It was such a wonderful experience to have worked with amazing clients and talented team of professionals since 2008.

The sleepless nights, seemingly endless exchange of emails, team building events and office drama are definitely something worth keeping in a special part of my memory. However, we have come to a point where we have to say goodbye.

Yes, EP Virtual Assistants IT Solutions is now closing its doors. However, our team is not saying goodbye for long. We are only moving forward towards a better beginning. Early this year, we have launched a new multi-VA company, The Office Escape. After 3 months of full operations, we have decided to just focus all our efforts and energy towards maintaining one brand.

To everyone who has been part of Team EPVA, thank you for making our company one of the best Filipino VA's out there. We wouldn't be where we are right now if it weren't for you. To all our clients or potential clients, head on over to our new site, and see if our new brand will be of good fit.

If you are:

• a follower / fan of our blog head on over to our new blog and enjoy the free resources
• a past client and you wish to work with us again, simply email us at office@theofficeescape.com
• referred by any of our clients, head on over to our new site and use this exclusive 50% discount. Simply use this as a subject of your email EPVA Referral - [insert name of the person you referred you to us] and send it to office@theofficeescape.com
• a past team mate / a VA and looking for opportunity to work with our new team - email hello@theofficeescape.com

How precious is time for you?

You might say that living for 24 hours a day is not enough to finish the seemingly endless number of tasks in your to-do lists. In some respects managing time is like balancing a financial budget. If you try to squeeze too many things into the limited hours you have available, you are not living within your means timewise. Nevertheless, you could save time and accomplish more in the long run even if you’re stuck in the corners of your office for 8 hours. Does it sound appealing to you?

Our team is designed to add more hours to your normal 24-hour-a-day routine. Having us around can make you more productive towards your work or business. Instead of doing everything on your own, we shall be your extra hands in accomplishing your online tasks in your to-do list. More is to enjoy with life when a team is behind to do whatever you can’t!

I’m sure you don’t like to be dumped with a long list of to-do's so it’s time for you to hire a VA to help you. By hiring a virtual assistant, you will have a plenty time with your family, more bonding moments and no longer worry about missing special occasions. Having a VA is like having a trusted partner so of course you need to carefully choose. Make sure that your virtual assistant is competent, skilled and trustworthy.

EP Virtual Assistants IT Solutions is a VA company. We take pride in having good working relationship and establishing long term partnerships with our clients. We will soon be offering our services strictly to the Filipino Entrepreneurs and Small Biz owners who needs to get more things done. Watch out for there-launch of EPVA this Monday

Most of the Filipino virtual assistants I have met online are working for foreign clients. Most of the clients are from US, UK and Australia.

I wonder do Filipino VA's also market themselves with the Pinoy entrepreneurs? Are we strictly for foreign market only?

Most Pinoy (Filipino) entrepreneurs I talk to haven't even heard of the term Virtual Assistant. To some they would even think I am just making it up. Only until I ask them to research the term "Virtual Assistant" on Google will they realize what I am talking about. A priceless "A-ha" moment!

So I asked a few Pinoy Entrepreneurs who heard about virtual assistants some questions and here are some of their response:

Have you ever heard of a Virtual Assistant?
"Ha?! Ano yun?!" (Huh? What's that?"
"Oo, I read that somewhere...."

So after I've explained what a Virtual Assistant is I asked them again, "Would you hire a virtual assistant for your company?"
"Hmmm... Di ba mahal yun?" (Isn't that expensive?)
"Wala naman akong website eh so di ko ata kailangan" (I don't have a website so I dont think I need one)

I can't blame them... Most of our Pinoy entrepreneurs are somewhat old fashioned and tradional.Some even think that bringing their offline business online woud cost them a fortune. Well in fact its not that difficult nor that expensive.

Millions of Filipinos from all walks of life spends most of their time lounging on Facebook or Twitter, don't you think its high time to start building your social media presence and give your business a much needed online boost?

More and more Filipinos are now doing their shopping online, carefully scrutinizing and spending hours researching for best deals that they could get.10 years ago, we would think this is a ridiculous idea but look at where we're at now.

You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars for self-training just to learn social media marketing. You don't need to spend long hours lounging on facebook or twitter when instead you can focus your time to more profit-generating tasks for your business.

Virtual Assistants are not just for foreign market. We are also here to help out our fellow Filipino Entreprenuers. Virtual assistants can help you build a rock-star web presence in social media sites and even in search engines. We are experts in this field, let us help you do online marketing the professional way.

Get out of that traditional, old-fashion marketing tricks - reality check - what used to work in offline marketing is now outdated! Instead of spending thousands of pesos in printing marketing materials that just get trashed, hire yourself a virtual assistant. Save time, save money and more importantly upgrade your business!

PS.
EPVA is offering discounted packages for fellow Pinoys! If you have an offline biz and needs help in creating an online presence, let us help! Email us now so you can take advantage of our discounted rates. Offer will last until March 31st.

Don't believe us? We can give you character references of our Filipino clients so you can talk to them personally and ask them about us :)

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How was your new year? Mine started out really really well. Goals set, timelines set and I am geared up for the year ahead. I said goodbye to 2010 wishing that all the sickness and hospitalizations of the whole family will go with it.

Unfortunately since my daughter is asthmatic, New Year didn't turn out as much as I expected. Mikee immediately reacted from the smoke ofthe firecrackers and got asthma attack on the first day of 2011. 4 days later I run into having fever, colds and cough.

I have filled my new work journal with different tasks and ongoing projects and here I am 6 days later unable to work on either one of them because I got sick.

Okay, Okay I am panicking!

What can a virtual assistant do if you're sick? Here are some advice from FreelanceFolder

Some Options When You Become Sick
If you become sick, try following these steps:

• Review your deadlines and make a worst-case scenario. If you absolutely cannot do any work for three to five days, which deadlines will you miss?


• Identify which of your deadlines can be moved without detrimental effects to your clients’ businesses. Call or email your clients to explain your situation and request a deadline extension. Give a specific and realistic date for when you think you will be able to complete the project. Make this a conservative estimate. It’s better to pleasantly surprise your client by finishing the project earlier than you promised, than to request another extension.


• Identify which of your deadlines are non-negotiable, and make arrangements to get the job done. Contact your client, explain the situation, and tell him or her how the deadline will be met in spite of your illness.

I may be a bit 2 days late to do all these but its never too late to do so. I tried informing my clients that I was sick the first day but though my mind is in the right state to work, my body just wouldn't let me. Lying in bed worrying about tasks doesnt even make it better.

I should have read this post 2 days ago but I guess its not too late to ask fo that much needed deadline extension. Right?

What do you do when you're sick?