What are our delegates saying about us?…
Vanessa Anderson – Winner of the National VA Awards 2007 (over 18 months in business category) (attended group training) “Thanks again for such a valuable weekend. I was passionate about my business before but I have a renewed, and much increased, enthusiasm to start putting things in place. One step at a time though this time round so that I learn to walk steadily first instead of trying to run with everything at once…great weekend, great coaching and absolutely invaluable information. So, whether you are about to start up, have just started, or to be honest even if you’ve been going for a few years – the course is well worth looking into. Carmen offers varying levels of the course from ‘I want to be a VA’ through to ‘I am a VA but need a refresher’ – look into it, I don’t believe any of you who want or need a boost in the right direction would regret investing in yourselves and your businesses. Thanks again Carmen.” Tina Anderson (attended group training) “Just a note to thank you for a thoroughly enjoyable and extremely thought-provoking training course this week. I have a head full of ideas. Seriously, thank you for inspiring me, I know it’s your job, but you do it so well! . Lovely to meet you and I look forward to seeing you again at the VA conference.” Martina Munzittu – www.essenza-va.com (attended the one to one private training) “I had been thinking of becoming a VA for a while, but I found it hard to find the courage to make the shift from being an employee to someone who runs their own business. I decided to do the course with Carmen in March 2007, in order to see if this was really for me. At the end of the two-day course I felt very excited and positive, and I knew that I could do it. I found the course extremely beneficial because it taught me everything: the business plan, the marketing, how to have clarity of vision and how to go about achieving your goals. But it didn’t stop at the two-day course: the assignments which I completed over time helped me to consolidate everything I’d learnt, and be ready to move on to the next step. On top of this, Carmen’s coaching sessions provided the extra invaluable support. When I launched my business in September 2007 I felt confident that I was going to be successful. The dream has become a reality: not only I’ve reached my targets so far, I also love what I do. And I couldn’t have done it without the VA Mastery Course.” A.M. Mittleman, A Virtual Angel, www.avirtualangel.co.uk (attended group training) “Dear Carmen, I just wanted to say thank you, I am motivated again and even more determined. Everytime I talk to you something good happens – THANK YOU!” Alexia Padgham – Winner of the National VA Awards 2007 (Under 18 months in business category) www.yourva.co.uk (attended one to one private training) “I found the VA Mastery Course invaluable. It covered every aspect relevant to ultimately achieving a successful VA business. Upon finishing the assignments I felt I had a complete business bible which gave me confidence to embark on my new venture with the mindset of a business women. Carmen is inspirational and her enthusiasm to help you achieve success is fantastic.” Sam Cannell – www.versatileassistant.com - WInner of the Outstanding VA of the Year Award (Under 18 months in business category) 2008 (attended the online training) “The VA Mastery course provided me with excellent insight into how to build a successful VA business. Carmen’s friendly nature helped me overcome my doubts and she worked with me to build the foundations of a solid business plan. Carmen’s experience in the VA industry is invaluable and the course provides a plan of action for your business, no matter what stage it is at. I am pleased to say that due to participating in the VA Mastery course I have exceeded my original goals and I am entering the VA of the Year Awards in 2008 due to the success I have achieved in a relatively short space of time.” A. Marsden (attended one to one private training) “Of the variety of ways in which Carmen’s VA Mastery Course is delivered, the one-to-one 2 day intensive training course particularly suited my needs and I cannot over-emphasise how invaluable I found that to be. Carmen proved to be an absolute inspiration – friendly, efficient and incredibly enthusiastic. The energy with which she delivered the course was infectious and I came away feeling not only confident about my ability to forge ahead with plans to establish a business and to set tangible goals, but also armed with knowledge about the many varied facets of business that need to be understood and implemented in order to set up a winning venture.” Lisa Trouliotis – Runner Up for the National VA Awards 2007 (under 18 months in business category) www.londonva.co.uk (attended one to one private training by phone) I would recommend Carmen as a coach and a trainer and I graded standard of training as very high. The training I received was thorough and adapted to my own areas that I wanted covered and Carmen was able to deliver the course uniquely for me. This course gave me more than I imagined it would. Donna Young – www.paonline.org.uk (attended group training) “I don’t know what scared me more – giving up the paid job, becoming self-employed and everything that entails or having to step outside my comfort zone and start marketing myself to businesses. Having been employed for some 20+ years, I knew I needed some confidence and wanted to know what I was really letting myself in for. I thought I’d be giving myself an advantage over other new VAs by investing in your VA Mastery Course but one year into being a VA, I KNOW I have. Hand on heart, I can say that anyone who is serious about becoming a successful Virtual Assistant NEEDS to do your VA Mastery Course. Doing it told me what I needed to think about and when and helped me create an achievable, step by step plan on the how to make it happen. Your passion for enabling people like me to reach their potential and your knowledge of the VA industry make you fabulous at what you do. I can’t thank you enough for helping me achieve my dream. I am a VA. I am living the dream and loving it. I know how to get clients and how to keep them. They are happy, I’m happy, my business is growing through word of mouth recommendations and I’m now looking to enter the VA Awards. From scared to successful – the VA Mastery Course rocks!” Angela Dawson – www.dawsonVAservices.co.uk (attended group training and now runs www.VACT-North.co.uk) “After conversations with Carmen and months of procrastinating, I booked on to the VA Weekend Course in Milton Keynes in March 2007. The course was fantastic; it was everything I hoped it would be and more. It was definitely worth the investment of time and money. The course really focused my mind on what I wanted to achieve and I felt I came away at the end of the course with some fabulous tools and techniques to help me to make my business a success. The course assignments play a crucial part in the whole process. They help you set your goals, focus your mind and provide you with a reference point to go back to when necessary. I launched Dawson VA Services on the 1st May 2007 and I am absolutely delighted with its progress to date. My business is going from strength to strength and my client base is steadily increasing. I also work as an Associate for a couple of other fellow VAs.” Lucy Ash, Prioritise – www.prioritise.org (attended group training) “In July 2007 I attended the VA Mastery Course it gave me the clarity I needed to really believe that I could become a self employed Virtual Assistant. It helps you identify your strengths and then focuses on how you can use these to start, promote and target your business. Overall this course will help if you’re considering become a Virtual Assistant and want to gain a greater insight into the many facets of running your own business to become the employer instead of the employee. Since completing the course I have established a Virtual Assistant business and secured a number of clients whilst still working 4 days a week for the NHS. In January I broke free from my paid job and become a full time Virtual Assistant and I am now working to build up my client base.” Vee Smith – www.mysuperva.co.uk (attended the one to one private training by phone) “After some research and speaking to a few VA’s in magazine articles and websites, I decided that working as a Virtual Assistant seemed to be just the option that fitted the bill after redunancy. I came across Carmen’s VA Mastery coaching and training programmes after reading one of the PA magazines and after having an initial chat with her, signed up for the VA Mastery Course. The course took the form of hour-long weekly phone calls over 7 weeks. It was well-structured and in particular I found it useful that Carmen got me to focus on how my VA business was going to be and then identify the steps I needed to take to get me there, as well as discovering my blocks and fears. Carmen helped me every step to identify what I wanted/had, the steps I needed to take as well as help me overcome my fears and blocks. Each session was followed by a practical exercise that made me commit my ideas to paper, which would eventually be used in my business plan. These included identifying/sourcing items of equipment and services, setting time boundaries, by business name and legal status, my niche market, my skills strengths/gaps, pricing, quality control, marketing and financial plans, business and personal targets. Carmen provided constructive and positive feedback on my homework, all of which was easy to understand and accommodate. After I completed the course I set about putting my marketing plans into action, which were creating my website and networking. I was fortunate to have my redundancy money to fund the early months whilst I was setting up and trying to secure clients. My first client came as a result of my responding to one of many VA posts that Carmen circulated to her graduates. After being interviewed, I was offered a contract. I was in an enviable position of having my target 25 hours per week satisfied by the one client. My client was in the process of franchising their already successful networking business and I helped streamline many processes as well as take care of the day to day admin of the business, while they focused on marketing and taking on new franchisees. After some 11 months, the franchise side of my client’s business had successfully taken off, with several territories sold and many more reserved. Consequently my and my client’s workload reduced significantly. I needed to get more clients. I had a follow up call with Carmen who helped me get out of panic-mode and re-focus on how I wanted my VA business to develop and commit to actions and steps to get there. By the end of the month I managed to secure 1 more regular client and by the following month another 2 regulars came on board as well as another 4 ad-hoc clients. 4 of the 7 new clients were my first client’s franchisees, so I was able to offer them my expertise of running the admin for their new franchise business. At the same time, I came in contact with 2 ladies who were looking to set up virtual businesses of their own. I trained one to do the franchisee’s admin work to my high standards. The other had a great track record in call centres, so it was natural to offer her telemarketing skills as a service to the franchisees. Thus I now have 2 associates in my team serving 4 regular and 2 ad-hoc franchisee clients who think we are a wonderful team! In addition, I have another 6 ad-hoc clients that I’ve managed to secure as a result of networking. The original targets I set for 5 years have taken less than 18 months to achieve. I’ve re-set my targets to increase my income – I’m planning IT workshops this year as well as increasing the number of associates in my team, so that I can take on more clients. I’m also entering the National VA Awards. It has been enormously beneficial for me to have Carmen as my coach. Not only is she understanding and empathetic she is able to get to the root of my concerns and fears, squash them or turn them into conquerable obstacles. In addition, Carmen has an amazing in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the VA business which she enthusiastically passes on. Every call I’ve had with Carmen leaves me inspired, energized and focused. I feel very fortunate to have someone as knowledgeable as Carmen on my side and would whole-heartedly recommend anyone committed to the VA route to fast-track their journey by “standing on the shoulders of giants” and taking up the VA Mastery Course.” Elinor Pritchard – www.TheVirtualpartnership.co.uk (attended the one to one private training) “I was the EA to the MD of a global cosmetics company and I had originally toyed with the idea of becoming a VA about five years ago, after reading an article in Red magazine written by Carmen. In 2006, I thought the time was right to move into the VA world and contacted Carmen to enrollon her advanced VA course and can honestly say that if I had not done that, I would still be thinking about becoming a VA rather than being one! The modules are essential for anyone starting a business, they certainly help to focus the mind, and helps one to take that all important step. The NLP side of the course is a great benefit as it pushes one to visualise success as a VA and get rid of any negativity which always holds one back. Where am I now? Since completing the VA Mastery Course and setting up my business of my several clients they include the London Region of The Royal Society of Arts, which has 7,500 members (I organise the board meetings, minutes, and events such as a lecture by the First Female Chinese Ambassador, a lecture by the chief Architect of St Pancras Station and an evening event at the Foreign Office for 500 people). I am also administrator for a European Network of Lawyers (NLA) which has networks throughout the world and attend the meetings in European cities (Berlin, Paris, Oslo etc). Clients also include the chairman of a prestige fragrance company a couple of days per week as well as 2 self-employed Professors, I even had to project manage a house refurbishment for a busy consultant and have just taken on an HR consultancy. On ethe most interesting is helping a successful Second World War prison escapee write his memoirs!” Lillach Bullock, Ask Lilach (attended the one to one private training). “I was incredibly impressed with the course content which covered all the issues I wanted to raise, from learning about the VA industry to networking, the transition from working part time, etc. The course material was extremely helpful, especially with setting up my website, marketing material, contracts etc. It has also saved me a lot of money as I have been able to use this. I found Carmen to be extremely approachable and knowledgeable. She really is the “Queen” of the Virtual Assistant Industry and if she doesn’t know the answer – no one will! S.Knight (attended the one to one private training) The two day (in person) was informative, challenging and inspirational. I came away with vigour, motivation and confidence and also meeting a friend. I also came away with added confidence, knowledge and the necessary awareness to succeed. Together with the excellent materials I have no doubt that my business will be prosperous and I shall remember the person who helped me get there H. Green, Virtually There PA Servces (attended the group training) “I had an absolutely fabulous weekend on the VA Mastery course. I met some lovely people who I am sure will become good friends as well as colleagues and associates. I left the course feeling motivated, confident and excited at what lies ahead as I establish my VA business. Everything that is important in starting up a business was covered on the course and I now feel confident that my business will be set up and run in a professional way. I would highly recommend the course to anyone interested in becoming a VA and would like to thank Carmen and her team for their support.” Eunice Tawney, GeminiOne Secretarial Services (attended the one to one private training) “I am grateful that I was fortunate to attend the Virtual Assistant Mastery Course and to meet Carmen MacDougall, who has a wealth of knowledge, in providing coaching and training to Virtual Assistants. I have come away from the course with momentum to be focussed on my visions and goals to achieve success. All my doubts and misconceptions were dispelled. I was taught to focus on my vision and my niche market in order to live the lifestyle I aspire to. To change negative belief systems to positive ones, allowing the power of attraction into my marketing to attract clients and new opportunities. Julia Monks (attended the one to one private training by phone) “Carmen’s listening skills, coupled with her professionalism and sound advice, have equipped me with the confidence I needed to proceed with my venture. Anyone requiring a guiding hand in their business would certainly benefit from Carmen’s expertise – it was a pleasure listening to the ideas she had to share and I have no hesitation in recommending her.” S. Jalovaara (attended the one to one private training by phone) “Carmen is an inspiring Life Coach who has exceeded my expectations throughout the course, and has always given support when I’ve asked for it. Without the VA Mastery Course my business would not have the structure and focus it does today. Many thanks Carmen.” Betty Metcalfe (attended the group webinar training) “The course is a MUST for anyone interested in becoming a VA or who is just starting out. All my doubts and uncertainties have been overcome and lots of helpful and useful information was given.” L. Shand (attended the group training) “I thoroughly enjoyed the course and not only achieved all the objectives I had set in my mind prior to starting the course, but also had an opportunity to re-evaluate my life in general. Thank you for the whole experience! … I feel I have gained so much out of it..Most Useful: The marketing knowledge I have gained which I would never have been able to guess or work out for myself.” J Griffiths (attended the group webinar training) “I can’t believe that we are now at the end of the course – the time has flown by since I first saw the article in Prima magazine. I must congratulate you on the content of the course – At last I feel as though I have found something, which fits in with my lifestyle. With the help and encouragement of this course I now feel confident of setting my stall out and giving it a go….” Corinne Shurink (attended the group training) For someone who was struggling with making the decision to become a VA, as it would be the main source of my income, I was heartened by the course and the practical way it was delivered by Carmen. There is lots of invaluable information and Carmen is very free with her knowledge and experience to allow you to get as much out of the course as possible. It has spurred me on my journey to running a successful VA business with a support network behind me. Maria James (attended group training) I had for some time thought about being a VA after looking at various websites and thought I could probably do this , after all this is what I do for a living. I subscribed to her book, ‘What it Takes to be a Remarkable VA’. This booked contained lots of useful information, but just reading about it wasn’t quite enough for me. I attended two seminars at the Times Crème in May 2007 and have to admit that it was Carmen’s ability to address her audience without referring to notes or charts (unlike the previous seminar I attended). She spoke about her business and was so enthusiastic about its concept that I was ready to get started there and then. I decided to attend one of Carmen’s VA Mastery Weekend Courses to gain a better understanding of how to get started and I went with a great deal of unanswered questions. From the moment we started, Carmen spoke with such passion on the subject as if she had just started and she has that ability to make you feel confident to take your own business forward.
You can read about our delegates in our VA Friday Feature….here are some to be inspired by, Angela Spiteri, Julia Burman
I would recommend anyone who is thinking of setting up a Virtual Assistant business, or is an established Virtual Assistant, to attend the course.”
