Virtual Moxie - The Cure For The Common Virtual Assistance Practice

Happy Love Day!!

2012-02-14T02:03:00-05:00

So many people I know hate this day, choosing to see it as a made up day that only exists to enforce mass consumerism and overspending. I’ve been told that it’s a sham to have a "Valentine's" day to celebrate love when love should be celebrated all year long.

And I get it, I really do.

Being TOLD to be loving isn’t appealing. And people who demonstrate love one day/year and no other time aren’t really doing that at all. I just think there’s more goodness here than can be contained in whether or not to give someone a heart-shaped card and some chocolates and the discussion of societal repercussions of commercialism (blahblahblah).

For me, a person whose entire life and everything in it is 100% about love, I see it as a day that’s just like icing-on-the-cake. It’s not the whole goodness, but a little bit extra. And I simply can’t vilify something positive, much less vilify something positively pointing in the direction of love. A few days ago, a Facebook friend from the above-mentioned down-on-VDay camp told me she really appreciated my far less cynical approach to the day.

So, Happy Valentine’s Day! May you and all those you love feel your hearts filled with gooey, sappy, deeply felt and meant love from all sides today!♥♥♥

You know, about eighteen months ago when I started to know that my life purpose was to love people, I had such agita because I couldn’t think what it would mean to me, specifically, in my business.

Since day one, my business has always been built on less-than-masculine principles. There was no way for me to do it in any other manner and have it make a lick of sense to me. So love has always been present, but the focus? Not exactly.

Genuinely, if I could go sit on a rock in a field all day every day and have people come by that I could talk with and counsel and share love with, that would be sheer perfection. Who knows… maybe I’ve done that in another life.

But in this life, I have responsibilities and expenses to cover, and no community willing to pay those for me so I don’t have to do anything but sit on my rock sharing love (I am open to a wealthy backer doing that, though, so if you know of one, please send him/her my way!).

I figured, no one would pay for me to love her. At least, no one I knew would, nor was there anyone I’d heard of who had either paid for love or been paid to love.

The agita grew. I wasn’t happy any longer to just do the work I enjoyed doing, and there was no way to go back—the barn door was open and the horses were out! But I also couldn’t figure out how to move forward and do my work when no one would pay for love. What I used to do happily wasn't happy-making anymore.

And then I got it. My clients PAY for business coaching, business consulting, online community building, community membership, Virtual Assistant training, book writing/ghosting—all the things people pay me to do for them, and I DELIVER that. What they may or may not be aware of is that it’s all love coming from me. Every bit of it’s entirely wrapped up.. I’ve been told that anyone paying attention would get it—but I don’t know that everyone pays attention. Have you been aware that everything I write here is love in the form of blog posts? Just curious. :)

In wrapping my work in love, I realized that what I do—all if it—can be summed up this way: I love people in a business context.

Since coming to that realization, everything has changed for me in my business. I mean it—everything. From how I market, to how I teach, to how I think about money (including being paid for coaching with Love Offerings), to who I work with, to what I deliver and how, to the compassion I show people…all different. All better.

Is it the love that changed it? Yes—but it only transformed things because I was so willing to dive in, submerge myself, and behave as it directed me. Before the work could be transformed, I had to be willing to focus on what I know I’m on this earth to do.

So today, I’ll share a little love in the form of a question and ask you this…

In your business, are you doing what you’re here to do? If not, how would things be different for you if you were? How could you love and care for and about your work, your clients, and yourself even more than you do now?

There’s only one you. And you’re the only one who can do what you do. Given that the clock is always ticking, is there something—some amazingly awesome gift you bring with you—that you need to be offering to the world?

And do you have the moxie to offer it to others?It doesn't matter whether you tell anyone you're doing it. It doesn't matter if you do it in small, soft ways, or in ways that shake up the whole world. What matters is that you do it--whatever "it" is.

I couldn't agree more with Rilke, who said, "I could give you no advice but this: to go into yourself and to explore the depths where your life wells forth."

What do you say? I’d love to hear—either in comments, or in email. Is it enough to "do" work, or is there something more worth going for... more worth bringing forward? ♥

Moxie Tip 117: Why Do Worthwhile Work?

2012-02-13T02:38:00-05:00

Do you have Ho'ohana as opposed to just doing work to earn your daily bread?

Moxie Tip 116: Chase or Attract

2012-02-10T02:32:00-05:00

You can chase the work and clients by chasing hot skills, or you can do what you love and attract clients who need that. What sounds better to you?

Moxie Tip 115: Soft v Hard Skills

2012-02-09T02:29:00-05:00

In the services game, soft skills always trump hard skills. The reason? Hard skills can be learned by anyone, but soft skills are hard-won, and not easy or fast to learn. If your practice relies mainly on your hard skills, why would someone pay you when they fan get the tasks done for significantly less elsewhere? Assuming that they are paying you, chances are they're digging your soft skills, and the hard skills are secondary. Pay attention to that when you think about what to learn next.

Moxie Tip 114: Don't Leave $ on the Table!

2012-02-08T02:26:00-05:00

You could be leaving money on the table if you don't let your clients know what you've learned and how you've upgraded your skills and how all of that can help them. You can also be leaving money on the table if your upgraded learned and skills allow you to help clients in new and powerful ways but you don't raise your fee. Don't leave money on the table!!

I'm Not a Bank: Dealing With Late-Paying Clients

2012-02-07T02:38:00-05:00

(Image Credit: 123RF Stock Photos)

Molly wrote to pick my brain:

"I have a client I really enjoy working with. Unfortunately, she sometimes pays late. It’s getting to be more often, too. Whenever she has to pay late, it’s because either she didn’t bill her clients on time so her money didn’t arrive soon enough to use it to pay me, or her clients are late paying her and she doesn’t have it to pay me on time. Usually, it’s the second scenario.

In my agreement with her, I say that work will stop when an invoice is five days late.

She’s ok with stopping.

I feel like something’s wrong with this scenario, but I can’t put it into words, much less figure out how to talk with her about it.

Any light you can shed on this would be wonderful"

There are a couple of things going on that I can see. Maybe other readers will have other ideas—if you do, please be sure to share with us in comments!

1. You put the clause in your agreement about stopping work when invoices are late to protect yourself from being screwed. Smart, that. But what you didn’t think about was the client who wouldn’t mind stopping and picking up again when she’s able to pay. What you meant to do was create a disincentive. What your client sees is a way to keep her place in your practice even as she’s not honoring the agreement to pay you on time. She really shouldn’t be able to have both.

To shift this, consider changing your standard to include a consequence to stop this from happening. For instance, it might be that if you have to stop working for non-timely payment more than twice in a six-month period, you’ll stop working with the client all together.

You're not hard-hearted. Everyone can run into a snag. But....

2. You’re not a bank. Working but not being paid on time is tantamount to floating the client a loan. You can’t really afford to do that.

You want to work with clients who can easily afford your fee and who can reliably pay you each month. On time. Clients who are living as hand-to-mouth as your client seems to be can’t do that. And, in the general hierarchy of life, you will always be one of the last to be paid with whatever the available funds are. First will be her shelter, then food, then any services to keep life and work going that she can’t do without, and somewhere below that is you. I do realize that problems flow from one person to the next, but they don't have to flow to you. It's your choice to not allow this on a regular basis.

To shift this, consider creating a standard that says that you only work with clients who can easily afford your fee. They exist--I know because I am one and I know plenty of others.

To discern who can and cannot pay you reliably, you’ll need to have a fairly direct conversation with anyone you interview. You might consider saying that you need to know that you’ll be paid on time, and want the client to understand that your being paid cannot depend on her being paid. Ask what kind of cushion the client has to maintain cash flow or deal with tight money situations that will prevent paying you late. Then only work with clients who answer the question to your satisfaction.

With regard to this client, you might just say the truth: “I really enjoy working with you, and I can’t afford to be paid late any more. My invoice needs to be paid whether or not your invoices are paid. What other arrangements can you make so that this doesn’t happen again?”

Then only continue to work with her if her answer is satisfactory to you. Otherwise, let her go and create room for someone new who can afford to work with you and will pay you on time.

Good luck, Molly!

Moxie Tip 113: Scram, Fear!

2012-02-06T02:23:00-05:00

If fear drives you, you'll never have the business you want. Figure out what the fears are, root them out (with help if you need it!), so that they're out of your way once and for all!

Moxie Tip 112: Updating Your Clients

2012-02-03T02:21:00-05:00

You're growing, changing, becoming more "you" all the time. And because you work virtually, it's likely that your clients are absolutely blind to most of that. Consider a quarterly update email to your clients to fill them in. Maybe there's something new about you that will spark something new in one of them... and lead to new ways for you to work together!