I’ve already posted this at my VA news blog, VANewsday… but I wanted to be sure to get the word out about about this wonderful idea:
The VACOC (Virtual Assistant Chamber of Commerce) just launched a lending team page through Kiva, a person-to-person microlending site. Kiva partners with existing expert microfinance institutions to provide loans to the working poor in impoverished countries. Anyone can lend any amount (as little as $25) to an aspiring entrepreneur in a developing country.
You can lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world (hey, $25 is a WHOLE LOTTA MONEY in those areas). You choose who to lend to–whether that’s a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq–and as they repay the loan, you get your money back.
If you join the VACOC lending team of Virtual Assistants, you’ll be joining forces with us to work together to alliviate poverty. Once you’re a part of the team, you can choose to have a future loan on Kiva “count” towards our team’s impact. The loan is still yours, and repayments still come to you, but you can also choose to have the loan show up in our team’s collective portfolio, so our team’s overall impact will grow!
A fantastic idea! Check out the VACOC announcement here… or go directly to the VACOC/Kiva Team page here.
There's good and there's great, it took me one time to realize that Mary of ProVirtual falls into the great category. If you are looking to hire a professional for web management or technical support, then I highly recommend Mary of ProVirtual Solutions. Before connecting with Mary, I was stuck trying to make changes to my website that other VA's and partners had created for me. I had limited knowledge and found myself highly co-dependent on my VA's service - even for the smallest changes. This cost me time and money. Right from the moment of hire, Mary walked me step by step on each of my projects. I walked away from each consultation feeling empowered and motivated to take on the next level of my projects. Mary is prompt, thorough and highly professional. Mary has been extremely patient with me and of all my appreciation for Mary, one thing that stands out the most is her ability to fully communicate her abilities, help me find resources if she's unable to do something and her communication around the project's management. This alone extends me the trust needed to know I'm not wasting money on unnecessary resources and that my projects will be taken care of; freeing me of time to do what I do best. Thank you Mary for everything!
Giving a hand up to aspiring virtual professionals is such a vital part of maintaining a healthy and thriving industry. I’ve found this industry to be so supportive, encouraging, and friendly which seems a bit unexpected when you consider VAs seldom get to actually meet one another. The contacts I’ve made among my colleagues at VAnetworking.com are among some of my strongest business relationships on the net. I know that whatever the need that someone at http://www.VAnetworking.com has felt it, experienced it, read about it, or is going through it. The wealth of knowledge is amazing. Anything that can be put into place to give a hand to another, paving the way for success, is definitely a good thing. As Martha Stewart would most definitely say, “And, that is a good thing!” I hope to hear that many people participate in this program to aid aspiring virtual professionals.