When I respond to a request for proposal for a virtual assistant (VA) role, I like to share more than my skill set. I also like to share who I am personally because I’ve learned while working for different entrepreneurs who is a good fit for me…and who may not be a fit.

Here are my thoughts, in no particular order. Read them and see what you think. 

1. My clients are passionate, and they work hard. I want to work with you if you work hard and are passionate about your work. If you’re new to your business, may I suggest that you think through what tasks you need done by a VA? Evaluate if you’re really ready to work with a virtual assistant. Can you hand off tasks? Might you micromanage? I don’t want to waste your resources by working on a task that won’t help your business.

2. I will say no to you before I say yes. What? I know that sounds surprising, but I will not say that I can get a task or project done by a certain deadline unless I know I can finish it on time. I’m not a last-minute person in any way, so I only say yes to a task if I know for sure I’ll get it done.

3. A big fault of mine is that I often respond too fast, which is great for you but not always a healthy way to do business. I’m still working on business balance. Related: when my business life is full and I don’t respond as quickly to your email, it doesn’t mean you’re not important to me.

4. Life happens, so I realize I may not hear from you for a while. It’s totally understandable. But please don’t ask for a quick 24-hr turnaround time the next time you give me a task.

5. I will take on your business as if it were mine, for example by thinking about ways we can streamline tasks and how can we upsell another product. But I’ll always defer to your wishes. I might suggest how I’ve seen some of the top business coaches do things, but I will always go with what you want.

6. I love most everything about my VA business because I’m always learning new things, learning how to use new apps and new software, and I also work with pretty cool people. I’m enrolled in a blogging course (hence this blog post) and a social media course, both of which will definitely help my future clients.

7. Finally, one of my favorite tasks is working in the customer support role of your business. I want your customers to feel heard and well taken care of. I know your current clients are extremely valuable to your business and you want and need for them to be treated as the valuable people that they are.

Now it’s your turn. Respond in the comments to tell me what you want YOUR potential clients to know about you?

Does this sound familiar?

You’ve started a coaching business that is beginning to take up speed, and you’re gaining clients. You successfully coach your various clients throughout the week, and as you’re finishing up with one client on a Tuesday morning, you get a desperate text from another client.

She can’t find the needed materials that you said you sent her. You finish up with the original client, send off the materials and take a quick coffee break…and as you sit down with a hot cup of coffee in your hands, you open up your inbox and cringe at various emails that are yelling for your attention.

Your breathing is becoming short and shallow.

There is an email request for you to speak at a business convention that you’d love to be part of but the response deadline is coming up super soon. You have to write up a solid proposal in 3 days.

3 days.

You see 2 failed payments from a client and a double-booked client that needs your attention. You also have a potential client ask about a broken link in your email…that you thought you fixed and you have a series of 5 emails that you have to write, create them and send it out in a drip campaign.

You don’t fully understand how to use all the features in Infusionsoft and you’re kicking yourself for investing in it which you haven’t really used yet. Hmmm…with the conference coming up, it would be awesome to sign up some affiliates at the conference…but does Infusionsoft have an affiliate system? And how do affiliate links work?

The coffee has become cold, and your anxiety is back. People and tasks are falling through the cracks. You’re losing business and your mind.

And it’s not even noon.

You are stressed.

I get it.

Here’s where I come in… As an Infusionsoft virtual assistant I work side by side (virtually) with my clients to get the admin tasks done. From my experience, most entrepreneurs are idea people. Their gifts are creating programs and services on a grand scale. Business owners shouldn’t be handling the small admin tasks but often do. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Let’s revisit the scenario: You complete your coaching call and don’t even have another client text you because the information was already sent out. As a Virtual Assistant, I can send a quick, friendly letter informing a client that there was a missed payment and get new credit card information through a secure web form.

Easy peasy.

You send off the written email copy to me where I can create the emails, put them into a nurture campaign and schedule the emails to go out every 2 days. I manage your customer support inbox so you don’t see the various easy emails that I handle unless I bring them to your attention in our weekly meeting. You hand off necessary tasks that relieves you to nurture your business clients like you wanted to do all along. Coaching is your passion.

We set up an affiliate program so when you attend the conference, you can find fellow coaches that will receive a 50% commission fee on a premium coaching program that their clients buy from you. And you might even pick up 1 or 2 clients at the event.

In a few months, as you’re looking out the window of the plane bound for the San Diego business coaches’ convention, you exhale a slow, steady breath, and click through the coming sessions at the conference in your mind. You know that people and tasks are well taken care of while you’re gone, that I will send you only necessary emails and you can now review your opening speech with a hot cup of coffee in your hand.

Success.

You went into business as a sole entrepreneur because you knew you could make a difference. You’re passionate to help people find their utmost dreams.

You could be a business or life coach, a social media maven or tech guru with the latest time-saving app.

But reality set in after 12 months on this hard road. Maybe it has set in even earlier like at 6 months.

You even hired a business coach who has given you a blueprint to success.

Now you have become exhausted, weary, overwhelmed, so tired to make one-more-decision because not only are you producing products, creating programs, or coaching people, you are often handling the day-to-day details of your business. (your email list,  customer service questions, follow-up phone calls, updating your website, or even setting up your membership program – page by page). 

Realistically you only have so much time in a day and you know…you know that tasks ALWAYS take longer than you expected.

Always.

You have less energy for your business and you definitely have less time.

And let’s face it. Details just aren’t your thing.

You’d rather be up on stage or talking one-on-one with your next potential client. Your high is coaching a client through a mental block; not chasing after a client who’s credit card payment failed.

Potential clients are slipping through the cracks. No follow up.

Quit doing what you’re not good at and leave it to the person whose expertise is details and who thrives on organizing, follow up and resourcefulness.

A Virtual Assistant can create your marketing funnel, manage your affiliate program, update your event app, and so much more. She’s just as passionate to help your business succeed as you are. The right VA can be a valuable team member to your business because they thrive on the details, are constantly learning, and are useful problem solvers.

Working with a dedicated VA as your admin support gives you more time each day.

More time.

A professional VA also brings along her experience working with various clients that can provide relief for you and your business. She can offer her suggestions and provide business advice along the way.

Free yourself up by hiring a VA so you can do what you are meant to do.

Just had to share that I have a mention in the November issue of Redbook magazine as a virtual assistant. I’m proud of the work I do for my clients, and I hope this further educates the public about Virtual Assistants.

Technology is always,

always,

changing.

So today I thought I’d share a great tip on how to embed a tweet in your blog post.

And before I share, you may ask: Why would I share tweets with my readers? Well for many reasons like:

1. You want to stay relevant on the newest technology because it’s so invigorating!
2. You get some grand applause about your work in a tweet so you share it on your website for potential clients to see others review of your work.
3. Tweets grab the reader’s attention because you don’t see them very often in blog posts. And…
4. Tweets just look cool in posts.

‘Nuf said.

There’s a few ways to embed a tweet but I found a super simple way.

Find the tweet you want and click on the date at the top right corner. Then copy the URL that is in the browser and paste it on a separate line in your post…and Bam…It’s there!

@JanUdlock Who is better than you?! Thank you, dear!

— Kristy Schnabel (@kristyivd) July 16, 2013

Is that just too cool? (Sorry if my nerdyish is showing…but it’s so fun!) I did some editing work for Kristy and she was so kind to share with the Twitter world about it. Thanks, K.

Try it and leave me a link so I can come to your post and take a look!

This is my 3rd year that I have completed the Blogathon. And it was my easiest one, yet. (Tomorrow is our last day.)

I see that planning is key to my stress level. I brainstormed loads of ideas weeks ahead of time, had certain days for certain subjects like Quotes Sunday and Guest Post Thursday and wrote out my ideas in a planner.

This was the second year working with Michelle Rafter in helping her run the Blogathon. It was so much easier this year because even though we tried new ideas, so much of the work was the same as last year. Plus she’s easy to work with because she has great ideas and believes in always expanding her business.

With this year being my first year as a Virtual Assistant, I just didn’t have the time to write quality posts so my writing wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I had tasks and projects with other clients also so my time was spread thinner this year than all the other Blogathons.

Not obsessing over my traffic numbers this year was a huge growth area for me. I tweeted about my posts as well as about others posts.

I loved having guest posts which made 4 less posts I had to write and got to share with my readers about some pretty cool VAs. I also think I introduced the idea of Virtual Assistants to more people, too. Happy dance!

Overall, I recognize if I stress less about what I have to do and just do it, life is easier. Blogging every day is a lot of work but it is still a strong sense of accomplishment. And I was a sponsor this year so I’ll be able to provide one blogger with 2 hours of VA services. So that’s cool, too.

What did you learn?

Image courtesy of chanpipat/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As a virtual assistant, I often respond to my various clients’ clients. I have to answer questions or clarify something. Or in the past, I’ve had to quickly respond to a regional parenting editor who needed some extra information.

And one thing I’ve learned over the recent months is I need to be patient and remember kindness in my words.

In my answer.

There’s been more than a few times that I’ve had to erase my words in an email after I reread what I wrote.

Emails can easily sound abrupt when you didn’t necessarily mean to be. Tweet this

They can sound

harsh,

hurried or

demanding.

I have to remember that when someone has a question, 99% of the time they need clarification about something.

They need an answer. They need

a gentle one;

and a thorough one.

I have to remind myself when someone is abrupt with me or even frustrated in an email, I make it a challenge to be kind enough in my email to them that I see a change of tone in their email.

I don’t know what kind of day they’ve already had.

Did their dishwasher break?

Or did their spouse bark at them this morning?

Or are they just in a rush to get to their next important project?

I don’t always remember to be full of thought and full of grace when I respond to clients. My natural reaction is to bark back if someone is short with me or become impatient if I have someone asks me a question that is clearly already answered in the email.

But I’m getting a bit better…How about you?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It’s Thursday so it must be Guest Post day. Today I’d like to introduce another amazing, talented and generous Virtual Assistant Coach, Lisa McDonnell. I’ve never met her in person but I feel like I’ve known her for years because she’s been so super helpful and generous with business info, tips and encouragement in my virtual assistant journey. I gush but every bit of my praise is well-deserved. Welcome, Lisa!

Lately, I have been doing a lot of soul-searching around what it means to be a ‘Successful’ entrepreneur.

For a long time my definition of success was all about ‘getting rich’. Success meant making big money, passing the 6-figure mark proving to all the non-believers that yes, you can make a ridiculously good living working from home.

As I raced to achieve my ‘success’, some interesting side-effects surfaced:

1. My laundry never got done. My kids were crying for clean socks. The solution? I bought them dozens of new pairs and bigger laundry bins, and kept working.
2. I was slowly turning my family from health-food eaters into fast-food junkies. The race to riches left me no time for culinary pursuits. I quickly discovered that if you buy a large enough pizza…you don’t have to make lunch the next day either. Yeessssssss. I could keep on working.
3. My husband started hinting that maybe I should just ‘get a job’. That way I could leave the office by five instead of working straight through to 11pm. I accused him of being ‘unsupportive’…and kept right on working.
4. I missed every single field trip: the pumpkin patch, the cross country running competition, the maple sugar bush, the track & field meet…you name it. I was busy working on my success.
5. My gal-pals had lunch without me. A lot. They stopped asking me because they already knew my answer: “sorry guys – gotta work!”

One day I smacked myself upside-the-head and thought: “What on EARTH are you DOING?” Sure, you’re making money…but your life totally sucks!

I became an entrepreneur so I could be home for the kids. So I could do their laundry, make them healthy dinners, be that suburban TV Mom who goes on all the field trips and cheers them on at the big games. Instead, my daughters were sending me text messages from their bedrooms to say good-night! I bragged to the non-believers that entrepreneurs could take Fridays off and have lunch with their gal pals whenever they wanted (LIES!) My only friends were total strangers on Twitter. I only spoke to my husband on weekends when my schedule slowed down (a little). Wow.

Suddenly 6-figures didn’t make me feel rich. What I really craved was TIME.

Skipping latte’s with friends and ditching school pageants so I could work, never made me rich. Today I define success as having more free time to make Thai Fresh rolls with Peanut Sauce, to read “Alice the Fairy” for the fifty-eleventh time to my daughter, to have coffee with my besties at least once a month. And…I fold the laundry. (I still don’t put it away…but it’s clean). Today, time is the most valuable asset I own as an entrepreneur.

What are your thoughts? Would you rather have more time…or more money?

Lisa McDonell is a Virtual Assistant Coach who inspires and empowers other women to launch and grow their own businesses online. Sharing her wise and witty business advice, she shows new and aspiring Virtual Assistants how to take their ‘big dreams’ and transform them into profitable companies.   Lisa  has been a featured Speaker at Virtual Assistant events around the globe including: Red Deer College’s VA Certificate Program, the IVAA Online Summit and the Alliance for Virtual Business – Australian Chapter.   Lisa is a self-proclaimed ‘Brainy Gal’. You can find her hanging out at www.thebrainygal.com  or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thebrainygal

Set up your account of FreeConferenceCall and then share the phone number and access code with the interviewer. Since you are the one who is going to be interviewed, write up the questions you’ll want to be asked and write notes for yourself to remember to touch on. You can have a friend who is across the country interview you by phone or you can have a friend who’s down the street interview you over the phone.

Once you are both on the phone, you can practice a bit and then when you are ready, you can hit record by using your phone or by your computer and the program begins. After the interview is over, you click off the recording and FCC will make a recording of the interview for you for free. (The only cost is the long distance call.)

You have complete access to the recording and you can also copy the html code so that you can have a audio bar download onto your blog. (Unfortunately, I don’t have my example of my practice interview I did.)

So how can you use a free recording on your blog?

• If you’re a health coach and wanted to share tips on eating the right foods. You could record a series of ideas for your readers.
• If you were an author and wanted to share the first chapter of your newest book.
• If you were a writer and wanted to share about clips you have but by audio rather than listing them.
• If you were an up and coming speaker and you wanted to share some speaking tips.

The list is endless.

What subject could you talk on and record?

Image courtesy of Kittisak / FreeDigitalPhotos.net