It's a Wild World Out There!

Oh, wow. Today was a biggie.

First, it was the second day of school. Marketing concepts today. What's my Industry (actually, there are many that apply to me!), Who's my Competition, What's my Market, Who's my Audience, ... Lots to learn, lots to do, lots to look forward to.

And as if all those lots weren't quite enough, I spent the evening at a networking event.

For a shy person who must find a way to build business, for whom Sales is an incredibly frightening concept, Networking is a miracle. It's cheap, targeted, incredibly effective advertising. I'm going to be the busiest person on earth for at least the next eight weeks - I suddenly have a half dozen more really hot prospects, and they are asking me to call them. I'm not cold calling. They're waiting by the phone! Apparently, that's my audience. I've been working hard tonight to update my salesforce.com data.

Not only am I building my clientele, but I'm also lining up some great services: A web guru will redesign my website, host it, fix it, build it, at a reduced price... And I'll be doing some proofreading work for him too. I've also lined up an award winning photographer to create some head shots for me. I know I can count on him to come up with something that actually makes me look good.

But there's more! I'm also helping my clients! I brought one of my clients to this event, and she could see all kinds of benefits to participating in the group - she'll be able to connect her clients to the resources and opportunities she's learning about. WIN WIN WIN.

Oh, man, I'm beat. It's been a doozy of a day, and I'm done.

G'night!

Day One Done

It was a great day!

Fourteen radically different people, with radically different backgrounds and radically different dreams gathered, and shared, and began to plan for our success together. Within the first few minutes, we'd already begun to form alliances.

Tomorrow, seven teams of two will present our first assignment. Each team was assigned a pair of businesses to analyze and present to the group - we'll be doing SWOT analyses (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and then we'll decide whether these pairs are in direct competition, or not.

Dave and I are ready, sort of. Well, we're going to have a great time anyway!

I'll let you know how it goes.

It All Starts Tomorrow

The first day of school. No, really. That's exactly how it feels! I have this urge to go out and buy a whole new back-to-school wardrobe and fully kitted out book bag.

The Self-Employment Program at Westcoast Community Enterprise. Day 1 of Week 1 of 10 weeks of classwork which will lead to a complete and viable business plan and a complete and viable marketing plan, and everything else I need to set my business up for success.

I don't know what that means as far as how each day will be spent, what kind of classwork, what kind of homework... I wish I knew what to expect. I have met most of my classmates, and I have met the two main instructors, but otherwise, it's all a very big adventure. I'm so excited.

I'll be reporting in tomorrow as soon as I get home from school.

Sistahs Met Yesterday

Mary, Teya and I had lunch together yesterday. We met up at the Red Onion, as planned, and had a fine lunch, and a fine time. We laughed, we shared. My two lunch companions were very forthcoming with advice and suggestions and resources. Not only did I have a great time with them, but I learned so much.

What a great situation I've found myself in. There are only a few Virtual Assistants in BC (maybe 50 or so?), and there's such a broad market out there, we don't have to fight over customers as if we were rabid dogs. Instead we share, collaborate...

Here's a great illustration: I met with a prospect last week, and she has such a huge project and such a tight deadline that I was worried that I would not be able to do the job without working for a week straight, and I mean without sleep. Now, having talked the situation over with Mary and Teya, I know that the job can be broken into manageable projects and divvied up among several VAs, and all will end up happy - most importantly, the client. So, should that job come my way in the end, that's just what I will do.

I have another client with a technical question - merging/synch-ing his contacts database, on three units, on an ongoing basis - that I wasn't quite ready to answer. I wanted to run some ideas past Mary and Teya first. Having talked it over, we came to a workable solution for my client, and I'll be talking with him about that today.

Questions about desktop sharing were tossed around, security, ease of use, client comfort... Now I am ready to propose solutions to my clients with complete confidence.

I'm looking forward to doing that again, soon. The more, the merrier!

Customer Service Update: Finally...

After five months of nagging, I have a shiny, new bathroom vanity.

This morning, my hero the Handyman took a crowbar to the disgusting, disintegrating one with the 50's swirly, smudgy-pink, delaminating laminate countertop. In its place, he installed a new white one.
Instead of a rotted box with splintered door slides suspended over a hidey-hole for dust bunnies, I have a real cabinet, complete with drawers!

The sink is lovely and new, and its fixture is lovely and new. And the plumbing connections are clean and new. No slow leak there!

Maybe it took a couple of days, and it's not quite level, but I'm thrilled to bits.

The Handyman has a wonderful sense of customer service. If it weren't for the fact that we'd lose him, I'd recommend him for the position of Senior Property Manager. He understands.

Poof-feeding - They’re snow substitute

Or… Don’t Trust Your Reputation to Spelling Checkers!

The following are actual Freudian Typos from my usually trusty little fingers.

Cover letter: Attached for your reverence please find our proposal for services...
Proposal: We have 450 stiff members available and at your service...
Acceptance letter: We hope your confidence in us will be well-funded.
Monthly invoice: This will be our final monthly progress bilking.

Email Sign-off: Egads, Kubda

(Translation: Missed the "r"s in Regards, and I'm touch typing, but the fingers of my right hand are off by one key.)

… and in all of that, the only error my spelling checker finds is Kubda. At least they won't know who to point at!

This last one I won’t claim as my own. Rumour has it this was the last line of a scathing memo sent to senior management and buyers throughout Eatons, wayyy back in the seventies: The anus is on you. (I couldn’t agree more.)

Poof-feeding - They’re snow substitute.

How to Proof-Read:
Read it
Out loud
One
Word
At
A
Time
First forwards
Then backwards.

Why I Chose Virtual Assistance

With all the advancements in technology (most households have at least one computer, most households use internet), combined with the changes in the workforce (layoffs, restructuring), more and more people are opting to work from their homes in entrepreneurial or consultative situations. I'm one of them.

While most of my fellow small-office/home-office entrepreneurs are capable of performing those administrative tasks that are required to maintain the infrastructure of their businesses (letter writing, contact management, bookkeeping), few of them are able to afford the time required, recognizing that their time is better spent generating revenue. They don't need, or want to invest in, full-time help - salary, benefits, WCB, hardware, software, desk space - but they do need top-notch executive assistance. That's where I come in.

Having worked as an executive assistant at a rather senior level for more than 15 years, and in a broad range of industries, I am uniquely qualified to provide the kind of administrative assistance these entrepreneurs need, on call, on line, from my home, using my hardware, my software, and my skills, experience and education.

While my hourly rates may seem high at first glance, when you take into account the savings elsewhere - my clients aren't paying for "watercooler time", lunch breaks, coffee breaks, sick days, vacation days, pension plans, medical/dental.... They're not paying for real estate to accommodate me, or furniture, or computers or IT support. They're paying me for the time I work on their projects. That's all. And because I'm doing the work on their projects, they're freed up to build their businesses, make money, feed their families.

And I get to do the work I love. I'm good at it, it's fun, and it's so satisfying to know I've made a difference in my clients' lives.

Customer Service Rant Update

Amazing! The Handyman called me ***this morning*** to schedule the replacement of my disintegrating bathroom vanity! Hooray and Yippee! I'll let you know how it goes.