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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 The niche in a nutshell:
Life and
Executive
Coaches help clients get from
they are to where they want to be.
The
vast majority of coaches specialize in a niche defined by their own
experience
and/or expertise. Most
work
independently and coach either individually or in groups. Over-the-phone coaching is
more common
than
face-to-face coaching and, as such, provides good opportunity for
working from
home. Many coaches also
conduct corporate
and open-to-the-public workshops and trainings.
Top 5 Services Provided in this
Niche
- Life Coaching
- Executive Coaching
- Relationship Coaching
- Workshops
- Career Coaching
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Top 5 Hiring Markets
- Executives
- Individuals
- Corporations
- Small and Medium Businesses
- Public Sector
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Pay Range for this Niche
A Life
Coach can make
anywhere between $200 and
$600 a month for three 30-minute sessions.
An
Executive Coach can make
anywhere between $500 and $2000 for one 1-hr
session.
Coaching packages vary but most coaches charge either by the month or
by the
hour.
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Recommended Skillsets
- Coaching training by an
accredited coaching school
- Niche specialization
- Strong marketing skills
- Ability to work alone
- Speaking and public
presentation skills
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Niche
Overview
Life
and Executive
Coaching has been around for over twenty years although the term
“coaching” as it applies to the current profession
of coaching has only
been in use since the beginning of the 1990s. Coaching is
often
confused with either (1) consulting, (2) counseling/therapy, or (3)
mentoring and it’s important to recognize the distinctions
that exist
between these professions.
(1)
Although
definitions will vary, the major difference between consulting and
coaching is that in the consulting the consultant has the answers and
fixes your problems for you (think IT, or financial
consulting).
A coach, on the other hand, has the questions and assists you with
finding your own answers. Psychologists believe that in any
one
time we are only using 10% of our brain capacity. Coaching
stimulates and helps you access the other 90%.
(2)
One of the major
differences between counseling/therapy and coaching is that in the
former the client believes himself/herself “broken”
in some way and in
need of “fixing”. In coaching the client
does not need to be
repaired -- he/she is already resourceful, creative, and whole and only
needs a little nudge to get where he/she wants to go. Imagine
the
difference in process and outcome when you start in the positive rather
than in the negative? Some also say that therapy is about
“getting over the past” while coaching is about
“building a future”.
(3)
Mentoring differs
from coaching in both the content and logistics. Mentoring is
about teaching by experience and, while some coaches may share their
experience at one time or another, it’s not usually the
norm.
Coaching is about finding your own answers and creating your own
learning and growth curve through those answers. In addition,
coaching has a formal structure with sessions scheduled on a weekly
basis whereas mentoring is more informal and occurs on a need-to basis.
Bearing
this
confusion in mind, a new coach may have to explain how he/she is
different from the three professions mentioned above.
Coaching is
not yet well-known and coaches often get a blank look when they tell
people what they do. They are also often asked to explain
what
life coaching is.
Although
both life
and executive coaching is on the rise, it still takes a solid marketing
strategy and a good set of skills of client enrollment to make a good
living as a coach. Many brilliant coaches fail as a business
because they don’t dedicate enough time and effort to
marketing and
enrollment.
Workshops
and
trainings can also be part of a coach’s business.
Many coaches
conduct workshops in their communities, others seek out corporate
engagements, and others do both. Workshops can bring a good
supplemental income while also acting as a marketing channel.
Audiences have a built-in trust for the person on front of the room and
many coaches get their private clients through workshops.
Most
coaching is now
done over the phone and, as such, it is a very attractive virtual
business and a very good portable career. One can choose to
be
either a full-time or a part-time coach, keep their own hours, and, in
general, have greater control over the life-work balance. [continued
below]
Key
questions and answers about working from home as a Life or Executive
Coach
1. What qualifications do I need to become a
Life or an Executive Coach?
Coaching education is available through
a number of coaching schools
and can be
done either in person or via the telephone.
You
can find the list of schools
accredited by the International Coach
Federation (www.coachfederation.org)
– the international association of coaches – on
their website and I
highly
recommend going with one of those schools.
Most
coaching schools offer a two-step education.
First
lets you complete the required
courses and second allows you to go
through the certification process.
You
can start coaching as soon as you start your education and you can
choose
whether or not you want to be certified through your school or through
the
International Coach Federation. Some
coaches choose not to go through certification at all.
2. Who do home-based Life and Executive
Coaches work for?
Most
coaches work for
themselves although some may get their clients
through
larger and more established coaching firms that outsource its clientele. The vast majority,
however, is self-employed
and in addition to providing coaching services for their clients, these
coaches
are also responsible for marketing their services (no small task!) and
keeping
track of administrative issues.
3. How do I
find
work as a home-based Life or Executive Coach?
Unless you
find
yourself one of the lucky few coaches who get their
clients
through larger coaching firms, you are on your own.
You will need to have a solid marketing
strategy to spread the word about your coaching services, you will need
to work
on your art of enrolling clients, and, if you are interested in
offering
workshops, you will need to design and market your workshops either in
the
community or on the corporate word.
The
non-coaching part of the coaching business takes a lot of time and
energy but
you can make it fun and rewarding!
4. Do coaches specialize?
Absolutely! In fact, if a coach does
not have a niche,
s/he is much less likely to attract clients.
It
may seem unwise to limit yourself to
one particular area, but doing
so helps create your professional identity and helps attract the
clientele
that’s searching out someone like you.
If
you cater to everyone and everybody,
you don’t have a professional
“face” so to speak and you become one of too many. Try to google
“life coach” and see how
many
hits you get. Now
try to google
“expatriate life coach” and you’ll get
much fewer hits.
Recommended Reading
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Tools of the Trade
- A good telephone connection
- A telephone and a head-set
- A computer
- A website describing your
services
- Business cards and other
marketing materials as needed
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Organizations &
Associations
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Resource Links
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 About
Margarita Gokun Silver
Margarita
Gokun Silver is the Principal
and the Founder of the Global Coach Center,
a coaching firm that specializes in Executive and Life Coaching for
expatriates,
multinational managers, global leaders, and
those
involved in multicultural relationships, either at work or at home.
Margarita
provides
individual and group coaching on overcoming challenges of
working/living in a
different culture and succeeding in the global marketplace. Margarita also delivers
programs worldwide on
global leadership through coaching; managing across cultures or
cultural
intelligence in leadership; personal branding for global success; and
many
others.
Margarita
is a global nomad
who was born in Russia,
holds a US
citizenship, and has been living in different countries for the past
fifteen
years. She is a
graduate of the Coaches
Training Institute, one of the premier coaching schools in the US. She also holds a Masters
degree from Yale University. Margarita currently lives
in St. Petersburg, Russia
but has also lived in Buenos Aires,
Washington
DC, Moscow, New
York, Rome,
and Tashkent. For more information on
Margarita and the Global Coach Center
please visit www.GlobalCoachCenter.com.
The
Global Coach
Center also puts out a monthly electronic newsletter Global
Living
– a source of great
tips and information for expatriates, global nomads, and
internationally-minded! The back issues
and the subscription form are available at www.GlobalCoachCenter.com.
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