I’m Sick (How Lucky I Am to Work from Home)

I was feeling under the weather yesterday and was thinking about how lucky I am!

I recall being in the corporate world and being ill. It was such an awful feeling to wake up and realize you didn’t feel well. Then the struggle would begin. Do I go to work? Do I take the chance of passing something to others in the office? Do I have a project that has to be finished today? Do I take the chance that by working today, I’ll feel worse tomorrow? Or do I stay home today? Do I try to rest so I can feel well enough to go in to work tomorrow? Do I hope that my workload won’t triple by staying home? Do I worry about what my being out of the office will do to the other employees in the office? There was always a tug-of-war going on about doing what was right. If I stayed home, I would worry all day about how things were going at the office. If I went to the office, I was worried about getting the rest I needed to get better.

I realized yesterday how lucky I am to be able to work from home. I didn’t have to spend all that wasted time feeling the guilt – wondering what I should do. I was able to dress in my lounging clothes. I was able to leave off the makeup. I was able to take a nap when I got tired. I was able to work. As a virtual assistant, most of my conversations with my clients are through email so that wasn’t compromised. I was able to work on the computer, finish a project, look over a draft ad, email back and forth, check in on my forums.

It made me feel good that I could be productive even though I was sick. And so I am thankful – thankful that we have the technology to make working from home possible; thankful that I have the talents needed to run a successful business; thankful that I have clients who don’t have to know when I don’t feel well; thankful that I can make money while feeling like crap!

So the next time you’re wondering why you went into business for yourself, think about the benefits. Be thankful that you can be sick and how lucky you are to be able to work from home.

Add a Computer to Your Wardrobe

I found an article last weekend that talks about having computer chips in our clothes. You can check it out at “http://twenty1f.com/index.php?http://twenty1f.com/news/future-dress-code-very-smart/. Very interesting – but it got me thinking about being “in the business world” 24-7. Do we want to be available all hours, day and night, to the point of having computers in our clothes?

“Instead of being deaf, dumb, and blind sitting on our desks or in our pockets, our computers might be able to observe what we do all day, understand what is important to us, and act as a virtual assistant who helps us on a second-by-second basis,” said Thad Starner, Associate Professor of the Contextual Computing Group at Georgia Tech University.

Starner is at the forefront of wearable computing, developing intelligent, wearable systems that can record and repay information, and has worn his own custom-made wearable computer since 1993.

As work-from-home business owners, it is up to us to decide when we want to work. Our target market has much influence on this decision, but ultimately we determine when we’ll be open, when we’ll answer phones, etc.But it seems the more of us that go into business for ourselves, the more consumed we get by that business. With networking, writing, blogging, meetings, client work, email and mobile phones, we can keep in touch and be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can be paged, phoned, emailed, lettered, blogged and forumed any time, day or night.

Now it seems we can even start wearing our computers – making us more available. But do we really need computers in our wardrobe?

What were our reasons for going into business for ourselves? Did we want more freedom? Did we want more time with our families? Did we want to be able to make our own decisions? I think these are all examples of why. Yet we seem to be tied more and more to our computers. We work from 9 to 5, then we attend teleseminars or blog or write or do our bookkeeping or network. We are always busy with our businesses.

I think we may need to take a step back and re-examine why we decided to be business owners. Technology can be a wonderful thing – it’s propelled us into the future; it’s allowed us the convenience of working from home; it’s made staying connected easier. It can also be our downfall. We’ve made it too easy to be on-call all the time.

So spend some time thinking about your connectivity. Are you too spending too much time, being too available? Or will you be looking to add a computer to your wardrobe?

Tweaking – The Hidden Marketing Secret

The following article is from an eZine I receive regularly from marketing guru, Robert Middleton. I find his eZines to always be informative and they contain tips that you can implement quickly and easily. I hope you enjoy reading and let me (and Robert) know the results that come from your tweaking!

Vickie

Wonder why some people get better marketing results than others? It’s because they tweak. One rarely discussed marketing secret (except amongst rabid direct marketers or online marketers), is the arcane art of tweaking. Tweaking your marketing is literally the key to getting more response to any marketing activity you attempt.

Tweak means to adjust or fine-tune. And this is exactly what people fail to do when it comes to their marketing. In fact, most do the opposite: They develop a web site and never change a pixel for years; they settle on a marketing message and never try anything new; or they give a speaking engagement and don’t try various “pitches” to get cards from participants.

The Science of Tweaking

Tweaking is what scientists do. They test something using an experiment. They get a certain result. Then they change a measurable variable and see what new result they get. They keep at this until they get the desired result (or not). Good marketers are like scientists, but they have more fun. Instead of experimenting on rats, they experiment on prospects.
They try one marketing tactic at a time and measure the result. Then they change a measurable variable and see if the prospect responds differently. Good scientists, if they are persistent, get grants to keep experimenting. Good marketers, if they are persistent, attract more clients and often get rich.

Let’s look at a few marketing experiments you can tweak.

1. Ezine signups from a web site – Growing a big eZine list is a great way to grow your business. Let’s look at the two main variables: a) home page of web site and b) eZine sign-up page of web site.

To conduct this experiment you must know: a) how many people land on your home page in any given period, b) how many people click onto the sign-up page, and c) how many people actually sign up. Using a simple web tracker that counts visitors and subscribers, you can get these statistics very easily. So let’s say in a week, 100 people go to your home page. Of those, 40% click onto your sign-up page. And then 25% of those actually sign up for the eZine. That makes a sign-up rate of 10%.

Now you start tweaking.

You work at making changes to your home page so that more visitors click through to the sign-up page. You might improve the design, the graphics, the headline, the offer for the report you get with the eZine, etc. Several tweaks might increase the number of people who click on the sign-up page to 50%. Now your total sign-up rate is 12.5%

Next you tweak away on the sign-up page. Perhaps you change the name of the report (more results-oriented), and you change the sign-up form (by making it simpler) and the placement of this form (you put it higher on the page).

Several tweaks of this kind may increase the number of actual sign-ups to 40%. Your total sign-up rate is now 20%. You’ve doubled your sign-up rate. And that’s how tweaking pays off!

2. Getting cards after a speaking event – What I used to say was, “I have a report that covers most of the material I discussed today. If you’d like a copy, just leave me your card and I’ll send it to you by email.” That pitch got me 30-40% of cards. So I tweaked my pitch.

I now say: “Here is a report that covers most of the material I discussed today. Who would like a copy? (and I get a show of hands) Great, please give me your card with a current email address and I’ll send it to you by email.” That pitch gets about 80% of people in the room giving me cards.

The tweak is that I got people to raise their hands saying they wanted the report. It more than doubled the results.

2. Your Audio Logo – When I use a problem-oriented Audio Logo: “I help Independent Professionals who are struggling to attract clients,” I get about five times the response than a solution-oriented Audio Logo: “I help Independent Professionals attract more clients.”

Go figure.

You don’t have to know all the reasons your tweaking changed the results, you just have to keep tweaking until the results improve.

What are you currently doing in your marketing that isn’t working as well as it could? Time to start tweaking!

“By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit Robert’s web site at www.actionplan.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional service businesses.”

Not Using Time Management Skills Can Wreak Havoc on your Life

In today’s world, we are all busy, busy, busy. We work 60+ hours per week; we respond to our emails; we network; we market; we take the kids to soccer; we clean the house and do a load of laundry; we cook dinner; we read the paper; we fall into an exhausted sleep; and we get up and do it all over again the next day.

Time management should not be thought of as something you’d do if you had time to sit and think about it – it’s something you must do in order to stay productive, healthy and happy. Here are some time management skills I’ve learned to use throughout my business and personal life:

• Make and USE To-Do Lists – How often have you realized you forgot something at the store? What about taking that dish to a sick neighbor? How about getting your slacks cleaned for that important meeting? Making and using To-Do Lists for the things that don’t have specific times will help you remember not only the big things, but the little things that wreck so much havoc in your life. Be sure to mark off the things you accomplish and move the things you don’t over to the next day.

• Use a Calendar – Did you forget the early morning meeting? How about your daughter’s dentist appointment? Using a Calendar for the scheduled items will save you heartache and stress, not to mention possibly your job. If you’re tech savvy, use a computer to keep all your appointments and To-Do lists readily available. If you like the idea of having a piece of paper in your hand, get a personal planner. There are so many options out there these days.

• Keep Organized – Is there anything worse than getting ready to pay a bill and you can’t find where you put it? How about wanting to email or call a potential client back and you’ve misplaced their email address or telephone number? The old saying, “A place for everything and everything in its place” is so true – you must be organized so you can find the things you’re looking for. This will save you so much time! Buy boxes, organizers, drawers, files, whatever it takes to get you to the point that you’re not constantly looking for something.

• Plan Ahead – Did you promise to cook chili for the annual fundraiser, but everything’s frozen? Have you waited until the last minute and now you can’t get tickets to your favorite play for your surprise anniversary gift? Planning ahead will not only save you time – it will save you stress and tension, two of the major causes of death in our country today. Incorporating the above tips are all ways to plan ahead.

Does it take time to implement the above strategies into your everyday life? Yes. But will it save you from wreaking havoc on your life? Yes. Your main goal should be to be a productive, healthy and happy person for your business, your family, and yourself. Incorporating some time management tools will help you not only achieve that goal, but it will affect others in your sphere of influence. Remember, everything you do touches someone else. Be a positive influence by beginning today to use time management skills in every area of your life.

What Kind of First Impression Do You Leave?

Goodbye, Mom

I was shopping at Sav-A-Center and noticed a little old lady following me around. I stopped… she stopped… Furthermore she kept staring at me. She finally overtook me at the checkout, and she turned to me and said, “I hope I haven’t made you feel ill at ease; it’s just that you look so much like my late son.” I answered, “That’s okay.” “I know it’s silly, but if you’d call out “Good bye, Mom” as I leave the store, it would make me feel so happy.”

She then went through the checkout, and as she was on her way out of the store, I called out, “Goodbye, Mom.” The little old lady waved, and smiled back at me.

Pleased that I had brought a little sunshine into someone’s day, I went to pay for my groceries. “That comes to $121.85,” said the clerk. “How come so much? I only bought 5 items.” The clerk replied, “Yeah, but your Mother said you’d be paying for her things too.” (Author unknown)

We are all guilty of making judgments based on first appearance. We see someone and are making suppositions about them immediately, even if it’s subconsciously.

In the virtual world, prospective clients usually do not meet their virtual assistant face-to-face. So what do they base their first appearances on? The web site. Did you do your web site yourself? Do you have the experience to know if what you’re creating will have “eye-appeal” for the prospective client? Does your web site reflect professionalism and cleanliness? Do you have a professional web site with information that tells a prospective client everything they need to know? Does your web site answer the questions prospective clients will ask? Do you offer solutions to a prospective client?

These are just a few questions to keep in mind as you are building your web site. Try to look at it as an outsider would. Remember, your web site is generally the first introduction to you and your business. Take the time to ensure that “first appearances” are enough to convince that prospective client to take the next step and contact you.

New Year – New Opportunities

As the new year begins, our thoughts turn to what we are going to do differently to help our businesses grow. As I recently learned, it’s difficult to know what new plans to implement if you don’t have a realistic picture of what did and didn’t work last year.

Take time to write down and review the processes that worked and failed. Why did they fail – did you have the knowledge and skills to implement the plans; were they truly important to your unique business; did you begin, but not finish the processes?Are they truly something that will help ensure success in the new year? Do you need that particular process for your business growth; is it a part of what you want to project to your prospective clients; is it doable?

Now you’re ready to set your goals for this year. Make certain they are attainable – set dates that will work into your schedule; do research; get additional training; talk to other experts in your field. Set goals that reflect who you are and what you do; goals that reflect where you are heading; goals that show the client you are continuously adapting to the ever-changing world.

This can be a year of change, a year of growth, a year of success. It’s all up to you. Have a plan, write it down, and begin today. I can’t wait to see what the new year brings for us. I wish you all luck.

Small Businesses Setting Their Sights on Success

 

In today’s marketplace, success for the small business is tough to acquire. More and more businesses are finding new and unique ways to make this happen.

 

One such way that small businesses are setting their sights on success is the use of virtual assistants (VAs). Virtual assistants are a way to ensure professional results without all the worries and hassles of having an employee. You don’t have to agonize over space problems, purchasing equipment or paying employee payroll taxes and benefits.

 

VAs can handle the most complex of projects to the most mundane of projects. Projects that we are currently handling include: starting a mass marketing campaign to target specific industries in the area; transferring manual files to computerized files; setting up executive meetings with multiple high-level attendees; developing databases; keeping executive calendars and providing transcription of dictated materials.

 

Our clients have a partnership with us; we don’t treat them as “just clients” and they don’t treat us as “just contractors. We are an integral part to the business’s success, helping you to find the time to GROW your business. So if you’re at a point where you don’t know where to turn next; you’re needing a solution to your staffing problems; or projects are sitting on your desk waiting to be started, think about contracting with a VA. The partnership will provide more results than you can possibly imagine, and this will be the first step to “Setting your Sights on Success!”

 

If you need a solution to your project problems, contact us today at Admin@EliteVAs.com. We look forward to partnering with you.

What’s so great about VAs?

I see this question asked a lot from business owners. What’s so great about a Virtual Assistant? What are the benefits? Besides, I already have an employee on-site who takes care of everything for me.

Services offered by Virtual Assistants vary from one individual to the next — based on their area of expertise. In addition to administrative and clerical support, many Virtual Assistants offer other, more-specialized skills. Unlike “On-the-Job” Employees, VAs do not require training in any area of our expertise; thus, we have the ability to have a powerful impact on your productivity. Plus, they are independent contractors working with you from their homes. That’s right, we never have to visit your office and take up space!

Virtual Assistants offer flexibility and can provide you, the business owner, with nearly any kind of service you can dream up! Isn’t that unbelievable? Our experience spans every aspect of the administrative, clerical, accounting, or technical side of business. Best of all, we utilize our own equipment, office space, software, resources and basic office supplies.

Working side-by-side with a Virtual Assistant will allow you to allocate your admin work, so you can handle your precious time more wisely. You will begin to see us as a dependable, long-term partner who always has your best interest in mind when it comes to your business! We will understand and respect your ideas and decisions and you can trust us to make decisions by means of our professional experience.

So why not hire an on-site employee? We understand that hiring employees can put a colossal dent in your company’s budget — eventually affecting your pocketbook. Contracting a Virtual Assistant benefits you in several ways. We will increase productivity and save you time and money. Let’s take a look at a few things involved with a new hire:

• You pay only for “Time on Task” or by project.
• Is a sounding board, if you need one.
• Helps you stay on track and on schedule.
• Handles your seasonal or periodic projects.
• No need to buy additional computer equipment or fax machine.
• No computer training, extensive job orientation, or other specialized company training needed
• Convenient when your current staff gets overloaded.
• No time wasted on breaks or personal issues.
• Works only when you need services.
• No extra office space is required. No extra rent and/or loss of privacy.
• No need to buy equipment or supplies (desk, chair, phone, business cards, computers).
• You must pay for recruitment (costly tv, radio, online and/or newspaper ads).
• You must conduct time-consuming interviews.
• You must pay taxes (Social Security, FICA, Worker’s Comp, Federal and State Unemployment, Payroll).
• You must comply with several Federal and State laws (OSHA, Federal Fair Labor Standards Act – FLSA that includes minimum wage & overtime, Employee Retirement Income Security Act – ERISA).
• You may possibly have to pay medical, dental, vision care benefits.
• You may possibly have to pay vacation, sick, and holiday time.
• You may possibly have to pay for other benefits such as 401K, retirement plans, etc.
• You pay someone to administrate all of the above.
• Other legal responsibilities to consider (employee policies on working hours, sexual harassment, vacation time, sick time, leave of absence, holidays, benefits, performance reviews, grievances, terminations, substance abuse and training.)
• If you hire someone and lay them off, your unemployment rate may increase for years to come.
• If you have the unpleasant experience of needing to fire an employee, make sure you have legal grounds or you may face a lawsuit.

Elite Virtual Assistants combines the following positions into one:

Admin Asst = $30,000
Accountant = $40,000/yr
Business Manager = $57,000
HR Asst/Manager = $29,000-$50,000
IT/MIS(low level) = $46,000

Elite Virtual Assistants can save you from all of your employee woes! A full-service, one-stop company that specializes in providing accurate and professional administrative, financial, and computer support. We can be contracted in 4-hour increments or maybe a monthly retainer program would work better for you. We provide you with strict privacy and confidentiality policy, speed and accuracy, integrity and honesty!

If you have more questions or would like to explore the possibility of working with a Virtul Assistant, contact us today! We will be happy to assist you!

Elite Virtual Assistants

The VACOC and the VA

We recently came across a great resource for Virtual Assistants. It’s called Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce. It has been an invaluable tool, thus far.

Danielle Keister heads the organization and has been a gem! The VACOC is for Virtual Assistants who meet certain criteria but business owners are able to browse the Web site for information on the Virtual Assistant industry, as well.

Check it out today and discover helpful information, great advice and invaluable tools for our industry — you can even network with other well-established VAs or new VAs on their forums.

VACOC

Welcome to the Elite Virtual Assistants (Elite VAs) blog site.

Elite VAs is a two-partner company started in April, 2006. Our combined experience in the administrative field exceeds 25 years and our mission is our motto: “To combine today’s technology with yesterday’s professionalism,” in the virtual world.

Rebecca spent many years as a business manager for a cluster of radio stations in Florida when she decided to move into the virtual field and open her own company, 1-Stop Virtual Assistant. During the same time, Vickie opened up her own virtual company called VA Express Now. We met through a transcription company. After working together for many months, we decided to combine our expertise and know-how into a new company called Elite Virtual Assistants.

We plan on writing about different aspects of the virtual assistant world, so we hope to see you back here soon. If you’re looking for elite experience, timeliness and a cost-effective solution to your administrative needs, check out our Web site. We look forward to getting to know you.