HOME
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The
2-Second Commute
Based
on the
highly-successful Virtual Assistant training programs Chris Durst and
Michael Haaren developed
for the US Armed Forces and the US Department of State, The 2-Second
Commute:
Join the Exploding Ranks of Freelance Virtual Assistants
brings
you the
knowledge without
the classroom!
Training
program
participants have billed
over $30
MILLION since our training programs started in 2002. Now YOU can learn from Chris
& Mike,
too, and start your own successful VA business!
2-SECOND
COMMUTE
CHAPTERS
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1
Why
Become a Virtual
Assistant?
- personal & professional
reasons to
explore this
industry
Chapter 2
Exploring
Virtual
Assistance
- virtual assistance defined
- industry demographics
- services, fees, and trends
- why businesses work with VAs
- international outlook
Chapter 3
Reality
Checks &
Self-Assessments
- exploring important considerations -
motives,
lifestyle,
family, children, etc.
- entrepreneurial self-assessment
- VA readiness self-assessment
- Spouse With a Mouse™ -
from our
Department of State
and US
Armed Forces training programs, a special section to help your
"significant other" understand what it will be like to have a business
in the house.
Developing
a "Service
Menu" That You Can Live and Grow With
- inventory your values, interests,
and
skills to
determine
your most marketable skills
Chapter 5
Estimating
Costs and
Setting Fees
- projecting your costs, picking your
"salary", setting
your hour, and our special formula for calculating a reasonable
baseline fee
- comprehensive fee survey (see what
other
VAs are
charging)
- getting paid -contracts, credit
cards,
invoices,
retainers, etc.
Chapter 6
Setting
Up Your
Business and Your Office
- naming and registering your business
- forms of business ownership
- permits and licenses
- insurance
- home office setup
Chapter 7
Building
a Healthy
Foundation for Your Business
- defining your ideal client,
interviewing
clients,
partnering with clients
- the art of virtual communications
- SWOT analysis - discovering your
Strengths,
Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats
- the benefits of "niche marketing" -
identifying your
target
market
Chapter 8
Let
the Marketing
Begin!
- image is everything
- talking about what you "do"
- marketing and email
- your Web site - your "global
billboard"
- press releases
- harvesting the local "business crop"
- leveraging the media
- guest lecturing
- our 5 favorite marketing techniques
- the Strategic Marketing Plan - your
blueprint for
building
a successful business through effective marketing
Chapter 9
Pulling
It All
Together and
Keeping It There
- a collection of tips, tool,
techniques,
and pointers
for
making your business a success
Chapter 10
The
VA Toolbox:
Resources and Information
- VA trade groups, email lists,
certifications and
training
programs
- specialized resources for
homeschoolers,
"trailing
spouses", work at home parents, and people with disabilities
- resources and other information for
the
"frugal VA"
--
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Work from home
Crafting
[Contributing Expert: Carrie Lee]
 The niche in a nutshell:
If
you're looking to turn your crafting into cash, several paths -- such
as craft
fairs and shows, craft malls, display work for stores, sample pieces
for
distributors and designers, and online sales -- are available. With
most of these,
you may select your own hours and what you make, and sell your work in
a venue
of your choosing.
Top Services Provided in
this
Niche
- Alterations on clothing
- Making
“custom” clothing
- Model stitching services
- Designing clothing,
needlework pieces, knit or crochet items
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Top Hiring Markets
- Craft stores/shops
- Various
cleaners/tailors/dress shops for alterations work
- You own business online
(Etsy, eBay, etc)
- Professional designers
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Pay Range for this Niche
Varies for alterations -- how involved they may or may not be;
something as simple as hemming a pair of pants can run $5.
If you go to the high end and are making custom wedding gowns, you can
charge thousands of dollars for one gown.
The current rate for “professional” models stitched
is 1-2
cents per stitch. (A counted cross stitch of, say, 500
stitches
would pay $5-$10.)
If you design patterns, how much you make will depend on how well it
sells. You can make thousands of dollars from one good design.
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Recommended Skillsets
- Basic sewing skills, to
begin; your experience and capabilities will grow.
- Basic knowledge of reading
patterns and
making the item for stitching/knitting/crocheting models. (Especially
if it is a test pattern and you need to spot possible mistakes.)
- General knowledge of
whatever “craft” you want to pursue.
- Try to be
“up” on trends for each season -- colors, items
that are in or out of fashion, etc.
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Niche
Overview
Quite
often, I am asked by military spouses -- mostly
stay-at-home-moms -- what ideas I have for starting a home business, or
how to
go about it.
Before
you start a home-based business, you need to ask yourself some
questions:
- What will
the startup fees be?
- How much
will the operating costs be?
- Will I
realize an immediate income?
- If I work
for free now, will it pay off later?
- Do I have
the discipline to work from home?
- Will I need
to hire sitters for my children?
- Will I be
able to work at my own pace?
- How much
stress will be involved?
- What do I
need to get started?
Turning
Crafts into Cash
If
you're looking to turn your crafting into cash, several
paths -- such as craft fairs and shows, craft malls, display work for
stores,
sample pieces for distributors and designers, and online sales -- are
available.
You can
make your crafts or needlework to sell at fairs
and shows around your area, or at a "craft mall." To do this you
should consider several things: the most common questions to consider
for craft
fairs and shows are whether entry fees are required and whether you
have to
provide your own table for displays. If you would like to display at a
craft
mall you need to determine the percentage of your sales they keep, the
amount
of "rent" charged for your space, and whether you have to set up your
own displays or whether they set them up, etc. No question is a stupid
question. If you are unsure of
something, ask!
Craft Stores
Craft
stores always have displays of worked pieces for the
customers to get an idea of what the finished piece will look like.
Talk with
the store manager about doing these. Some stores have the employees do
them,
but quite often it is customers. The store usually pays in either of
two ways.
They pay by giving you a store credit for the work you do, or they pay
outright. Even if they pay with a store credit, that's a nice way to
decorate
your home! You may or may not have to take in a sample or samples of
your work
to be "graded" beforehand.
Stores also
get their displays from the manufacturers or
directly from the designers. You can contact different companies at the
address
listed on their kits or brochures to inquire about doing samples for
them. They
will let you know their requirements and, if interested, will have you
send samples
to grade. Designers have sample stitchers as well. Once again, you need
to
contact the designers to inquire about their needs. If you do not have
a direct
address for the designer, write to them in care of the company that
publishes
their work or find their web page to email them.
Online
Options
There
are various methods to make money from your crafts
online. Websites are cropping up all the time. A couple of the main
ones are eBay and Etsy,
but there are many more. When selling online you need to consider some
of the
expenses involved -- fees to list, fees taken from payments through
sites such
as PayPal, hosting fees if you start your own website, etc.
Craft
Fairs
Do
you want to invest the time and effort to sell at craft
fairs? This will mean some travel, long days at the fairs and losing
time to
sew/craft your items. Additionally, you’ll need to have a
good stock of items
to sell while there. If you sew clothing, you need to have a broad
range of
sizes available. You may choose to have a notebook with photos of
finished
items and fabric samples at your table to take custom orders if a size
or
material a customer likes is not in stock. Can you easily transport
your items
to the fair? It's rather easy to get lots
of sewn items into a trunk; but if you make dolls, for instance, they
are a bit
trickier to pack. What about packing up a tent if you are outdoors, any
display
racks, and so on -- All of these need to fit into your vehicle.
Custom
Orders,
Patterns, and Other Options
That
brings us to whether or not you will do custom orders. Etsy has a
section called “Alchemy.” Customers
place requests for items they want made. You may then put in a bid to
make
their item. They select the bid they want and the sale is completed. If
a
customer contacts you to do a specific item, but in their color
choices, it’s a
great way to get some word of mouth advertising. They will be sure to
tell
their friends you were willing to work with them on personalizing the
item. If
you want to do custom orders, make sure to mention it in descriptions
of your
items online: “I am willing to customize this item to your
specifications. Just
contact me to begin the process.”
Do
you have something unique, and you want to sell the
pattern? Consider a site like You Can
Make This (YCMT).
You
can sell your patterns on other sites as well, but
YCMT is geared to just selling patterns. It is also a good source for
ideas of
what to make and sell.
There
is a big market for One Of A Kind (OOAK) items. So,
even if you make the same outfit style, but do it in different
materials, you
can market it as OOAK. Consider making “sister”
outfits -- the same outfit but
in different sizes, so sisters can dress alike.
Are
you into stamping or scrapbooking? There is a market out
there for pre-made pages, so the user only has to crop the photo(s) and
journal. Handmade journals are really big as well. You can make them
with
stamping among the pages, creating a personalized cover for it.
Anything you
can think of to decorate or “alter” it will work.
Forms
of Payment
Decide
on what payments you will accept. Will you only
accept PayPal? Do you want to take personal checks, or just money
orders and
cashier's checks? Will you require a waiting period (say, 7-10 days) on
a
personal check to make sure it clears before you mail the item? There
is
nothing worse than selling an item, shipping it and then having the
personal
check bounce.
You’re
on Your Way
Take
some time to think of what you enjoy doing, research it
to see how well those items sell, and then go for it. There is nothing
more
rewarding than making an item and having someone actually pay you for
it!
Recommended Reading
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Tools of the Trade
- Sewing machine/Serger
- Fabric/Material
- Knitting Needles/Crochet
Hooks/Yarn
- Patterns
- Needlepoint canvases/Yarn
- Scrapbooking supplies
- Counted Cross Stitch supplies
- Design software (if you want
to sell patterns)
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Organizations &
Associations
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Resource Links
- Look for
local guilds in your
area, they can be a great source of information
- Search Yahoo Groups for your
particular interest
- eBay
has a forum section for help and information
- Etsy
has a forum section as well
- You
may also contact Carrie Lee with questions, cleedesigns@gmail.com
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 About
Carrie Lee
Carrie Lee
is a veteran of a variety of clothing items, including prom
gowns, graduation and bridesmaids’ dresses, quilts, and
bags/purses. She
has been a model stitcher for The
Needlepoint Gallery in Jacksonville, Fla., since
1991, along with
other shops on an occasional basis. She was a model stitcher for Zola
Meeks and
other designers. During her stay in the Norfolk, Va.,
area she not only stitched
for Sherry's Cottage, but made original counted cross stitch patterns
for the
shop. She has also been a designer/seamstress for
Colorguard/Winterguard
uniforms and flag silks. When Carrie Lee is not busy with custom
orders, she
makes items to list in her Etsy store, at http://www.cleedesigns.etsy.com , and may
be
contacted directly at cleedesigns@gmail.com .
Carrie Lee
currently lives with her husband and two dachshunds in Maryland. (Her son
is in Florida and her
daughter is in Maine.) Carrie
Lee is
very active with support of military spouses, dachshund rescue and
various
guilds.
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