The Virtual Wire

Group Holiday Wish!

Dear Readers, this is our last post for the year. Here are some heartfelt wishes for the upcoming holidays. Please come back and visit us on January 5 when we'll resume our regularly scheduled postings. Also, please note that the Blog will be Monday through Friday. I'll be stepping down. Read more about that below! :)

Antonette: It's been a pleasure writing for the Virtual Wire! This is my last post as I must get back to basics and remove a few things from my overloaded plate! :)

I started this year with my theme: 2008: The Year of New Things! Boy has it been a new things kind of year. I have a new organizational system, I have a new shiny VA of the Year award, I had all kind of new experiences flying back and forth to Vegas, and then I had a great new things kind of year just having a theme that always stayed on my mind. My theme for 2009 is 2009: The Year of Honesty!

Have a fabulous Holiday Season; enjoy your family and friends, and be better to yourself next year!

Gloria:
It continues to be my privilege to participate as a team blogger on The Virtual Wire. Thank you, dear readers, for joining in the conversations and for your support throughout this year. As we near the formal celebrations of this season, I'm wishing all our readers a most blessed and wonderful holiday - filled with overflowing love and laughter! May your New Year be filled with all those good things you're needing and desiring! See you in 2009!

Petra:
I am honoured to be a part of The Virtual Wire team for another year. 2008 went past in a blitz and taught me some valuable lessons on running a successful VA practice and for the first time highlighted strengths and weaknesses that I didn't even know I had. As we all take time out to be with family and friends, I want to wish our readers a fantastic seasonal break and best wishes for 2009. 2009 for me will be a year of immense change and growth. In one sense I am overwhelmed about the changes I see coming and of course I am mostly excited about the new experiences it will bring. I hope to share part of my journey with you. Have fun over the next 2 weeks!

Rob:
Though I realize many people do not celebrate Christmas—whether due to religious or philosophical beliefs, or simply due to having made a choice—I still feel it’s an excellent time to stop and consider those around us, and those in need.

One of my sisters recently quit her job at a nursing home in order to start a business with her husband. She’s barely been away from her former employer, and yet will go back on Christmas day to visit some of the many elderly patients she used to care for. A dear friend of mine who lives in Georgia will this holiday season visit some senior homes, harp in tow, and play for them. One of our local radio stations is heavily into their annual Christmas Wish fundraising, having done this for over 40 years.

Whether you celebrate in silence, don’t celebrate at all, participate a lot or a little, I want to wish you and your family my very best for the holiday season, and for a wonderful New Year. The personality of any holiday season is what we as individuals make it. I hope you make yours, and others, memorable.

Holiday reflections

Every year as the holiday season swings into full gear, I bring myself to a familiar place. I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions (feeling that I can be resolute, or make resolutions, anytime). But I am one to revisit the year, and apply more than a little hindsight to what’s gone down. A lot has gone down this year.

This past year, a year in which I’ve seen a death in my immediate family, has been a year where I’ve also seen tremendous insight and growth. I’ve seen a maturity (recognition?) in humankind that I never thought I’d see. It’s as if the whole of most societies, worldwide, got together and agreed we need to tear down so many false underpinnings, and start over again. I’ve seen my own virtual assistance business undergo, in its own micro way, what has happened to the macro economy. It’s all ‘good’, in that it’s bringing refinement and focus. In my own family, I’ve seen three of four siblings (including myself) embark upon new and different business ventures. I’ve seen good friends come to an understanding of major changes in their lives—some not very pleasant—and I’ve seen them rise up and tackle the changes head on. Even E left the relative comfort of her employer’s fold, and struck out on her own; not an easy thing to do when Big Brother had been taking care of the details, and paycheques, for so long. The courage I’ve seen has been phenomenal.

I hope you take a moment to reflect on the people around you, and those who surround you. And I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and a great New Year.

See you all again in January

Content vs. community, which one is king in '09?

As you focus on 2009 are you wondering how to make your business more profitable, or even just sustainable?  What's your strategy for driving traffic to your site and then converting them into repeat readers or buyers?

That question got me thinking about my website content and my social media activities.  So I googled "content is king" and went through almost all of the compelling titles.  My goal was to listen to the conversation out there on what constitutes good content.  I wanted to learn from the experts.

The internet has revolutionized the way we communicate and interpret what is of importance, it also has a lot of "noise" and you really have to be still to hear what makes the most sense. 

So what's the consensus on what constitutes content worthy of the kingly throne?  

New Thought:  There was one that was very insightful suggestion that did not repeat in my reading, but is highly relevant in this age of Social Media:  "*community* will trump content in almost all cases".  That quote was in 2006 by a commenter on the webmasterwork.com's blog post.  User generated content-Social Media (Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is having the greatest impact on business outcomes.  Take a look at the Obama campaign, the list could go on, but the point is made, that when the user or readers of your content are able to comment, and drive the content, then a conversation happens.  When we can invoke a conversation then we know we are providing the content that the reader wants to see and hear.  It's two way. 

My conclusion:  A great article on your site doesn't mean as much if it's never read, downloaded, forwarded or used to impact someone.

Here are some ways to ensure that your content doesn't get dethroned (full links to articles are below):

Unexpected problems - control them or they will control you

I learnt a valuable lesson this week about how I can sometimes (very often in the past) lose focus and create a much larger problem for myself.

This revolved around a simple issue of getting an e-newsletter as an HTML email sent out for one of my clients.  I used our usual html template, set up the e-newsletter and then went to send a test.  However, the test would not go, and I saw an error message at the top of the email informing me that my email was not spam compliant.  I was stumped!  We had used this template several times, and I had never received this email before. 

So I stopped and carried out a spam check.  I must admit I had stopped doing stuff like spam checking about 18 months ago, especially when most of my clients started to rely, nearly exclusively, on HTML emails.  The reason I had stopped spam checking is because it is nigh on impossible to get a clean result from a spam check with an HTML email.  Although I am aware that I have a spam check problem because my HTML knowledge is lacking in this area.  Anyway, I digress and will touch back on this at the end of this post.

However, the problem was that I got engrossed in this problem and aimlessly tried to make this HTML email spam compliant.  I carried out searches on the Internet, read up loads of information, and continued to make changes to the e-newsletter.  But to no avail!  I had about 6 spam problems with my email – well that is what the checker said – and I only got rid of 2. 

Another lesson learned from the holiday season

"The holidays come every year, Gloria,” remarked my dear friend as we discussed our plans for this upcoming season.  Yes, of course, we all realize that (and may even secretly wish they’d skip a year!).  Well, this year, for me, those words sparked a renewed sense of hopefulness, with a twinge of both sadness and liberation.  Contemplating preparing for this year’s holiday season, I was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed.  As we talked more, I realized that I was allowing the old notions of creating bright memories and making it a special event for everyone to be attached to my own personal “to do list.”  (How did that happen?  Who passed out that assignment, anyway?)  As I searched to regain some perspective, my friend’s words replayed again and again in my head, and I knew there was something more for me to hear.

Throughout the weeks, as I listened to others sharing their coping styles and tips for managing the holidays and the related stress it sometimes brings, I realized advice for tackling this season is everywhere.  Whether I’m looking for the nuances of decorating, baking, menu planning, traveling, shopping, card sending, entertaining, gift buying or wrapping, and creating special family traditions, or finding solutions for coping with matters surrounding relationships, including family members both near and far, colleagues, clients, customers, and friends, I can easily find loads of helpful information. 

As I continued skimming the mountain of articles, magazines, and blogs, appreciating the many practical ideas I was finding, a delightful piece of mail arrived at my inbox.  I quickly sensed it enclosed a precious hint.  It was an invitation to a Christmas memorial celebration entitled, “Keeping the Light of Love Bright.”  I was asked to participate in hanging a special ornament on a Christmas tree in honor of my father who died this past February. How wonderfully appropriate, I thought.  I was struck by the deeper sentiment brewing inside of me; this is the first year I’ll celebrate the Christmas season without the nearness of my father’s physical presence.  Nearly each and every year, throughout my entire life, I have spent the season with both of my parents.  Many years this meant traveling long distances, children and pets in tow, and a vehicle loaded down with gifts and goodies!  This year will look very different, indeed.

Now, I realize, this is not a new phenomenon; millions upon millions have experienced this natural cycle of life’s events and have celebrated holidays grieving the loss of their loved ones.  But it’s my first time.  I’ve walked, as we all have, where I didn’t expect to travel, and where I knew I would need to journey someday down the road.  Part of my “someday” is here, and ready or not, I’m encountering a fresh personal season.  My role in the family circle has changed now.  As my children, now grown, experience the celebration of this season differently, too, I’m impacted. 

 

This year, the expectations will be unique, as are all “first time” experiences.  As I host my out-of-town family members and accept all that it brings into my life, I’ll cherish the many seasons’ past.  I’ll do all that I can to “keep the light of love bright” this year, too.  Yes, the holidays do come every year, and I’m grateful.  Thanks, my dear friend, for that simple reminder.

 

***I wrote this article a few years ago, but never posted nor published it anywhere.  It seemed appropriate this year to share it.  I've learned a great deal since 2006, and experienced the passing of my mother, as well.  Our family circle has not been diminished, however, we've been blessed with three new additions.*** 

 

I share this because I realize the holidays carry a host of memories for each of us -- some joyful, some painful.  It is a personal path for each of us, yet we are not alone.  Today, I wish you a genuine, deeply-felt sense of peace in the midst of whatever this holiday season brings into your life this year.

Giving

The holiday season can be the best of times, or the worst of times. Some indulge in it, while others try to avoid it. Among the inescapable facts about this time of year are these two:

• Love it or loathe it, it comes around each and every year
• There are always people in need, but perhaps now more so than ever

My virtual assistance client, Tina, thought of me on St. Nicholas day and sent me my 'initial' (a chocolate letter "R", which was quite wonderful). Two of my colleagues at Seneca College reached back after I'd reached out for extra help with my workload.

I am unable to help my friend Pam, but I remember her. And because thoughts are as real and tangible as anything else we experience, I know my thoughts will bring her family and perhaps Pam too some small comfort.

This is not about religion, and maybe not even about Christmas. It's about breaking down barriers or boundaries between myself and those who I'm capable of helping.

One of my sisters is headed back to the hospital this week for a fourth surgery in the same area. She's struggling to keep things together, and I know we'll plan not just to stop by the hospital to say hello (a tough thing, if you know about my recent circumstances), but we'll also stop by her home before Christmas to bring some cheer.

Each of us is able to contribute something to someone; it's truly amazing how easy it is to do, and the little planning that need go into it. And money doesn't have to enter the picture at all.

People like my mother spent their lives giving, and I benefitted from that every day she was alive. I feel honoured at being able to give something back.

Creative vs technical - the battle of website development!

This week a question emerged about the power of the creative and the technical as it relates to designing your website. That topic touched me in a personal way, as I just recently experienced angst when developing my new website. In my past life (Corporate America), there was lots of money to throw at a site, but as an entrepreneur, my decisions are made with a much smaller group, and budget.

Here's what Antonia Townsend of Startup Marketing, a New Business & Product Launch Consultant said "I think the key element is to understand that web designer and developer are almost always two very different people who play distinct roles. The designer dictates the look-feel and branding of the site whereas the developer has more impact on how the site will function, ease-of-use, SEO performance and scalability. Both can make or break you, if sufficiently bad or talented..."

I concur with her, but would add that the creative director and developer should work together from the start, ensuring that the design is put together in way that is SEO friendly, otherwise you may end up with a design that is very expensive for the developer to redo. It's a good practice to make sure that the developer is doing the web architecture and not the creative person. It would be great if you found a creative person who also does development and SEO. That would be a win-win.

Challenge:  You can have a great design (pretty) that doesn't work well on the web and doesn't drive traffic to your site, or you can have a great site, that is SEO friendly but isn't "brand right" and doesn't reflect well on your image.

Solution:  Put them together (great creative and savvy developer), along with "kick-butt copy", and you can have an awesome site that meets all of your business objectives.

Goodbye Pam

One of the great Virtual Assistants in the AssistU community, Pamela Hixon Keith, passed away on Monday.  As today is her memorial day, I wanted to also send a virtual memorial from me to her family and friends from "across the pond".

Pamela held a volunteer role in our community as the internship coordinator and I conversed with her many times in this role.  I also had the chance to meet her last year at our AssistU10 celebration. It was clear to Pam that I would struggle to recognise who all the VAs were, so she just came up to me and said "Hi Petra, I am Pamela Hixon-Keith. I knew you wouldn't know who I was."  We had a great time getting to know each other at AU10, but then it is easy to speak with someone who was so friendly.  And whenever we conversed during our work connections, this friendliness came through, as well as her professionalism, care, and willingness to always make everything work out well.

This post doesn't say much, but her passing has touched me deeply, and I have, and will continue to pray for her husband, and family as they work to cope with her loss.  If you don't mind can you please spare a thought for them too.  Losing a loved one is always difficult.

And the purpose of my post.  I just wanted to say "Bye Pam, I feel honoured to have had you touch my life."

Stressed? Ah, a good, hearty laugh may be just what you need!

Yup, stress can have that affect on us!  Not a pretty sight, I know.  It seems to be everywhere I look right now - people suffering with stressful situations, that is.  Whether it's the affect of the economy on our lives, challenging business issues, health issues (it is the flu season!), or the hectic demands the holidays can sometimes impose as the root cause(s), we need regular periods of reprieve. 

Well, how about a good, hearty laugh for some relief?  No, I don't have a good joke or hilarious video to share.  I do have a reference to a brief post that talks about the benefits of laughter, and you can read it here if you like.  The post contains a comprehensive list of ways to find laughter in our daily lives. 

I'm thinking this list could contain some excellent timely tips!  Take a look.

1. Practice laughing 5 min per day – fake it til you make it.
2. Look for humor around you – on signs, in people’s behavior, on TV, in the newspaper, the things others say, the crazy things that happen to you.
3. Keep a journal.
4. Share your embarrassing moments with other people.
5. Learn to play with things that are serious like work, social issues, money, etc. For example use word play, silly songs, or develop a comical view of the issue to help you laugh and cope.
6. Laugh with other people when they laugh.
7. Wear a smile. It puts you closer to laughing.
8. Seek out entertainment which makes you laugh.
9. Amuse yourself with your own sense of humor.
10. Buy and listen daily to a tape of laughter, a laugh box, or a laughing toy.
11. Buy mindless toys that make you laugh.
12. Wear hats that make you laugh.
13. Cultivate your innate playfulness.
14. Be creative with fun.
15. Make sure you have fun.
16. Give yourself permission to laugh at anything you need to.
17. Do at least one silly, non-conforming thing a day.

I like this list!  Yup, I'm taking #16 and immediately applying it to my day.  So, if you give me a call and hear me laughing . . . well, do be prepared to laugh with me.  Here's to a stress-free (or stress-less) week!

You Don't Have To Discount Your Fees!

I’ve been talking to quite a few prospective clients over the past two weeks and a few of them asked me if I offer a discount for a certain number of retainer hours.

My answer was a clear and straightforward, “No, I do not discount my fees”. 

Their answer?  “OK”.

The result?  Two of them have signed up to start with me as of January 1st, one of them being a 20 hour per month retainer.  A third decided to start in December and is going to pay 3 for three months in advance.

The moral of the story?  You DON’T have to discount your rates to attract new clients to your business.  I know, I know, you may have been doing so for a while.   Perhaps every since you started your business, you’ve been discounting your fees.  And, yes, it is a common industry practice.  And, yes, it is one option to include in your fee structure.  But in my opinion, it’s not a good one.  Why?

Think about this:

Your Lawyer is not likely to give you a discount if you need 10 hours of her time instead of 5.  Neither is your CPA.  Neither is your Financial Advisor. 

See the point?

As Virtual Assistants, we MUST view ourselves in the same light as we view these other professional service providers.  We offer the same high level of service.  Our place in our clients’ business is equally important.

So we DON’T have to discount the value we provide, even if our clients (or prospective clients) ask for it.  This goes back to having strong standards that protect you, convey your value and allow you to run a profitable, sustainable and successful business.

So, as you are preparing for 2009 and are thinking about changes (or upgrades) you want to make in your business, consider throwing the whole “discounted fees” thing out the window.  Especially, when you talk to your next prospective client.  Give yourself full compensation for your services.  You deserve it!