Paige Jackson
Paige has spent 10 of the last 15 years working from home. Her love of home-based businesses shows in her writing - whether it's articles, e-books, or books. Paige wants to help others grow their home-based businesses and avoid making the same costly mistakes she made. She hosts several blogs on a variety of topics including working at home, travel, and books/writing as well writing articles for the Create 2 Sell website. Paige authored the "From Suits To Sweats" series of books detailing how to start or grow your home business. You can find her e-books on Clickbank, at the Suits2Sweats e-book store, and on Amazon. You can purchase a hard copy of her books at Amazon starting mid-February, 2009.
VA's Story In Washington Post
- By Paige Jackson
- Published 12/2/2007
I'm always scoping the news for stories about the Virtual Assistant industry or related articles. I found one today in the Washington Post. You can read the full story here but basically the story talks about how Kim Murray researched the Virtual Assistant (VA) field and then finally opened up her own VA company.
There's quite a bit in the article I agree with (the researching before jumping in, the money you will likely make your first year, and so on) but there are a few things I'm not entirely sure I do agree with. While I think it's a great idea to research ahead of time, I don't think it's necessary to spend almost $3,000 and 20 weeks attending a VA training program. I appreciate the fact that there are companies out there like Assist U that do genuinely care about the VA industry and can offer some definite insight into the industry. However, I still have to voice my opinion that there are many resources out there that are free.
For example, I had a networking friend of mine call me a few weeks ago. She also has a VA company and she was about to sign up for a course to train her on shopping cart software. Cost for the class was about $300. After I finally quit hyperventilating I sent her to the website for 1ShoppingCart and showed her how the company offered video tutorials walking you through most of the cart functions. I also pointed out that you didn't have to be a member, didn't have to enter any information about yourself at all, and that the videos were FREE. She was flabbergasted because she had no idea that much information was out there - at no charge.
Now granted I haven't taken the course for the shopping cart software so I can't tell you whether it's worth the money or not. A lot of that depends on how you best learn. If you are a go-getter and not afraid to do a little research you can save yourself both time and money.
I'll leave with you a word of caution - before you shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for training, do your research. Make sure that knowledge is not readily available over the internet for free. Remember that the companies hosting this type of paid training are just that: for-profit companies. They are there to make money. Make sure it's money you truly need to spend before you commit your hard-earned cash to any of these paid programs.
There's quite a bit in the article I agree with (the researching before jumping in, the money you will likely make your first year, and so on) but there are a few things I'm not entirely sure I do agree with. While I think it's a great idea to research ahead of time, I don't think it's necessary to spend almost $3,000 and 20 weeks attending a VA training program. I appreciate the fact that there are companies out there like Assist U that do genuinely care about the VA industry and can offer some definite insight into the industry. However, I still have to voice my opinion that there are many resources out there that are free.
For example, I had a networking friend of mine call me a few weeks ago. She also has a VA company and she was about to sign up for a course to train her on shopping cart software. Cost for the class was about $300. After I finally quit hyperventilating I sent her to the website for 1ShoppingCart and showed her how the company offered video tutorials walking you through most of the cart functions. I also pointed out that you didn't have to be a member, didn't have to enter any information about yourself at all, and that the videos were FREE. She was flabbergasted because she had no idea that much information was out there - at no charge.
Now granted I haven't taken the course for the shopping cart software so I can't tell you whether it's worth the money or not. A lot of that depends on how you best learn. If you are a go-getter and not afraid to do a little research you can save yourself both time and money.
I'll leave with you a word of caution - before you shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for training, do your research. Make sure that knowledge is not readily available over the internet for free. Remember that the companies hosting this type of paid training are just that: for-profit companies. They are there to make money. Make sure it's money you truly need to spend before you commit your hard-earned cash to any of these paid programs.
Until next time . . .
Write On!
Paige Jackson
Create 2 Sell
http://www.create2sell.com
Spread The Word
3 Responses to "VA's Story In Washington Post" 
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said this on 14 Jan 2009 12:05:39 PM CST
Hi Paige,
In this article, you make it sound like Kim paid $3000 for shopping cart and similar training. Apparently, you didn't do your research before writing this article. The $3000 Kim paid did not include any type of technical training (how is that for a shocker?). The program assumes you already have those skills and is much, much more than that. In addition to the training and coaching you receive through the program, the value of this type of training is from the portal community of VA's that you can call on for support, the on-going training, information, and coaching, as well as the registry that connects you to potential clients all over the world. I have a Master's degree and went through the same program as Kim and found it to be immensely valuable. Just wanted to give another perspective. |
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said this on 14 Jan 2009 4:23:21 PM CST
Hi Missi,
You do make some excellent points and I always appreciate a fresh perspective and opinion. And while I do agree that these types of programs are excellent for some people - I still strongly believe that you should do your research first. There are plenty of networking opportunities out there that are free or low cost (VA Networking, Twitter, etc.). So again, I think it's more a matter of what works best for your particular style and preference. Thank you so much for commenting and I hope to see others jump in and voice their opinion as well! :) |
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said this on 23 Jun 2009 12:40:44 AM CST
It agree, rather useful phrase
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