ahmed_ds

Wow, that is really cool. One of my theses is that DuckDB will be bought by GCP (BigQuery), and polars will be bought by Databricks (or AWS). The thesis is based on the idea that Snowflake bought the Modin platform. The movement in DE seems to be towards data warehouse platforms streaming data (views/results) down to dataframe (Modin, Polars, DuckDB) platforms, which then stream down to their BI platforms. Because these database platforms are designed as OLAP platforms so, this approach makes sense.

This is why I like tools like datastation and hex.tech. You write the initial query using SQL than process the results as a dataframe using Python/pandas. Surely, mixing Pandas and SQL like that is not good for data pipelines but for exploration and analytics, I have found this approach to be enjoyable.

I am trying rebuild my virtual assistance business. For the longest time I have worked with realtors but the market has gone down and finding new contracts are hard.

Trying to move into doing virtual assistance for micropreneurs and sideprojects from now on exclusively. Task by task basis or regular contracts. Essentially the pitch is assign everything that is not sales and product. I think it is a good pitch targetted to folks who enjoy building stuff and considers making money out of it as a bonus. The moment they start answering support emails, and posting product updates they start to get burnt out. Trying to specialize in "burn out prevention" tasks mainly.

I am trying to figure out a way to get clients. Virtual Assistance is cheap and the competition is huge. The services are identical which essentially says, I will do what you will need me to do.

I honestly think if Pandoc had a GUI, it could genuinely be the fourth most popular word processing software out there. Just a simple GUI and a rich text editor—that's it.

This is just annoying. I maintain an XYZ domain because it cost me pennies to buy. But geez, the renewal fees. That is how they get you. Now, I will go back to using github.io, netlify.app, or whatever Cloudflare Pages have. It just isn't worth it to maintain a domain for a personal page.

The issue with sales in particular is that, if you can't figure out sales, don't expect a miracle by partnering up with someone. The sales-technical partnerships I have seen usually start with a great pre-business relationship. And those who have profitable bootstrapped business actually do hire salespeople like they hire me.... as disposable. You give them the initial pitch of what is the product, and you have them on commission-based pay. After the onboarding period ends, you make binary decisions of keeping and firing. Sounds unhealthy from the employees' side but that is side projects and bootstraps work.

It is "virtual assistant". Essentially, I as a VA do office work, data entry, design, social media, support, sales stuff etc.

You assign a task to me, and you pay hourly for that task. Or you can just get a weekly contract.

I think the difference between a VA and conventional employee is the idea of specialization and frequency. Doing VA work I have to do all things ranging from graphics design to support to crm stuff. Now, I am not the best guy out there to be great at one thing but I will try to be adaquete. The lack of specialization is made up by the fact that VAs are cheap, and you do not have to have that commitment to keep paying for them. If it is a 5 hour work week that will do.

These days, I just have my clients on whatsapp. They give me a random task, I give a deliverable time.

I will try my best to not make this sound like a veiled promotion.

Short answer is you need a VA. What I do mostly act as a filter. I have seen this happen with my clients. People often think that it is just too much hassle to running a small sideproject and not worth the time. But geez man, do you have to do everything?? Why bother with the grunt work. You have caught the lightening in the bottle, but for the rest do not invest any more in terms of emotional commitment.

These are grunt work, you need a task monkey essentially. What I do is just translate this communication in binary response or options to pick. After you made your first dime from a sideproject, you need to outsource support. Everyone complains about bad support on everything they use, but the reality is that you can not afford to commit yourself to do support work. Being entrepreneur means you have to create barrier between things that require emotional investment. You may think hiring a 7 dollar an hour dude from a random country is a risk, but it is worth the gamble if you have a business that is profitable. And the risk is not a big risk. I am not self depracating myself but the reality is VAs like me are "disposable". You try out a VA for a week, see if that person solves your problem, if not try another one.

Seeking Work | Malaysia (US Timezone) | Remote

  Location: Malaysia (Available: 8am to 1PM EST)
  Remote: Yes
  Willing to relocate: No
  Technologies: CRM (Hubspot, and real estate related CRMs like Topproducer), Microsoft Office Suite, Google Workspace, Research work.
  Resume/CV: https://www.itnadigital.netlify.app
  Availability: Maintain EST Work hours. Available 6 Days a week. 8am to 1PM EST.
  Rate: $6 / Hour

I have been working as a virtual assistant for multiple realtors and small business owners across the United States. I am well-equipped to handle various virtual assistant tasks and understand the importance of being super efficient.

My experience includes

  - Customer relationship management
  - Customer support
  - Social media management
  - General random tasks that involve a computer (data entry, email management, content moderation, etc.)

Email: [email protected]

SEEKING WORK

  Location: Malaysia (Available: 8am to 1PM EST) 
  Remote: Yes
  Willing to relocate: Yes
  Technologies: CRM (Hubspot, and real estate related CRMs like Topproducer), Microsoft office suite, Google docs, Sendgrid, Research and strategy
  Résumé/CV: Available par request || https://www.itnadigital.com
  Email: [email protected]

Customer support / technical support role. Maintain EST Workhours. Available 6 Days a week. 8am to 1PM EST. I have been working as a virtual assistant for multiple realtors across the United States for more than 2 years. With a degree in Computer Science (and a minor in Data Science) and having lived in the states for a while, I am well-equipped to handle various customer support tasks and understand the importance of providing excellent customer service.

My experience includes customer relationship management, customer support, and assisting my clients with various tasks. I am confident in my ability to handle any customer inquiries or concerns in a timely and professional manner, and I am dedicated to ensuring that all customers have a positive experience with your company. I am hoping to move to tech, data or SAAS customer support roles.

  Location: Malaysia (Available: 8am to 1PM EST) 
  Remote: Yes
  Willing to relocate: Yes
  Technologies: CRM (Hubspot, and real estate related CRMs like Topproducer), Microsoft office suite, Google docs, Sendgrid, Research and strategy
  Résumé/CV: Available par request || https://www.itnadigital.com
  Email: [email protected]

Customer support / technical support role. Maintain EST Workhours. Available 6 Days a week. 8am to 1PM EST.

I have been working as a virtual assistant for multiple realtors across the United States for more than 2 years. With a degree in Computer Science (and a minor in Data Science) and having lived in the states for a while, I am well-equipped to handle various customer support tasks and understand the importance of providing excellent customer service.

My experience includes customer relationship management, customer support, and assisting my clients with various tasks. I am confident in my ability to handle any customer inquiries or concerns in a timely and professional manner, and I am dedicated to ensuring that all customers have a positive experience with your company. I am hoping to move to tech, data or SAAS customer support roles.