I know this post – any post for that matter – is long overdue. But I just had to come back and wrap up the series by talking about the most important part of this conference by far: the people.

I often tell my clients, prospective clients and others that the virtual assistant industry is one of the most collaborative and supportive there is. So true. I was embraced from the time I started my business in 2006. My very first client was a VA colleague, and we worked together for almost three years. Near the beginning of our partnership I had the pleasure of meeting her in person at a VA conference in Dallas. All the wonderful people there made me realize that I’d chosen a pretty awesome profession.

Fast forward several years of business building and hard work without attending another VA conference until the IVAA Live Summit this spring in Phoenix. Boy, what I’ve been missing! Not to get too cumbaya, but it was one big smile and hug after another. Funny (interesting) to see who had changed since Dallas and who seemed exactly the same! Connecting and reconnecting with the folks I collaborate with in the forums and in serving our clients was fun and very gratifying.

The summit committees put together a great experience, including a (yummy) Welcome Evening Reception and Dinner with Strangers outing for organized networking. These two events, coming together for the hotel breakfasts, talking between sessions, and the many other spontaneous gatherings and conversations were my absolute favorite aspect of this conference. I’m still blown away by the camaraderie. Some of these are friendships that will last a lifetime.

Also striking was the high level of professional respect all around. I never felt an ounce of competition. It was all about how we could help and learn from each other. A common attitude of abundance. We impress upon our clients that “your success is my success”. This is true between virtual assistants as well. The more we help one another, the more successful we are and the better off our clients and the industry as a whole.

To wrap up and look ahead: I found out it takes a small village of volunteers to pull this off, so am serving on the 2011 Program Committee under Chairperson Carla Wilson. I can’t wait for next year’s live summit in May in Portland, Oregon!

If you want to know more or get involved, just let me know.

Marsha Petrie Sue, also our opening keynote speaker, was the perfect close, driving home the ideas of personal leadership and responsibility.

My key take-aways:

R&D – You are the company. Invest at least 2% of gross income in yourself yearly. Polish, improve and learn new tools to keep growing. This assuaged my last bit of guilt about spending on the IVAA conference, a very worthwhile investment.

Marsha went on to talk about good communications. This is HUGE for VAs – it makes our virtual mode of work possible.

Assertiveness (not aggressiveness) Model when dealing with challenging people

Have you ever tried to change another human being? I have — only to conclude it makes for great first marriages! – Marsha Petrie Sue

Assertive behavior allows us to stand up for our rights, while still valuing the rights of others. To say no – when that’s what’s called for to meet goals or establish boundaries – without feeling guilty and without losing a client. Tips for being assertive:

• Acknowledge or confirm the want, need, issue or conflict. Ask questions and dig deeper, if necessary.
• Use “I” language (I think, I want, I need, etc.).
• Provide two alternative solutions whenever you can. Let them choose.

It’s about mutual respect and that win-win situation.

Communication Styles

Marsha explained several general styles and recommended that we identify both our own and the other person’s, then flex our style to match the other’s more closely for better communication.

1. People People – slower paced and people oriented.
2. Party People – faster paced and people oriented.
3. Planning People – slower paced and task oriented.
4. Point People – faster paced and data oriented.

Aday VA clients, and their clients in turn, tend to be point people. I’ve personally “flexed” my style over time so as not to take offense at seemingly curt communications or to give them too much information or too many choices. I keep the niceties brief, summarize the data, and bottom line the results. More than 2-3 lines in an email is pushing it. Clear and concise! They’re appreciative and this people person is happy, too.

Listen Empathetically, Not Autobiographically – it’s not about you, so don’t make it so.

And finally, my action item…

Success Journal – Keep a notebook to jot down even the smallest of successes. This serves several purposes:

• Boosts self-confidence and motivation.
• Some positive self talk when we’re down. Wipe out our toxic thinking with reminders of our achievements.
• A handy record of our accomplishments. We have to take the lead in promoting ourselves. Be ready.

Related resources by Marsha on the above and more:

“Building Respect With Difficult People and Toxic Behavior”
“Smart Techniques to Encourage Cooperation”
Tools for Success

Take It. Leave It. Change It. – Marsha Petrie Sue

Next up: Good times, good people and a look ahead.

I love discussion panels. They get down to the nitty gritty of how things are done in practice.

The “Multi-VA Practice Panel Discussion” members were evenly divided between multi-va business owners and virtual assistants who belong to such teams (as well as having their own clients). Our multi-va business owner panelists were Terry Green and Kylie Short. Our team member panelists were Stacy Bergsma and Patty Dost.

Not surprisingly, there are several ways to manage a team. It was nice to reconfirm in my mind that we’re already “doing it right” here at Aday VA. I also got some great ideas and advice for improving our processes. A few critical components and my key takeaways from the discussion:

Project management – Whether it’s Basecamp, Central Desktop or another project management tool, have a way for everyone to easily collaborate and track client projects.

It’s a given that virtual assistants have client project management and task tracking systems. Presently we use Basecamp by 37signals, because most clients find it very user-friendly. Some already had their own accounts and simply added us as members. Perfect use of the KISS principle. I maintain my own business account with both private projects and those shared with team and clients. One project is for “Team Aday” itself.

From this discussion I realized that having a team member other than myself serve as project manager is the way to go before long. But I found it surprising that neither team “owner” panelist invoices her clients for project management. The cost is still built into pricing, of course. I do so because a) I like the transparency and ability for clients to see exactly what they’re paying for and b) it’s actually a service item. We juggle quite a lot for our clients and process a high volume of communication, so this is a billable service unto itself that doesn’t belong in overhead. However, now that some of my team is working directly with my clients, I am absorbing most of my own project management time so that clients aren’t double-billed. For example, when a team member does a “gut check” with me on understanding of or best approach to a task or project.

Team meetings – Panelists were split on this issue, with the majority thinking that even though they sound good in theory they’re mostly a waste of time. That if you maintain a good communication flow via your daily collaboration tools, then team meetings don’t add enough value to warrant the hassle of trying to get everyone together at the same time across time zones.

I tend to agree for the most part. This would more often than not be a gathering of contractors, not employees. So not a “staff meeting”. I’m very cognizant of such boundaries, both from a legal and a respect standpoint. Furthermore, if you have dozen or so team members at any given time it may be simply impossible to get everyone together at once. In most cases, regular one-on-one meetings or project team meetings make more sense.

I do like Sandi Silva’s version of the team meeting though, shared with us by Stacy Bergsma I think. Sandi gathers her team periodically (virtually, of course), to give an overview of what’s happening with clients, her business, upcoming projects, etc. I assume there is open discussion as well. I plan to implement this one – probably encouraged but not required. An opportunity for us to come together and share in real-time. Those who are most engaged will make sure to attend. Those who aren’t so committed won’t bother (a little self-weeding), and those who aren’t involved with clients directly or are contracted only occasionally won’t necessarily need to be there.

Maintaining the client relationship – When a team member serves as the client’s lead virtual assistant and performs most of the work, they quickly have the de facto primary relationship. This is needs watching and managing closely. First and foremost, the client must be happy and well taken care of. I’m good at keeping an eye on this, but must get better about letting clients know it – instead of assuming. They’re busy folks, after all! Which is exactly why I tend not to “bother” them. When team members eventually move on though, I want the clients that worked with them to feel confident staying with our company. Effective screening, a non-compete agreement, a good relationship, and open communication discourage subcontractors from “stealing” business. But clients are certainly free to take their business elsewhere. Occasionally a subcontractor – or even a client – goes behind a VA business owner’s back to cut them out and work together directly. But word quickly gets around, making it difficult for that VA to find future collaborative work or for that client to find another VA willing to work with them.

Several good methods of “client touch” from the panel and the room. One is the occasional “pop in” on client/team member discussions, whether in project management comments or email. Make sure clients realize that you are indeed present and watching out for them. This one really appeals to me, being very sensitive to how busy our clients are. I can lend a hand without disrupting.

Another keep in touch method is to hold periodic strategic planning sessions with clients, perhaps quarterly. Feature this in service packages. Review goals and progress, discuss what’s working or needs improvement, and set new goals. Here again, adding value and increasing confidence by staying visible.

Always be in the know – This goes hand-in-hand with maintaining the client relationship. Always review and know what’s going on with client projects.

Denise & Eve - a great team!

Taking it a step further, this is team relationship management. One of my team members, Eve Lindi, attended this panel and commented to the room that she likes and needs to know that those she subcontracts for are keeping an eye on things and are there by her side. She wants that participation. I’ll be making an extra effort in this area, now that I know it’s okay and recommended to be more visible. That it’s not a bother or disruption, rather a responsibility. Honestly, it will feel good to be more hands-on again with those clients. I officially have permission Thanks Eve!

Building the team – I make sure to let clients and prospects know that if we can’t do it at Aday VA, we can help find someone who can and even coordinate the work in most cases. Things that require highly specialized knowledge and have legal ramifications I just won’t bring in-house as a service offering. Bookkeeping for instance. But I’ve happily referred capable colleagues and coordinated between them and my clients. In these cases, the contract and financial transaction is between my client and the third-party vendor.

I’m still growing our team, to both add capacity for our core services as well as add closely related services. There’s no shortage of great subcontractors out there, so the quandary has been when to add them! Ideally, in anticipation of client needs. On the other hand, I’ve no immediate work to offer them. A chicken or egg situation, for sure.

What I learned during this panel and had confirmed in several other conversations during the conference is that it’s common and quite okay to contract with these VAs ahead of time. Subcontracting virtual assistants understand the situation and fluctuating nature of the work. They prefer that we do the marketing and selling, then bring them on in time to deliver the results. (Huge sigh of relief!) So when the need arises, I have pre-screened and contracted resources already in place without having to scramble. Seemingly on the fly, Patty Dost – panelist and VA’s VA who literally wrote the book and who currently works with eight teams herself – started a list to match up those of us seeking highly-qualified team members with those wanting to work with us. I can’t wait – thank you Patty!

Thank you to everyone who led and contributed to the discussion during this blockbuster panel.

Next up: Closing keynote by Marsha Petrie Sue on “The CEO of You”.

Yvonne Weld’s and Sally Kuhlman’s IVVA Live Summit break-out session, “Is Your Business Thriving, or Just Surviving?”, was another that spoke directly to me. It was an interactive, unconference-style session, so I didn’t take many notes. But I came away with a better understanding of some things occurring within myself and my own virtual assistance business; the realization and acceptance that they’re very common; and most importantly some strategies and tactics to change things that are no longer working so well.

Yvonne and Sally shared candid stories about how they both – at about the same time – had suffered from lack of motivation, that running fast but getting nowhere feeling, and a loss of excitement they had when starting their businesses. Then, how they pulled together and helped each other get past those feelings and turn their businesses back around from surviving to thriving.

This was a great follow-on to Donna Toothaker’s “Six-Figure” session. There we learned about structure and mindset – critically important for business success and growth. Here we discussed another essential success ingredient: passion! If that one is missing or too diluted, then we need to work it back in or completely change the recipe.

Frankly, I know what we provide at Aday VA Solutions works well for our clients. It helps keep them sane and go from just surviving to thriving. But to keep that up we too must continually learn and improve, keep it fresh and bring more value. The more passionate we are about what we do, the happier our clients and more prosperous our businesses.

Personally, this means that I have to keep handing over things that I’m not as excited about these days to my team members who are just as capable; and take time to rekindle my own passions. One I’ve had practically since birth, that keeps presenting itself as a virtual assistance service option, is…books! Specifically, virtual author’s assistance.

Almost all of my clients are authors who write about what they do for a living. Some are doing it for the first time and some are already successfully published and working on next books. In the course of taking care of them (schedules, travels, etc.), I get to watch and even experience some of the process all the way from concept to finished product to marketing and selling. It’s fascinating the variety and incredible amount of work and collaboration that goes into this. Along the way I’ve learned just how much I don’t know about it and seen numerous opportunities to better assist these clients just pass me by. Frustrating to a VA and a book lover! So I’m doing something about that.

I’ve enrolled in Jan King’s Virtual Author’s Assistant Training Program. It has a wealth of information and resources that will be immediately useful in assisting my author clients. There are two ways to tackle the program itself – by subject or by time-line – which is great. This means I can jump straight to the information needed in the moment, as well as follow a steady learning curriculum.

Janica & Denise finally meet!

I’ll also be collaborating with an established author’s assistant, Janica Smith of AdminiSmith (what a neat biz name). We recently discovered each other via a common client, then got to meet in person at the summit! We have so much personally and professionally in common…but that’s another post. I’m looking forward to our journey.

Side note: Clients utilizing multiple VAs and VA companies is a common occurrence now. The VA industry is extremely collaborative and an increasingly popular and highly regarded means of support. I make sure to tell prospects and clients that if Aday VA doesn’t do it, we almost certainly know (or can find) someone who does and will happily refer and coordinate. Pleased and relieved reactions usually follow.

Back to passion and thriving. It truly amazed and reassured me to discover so many others going through or having gone through their own business transformations. Especially those industry “pioneers” and niche experts that I look up to. It doesn’t mean that we don’t love what we do, don’t still do it well, or have made the wrong choices. It means growth and change are simply necessary and natural. But not easy by any means. We have to think and strive and shove some things right out of the way – including ourselves!

Because “fear will hold you back”. I can’t remember if Sally or Yvonne said this, but it’s so true. Let’s face it

Next up: “Multi-VA Practice Panel Discussion”  with Panelists Terry Green, Kylie Short, Stacy Bergsma, and Patty Dost

The first break-out session I attended was Donna Toothaker’s “Discover What’s Stopping You from Creating that Six-Figure VA Business You Desire”.

Many of us have clients that are at or beyond the six-figure mark. But as virtual assistants – even if we’re running a multi-VA business – we have trouble breaking away from five. We’re still doing way too much ourselves and not practicing what we preach to our clients.

This session was an easy choice for me. Donna’s gems and my take-ways (great stuff here for clients, too):

You must be the CEO of your company – In other words, stop doing it all the work yourself! I’m getting much better about this, but still have a looong way to go. Obviously that’s hard for us virtual assistants. We’re all about helping and taking care of others! But it’s finally, really sinking in that I can still do that by stepping up (not out) into an engaged CEO role. Furthermore, do it better and for more clients by building a top-notch team who delivers the same extraordinary level of care that I do. I already have some great team members, and one of these may serve as our project/account manager before long.

Boundaries – Another toughie for VAs. A prime example in my case: We want to deliver exactly what our clients want when they want it – which is usually instantly or yesterday! They’re busy, overwhelmed people. So of course by the time they delegate most things they’re already urgent. This problem is mitigated somewhat by our being proactive. If we have access and responsibility for keeping an ongoing eye on things, then we can anticipate, spot, suggest and/or proactively handle them. But sometimes we unintentionally commit to handling some things every day, perhaps even at a certain time. A natural tendency for the hopelessly systematized and efficient amongst us who do an array of daily recurring tasks. So what happens when our routine is disrupted or we decide to change it up? On the client side, it may look like a failure to deliver. We’ve set unreasonable expectations. My action item: take a look at my boundaries and make some adjustments.

Rates & Packages – Donna pointed out that we often don’t understand what we’re worth. We don’t value and respect our own time and work. We’re not going to be six-figure earners working hourly. OUCH. What’s got to sink in for me:

• I have specialized knowledge. People need and will pay for knowledge and information.
• We like the convenience of packaged goods and services in our own lives. Our clients will too. What is the “suite” of services our clients need?

I’ve wrestled with these before and lost, but I will get it figured out to the benefit of my business and my clients. Specialized knowledge needs separate packaging as consulting and/or coaching. Service packages are harder because of the broad array of ongoing services we provide in a month’s retainer: Scheduling; email and calls with clients, suppliers and colleagues; wiki/website updates; event/travel coordination; general admin; CRM; email marketing; HR support; purchasing; and oh the list goes on! We are our clients’ right hands. So how do you “package” that and not base on number of minutes/hours? I had the pleasure of sitting next to and talking with Donna at our “Dinner With Strangers” Tuesday night at Zinburger (want one in Dallas please and thank you!). Anyway, we brainstormed a bit and for me it may come down to level of access. The danger there is boundaries (see above). I keep chasing my tail on this one, but will catch it dog gone it!

Teams – Both for my business and my clients. The client-facing team is well underway, but I also must delegate things like bookkeeping and an ezine. The former I hate and the latter I can’t seem to get around to. In some cases there may be overlap with team members handling both client work and my internal stuff. Donna advised:

• Hire slow, fire fast.
• Hire for specialties.

She also noted that there are only two things we multi-VAs should be doing daily in our businesses:

1. Marketing – to avoid slumps, build the list, and keep the pipeline filled. This should be scheduled as daily, weekly and monthly tasks.
2. The things we love.

The team should do the rest.

Systems – These are the foundation, no matter what level we’re at. Have a system for everything. Otherwise things will fall through the cracks, including income opportunities. Donna says that no task is too small to have a system.

Mindset – Our thoughts, feelings and actions need to be in alignment.

• We have to have the true, honest desire for a six-figure VA business.
• Decide – let everything else go. There’s no “Plan B”. Align all else around it.
• Take personal responsibility.

What’s Missing? – I.e. a mentor, systems, etc? Get it in place.

Next up: “Thriving” break-out with Yvonne Weld and Sally Kuhlman.

I loved our mix of future, new, experienced and veteran virtual assistants all connecting in such a warm and genuine way. Several business models too: solo, multi-VA, teams, agencies and franchises. We also had attendees from educational institutions, looking to improve or begin virtual assistance programs.

Marsha Petrie Sue delivered our opening and closing keynotes. A fantastic speaker and incredible woman. And FUNNY. I swear she could do stand up. I’d buy that ticket in a heartbeat. She confessed having been to “charm school” twice in her corporate life and on the losing end of not one but two wrongful termination lawsuits for her firm. Comfortably retired since the 90s, I’m told speaking is her give back. Seems like her passion as well.

My top take-aways from her opening presentation:

Prioritization & Delegation – Always ask throughout the day 1) is this the best use of my time right now and 2) if I had time to do just one, which one would I do?

“Do what you should, not what you can.” – Todd Davis, CEO of LifeLock

Taking  Care of Myself – Schedule a weekly meeting for myself. Even if it’s just to sit quietly for a bit.

Take It, Leave It, or Change It (TLC) – our only three options in any situation and the answer to every excuse!

Dealing with Toxic People – Tips for identifying the type(s) you’re dealing with, choosing your approach, and controlling mental terrorism. Pure gold here! For more details, check out Marsha’s book, Toxic People: Decontaminate Difficult People at Work Without Using Weapons Or Duct Tape. Whether you’re facing a Steamroller, Zipper Lip, Back Stabber, Know It All, Needy Weenie, or Whine and Cheeser. Love her humorous approach – my favorite – because life is too short to take it all so seriously.

And speaking of mental terrorism…

“You cannot outperform your own self-definition.” – Marsha Petrie Sue

Next up: break-out with Donna Toothaker of 1st VA and Step It Up VA Coaching.

So if you have trouble figuring out what to do with something – or not to do with it – refer to the chart below. Print out a copy and keep it handy on top of your in basket. Email it to yourself and keep in that inbox for handy reference when processing emails. It works whether your system is physical, electronic, or a combination. In no time, you’ll process automatically without having to think too much about it.

This helps keep your mind and your space clutter-free and prepared to do what’s most important.

clipped from www.davidco.com

So, how does the meaning of something translate into organization? Pick up anything around you that you’re wondering what to do with, and  apply a simple set of formulae:

I don’t need or want it	=	trash
I still need to decide what this means to me	=	In-basket item
I might need to know this information	=	reference
I use it	=	equipment and supplies
I like to see it	=	decoration
When I could possibly move on it, I want to see the action as an option	=	next action reminder, reviewed when and where it could be done
I need to be reminded of this short-term outcome I’ve committed to	=	project list item, reviewed weekly
I need to have this when I focus on a project	=	support material
I might want to commit to this at any time in the future	=	Someday/Maybe list item
I might want to commit to this on or after a specific time in the future	=	calendared or “tickled” item incubated for review on a specific future date
I want to achieve this “bigger” outcome	=	goals, objectives, visions that you review on some longer interval (a.k.a. your higher level Horizons of Focus)
It’s something someone else is doing that I care about	=	item on Waiting-For list, reviewed at least weekly
I need to consider it when I do certain recurring activities	=	item on a checklist

Test these against anything you find lying around you in work or life that you think you need to know how to organize. Organizing tools should not be so mysterious—they are merely to support these various functions.

This is simple common sense. So why do so many people feel like they need to be more organized? Because most avoid deciding what so many things actually mean to them, which makes it impossible to know what to do with them. And what’s even thornier is that even if they “get  organized” according to these simple criteria, it is highly likely that they can become disorganized rapidly. Over time (and often not that much time) things change in meaning. The magazine is no longer the current issue, the project is no longer something we’re committing to action, and the good idea isn’t so good any more. So even if we get our ducks in a row, they wander off of their own accord. Being organized is a dynamic  process, demanding consistent reevaluation, rethinking, and renegotiating the relevance of things in our physical and psychological  environment.

We don’t tell people how to get organized. We only assist them to marry what things mean to where they are. Simple, tricky business.

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Please visit us on the web at <www.davidco.com>, email us at info@davidco.com, or call 805-646-8432.

The David Allen Company
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(805) 646-8432
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Back-off: Why
micro-managing doesn’t work online

I’m generally not a big reader of business books, as I quite honestly find many of them boring (shh, don’t tell!). But for some reason I felt drawn to read Dan Pink’s latest book Drive – the book is about motivation and what drives us to do our best work.

I’ve been working from home now for 10 years, and in that time people have always said to me “I could never do that, I simply wouldn’t get anything done!” This comment has always stumped me a bit, as i’ve never had any problem being motivated to do my work. I mean I get where people are coming from, as you would think I’d be tempted to watch talk shows and go out for coffee with friends (which I do from time to time
of course, but not often).

After reading Dan’s book I get it… he has cracked the code of what really motivates us to do our best work. In a nutshell, here is what he says:

• Extrinsic (external) motivation doesn’t really work – and yet this is the traditional model of motivation that ‘traditional’ management theories focus on. “I will motivate you by giving you a structured job, clear guidelines on how to do that job and rewards (usually monetary). And I will keep a close on eye what you are doing to make sure it’s done right.”
• Intrinsic (internal) motivation is where most of us do our best
  work – this turns traditional management theory inside out, and essentially says that if you give people freedom to do their work they will
  be MUCH more creative, productive and satisfied. There are 3 key elements to intrinsic motivation – autonomy, mastery and purpose.

I just love the example he shares about Best Buy, and how they implemented a ROWE work strategy at their head office. ROWE stands
for results-only work environment, and what they did is take away the requirements of time. People had no set hours to be in the office, they could do their work wherever they wanted and whenever they wanted. They just had to get their work (the results) done. It was a bit of a shift for people, but once they got used to it productivity rose dramatically and stress levels went way down.

Sound familiar? This is how many of us work as home-based (or virtual) business owners. We have the freedom to get
stuff done wherever and whenever it works best for us – and as a result many of us love what we do (and can never imagine going back to a job -
shiver).

Likewise, this is why so called ‘traditional’ management styles don’t work for online/virtual based business owners. I hear from OBMs and VAs on a very regular basis about how their clients are trying to micro-manage them – and how demotivating it is for them when
this happens. “My client keeps hanging over my shoulder with every little thing.” I’ve seen many relationships fall apart for this very reason.

The thing is, in order to get the best work out of a virtual support professional – you need to give them freedom to do their work. Let them know what result you are looking for and a deadline to get the work done, and outside of that you shouldn’t have to do too much ‘management’ in the traditional sense. There is certainly nothing wrong with checking in, getting status updates and such, you just don’t want to micro-manage every little step. Super draining for all concerned.

If this is something you struggle with I invite you to back-off a bit. I know it can be hard to let go, and very tempting to always poke our noses in… however some freedom for your team may actually bring out the best in them.

Since first answering the blogger’s questions, I’ve added my own virtual assistants. So “I” and “me” has more officially become “we” and “us”. I’ve edited my answers where it makes a difference. But philosophically nothing has changed.

How would you describe your job to some one who has no idea about it at all?

First of all, I have to stress that my description will differ from that of any other virtual assistant you might ask. There are similarities between virtual assistants, but we are all unique. My answer is also that of a US-based assistant. On behalf of my clients, I work with other VAs, as well as virtual assistance agencies both inside and outside the US.

Virtual assistance is both a challenging and rewarding endeavor. In my practice, I support a small number of clients on a monthly retainer basis, as their go-to administrative resource. I become an important part of their business team, interacting with clients, colleagues, suppliers and even other family members. I keep things running smoothly and help them stay on track, so that they’re free to do the vital things that produce their income.  I often coordinate among other team members and vendors, such as web designers, business agents, and even other virtual assistants.

What are the challenges you typically face in your job? How do you deal with them? Feel free to share any actual examples when you accomplished something by swimming against the tide.

Unlike an assistant, I’m not an employee and must take care not to behave or function like one. I run my own business and pay my own taxes. My clients are my business’ customers, not my employers. This is a fine line to walk at times – definitely one of the key challenges. I’ve learned to set clear boundaries and define the ground rules from the very beginning. I make it clear that I’m not “on call” and do have standard operating procedures and turnaround times. My policies are spelled out in my contract, which clients must read and sign off on before we begin working together.

Sometimes people won’t understand or accept the difference no matter how clearly explained. Over time, due to some negative experiences, I’ve developed a consultation process that pretty well screens these folks out. For example, a prospective client who approached me via Twitter became irate at having to wait four days for a free phone consult and at having to fill out a questionnaire ahead of time. She blasted me in several emails, saying she would never have clients jump through such hoops to work with her! It was quite obvious we weren’t a fit, my screening process worked, and very little time was wasted. Life is too short and my time is money! If you look around at the experienced, reputable VAs and VA teams or agencies, they all have established processes to follow and forms to fill out if you are serious about working with them. It greatly increases the odds of a good match, and saves so much time and grief for all concerned.

Another big challenge is helping clients to delegate. Most of mine have never had an assistant at all, much less a virtual one. They’re used to doing everything themselves, so I have to gradually educate and guide them through the process. Once they catch on though, it’s wonderful. They’re so happy to have a right-hand to rely on. It’s freeing for them – and for me. What a great feeling to have someone trust you to get things accomplished in your own way.

How do you deal with work-life conflicts and maintain a balance?

Work-life balance. Hmmm, still working on that one! Like any dedicated professional and entrepreneur, I tend to let it take over my life. Sometimes it takes a loved one to nudge me out of work mode and take a break. When there’s room for more clients, I increase marketing efforts. When there’s plenty of business – or even too much – I’m busy just keeping up. The great thing is, when a family member needs me or there’s something special that I want to go do during normal business hours, I’m free to do it. No permission required. I may have to make up for lost time to meet deadlines, but it’s in my control. Very satisfying.

I also make sure to observe national holidays, schedule occasional days off, and take some vacation. The past two Christmas seasons, I closed for two full weeks. Clients are usually taking time off from their businesses or jobs around that time too, so it works out well.

What motivates you to focus on work? Is it a formula, a person, a book or a philosophy?

It’s mostly internal. I can’t stand to not be doing something productive. My parents also instilled a strong work ethic in me. If you want something, you work for it. Things are not handed to you and you’re not “owed” anything. The entrepreneurial – or at least independent – spirit seems to run strongly in my family too, from all sides. To name just a few: carpenter, preacher, dairy farmer, shop owner. All humble pursuits too, which I’m proud of. We don’t crave riches. Security, reasonable comfort, time with family and to appreciate life. Although it would be nice to have enough money someday to give freely of it, too.

What are the three things you avoid when you are working?

Loud noises, interruptions by others (sometimes hubby is home), and especially the phone. Sounds odd to some, but if I answer the phone every time it rings I will never get any client work done. People learn to leave messages, which are checked and responded to regularly. Once I’m in client work mode, I try to minimize all distractions.

Is there anything special you would like to share with the readers of this blog?

That we met each other through Twitter. I find online social media to be one of the best connectors and relationship builders ever, in our busy lives. I’ve met people I never would have otherwise. Some have become clients and some friends. I’ve become closer to distant colleagues – and discovered new local ones that I had no idea were in my own backyard. I can keep in better touch with remote family members. Social media also promotes cultural understanding and brings us closer together. Pretty awesome stuff. Thank you so much.