Transition Stages: More of That Schooling Stuff

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One of the other things I am happy to be able to pick up where I left off is my continuing education. As a Virtual Assistant who specialized in Internet marketing and social media, it is so important for me to stay on top of the current trends in the changing environment that is the Internet.

I have taken big courses like my Internet Marketing VA certification and my Social Media Specialist certification, but I am always on the lookout for those mini-courses or bits of information as well as teleseminars and webinars that are relevant to the work I do with my clients.

Some of my favourite people (and places) to learn from are (d’uh) VAClassroom, VANetworking, CVAC, Erin Blaskie, AutoBurstWebs … just to name a few. They each have a way of delivering great information in an easy to understand format, and it’s always all relevant to my business.

It has been some time since I have had the time to look for these events, much less attend them. That is my next phase focus, as I brush up on my skills in a few areas. But it’s more than improving my skill set, really. It’s about studying the new features of the programs that I currently use on a daily basis and being able to suggest new and exciting ways for my clients to benefit from these tools.

I specialize in using 1ShoppingCart, Aweber and WordPress as software, and of course I also use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Ning for social media. These companies are constantly updating and upgrading their products, and it is really important to keep on top of their latest features.

I’ll keep you posted with anything new that I learn!

Transition Stages: The Cleanup

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Along with schedule adjustments and down-time to read, it is also time to renovate the office. Now that I am working from home full-time again, I am no longer running in and out of my office, dropping things where they may fall. Now is the time to clean the environment around me so that I can focus only on my work when I enter my office each morning. Files_On_Shelf

I have already shopped for a new office chair, which I have needed for way too long. I have already set up my music selection which I love!

I have a great filing system for my email, computer files and paper files, but I am looking forward to purging, purging, purging much of this that is no longer necessary to keep on file. I’ll give my recycle bin and my shredder a workout, that’s for sure!

I will clear the clutter that has accumulated in my office. I have two desks in my office and one of them is a catch-all for all kinds of paper. I clean it off occasionally, but now I will want to work at that desk, so I will have to make sure that I have a better way of managing the stuff that ends up there now!

Of course as I purge, I am finding all kinds of gems that I have printed or saved over the last several months ‘to read when I have time’.  The collection of free ebooks and reports and mp3s is really mind-boggling. Luckily my computer filing system is good and I am having no trouble going through them, picking out the important pieces, and purging the rest. I will probably share some of these with you as I weed through them!

I always thought that electronic copies of things were more environmentally friendly, but my computer hard drive disagrees! I have recently done the same with email lists that I belonged to that were not serving me. It’s important to keep the flow of information that comes in front of you relevant and pertinent, in order to maintain your focus and clarity.

As I brighten the space around me by clearing the clutter in all of these areas, I am making really tidy room for the client work that is on the horizon! Looking forward to it!

Transition Stages: Back to the Books

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So what does one do when one finds a bit of extra time in the schedule? Go back to the books, of course!
books-pile
I am in the process of reworking my schedule and as a result am finding pockets of time here and there to relax. Several months ago I got a copy of Jim Clemmer’s new book, “Growing @ The Speed of Change” and I started to read it but as my workload was so heavy at the time, sadly I put it down and couldn’t find the time to pick it back up.

This week I have picked it up again and I am definitely finding it hard to put it down. It’s not the first of Jim’s books that I have read – I read “The Leader’s Digest” many years ago. I love Jim’s style in this new  book – it is a combination of classical and modern quotations, stories, ‘wise words’, anecdotes and practical applications to help incorporate change into your life, and to help you deal with the uncertainty that can come along with that change.

It is such great timing for me to be reading this again and I am finding great nuggets about focus and positive thinking and attitude that are really helping me through this transition in my business.

I have learned that of the three types of people Jim describes – the wallower, the follower, the leader, that I am a leader (I kinda knew that already, but it’s nice to read it!).

“The Wallower curses the wind. The Follower waits for it to change.
The Leader adjusts the sails.” ~ Jim Clemmer

The book is so full of information but the format make it really easy to read. I look forward to keeping it right on my desk bookshelf for easy reference!

Nothing like picking up a bit of confidence and mixing it with some positive thinking when you’re trying to grow your business!

Transition Stages: Me Time

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Finishing my first full week at home and for some reason I had much less time to myself than I expected! Not that that’s a bad thing, but I pictured naps and movies in the afternoon, and that just didn’t happen!  napping

I did come across an interesting article about napping though. It does in fact boost brain power and I particularly like the reference to the brain email inbox. Have you ever felt like you are on communication overload?

In any case, I am still focusing on ME time over the next couple of weeks. I am enjoying a lot more quality time with my husband and my son and we are even going on a ski trip in a couple of weeks. (Well, there will be people skiing around us, anyway.)

ME Time is really important in general, but when you run your own business and work from home, you can only be GREAT for your clients if you make sure to take care of yourself first. By taking care of yourself, you will be much more prepared to take care of others.

Note to self: book facial and pedicure (spring is on the way and if you know me, that means sandals!!) and maybe even a haircut and a massage. I deserve it!

Transition Stage One: Back Home

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So I am finally entering the transition stage that I have been long awaiting. For twelve years I have been working from my home office, but there have been times that I have taken on work with one or more clients that has required me to be on-site at their office. home

I have recently finished working with my last on-site client and am now back home in my office five days a week. This is a great change for many reasons, and I am looking forward to settling into my new routine!

When you work from more than one location, it can be difficult to focus on your task list. It takes great organization and often requires putting in extra hours to keep on track because of all the stopping and starting.

I have a very full client roster these days (yay for my clients!) and so juggling time away from my office during business hours was sometimes very difficult to manage. I found myself working very early in the morning and very late at night, often, just to keep the workflow going smoothly.

I am very happy to be back home full-time, and focused on scheduling my time any way that suits me.

As I look around my office, I know there will be change ahead of me. I have a great email system but I know I will tweak it. I have a great filing system but I know I will change it. I have other things that I have no systems for. I know I will develop those. For those of you who know me, that’s an exciting phase for me! I love systems!

In my business, there will be even bigger change. I look forward to blogging regularly and tending to my social networks, and even getting a newsletter started. I am revising my service offerings and focusing on my ideal client. I am building a team of people that will help me take care of my clients’ needs and help me grow my business too.

It’s going to be great, and I am happy to jump in with both feet!

It’s nice to be back home!

New Year, New Decade, New Focus

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So here we are, wrapping up not only the year, but the decade. It’s really remarkable how quickly the years seem to pass as you get older. I remember so vividly how we were all so frightened of Y2K and how it would affect the business world.  Look how business and technology has progressed since that time!

It seems like just yesterday, and yet it was so long ago. In fact, the world has dramatically changed so much since then. See my previous post to get an idea of what happened over the last 10 years!

It makes me wonder where we might be in another 10 years, or even five years … or even next year!

Where will I be? Well, I have been putting a lot of thought into that lately, that’s for sure. I have been working with my business coaches, Paige Stapleton and Brian Stark for several months now (love them!!) and we have been carving out my path for the future.

I am embarking on the new year with much transition planned. With Paige and Brian’s help, I have been able to obtain focus and clarity for my business, the likes of which I could not have obtained on my own. Their guidance and support has been invaluable to me and I know it will continue to be as we get things together for my business transition.

Don’t worry, I’m not going away! Quite the opposite, actually! I am focusing on fewer service offerings and narrowing down my niche, so that I can provide more streamlined services and support to my ideal clients, while growing my own business at the same time.

It seemed like the right time to do this, and while it is a lot of work to get it all together, it has brought me comfort and strength at the same time. It has built my level of confidence in what I do. It has helped me to identify what I do best, what I enjoy doing the most, and who I most enjoy working with. It has helped me concentrate on the things that matter most to me. It has helped me get to know myself as a business person.

Do you have a business coach? If not, I would highly recommend it. You get a toolbox of goodies that helps you analyze and streamline your strengths, and you get your very own personal cheerleader. Who doesn’t want that?

So I wish you all the best of the remainder of the holidays and keep an eye out for the new and exciting things on my horizon. I hope it will inspire you to take the time to focus on your own business as the new year begins. You will be glad you did!

The audio’s the thing … who said that?

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It seems that more and more websites I visit lately have an audio component. Some of them auto-load and some of them you have to click to start. When you work virtually, that can be a scary concept when all of sudden someone is talking to you and there is no one in the room! It might scare the wits out of me some days, but I have to admit that it’s very effective.

I often open more than one tab or website at a time, and when I all of a sudden hear someone start talking to me, it definitely attracts my attention! I will always go and check out the talking page!

AudioAcrobat!

Many of my clients are coaches and so they use an audio service like Audio Acrobat all the time in their businesses. Whether they are recording coaching calls or conference calls, it’s a big part of the service they provide to their clients.

Of course, not all of my clients are coaches, so I thought it would be a good idea to check out what a service like Audio Acrobat could offer to other solopreneurs and small business owners. If I come across an interesting product or service, I try to introduce it to my clients if I think it might help them with their Internet marketing needs.

I was surprised to see what other things you can do with Audio Acrobat:

  • record an audio by telephone, by computer microphone or by uploading a previously recorded file
  • combine audio files so they play in sequence
  • customize a webpage with audio notes for those you are sending audio to
  • use guest lines to have guests record testimonials, comments or even events
  • create podcasts
  • record or upload video up to 256 MB in size

It’s such a simple system to use, and it’s very cost effective. For less than $20 a month, it’s a service that anyone can use to incorporate audio into their business. They have a terrific affiliate incentive too … you can put your affiliate commissions towards your monthly bill if you want to.

Go and check it out!  It’s an opportunity for you to bring some fresh ideas to your clients about how to repurpose their content and how to enhance their online presence with audio or video.  I know I’m going to!

Do you have a contingency plan?

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frustrationYou know what they say about the best laid plans … even the most carefully planned projects can throw you a wrench when you least expect it.

Picture this: it’s Monday and you set up your task list for the week. Looks good, you have fit everything in and you know you can deliver it all on time.  But what happens if something goes wrong? Do you have a ‘plan b’ in place so that you can still manage when something goes wrong?

Say on Tuesday one or more of the following situations comes up and threatens to mess up your tidy task list.

  • you get sick or injured
  • your child or a family members gets ill and requires your care
  • a great client calls with a last minute project that they need you to find time for
  • you have technical difficulty with a task that you only allowed a set amount of time to do
  • you lose your internet connection for a prolonged period of time
  • you get more than one referral or prospects call needing proposals

Do you have a backup plan?

If you haven’t thought about what you would do in any of these situations, now is the time to do so! By the time you need to have a contingency plan in place, it will be too late. The time to get your plan in place is when you don’t need it!

Your contingency plan doesn’t have to be complicated – just put together the basics when you have time:

  • find someone (or more than one someone!)  who can help you out when you need it
  • put together procedures for the tasks you take care of on a daily basis
  • set up an intake process for new clients
  • develop a project management protocol

Don’t wait until it’s too late!

As a solopreneur,you can sometimes go from 0-60 in no time flat. Make sure you are prepared for that before it happens by going through the steps above and developing your contingency plan.

Do Your Service Offerings Include Virtual Events?

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VAClassroom Virtual Event Specialist Certification

Teleseminars, webinars, podcasts, online radio or talkshows, and webcasts are really changing the way many business owners conduct their meetings and training sessions.

Setting up, managing, and delivering virtual events is one of the newest service offerings on many Virtual Assistant menus these days, and VAClassroom is right up there again, providing this new Certification course.

From organizing to repurposing content, you’ll learn everything you need to provide your clients with the expertise they deserve. Check it out! I sure intend to!