How much time does Twitter cost?
In these times, when we have less & less time on our hands to keep starting conversations that can grow into relationships. That is how I started blogging on Twitter. It was much easier to create an output of 4 microblogs each day on Twitter than 1 blogpost three times a week on my blog. In a couple of weeks I was hooked. Moreover because I had a heart surgery and stayed in the hospital for three weeks, and with a phone on my hands I could Twitter, read messages from others, if not I would have felt isolated. Please use useless time for Twitter, like standing in line, when in writers block, or waiting for a traffic light in the car (before the other cars start honking).

How can you read all messages from your friends on Twitter?
There is so much output on Twitter. You simply can’t read all your friends messages on Twitter. And if you could, you shouldn’t. Do you think all your friends always say something highly worthwhile? Yes, its worthwhile for them, but not at all always for me. So use your internet reading technique: scan the messages.

So, if everyone is posting and not everyone is reading, why is that worth my while?
The value is in the conversation, or you could say in the reply. That’s where the connection with a person starts. Share topics that you would like to interact on with other people. People build relationships with others, because they share something. Start sharing your interests, your business interests and what you do, and people will find you because they are interested in the same thing as you.

Also, find people through Twitter Search for example that talk about topics you are interested in, and start conversations with them.

Last week I highlighted a business from a friend that offers mediation services. My friend got people contacting him through my one Twitter post. Just 140 characters can result in closed business for you or someone else.

So should I start posting anything I want on Twitter?
I suggest sharing quality content in your Twitter feed, as that builds your credibility. And eleminating trashy posts, just helps that matter too. Use the keywords you like to talk about, be positive and supportive and most important: reply!

So Marieke, what did you get out of Twitter?
I use my Twitter mostly for strengthening relationships with the internet-geeky community in The Netherlands, but that has grown to something. And right now I have a lot of local connections in California too. My ultimate goal, is that I keep strengthening and building relationships with people in The Netherlands while I am here (in California). So they think of me, when they hear about online personal branding, social media marketing or blogs and invite me to give workshops in The Netherlands now & then. (I have one full-day workshop scheduled in December on Google Analytics)

How can you help me getting the most out of Twitter?
I give workshops to companies on Twitter, and provide 1-2-1 Twitter trainings by phone & face-to-face. Next to that, I set up profiles on Twitter and develop personalized Twitter strategies for business development, customer loyalty, etc.

Costs: TBD

Experience: PRICELESS

August 25 - Bill Beausay

My name is Bill Beausay and I’ve been speaking for IAAP chapters for about 6 months. I live between Houston and Denver, and I’d love you to consider having me come to speak for a chapter event sometime this summer. My topic is Personal Power and Creating Miracles When You’re Done In, Fed Up and Stressed Out. It’s a great talk that your membership will love.

Bill Beausay
“The Inner Game Coach”
www.beausay.com
bill@beausay.com
billbeausay on Twitter

September 29 - Christopher Novak

My name is Christopher Novak and I am the author of, Conquering Adversity – an inspiring book for more than 50,000 professionals in hundreds of organizations and also a one-of-a-kind presentation that has brought thousands more to their feet at conferences, retreats and special events both nationally and internationally. At a time when people need to be inspired, I wanted to introduce my services as a professional motivational speaker. My website, www.ConqueringAdversity-speaker.com, has more information including demo-video, audio-clips, book excerpt, references and much more. I invite you to visit.

At its core, Conquering Adversity is about the hero we all have inside. It’s about rising above the rigors of even severe change, challenge or setback. The 6 strategies that I present – affirmation, expectation, communication, locomotion, collaboration and celebration – offer both professional and personal development insights that can help us move forward through difficult times. It is an ideal message for inspiring people to be their best both in and out of the workplace.

The backdrop for this transformational message is a true-life tragedy that devastated my life ten years ago when a man high on drugs and out to sell his poison ran a stop sign at high speed and killed my wife as she drove home from work. She was seven months pregnant with our second child. The experience is an unimaginable nightmare but in its wake is valuable insight about the journey forward; about what makes a difference in rising from the ashes of one dream to create and reach another. Conquering Adversity is about discovering and unleashing our inner strength – about building a team one hero at a time. It will leave your group inspired, empowered and talking about the impact of its message long after the session ends.

“Conquering Adversity,” has been featured at major events across the country including CUPA-HR Midwest Conference in Chicago, mega-session at the SHRM National Conference in Las Vegas; U.S. Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina; Colgate University, Bucknell and Bloomsburg universities; and the New York National Guard. Businesses of all sizes have invited me to keynote their events including Magna Powertrain, Lane Construction, Hess Inc., Byrne Dairy, Crowley Foods and more. I presented “Conquering Adversity” as a keynote to more than 1,200 education professionals at the New York State AHPERD Conference last fall; Reaching At-Promise Students (RAPSA) conference in San Diego; and the opening keynote for more than 200 HR professionals at the Chesapeake SHRM conference this past April. A few weeks ago, I was a keynote speaker in Dallas for a PRIMA conference of 700 risk management professionals. My references are extensive.

Conquering Adversity resonates with every audience and in every venue, from ballrooms of thousands to conference rooms of a dozen, so please accept my invitation to learn more about my services at my website.

My professional background includes director of human resources at Cornell University and HR manager for a ceramic manufacturer. In 2001, I started, The Summit Team, focusing on leadership development and executive coaching and have authored two other business books, Lead Like a Pirate, and 4 Circles of Good Business. I have a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics-mathematics and a masters degree in business management.

Conquering Adversity is more than a book or a keynote for me – it’s a passion that I know makes a difference in people’s lives. I am proud to have shared its inspiration with thousands of professionals already and would welcome an invitation to do so at future events your organization is planning.

Christopher Novak
Author, International Speaker & Leadership Coach
The Summit Team
P.O. Box 172
Marcellus, NY 13108
(315) 673-1323
www.ConqueringAdversity-speaker.com

As part of my out-going speech (which was short much to the surprise of people who know I love to tell stories), I showed an iLearningGlobal video by Dan Clark, entitled Team. I chose this particular video, not only because I am a huge fan of Dan Clark’s and have shown his videos at leadership workshops, but because it speaks to the core of what I wanted to do as the CWM Division President. The following is based on Dan’s video about Team because it resonates so strongly with me.

The saying goes that there is no ‘I’ in team, but there are two in ‘winning’. There are always those with the buzz phrase - ‘It’s all about Team.” Do you agree? If you said ‘Yes,’ think about this - Teams lose! So, yes, in my mind winning is completely different and can help you build that strong team or IAAP chapter.

The two ‘I’s’ in winning are commitments that are important to building strong teams or groups:

The first I - Independent and Individual Preparation

• Clarity (like attitudes attract like)
• Character (what you do when no one else is looking)
• Confidence (mind memory)
• Consistency (perfect practice)
• Change
• Cause (why and how you do things)
• Chemistry (who you do things with)

The second I - Interdependence Collaboration

• Contribution (making everyone around you better)
• Cohesion (people leave saying “I like me best when I am around you.”)
• Conclusion (focus/finish)

Are you the best that you can be? When you rely on others more than ourselves, we relinquish our power. Our power from within to become more of who we already are. This is an important concept for team builders, as well as team members. We should rise to the occasion and contribute to the win. How can we do that?

Can you exceed expectations? No - you have simply misjudged your expectations. I tell people ‘not’ to step out of your comfort zone because you can step right back in if the going gets tough. I tell them to ‘expand’ their comfort zones. See the difference?

As a leader, these are my goals:

• Inspire others from within
• Treat everyone like they are the most single important person in the world
• Have the Right Players on my team, not just the Best
• Help others expand their comfort zones

The right players have the 10 Cs mentioned above. You cannot win with just the best players, you must have the right players.

Here is your question: ‘Why?’ This could be why are you here; why are you doing what you are doing; why are you a leader…..

The answer should be - To make everybody better - a better person; a better leader; a better friend…….

Challenge: Be the best you can be and exceed expectations - because you can!

*If you are interested in learning more about iLearningGlobal, please contact me.

So, what is the style of your business? Is your business formal and do you mainly work with corporate clients? Or are you a creative company that inspires people with new ideas? In all cases, people like to work with your company if they see in you what they are looking for. If you are a very formal company and you meet your clients in jeans - that probably doesn’t reflect the style of your company, and the people you are meeting are left wondering which style you are: formal or informal.

Your style is all about showing everyone what your company is all about. People will understand your business and it is also comforting, as they know your style and start building trust in what you can deliver.

Does your business reflect who you want to work with? Is your style reflected in your communications? Brainstorm and write down characteristics of yourself, of your clients. Come up with a shortlist of the characteristics that you want to reflect in the personality of your business. How can you repeat these characteristics in other communications, your style, your brand, … you?

What does your logo say about your personality? What does your newsletter say about your personality? What does your business card say about your personality? What does your website say about your personality?

Your business has personality, make sure it stands out in the most attractive way you can imagine.

Well, you are not in this world, just to fill up a space.
You are here to do something.
And the only way to figure out what you are to do is, do something.
You will learn from internal feedback (you love it, you hate it) or external feedback (thank you’s and compliments) that you are on the right path. But most of all, it should be something that helps you wake up in the morning and never gets you bored.

What can you do every day that is never boring to you?

Do it

And do something else that will help you sharpen (not find!) your personal brand. Because you are never there. Life is evolving and what you are all about is evolving as well.

Do Something Else.

Carol makes excellent points about virtual assistants being business owners - not employees, we don’t work for a ‘wage,’ and we certainly should not be willing to be test driven. A lot of new virtual assistants feel they should lower their rates to get clients, give away some hours, compromise standards - all to get a client. It reminds me of the guy on tv who pimps a product and then says, “Wait! Order now and you get two for the price of one! All you pay is extra shipping and handling!”

When virtual assistants use these marketing techniques, I think it comes from a place of fear or desperation. How do I know? Well, been there, done that, have a T-shirt. Oftentimes, a business owner does need that first client or perhaps their business is the primary source of income for a family. However, I would recommend strengthening standards and expectations instead of lowering them.

Why?

Most VAs are strong believers in the Law of Attraction. You attract what you are putting out in terms of clients, business, and more. I have proven to myself time and time again, that if I stick to my standards and expectations - guess what? I attract the best clients and they seem to come out of the woodwork. Working with my coach, Stacy Brice, has helped me develop a client base of the best clients. And, she challenges me to stick to my processes.

I have a consultation process for potential clients. When I stick to it, I actually attract clients who are a great fit for my business. The process entails 1) a short 10-minute call to see how well we like each other’s voices, 2) assessment questions, and 3) one or two 60-90 in-depth telephone calls that get into how the client runs their business, how my business works, and the details of working together.

I will not be test driven by a potential client. I think that is disrespectful - would you consider test driving a plumber? A lawyer? A doctor? I think not.

Remember - you are a business owner and by that alone, you can determine how you run your business, how you will permit others to treat you, and what processes and standards you put in place for your business. That does not mean you won’t change or morph along the way. I would hope you do as you learn what you like, don’t like, will accept, won’t accept and more. A static business is not a growing and successful business.

In light of everything that has happened since December this is just a friendly reminder that it is still the right time to be saying yes.

To help this trend along, I thought I would provide a useful link that helps you say yes in over 550 languages.

In order to create success for your business, your business needs to be churning, and that means spending.

Teach your employees to say, yes to opportunities and only require your assistance if they feel the need to say no.

Ok, I get it, in practice giving up the control of the yes is a little unnerving, but have you thought that in fear of rejection you are not really getting the good ideas to grow the business? If your not ready to give up the control of that yes completely, at least consider dolling out a few more!

Here’s to saying yes to advertising on sale, yes to opportunities, yes to growth, and a great big resounding yes to success!

I have set up Tweetbeep Alerts for key words, two of which are virtual assistant. The goal was to keep a finger on what people were talking about regarding virtual assistance, how they used VAs, and any questions or tips that might pop up. However, I am seeing lots of Twitter stalking when people mention, ‘I am looking for a virtual assistant’ or any inference that they might need some help. They immediately get followed by virtual assistants offering their services. Now, I have been guilty of this, until I saw a trend of what was happening. Now, I simply reply (which you can do without following them) and refer them to AssistU or Stacy Brice.

I find the Twitter stalking to be detrimental to the virtual assistant industry. Why? To me, it has the feel of someone standing on the street corner just yelling “Hire me!” “Hire me!” I am not sure that this is the best face that our industry wants to put forth on Twitter.

If you are a virtual assistant or someone who is interested in collaborating with a virtual assistant, how do you feel about this?

Good and bad about using Twitter to reach potential clients and how you like to approach them.

Duct tape comes in very handy around my house. It can hold everything together and WD-40 can make things move easier. Households are a great place to use duct tape. But, should you hold your business together with duct tape or Liquid Nails? Should you grease the wheels with WD-40? Maybe not.

Think about your daily processes and standards. Do you find yourself under the gun and patching things together just to get things done? Do you find yourself placing a piece of tape here? There? At least until you shore it up with cement or super glue? In the words of Dr. Phil, “How’s that working for you?”

I do find myself doing this at times and find that although these are great products for holding things together - it is only a temporary fix. I am working on putting some stronger standards in place. These standards include: coaching with Stacy Brice, an accountability partner - Kathy Watkins, an assessment for potential clients, and a mastermind group. These commitments are helping strengthen standards, achieve goals, and get rid of the duct tape!

I could call these my own version of WD-40 - smoothing the processes and getting rid of the gunk that makes the processes stick. I am seeing progress - which is a good thing, of course. The goal is to recognize the gunk or duct taped process and grease the wheels with WD-40.

What in your practice can use less duct tape?

Why do I want to do it this year? My goal is to simplify my life. Get rid of things, do more with less - this may mean I have less things to clutter my house, attic, and thus - less to dust!

Yesterday’s reading was excellent advice on restoring serenity to our daily endeavors. Sarah tells a brief story about a woman who begins to brush her teeth, only to spot her unmade bed out of the corner of her eye. So - she starts to make her bed while foaming at the mouth because she starts another task before finishing the first one! Do you find that you do this?

Women are often excellent multi-taskers - especially if you have been a mom. Bouncing a baby on one hip, fixing dinner with the other, while herding the other kids or talking to the husband. Phew! I remember those days and I appreciate the fact that I could do this when young.

I know now, that things really do need my full attention and then some in order to excellent, quality work or give someone my full attention.

My goal? To recover my sanity (okay, this may be a lost cause), complete one task at a time, concentrate slowly on each task, and gain an inner peace and serenity.

Sarah states that you will, indeed, “accomplish all you set out to do and need to do with much more ease, efficiency, pleasure, and satisfaction when you merge mind, body, and spirit with the task at had.”

Best of all? Serenity here I come!