If you are finishing up your holiday purchases for clients and staff this week I have a tip for you. Should you be ahead of the game, please utilize this information for future purchases.

Due to the dramatic increase of purchases during the holiday season, retailers greatly increase their staff. At times, they may hire people they usually would not due to the volume of sales during the season. Recently I purchased gifts on behalf of a client for their clients and was surprised about the poor client service with a particular retailer of whom I’ve been a customer for many years.

This retailer is an international company known for their exceptional quality and client service. The first snafu may have been their promotional email. This led to item selections and free shipping however when I checked out, my cart said there was a shipping discount, not 100% free shipping as was promised.

As I’m old school, I called to inquire…this is where the large mess began. What should have been an easy 10 minute order online, morphed into hours on the phone and FB PM spanning many days due to customer service agents who may not have been employees during the regular season.

During the holidays don’t assume the retailers you frequent during the year will have the same service or the same team. If shopping online, pay very close attention to the confirmation and check out pages to ensure all are correct:

• Items ordered and quantities
• Gift messages
• Ship to information
• Delivery date

In this time of holiday rush, it’s easy to purchase quickly and not pay attention or delegate the task to someone who doesn’t have a detailed eye and isn’t concerned about your business aka doesn’t have your back. Do not make this mistake! Remember, every gift you give to a client and potential client, represents you and your business. You work hard and impressions matter…details are important.

The post Holiday Shopping for Your Business…A Detailed Eye Is Necessary first appeared on Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance.

As time progressed, my doctor told me that I couldn’t wait any longer and had to have surgery. As business owners, none of us can afford prolonged time away however we’ve also learned, especially as we get older, that our health is our first priority. I’ve always been a healthy active person thus the realization that I would indeed have to have surgery and take time away from my clients and business was a challenge.

I’ll spare you many of the details of the months long process. One of high points I experienced that I think it’s important to share is the client aka patient experience in a few of the medical professionals in my care.

I was supposed to be operated on by then my current doctor however there was a last minute glitch with their office. Long story short my surgery was cancelled the day before it was scheduled. I had finally wrapped my mind around this life event, my clients had been notified and all was set. After the glitch, I reached back out to my doctor only to find they could not operate for quite a while due to their hectic schedule and gave me a few referrals. Though they said it may seem like they were passing me off on another doctor, they really weren’t and would take care of me post-op. It 100% seemed that way and how everything was handled put a very bad taste in my mouth.

The Lord took care of me…
One of the referrals proved to be an awesome doc. Turns out, one of my clients knew him well, reached out to him immediately and he was able to see me right away though this doctor is in tremendous demand. I shared with him what happened; he and his staff took tremendous care of me, answered all mine and my husband’s questions and scheduled my surgery within weeks. He also shared with me that for future visits, I may be in the waiting room a while because he always takes quite a bit of time with his patients. I don’t know about you but I don’t mind at all waiting for a doctor like this.

Surgery day arrives…
My doctor came to visit me in casual clothes, spoke very calmly to me and my husband and answered all our questions. It was extremely important to him that I was taken care of and comfortable.

Post surgery, my husband told me that my doctor continued his top care of me instructing the hospital staff to not put me in a room they were going to but that he wanted me on a certain floor in the hospital.

During my hospital stay, I never lacked anything. The care was topnotch from the doctors to the nurses to food service.

I know there are many bad things that happen in healthcare. As a business owner, looking at all that happened with these two very different doctors and their respective groups, I can see why my new doctor’s group is very much in demand. They do not pass off their patients on other doctors and leave them hanging. To date that first doctor has never reached out to inquire how I’m doing though I’m not surprised.

As many of us who have gone through a major surgery and own businesses can attest, it changes you in a way. I’m extremely grateful to the Lord for taking care of me and giving me a top of class doctor who takes stellar care of his patients especially knowing what a stressful event pre-op, surgery, and post op recovery can be. My clients are also tops in my book for sticking with me through this challenging event, checking in to see how I was doing and continuing our work together.

The post An Unplanned Surgery…What It Taught Me About Customer Service first appeared on Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance.

It is a tremendous honor each day to lead my firm and support our clients. As a veteran in the industry, I’m often asked what do I think of this article or that one. While I’m glad there is a tremendous amount of information on the internet about Virtual Assistants and the industry, much of it is incorrect. Due to this, it can be very confusing for business owners contemplating partnering with a VA to understand if a VA is the right fit for them and their business.

First and foremost, a Virtual Assistant or Virtual Professional is a business owner first, support professional second. Though this seems like a simple concept, it’s one of the biggest misconceptions I see. There is much confusion over this and sadly there are VAs who misrepresent themselves (They do not see themselves as a business owner) so its no wonder their clients don’t either.

This is not a gig until we land our next career role…
Too many new VAs and sadly some who have been in business for a few years are not serious about being a business owner. A VA is NOT someone who can type or is making a little money working in their basement. As a veteran professional VA, my business is my career which supports my family. I’m not looking for a promotion, I own the company. My team and I support our clients everyday based on our expertise of many years owning our VA businesses and 20-30 years of corporate experience.

Peer/peer relationship not boss/employee…
Though VAs are in administrative, financial or technology support roles, we are on the same level as our clients whether they are an attorney, CPA, or Ph.D. We do not work for our clients, we are their partner in the success and longevity in their businesses. As their partner, we consult with them on a host of items that only another small business owner would understand.

Professional VAs charge enough to stay in business…
A few years ago, I was asked to speak at a roundtable of seasoned women business owners. One of the topics I spoke about was rates and asked these awesome ladies what I refer to as my lightbulb question ‘Could you stay in business if you charged $25 – $50 an hour for your services?’ They all gasped and said ‘Of course not!’. Then I asked ‘Then why do you look for cheap professionals to help you manage your business? Don’t you want these people to be able to afford to stay in business and be a long-term part of your team?’ You guessed it…the lightbulbs went on all over the room and a few heads hung in embarrassment. VAs are just like the clients we serve – we all realize owning a business is a financial investment…
-Equipment, software, office space and supplies
-Certifications,licenses and courses
-Networking groups
-Professionally designed marketing collateral
-Conferences
-Coaching
-Team members

I look forward to hearing your story of success when you partner with the right VA or VP for you and your business!

Sue

The post Is Your Business Ready for A Professional Virtual Assistant? first appeared on Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance.

In 11 years of business I’ve interacted with thousands of small business owners. Many of these folks have amazing businesses however they do not understand how to have an enjoyable AND long-term partnership with a contractor. Before hanging up our small business shingles most of us worked in corporate positions as employees. We had bosses and received regular paychecks and benefits regardless of whether we did a great job or not.

Then we became business owners and everything changed.  Now we are the boss and responsible for our own income and benefits.  We hire our own team and prospect for clients.  How in the world can we do it all? You guessed it!  Trusted professional team members.

You’ve done it!  You took your time, performed due diligence and finally on-boarded a great team member!  Congratulations! You know how to work with employees – how different can it be to work with a contractor?  Very!

Contractors…

• Partner with multiple clients. If you need immediate response or a professional who only works with you an employee is the best fit.
• Are business owners = a peer.  Treat them as a trusted colleague.
• Pay their own taxes.  Unclear about taxes for independent contractors? The IRS has guidelines and information.
• Detest micromanaging clients. If this behavior persists clients will be fired.
• Provide own technology, office space and supplies.
• Select the clients they partner with. Similar to their clients, contractors have specific target markets they partner with.
• Choose own office hours, time off, etc.
• Are partners in their clients business success. They are not in it for a paycheck on Friday. Contractors network for theirs and their clients businesses.
• Have a consultant’s brain. Strategy with clients is part of the value add.
• Share their amazing expertise with clients who value them.  Sound familiar?
• Attend training and conferences to upgrade skills and stay in the know about trends.

The post Working with Contractors – 11 tips first appeared on Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance.

We all need help and there’s no shame in admitting it.  Wise and successful business owners know their time is best invested in tasks they enjoy that generate revenue.  They know delegating admin and operations tasks to a professional is necessary for their sanity and bottom line.

How often do you send out a newsletter?  Weekly, monthly, quarterly, never?  ‘But Sue it takes sooo long for me to find articles, create the template, and enter all my contacts!’  My answer to you is why are Y-O-U doing any of this.  Delegate it to a professional someone and focus on tasks you are good at AND that generate revenue.  If you charge, let’s say $500/hour, for your services and you spend (Notice I didn’t say invest) 4 hours creating your newsletter, you’ve wasted $2K.  That time could have been invested with a client or prospecting for a new one.  Professionals who create newsletters don’t charge what you charge and also don’t take four hours to create a great newsletter.

As the New Year is about to be upon us I challenge you to take a new look at your business and consider delegating tasks to a virtual assistant or other professional.  These folks are highly skilled and will get you out from underneath the admin and operations pile to able to focus on tasks you enjoy that generate revenue.  If you need some referrals you know who to reach out to.

The post The $50K Calendar & $2K Newsletter first appeared on Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance.

The holidays are here and we are busy putting our lists together (Or our assistant is) of all those folks we are grateful for.  Clients, colleagues, family.  What about the people who are priceless – our team members.  They make our lives much more enjoyable as they ensure everything at the office runs smoothly.  Hmmmm…

During this season, and frankly, throughout the year, I’m challenging you (And myself) to thank your team more often.  Really be grateful as many of us (I’m raising my hand too) don’t stop to think just how much we need them in our businesses and what an awesome job they do for us!  I’m thankful for Rhonda, Donna, Diana, Lisa, Angie, and Lisa.  They help me immensely and probably don’t even know it.  Though I thank them I can always do more.  Three of the gals I mentioned above are my coaches.  You may not consider a coach as part of your team – I do.  Though I’m a veteran business owner I still have blind spots and things I need to work on.

Consider how you are going to thank your team.  What do they like?  If you don’t know find out.  Listed below are ways my personal clients show their gratitude to me and ways I show appreciation to my team throughout the year.  Please don’t ever be one of those folks who says ‘Well, I pay them for doing their job.  That’s enough.’  Can you say Scrooge!

• Flowers
• Gift cards
• Bonus checks
• Conference registrations
• Airline tickets
• Client referrals
• Sporting event tickets
• Food gifts
• Coaching and other programs
• Charitable donations

The post Thanked Your Contractor Lately? first appeared on Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance.

Let’s face it as business owners we already have too much to do.  Ideally we’d love to return all our calls and emails personally however that’s just not realistic if we want our businesses to grow.  Shopping is the same.

For many years VAs like me have taken this load off our clients’ overflowing plates.  They are relieved and we thoroughly enjoy shopping and sending cards.  Our clients look like the thoughtful people they are and VAs get a kick out of knowing the recipient will love the thoughtful gesture.

Contemplating delegating your gift giving throughout the year?  Thanks to the online world pretty much everything can be purchased online (Even cards).  Additionally, if your assistant is willing (And has good taste!), they can purchase gifts at a physical location.  I’ve done this for clients for years.  It’s fun for me and the client is thrilled.  Here are a few examples of items your assistant can send on your behalf:

• Thank you notes
• Flowers
• Sporting event tickets
• Wedding and baby gifts
• Food gifts
• Holiday gifts and cards
• Gift cards

Have your assistant help you create the list.  The more often she/he helps you with this they’ll get an idea of your taste, budget and frequency.  As a seasoned personal shopper I receive great deals from merchants year round.  My rolodex is a go to for great  vendors for flowers, cookies, cards, you name it.

Last but not least, as you contemplate giving gifts, whether during the holidays or year round, don’t forget your team.  After all they are the folks who run your business seamlessly all year long.  Find out what kind of gifts they appreciate and let them know how thankful you are for all their help.

Need some assistance with gift giving or keeping in touch with your clients and colleagues?  Send me an email and we’ll do some brainstorming.

The post Consider Delegating Holiday Shopping first appeared on Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance.

A thought occurred to me…is this practicing professional courtesy?  It could also be thought of as the Golden Rule – ‘Do unto others…’.  Do I always do this?  No.  I am a continual work in progress – there are many areas I need to improve on.

What about you?  Do you send legends and notes in your spreadsheets or do you expect the receiver to understand your train of thought?  If you are a web developer transitioning a client, do you send the client and new developer all the passwords and any additional info they need?  As an Ops Manager, Executive Assistant or Office Manager do you create training guides and SOP’s so the folks who come after you have all the info they need to know about how the business functions, who the vendors are, who the clients are and where to find this and that?  As a social media professional are you consistently researching your clients’ competition to see what they are posting about?

Isn’t this stuff we’d all like to know as the client or the new guy/gal on the team?  Just some food for thought for a fall Friday.

The post Do You Practice Professional Courtesy? first appeared on Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance.

Awesome events are just that…awesome!  All the planning that goes into events can be done by anyone.  Hundreds of details, endless communications and deadlines are so simple to do.

You love…

• Negotiating contracts with Sales and Catering
• Viewing speaker websites and videos to select just the right one your attendees will enjoy
• Purchasing and wrapping gifts
• Creating rockin PowerPoints that wow your audience
• Keeping track of RSVPs and cancellations
• Managing the budget
• Pouring over menus to ensure you select the one to please all tastes
• Endless communications with the venue
• Proofing and editing documents from the printer

What!  You don’t enjoy and aren’t good at the tasks above?  You’d rather just arrive and have everything done?  Y-O-U are not alone. 

I always laugh when I hear folks complaining about how much event professionals and meeting planners charge.  Those folks have no idea the time invested in planning an event – any event.  Having skilled professionals at the helm is an absolute must.  These professionals are worth every dime – in fact they are priceless!  Event and meeting professionals are highly skilled and have the expertise to work with vast amounts of data and details on a daily basis.  We (Yep I’m one of them) actually enjoy this stuff.  The tasks that nauseate you really get us jazzed!  We are absolutely thrilled to work behind the scenes and make our clients look great.

So…the next time you attend an event please show gratitude to the coordinator.  They will soooo appreciate that you took the time to thank them!

The post Do Not Delegate Event Planning first appeared on Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance.

Tons of webinars and e-books teach you how to create a beautiful proposal.  You’ve also learned how to follow up and you think you are doing that well.  So what happened to those prospects you spoke with last week, last month, last year?  They received your beautifully detailed proposal and you’ve followed up several times.  Nothing.  Nadda.  No contact.

I call this the Hurry Up and Wait period.  It’s usually the time where we get nervous especially if we really like the prospect and the potential work or we need more work.  If we have any head trash it will most likely rear it’s ugly head during this time.  It’s important that you do not freeze (Fear makes some people freeze).  Continue to work and market via social media, ezines and  other drip marketing methods.

Owning a business takes…

• Faith
• Guts
• Patience
• Determination
• Prayer
• Time
• Getting comfortable being uncomfortable
• Seeing the big picture
• Wisdom
• Consistently marketing so you’ll have enough prospects in your pipeline
• Developing your inner circle of resources and supportive colleagues
• Learning about social media, ezines, press releases and article marketing

The post Hurry Up and Wait first appeared on Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance.