The Virtual Wire

The first of the month

If you are a single mom like me (3 kids, ages 17, 15 and 11), you hate the first of the month. You have invoicing to do, credit cards to process for client payments, follow up on ones that don't go through, pray that the credit card payments show up in your bank account in time to pay rent on the 3rd. It is so stressful some months especially if the first lands on a weekend.

So what is an entrepreneur to do?  Well one thing that has really helped me is by increasing my marketing funnel to include some free things and some other streams of revenue. I rolled out my Sharon Broughton Academy a few months ago and it is going well. I am starting my second cart class today and I have probably triple the number of students as last time. Now don't get me wrong, I did a lot more marketing this time and I did it differently: 1) I had a preview call "Shopping Cart Unleashed" which was very well attended; 2) I offered a discount but only for a short period of time; and 3) I had a special discount just for AssistU grads. But the fact remains that I had an additional source of revenue this month other than my virtual assistance practice.

This month I have an opening in my VA practice as two clients have graduated. I did a great job building them a team so that they didn't need me anymore (kinda sad about that, but glad for the client). So I am definitely marketing my opening for one 10-15 hour client much differently than the last time I had an opening. I actually don't remember the last time I went looking for a client. I am reading a book by Dan Kennedy and the particular chapter I read last night was talking about the "cost per client" to get a new client. You need to look at the lifetime of the client income. How much money is that one new client worth to your business over the 2-3 year period (or longer) that they are in your life?  How much am I willing to invest to get that one client? I have been hesitating signing up for the Assistu Registry (cost around $250). So for the cost of less than one new client for a month--I didn't want to spend the money. How silly is that?  So I will be signing up for the registry ASAP. I am also going to work on my target list of businesses that I want to pursue. I love working with online entrepreneurs that are already making six figures and want to take that to seven figures. I only work with motivated people that want to grow their company substantially over the next 12 months. So I need to work on drawing up that list and doing some research on their current VA team, what I can add to the mix, does it make sense to pursue them, where do they hang out, what can I do to wow them? Lots of things to think about.

And the beauty of all this is since I have my cart class this month and the extra income that comes along with it, I can take my time (well not too long) finding that ideal client and sealing the deal. So when the first of April comes around, my new client will be in place and a new class will be rolling out (Product Launch 101 is next!).

How can you diversity and create multiple streams of income in your business? What is your unique ability that you can share with the world? Start creating and get rid of the "first of the month" headaches.

New Media Marketing Evolution

Marketing is a big deal. A really, really, really, big deal, and for small business owners it can be a mind-field. One of the most important things I think most business owners forget and I see this in many of my clients, is that marketing their business cannot be exactly the same as anyone else, because of their unique individuality and perspective.

This is even more apparent when it comes to internet marketing. It is so funny that so many “experts” say that you have to market in their way or you are really not on the ball, yet every single day a new tool, a new approach comes out that rocks, but is different to what everyone else was talking about, and then a “new” expert is born! You see my thing is that we must and should learn from what has been done already, and what works, but never, ever, ever forget that each one of us has a unique voice, an unusual perspective, and don’t be afraid to go against the status quo, because you know what? The status quo changes all the time. So today I was going to talk about doing things differently, or just adding a small twist to what is now the norm, and I came across this great YouTube video via New Media Mavens

They are going to be discussing the evolvement of new media for the month and I might just follow along with them and post my thoughts and comments here or just talk through my thoughts as I have them. I look forward to our future discussions on this and please comment below on the video if you resonates with you in any way.

Staying ahead of the pack

One thing I really pride myself on is that I stay ahead of the pack. It is really a pretty easy thing to do--sometimes. I tend to micro-size my news however (since I don't watch the news on the television) by just glancing at Yahoo or CNN maybe once a week. I am almost ashamed to say that I didn't know about the Haiti earthquake until a couple of days after it happened. I could not figure out why people on Facebook were so concerned about Haiti! So there are some pitfalls with my refusal to watch the news. The good part is that I don't hear about all the insignificant bad news that might be happening or that the news agencies want us to know about. I would much prefer to hear all the good news and that is hard to find on national TV.

So to keep up with technology and other interesting happenings I read industry magazines and periodicals (Inc., Fast Company, and the Sacramento Business Journal) and by reading blogs and industry information from cutting edge people. One of my favorite people to follow is Seth Godin. He posts on his blog quite regularly and I get updates from his feed. He is always doing something interesting and has great opinions. He is very much an "outside the box" thinker and I really like that. He posted a hilarious blog today. He probably didn't think it would amuse me that much (not that he thinks about me--he no doubt doesn't even know me) but I couldn't help laughing when I read it. Here is the post I am referencing. Not to spoil the fun but he is talking about the new Apple tablet PC. I had heard rumblings about the new computer recently and I was very intrigued about what it might look like, features etc.  Apple is really cutting edge.

Any way, I thought it was hilarious that Seth was blogging about a super-secret new computer that Apple was launching soon (next week?). Read the post and tell me what you think. How do you stay ahead of the pack? What industry magazines, blogs, etc. do you follow?

Can I get it all done?

As I launch a new side business (my training academy) I am finding myself overwhelmed with so much to do. I have to look at my “to do list” with the criteria of “which project HAS to be done NOW?” I really hate that feeling of perpetually being behind and it isn’t like me. My clients love me and I don’t want to disappoint them but how do I get it all done?

I do have a couple of tricks that I do so I stay organized and on target for project completion.  The first one is my promise sheet. I take a sheet of paper (sometimes I just print the week’s blank calendar from Outlook). I make sure it has the days of the week and I just jot down what has to be done on certain days. I put down all my client ezines and when the draft is due to them and when it needs to be scheduled to send. I also list any promises I have made to my clients as far as deadlines. On Sundays I usually plan out my week with the promises and as I make a new promise I add that on the day and time that it was promised. I like to be specific in my expectations of when projects will be complete with my clients and this has really helped. I know I have to put it down somewhere on my “promise sheet” so when I am getting the details from the client I ask for a specific deadline for various milestones of the project.

Another trick I use (although I doubt it is really a trick, more like a system) is Central Desktop. I track all milestones and project deadlines in there and my clients each have their own workspace. I break the project down into manageable chunks with deadlines and details. My clients can login and see what has been done. Every Monday I send out a status report with hours used month-to-date and they know to check Central Desktop for the specific status of a project.

And my last trick is to build my team. I have a lot of client websites that are wordpress so I just hired a wordpress person to help me. I also put it out to the universe (and posted it online) that I need HTML help, social networking help and shopping cart help. So on Tuesday I have a bunch of 15 minute interviews set up. I have been resisting building a team as I didn’t want to manage a bunch of subcontractors (or have a multi-VA team), but I don’t have a choice anymore. I NEED HELP! I also need the subcontractors to work on my academy as well. I should be able to manage the subs with Central Desktop and I have also been investigating www.myclientspot.com which tracks projects, time spent, retainers, etc.

I know my overwhelm is only temporary and the side effect of my growing pains. So my question is—can I get it all done without my head exploding?  I will let you know next week!

A couple of business-marketing ideas from Small Business Trends

Marketing for local business

I had to share with you an interesting new marketing idea that I came across recently. This post on Small Business Trends talks about using the power of Google maps to grab long-tailed searches through people that are looking for local services or businesses.

A couple of my clients tend to only work with local businesses or customers, and using this method to attract their target market seems like a fantastic idea. So although I am not local to my clients, this is still a great tool that I, as a virtual assistant, can try out to help them build their business.

Let me know what you think of this marketing method, and of course any results you reap if you give this method a try.

Marketing Webinars

It can be quite a task to market a webinar, especially for a business that is fairly new and with a limited list of prospects or clients. This recent posts at Small Business Trends introduces a new service called WebinarHero which allows businesses to advertise their webinars for free or very cheaply depending on your requirements.

It is still in beta mode, and appears to have some glitches, but again definitely something to try on behalf of your client. Of course, share what you tried, what you liked or even if you know of something better.

A couple of ideas that I hope you find useful. I would love to hear if you use these and how they work out for you.

Business ownership and moms

I've written here about Women Business Owners a couple of times, and each time I read through the statistics, I'm amazed. 

As we approach a day set aside here in the USA to honor a special group of women, Moms, it's a great time to recall these facts about women who own and operate businesses. 

Many of these women mentioned in that report are moms, too.  The term "mompreneur" has sprung up as a result of that growing number of mothers operating their own businesses.  That's a big deal!  Receiving that kind of PR and recognition for the role women who are mothers and business owners play in our society today is astonishing to me.

If you're reading this and you are playing the role of business owner and mom -- why not take a moment (okay, more than a moment, if you're able) to reflect on your wonderful and amazing achievement!  Not only are you loving and nurturing a child (or grandchild), you're nurturing a business, too! That's huge!

Something to celebrate, don't you agree?

Stand by for Microsoft Office 2010

Did you know that Microsoft’s code name for Office 2007 was [is] Office 12? Now you do. Can you guess the code name for the next version of Microsoft Office? No, sorry, corporations (like Microsoft) continue to avoid the number 13 like the plague: Enter Office 14 (Microsoft Office 2010 as it will be called).

For those of you getting used to the Ribbon interface, well, good news … it will still be there, and based on some early screen captures (this one shows Excel), it looks pretty much the same.

So when the new version of Office is released (the commercial release of their common productivity titles is rumored to be in early 2010), in what ways will it be different than Microsoft Office 2007? For starters, Microsoft is not allowing public beta testing; curious. But besides that, one of the biggest changes has to do with the fact that it will be the first ever Office suite engineered for 64-bit computer systems. Perhaps looking at what’s happening now on the Internet, Microsoft will also release a web-based version of Office. Think of cloud computing and Web 2.0, and that last factoid will make sense.

When Microsoft did a complete redesign on its user interface for their Office 2007 line of products (what we know as the Ribbon), they approached it conceptually, and it was meant to mimic the process you and I follow when creating and editing documents. Their concept for various Office 2010 titles, according to Chris Capossela, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Information Worker Product Management Group, includes a “response to a shift in how people and businesses use technology today. The line between home and work has blurred, so people want more choice and flexibility in how, where and when they work.”

On that note, I’d like to give credit to all savvy virtual assistants, who have been living through and thriving on this “blurred” line. Perhaps the new version of Office will catch up to where we've been, and how we've been working for years!

Computer Productivity Tools

On the new media mavens blog they listed their top 20 online productivity tools.   I wanted to be able to share their list with you and also provide a list of my own:

1. Capture notes, web pages and tag everything for easy search.  I love evernote because it is cross-platform and synchronises automatically so I always have access to all my notes whether on my MAC or PC - http://www.evernote.com/
2. On-line tracking solution.  Easy to use, edit and update and because it is online is obviously cross-platform, and has a handy mobile option.  Caveat this has gone down a few times, but I export my timesheets weekly, so I feel pretty secure.  – www.myhours.com
3. Fantastically handy tool, that can capture a picture of my screen, or record a video and I can choose to share instantly via web, IM or email, or I can save to my harddrive for future use.  It is easily accessible at the top of my screen without being intrusive.  www.jingproject.com
4. A new addition to my repatoire is Digsby, but I am already in love.  I can track twitter conversations and respond directly in the toolbar, as well as manage multiple IM conversations.  But what really impresses me is that I can monitor the emails from all my POP, gmail, yahoo etc email accounts without having to be in those tools.  I am just waiting for Digsby to be available for the MAC and to connect with Skype chat and I will be ‘happy as a lark’.  www.digsby.com
5. For online sharing and storage, Dropbox is a gem.  Again cross platform and easily shared with other users.  Users need to download and install the software, but that is the hardest part.  Then your dropbox just neatly sits in the toolbar and everytime a document is worked on all sharers versions and synchronized and you receive a note to update.  I share my Dropbox with several of my clients, and they use their own individual folders.  It is very cool.  www.getdropbox.com

When character count counts

Sometimes, well, you just have to “laser” your comments. You have to reign them in, you have to be more efficient, you to be less wordy, you have to … (fill in your own analogy here).

Blogs–take The Virtual Wire for example–are a good case for writing in brief. Though posts can be lengthy, and are best split into two parts when lengthy, brevity is in. Some of the best writing on the Internet has been ‘chunked up’ into easily digestible parts.

A really great example for keeping it short is Twitter. You hear a lot about Twitter these days, and many AssistU virtual assistants, including myself, have a presence there. In fact, AssistU’s Owner, President, & Chief Visionary Officer, Stacy Brice, has recently been voted to the "Top 50 Tweeple to Follow" list. An amazing accomplishment, and done in a short period of time.

Twitter is a great example for being succinct because posts are limited to 140 characters (that’s right, characters). If you’ve always struggled with writing because you feel you don’t have enough to say, well, Twitter is just for you! If you’re guilty of being verbose (yes, my hand just went up!), Twitter will take care of that. Twitter is a wonderful (social) networking site, and more. In a sentence or two, you can put together powerful key messages that reach a huge audience. Or you can simply talk to your fellow Tweets (publicly, or privately through messaging).

One last thought about precious character space. If you want to include a lengthy URL in one of your posts (whether on Twitter, in a blog, or perhaps in an e-mail), there’s a great *free* service called TinyURL. You type in a lengthy URL and it gives you back a shortened version. You then copy and paste the TinyURL version into your text. It’s that easy.

Entrepreneurs - start with what you have right now!

Last week I participated in a conference call and when I mentioned that I no longer used Microsoft Office programs, there was a gasp and a silence that followed.  Yes, I am skilled at '07, I am a certified Microsoft Office User Specialist, and I know the ins-ad-outs of most of the software.  However, when it came time to purchase the appropriate version for the business, I couldn't justify the $679 price tag, or the $1,400 for another piece of software I desperately needed.  The cost didn't prevent me from moving forward, I just found a more cost-effective way of doing the same thing!  I downloaded Open Office for FREE.  I then downloaded the full version of Nitro PDF (equivalent to Adobe Professional) for FREE (when the trial is over, I'll purchase it for $99). 

Like many of you, as entrepreneurs, we need to market our business, upgrade our software and fill our skill gaps, but we also need to work with what we have.  Some of us try to wait until with have it all together, and we procrastinate for whatever reason and a year later, we still don't have whatever it was that we really wanted.  We use lack of money, lack of time and other external factors as reasons for not having what we want.  We are perfectionists – at times that has its place - but for the entrepreneur, if it's in the way of success, it's got to go.

If it's marketing that we need, try to do it at an expense that you can maintain. Remember, if we are disciplined and determined, we've got to be able to stick with it for a long enough period of time to see the results we need.

Start with a tight strategy.  Without a strategy, every opportunity looks like a good one.  We need to be focused on what we've determined success looks like.  Don't deviate from the plan by becoming distracted and overwhelmed.  Two critical strategies to develop are a business plan and a marketing plan (perhaps an Internet marketing plan).