Leading Virtual Assistant Organization Provides New World Solution for Age Old Problem
Released on: December 13, 2007, 8:36 am
Press Release Author: Tawnya Sutherland
Industry: Small Business
Press Release Summary: Announcement of a new internship program designed to provide new virtual assistants with the experience needed to gain clients
Press Release Body: It's a classic 'Catch 22'. You are a brand new virtual assistant eager to get clients, but you don't have the experience potential clients want. You can't get the experience without getting the clients. What's an aspiring virtual assistant to do?
VANetworking.com or 'VANA' is the world's largest virtual assistant organization with over 7,550 members. Virtual Assistants work from their own offices and provide administrative support and other specialized services to businesses, entrepreneurs and executives. Many new VAs find themselves caught in the aforementioned 'Catch 22'. To resolve this problem, VANA has implemented a traditional 'internship' program for members, providing new virtual assistants with their own 'real' clients.
Tawnya Sutherland, founder of VANetworking.com is very enthusiastic about her latest offering to the virtual assistant community, the VAinternship program. "Every day at VANA I see posts made by new VAs struggling to find clients. These industry newbies are starving for real world experience," says Sutherland, "even though they might have been administrative assistants for years. Working virtually is a totally different ball game and potential clients are looking for experienced VAs with great recommendations."
VAinterns will gain real world experience, giving them the tools needed to develop their VA businesses with conviction. Participants will learn what pressures to expect as deadlines loom, how to deal with unexpected issues that arise and they will develop confidence as they find ways to overcome these events. Most importantly, they will learn what it takes to ensure client satisfaction.
Upon successful completion of a VAinternship, participants will have completed a minimum of ten different client projects, providing them with invaluable insight into the expectations and needs of real world clients. They will also receive a 'Certificate of Completion' and permission to add the 'VAintern Completion logo' to their website to demonstrate to potential clients their commitment to a training program.
If you are considering becoming a virtual assistant, now is the perfect time to join VANA - the global meeting place for aspiring and successful VAs. As a member you'll not only be eligible to participate in the VAinternship program, but you will have access to over 75,000 posts, expert advice on work-related topics, weekly VA chats, monthly contests, the VANA Newsletter, discounts on products and services, and placement on a growing listing of VAs in 14 countries in the VA Service Directory. Also, just in time for the holidays - access to the VANA Shop. And it's all for free! On top of all that, the 2nd annual VA Advent Calendar Contest is in full swing at VANA giving all members old and new the opportunity to win great prizes. The prize pool for the Advent Contest is valued at over $5000!
To request an application for the VAinternship program, please send an email to interns@vainterns.com.
If you are a business owner who would like to learn more about the VA industry, where better to look? You can't beat VANA (VANetworking.com) when it comes to resources and the vast pool of professionals from which to draw.
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Tawnya Sutherland, founder of Virtual Assistant Networking Association (VANA) http://www.vanetworking.com and author of the Virtual Assistant Startup System (VBSS), is a Certified Internet Marketing Specialist sharing her expertise to help aspiring and successful VAs turn website clicks into cash for them.