establish the highest amount that you can probably spend, or else, your income will never be able to cover your expenses.

 

3. It doesn’t help you save.

 

Always remember that you have full control of your budget. If you don’t want to save, you can always equal your expenses with your income. However, savings are essential so you can have something to use during emergencies. When making a budget, you can always consider your savings as additional expenses to guarantee that you can have something to use during a rainy day.

 

4. They are just expenses.

When you’re making a budget, you will not only identify the costs that you are likely to incur. You also have to specify your sources of income. This is especially true when your expenses are rather high. You have to make sure that your income will be more than your budgeted costs.

 

 

Know the Value of Residual Income

 

There are a number of you who may be trapped in a 9 to 5 job. You’re stuck at your desk, in front of your PC, and the only free moment you have will be your tea / coffee break and your lunchtime. If you’re in a home-based business and you’re working on your own, you may be spending almost the same number of hours as those who are in the office, even if you  say that you have flexible hours. The bottom line is this: do you dream of working 70 to 100 hours a week for the rest of your life? I would definitely say ‘No to that!’ And I absolutely believe that neither will you. But what option do you have? You better concentrate on earning some passive income.

What do you mean by passive income ?

 

The best way to define passive income is to differentiate it from active income. According to Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, and Jay Papasan, authors of The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, active income is something that you can earn when you work for it. That means you do a particular job, and you get paid for your time, effort, and services. On the other hand, passive income is something that you gain without exerting maximum effort at your end. The money actually comes from your investments and other businesses, which could be run by other people.[14] Does that mean that you don’t have to work hard for your passive income? Actually, no. However, you should know that the time you spend to obtain your residual income is far less than when you work to get your active income.

 

What are the benefits of residual income ?

 

I have eight good reasons why you need to work for a residual income:

 

1. It requires the least effort from you.

As mentioned earlier, passive income wouldn’t come to you unless you make some effort beforehand. As a matter of fact, you normally work the hardest in the earlier part of your business or investment. Nevertheless, the pain and hardship will only be at the early stages. Later on, all you have to do is to welcome income into your bank accounts and pockets. A good example is the real estate business. If you plan to rent your apartments, you need to purchase land, design the apartments and perhaps furnish them with furniture and fixtures, and then promote your property on the market. However, once you find people who will rent your properties, your job basically goes down to almost zero. You simply have to wait for your tenants to pay their rental fees.

2. Time can be extremely flexible.

With passive income, you don’t have to consider any time frame. You can opt to work a 9 to 5 job or not—it depends on you. After all, residual income doesn’t really rely on time.

 

3. You can always expect an increase in your pay.

It becomes very convenient for you to boost your

wages by simply building various income streams for your business or investment. This could also mean diversification of your portfolio.

 

4. There’s no limit as to how much you can possibly earn.

Is it really possible? Yes, it is; more particularly when you talk about residual income. For instance, you may make use of the savings from rented properties to invest in more land, houses, and other kinds of real estate properties.

 

5. You will have something to give to charity.

Are you one of those who are blessed with a good heart? Oftentimes, no matter how much you want to share your financial blessings to those who are in need, it is impossible. Or else, you will not have enough money to save or spend for other necessities. However, if you have passive income, you can make use of the money to contribute to charitable organizations and through doing so offset your tax burden. Your active income, meanwhile, will be the one that you’re going to utilize for your daily needs.

6. There’s money for you during retirement.

What could be the worst-case scenario once you’re already out of work or that you don’t have the energy to handle your business anymore? You will be bothered as to where you will get your income. You cannot look for other work, as there are more competent and stronger individuals out there who could be more fitting to perform the job. Fortunately, since there’s no duration when it comes to when you will continuously receive passive income, you can utilize it even when you no longer have your own stable job or business.

 

Finding Residual Income Online

 

There are actually many ways on how you can earn residual income, but what I’m going to share with you is how you can obtain it through the World Wide Web.

 

Together with my partner, I have been in an Internet marketing business for the past five years, and though there have been a series of ups and downs, I must say that the risks here are a lot lesser than when you decide to settle for a brick-and-mortar business. First, there are lower overhead costs that you have to think about. You canal ways opt to operate inside your home, so all you need to worry about will be electrical costs. When it comes to equipment, you only have to make sure that you have a well-maintained PC with a stable Internet connection, and you’re already good to go.

 

Best of all, having an online business allows you to have a variety of selections with regard to your passive income.

 

Here are some of the best:

1. Develop information products.

The foremost reason why people surf the Internet is because they are looking for information. It could be anything—something that attracts their interest, a research material for a school project, or  the newest products and services available, to name a few. With these reasons, you can already deduce that you have a very wide market for information products and services. But how can you earn a passive income out of this?

 

Do you know how to write an e-book? Writing an e-book entails creating how-to materials for your target market. You just need to make sure that you can offer something new or unique, so you can definitely capture their attention. It could be as short as five pages or as long as hundreds of pages. The most important thing is you can deliver your message to your potential clients. When you already have your e-book, you should then create a sales page, optimize it a little bit, and promote it to your intended customers. You just need to watch orders start coming in.

 

Another method of earning money through an e-book is to sell your space to advertisers. There are many advertisers who are interested in viral marketing.  Some of whom may be willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a small ad in any of your pages.

2. Create an affiliate program .

If you love to sell products on the World Wide Web but you want to distance yourself from the time-consuming process of creating products, then your next best choice for a passive income will be an affiliate program. With it, you simply need to set-up a website where you can display products of your chosen company. Like an e-book, you just need to see to it that it’s properly optimized so that your targeted customers will be able to find it. After that, you need to monitor the number of clicks and sales you’ve accomplished with the help of your website. You earn through sales commission, which could be as high as  50 percent of all the sales that resulted from the ads on your website . You can also earn through referrals to the affiliate program. For instance, if you have a friend who signed up to your affiliate program and sold some products from their website, you could earn something from their sale.

 

 

3. Advertise and earn through commissions.

If you’re running a website that receives as many as  one thousand Internet visitors a day, then you can transform your white space as advertising spaces. You will just have to make sure that you can constantly offer something new to your Internet visitors so they will continuously visit your website. The advertising rate you can command from companies will depend on the number of visitors you get on your website,

 

How you earn through your ads will clearly depend upon you. You may want to have fixed monthly rates for it, or you may choose to earn every time a customer clicks on the ad, and if you’re wondering as to how much you will likely get from advertising commissions, then get this: Perez Hilton, the owner of the notorious Hollywood gossip blog Perezhilton.com, sells space for $9,000 to $16,000 every week.

4. Develop your own software product.

If you’re gifted when it comes to technology, you may want to develop your own software product. The purpose could be for a number of things. You may want to automate the accounting system, produce instructional materials for all ages, or you want to introduce a new application. Whatever it is, there’s a huge chunk of passive income in here.

 

Let me tell you about Susan. She’s my partner’s friend, and she usually spends the majority of her time knitting or sewing. She’s not only very skillful, but she’s highly artistic. Over several years she developed and designed her own creations. Later, she discovered that she could teach other mothers new techniques and designs with regard to sewing and knitting. Thus, with the help of a handy video camera, she began producing instructional materials. She uploaded these files to her website and sold the link to those who were interested. She’s at home - she has more time, she gets to do what she wants, and she earns a good amount of money.

 

And do you know Bill Gates? Of course, you do! I don’t have to tell you how much he earns every year just because of his Windows Operating System.

5. Sign up for referrals .

This is pretty simple. All you have to do is build a network of individuals that may be offering products and services that are highly similar to yours. You earn every time you refer somebody to his or her services or products.

I have another friend—his name is Mike—who does this. He’s a website designer, and he couldn’t handle any copywriting or search engine optimization jobs. Rather than lose such golden opportunities, he would then refer these customers to me or to anyone who belongs to his network, provided we pay him a very small fee. In the end, it becomes a win-win situation. He earns his residual income through the referrals, and we get clients to serve.

6. Develop a membership site .

Do you have something to offer to a certain group of people? Then you can just build your own website. However, there will be a catch: before your visitors can enjoy your fabulous tips or take advantage of some freebies, they need to sign up and pay for their membership. It’s up to you how you’re going to set up the system. You can always go for a monthly, quarterly, or yearly fee. Another method is to let them pay a lifetime membership fee. All you  need to do is to encourage them to purchase your products. You may also sell your space to advertisers.

 

Membership sites have sprung up like Ecademy, Linkedin, Xing and Internations to name a few. They offer business to business referrals and networking meetings.

 

Indeed, when it comes to passive income, the Internet won’t let you down. As a matter of fact, you can do all of these things simultaneously—that is, if you can handle them.

 

Building Virtual Teams

 

The book Database and Expert Systems Applications has a profound definition for virtual teams. VTs, or virtual teams, are a group of people that can be separated in terms of time and geographical locations. However, they are linked through the use of interactive technologies, such as the World Wide Web. Each member of the virtual team has his/her own job that he/she needs to do. But then, they are all working towards one common goal, which is identified by their client.[15] Simply put, a virtual team is a great method to achieve teamwork and get some work done even when your whole staff isn’t found in one physical location.

 

How can you obtain money from virtual teams ?

 

The concept of virtual teams is relatively new, but there are more and more companies today who are implementing it. I, for one, acknowledge the essence and the benefits that you can derive from virtual teams.

 

You may have heard a lot of nasty stories about the Philippines, but mind you, the people are incredibly amazing. Perhaps one of the greatest things I realize when living there is that they can be the most hardworking people you’ll ever know. They have no qualms working late at night or early in the morning just to get some projects done. They share their ideas whenever they feel that they can contribute something to make a project more successful and more significant. They are also highly open to constructive criticisms, and you wouldn’t definitely have any problem training them.

 

Most of all, if you’re thinking of reducing your labor costs, or when you want to minimize your overhead expenses through outsourcing, they are the most excellent people to deal with. At $10 per hour, they can already produce results that are more than what you’ve expected. Moreover, perhaps one of the nation’s greatest strengths, if you’re going to compare it with other business process outsourcing (BPO) countries such as India, is that the Filipinos are highly fluent in English, owing to the fact that they are more exposed to Western culture, and the country produces more graduates than the latter.

 

Benefits You Can Gain from Virtual Teams

 

As mentioned, you can derive a lot of benefits just by having virtual teams with you. Here’s a run down of them:

1. You can minimize your expenses.

You can save  a fortune in every area of your business that needs additional workers. For example, with virtual teams, you no longer have to worry about paying office space rentals. Your team can operate even in the comforts of their own homes. Moreover, you no longer have to purchase additional equipment and machinery just for your team to function. If you happen to look for your own assistants and employees on the World Wide Web, you would know that they already have their own tools with them.

 

 

 

2. You can have a competent team with you.

How can competency allow you to achieve massive wealth? Keep in mind that if you’re operating your business in a conventional setting, you may have to train your team before they can fully contribute to your company. Because of this, you are going to spend some money for the materials and resource persons you hire for their training. All in all, you  will spend hundreds to even thousands of dollars for one regular employee alone.

 

With virtual teams, you can basically eliminate this cost or lower this significantly. There are many virtual assistants who are already equipped with the necessary experience, education, and knowledge of your offered position. Sometimes, all you have to do is to feed them with instructions and allow them to ask questions.

 

Nevertheless, if they ever need some training for a more specific or unique kind of job, you will be able to minimize your material expenses as you can always do it online. You can always take advantage of present technologies available such as VoIP and web conferencing.

 

3. You can have more choices for virtual assistants .

An underperforming employee is a liability to the company. You will be spending a lot for his or her salary, and yet he or she couldn’t produce your desired output.

 

The nice thing about virtual assistants is that you can have plenty of choices for your team. You can always ask your applicants to submit their portfolios just to check if they have what it takes to join your team.

 

The Challenges of Virtual Teams

 

It’s obvious that a virtual team is a boon for every company. Yet, you still have to watch out for the following challenges:

1. Not all can be self-motivated.

Perhaps, it could be because of the environment they are in. Usually, they’re just at home; and they can always get tempted to eat, go out, or even sleep rather than work. Hence, you need to make sure that the members of your virtual team can prove that they can work independently without you constantly monitoring them.

2. Everyone can be dependent on technology for communication.

Usually, around 90 percent of the people in your virtual team are those that you haven’t met or wouldn’t see unless you think of visiting their country. Therefore, everyone needs to be highly dependent on technology for communication. You have instant messengers, VoIP, audio and video conferencing methods, as well as e-mail. It should be your goal to ensure that every member of your team is committed to communicate with you at all times. You may compel them to create their own VT account (virtual), specifically for your company. Don’t forget to schedule weekly or daily meetings. It could be just a short one, not lasting more than 15 minutes. The most important thing is you can get updates from them.

 

3. There is a need to set up clear goals.

 Going to the definition of virtual teams, each person works on his or her own, and yet everyone contributes his or her knowledge and expertise to achieve one goal.

As a manager, it’s your job to ensure that these objectives are specific, clear, and precise. You must be able to establish standards in terms of their work ethics and the quality of their job.

 

However by reading these ideas you may think that it is easy to find a reliable virtual assistant, and there are loads of them out there, but you can expect, especially if you are starting out trial and error in assuring quality.

V Is for Virtual Personal Assistants

 

For the past two years that I’ve been in the outsourcing business, I realize one important thing: you need the help of other people. Sure, you can be the Jack or Jill of all trades, but it doesn’t really mean that you’re making the most out of your time. Heck, you’re not even making good use of your money. Let me tell you a short story about Sally.

 

Sally is a prolific writer. She once worked before as a copywriter in one of the prestigious PR firms in Los Angeles until she decided to quit and go freelance. She charged $200 for every article, which was just right considering her experience and her expertise. However, because she was basically working without anybody’s help, she could only produce five articles per day. The majority of her time was  eaten up by self-promotion and finding new clients on the World Wide Web.

 

What Sally failed to realize is the fact that she could have earned more if she would just have at least one person to help her out. He or she could take Sally’s calls, answer less-important e-mails, or even look for clients. This way, Sally could come up with more than five articles and have more than enough money to pay her assistant and live her life comfortably.

 

At this age where time, money, and effort count, you need the help of a virtual personal assistant.

 

Defining Virtual Personal Assistants

 

In her book Virtual Assistant, The Series: Become a Highly Successful Sought-after VA (Virtual Assistant), Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker defined a virtual personal assistant, or a VPA, as an extremely skilled individual with expertise, knowledge, and experience in the areas of specialized services and administrative support, especially to sales professionals, entrepreneurs, businesses, and other individuals who may be needing their help.[16]

 

 VPAs can basically function like your own personal secretary, only that you don’t see them around in your office, more so in your home. They do their jobs in the comfort of their own home. All you need to do is  emphasize to them the obligations that need to be done. Because of the novel concept (everybody would definitely like to work in their own home) and the money that is coming just for being a VPA, this, by far, is one of the most popular and in-demand professions on the World Wide Web. As a matter of fact, there are between 5,000 and 8,000 VPAs found in different corners of the world.

 

What Sets VPAs from Other Professionals

 

It should be made clear early on that a VPA isn’t actually your traditional employee. Payroll is actually kept basic. You simply have to multiply the number of hours worked to the agreed rate. There’s no need for you to deduct any employment tax. Normally, VPAs can function on their own. Therefore, they require the least amount of supervision.

 

They are also not referred to as temporary workers, although they don’t go through any staffing agency, and, most of all, they don’t work in your office or in your home. Moreover, they get their salary straight from you, not from any recruitment or human resource firm.

 

So what then is a VPA? A VPA is an independent contractor, which means they can do the following:

1. They set their own rates.

VPAs have the liberty to determine how much they would like to receive from their work based on their education, experience, expertise, and the difficulty level of the job. You can, however, negotiate.

 

You can pay them through Paypal, or have a coordinator locally to do that.

2. They are not generally bound by the policies of the client.

Their clients can provide instructions about the things that have to be accomplished. However, the VPAs are not bound to commit to any company policy or standards unless these policies concern about disclosure of confidential information, stealing of copyright materials or ideas, or fraud and dishonesty.

3. They manage their own time.

This could be one of the charms of being a VPA. As long as there are no time constraints available, they can work according to their own working schedule.

 

But are they secretaries? The answer is a yes and no. They have the same characteristics, and yet the two professions can differ greatly. I know that I will be getting a lot of raised eyebrows with what I’m going to say, but the truth is, it actually took a long time for secretaries to change the traditional perception of companies. A long time ago, secretaries only get to do almost all menial jobs that their bosses don’t want to. Moreover, they have the obligation to file all papers,  prepare their managers daily coffee, and take down notes in meetings. They are also always on a call. Their main purpose or their significance  to the success of the company is hardly ever felt.

 

Along the way, as new skills were being acquired by secretaries, they began to realize their worth to a busy executive or even a company CEO. Hence, with a VPA, you will find individuals who can demand their own time and develop their own working habits, and yet they are able to become part of the journey of an organization by providing some personalized services.

 

Some clients use Smartsheets to organize the work of their virtual assistants. Others Excel sheets, but the choice is yours.

 

History of VPA s

 

You would definitely be surprised to know that the concept of virtual assistance didn’t only exist in the 21^st century. As early as the 1970s, the idea already existed, though it could not be as comprehensively defined until now.

 

It was in 1992 when Stacy Brice decided to work as a home-based but full-time contractor to a client located in another geographical location, providing services such as travel planning, personal assistance, and even administrative support. Later on, in 1996, she partnered with Thomas Leonard, a life coach. It was during one of the phone conversations between Leonard and Brice that the former used the term “virtual assistant.” This eventually paved the way for Brice to come up with a much clearer model about her job and provide some distinction between secretarial services and virtual assistance. Finally, in 1997, along with the launch of Brice’s AssistU (http://www.assistu.com/), a new profession was born.

 

Advantages of VPA s

 

Indeed, in this dog-eat-dog world, there’s no way that you can be complacent and spend the majority of your time doing routine work when you know that you can move on, develop new products and services, and market aggressively. You can do these tasks while allowing someone to back you up with more specialized services. But is this all?

 

Let me tell you why I have been an avid fan of VPAs. So far, I have been enjoying the benefits that I’m going to enumerate here. These are also the reasons I am sharing with you who ventured out into new horizons.

 

1.     You only need to pay whenever you need help.

It’s going to be a win-win situation whenever you hire your own virtual personal assistant. He or she is not obligated to be there for you at all times (or on call), and you are not compelled to pay him or her on those days or hours that he or she hasn’t worked for you. This means that you only have to spend for the work completed.

2. You don’t have to deal with any personal and office issues.

When I was still operating my own physical office, I didn’t only have to deal with customer problems but even employee conflicts, and inasmuch as I want to play the nicest boss there is on the planet, you can’t help but feel irritated settling minor differences among your staff. With virtual assistants, since they work independently and you don’t get to see them, there are lesser possibilities of conflicts.

3. You don’t need to look for more office spaces.

It’s quite cumbersome really when you’re going to take in a new employee into your turf. You may have to purchase new equipment and office supplies and look for more space in your already-cramped area. With VPAs, you can save yourself some money and worry no more about the hassles of getting a bigger office space. They can perfectly thrive right in their own environment, which is their home.

4. There’s more privacy.

I can be a “thinking” rather than a “doing” individual sometimes, and I need as much silence as I can possibly get just to come up with a beautiful idea for my services or marketing approach. I don’t think it’s something that I can achieve when every now and then someone knocks on my office door. Again, VPAs are smart people. They know what they’re doing, and so I don’t have to tell them again and again what they need to do. This way, I can have the luxury of time to work on far more important things.

 

5. They can perfectly understand the needs and demands of your business.

Virtual personal assistants are usually gifted with not only knowledge but also experience. They have already dealt with the same issues, problems, and needs that your company is currently facing right now. Hence, all they need is a little orientation. You simply have to provide them a background of what the organization is about and what the main goals are. Just through this, VPAs can already deduce what you want them to accomplish.

 

One good example is CatchFriday.com. Their range of services varies from web designing, programming, to web content writing. They also offer full back-end support to your business, such as accounting, audio typing, appointments, AUTOCAD, and research, to name a few. But the real beauty of the company lies on the different packages that you can avail. You can choose three. You can either pay as you go, or if you like a highly flexible package, a monthly plan, or a project-based package. The company definitely knows the importance of a well-run business and your desire to manage your finances well. That’s why they have come up with these plans.

 

6. You are not obliged to give them company benefits.

You can be generous as you can be. My VPA has been around for more than a year, and as a form of loyalty, I would give her performance bonuses every quarter. It isn’t much, but the important thing is she knows that I recognize and acknowledge her services and dedication.

 

If you’re on a shoestring budget, and you want to minimize your expenses, you better get yourself a VPA. You are not obliged to give him or her any company benefits. You don’t even have to burden yourself calculating his or her tax benefits and obligations. You simply have to ensure that you don’t miss out paying him or her what is due.

7. You don’t have to come up with your own policies.

In a real office setting, you have to set up some standards to ensure that you can establish harmony in the workplace and encourage your employees to work with utmost dedication and discipline. These are not the case when you have a VPA. You can skip creating a handbook or a manual for your company. What is important here is that he or she is able to deliver what you definitely want or need. You may, however, for the sake of effective communication send out few guidelines.

 

8. You don’t need to comply with the requirements of the government.

When you have regular employees, you aren’t only going to deal with them physically. More importantly, you are also answerable to the government. Before you can even operate your business, you still have to comply with the mandatory requirements of your state or even of your country. Otherwise, you will be held liable and have to pay the consequences of your actions. In the virtual world, there are no laws that you have to think about. However, it doesn’t really mean that you have to abuse the system. Keep in mind that everything will be based on trust and commitment. Destroy these, and you will never find the perfect VPA for yourself.

How to Look for the Ideal VPA

 

So you know what virtual personal assistants are and what you can get out of them. Now, it’s  time to  discover the right ways and means to find the most perfect VPA for you and your company.

 

Requirements for a VPA

 

Let’s start with what you need to look for a VPA. What should you look for in a virtual assistant? Is it enough that he or she has the attitude, experience, and technical knowledge for him or her to be considered?

 

In the article Hiring a Virtual Assistant, Paul and Sarah Edwards articulated the basic requirements for a virtual personal assistant. He or she should have the experience. But more than that, he or she should be able to deal with the different tasks at hand, keeping in mind that every client has specific requirements for his or her ideal virtual personal assistant.[17]

 

Take into account that a VPA isn’t an employee but a possible partner to your business. Hence, it’s not only enough that he or she has the skills; you have to make sure that his or her expertise matches your own needs and preferences. Here are some more things you have to consider in searching for the right VPA:

1. The VPA operates his or her own website.

You may think that it’s not actually going to be a very big deal if the VPA doesn’t have his or her own website. But you should know that a true-blue VPA should have one for the following reasons.

• He/she needs to have a place where he/she can showcase his/her skills and experiences.
• He/she also has to develop a marketing page, which, in turn, will garner more clients for himself/herself.

 

On the other hand, you can make use of the website for standard evaluation of the candidate. If he/she has a lot of misspellings and grammar issues in his/her content, hasn’t taken the time to fix the images, or the website itself is ill-structured, chances are the candidate isn’t really serious about his/her job. Otherwise, he/she could have paid closer attention to details and presents himself/herself well with prospective clients. If the prospective VPA cannot commit himself/herself to his/her site, there’s no way he/she can be dedicated to his/her job.

2. The VPA  is someone that you can rely on.

Though he/she may be working virtually, you’re still going to work with him/her closely. Communication is one of the best ways to ensure that both of you are on track, on schedule, and are doing things properly. Hence, when you’re looking for a VPA, make sure that you have also t