Tina M. Hilton is a Virtual Assistant with a passion for teaching and writing. She will teach a course entitled ‘A Solo’s Sidekick – The Virtual Assistant’ at Solo Practice University®.
Sole proprietor of Clerical Advantage Virtual Assistance Services, she specializes in providing services to legal professionals and business creatives, focusing strongly on social networking, blog and education marketing assistance.
An excellent multi-tasker, before becoming an entrepreneur she juggled being a single mother with her career as a title processor/real estate legal assistant all while attending school. She brings her professionalism and experience working in attorney’s offices and financial institutions to her own business and is committed to working together with her clients to assist with their success. A self proclaimed ‘girly-geek’ she loves technology and the fact that her business requires her to stay on the cutting edge.
When she’s not assisting clients, she’s committed to writing, teaching and tinkering with her website. She is a Contributing Editor at the Internet Magazine, Home Office Warrior and has written an e-book entitled “An Introduction to Virtual Assistance for Businesses”. In her desire to educate the business community about virtual assistance and the importance of online/social media marketing, she recently has been accepting speaking engagements on this important topic.
Dedicated to her industry she also offers her knowledge to new virtual assistants, both through participation in several industry forums and freely responding to e-mails and phone calls for help.
In her free time she enjoys creating her own gemstone jewelry, keeping up with her two children and occasionally can be found playing Rock Band with her son.
Syllabus – A Solo’s Sidekick – The Virtual Assistant
At the conclusion of this course, students will not only understand why a virtual assistant is the perfect complement to a solo practice but will have been given the information and resources regarding the technologies, procedures and security measures to confidently partner with a virtual assistant.
Course Outline : (It is likely that more classes will be added as student feedback indicates need)
- Virtual Assistants- The Myth and the Reality
- This class will cover popular myths, misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding virtual assistants, due in part to publications like Tim Ferriss’ 4-hour work week. Myths will be addressed and the realities explored. The $4 an hour virtual assistant vs. realistic costs, the confusion between employee and independent contractor and other confusing messages regarding virtual assistants will be addressed.
- Like Peanut Butter & Jelly- Why Solo + Virtual Assistant is the Perfect Pairing
- A detailed class on why working with a virtual assistant is the perfect solution for solos. Students learn why virtual assistance is believed to be the future of the administrative industry and discover the benefits of embracing this ‘new’ idea for their practice. The types of services they can expect to find and concerns about security and confidentiality will also be addressed in this class.
- Laying the Groundwork- Preparing Yourself and your Practice to Work with a VA
- This class will teach students methods to determine their readiness to work with a virtual assistant as well as establish what their individual needs for assistance are. Specific types of virtual assistants, general and specialists will be covered as well as determining what type of virtual assistants match students individual needs.
- The Search for a Sidekick- Finding a Virtual Assistant that Fits
- Partnering with a virtual assistant who fits your needs can be compared to superheroes and their sidekicks, the right one means success, the wrong one disaster. This class will leave students with various methods for finding a virtual assistant and provide tips to help them choose one that fits their business, work style and personality.
- Your Role in the Success of the Solo/Virtual Assistant Relationship
- This class details what contributions the student will need to bring to their collaboration with a virtual assistant. They will hear from professional virtual assistants about what characteristics make clients ideal to work with, discuss giving a virtual assistant access to personal information and methods for protecting it as well as learning how to give instructions that will get the job done right the first time.
- Embracing Technology- The Tools of the Virtual Assistant Trade
- The focus of this class is to introduce students to the most common technology, software and other applications that virtual assistants use in order to do business. Students will be given an overview of how common virtual assistant tasks are accomplished and be introduced to various programs and Internet applications that are typically used by virtual assistants to complete client projects.
- Thinking Outside of the Box- Beyond the Secretary/Paralegal
- This class will cover more non-traditional uses of a virtual assistant including their role in assisting with websites, blogs and social media. It will also include ways a virtual assistant can help with books, e-books, and other education marketing ventures as well as addressing the idea of working with multiple virtual assistants.
- The Question and Answer Session ( Live Webinar)
- Students will be encouraged to submit questions to be answered during a live webinar broadcast. Students attending the live broadcast will also be able to ask questions directly.