First, Janice wasn't a complete business neophyte; as she had already run her father's business for 3 years, she had a lot of business experience compared to many beginning entrepreneurs. When her father retired, "I knew that I didn't want to go back 'out' to work. So I surfed the Internet to see what was open to me." After reading through a whole lot of scams and spam, she chose to operate a home-based word-processing business. The term "Virtual Assistant" was new at the time, but fit in perfectly with Janice's goals. So she became a VA. 

Janice didn't just throw up a Web site and hope for the best, however; she did her homework first. "From September '98 to April '99, I researched and tried various things. Then I was accepted into the Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program sponsored by HDRC. The end result of this program, which was 10 weeks of in-class sessions, was a business plan." Although she didn't need a business plan, Janice found doing the necessary research on her target market and competitors enlightening.

Perhaps the most useful aspect of the SEA program for Janice was the mentoring relationship she developed with the program's instructors. While many people were skeptical of the potential success of a Virtual Assistance business, as businesses of this type were fairly new when Janice was starting out, Janice says, "one of my mentors said one thing when I started this business that has stuck with me and been a contributor to my driving force. She said, "Janice, many people try to start this type of home-based business and fail. But, if anyone can make a success of this business, it is you!" "

Janice's advice to anyone starting a business is to be passionate. She says that her determination and passion are the two personality traits that have contributed the most to her success. 

Her business goal for 2001 is to continue to provide the best services and customer service for her clients, and to continue "to be a happy, successful person whom others can admire and want to learn from". To my mind, Janice has already achieved this goal; she's an exemplary role model for anyone who wants to start and run a successful small business. 

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You can contact Janice Byer, MVA, at jbyer@docutype.net or visit her Docu-Type Administrative Services Web site.

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