Name of your website?Nancy's Virtual Office
Your name?
Nancy Frye-Swope
Your Location (city, etc)
Yucca, Arizona, rural Mohave County
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Nancy’s Virtual Office website has complete information on why you need a Virtual Assistant (or "VA") for administrative services for small business owners, especially real estate investors, subdividers, project engineers and builders. Nancy’s Virtual Office is where to go for Arizona subdivision approval, as Nancy is an Arizona Subdivision DRE Public Report Specialist.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I needed to get the word out that I could work virtually - something I did almost exclusively at my old job as a Subdivision Trust Officer and Builder Services expert.
The current economic downturn inspired me to quit working for an escrow and title company as a Trust Office and Builder Services Manager and launch a virtual business. I believed that more of the type of people I had as clients already would be able to afford my administrative support services as a "time on task" independent contractor. I couldn't very well not have a website when I am touting the fact that I work virtually.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
This is my first website, launched in November of 2008, although it's been through 3 revisions already. I had specific ideas that I wanted to get across and a certain type of client that I wanted to please. I believe that I've finally gotten what I originally intended. The content is geared for maximum understanding of what a VA is and what I do and, while this may not be as search engine friendly as some, I knew I had to write for the industry I was trying to reach. In addition, I didn't want some fluffy, pretty-in-pink website with flowers and angels as I was trying to attract business-like people who were primarily real estate investors, contractors and subdividers.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
I wanted the website name to mirror my business name; a name I chose so there would be less of a chance of someone else, not only having that name in the virtual assistant business but, already having the URL. It was suggested to me that, since it is my office, I should give it my name.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
I don't want this to sound like stereotyping, but usually virtual assistants are women and this sometimes means VA websites are extremely sweet, feminine and gentle to the eye. I've attempted to make mine user friendly to grown up, business oriented women and men in the construction industry. I wanted a typical construction worker or land developer who may be of an age that is not considered technologically driven to feel comfortable navigating my website. I had my husband, who is not web proficient, tell me the things that he hated when he was web surfing and I stayed away from those things by keeping it simple, easy to read and navigate. I know there are other VA sites out there that are fancier with many bells, whistles, videos and music, but that is definitely not what I wanted.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
My goal is to drive so many visitors to the website that they will be calling me up in droves to seek my administrative help. I want to be so busy that I have to hire a slew of sub-contractors to help me keep up. Seriously, though, I do want to drive those who are seeking administrative help to my site for information on my business and I will definitely keep it for income since I quit my corporate job to launch this venture.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
A virtual business can be started with a minimum of money and I have done fairly well in that respect. I already had the computer but had to invest in a few items that were slightly cost prohibitive if I was going to do quality desk-top publishing. The investment of my time has been another story and I understand that this has been the trade-off for not having to spend a great deal for start-up costs. I cannot even keep track anymore of the time I've spent on designing my website, logo, business cards, templates, legal contracts, invoices and all of those things necessary to run a successful web-based business. Depending on the day of the week, I spend anywhere from 4 to 6 hours per day just trying to get my name and business out over the web. This web marketing act is beginning to spread the word. If I Google my name or website I'm everywhere, when I was not to be found prior to this web blitz campaign. I can now Google "Virtual Assistant Arizona" and I'm the last person on the first page thanks to my press release. I covet the first page on search engines when a Virtual Assistant search is typed in - but who wouldn't, for goodness sakes!
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would hire someone to do my SEO and website maintenance who could get me on page one of the major search engines when anyone searched "Virtual Assistant".
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Oh, yeah, you bet; I'd just make sure I had help. I know qualified former co-workers who would love to quit and come to work for me if they could make enough to support themselves. In addition to that, there are many VAs available who would sub-contract.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Getting someone to make my website like I wanted was a cost that I hadn't really thought through completely and it turned out to be a major headache trying to figure out how I could afford it.
What has been your biggest challenge?
I have to say my biggest challenge has been constructing my website and keeping it like I want. I'm a good writer so the content was a snap but at this point, I don't even know how to maintain it and I'm always wanting changes and additions. I am going to enroll in a local class on this and overcome the challenge
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
So far, writing a Press Release and submitting it to the free press release websites has been the best tool for promoting my website. It's made me a believer on the value of writing press releases and I'll continue to do so when there are changes I want to report. I've only recently begun to list on free website submittal sites like Classifieds1000 and I'm finding those to have made a substantial change as well.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
I guess I expected to be able to write proper HTML, construct a website and make changes on it without any problem. Despite the fact that I am an intelligent person, I found that HTML is akin to learning Chinese on the difficulty scale and maintaining a website is something that takes skill, time and money.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
My site was only launched in November of 2008 and I will continue to keep it up until I retire. I cannot imagine not enjoying the business, as I've already worked virtually for an employer. Being self-employed brings its own worries regarding income, but I have a small monthly cushion that will enable me to keep building my business without time constraints. As far as popularity goes, I can't imagine small business entrepreneurs not wanting to save money by hiring out their administrative work virtually rather than hiring an employee.
What is there about your virtual assistant business that you feel sets it apart from all the other VAs?
I'm sure there must be others, but in all of the research I've done, I cannot find another virtual assistant that specializes in Arizona Real Estate Investors and subdividers. There are many who specialize in helping Real Estate Agents and that may cross over into my specialty but agents don't need subdivision approval or Arizona Subdivision Public Reports. I specialize in doing everything required for subdivision approval at a time when escrow companies have dropped the service.
What is your website address?
Nancy's Virtual Office
