People decide to engage in doing business online for some possible reasons. After all, a lot of processes can be done electronically nowadays, and we may have that image that everything becomes “easier” in the online world. When I first considered shifting to an online job of providing virtual assistant services, I did not know where or how to begin, but as I am continuously learning the business and how to improve in this profession, I realize that this is something I am quite suitable. These are three areas that I have pondered on lately that, in my opinion, supports why I can do this kind of work, and if you are someone who plans to do the same, you may also want to think on these things to see if you are cut out for it as well.

1. Changes in Work Environment

Coming from an office-based, 8 to 5 (and sometimes even longer hours) job, deciding to become a VA means I can work from home where I am more comfortable and can provide for other special needs that my family needs as of the moment. I am not the type of person who feels unaccomplished because I am just working at home, as compared to some people who think of the typical picture of a productive employee that travels to and from work daily and feels unproductive if not in an office environment.

Having potential clients outside of the country, I also embrace the possibility of working with different time zones. Because of previous experiences in logistics and field operations that run almost 24 hours a day, unconventional working hours is something that is not new to me (however, it is always important to get enough rest no matter what profession you engage in).

2. Drive and Passion for Service

Just like any other service-oriented job, the passion for helping other people is essential. From the title itself of a virtual assistant, you need to facilitate services that will make it easier for your business clients/partners to finish tasks or projects. I am happy to be continually improving to have a higher level of interpersonal skills that will enable me to handle customer communications better and become more proactive in my work.

Being a work-from-home VA does not necessarily mean that I will always be working alone, but it is beneficial if you are someone who can work independently and can learn efficiently and quickly on your own. I also know that some people are more of socially and externally motivated workers and may find it challenging to shift to a work-from-home job where they may need practice being more internally motivated to advance.

3. Dedication to Continuous Improvement in Skills

Skills is a highly, if not the most, significant aspect of being a VA because it all boils down to what you can offer as a service-oriented business. There are a lot of skills considered from administrative, creative, and technical areas, and even more fields of specializations that can be learned (I can go into detailed technical descriptions of these, but I will not be doing that here, maybe in another article). I, for one, LOVE learning new skills, and I am willing to try it if it is something new to me. I may have told before that I am a reasonably teachable person, but only because I am also willing to admit if I am not able to do well in something (fact is you cannot learn everything).

The best thing about learning these skills is that people are willing to help you with this, aside from other open resources you can also learn from it. Since the beginning, I am much thankful for those who helped me and unselfishly shared their learnings and experiences since as I mentioned earlier, I needed help in starting this. Moving forward, you can go on your own pace, but I also personally support consistent and regular improvement and updating of skills, not just to be more competitive, but because I would like to help more people and I can do that by increasing my skill sets as well.

I guess my overall point here is that, if you regard that you are doing the right thing, then you become more confident to promote yourself and potentially be more successful in it. It is okay to start doing small virtual assistant services at home, so long as you are capable, and more importantly, willing in continuously improving yourself.

The post Think You’re Cut Out For Doing Virtual Assistant Services At Home? Check These 3 Things You Might Want To Consider appeared first on Knights of Online Marketers.

That gave me an idea to ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE since we always have this New Year’s Resolution of saving money. Well, if this is a challenge and a resolution then it will require a greater sense of responsibility, especially in the responsible approach to saving money. I asked myself, if others did it, then what’s the reason that I cannot?

HOW DID I START MY 52-WEEK MONEY CHALLENGE?

When I checked other related contents about this type of challenge, it is mainly just saving a specific value of money on a weekly basis but requires an increment of the same amount the following week. And so on and so forth. You can choose from saving one peso to 20.00 pesos, to 50.00 pesos, to 100.00 pesos, to 500.00 pesos, or even as high as 1,000.00 pesos per week.

Basing on my available capacity to save, I choose the 100.00 pesos per week increment. Some of my Facebook friends also accepted the challenge, and they started from 20.00 pesos and 50.00 pesos. It may sound effortless to accomplish until the end of the year but, somehow, I was wrong.

IT IS DIFFICULT! INDEED, IT IS A CHALLENGE!

But I didn’t stop because I said from the beginning that if others did it, then what’s the reason I cannot?

To start the year 2017, I created a Google Spreadsheet to monitor the progress of the challenge (see capture below). Apparently, from Week 1 to Week 15, saving the increment value was easy. But when I reached Week 16, I encountered the real challenge here. And yes, I need to continue. Every week that I had the savings, I marked the cell with color green. The more COLOR GREEN, the better. It means I am close to achieving the final weeks.

To encourage myself not to fail the challenge, I opened a dedicated bank account via RCBC Savings Account where all of the money to be saved from this “opportunity” will be deposited directly. This newly opened bank account will serve as a separate account with my savings versus my 52-week Money Challenge savings.

Fast forward to date, December 31, 2017 (the end of the year), that feeling that you SUCCESSFULLY ACCOMPLISHED A CHALLENGE is very fulfilling. I realized that if you are focussing on the responsibility you accepted, you will achieve the goal you always wanted to aim. Remember, the road to success is not easy to navigate. But with persistent hard work, well-founded drive, and unwavering passion, it is very promising to achieve your dreams.”

AND YES! I will be doing it again this 2018! Who wants to join me in accepting this challenge for this coming year? Happy New Year everyone!

The post How I Earned My 137,800 Pesos in 52 Weeks? appeared first on Knights of Online Marketers.

The Ateneo de Davao University – Computer Studies Cluster will be spearheading the Information Technology Week: “Making Lives Matter through ICT” on November 20-25, 2017 at Ateneo de Davao University. In line with this, the Computer Studies Students’ Executive Council, the student government of the Computer Studies Cluster, cordially invites you to become a part of this fruitful event. It will be participated by thousands of students and faculty from Region XI.

The main activities include an IT Research Congress as well as seminars on Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things. There will also be a Robotics Day which comprises the following activities: the building of robots and programs, testing of robots and the Robot Wars. Other events include Multimedia workshop, Techno Success Stories, Career Talk, Programming Competition and a Culmination Night. This IT Week brings industry experts, entrepreneurs, faculty, and students together to share and learn from one another through talks, exhibits, seminars, and workshops.

Hence, we are delighted to invite you to the Techno Success Stories to be held on November 24, 2017 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 NN at Finster Auditorium, Ateneo de Davao University (Jacinto Campus). Your knowledge and expertise in this field will be of great value to the event as many of the students will look forward to hearing and learning from you.

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What is Knowledge Exchange Conference (KEC)?

“The Knowledge Exchange Conference (KEC) is considered to be a venue where networking is espoused, best practices on telecenter operations, services and applications are shared, ICT trends and updates are unveiled, and products are showcased. These were established primarily to provide Internet access to the public or to connect and link the community to cyberspace. This creates a hub for digital literacy training, online access to government services, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities.”

The Municipality of Lingayen, Pangasinan Province

According to Wikipedia, Lingayen is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. It is the capital municipality and the seat of government of the province of Pangasinan. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 103,278 people. Lingayen was a strategic point during World War II. It is also the birthplace of former President Fidel V. Ramos.

TRIVIA: Did you know that the Municipality of Lingayen is the birthplace of former President Fidel V. Ramos?

The Knights of Online Marketers (KOM) on this Mission

The Knights of Online Marketers was invited by DICT Luzon Cluster 2, under the leadership of Director Cheryl Ortega, to be one of the Resource Speaker during the first day of the conference. Its Founder and Chief Executive Officer will talk about how to work and do business as an online service provider. On the second day of the event, the KOM Academy is part of three plenary and breakthrough sessions where we will conduct a one-day Virtual Assistant Training for Skills Enhancement and Development of a potential newcomer in the Online Outsourcing Industry.

KOM has been an active Strategic Partner and Industry Collaborator of DICT since 2015 in terms of bringing digital opportunities in the countryside. [READ MORE HERE].

As the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), governed and directed by Secretary Atty. Rodolfo Salima, continues to generate more opportunities for Filipinos through their Rural Impact Sourcing Programs, the Knights of Online Marketers (KOM) will continue, as well, to deliver their advocacy-based mission of providing training and developing Filipino workforce of potential IT-BPM talents to ensure constant quality of the services that they can provide to foreign and local clients.

[Read more about the Rural Impact Sourcing Initiative of KOM and DICT]

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In line with the celebration of Pinoy SME Expo 2017, the Knights of Online Marketers (KOM), as an active member since 2014, was invited by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII), together with other government agencies, to talk about “eCommerce for MSME: Why Your Business Needs an Online Presence and How to Build It” last July 1, 2017 (Saturday). The discussion started at 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon. It was Founder/CEO Ronald Piper R. Ramboanga who delivered the presentation to the participants gathered in the activity area. Topics discussed gave emphasis on the following Internet Marketing strategies: Seach Engine Marketing because a business requires a website, Social Media Marketing because a business requires a Facebook Business Page, Content Marketing because a business requires maintaining a blog, Video Marketing because a business requires having a YouTube Channel, and Email Marketing because a business requires sending regular updates through newsletters.

In this electronic era, more people search online for the products and services they need as opposed to searching through a phone book. Ignoring this important potential marketing platform is akin to saying, “I don’t need any new business.”

What is Online Presence Management?

By definition of Wikipedia, Online Presence Management is “the process of presenting and drawing traffic to a personal or professional brand online. This process combines web design and development, blogging, search engine optimization, pay per click marketing, reputation management, directory listings, social media, link sharing, and other avenues to create a long-term positive presence for a person, organization, or product in search engines and on the web in general.”

Why micro, small, and medium enterprise needs an online presence?

The first is for ACCESSIBILITY. We all knew that the Internet never sleeps, and every portal you offer online gives your business a virtual 24/7 showroom. The second is BRAND BUILDING. At its core, the brand building actually means building a potential customer’s trust in your business (product or service). The third is GREATER AUDIENCE. Your web presence reaches out to everyone who passes by your virtual store, which could include people in another country. The fourth is PRODUCT/SERVICE REVIEW. Potential customers often check for reviews before using so always encourage happy customers to leave reviews. The fifth is EASIER SELLING AND MARKETING. Marketing your business is more far-reaching, as the electronic format allows for a wider, more cost-effective distribution.

Remember that giving your business an online presence means more than simply putting up a little website with your company’s address and phone number. It means setting up a virtual version of your business, with a welcoming, informative website, involving marketing campaigns for the search engine, social media, content, video, and email marketing. Bill Gates once said, “If your business is not on the Internet, then your business will be out of business.” Either an Entrepreneur is running a micro, small, or medium enterprise, it is a must to consider effective and efficient online marketing strategies as a significant part of the investment.

To know more about the Online Marketing Consultancy Services of the Knights of Online Marketers, you can call or text 0939-235-9988 and look for Miss Piper Ramboanga.

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