#28 - Susan Mershon: The Techie Mentor & VA Training

I have spoken with the passionate Susan Mershon about the fact that being a proactive person is what makes the difference between an average Virtual Assistant and a Superstart VA. She talked about the most common pitfalls that professionals face when starting their new VA businesses and how to overcome them. She also says that the employee mindset is one of the biggest challenges faced by new VAs.

Video

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Long Recap

Transcription

Short Recap

Susan runs a training and coaching company that supports VAs becoming more knowledgeable and efficient at their activity. This has been a very pleasant and helpful conversation with loads of hints and advice as well as references. Really helpful if you are a VA, wish to become or even need to hire one. Loads of useful information.

Timeline

01:38 Susan VA self-experience
04:45 On backlog contribution
07:14 Going Solo
10:01 Going Training Business
13:05 On breaking through initial mind blockades
14:54 Mandatory base trades
18:10 On promoting proactiveness
21:30 The differentiating factor
23:18 On teaching proactiveness
27:39 The Pitfalls
34:07 The learning curve
37:02 The Horror Story
41:17 The “Toolbelt”
45:52 On the “Platforms”
49:19 Final message

Key Points

"Anger can be a strong motivator. "

"Given the time and dedication, anyone can learn anything. "

"Most times missing proactiveness derives from past context realities. "

"As a freelancer, you may not accept a client that does not please you. "

Links Mentioned

Teamwork - is a task management system that is similar to MS Project.
Dropbox - online file hosting and sharing.
WordPress - easily create your website or blog.
Simplero - easily create powerful infoproducts.
GotoWebinar - webinar and online conferencing.
Camtasia - Video recording.
Skype - instant messaging, online text message and video chat services.
Infusionsoft - e-mail marketing and sales platform for small businesses.
ConvertKit - automation and email marketing tools.
MailChimp - marketing automation platform and an email marketing service.
ActiveCampaign - Email Marketing and CRM automation.
ClickFunnels - Marketing funnels.
Zirtual - virtual assistant services provider.
Upwork - global freelancing platform.
Fiverr - freelance services marketplace.
LinkedIn - business- and employment-oriented social networking service.

Guest

Susan Mershon – Creator of Techie Mentor
On Linkedin
On Twitter
On Facebook

I'm an Outsourcerer. I'm a DNN Geek. I help people with their sites @ DeskPal. I'm a #Pomodoro practitioner. I'm a husband and a father of 2 beautiful girls.