The Northern Edge - News & Views
Tip of the Hat
March 9, 2010
As many of you know, I am celebrating my one year anniversary in business for The Northern Edge this month. This milestone is a big one for me, and I’ve planned a series of announcements and special posts to mark the date.
To this point, the announcements have been all about The Northern Edge – the unveiling of my new logo and business name (formerly Edge VA), and a post outlining the target market and niche to which The Northern Edge will be focusing on for 2010 and beyond.
The announcements are obviously important and exciting – but mostly for me! This post, and subsequent “Tip of the Hat” posts are dedicated to my clients, past and current in thanks and appreciation for partnering with me for their virtual assistant needs.
Client: The Wealthy Freelancer
Perhaps my most complicated client, and one of my most recent additions, is the team at TheWealthyFreelancer.Com. To this point as a VA, I have primarily worked with solo business owners in support of their online business ventures. So, when I started working with Pete Savage, Ed Gandia and Steve Slaunwhite, the co-Founders of TheWealthyFreelancer.com, I realized quickly that extra care and attention to clear communication and organization would be required (hence the complicated).
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Who Are My Clients?
March 7, 2010
The Northern Edge has Declared a Niche!
One of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make in my first year of business has been to whom I should target my services. Most VAs choose a target market and a niche to which they offer their services, so that they can tailor their marketing to their ideal clients.
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Celebrating 1 Year in Business!
March 1, 2010
March is Birthday Month! I officially launched Edge VA on March 17, 2009, and boy, what a year it has been.
In celebration, I have some big announcements – stuff that I have been working on behind the scenes for the last several months will finally be revealed.
For updates throughout the month, stop in to the Birthday Page. I’ll be updating there with the latest celebration blog posts (including “Favorite Applications/Software”, “Favorite VA Forums/Groups”, “Tip of the Hat to My Clients”, “10 Things I learned in my First Year of Business” and more all month long.
So, without further ado…
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The Business Lessons I Learned from My Grandmother
February 23, 2010
The most influential mentor in my life is my Grandmother. Under 5ft tall, she’s tiny, but mighty. At 87, she regularly attends aerobics class, paints, volunteers at the local artists’ guild where she sells her oil paintings, and tends her own garden.
Born and raised in London, England, she emigrated to Canada after World War II to marry my Grandfather. She left the comforts of a city to live on a cattle ranch in the wild, wild west of interior British Columbia 12 hours (by wagon) from the nearest city, Williams Lake.
Her courage, determination, and resourcefulness are qualities that I admire in her, and I strive to model myself after her example in my personal life, and as a professional. Continue Reading - The Business Lessons I Learned from My Grandmother
The VA Identity Crisis
February 17, 2010
While the industry is not brand new, its recent growth and burgeoning popularity brings to light the relative youth of Virtual Assistance in the online business world. As a developing industry, one of the issues that I see is one of identity; both self and external perceptions.
There is work by virtual assistants and organizations to define who we are: The VA Chamber of Commerce, IVAA (International Virtual Assistants Association), CVAC (Canadian Virtual Assistants Connection) and industry forums like VANeworking.com and VirtualAssistantForums.com are some examples.
The problem is that there is no one size fits all title here; virtual assistants are as varied in location, service offerings, and expertise as any other business to another.
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