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"
--
|
Work from home as a
Desktop Publisher
[Contributing Expert: Evy
Williams]
 The niche in a nutshell:
Desktop
publishing
(also known as DTP) combines a personal computer and page layout
software to create printable documents on a computer for either large
scale publishing or small scale local printing. Users create page
layouts with text, graphics, photos and other visual elements using
software such as QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Publisher or
Apple Pages. For small jobs a publication might be printed on a desktop
printer or sent to an online printer for an economical alternative. For
larger jobs a computer file can be sent to a local or online vendor for
high-volume printing.
Top 5 Services Provided in this
Niche
- Brochures
- Flyers
- Postcards
- Newsletters
- Letterhead
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Top 5 Hiring Markets
- Real Estate Professionals
- Small Business Owners
- Entrepreneurs
- Attorneys
- Virtual Professionals
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Pay Range for this Niche
According to a study conducted by
The Brenner Information Group in 2003, Desktop Publishing VAs averaged
$36.63 an hour. The low was $10.00/hour and the high was $60.00/hour.
Non-VA Desktop Publishing specialists’ pay ranged from
$7/hour to
$250/hour with an average of $51.43/hour.
As a VA, $10/hour is too low to run a profit-making business no matter
how hard you try. As for businesses seeking to hire these low-end VAs,
beware that they may not be experts and thus may take longer to
accomplish the job than an experienced VA that charges more per hour.
Non-specializing VAs may charge less because they may lack experience
and might not provide a very professional, captivating, or attractive
document.
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Recommended Skillsets
- Graphic Design Knowledge and
Skills
- Desktop Publishing Software
Expertise
- Page Layout Skills
- Typeface Knowledge
- Image Editing Skills
- Illustration Skills
- Knowledge of Printing
Requirements
- Color Coordinating Skills
|
Niche Overview:
Desktop
Publishing
can be defined as the use of page layout software to design and print
professional-quality documents. These software programs assist the
desktop publisher with layout design; insertion of photographs,
sketches or graphics and various typefaces so that any individual with
a little graphic design skill and knowledge of page layout can produce
customized documents for their clients’ marketing needs.
It’s
important to
note that being successful at desktop publishing requires more than
just learning how to operate the DTP hardware and software. You must
first develop a design, which requires creativity and knowledge of
design principles and then use the hardware and software to produce an
appealing, professional-looking document.
If
you have a knack
for page layout and marketing, this may be a good fit for you. If you
don’t know if you have any special talent for creating an
attractive
marketing piece, you can still learn. You should read all you can about
the principles of color, size, position, shape, pattern and other
contrast techniques so that the designs you create will attract
readers’ attention.
It
is important that
the graphics and text be assembled on the page so that all elements
contribute to a pleasing and effective product. Learn as much as you
can about graphics software such as vector-based and raster-based
imaging. You should familiarize yourself with the print process and
find out which online printing companies are popular with your
clientele. If commercial printers are used, document designers should
confer with the press personnel regarding special procedures and file
formats required prior to creating the document.
The real
estate market has embraced the Virtual Assistant concept because they
are professionals who need to be out of the office meeting with
clients, showing homes, networking, etc. Their time is not being
productively used sitting behind a desk designing marketing materials.
Often times, they are independent business people responsible for their
own marketing but do not require the assistance of a full-time
assistant. Therefore, the VA and the real estate professional can
provide just what the other needs to get the job done efficiently,
effectively and professionally.
To
get started
in desktop publishing or Virtual Assistance, it is important to network
with anyone and everyone, both locally and through the Internet. Join
VA associations to get your name recognized. Volunteer in one or more
organization to meet other VAs. This can be helpful in two ways, you
meet other VAs who might possibly subcontract work to you and you may
be able to learn a new skill in which to offer your future clients,
depending on the volunteer work you choose. Many organizations will
train you on a particular program if you offer to volunteer doing that
work for them for a specific period of time.
Specializing
in
a niche is a good idea. When specializing, you become an expert and not
a “Jack of all Trades.” Specialists are not trying
to be all things to
all people. They simply do the type of work they do best.
As
a new desktop
publishing VA, you might be tempted to undercut your price in order to
get more clients. I advise against this practice. First of all, you
have a skill or talent that is worth more than minimum pay and
secondly, you will be seen as a novice and not an expert. I would
recommend setting your price around the average in the industry and
raise it as your client load or experience increases.
The
pros of
working as a desktop publishing specialist are many. As you specialize,
you can charge more per hour because you are seen as an expert and you
are doing only the work you absolutely love to do.
The
drawbacks to
working as a DTP VA (or as a VA, in general) is that you will often
work by the project; therefore, you will not have a steady income until
you build your clientele and they come back to you regularly.
The
competition
as a DTP VA is high because of the ease in which one can learn the
necessary skills; therefore, more and more VAs are offering this
service. However, it is my belief that there is more than enough work
for everyone. If you work diligently and keep marketing your services,
you will have a regular list of clients with whom you are working.
Recommended Reading
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Tools of the Trade
- Adobe Professional (for
creating PDFs)
- Adobe In Design page layout
software
- Adobe Photoshop (for
raster-based imaging)
- Adobe Illustrator (for
vector-based imaging)
- Books showing examples of
graphic design materials (for ideas and inspiration)
- PC or MAC (a MAC is
preferred by graphic designers because it takes up less RAM when using
RAM-intensive software such as graphics programs)
- Color ink-jet or laser
printer
- Scanner
- File sharing program
(because documents can be very large files)
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Organizations &
Associations
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Resource Links
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 About Evy
Williams
Evalyn
(Evy) Williams
owns Brochures by Design, where “marketing materials are
designed to
sell homes.” She specializes in desktop publishing/graphic
design and
professional writing services.
Evy decided
to
explore her entrepreneurial talents just before completing her
Master’s
degree in Administration from Central Michigan University. For her
Master’s thesis, she completed a feasibility study on the
Virtual
Assistance industry and found that it was not only a feasible business
concept but also a profitable one.
She is a
certified
Master Virtual Assistant, certified Master Remote Professional,
certified Real Estate Support Specialist, certified Military Spouse
Virtual Assistant, certified Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant
and holds the EthicsCheck certification.
Evy writes
the column
“Virtual
Quick Tips” for the popular epowernews.com
online
newsletter. She has been featured in the bestselling book on Virtual
Assistance called “The Two-Second Commute” by the
founders of the VA
industry, Christine Durst and Michael Haaren and featured in the Winter
2005 issue of Military
Money
Magazine. Evy is the past editor of Accént,
an online
newsletter developed specifically for virtual professionals and small
business owners and the IVAACast,
the official publication of the International Virtual Assistants
Association. She is also the Guild Chair for the Marketing Design Guild
through REVA Networks.
Read
Evy’s blog at http://evyw.wordpress.com/.
Evy is
married to
retired SFC Rick G. Williams and they have three children, Heidi (20),
Chelsi (17 1/2), and Kory (15). They live in Augusta, GA but plan to
move to the D.C. area in 2007 where Rick works with INSCOM after
retiring from the Army in 2005.
For more
information,
please visit her website at www.BrochuresByDesign.com.
|
- Chuck Green (author
of “The Desktop Publisher’s Idea Book”)
