TAVASA - The Transcribers and Virtual Assistants of South Africa

Blog: www.tavasa.blogspot.com

Emails: gaynor@typewritetranscription.co.za or amftyping@mweb.co.za

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TAVASASouthAfrica/

Our group was founded 8th August 2008 by Gaynor Paynter from Typewrite Transcription and Typing Services cc, Cell: +27834424689, Web: www.typewritetranscription.co.za and Alison Fourie from AMF Typing Services cc, Cell: +270828713452, Web: www.amftyping.co.za. Tavasa was formed as there was a need for a support group within South Africa.

• We provide support for people in our industries
• We bring together a group of professionals who can support each other
• We advertise job leads and subcontractor positions on the Tavasa forum, you are welcome to apply
• We share our VA and Transcription knowledge with you

Because we like to have immediate access to queries that arise from our members, and because many people in South Africa still find it easier to access email on a regular basis as opposed to accessing an internet browser regularly, our main means of communication is an yahoo group online, email discussion forum, and you can join our group at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/tavasa/ free membership.

• Our aim is to promote the Transcribers and Virtual Assistants industries within South Africa.
• To guide new Transcribers and Virtual Assistants to set up their businesses within the industry.

 

You will feel by belonging to our forum you have now joined the South Africa family of VAs and Transcribers within South Africa. All questions are welcome and we would love you to participate and meet everyone. No questions are too stupid to ask as there will always be someone wanting to ask that question. Join us. Send us an introduction email telling everyone what you do, if you are married or single, have children, what services you offer, how you feel about working from home, you will get lots of response saying welcome, our team is very friendly. Ebooks for sale:

• Transcription EBook for sale R130.00 is packed with everything you need to know about working from home as a Transcriber in South Africa. https://typewritetranscription.co.za/e-book/ Conveniently purchase over the internet / email. I started out as a transcriber in 2005 and I’ve included everything I’ve learned along the way that I wish someone had told me. It’s an essential resource for transcribers starting out and for those who just want to brush up on their business skills. Contact: gaynor@typewritetranscription.co.zato place your order today.

• VA Handbook for sale R130.00, explaining all about starting up a VA business within SA. This handbooks content includes marketing, networking, prices/rates, business plan details/info. Just send an email to amftyping@mweb.co.za, requesting the guide and I will then forward you an invoice, on receipt of your payment, I will forward your Guide to you via email, it is a PDF document. This Guide is updated on a continual basis.

Please note we are not a recruitment company, It is up to individual Virtual Assistants and Transcribers to find their own work and clients.

I hope the information above is helpful to you.

 

Contact us:

Emails: gaynor@typewritetranscription.co.za or amftyping@mweb.co.za

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Chat with a VA Leader

Check out the latest Blog to be added to my Blog Roll,  24 Hour Secretary, Sharon is interviewing Australia's most famous Virtual Assistant Kathie Thomas, its a must listen to interview. Kathie gives lots of tips about the Industry and talks about being a Virtual Assistant.

AMF Typing Services celebrates 16 years 1st April 2017

 

http://amftyping.co.za/

 

 

 

 

Cell: +27 082 871 3452 • Office: +27 011 768 5028 Skype: amftyping, • Fax: 086  514  8475
Emails: amftyping@mweb.co.za • alison@amftyping.co.za

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amftyping

The Early Bird always catches the Worm

 

My philosophy has always been ‘get in first’, ‘be ahead of the crowd’, and to ‘stand out from my peers’ and I do just that in South Africa. I go by the phrase ‘An early Bird always catches the Worm’ and I do. I have always had clients contacting me all the time and always found it easy to talk the client into using my services at my price rather than go to the next VA down the line. If I want a job I will go all out to get that job, I will convince the client of how good and how I am able to assist. My office has a continuous flow of typing and my main service that I offer clients is Typing. If it can be typed I can do it. I am very old school and I find that saying this to clients helps draw them to using my services.

I started out wanting to run a typing company and never thought I would get to this point, but I’ve done it and proved that you can run a company just doing typing. I know where to look for my clients, if I want to take on more clients, I know how to get clients and am not afraid to sell my services and tell clients how good I am at what I do.

I answer emails fasts, as an email comes in and I see that it’s from a prospective client I then quickly respond, clients are impressed with a fast response, they want a VA who is pro-active and assertive.

I love the variety that I get with typing. You would think typing would be boring, typing the same thing over and over, yet I don’t I have such a variety in typing from PowerPoint presentations to graphs, tables, charts, and graphics. This is the job I always wanted to do.

 

Be like me and be the early bird that catches the worm. The faster you respond the better chance to get the prospective client.

  

 

Typing Services

 

What is involved with offering Typing as a service?

 

Can anyone type, yes, but can everyone offer typing as a service? Typing can be more than just copy typing. Typing can involve creating spreadsheets, equations, figures, graphs, charts etc., or even creating graphics. So you need to ask your prospective client what is involved with the typing before quoting.

• Is the typing just plain copy typing, what you see is what you type, is there any tables, graphs, charts as they must then be created, you might have to create a graph or chart in excel and copy it across to word, that is time taking and is not straight copy typing, as you must create the graph etc. Sometimes you might have to scan an image from an book, so that means you need to scan it on a scanner and then resize to insert it into your document, so that is not straight copy typing. You might need to find an image on the Internet, so that will involve research, finding the image. You might have to create a graphic, the client might have drawn an image, maybe a flow diagram, you will need to recreate this in the document this can also involve using graphic software then copy and insert within your document, and also this is very time consuming.
• A client might send you to copy a PDF document for typing. Not all PDF conversion software works nicely when you convert a PDF document into word. You might find you still have to reformat the document this is time taking and often much quicker to just type the document from scratch. Note here the client will know the document is not typed from scratch, they will know you have used conversion software to convert the document and often this is not the quickest route to take.
  
  
  
• You might need to firstly print out what the client has sent you so that you can type from it, it takes time to print out a document, and it costs to print from a printer.
• At the end of your document you need to proofread and perform a spell check, this should be part of your quote or terms and condition; this task must always be done. Make sure you list this so that clients can see that you perform this task.
• Sometimes clients might want their document saved to a memory stick (flash drive) you need to charge for this as it is time taking and you maybe you need to a buy the memory stick.
• If you offer typing as a service make sure you state that you can create graphs, tables, charts, brochures, graphics, spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations. Do not assume all typing is simple copy typing, often it is more involved.
• You may need to insert equations, this takes extra time to do this, so make sure you feature this time into the length of time it will takes you to complete the typing.
• You can no longer send large files through email and often you have to make use of Google docs, Dropbox, Send this File etc so make sure that your Internet bundle (capped or uncapped) can cope with offering typing. Files will need to be downloaded and uploaded. A file with graphics, graphs etc will take time to load and is very time consuming loading to Send this File or Dropbox etc, especially if it has more than 20 pages. A large manual with graphics, graphs and flows, a large spreadsheet, a PowerPoint presentation can take a few hours to upload, you have to remember this when it comes to your deadline and getting the work back to the client in time.
  
• If you contract typing out to a subcontractor make sure you check the work thoroughly and ask the subcontractor to make sure they proof their own work then you double proof the work when you get it back. Often a subcontractor will just do the work and send it back to you and tell you it is proofed, don’t make the mistake of sending it to the client without you doing a proofread and spell check. You are the one the work is sent to from your client and not the subcontractor so it is up to you to make sure you send back a quality document.
• When offering typing services sometimes you will get in tasks that you don’t like doing, maybe lots of figure typing, typing of tables, this can be boring for some, listen to music as you type, this will help the time go a bit quicker.
• When pricing typing the norm is to charge on a per page basis but it can also be done on an hourly rate, whichever works out best for you, is what you offer.
• Authors and students may ask you for a charge per word, roughly you normally get ±750/1000 words to an A4 page at Ariel at a size 12 font.
• If you have a table within the document, check out the other tables within the document, maybe you can just copy and paste your first one and just change the data, this can save you time.
• Know how many pages you can do in an hour, day, or week so that you can let the client know if you can reach their deadline, remember if you have graphics, graphs, charts etc within a document it might take you longer to create these so therefore affecting the time it takes to complete your document.
• Ask for client preferences: fonts, size of text, colour in graphs, flow diagrams, spacing, justification, ask if the client can provide you with the company logo’s/graphics, templates if required. etc.
• Do not take on typing work if you do not know how to do it, you can subcontract it out, if that is the case make sure your subcontract has the experience to do the job.

Contact Information

If I go to a website and then go to the contact page and that page has a form with no other contact details, I quickly leave that site and do not bother looking further. Putting a form on your contact page to me, puts people off contacting you further. Now if I see full contact details I will take the time to contact you further. It’s a pet hate of mine to find a contact form because half the time you will fill in the form, submit it and then that is it, the receivers of the form often do not bother to contact you further, so to me, putting forms on your website is a waste of time, to me that makes your site unfriendly. But that is just my opinion.

Your contact details should be available on all pages. You can be sitting on a page and then think of a question you want to ask, if the contact information is there you can quickly phone or send an email but if you have to go to the contact page and fill in a form, well why bother.

In your contact information you need your full contact details. It is not necessary to put your address but put in your location as people like to know where you are situated before contacting you. Some clients could be local and where you are situated may matter to them. Give clients the option to contact you on your cell/mobile phone, your landline, skype, email and Whatsapp. These days I get lots of whatsapp contact from clients as it is easier and quick.

The quicker you reply to a potential client and if you can assist that client the better chance you have of impressing the client and getting the job – ‘The early bird catches the worm’. If a client contacts you and you are busy, get back to them at your first available opportunity.

Make use of the mail format signature in email, on every email you send, have your full contact information. Your aim with your advertising and marketing is to give the client contact details, many clients don’t have much time so will want to contact you quickly, don’t make your contact details difficult to find. Client’s want to contact you using the tool they use most often so make sure you give them all your social media details. Be accessible.

A word of warning, clients will contact you after hours if you do not want this or like it, state it in your advertising and marketing, state your hours of business and stress no contact after hours.

amftyping@mweb.co.za - alison@amftyping.co.za - +27 0828713452 - +27 011 7685028 - Skype: amftyping,

 

 

 

 

 

The Concept of being a Virtual Assistant/Person running your own Business

A virtual assistant runs their own business from a virtual location/area. When you run your own business you will do the same tasks as management would do in a larger company, the difference is you might be doing these tasks yourself unless you get assistance from other like-minded people. The concept of running a VA businesses is that you are running a business, you are doing the marketing, bookkeeping, networking, the work, debt collection, invoicing etc, you do it all yourself.

You are your own boss.

As you are running a company you are on the same level as other company bosses, CEO’s, managers, directors etc. You are no longer in the situation where you are a PA or Office Manager getting instructions from a Boss, you are not working for someone else that can give you instructions, you have to get the work, you have to draw the clients to you through having presence on social media, online/offline advertising, website, blog, networking, advertising in your area etc.

You organise your company, one of the tasks you organise is, your pricing structure, you as the company owner need to have prices/rates for the services you are offering or the products that you are selling. Part of running your company is setting up your pricing structures. You do not contact a potential client and wait for them to give you a price for the services you are offering, you have a pricing structure ready and you tell the client your price.

To run your company/business you need to have a company structure and follow set procedures to be organised. Specific things need to be done at specific times, like your office administration, invoicing your clients, keeping your work schedules up to date etc. You need to have a structure of how you are going to deal with clients; how you are going to be doing the work, a structure of dealing with subcontractors should you need to use them. You need to know how long it will take you to say transcribe a 1 hour file, how long would it take you to type up a 100 page document, how long will it take you to organise an event etc. These are things you need to know as working for many clients you need to be organised and be able to schedule the work and be able to meet deadlines that are set by your clients.

As a VA you need to be able to do multi-tasking, you could be working for a few clients at the same time, this is where you will use your time management and prioritising skills.

Being a VA is about running a business, being your own boss, scheduling your work times and procedures yourself. You are an Entrepreneur in a worldwide industry that is growing daily.

AMF Typing Services celebrates 14 years in business, 1st April 2015.

 

http://www.amftyping.co.za

 

 

Working as a Virtual Assistant

Wouldn’t it be nice not have to work. But as some of us have to work what better job than being a Virtual Assistant, we get to work from home. We get to work the hours we want to, we can wear what we like for work if we are not seeing clients, we can even do our work in PJs. We can schedule our day to suite us and our own way of working. We can listen to music while we work.

The reason lots of people want to become a Virtual Assistant (VA) is because they think it will give you more time to spend at home with your new-born, small children and families. In reality if you have a full business of clients then your spare time is spent doing the admin work that is required to keep your business going. You don’t just to the actual work but you do the business administration as well. You have to continually market your company, your books need to be kept up to date, you need to advertise to show other businesses that you are out there and also need to get potential clients attention.

You have to work and meet deadlines. Most of the work we get in is deadline related and that can mean long hours, working weekends and public holidays. A deadline must be met, simple as that. Our work does not stop like corporate hours and this is not the sort of business you can run on corporate hours, it simply want work. You have to be here as your clients demands to a certain extent.

 

We work hard as VAs as we have to meet deadlines but at least with working long hours we are working from our own virtual offices and do not have to travel backward and forward to and from work at all hours.

I love the fact that I don’t have to travel far to work every day, it takes me a minute to get to my desk and the best part is I don’t have to clear my desk every night because the cleaning ladies will be coming into the office at night. I can simply leave my desk exactly as I left it and pick up again in the morning.

I am glad in the winter when it’s cold that I don’t have to travel on a very cold bus for an hour or more to get to work and even in the summer when it is too hot on the bus as its hot outside, and there was nothing worse than coming home and getting off the bus in a thunder storm and have to run home to get out of the rain. Now I can sit and work even though there is heck of a thunder storm outside. I can sit in my office working and look out of the window at the storm and know I am warm and dry inside.

If you work in a corporate office you have to invest in working clothes. As we work from home offices we can choose our dress clothes and only really have to wear and dress nicely if we are seeing clients. We can dress casual and be comfortable working in any weather when working from home.

I don’t think there is any job which matches working for yourself, working from home; it must be one of the best jobs to have.

 

 

Greetings for 2015

Season's Greeting for 2015 from AMF Typing Services, a Happy New Year to You

NEW: Weekly Post - Questions and Answers

Question subject: Reaching Deadlines

Question: How do I reach deadlines?

 

Answer: You can reach deadlines by knowing how long tasks take and what is involved with doing them. Do practice runs before you open your business, experiment with how long it takes you to do the tasks you are going to offer. Know how long it takes you to transcribe a 1 hour file, how long it takes to type up 20 pages of basic copy typing, know how long it takes you to set up Facebook for a new client. Run examples and note down how long tasks take. 

When you feel a deadline is not reachable, negotiate, you will be doing the work, so only you will know how long it takes to complete. It is up to you as a business owner to tell your client ‘this deadline is unreal’ and to explain what is involved within the job. Many clients have no idea how long a particular job will take. They will give you very unreasonable deadlines. Only you know what you are capable of and what your limits are. This is often a problem with Transcription, the clients do not know how long it actually takes to transcribe and often the deadlines are tight but it is up to you, as you are doing the job to negotiate this with the client, not the client to set this deadline for you. Simply explain what is involved.

I would love to have your comments if you feel you would like to comment, please do, as I would like to put your answers with your contact details onto my blog, it gives you a bit of exposure. amftyping@mweb.co.za or alison@amftyping.co.za

**********************************************************

 

Question subject: Motivation

 

 
 

Question: What keeps you motivated while running your own business?

 

Answer: What keeps me motivated is knowing that my marketing is working and has kept on working since I started my business. Every time I have an enquiry about my business I can see that my business details are out there and being seen. It is motivating for me to get up every day and come to work as I love my job and I never know what each day will bring, every day in my job is different.

 

I would love to have your comments if you feel you would like to comment, please do, as I would like to put your answers with your contact details onto my blog, it gives you a bit of exposure. amftyping@mweb.co.za or Alison@amftyping.co.za

 

 

The EARLY bird who always catches the worm

 

My philosophy has always been ‘get in first’, ‘be ahead of the crowd’, and to ‘stand out from my peers’ and I do just that in South Africa. I go by the phrase ‘An early Bird always catches the Worm’ and I do. I have always had clients contacting me all the time and always found it easy to talk the client into using my services at my price rather than go to the next VA down the line. If I want a job I will go all out to get that job, I will convince the client of how good and how I am able to assist. My office has a continuous flow of typing and my main service that I offer clients is Typing. If it can be typed I can do it. I am very old school and I find that saying this to clients helps draw them to using my services.

I started out wanting to run a typing company and never thought I would get to this point, but I’ve done it and proved that you can run a company just doing typing. I know where to look for my clients, if I want to take on more clients, I know how to get clients and am not afraid to sell my services and tell clients how good I am at what I do.

I answer emails fasts, as an email comes in and I see that it’s from a prospective client I then quickly respond, clients are impressed with a fast response, they want a VA who is pro-active and assertive.

I love the variety that I get with typing. You would think typing would be boring, typing the same thing over and over, yet I don’t I have such a variety in typing from PowerPoint presentations to graphs, tables, charts, and graphics. This is the job I always wanted to do.

Be like me and be the early bird that catches the worm. The faster you respond the better chance to get the prospective client.