The Virtual Wire

More professional development?

As a virtual assistant trained through AssistU (I graduated in June 2002), I knew that I wanted (someday) to become a CPVA. I took the plunge and did my CPVA certification in May of 2007 (and passed--woo hoo).  When I first applied for the CPVA certification I didn't do it because I thought certification was required. I did it for me (I love big accomplishments to push  me) and for access to the clients that go through the registry that are looking for CPVAs and above. I knew I wanted access to those types of potential clients that were looking for a higher level VA.

Since the certification is only good for a certain period of time, my renewal period is NOW. I must say I have been hemming and hawing about whether I should go through the process. I worked really hard obtaining my certification in the first place and I have ultimately decided to go ahead and renew.

When I passed the initial certification, I did investigate what I needed to recertify when the time came and boy am I glad I did that. There are a lot of requirements (nothing too daunting) but I knew about them and I have been documenting the things necessary for the renewal since then. If you are curious about what you need for your CPVA certification, click here. If you aren't a member of AssistU, click here for more info.

So that gets me to the professional development part of this post. You must have the following to recertify (among other things) according to AssistU:

• Professional Development - 1 instance of professional development
• Evidence of 10 new skills learned or acquired during the recertification period.
• Evidence of 10 practice upgrades completed during the recertification period. 

So not only did I upgrade my practice by becoming a CPVA, but I had to continue that process to be eligible for recertification. No resting on your laurels around here! For my professional development I joined a high level mastermind group, coached with Stacy Brice, attended several 3-day workshops and took some online classes (way more than what was required, but that is just me).

The new skills just happened because of the professional development I took and the practice upgrades resulted from the new skills!

Now since I planned ahead so well, all I have to do is get my testimonials, fill out the forms and pay my fee! Oh, and hopefully get approved for recertification. I am not too worried but you never know!

So think about becoming a CPVA (or CMVA) and taking your practice to the next level. My practice has been consistently full since becoming a CPVA and I have raised my rates several times to where I have one of the highest rates in the industry.

Come on, take the plunge--what do you have to lose? And what do you have to gain?

Developing my 'client experience'

You know with the New Year and all, I have been thinking about my processes and procedures. I have to admit that 2009 ran me and I did not run it, so I am looking at how I get in control of the look and feel of my business and service. 

My recent thoughts have been to review the client experience, i.e. “What experience do my clients have when working with me?” Not from the implementation perspective but more from a strategic perspective. I identified 2 questions:

1. How do I welcome new clients into my business? 
2. How do I continually review our relationship to ensure that it works? 

For question no. 1 the answers that I came up with were: 

1. A fun welcome gift that is indicative of the work we will do together. AssistU has some great gifts that fit in with this, like a VA mug or mousemat.
2. A list of some of my best resources for collaboration, online communication etc.

As for question no. 2, the thoughts that I had are:

1. In the first year of working together quarterly goal-setting/reviews sessions and from year 2 onwards half-yearly goal-setting/reviews.
2. Regular status calls. I do this already, but realise that I should set out a “recommended” schedule based on our working commitment. In the first 3 months of working together weekly phone calls are advisable, moving on from there the recommended schedule would be 10-hr retainers a monthly phone call, for 15-hr retainers a fortnightly phone call and for 20+ hour retainers a weekly phone call.
3. Monthly newsletter to keep my clients updated with how I am building and growing my business and give them ideas of how we can work together.

Wow, I have got myself off to a great start. Now I need to get into more detail onw how this will look and be presented to clients. 

What do you think? Do you already have an established format for your client experience? Do you have any ideas that could expand on the thoughts I have had above?

How to stay motivated when it's raining (or sunny)

I don't know about you, but when it rains I want to bake cookies. Now ordinarily that might not be a bad thing, yet what I should really be doing is working on my client's projects (or my own projects). I work at my home office "alone" most of the day so it is easy to get distracted by laundry, kitchen duties, baking, phone calls from family, cleaning, taking a nap, looking out the window, organizing my files (you know--anything but working). But client deadlines come calling and I am snapped back to reality.

So, some things I use to keep me motivated are:

• Turn on iTunes or other music player. I especially like some upbeat music to keep me moving. 
• Set the timer and work in 50 minute increments for each client. You would be amazed how much work you can get done in 50 minutes. Then I take a break for 10 minutes and start over again.
• Set goals--my goal is 5 hours billable time every day. Once I hit that I often keep working, but if I see that I have only worked 3 hours and it is 4 pm--well I got some catching up to do. And I don't like that. By 4 pm and I want to take a break and relax with the kids and help with homework.
• Make sure I schedule some time for a lunch break. I sometimes forget to eat so I have been scheduling a 30 minute lunch break on my Outlook calendar with reminders set. That ensures I take my lunch and get a much needed break during the day.
• Rewards for completing a big project (or a small one). My friends and I call it "eating the frog." I do one thing that I have been really dreading or putting off. An example might be having a difficult conversation with someone, exercising, or calling the plumber. Anything that I would rather not do, but really needs to be done. Once I have done that, I reward myself with something (5 minute break, 30 minutes to relax/meditate/read). Just be sure the reward is something special to you (and inexpensive helps).
• Clear off my desk space. I seriously get bogged down in craziness when my desk gets crowded and piled up with files and "stuff." So I stop what I am doing and put everything away. Then I grab the file that I need to work on next and get started again. 
• Plan my day the night before. Nothing is worse than coming into your office in the morning and you have no clue what to start on first. So before I leave my office for the night, I print out my calendar for the next day and put a quick note in the right column with any pressing deadlines or things that HAVE to be completed that day. Then when I get to work I can focus on those items right away before checking email or any distractions start coming at me.

That is my short list of distraction busters/motivators that I use on a daily basis. Oddly enough, these things also keep me really organized, productive and on top of my business. It is all connected. If you aren't organized you certainly will have a hard time being motivated.

So, stay motivated and let me know what things you do that work for you too.

2010 First Friday Pep

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. ~Les Brown

I thought this would be a good quote for January, what with everyone planning new year goals and resolutions. Several years ago this one of my favourite quotes because it encouraged big dreams. And even if I did not hit that big dream I would still get a result that would be outstanding.

But shooting for a big goal can also be depressing because naturally as human beings disappointment at not hitting the big dream can easily push us off track completely. But I still wanted to share this with you because I have seen goal setting in this way help people to achieve things that they never thought were possible.

Being a risk taker, or being oblivious to limitations are the people who work well with this kind of goal setting.  I am always envious of people who are blind to their own limitations, the rest of us spend all our time thinking ourselves out of everything, including achieving our dreams.

Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible. ~Doug Larson

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. ~T.S. Eliot

But I am going to get off my soap box of encouraging big goals, and grand dreams. What I really want to share with you for January, for 2010, for this teen decade, is about staying on track, or adjusting your path to achieve the results you want. Most importantly I want to share with you are quotes to keep you motivated on working at achieving your goal whether you feel like you are on track or not.

Of course, you know you can stop, if you realize that a goal is not really a true reflection of what you want, or if you realize that what you want is shrouded in an inappropriate goal. There are many valid and appropriate reasons to not pursue a goal if the goal wasn't right in the first place. 

But I am sure you are aware that many of us will stop pursing our goals out of fear of failure, out of fear of success, out of disappointment because we are not moving as fast as we had hoped, etc.  So in the vein of perseverance here are a few good quotes that will encourage you to keep on going.

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. ~Author Unknown It is never too late to be who you might have been. ~George Eliot

One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks. ~Jack Penn

Hey, Happy New Year to you. To your big dreams. And not giving up!!!!

What a difference a year makes

Wow, it is finally 2010. Like most people, 2009 was a little bit of a challenge for me. I went to a 100% cash basis for everything (thank goodness for debit cards) including my business.  It really made me think about all purchases as I had to have the money in the bank before I could spend it. I also had to plan ahead if I had a trip coming up or other big expenses.

Now that I have been doing "cash only" for a year, it is getting easier and easier. I don't have any new debt and my business is thriving (possibly a side benefit?). If you would have told me last January that the year would have ended the way it did, I would have said "no way!" 

In 2009, I joined a high level mastermind program (with my mentor Fabienne Fredrickson), launched two new websites and I am totally redoing my VA business to include more subcontractors with me in a more strategic role. I am also teaching more classes and working on my home study system (on teams and systems).

So now my plans for 2010 are BIG! I am planning on expanding and offering new things that are out of my comfort zone and developing new products. My new found confidence comes from the stretching I did in 2009.  So while 2009 might have been hard at times (really hard), I realize that it was also a huge year of growth as well.

Make sure you take some time to think about your accomplishments for 2009 and really plan ahead for a fabulous 2010. Be sure that your goals are SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, Timebound) and most of all fun. And don't forget to stretch yourself. It might be uncomfortable but will be much more rewarding in the long run.

A wish for a chance to review self

At this time of the year it is traditional, and somewhat inbuilt that we will spend some time to review the past year and more importantly make plans for the New Year. My Virtual Wire colleague recently spoke about business plans and I applaud this article and want to take it a step further.

Do your plans include a review of self? A review and introspective look into who you are as a business person – your talents, your natural working style, your standards and values. This is what I wish for you and for me, that we can find a clearer insight into who we are, and reveal what will allow us to excel. To this end Seth Godin recently offered a free e-book called “What Matters Now.”  This book is a compilation from more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. In Seth’s own words this book encourages “a different way of thinking, a useful way to focus and the energy to turn the game around.” And that is my wish for you. Enjoy!

A wish for more music in my life

I am doing some personal wishing this week, with the hope that it may resonate with you as well. I have realised that in the past few years I have not been that good at spending time just listening to music and meditating in a sense. You know how music can really help relax the senses or on the other hand boost energy?

 

Well I remember that for me music also encourages me to forecast, create, organize, develop ideas and strategize. Music is an integral part of my growth. I suppose it is an integral part of who I am. But you know how it goes; I got serious, worked hard and neglected that part of me. So for me I wish to bring music back into my life, and for you I wish that you identify what maybe missing from your creative, developmental and strategic process. Maybe something untraditional and definitely something that is unique to you.

Planning for 2010

My wish for everyone is that they stop for a moment in the weeks ahead and make a plan for 2010!

I am reviewing my financials, looking at my goals I set for 2009 (and how I did), and just looking at my life. I have scheduled vacation for the week between Christmas and New Year’s to do this more in-depthly and to finish my vision boards.

I usually have a theme for the year and I am trying to choose between:

• Delegate like your life depended on it
• Learn, Learn, Learn, Teach, Teach, Teach

I love to learn new things and to teach as well, but I really think if I want my business to move ahead at the fast pace that I am projecting—then I really need to delegate and ask for help. The concept of asking for help is very foreign to me because it means giving up some control. Now I don’t think I will be abdicating control, but I will definitely be looking for team members that can do projects/tasks almost as well as I do (and then have them do the projects with me supervising).

My mentor, Fabienne, tells me all the time the following phrases:

Winners take imperfect action

How you do anything is how you do everything

So I guess I just answered my own question about the theme! It will be “Delegate like your life depended on it” otherwise I won’t have time for the learning and teaching.

First Friday Pep

Usually each First Friday I like to start my blogging for the month with some inspirational quotes with an explanation of what the quote meant to me and how I intend to use it in that month. In December I am doing something slightly different, because I am joining in with 31 Days of Wishes, so I want to share my wishes for the month of December:

1. I wish that my new client in December will be a relationally mature ideal client who is committed to a long-term relationship.
2. I wish that my “out of office” time will be as constructive as I have arranged it to be.
3. I wish my family time this month to be as joyous as it has always been in December.
4. I wish that my AssistU colleagues have a great December month and for those that enjoy any kind of festivity this month do so with a big smile on their face.
5. I wish that many business owners find time to indulge 30 seconds each day this month to partake in their own special 31 Days of Wishes. As Stacy says it is such a small thing that can bring so much more into life then expected. 

Here is my quote for the month. Enjoy and jump on the 31 Days of Wishes bandwagon.

“Wishing is good for us. Daydreams, fantasies, castles in the air, and aspirations all drive us forward, impel us to make things happen. They also tell us a lot about ourselves. Our wishes come straight from our core.” -- Anonymous

I am so grateful

As the Thanksgiving holiday draws near and the new year is approaching, I am thinking about my goals for 2010. But before I can plan for 2010, I need to assess what happened in 2009. I know I had a great year but I really need to evaluate:

• Income
• Expenses
• Client satisfaction/retention
• New clients
• Marketing
• New projects
• New businesses

I am going to spend the next couple of days looking at the last 12 months with respect to the above items and see how that translates into my goals for 2010. I know I have a couple of new businesses/services I am rolling out but what happens with my old services—do I phase those out or keep them? I have a lot of questions that I really need to reflect on and get clear about.

One tool that I really love to do every year is a vision board. Last year I did one that had five “boards” that comprised of my whole “vision” board. The following areas of my life were represented:

• Free/personal time
• Health/appearance goals
• Making a difference
• Financial goals
• Personal growth

I based these areas loosely on Jack Canfield’s vision boards (http://www.dreambigcollection.com/). I know I skipped a couple areas as I couldn’t find any pictures or anything to describe them (and I can’t honestly remember what the areas are now so they must not have been important to me). It’s fun to see my boards on my wall in my office and remember visually what my goals are. I plan on working on new vision boards this week as well.

I don’t think you can have a vision for a new year, without looking at how the last one turned out. So, this week is all about reflection and planning for the future. And this all leads me back to being really grateful for the amazing year that I have had both personally and professionally. I have never made this much money or been so happy in all areas of my life. I have really stretched myself and done some things I never thought I would do. How has 2009 shaped up for you and what plans do you have for 2010?