Back in the day, when there was no such thing as the Internet as we know it; no Virtual Assistants, and nothing even remotely close to the advanced technologies that we can utilize to get things accomplished in a timely and efficient manner, there was one thing that worked then and is still working for us now.
Deep Thoughts
Reinvention of the Wheel or Design Change – You Decide
Trust Your Gut – Obey the Spidey Sense
Sweaty palms, a gnawing nagging feeling deep in the pit of your gut that keeps eating at you, and that ‘something doesn’t feel right’ feeling are happening. It’s okay that you can’t put your finger on exactly why the alarm bells are sounding. The fact that they are sounding is enough. Your Spidey Sense has been activated – you have a strong sense that something is wrong, dangerous, or suspicious, all rooted in intuition; a security situation as Peter Parker would explain it.
Bet you hadn’t realized that you, too, have super powers as strong as the Marvel comics heroes of our youth.
Twas the Week After Christmas
We all enjoy the Clement Clark Moore version of “˜Twas the Night Before Christmas. I thought it would be fun to take a look at the Week After Christmas from a Virtual Assistant’s point of view. I hope you enjoy this interesting twist.
“˜Twas the week after Christmas, when all through my office, No printers were humming, no emails were coming;
The file folders were hung in the cabinet with care, In hopes that client work would soon be there;
The client files were nestled all snug in their bins, Then visions of retainer clients, spreadsheets, and to-do lists danced in;
The Christmas Season – and burnt cookies:
Mmm Christmas morning: Time to watch our kids open the presents we have purchased for them, and basking in the glow of praise when they eat the special Christmas morning breakfast we have lovingly prepared. For so many of us, Christmas brings feelings of warmth, happiness and love – but what happens when you are an entrepreneur, and all of a sudden Christmas now includes a business struggling in a downturned economy, or client deadlines that have crept up on you and loom now dangling timelines right in front of the sugarplums that should be dancing in your head? What happens when the feeling of being overwhelmed turns the Christmas season from a glorious meal – into dry burnt cookies?
A Good Virtual Assistant is Like a Good Personal Trainer!
On Monday I started working with a personal trainer to help me meet my fitness goals. I know what I need to do to get in shape and be healthier, but I made the decision to hire a professional to give me the motivation and tools I need to actually do those things!
I realized this is not unlike an entrepreneur deciding to work with a Virtual Assistant.
Outsourcing Won’t Make You Less of An Entrepreneur!
I was thinking today about a conversation I had a year ago with a potential client. He said he was finally going to let go of the mindset that so many entrepeneurs have. That was, thinking that he wouldn’t be successful unless he did everything himself so his business remained his business.
We had a lot of discussion around that and before our chat, I hadn’t realized what a mental block that could be for many people who could really benefit from the services of a Virtual Assistant.
How Big is Your Bowl?
Yesterday I exhibited at a local business expo and shared booth space with a client of mine who has a similar target market. It made lots of sense and we were glad we were sharing when we realized how poorly the show was attended by members of our target market. Anyway…my client emailed me to see what we could use to decorate the booth that used colors from my brand. She had flowers in her colors and we needed something in Mann Made Time‘s orange and blue.
I decided to get a goldfish and put him in a bowl with some blue gravel. I named him ‘Biz’.
How’s Your Hive Buzzing?
I posted this piece to my own blog back in June and never had one comment on it! I was disappointed cause I thought it was a pretty good little post. I would like to share it here because I believe it’s a great analogy.
Enjoy!
Let’s, for a moment, imagine that your business is a beehive and you’re the Queen Bee. After all, the Queen’s the most important person in the hive – her sole job is to lay eggs. Without eggs, there are no bees so nothing else can happen. You are also the most important person in your business – goes without saying if you’re a ‘solo-preneur’. You’re responsible for getting new clients and ensuring all daily operations run smoothly.
What Did You Waste Energy On Today?
I’m willing to bet you did at least one thing today that you either rolled your eyes over or had to take a deep breath to get through. Could have been faxing an email, organizing your receipts, typing up a letter or coming up with content for a newsletter. Maybe you’re the type that hates returning phone calls or updating your blog.
How many administrative tasks did you do today that could have been outsourced to a Virtual Assistant? Or more importantly, how many administrative tasks did you not do today that could have been outsourced to a Virtual Assistant?! ;)
