Ashley Gainer

As you surely know by now, goal-setting is a critical process in every business. You can’t hit goals that you don’t have, after all. And if you have a plan to reach your goals, getting there will become a much more straightforward process than you’d otherwise face without the plan.
Now that 2019 is upon us, it’s time to set up your marketing plan for 2019, establish the KPIs you want to measure, and then develop the strategy to support it.
To help you establish your marketing strategy this ye...

Now that 2019 is upon us, it’s time to set up your marketing plan for 2019, establish the KPIs you want to measure, and then develop the strategy to support it. Click through to read about the top KPIs to measure your marketing this year, and start hitting some major milestones!

Today’s post is a little bit different than what you’ll typically find. I’m going to pull the curtain back a little bit and show you something that’s been going on behind the scenes. Don’t worry — nothing too scary, I promise!
It should be no surprise to you that some of these links are affiliate links, given that this is a post about affiliate marketing.
I recently crossed off a major business goal
I’m really excited to share this with you today, because I’ve had this specific goal on my “to...

Here’s a little bit of real, raw, unvarnished truth for you today… but don’t worry, we’re going somewhere great.
One of the things that every single work-at-home mom feels at some point is this:
Crushing, debilitating mama guilt.
Seriously, how many of us don’t deal with that even when we aren’t trying to juggle a family and a business?
We go into working from home because we think it will improve our families’ lives. We’ll be available to the kids, we’ll be able to manage the household bette...

Great writers build great blogs, whether their own or for their freelance writing clients. There are two key factors that go into creating a great blog post:
Catchy headline that makes *the right* people want to read
Well-written content that delivers on the promise of the headline
In other words, the foundation of a great blog post is the idea, and then the delivery has to match the promise of the idea.
If you’re a freelance writer, you probably already know how to write about a topic well. ...

Working from home is awesome. I know, because I’ve been doing it since 2010.
No more stuffy jackets, no more pinchy work shoes, no more interminable meetings with coworkers who love the sound of their own voices.

Working with a virtual assistant is a huge step when you’re a business owner, but it also brings up a lot of questions. One of the first questions that comes up for anyone who has considered hiring an assistant is all about how to share passwords with your VA.

Passwords are sensitive information, after all.

We got a great response last time we talked about misconceptions you should ditch before you work with a virtual assistant. We decided to follow up with five other myths that you should let go of before outsourcing work to a VA... if you truly want them to help your business, that is.

If you’ve been a business owner or online entrepreneur for any length of time, you’ve probably heard all kinds of opinions about how to work with a virtual assistant. But chances are, you’ve heard a few horror stories, too, from people working with VAs.

With all the information swirling around about what what a virtual assistant is and does, it’s easy to fall for some of the misconceptions out there.

But not anymore!

As a freelance virtual assistant, you can make a nice career for yourself just by offering VA services to great clients year in and year out.

The income can be pretty stable, and if you like what you do, it’s a great way to be your own boss.

A lot of business owners turn to virtual assistants to offer ongoing administrative support.

While this is the most popular way to start outsourcing to a VA, it’s certainly not the only one. If there are lots of new things you’re trying to do, or specific “systems” you want to start outsourcing, you may try hiring a project-based virtual assistant first.

A project-based VA is someone who will take on business tasks that revolve around a specific project-based outcome. The project can be a sho...

Heads up — this post may contain affiliate links. We might receive a small commission if you make a purchase as a result of reading our awesome content. Thanks for supporting Horkey HandBook!

Most people who haven’t done it before think that starting a business is expensive. And while that’s true for many types of businesses, it’s really not necessary to spend a lot of money when you want to start a virtual assistant business.

Most of the expenses revolve around technology. You’ll need a work...

You know you want to hire a virtual assistant, but how do you make sure your job description is attracting the right candidates?

Writing job descriptions isn’t exactly at the top of most people’s list of favorite things to do. They can be kind of stuffy and boring and very jargony in a way that only HR people can understand.

The great thing about running your own business, though, is that you don’t have to get wrapped up in HR-speak.

When you’re ready to hire a VA, you’ve got a great opportun...

Most people, when they first hear of the concept of the Virtual Assistant, have (at least) one of three reactions:

Can you really make money doing this?

I have no idea how to start such a business.

How can you possibly find people who would pay you for being a VA?

These are great questions, and they’re the types of questions we love answering here at Horkey HandBook. Today’s post takes aim at a slightly more advanced facet of that third question, about finding people to pay you.

You’ve worked hard on your online business – you’re turning a profit, but you’re feeling a little too much pressure with everything on your shoulders.

Your to-do list is neverending, and lately, important things are slipping through the cracks. Frankly, there isn’t any more time and you’re just barely keeping your head above water. The obvious solution to the time crunch seems to be bringing on help, but is that really the right next step?

Whether you’re someone who wants to start outsourcing...