I'm sure we've all received newsletters in our email we can't remember subscribing to or we tried UNsubscribing to no avail. This episode covers the Australian Spam Act and Privacy Principles: what you need to know to comply; and touches on the GDPR. You can face serious penalties for failure to comply so it's important you are across your obligations.  As the Act only applies to commercial messages, political parties and religious groups are exempt from the provisions of the Act since their communications are unlikely to be commercial in nature.  © Lyn Prowse-Bishop References: What are the APPs and Do You Need to Comply ACMA - Avoid Sending Spam Office of The Australian Information Commissioner - Privacy Principles General Data Protection Regulation Information - What is the GDPR?

Rising interest rates; unemployment; dire warnings we are sliding into another recession. Can your business survive? A virtual assistant might just be what you need to keep things ticking over until the situation improves. Download my ebook on what a VA can help you with. © Lyn Prowse-Bishop References: David Ogilvie - David Ogilvie Consulting Ep 58: The Real Cost of Staff Ep 60: What's In A Name?

Over the years I have seen some "Oh you didn't just do that" moments from VAs. While there are certainly more, here are my 5 Top Tips for being professional when dealing with clients and colleagues. These can apply not only to VAs but anyone in business! (I've been challenged on the statistic mentioned in this podcast in the past: see References for one place it's been mentioned but many state and federal small business bodies also quote it.) © Lyn Prowse-Bishop  References: Fund Squire - Business Start Up Statistics Ep 7: Setting Boundaries and Saying No to Clients

Many businesses over the past few years have transitioned into work from home, or hybrid environments - or for want of a better word "virtual" teams. Freelancers are calling themselves 'virtual assistants' and bots and AI similarly use the term. So this has raised the question should we be calling ourselves something else? Want to know what a VA can do? Download my ebook here. © Lyn Prowse-Bishop Resources: Ep 41: Offshore Freelancers - for VAs Ep 42: Offshore Freelancers - for Clients Ep 44: Offshore Freelancers - for Offshore Colleagues A history of the VA Industry - first 25 years

An article I read by an accountant got me thinking because some of the things in the article which referred to employing staff actually reinforced the value a VA can bring to your business. © Lyn Prowse-Bishop References: Ep 58: The Real Cost of Staff Shannon Aspinall's Article

Today is my birthday. It's also my little brother Rod's birthday - yep we shared not just the date but the exact time!  Ten months ago we lost him suddenly so this is a tribute to him. The brother, son, husband, uncle, soldier and mate who taught us how to live authentically, with compassion, honour and integrity. Severely missed; never forgotten. Love you little bro. Happy birthday! Lyn Prowse-Bishop

Onsite staff don't just cost you their annual salary and on costs like super and worker's comp. Are you aware of what your staff actually cost you? Or how a professional Australian Virtual Assistant can actually save you money? References: The Cost of Staff How many productive hours in a work day? © Lyn Prowse-Bishop - The Virtual Business Show

When a potential client asks you if you can complete a piece of a project in order to provide a quote, be sure you're not actually giving them the work for free. Worse than undervaluing your services is to allow others to view them as worthless. © Lyn Prowse-Bishop - The Virtual Business Show

School holidays can sometimes send work from home parents into a tail spin - how do you keep the kids occupied AND work?!  Veteran VA Lyn Prowse-Bishop shares her tips on coping - while still getting things done. © Lyn Prowse-Bishop - The Virtual Business Show

Warranties apply to all goods and services sold in Australia and in addition to manufacturer's warranties, store warranties, and express warranties, there are a set of consumer guarantees that protect consumers regardless of store policies. So when you need to return that faulty item, do you know who's responsible and what rights and remedies you have as a consumer, and what responsibilities you have as a business? Are you using refund signage in your store? Do you know if it's legal? Did you know that the choice of remedy lies with the consumer if the failure is major not the business? Find links to the references information at our blog. © Lyn Prowse-Bishop - The Virtual Business Show

When people who aren’t VAs come onto a discussion group FOR VAs and start telling us what we should be called and that we are hired as opposed to contracted, you know it’s time to revisit the importance of language. © Lyn Prowse-Bishop – The Virtual Business Show

Earlier this week Facebook – as well as Instagram and WhatsApp – went down for about 6 hours and for some it was like the world ended. Should we be relying on these social media platforms for our businesses? I don’t think so and in this episode I explain why. © Lyn Prowse-Bishop – The Virtual Business Show Resources and Mentions: Frances Haugen – Congress address on Facebook Mark Zuckerberg posts an essay to Facebook

(12 min listen) Our industry’s new crop of VA is a new generation – used to instant success, and influencers rather than mentors. This has brought with it a change in what is perceived as ethical, and what they define as success in business. In this show I look at a recent discussion with one such new VA. If we want our industry to continue into the future, we need to ensure we are all moving it in a forward direction, and not just looking after our own needs. © Lyn Prowse-Bishop – The Virtual Business Show Resources and Mentions: Ep 36: VA Training Kate Toon: 19 Things NOT to Do in a Facebook Group Forbes: What Percentage of Small Businesses Fail? Venture Beat: 50% of Businesses Fail in Their First 5 Years Huffington Post: Small Business Failure US Small Business Administration (Office of Advocacy): FAQs About Small Business

Are employers who allow employees to work from home "parasites" as Harry Triguboff contends? Is working from home "a trend" and are at-home workers less productive? © Lyn Prowse-Bishop - The Virtual Business Show

At specific times of the year the question arises: to gift or not to gift? It comes down to personal choice – but I like to send clients – especially my long-term clients – something to show my appreciation for them. Some places to get gift giving ideas: Morish Nuts Edible Blooms Koko Black Chocolate Gift Baskets (Australia) You might also like this episode: Gratitude © Lyn Prowse-Bishop – The Virtual Business Show

Gratitude is something we should all practice every day. Feeling appreciated is important to everyone. But I’m amazed how little gratitude clients can show to VAs… and conversely, how little VAs can show for clients! © Lyn Prowse-Bishop – The Virtual Business Show

So… you want to be a transcriptionist because – well, you can type! Isn’t it the same thing? No … it most certainly isn’t! And clients – a typist is not the same thing as a transcriptionist! In this episode I run through some of the basic skills you need to have if you want to be a transcriptionist, and give clients some tips on what to look for in a professional service provider, and what affects the cost of transcription. © Lyn Prowse-Bishop – The Virtual Business Show

On the 28th February 2020 I celebrated 20 years in practice as a VA. In this 2-part podcast I’d like to share with you 20 things I have learned in that 20 years being in business as a VA! In this episode I cover 11 through 20. Did you miss part 1? Find it here. © Lyn Prowse-Bishop – The Virtual Business Show

On the 28th February 2020 I celebrated 20 years in practice as a VA. In this 2-part podcast I’d like to share with you 20 things I have learned in that 20 years being in business as a VA! This episode covers the first ten. I refer to Kathie Thomas’s excellent article in this episode and you can find it linked below: Kathie Thomas – Not Everyone Can be a VA © Lyn Prowse-Bishop – The Virtual Business Show

I assume that many of our offshore colleagues want to be a VA for the same reasons we all do: freedom to work when we like, be our own boss, autonomy, travel, childcare or elder care needs, disability.  Part 3 of our Offshore Freelancers series focuses on our offshore colleagues offering tips on things to consider – primary amongst them understanding what a VA actually is! © Lyn Prowse-Bishop – The Virtual Business Show Reference Links: History of the VA Industry Ep 41: Offshore Freelancers – Part 1 Ep 42: Offshore Freelancers – Part 2 Professional Virtual Assistants – Philippines Rochefel Rivera – YouTube Should Cost of Living Count Worth v Value No, Not Everyone Can Be a VA – Kathie Thomas