Admin Virtual Assistant: Simplest Way to Become a Remote Worker

Admin Tasks: The Simplest Way to Become a Remote Worker Oni Lestari Virtual assistant, copywriter, SEO-expert April 17, 2024 | Remote Working Tips Dreaming of escaping the daily commute and trading rush hour for a cozy home office or your favorite coffee shop? The world of remote work offers incredible flexibility and freedom. But what kind of jobs can you do from anywhere? Believe it or not, the key might lie in a skill set you already possess: admin tasks! But what exactly are admin tasks, and how can they translate into a flexible remote career? Read on to discover the power of admin skills and how they can pave your way to becoming an admin virtual assistant (VA), helping businesses thrive from afar. Table of Contents: Why Admin Skills are Great for Starting Out Now, you might be thinking “Admin tasks? Isn’t that just answering emails and filling papers?” While it can involve those things, it’s actually so much more! Basically, admin tasks are the behind-the-scenes heroes that keep businesses running smoothly. They’re the organizers, the schedulers, the email managers who take care of all the everyday tasks that free up busy professionals to focus on the bigger picture of their businesses. But here’s the best part, becoming an admin virtual assistant is a great starting point for a remote career. Let’s break it down into two key reasons: Easier to get started Unlike some remote jobs that require specialized training or extensive experience, many admin tasks rely on skills you probably already have. Think about the things you do to manage your day-to-day life. You likely schedule appointments, keep track of deadlines, and stay on top of your emails. These are all valuable admin skills that businesses are constantly in need of. What matters most is having strong organizational skills and being comfortable using common computer programs. Always in Demand No matter the size of the industry, businesses are always looking for ways to streamline their operations. Like scheduling meetings, managing emails, and doing research. They just don’t have the time (or sometimes the manpower) to handle it all themselves. That’s where you, a admin virtual assistant come in. You’ll take care of all those repetitive tasks that can bog down a business owner or employee, offering a helping hand to businesses in need, and freeing them up to focus on what they do best, doing tactical tasks and making decisions. It’s a win-win solution! Always being in demand means you can consistently earn money from this type of virtual assistant task. You can even increase your rates as you gain experience as an admin virtual assistant! Common Admin Tasks for VAs So, what exactly are admin tasks? Here’s a closer look at some of the most common admin tasks VAs do: Email Management: This may seem like a simple chore, but for busy professionals, it can be time-consuming. It involves sorting through incoming emails, prioritizing messages, crafting responses, and maintaining a clean and organized inbox. Calendar Management: Staying on top of schedules is crucial. VAs assist with scheduling appointments, setting reminders, coordinating meetings, and managing multiple calendars to ensure everyone stays on track. Document Creation & Editing: From crafting clear and concise reports to creating visually appealing presentations, VAs can transform raw information into polished documents that effectively communicate ideas. Data Entry: In the world of business, information is king, and keeping it organized is key. As a virtual assistant who specializes in data entry, you’ll be the data organizer! You take all sorts of information and put it into a neat and tidy format. This ensures that all vital information is readily accessible and up-to-date, making it easier for businesses to find what they need when they need it. Your tasks might include adding new products to online store websites, inputting customer or lead information, organizing survey answers, filling out daily marketing reports, and so on. Internet Research: Research is a vital tool for businesses of all sizes, but busy professionals often don’t have enough time to do it effectively. VAs offer a valuable solution, providing comprehensive research findings that empower businesses to make informed decisions. Imagine a coffee shop chain that wants to expand to Asia. You’d search for info on competitors, coffee trends, who drink it most (age groups, income levels), and even interview coffee lovers online to understand local preferences. This helps them pick the best country to open first! Travel Planning: Business trips can be hectic, but VAs can take the stress out of travel planning. They can handle all the logistics, booking flights and hotels, and crafting detailed itineraries to make the journey smooth and stress-free. Customer Service: Providing excellent customer service is paramount. VAs can handle customer inquiries, answer questions, and resolve issues. This ensures a positive customer experience, which is key for building loyalty and repeat business.   While these core admin tasks are a fantastic foundation for launching your VA career, there’s always room for growth! As you gain experience, you can expand your skillset to offer even more valuable services to your clients, such as: Social Media Management: In today’s digital age, a strong social media presence is essential, but managing these platforms can take much time. As a VA, you can help clients by scheduling engaging posts, responding to comments and messages from customers, and monitoring social media trends to ensure their online presence stays vibrant and effective. Bookkeeping: Maintaining accurate financial records is also important for any business. If you have an aptitude for numbers, you can expand your skillset to offer basic bookkeeping tasks to your clients. This might involve things like entering data into spreadsheets, managing invoices, and keeping track of expenses.   Remember, the choice is yours! As you gain experience and explore different areas, you can tailor your services to match your interests and skill set. There are many other specialized skills you can add to your repertoire as you progress in your VA career. The important takeaway is that starting with

How to Build Self Confidence Right Away: 4 Ingredients to Achieve Success

How to Build Self Confience Right Away: 4 Ingredients to Achieve Your Success Oni Lestari Virtual assistant, copywriter, SEO-expert October 17, 2024 | Remote Working Tips Do you ever find yourself looking at others and feeling like they have everything figured out while you’re left questioning your every move? This ongoing struggle between self-doubt and self-confidence can be draining. But what if we told you that unshakeable confidence is within your reach? In this article, we will explore the root causes of self-doubt, the importance of embracing imperfections, and the process of cultivating self-love. Plus, we’ll provide practical tips on how to build self confidence right away. So, please read on! Table of Contents: Self-Confidence VS. Self-Doubt Self-confidence and self-doubt are like two sides of a penny. There’s a side when we want to start a new business, we might see success in the future. But on the other side when we want to do it, we’re afraid someone will ask “Your major is electrical engineering, why are you doing that?”. Or when we want to upload our content and grow personal branding, we’re afraid someone from our office will judge us. It’s like we have a thought that “Hey, this is the path, this is what you could go down” and there’s also a thought that tells us “No, don’t go, stay in the cave, stay in your comfort zone.” So, let’s discuss where that self-doubt comes from and how to build self-confidence. Learn how to build self confidence right away, silence that inner critic and unleash the power within, allowing you to confidently pursue your goals and dreams with these 4 steps. 1. Stop Overthinking 2. Stop Comparing Yourself We all fall victim to overthinking sometimes. But even though our thoughts are powerful, they are not always facts. Our brains are constantly generating thoughts to interpret the world around us. The problem is we often mistake these thoughts for reality. This is where self-doubt creeps in. That nagging voice telling us “You can’t do this” is fueled by negative thought patterns. It’s not our feelings or the situation itself, but the way we think about them, that creates our emotional state and potentially hinders our actions. If your inner critic comes in when you want to do something, you could challenge that thought by asking yourself, “Have I met most of the requirements? Can I learn the rest quickly?” Then you could take action by updating your knowledge, skills, and experiences, then doing what you need to do with confidence! But if you’ve met the requirements, just do it! Here’s why overthinking is counterproductive: Fear of failure: You need to keep in mind that you can’t predict the outcome of your work, failure or success is not in your hand. You can try again if you fail, but if you don’t try you have to live with the regret forever. Unrealistic expectations: You compare yourself to others and create unrealistic goals, setting yourself up for disappointment. Because there’s no such thing called overnight success. Perfectionism: The pursuit of perfection becomes a barrier to progress. It’s okay to start imperfectly and iterate as you go. As Reid Hoffman, co-founder of Linkedin, famously said, “If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” Remember, self-doubt is a common human experience. By recognizing its source in your thoughts, and learning to challenge them, you can break free from overthinking and take control of your life. The age of social media highlights everyone’s “best life”, creating the illusion that others possess something mysterious we lack. Scrolling through Instagram feeds or comparing ourselves to colleagues can fuel the belief that “they have it all”, more money, time, or support. This constant comparison fuels negativity and makes us feel inferior. The truth is, constantly comparing ourselves to others rewires our brains for negativity. Our brains, wired for efficiency, tend to repeat patterns. The more we compare, the more rooted the negativity cycle becomes. It doesn’t matter if we just got a promotion or have a great relationship, that feeling of positivity can be overshadowed by underlying negative self-belief. External validation, like compliments or achievements, doesn’t create lasting confidence because it doesn’t address the root cause: our thoughts about ourselves. Instead of letting those negative thoughts simmer, acknowledge your feelings and then reframe them. Tell yourself, “Everyone has different strengths. Maybe I can learn from them and improve my own.” You could also congratulate them and ask for some pointers. Here’s how to stop comparing and build confidence: Shift your focus. Instead of comparing your journey to someone else’s highlight reels, focus on your path. Celebrate your progress, big and small. Challenge your thoughts. When the comparison monster whispers doubts, question its validity. Are these thoughts based on reality or just fear? Build confidence from within. Confidence comes from self-belief, not external achievements. Invest in activities that build your self-worth and positive self-image. And always remember that your life is a unique journey. Stop comparing yourself to others and focus on becoming the best version of yourself. 3. Know Yourself, Know Your Worth How well do we truly know ourselves? In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to get caught up in external distractions, constantly evaluating and comparing ourselves to others. We may find ourselves neglecting the most important journey of all: self-discovery. The truth is, life isn’t about what’s outside of us, but what’s within. When we focus too much on external factors, we lose sight of our true selves. This can lead to feelings of anxiety, fear, and lack of inner peace. The antidote to this is self-confidence. This is when we know and accept ourselves fully, we can navigate life’s challenges with grace and resilience. We can make decisions aligned with our values and live a life that is authentic and meaningful. When we truly know ourselves, we can accept our strengths and weaknesses, our unique personality traits, and our past experiences. This acceptance leads to

Define Work-Life Balance: What It Is and How to Achieve Yours

Define Work-Life Balance: What It Is and How to Achieve Yours Oni Lestari Virtual assistant, copywriter, SEO-expert October 17, 2024 | Remote Working Tips Who wouldn’t want to have a good work-life balance, right? If we define work-life balance, most people would probably describe it as having a career with a manageable workload, a great salary, and no need to work overtime. It’s everyone’s dream! However, many people feel that achieving work-life balance is impossible. This is often because many workplaces operate under the mindset that “a good employee is one who always works overtime” or that “a good employee is always available, even during vacation time.” But the truth is, you can achieve a healthy work-life balance. First, it’s important to understand what this really means. To help you get started, SGBVA has prepared an article just for you! Table of Contents The History of Work-Life Balance It’s important to know where things started and why to understand it better. So, let’s back to the moment when the concept of work-life balance was born. Work-life balance was started in the United Kingdom in the 80s as an issue in the Women’s Liberation Movement. This movement pushed for women to have the option of flexible work hours and maternity leave. At that time, people mostly expected women to have a career and still be in charge of the family and home. It relates to women’s role in male-female relationships when taking care of the house. Like cooking, cleaning, taking care of the kids, and many more things. Women felt pulled in many directions because of the responsibility to handle both home tasks and a career. This is when the idea of balancing work and life became important. Work-Life Balance in This Era Things haven’t changed much. The expectation for women to work and take care of the family and home still seems pretty similar to what we see today. And with the technology changing, achieving work-life balance isn’t just a problem for women but becomes a challenge for everyone. Technology changes how we work Technology offers great flexibility and connectivity but also blurs the lines between professional and personal life. The existence of smartphones, email, and remote work tools means that workers are often expected to be available around the clock. It contributes to an ‘always on’ culture. In today’s competitive job market, many workers also worry about taking time off or saying no to more work. It relates to job insecurity because it makes people think they don’t care about the job. Rising expectations make them end up putting work before their personal life. All of that affects how millennials (1981-1996) and Gen Z (1997-2012) take their action and decisions regarding work-life balance. Work-life balance in today’s generation Millennials focus more on their lifestyle compared to older generations. But the main difference is that Millenials prefer jobs that match their values. They want to enjoy their work because they don’t see it as separated from their life. For them, life and work mix instead of being separated parts. And there’s Gen Z, who is just starting to work. It seems they want their jobs to be even more meaningful than millennials do. A study by Dynamic Signal found that they value having a community at work. When they pick a job, they care more about having a balance between work and life, and also about their happiness. Rather than about how much they make or the company’s reputation The Truth of Work Life Balance So, should you achieve a work-life balance? Some of you might think work-life balance is important, but even if you’re not perfectly balanced, that’s okay. Being imperfect at something doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It simply means you’re human. And if you believe that work-life balance is impossible, you might become a workaholic and continue being overwhelmed. Because, again, our beliefs and perception of work-life balance affect our mindset and actions about how we manage our time and what we think is possible. The important thing isn’t about whether work-life balance is true or not, but having a clear picture of the life you desire. How to Set Up Boundaries Now that we’ve learned about work-life balance, why it matters, and how people see it these days, let’s talk about how to achieve it. One way to do this is by setting clear boundaries. What is boundaries? Boundaries are something that makes us more present, not distracted, and give all the attention to what we care about. Without boundaries, work keeps expanding because there’s no stop time. When our focus is split between work and our personal life. We are unable to devote ourselves to either fully. Imagine when we’re having dinner with family or friends while checking phones constantly, worried about the project and other tasks. We might think it’s a productive way to do two things at the same time. But actually, we’re not paying attention to either because we’re not being present. After some time, it might seem like we’re always working and our work-life balance isn’t right even though we’re not getting more work done. It’s like we’re always working but there’s always more work left. This can be confusing and frustrating. So, here’s the step to make your boundaries more clear: Define your boundaries Don’t let someone define your boundaries, do it yourself. Because when you let someone else drive you, don’t be surprised if you don’t like the direction your time is taking. To do it, you need to make a visual of what condition you’re okay and not okay with. For example, if you’re a mom with a job and a family to take care of, you can ask yourself: ‘Am I okay doing work after my work hours are done?’‘Am I okay with canceling plans to work for an important client?’‘Am I okay with missing dinner and bedtime stories with my kids, to talk on the phone with my boss?’ Then, put them into a decision

Virtual Assistant 101: How to Begin Your Remote Career in 2024

Virtual Assistant 101: How to Begin Your Remote Career in 2024 Oni Lestari Virtual assistant, copywriter, SEO-expert April 24, 2024 | Remote Working Tips Ever dream of working from anywhere in the world, setting your own hours, helping businesses grow, and earning a good income? Becoming a Virtual Assistant (VA) might be the perfect fit for you! The virtual assistant industry is booming, offering opportunities to utilize your skills for various clients—all from the comfort of your home. But where do you start? Don’t worry! This ultimate Virtual Assistant 101 guide is here to break it down for you. SGBVA will cover everything you need to know, from identifying your virtual assistant skills to finding your first client and launching a successful remote career. So, grab a cup of coffee, get comfy, and let’s explore the exciting world of virtual assisting! Table of Contents: What is a Virtual Assistant? First, let’s establish a clear understanding of who a virtual assistant is. A virtual assistant is a remote worker who provides administrative, technical, or creative assistance to clients. They work online, offering their services on a part-time or full-time basis. They dedicate their time and expertise to supporting business needs. Now, we’re ready to talk about how to build a strong foundation to prepare yourself before you start to approach a potential client as a virtual assistant. Sometimes when we start something new, adrenaline pushes us forward and makes us want to kick off the projects right away. But sometimes an initial idea without a clear vision will leave you with half-finished tasks. That’s why having a solid plan is crucial. So in this article, we’re gonna take a deep dive into the key steps to set you up for success as a virtual assistant. Know the Niche and Services that You’ll be Offering First things first, let’s nail down your niche and the services you’ll offer. If you’re new to this, you might be wondering what niche is, let’s talk about it in the most basic terms. Niching is choosing an area to specialize in. This helps you decide who you’ll work for and what services you’ll offer. Most of the time when you hear about a niche in the VA context, you’ll hear people say, “I work for coaches to finish their to-do list”, or “My niche is YouTubers or wellness business owners.” There are many different niches because the opportunities to work with virtual assistants are endless. Business owners, self-employed individuals, and even employees all have the possibility of needing a virtual assistant. How do you figure out your niche? This question can be one of the most challenging aspects for beginners. We’re going to explain what a niche is and how to decide on your niche. But before we delve deeper, let’s make it clear: you don’t have to lock yourself into a niche. The best part of being a virtual assistant, or a business owner of any kind, is the flexibility to pivot your business as needed. If you choose a specific niche now, you can change it anytime. To figure it out, you can start by answering these two questions. One, “what skills do I already have that I can use to serve clients?” and two, “what type of tasks do I want to be doing as a virtual assistant?” 1. List the Skills You Already Have Let’s start with the first question: What skills do you have? This can be anything, so get creative! You’ll need to brainstorm a list of all the skills you have from any previous jobs, school, or even personal hobbies. It can be something super simple, like being great at writing emails, organizing your family schedule, or having coding skills. Anything you think could be transferred to a business setting or offered as a service goes on the list. Just get it all down in front of you, whether on a piece of paper or in your notes app. If you dive deep into what you can do, you’ll be surprised at the thousands of things that could end up on your list! 2. List the Tasks You Want to be Doing The second question to ask yourself is: What type of tasks do you WANT to be doing as a VA? What are you DREAMING of doing? If you’ve considered becoming a VA, you probably already have some ideas in mind. Now’s the time to write that list down! Don’t limit yourself to what you think you can do right now. Honestly, new and exciting tasks will often pop up when you’re working as a VA that you hadn’t even considered before. You’ll be surprised by your ability to figure things out as you go. Do you dream of helping someone launch their podcast? Or maybe you’d love to work with writers to get their books out to the world? The opportunities are endless when you’re a VA! There are no rules that say you can’t work with specific clients or in specific areas just because you’re a virtual assistant. Dream big – you can make anything happen, even if it takes some time. Don’t hold yourself back! 3. Define Your Niche and Services When you have this list, you can review it repeatedly to make sure everything aligns with what you want to do, not what you feel obligated to do. This is your chance to break free from tasks that no longer bring you joy. So, choose activities that spark excitement and ignite a sense of fulfillment. Now you have two sets of answers. See which ones might work well together. For example, if you have excellent email communication skills and want to work with small businesses, then your niche might be “small business owners” and your service offering could be “customer service.” If you love to write and want to work with podcasters, then your niche is “coaches” and your service could be “coach assistant.” Being clear about this helps you explain your services