Professional Spotlight

Candy is the Chief Number Cruncher of OffAssist and brings to it a background heavily steeped in bookkeeping for small to mid-sized businesses. Her clients consist of Real Estate Agents and Coaches.  She grew up near Charleston, SC and spent several years in Honolulu, HI before moving to Austin, TX in 1998. OffAssist began as a concept in 1999 and officially opened its doors in 2002. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and spending time with her two children.

She decided one day to quit her job and thought that opening her own business would be better for her.  Until she gained enough clients, Candy determined that she would “work” for 8 hours a day.  She would be in forums and various other online places learning what she could about owning and running her own business and networking to get her name out there.

Two books that she believes are invaluable to any VA starting out are Entrepreneurial Freedom and VA The Series.  And one piece of advice she gives new VAs is “You make the rules. Do not ever let an aggressive client make you change your business practices if you do not want to. At the same time, try to remain somewhat flexible. Be open to change, but don’t be a door mat .” Being a VA takes time. Time to organize yourself and, most of all, time to gather clients. It takes some people months to see their first client, and a year to see the second one.

When you get a client and they like your work, get a testimonial and ask for referrals. Referral/word-of-mouth marketing is the absolute best marketing!

Candy credits her success to her amazing family and friends, who have stood by her while growing OffAssist into what it is today. Candy is heavily involved in the Virtual Assistance industry, serving as an administrator at VAnetworking.com, founder of Texas Virtual Assistance League (TexVAL), founder of 2 Minutes with a VA, as well as being a Past President of the International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA 2007-2008).  Aside from her networking at various places online, she also has various groups off-line that she likes to go to, including the Austin Virtual Assistants Meet-up (in which she is the Organizer) and the E-Women’s Network.

Candy loves to take photographs. She adores books and is constantly reading something (her goal each year is to read 100 books). She loves what she does for a living and she feels so lucky to have found a wonderful neighborhood with great friends in Austin. She has been married to a wonderful man, Tom (a teacher), since March of 1993. They have two kids – Jamie was born in October 2000 and Cassie was born in February 2003. Her family is the single most important thing to her and she loves to share their wonderful life with those around her.  She also really enjoys volunteering and finds many ways to give back to the many communities of which she is a part.

Candy has won awards during her time as business owner; one was the VAccolade for Business Entrepreneur of the Year, in 2008 and she was a nominee for the Thomas Leonard International Virtual Assistant of Distinction in 2006 & 2007.

Her certifications include Real Estate Support Specialist, The IVAA Ethics Check for Virtual Assistants and the INAA CVA (Certified Virtual Assistant).  She has published articles in journals such as the ABJ Entrupreneur.com, the Austin Business District Magazine, The Accent, and on WritingSpark.com.

Her clients call her “the treasure at the end of the rainbow” and a “forward thinker.”  Candy believes that no matter how small or large the company is, that each client should feel like they are the only client.

Remember that this article is only made possible because of virtual entrepreneurs like you who support one another.  Please remember to submit all nominations to us.  The next deadline for submitting your favorite Virtual Professional is: August 20th.

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