Virtual Zen

A Little Humor that Moms Can Relate To

A good friend sent me the link to this video and as a Mom it really made me smile.
Enjoy!

Do Job Titles Really Matter?

Back in the corporate world, job titles were always very important to me.  I strove to work my way up the proverbial ladder from "coordinator" to "supervisor" to "manager", and felt that each new business card earned with a change in title, was a testament to my success. I was even a little annoyed that I was new granted the title of "director" even though I was, in fact, directing all of the marketing and communications departments for the corporation. Recently I met with a friend who told me of her challenges in balancing responsibilities within her department while keeping everyone happy with their titles. Not always an easy thing to do. While titles can be helpful when you're trying to contact the "right person" within an organization (such as the buyer or decision maker), my attitude toward having a title has really changed over the years.

The title on my business card is "Virtual Assistant". As the business owner, I could call myself pretty much anything: Owner, VP, CEO, Diva ... whatever. I chose to keep it simple - my profession is as a VA; it's what I do.

I am finding, however, that as I VA I tend to morph into whatever positions my clients may need.  While working on their behalf I may be referred to as a Marketing Communications Assistant, Researcher, Project Manager, Author's Assistant, etc. It doesn't matter to me - it's how my clients need me to best represent my role to their customers. After all, I am all of those things, that's the beauty of being a VA.

So do job titles matter to me? No. For the first time in my career I am completely comfortable with where I am and don't feel there are any more rungs to climb. Sure I'll continually strive to grow and improve my business and my skills, but I don't feel that the measure of my success will be in my title. I'm a business owner and I love my job! Though I do admit I am a bit drawn to the title of "Goddess"...

"Pay As You Go" Doesn't Mean "Project Work"

There seems to be some confusion out there as to how Virtual Assistants (VAs) get paid for their services. By VA, I'm referring to those highly-skilled, independent, practice owners who provide off-site administrative services to small business owners and entrepreneurs.  They establish long-term, collaborative relationships with just a handful of terrific clients. By being a long-term administrative partner, they really get to know their clients' businesses so that they can pro-actively offer ideas and  solutions to help those clients achieve their goals and move their businesses to the next level.

VAs don't generally quote on particular projects, win the bid, finish the project, and move on to the next client.  While they certainly work on projects, these projects are within the overall scope of their working relationship with their clients.

What most VAs do, is enter into long-term agreements with their clients; often on a retained-hours basis.  Many VAs, myself included, offer a "pay-as-you-go (PAYG)" fee option in addition to the retainer plan.  This allows those clients who may not know how much time they need from their VA each month to just pay for those hours worked.  Since unused  retainer hours do not roll over month-to-month, this can be a good option for some clients until they have a better sense of just how valuable their VA is to their business and just how much they need  him or her each month.  The benefit of the retainer fee structure, is that the hourly rate is often a bit lower than the  PAYG option, and the client  gets a guarantee that their VA will be available to work with them for a  minimum set-amount of time each month.  The benefit to the VA is that she can better schedule her time because she knows in advance, with whom most of her time will be spent each month. Both fee structures require a certain level of commitment between the VA and client. Neither focus solely on individual projects or piecework.

For those clients who are looking for help with a proposal here, or a Powerpoint presentation there, but aren't looking for an administrative partner to help them with their business, there are plenty of good freelance and secretarial services out there. For those who want someone to be an integral part of their business, and help them become even more successful, there are VAs.

Strange Observation on the PA Turnpike

The other day I was driving on the PA Turnpike when I noticed something that struck me as odd. First of all, you have to understand that the PA Turnpike is almost  always under construction at some point or other.  You know, the kind of construction that forces you to drive within inches of a concrete barrier; giving you feeling of riding in a bobsled shoot. One false move and you hit a wall.

Anyway, I was driving passed such construction zones when I noticed that there were signs that said "slow". Makes sense - you don't want to speed by those concrete barriers.  The strange part, was that beside each sign was a man in a bright-yellow jumpsuit.  Why did the man need to stand there?  The signs seemed perfectly capable of doing the job on their own (they were all on poles). What did the human element add to the caution? I'm not saying that those fine gentlemen in bright-yellow jumpsuits don't deserve jobs, but a job that actually contributes to the project's end result seems to make more sense.  This wasn't a temporary job site - the barriers have been there for months (maybe years) and the caution to slow down isn't something that changes throughout the day.

If something is strong enough to stand on its own and accomplish the desired result, why over-accessorize? To me this seems to be a terrible waste of man-power and talent. I believe in finding simple and effective solutions and not wasting money. Does anyone else think this is strange or is it just me? Maybe I'm over-thinking this: I'm sure glad it's Friday!

Want Your Contact Info In Your Prospect's Database? Keep Your Business Card Simple.

If you want to make sure that your prospects' have your accurate contact information on file, here is a quick tip.  Don't over design your business card!

This week I spent a couple hours scanning business cards into an Outlook database for a client.  These were cards she collected over a period of time from various meetings, events and trade shows.  They all represented people/organizations she planned to work with at some point.

I used CardScan to enter the information which is a very cool item -- scans the card with great OCR capabilities.  In most cases, the information just needs a quick review/edit to verify it and then add it to the  database. Personally, I'd much rather do a quick edit vs. a complete re-key of the info on those cards.

For the most part CardScan worked great, but there were exceptions. It could not read those cards that were highly designed, used unusual fonts/graphics or were printed on odd materials. While they look great, these cards just aren't practical when trying to clearly convey your contact information.  I spent a lot of time making sure everything was accurate, but what if I hadn't?  Those cards that didn't scan simply wouldn't have been entered into the database.  The worst card I saw was from a marketing company (you would think they would know better).  It was very cool! It was printed on a translucent plastic and I'm sure very expensive to produce. However, it didn't scan at all and was extremely hard to read (needed to be held against a white background just to read it).

While professional, quality, business cards are essential to convey a positive first impression of you and your company, simple design elements and easy-to-read fonts, will help ensure that your contact information actually stays on file with your prospects. Have you looked at your business card lately?

Women Business Owners - Start Earning What You Are Worth! Find Out How

Each month, the Virtual Assistant Chamber of Commerce (VACOC) offers a Complimentary teleseminar open to all Virtual Assistants and small  business owners. This month's seminar is sure to be a good one - especially for women business owners!

Mikelann Valterra, founder of "The Women's Earning Institute" will be presenting a powerful seminar to help women business owners earn what they are worth and overcome their "internal income ceiling". She'll address the complex emotional issues connected to making money, and why even successful women undersell themselves. Participants will learn about the critical skills needed to achieve their financial goals including:

• How women can make it easier to ask for what they want.
• How and why women under-price themselves and what to do about it.
• How to conquer the "Good Girl Syndrome".
• How women can get in touch with "resentment" to make more money
• And more!

The teleseminar will be held on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 8:00 PM EST. Register now to reserve your spot and don't miss out!  Remember, this is FREE, super beneficial, and open to all Virtual Assistants, independent professionals, small business owners, micropreneurs and solopreneurs. Feel free to invite your colleagues and clients!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Remember the Staples commercial that ran a couple years ago?  You know the one -- parents dancing down the aisles of Staples buying school supplies while "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" plays in the background? Today my children went back to school and this is my theme song. For the first time in six years I'll have more than three hours to myself (my youngest is now in first grade).  For someone who works out of the home, this is truly a blessing.  The house is quiet: no television on, no bickering, no complaints of "I'm bored!". Time to refresh and refocus - a time of renewal. Of course I'll be anxiously awaiting them as they get off the bus to hear about their days, but for now, I'll enjoy the silence, and will most certainly have a very productive day.  Life is good!