My Office Set-up At Home

This is my office set-up at home which is just adjacent to our room. I need to provide a space wherein I can work at my own phase at my own time. I am using a Corei3 desktop computer, Corei5 laptop, and an Acer tablet for execution.

 Each gadget has its own purpose. The laptop serves as a back-up during 1.5 hours brownout, when the desktop suddenly breakdown, desktop maintenance, and most importantly when I am on the go and brings along my work with me. The desktop of course is where all the dirty work happens. Dirty in the sense that I always meet up with viruses along the way. Its part of my work to do research and so many nasty sites out there. My fave Tablet is for the get in touch purpose. I browse emails, able to get in touch with Skype messages and calls as this is what I call my Call and Text buddy secondary to my cellphone, as everything is online. This is handy when my laptop or desktop is in sleeping mode, so I still get updates from my clients anytime of the day.

You need to invest in these gadgets as this is what I say my Capital for my Self-employment Business as a homebased freelancer. Way back in 2007 I only started with a second hand desktop computer given to me by my Father.

The most important thing of having an office set-up is the internet connection since this is the Supplier/Source of all racketeering online. As of the present time I am subscribe to Globe Broadband - postpaid and Smartbro - prepaid, as a back-up internet. When worst comes to worst I have my iPhone with data to be able to connect to my client and inform them that I having difficulties with my connection as this is a major problems that client's are complaining about.

For a recent update. I am now using GLOBE DSL Wired Connection with a maximum speed of 10Mbps @ 550G Data Allocation. It has its good days and bad days but we just need to do a little adjustment. Working during wee hours in the morning is the best way to go if you have tons of work to do. Internet connection is fast and only a few users during those hours.

HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE VIRTUAL ASSISTANT?

I had read a lot of thread regarding VA stuff and I would say that the competition is getting tougher and tougher each day.  Especially that administrative jobs are being outsourced to the third world country because of cheap labor.  But they didn't know that most VA's in the Philippines are College Degree Holders and some are Graduate Degree Holders.

I myself is a Professional Pharmacist but why shift to another career? Basically I did not, I was just hounding my skills, which I had for a long while and it has been lurking to come out. My computer skills is way back in the 90's during my high-school days. My administrative skill is with my experienced in working in a hospital environment for 5 years. My transcription skill is way back 2005 from a company that trained us and hired us.  My customer service skill was develop when I had a short stint in a Diagnostic Center in Dubai, UAE. The rest like SEO, Online Marketing, Website tweaking, Video editing, Blogging, etc. I give credit to my clients who had thought me and mold me to be an asset to their business rather than a liability. Yes, I did not acquire these skills in just a blink of an eye but with many years of experience and on-going learning.

I just would like to impart to you how you can be an effective Filipino virtual assistant? If you have the skills why not use it for good purpose and get paid.

So how to be an effective VA?

• You need to be a go getter. Meaning, you need to go an extra mile to be able to deliver a good result. You would need to do some research, online tutorials, and you need to ask question.
• Able to work under pressure especially if you are a work at home Mom. You have to set your mind that this hour is for my VA work and you must work in moderation to get the understand the instructions well.  What I usually do is I also say to my 4 year old daughter that I need to concentrate on what I am doing cause this is work and we do things you want after my work time. 
• Be consistent with your goal. To deliver a quality work. 
• Be patience on every request that your client/employer is asking. Try to argue in your most honest opinion so that good communication will be met. 
• You need to be organized. This is most important especially if you are dealing complex documents. You need to have a system or a daily routine that is well organized so that everything will done as per schedule. 

This is just my opinion and you free to comment. I would love if you can share your thought regarding this topic.

If you need my service please do email me. I love being a Virtual Assistant and I work with compassion!!

VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

What is it like to be a Virtual Assistant? Here are the key points if you want to become one. A description from Virtual Staff Finder/Live2sell.  Rates given are just a guide to how much would be your expected compensation. In oDesk there is a fixed rate and an hourly rate. Its really up to you on how you can sell yourself.

1. General Virtual Assistant must know general administrative task such as email filtering, transcription, research, data entry, blog management, calendar management, flight bookings, social media management. ($350-$500 a month)

2. Article/Content Writer - Expertise in Article/Content writing, dairy submission, article spinning and article marketing, video blog posting and transcription. ($400-$550 a month)

3.SEO Specialist - Keyword research, niche market analysis, on-page optimization, off-pate optimization (link building), blog management, bench marketing, online personal and corporate branding. ($450-$550 a month).

4.Web Development/Maintenance/Programing - Set up maintenance and wordpress blogs, software updates, and plug-ins, creation of websites, creation of niche sites, custom programming, design graphics, and web page layout concepts. ($550-$750 a month).

Click here to visit Chris C. Ducker.