Questions frequently asked by people thinking about the Virtual Basics program

Our Frequently Asked Questions section is created to be read in its entirety. When read that way, you get the most complete picture of what you, as someone learning more about our Virtual Basic Program, will want to consider.

In case you have just a few questions, or are a frequent visitor looking for a specific piece of information, we've created a list of the questions listed here. A click of the mouse will take you to the info you seek!

FAQs

 What is Virtual Basics?

 What's included in the program?

 Are there prerequisites?

 How would I know if I really have the drive and commitment to doing all this work and then building a business?

 Tell me about the program materials. What's included?

 Wow. Why didn't you just publish a book?

 How's the program organized?

 How much time will all this take, each week?

 If I do the Virtual Basics self-study program, how soon can I expect to have a full practice as a Virtual Assistant?

 Why would I want to consider Virtual Basics?

 I don't live in the United States. Is Virtual Basics going to apply to international participants?

 What happens when I finish?

 Can I get referrals from AssistU, or be listed on the site as a graduate?

 And the cost for the Virtual Basics self-study program?

 Wait. Your program, when you offered it live, was much more expensive. So why the big difference?

 What if I want help with the program?

 Do you have a refund policy?

 If I want to do more research about AssistU, how would I go about doing that?

 I'm ready! How can I buy Virtual Basics?

 I'm not quite ready. If I have more questions, how can I get them answered?

Q:  What is Virtual Basics?

A: For 14 years, we offered a very hands-on, intense, transformational training program to help people start and grow successful businesses as Virtual Assistants. Virtual Basics is that program, redesigned for self-study/home-study.

It's 100% complete on its own, and includes not only the very best of what we offered in our live version, but new and improved information and teachings as well.

Virtual Basics is an intensive, eleven-week program, designed to guide you in becoming successful as a Virtual Assistant (VA), and giving you the strongest start possible in getting your business up and running.

Although a program designed to be worked from start to finish in 11 weeks, you can absolutely do it in a way that fits you - that's the beauty of self-study.

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Q:  What's included in the program?

A: Through asynchronous learning, case studies, and activities, Basics guides you through what you need to know and do to strongly and smartly set up and grow a Virtual Assistance practice.

What you'll learn are not skills like creating a better PowerPoint presentation, or web design, or how to do a complex mail merge from a certain contact management software package. The skills we give you are more important than those, and more subtle. They are skills that will sustain you in your business and in relationships with clients regardless of the specific work you do, or don't do with them.

You likely already have many of the task-related skills you need and can learn others you may decide later that you want to add. That hard-skill training is available from many sources. What we offer, you'll find nowhere else.

We also support the broadening of your understanding of Virtual Assistance and what you want for your business and yourself; it's not enough to have a good business, you also deserve a good life!.

We take you from A to Z, giving you a roadmap of success

Here are some highlights of the program:

• Virtual Assistance defined
  • We'll show you how the AssistU brand of Virtual Assistance is vastly different than what many others are doing, and why it leads to greater happiness, as well as personal and professional fulfillment.
  • We'll also explain the various definitions you'll see as you move around the Internet, in case one of those appeals to you more
  • And we'll share the various business models VAs use so you can appropriately choose what you most want for yourself
• Putting a foundation under your business to support you in creating your business your way:
  • We'll teach you about the "who" of business, and why it's so much more important to your success than anything you've ever experienced before.
  • You'll learn the legalities of starting a micro business, and what you'll need to do to start yours.
  • You'll do a business plan to focus you on the nuts and bolts of your business. (It's not scary. We promise!)
  • You'll identify support teams to help keep you on track.
  • And if you need to transition out of current employment, we'll help you create a solid plan to do that without putting you or your family at risk.
• Skills necessary to do Virtual Assistance well.
  • How much of what you know and do now is an asset, and what new skills might you have to learn? We'll show you.
• Equipment needed to communicate and work effectively with those you assist and their customers.
  • What do you need to have now versus what can wait till later? We'll tell you so you won't overspend!
• What's the difference between being a VA, and doing VA work? We'll teach you.
• Your Home Office
  • Learn what you need to know about the space you work in, the decor (it matters!), working with vendors, your supplies, collateral materials, etc. You'll want to create a very specific image, style and reputation. We'll show you how.
• Practice Structure And Money Matters
  • Learn about setting up your business in a way that is attractive to clients, but which also honors you.
  • Explore the differences between working in an office and working at home. What do you do about distractions, boundaries, time management, and finding balance between work you love and the life you love? We'll teach you!
  • Work you love vs. other work. Do you know the difference? Find out!
  • Set standards for your virtual business. We'll show you how.
  • How to value your services, set your fees, and be profitable. It's easy, when you know how!
• Juggling
  • There are a multitude of ways to stay sane while handling the work of several clients. We share what works for successful VAs so that you can decide which is best for you!
• Marketing
  • Will you have to sell yourself? No! We have a different model of getting business that leads you to pull the right clients toward you, rather than having to push yourself on them. And it all starts with being able to powerfully share what you do. You'll learn ways to find and start the ball rolling with the kinds of clients you most want.
  • Worried about competition? You'll have none! We'll explain why.
  • Why and how to break free from the worry that you don't have what you need to be a great VA and that getting what you need involves learning and doing things you know aren't a good use of your time or talents.
  • Learn how to communicate effectively, efficiently, and show up confidently with prospective clients about working together, so that you move toward working with the clients you really want to support
  • Never want to market again? Find out how to create an endless stream of referrals!
  • How to assess client fit appropriately to get info the best relationships and stay away from the worst
  • Receive marketing material samples and examples of marketing materials successful VAs are using.
• Setting Up Great Processes
  • You'll need great processes for a variety of things, including marketing, interviewing, bringing new clients into your practice, deciding what to learn and how to grow...all sort of processes and we'll share the ins and outs of how to create them and what to include to make sure they serve you.
• Creating Strong Relationships
  • Identifying your ideal client and creating an ideal client profile so that the relationships you move into allow you to give and receive at the highest levels possible
  • We are experts in creating and maintaining strong virtual relationships. We'll teach you what you need to know to begin to unleash the power in relationships to serve your clients well!
• Handling Conflicts
  • We hate them, but they happen. Learn how to handle conflicts and come to a great understanding when you're not face to face.
• Keeping Your Business Fresh
  • There's never an end to what you need to do! We'll help you uncover a specific direction for your business and your client relationships

Additionally, under the main curriculum, there are concurrent, and equally important sub-curricula:

Cyberskills - we help you understand what you need to know about the Internet and current technologies so that you can better and more easily work and collaborate with your clients.

Writing Skills - we know what clients want from their VA, and strong writing skills are one of the hottest things requested. We suggest how you can strengthen yours.

Extreme Self-Care - we know that, to have a terrific business, you need to have a terrific personal life. We also know that the corporate world doesn't care about you, and one reason you're considering being a Virtual Assistant is to get off that ever spinning gerbil wheel. We suggest many ways to help you work toward balance and taking time for yourself.

We've really just scratched the surface. It has to be seen to be believed (and maybe believed to be seen, too!), and you can get started today!

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Q:  Are there prerequisites I need to meet before I can take the program?

A: No. Anyone can buy and use our program. But it's important to know that we made certain assumptions when we created it.

• That you really, really want to be a Virtual Assistant and have a sustainable practice you can love
• That you aren't here thinking you'll get rich, build a practice in 30 days, or find a magic pill to save you from something
• That you have basic admin and internet skills, and aren't afraid to learn what you don't already know
• That you're open to new ideas and new ways of doing things and thinking about things
• That you're responsible for yourself, self-motivated, ready to learn and grow, and willing to take appropriate and consistent action toward becoming a successful VA
• That you see value in not having to reinvent the wheel and want to learn how to build this business from us because we're the clear choice for you.

Having said that, the best VAs we know have had some sort of administrative experience-usually at least three years of it.

Can you be a VA if you've never been an admin? Possibly. But more likely not.

See, this isn't an "easy" profession. If it were, everyone would be doing it. It's not back-breaking, involves no work outside in harsh weather, and there's no heavy lifting involved, but it's not easy-like, say, addressing envelopes. But you know that the envelope opportunities are scams, right?

This isn't a scam. This is real. There are several thousand VAs, based on the way we define that term, doing this work, successfully, profitably, and happily.

But it is work. And you need to be ready for that or you'll be woefully disappointed, and it won't matter how amazing Virtual Basics is because if you come into it with unrealistic expectations about what it is, what you're readily skilled to do, how fast you'll be successful, or thinking it's going to cure all of life's woes, it won't live up to that.

Come prepared, and come with eyes wide open, or save your money and find something else to do (but don't do the envelope thing, ok?).

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Q:  How would I know if I really have the drive and commitment to doing all this work and then building a business?

A: You may just know. Maybe you've been looking at doing this for some time and you know it's the right time. Maybe you've been following us for years and are ready to get the training you deserve to help you create something strong and powerful for yourself. Maybe you just know it's your time, and this is the thing you want to do.

But if you don't know--if you're unsure, or conflicted, or otherwise on the fence--we suggest that you stop here and take the time to invest in listening to a teleseries our founder, Anastacia, offered to help new and aspiring VAs really get clear on what this work and owning a business are all about. In the Smart VA Starter series, she shares truly valuable information that will help you decide whether to move forward, or go find something else to do.

You can access those audios and their associated handouts at no cost to you.

Please--if you're unsure, take the time to listen before you buy. If you listen and feel moved to move forward, Virtual Basics is for you; feel free to buy it with wild abandon. If you listen and feel drawn to Anastacia and what she shares, Virtual Basics is for you; feel free to start this new journey to professional freedom. On the other hand, if you listen and realize that none of it lights you up, please don't spend your money on Virtual Basics. You'll be unhappy, and we don't want that for you.

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Q:  What about the program materials?

A: In evaluating the ways we could have delivered this program, we looked at all sorts of technologies, and education theories, and current best practices for supporting adult learners.

Educators know that it's important to read/see, discuss, then review (read again or see again) in order for the deepest learning to occur. So while we know that a visual component is integral to a complete learning scenario, how that visual is introduced, doesn't have to be web-based or video-based (if it did, none of us who are old enough to be evaluating this program would have ever learned anything when we were in school!!).

While we know that some trainers like to show things in video (even if it's just a lovely talking head on a screen), we've always maintained the view that the best training is the one that you can take with you anywhere you go. Video's not so easy that way, but text and such in a book/binder is. And pages and pdfs on your computer don't rely on an internet connection to be available to you when you want them. Plus, we really don't have anything to demonstrate.

So our program is wonderfully suited, not only to self-directed study, but also to being delivered in text.

The materials (nearly 600 pages!) are presented for download from a private area you'll be given near immediate access to once you pay for the program. From there, you can decide whether to save them to your computer and read on-screen, or print them and put them in a binder.

We like this very eco-friendly way of delivering the program, and it gives you the opportunity to do with the materials whatever will give you the best learning experience with them!

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Q:  Wow, that's a lot of pages!. Why didn't you just publish a book?

A: We understand that putting the program together as self-study is pretty much like creating a book you'd then buy in a bookstore. We chose to develop it this way and sell it on our site for a few reasons:

• We can do more and offer more to you in this format.
• We can update it more easily, allowing us to change the program responsively based on what's happening in our industry.
• Plus, it would be one heck of a book-depending on size, probably 500-900 pages!

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Q:  How's the program organized?

A: There are 11 classes. Each class has lessons, plus Next Step action items to complete, a checklist to help you make sure you've completed what you need to, and resources to support the lesson material. In addition, most classes include a case study for you to consider a solution for, as well as suggestions from us about what might be the most beneficial response, so you can both work your solution finding muscle as well as hear how someone vastly more experienced (that would be us!) suggests thinking through it and handling it..

The goal of it all is to not only give you what you need to learn to start this business, but also to support you in stretching and honing your skills, so that you'll be able to happily and successfully work in the virtual world. We want you to feel absolutely comfortable working with clients at a distance. Besides Next Steps, the program also encourages you to do things which will forward your growth as a person, which will also forward your growth as a Virtual Assistant.

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Q:  So, how much time will all this take, each week?

A: That depends on you, how you manage your time, and which of your skills are more or less developed. We suggest moving through one class per week so that you get finished in a fair amount of time and get on with what you came to do, start and grow a Virtual Assistance practice. But given that this is self-study, you can move more slowly if you need or want to.

If you were to do a class each week, start to finish, with all Next Steps done well (meaning that you really apply yourself rather than glossing over anything), you'll probably spend a few hours each week.

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Q:  If I do the Virtual Basics self-study program, how soon can I expect to have a full practice as a Virtual Assistant?

A: Traditional business wisdom says that it takes three to five years for a new business to be built to the place where the business owner (that would be you, in this case) is satisfied with it. You have to be prepared for it to take that much time-because it just might.

The vast majority of people we've trained over the years who have built successful practices did it in considerably less time because they listened to us, they were motivated to take consistent action, and they had great skills.

How long will it take you? We have no way of knowing. All we do know is that this is not a get-rich-quick gig, and there is no magic pill you can take to make you an overnight success. But if you learn well, apply what you've learned, and get started building your practice, you could be well on the way to getting clients in just a few months.

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Q:  Why would I want to consider Virtual Basics?

A: You may not. You may see no advantage to getting training in this industry, or in doing it in self-study fashion. If that's the case, we'll be happy to point you to other VA membership organizations where you might find what might be more appropriate for you. Just ask us for a referral.

But if you see the value of getting additional training, a flattened learning curve, and proven systems for success, let us offer the following:

• We formalized the profession just about 15 years ago, and, as the industry leader, have the knowledge, wisdom, and curriculum to profoundly impact the lives of those who put our training to work in their lives.
• We've trained more successful Virtual Assistants than anyone, anywhere.
• And we've put just about everything we know into Virtual Basics so that you would have the best possible chance of learning what's important if you want to create a successful practice.

If becoming a Virtual Assistant is your passion and you want to form a practice as quickly and easily as possible, the Virtual Basics program will give you the tools and resources to do that.

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Q:  I don't live in the United States. Is Virtual Basics going to apply to international participants?

A: Virtual Assistance is a global profession and the bulk of what we teach applies regardless of the country where you live and want to practice. You will need to "translate" American terms to your own; for instance, when we mention the IRS in the US, that would need to be translated by a Canadian as the CRA, by a Brit as HM Revenue and Customs, or by an Italian as Agenzia delle Entrate. It's not hard, is all part of the learning, but will need to be done.

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Q:  What happens when I finish?

A: From our perspective, when you finish, what you should do first and foremost is celebrate, then get busy building a business that will make you happy as a clam. Nothing would tickle us more than your success.

Assuming you dove in and applied yourself, you'll walk away with:

• More ideas coursing through you than you can shake a stick at
• A new, more fabulous way to see the administrative landscape, full of possibilities
• A strong and well-developed business foundation to support your business now, and well into the future
• A clear, sharp, beautiful vision
• Systems, processes, procedures and checklists to make working with clients easier
• An understanding of different ways to easily pull clients to you, and a plan for which ones you're going to use in your practice
• Increased confidence that, indeed, you can do this!
• Resources you can use to learn more, grow more in ways that are appropriate for you, and help your clients fabulously
• Vastly upgraded and integrated practical knowledge of the tools, services, and ways of working that make up a Virtual Assistant's business playground.

In reality, we can't tell you all of what you'll walk away with, because each person is different.

One of the things many people who took our program live told us they'd walked away with was a complete transformation.

Are we sure you will? No...and we're not even sure you'd want one if we promised it to you.

But we know it all begins with a decision to take the first step. It's pretty hard to worry about what will happen when you finish when you haven't even taken that step.

Do that. Worry about the future when it gets to be the present.

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Q:  Can I get referrals from AssistU, or be listed on the site as a graduate?

A: Because this is self-directed learning, finishing does not entitle you to call yourself an AssistU graduate (although you can absolutely feel free to say you completed our Virtual Basics self-study program!), have any sort of listing on our site, get referrals from us, or sit for our coveted CPVA or CMVA certifications.

This really is no different from buying a book and putting its wisdom to work in your life. When you're finished, you can't claim to have been certified by the writer of the book, nor would you have any expectation of involvement with the writer. Nothing else "comes" with working through a book, and nothing else "comes" with Virtual Basics.

If you do well with self-directed learning, this is a complete program you can work and use to set up a strong practice as a Virtual Assistant. You shouldn't let a lack of certification from us on the back end stop you from getting the help you need and that we are uniquely able to provide you.

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Q:  And the cost for the Virtual Basics self-study program?

A: It's $515. We also have a payment plan - three payments of $205.

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Q:  Wait. Your live class was much more expensive. So why the big difference?

A: Even as we taught our program live, our founder, Anastacia Brice, felt concerned that what we were teaching wasn't as available to people because, although absolutely right-priced, our fee for it was more than they could manage.

So when we decided to stop our training last year to revamp it, one thing she was absolutely clear about was her desire to bring it back in a way and at a price point that would put it in reach of far more people.

Offering it as 100% self-directed learning, our expenses are greatly different than they were, and we're happily able to offer it at this terrific price.

In case you like little-known details, here's one for you. The price of the program with the "15" in it, is a subtle nod to and celebration of the fact that we'll celebrate 15 years in business in 2012!

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Q:  What if I want help with the program?

A: You could absolutely work through our program with the support of a professional coach, or a peer mentor-coach. If you'd like some referrals, please be in touch. We're happy to tell you who we think are awesome!

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Q:  What if the program doesn't work for me? Do you have a refund policy?

A: Unlike with other programs and products you'll see online, we're not going to tell you that we're "sure" this is the thing that's going to do it for you (that would be like saying we have the magic pill we earlier said doesn't exist!) and therefore offer you a "guarantee" of success. We can't-your success is 100% dependent on you.

But what we do offer is a lovely 14-Day Happiness Promise. Here's how that works: buy Basics, work on it diligently for ten days, and if it's just not for you, get in touch with us within 14 days from the date your bought it and we'll quickly and cheerfully refund 100% of what you've paid us.

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Q:  If I want to do more research about AssistU, how would I go about doing that?

A: We offer suggestions for that on our Contact Us page, where it tells you how to check out our history, and find out if there have been any complaints about us. You can also visit our Media and PR page to read what such great publications as Inc. Magazine, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune and others have said about us. We've also delighted to have been included in a variety of books written by amazing authors and leaders.

This info, plus whatever you've learned here on our site, should give you a terrific sense of who we are and what we offer and whether it would be appropriate for you.

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Q:  Ok-I'm ready to go on this adventure and invest in myself and my future. Where can I buy Virtual Basics?

A: Congratulations! You can do that right here.

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Q:  I'm not quite ready. If I have more questions, how can I get them answered?

A: Email Anastacia Brice, Founder of AssistU. She'll want to make sure you get the information you need! You can reach at this address: anastacia at assistu dot com (we trust you know how to put that address together, but spam bots won't).

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