Meredith Eisenberg asked:
Even successful virtual assistants shouldn’t put all of their revenue eggs in one basket. Having multiple streams of income is a very smart move especially in this tight economy. Clients come and go, having another income source provides protection against the dry spells that even the most successful virtual assistant practices face from time to time.
That being said, you want to stay focused and have your additional revenue streams tightly integrated into your overall business focus. That way you don’t feel like you are spinning plates all the time. (OK, I admit, I always feel like I am spinning plates, but at least with a semi-focused business, I’m not spinning as many!). Finally, you want to make sure that your income streams encompass some residual income. Residual income is basically commission that you get over and over again without having to directly work for it each time (like royalties…).
Here are some ways that you can use Send Out Cards to generate some extra revenue for your business.
Become a Distributor
You don’t need to be a distributor to offer account management services to your clients – but it makes sense to think about it. As a distributor, you make a profit every time any of your customers sends a card. You also get a bonus when customers sign up as wholesale members (higher upfront fee – but lower per card cost) or as a distributor.
Most of my clients are also my customers. It was easy to convince them to join because I could explain how I could make the system work for them. As part of my VA work, I manage their accounts for them. Since I introduced them to system, I gave them their initial training and could customize it to them (since I already know about them and their businesses).
Yes, Send Out Cards is an MLM company. I never thought I would get involved with an MLM – I had a fear of boxes and boxes of detergent landing on my doorstep! But, the thing is, that Send Out Cards is a terrific product and has helped me to create a booming business for myself. I would recommend it to clients even if I didn’t get a commission on the cards sold or residual income if they decide to sign up as a distributor.
But, what I found, at least with Send Out Cards, being part of an MLM model does have some advantages because MLM creates a culture (and financial incentives) for support. When you join, you get a mentor. The mentor (called upline in MLM lingo) has a financial stake in you doing as well or better than they have done. They will do everything in their power to help you succeed. Your upline’s sponsor will help you too. Everyone is very invested in your success and will help you if you ask for help.
If you don’t want to recommend to your clients to get their own accounts, you can always create and send cards for them from your account and charge them for each card sent. You need to be more careful managing contacts – since their contacts will be in your database. Still, it isn’t a bad way to introduce a client to the system.
Create And Sell Cards
If you are a good graphic artist or photographer (and I find that many virtual assistants have some talent in this area!), you can sell your cards through the card shop. This provides a really easy way to profit from your designs without having to print the custom cards, mail them out, worry about quality, etc. It also allows your customers to create a personalized card using your design at a reasonable price.
Offer Ad-Hoc Offline Event Promotion Services
Another additional revenue source is to offer non-clients a simple event promotion service. For a flat fee (or fee per contact), you can create and send cards to their list to promote their events.
The above are just a few examples of how you can use the system to create an additional revenue stream for your business. I’m sure that with some creativity (and hard work), you will be well on your way to creating a new source of income and added security in these tough economic times.
Social Media Tools
Even successful virtual assistants shouldn’t put all of their revenue eggs in one basket. Having multiple streams of income is a very smart move especially in this tight economy. Clients come and go, having another income source provides protection against the dry spells that even the most successful virtual assistant practices face from time to time.
That being said, you want to stay focused and have your additional revenue streams tightly integrated into your overall business focus. That way you don’t feel like you are spinning plates all the time. (OK, I admit, I always feel like I am spinning plates, but at least with a semi-focused business, I’m not spinning as many!). Finally, you want to make sure that your income streams encompass some residual income. Residual income is basically commission that you get over and over again without having to directly work for it each time (like royalties…).
Here are some ways that you can use Send Out Cards to generate some extra revenue for your business.
Become a Distributor
You don’t need to be a distributor to offer account management services to your clients – but it makes sense to think about it. As a distributor, you make a profit every time any of your customers sends a card. You also get a bonus when customers sign up as wholesale members (higher upfront fee – but lower per card cost) or as a distributor.
Most of my clients are also my customers. It was easy to convince them to join because I could explain how I could make the system work for them. As part of my VA work, I manage their accounts for them. Since I introduced them to system, I gave them their initial training and could customize it to them (since I already know about them and their businesses).
Yes, Send Out Cards is an MLM company. I never thought I would get involved with an MLM – I had a fear of boxes and boxes of detergent landing on my doorstep! But, the thing is, that Send Out Cards is a terrific product and has helped me to create a booming business for myself. I would recommend it to clients even if I didn’t get a commission on the cards sold or residual income if they decide to sign up as a distributor.
But, what I found, at least with Send Out Cards, being part of an MLM model does have some advantages because MLM creates a culture (and financial incentives) for support. When you join, you get a mentor. The mentor (called upline in MLM lingo) has a financial stake in you doing as well or better than they have done. They will do everything in their power to help you succeed. Your upline’s sponsor will help you too. Everyone is very invested in your success and will help you if you ask for help.
If you don’t want to recommend to your clients to get their own accounts, you can always create and send cards for them from your account and charge them for each card sent. You need to be more careful managing contacts – since their contacts will be in your database. Still, it isn’t a bad way to introduce a client to the system.
Create And Sell Cards
If you are a good graphic artist or photographer (and I find that many virtual assistants have some talent in this area!), you can sell your cards through the card shop. This provides a really easy way to profit from your designs without having to print the custom cards, mail them out, worry about quality, etc. It also allows your customers to create a personalized card using your design at a reasonable price.
Offer Ad-Hoc Offline Event Promotion Services
Another additional revenue source is to offer non-clients a simple event promotion service. For a flat fee (or fee per contact), you can create and send cards to their list to promote their events.
The above are just a few examples of how you can use the system to create an additional revenue stream for your business. I’m sure that with some creativity (and hard work), you will be well on your way to creating a new source of income and added security in these tough economic times.
Social Media Tools
Source: undergroundmlm.com
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