One of the many things I have had to learn over the years, especially in my virtual assistant business, is knowing when I don’t want to engage myself with a certain client, or in a certain project. It’s not easy to learn how to say “No,” even when knowing in your heart of hearts that this is the right thing for you to do.

“No” is so negative, it’s a bit like saying “Thanks, But No Thanks.” I guess when you say “No” you feel like you’re letting people down, or maybe even in a way that you’re not adequate enough if you are simply unable to fulfil the needs of that client. I freely admit that I hate having to say no to people who need me, but also I have to take into consideration my own business and sanity first, primarily for the sake of me, my family and my clients. The outcome required from “No” is essential to any business.

So one day, I realised that I was actually skilled enough to never have to say “No,” but still obtaining the same outcome as if I had… If not a better one! All of a sudden I could turn what could be seen as a negative situation to my advantage, and in the end it was easier than I thought, and it also made me a better, and more sought after online business consultant I think, because I could say “No” in a roundabout practical, professional and resourceful kind of way, and still be helpful. So now every circumstance that requires a blunt “No” from me turns into a challenge of my own skill, and a boost for my reputation as a quality service provider.

Obviously when you want to say no to someone, it means that any of the following may apply to the situation:

1. You Simply Are Unable To Engage, For Whatever Reason.
2. You Simply Don’t Want To Involve Yourself With The Work.
3. You Simply Don’t Want To Involve Yourself With The Person.

If you want to say no, sure, go ahead, why not?.. What happens to the person you are saying “No” to of course is totally not your problem, you could say “No,” move on, wash your hands of it, and carry on regardless – but – for me, my conscience is a pain in the neck, and I still might be considering their issue some time later, so instead, I still like to assist them in some way on their journey to achieving a more successful outcome.

The Art Of Never Saying No.

Don’t  give people a dead end, give them a re-route, and a new way forward. Here is what I do, try it next time you get a situation you want to say “No” to.

When someone wants to work with me, and I can’t help them.

“Sure, let’s take a look at your request. First of all thanks so much for your interest and the opportunity, having looked at it, I won’t be able to do this for you directly, due to (capacity, capability etc…) I do know of someone who might be able to, would you like me to put you in contact with them?”

When I don’t want to work on the project or task.

“Thanks so much for thinking of me, sure, let’s see how I can help you with this. Whilst on this particular occasion I am unable to provide you directly with what you need, what I can do for you is recommend XYZ, which should help. I am copying them in on this email to see if this is something they can assist you with. Do let me know if I can be of further service to you in the future.”

When I don’t want to work with the person.

“I very much appreciate you thinking of me, but unfortunately I won’t be able to assist you further with this, what I can do for you however is offer some advice. If it was me, I would do XYZ.”

Most of the time, I get a very nice email come back thanking me for my help, even though I really just said No… But rather than cut a cord, I end up leaving an opening for a potential referral, or recommendation, or becoming the “Go To” person people tell their friends about, knowing full well, that even if I can’t help them myself, I may know someone or something that can (I usually do), meaning that as long as they keep coming back, there could be something I am able to do for them. Also by doing this, I may also be creating an opening for a colleague or acquaintance, so you never know what can come from it, maybe that colleague might also do the same for me one day.

So, I rarely say “No” these days, if at all, but instead, I demonstrate to people that I am capable of providing support, indirectly, and that is a very nice place to be in when it comes to reputation and doors opening up later on.

The next time you want to say “No” would you now reconsider, or do you think a more direct approach is what is required? Comments Below!

I’m going to cut to the chase. I love “talking shop” about virtual assistance, but I also feel that every now and again, we need to have some fun. So today I am gifting you with 50 of the stupidest things I could ever think of saying to a client, based on the fact that I never see my clients in the flesh and I work totally over the Net. And even if just 1 of these 50 lines of text, (maybe number 50) raises a smile for you, or makes you laugh then I’ll be happy as a sandboy.

To any of my clients reading this post, it’s for fun, I promise.

50 Things you should never say to a client…

1. I’m not wearing any clothes, but you can’t see that right?
2. iPhone, ummm yeah, I phone people too, so what?
3. Could you hold the line, my 1 year old has just been sick all over my keyboard.
4. I am great at organising parties and events, how about a cheese and pineapple hedgehog?
5. Yeah I’m on Facebook, I’ll send you a Farmville request – let’s play!
6. Yeah I’m on Twitter, do you want to join my mafia family?
7. What’s the Internet?
8. Yeah I am VA, because I can send email
9. The Net? Sorry, I don’t like fishing.
10. Not right now, I’m just painting my nails, unless you want me to work and potentially smudge them?
11. If I turn the webcam on, I can show you my pink fluffy bunny slippers which I bought with your retainer this month.
12. Yeah I’m drunk, but you can’t see that right?
13. Yeah I’m on LinkedIn, but I can’t link with you because I lied to you about my work history.
14. I’m watching you right now….
15. What’s a Doc? Oh yeah, you mean the guy from the 7 Dwarfs!
16. Could you hold the line, the dog is on my lap and my leg is going numb.
17. Yeah I am a VA, you mean I live in Virginia right?
18. Do you know I can work naked and you’ll never know… Oh! Now you do…
19. Don’t get your knickers in a twist – yeah dude, I can see them from here.
20. Could you hold the line, I need to go for a pee.
21. Do you know I have rainbow coloured hair?
22. The about photo on my site was taken 45 years ago, but I haven’t aged much.
23. Sure, I’ll Google your name… What’s Google?
24. Yeah I’m sitting on the toilet now chatting to you from Skype on my iPad – how cool is that!
25. SPAM filters, yeah those are ok, I prefer Spam Fritters.
26. What’s Skype?
27. Yeah I’ve been on line, but tightrope walking just wasn’t for me.
28. Deadline? Ohhh is that when someone’s heart stops?
29. Pinterest, yeah I’m on pinterest, isn’t that ‘pinteresting’
30. Is that really you on your profile pic? I thought you sounded way older!
31. Yep, I am a naturist, work totally nude, feels liberating.
32. Excuse me my son needs his feed, let me just adjust myself here and I’ll get right back to you.
33. Sorry can’t do webcam, I’m sat here in my dressing gown.
34. I’m great at time management, always change the battery in my watch every few months.
35. You want to post on my wall? What are you a graffiti artist?
36. You want to reach your market? Well, if I were you I’d the take the bus, parking is so expensive these days.
37. Yeah I am on Pinterest, but those photos should of been taken down, Playboy never paid me for them.
38. Can I hit your target?  Are you being rude or what?
39. A Tweet? Are you calling me a bird?
40. I LOVE working on the Internet, I can play World Of Warcraft while I’m supposed to be processing your customer support.
41. You need support? Bless you, my granddad had a hernia once too.
42. Of course I’ve heard of Mashable, but I prefer roast potatoes myself, or maybe French Fries.
43. What’s a computer?
44. Linux? Wasn’t she the one from Eurythmics?
45. Sorry just need to mute myself a minute, I’m currently waxing my legs, and this is going to hurt like hell.
46. I am SO sorry this is late, I was abducted by aliens.
47. Am I your most favourite virtual assistant ever? I get very jealous you know…
48. I HATE MY LIFE!!! – sorry, it’s that time of the month, what were you saying?
49. No I don’t work on the Web! Spiders really creep me out.
50. So, you want to know what an algorithm is… … … … Please leave a message after the beep – beeeeeeeeep. S**t.

So do you have any to add? What are the funny things you would NEVER say to a client

I get asked this question a lot, whether it’s possible to start and essentially run a VA practise while working full time. I personally haven’t done it, I quit my day job to start my business, but because of the number of hours I put in, and the varying times I worked, in various time-zones, early in the morning, very late at night, weekends etc… I know when you work full time, you have some of those ‘outside hours’ available, and if you feel inclined, you could very well run a VA business in them.

What a lot of people aren’t aware of is how they can organise the logistics of working in this way, because most times, the job is a ‘day’ job. Well folks, that’s the beauty of working on the Internet, there doesn’t have to be a night and day, it’s a constant. I have a few tips for you that will help you while you’re working to keep your business flexible enough for you to not burn out.

#1 – Don’t have response “times” – have response “hours.”

So basically you should not say you’ll respond between 9 and 5 – because you can’t, you’ll need to set up an autoresponder on your email saying you’ll respond within, for example ‘24 hours’ – this will allow you time during those 24 hours to respond without having to rush anything.

#2 – Schedule calls.

Get yourself an online appointment calendar and block out all the time you are not available to take calls. Then, open up as much time as you can outside the hours when you know you will be available, even if it’s in the evening, in this industry it doesn’t really matter too much, in fact, most of my own business calls and consultations are in the evening after 7pm central European time. Then make sure that all calls and appointments are scheduled via the calendar.

#3 – Call answering.

There are many call companies that will only charge you by the call, to take messages or schedule appointments in your calendar, so a handy thing to do is hire one of these services to take calls during your ‘office hours’ while you’re at work, and then use the calendar from #2, to schedule a call back for you.

If you would rather not go for call answering, get a Skype-In number with Voicemail, and leave a message, “Thanks so much for calling XYZ Company, there is nobody available to take your call at the moment, please leave you name and email address after the tone, or visit XYZ.com/appointment to schedule a call back.”

Why don’t I ask for a number?.. Good question, because I get calls from potential clients across the globe, and as a rule, I don’t call them back unscheduled unless I know exactly what timezone they are in, and it’s a bit long winded asking that on a message.

#4 – Deadlines for Billable Time.

Basically to me, billable time is when you are working directly on a client’s task and/or project in exchange for money, and when you do this, you will need to make sure you are working to mutually agreed deadlines, allowing yourself enough to time to complete the tasks and assignments for your clients, knowing you can only do it outside of your normal work hours.

#5 – Stick to what you know.

This is my final tip. If you are going to start a VA practise and continue your full-time job, you’ll want to limit stress as much as possible, because it’s likely to be a difficult period in your life doing this transition, so with clients and services stick to what you know, and if you want to learn and expand your services repertoire, do that when you’ve got to the point where you can quit your job. There is nothing worse than feeling the pressure of a job, the pressure of learning and the pressure of running your own business, and marketing it too.

So these are my tips if you are planning on working a job full time, and setting up a VA Business. I hope you’ll find them useful!

Note from Michelle: In the interests of the readers of this blog, and so I can continue to create content you’ll love to come back for, I would really welcome your comments below If you found this helpful, please share your thoughts – right here, and on your Social Media too! Thank you so much...

I recently connected to a very savvy social media VA on Twitter called Mia Chambers. She has a great looking website, and online presence and whilst browsing her website and in particular her ‘about’ page I noticed she had done a very clever thing, which gave me a great idea for my own social media, which I have implemented and wanted to pass along to you guys.

The issue I have had with social media, is that I started a couple of accounts several years ago before I really new what kind on an impact they would have on my business, and how they were going to play a part in my business. Then new accounts ended up being tagged on. Social media was something new I wanted to try out and experiment with. Now whilst you can change the look and feel of most of your social media accounts anytime, you can’t change the name that you have, so anything you set up years ago that may no longer be appropriate to the present day, you’re stuck with.

So the brand consistency was no longer there in my accounts, and this has been something that always bugged me, but I didn’t want to have to start from scratch. Well, if you are experiencing this same issue, the good news is, you don’t have to.

Dress For Success!

So how can you make your social media accounts look ‘super’ sleek and sexy – well, it’s all in the domain darling! So how do you choose the right one?

Mia Chambers has cleverly purchased consistent domain names for all her social accounts, and forwarded those domains to the corresponding pages – genius – so I have done the same.

I now have a crisp clean set of domains that I can place anywhere I like, and that can be forwarded to wherever I like, leaving me with the ability to give myself a consistent brand presence, but at the same time, giving me flexibility, because now it doesn’t really matter what the names on the accounts are.

Mia went for her first and last name and then the account. e.g. MiaChambersTwitter.com

I have gone for ‘MichelleOn’ instead, and since Michelle is a fairly common name, the .com’s were gone, but since I won’t be doing any SEO on these domains, I went for .me – which were all available, and after all, they are my social media accounts, and .me domains are not too expensive at all at the moment – there is a sale on in GoDaddy at the moment I believe.

So instead of a hotchpotch of inconsistent accounts, I now have the following:

• MichelleDale.me
• MichelleOnFacebook.me
• MichelleOnFlickr.me
• MichelleOnGooglePlus.me
• MichelleOniTunes.me
• MichelleOnLinkedin.me
• MichelleOnRSS.me
• MichelleOnTwitter.me
• MichelleOnVimeo.me
• MichelleOnYouTube.me

I would highly recommend doing this for your own accounts, it’s an excellent way to organise and promote social media for your brand, and also, it takes out the hassle of account changes and you having to go around and update all your websites and blogs. You simply forward the domain to another URL. Groovy!

Split Testing Tip.

You can also use this as a great way to split test social media accounts, for example, try sending people towards your Facebook group, or page, or personal profile, see what works for you and how the changes impact your business.

So what do you think? Is this a great idea, or would you prefer to stick to the account names? Comments below!

I recently came across a neat little service called Pay With A Tweet – it’s the first thing like this I have ever seen, and they call it a “Social Payment System.” Being me, I naturally got very excited about this system, it’s new, it’s online, it’s something that potentially could help clients go viral, and I thought I would try it out – you can see it in action on my FREE eBook The VA Business, now whilst this eBook is technically free, as in you don’t have to pay for it, you do actually need to Tweet or ‘Facebook‘ it, in order to get the book, which I think is a fair exchange.

The set up process for allowing people to pay with a tweet is very simple, you simply enter a few details into a page on the website here http://paywithatweet.com/sell.php – you add in your link to the page or product they are tweeting for, the link and tweet you want people to tweet to other people, and then it automatically creates the button for you. You simply copy and paste the code onto your webpage and it’s done.

Here are a few different ways you can promote or ‘sell’ with a tweet. These are really random ‘off the top of my head’ ideas, that could plant a seed in your head for a promotion or viral offering, many of them will need additional thought to actually work, such as figuring out the pros and cons, and also whether you have time to manage it. But I would certainly say that many of them are worth a try, because if you don’t try, you’ll never know right?

#1 :: Blog Posts.

You can create an exclusive category on your blog that folk need to tweet to access the page or blog posts in that category.

#2 :: Membership.

You can sell free access to a trial of a membership site, for example, 1 Tweet gets you 1 day free. (You’ll need to limit this to a maximum number of times you’ll allow it though.)

#3 :: Services.

You can sell VA minutes for a Tweet – this is probably the most difficult idea to implement for various reasons, but it’s still an idea… for example, if the client, over the course of a month Tweets about your services 15 times, you’ll in exchange set them up with a little micro-package of things you could do for it. Like a blog post on one of their products, or sharing their website on Facebook and Twitter. You’ll need to monitor the number of times this is done. Also I would restrict it to tweets in quality accounts, so you would need to set a criteria e.g. number of followers, minimal automation, a Klout score over a certain amount etc…

#4 :: Tweets.

You can sell Tweets in your own account, so for example, if someone Tweets for you, then you can Tweet them in exchange, you can simply send them to a landing page with a form, and they can give you the link they would like you to Tweet – but you’ll need to be clear about terms and conditions about the type of links and content you are willing to tweet to stay on topic.

#5 :: Comments.

You can sell a comment, so for example, if someone tweets one of your webpages, like a newsletter subscribe page, you can post a comment on their blog in exchange. You’ll need to send them to a form so they can give you the link to their post.

#6 :: Multimedia.

You can sell an eBook, WhitePaper, Guide, Video, Audio etc… anything that is downloadable or anything which has a link – even if it’s simply content on a webpage.

#7 :: Lists.

You can sell a ‘best resources list,’ for example, resources for clients for working with a service provider.

#8 :: Consultations.

You can sell some sort of a 20 minute laser consultation, when they Tweet, they can get access to your calendar to book it.

#9 :: Portfolio Examples.

You can sell access to an example of your work, so for example, if you are an excellent graphic designer, you can design some nice social media icons and sell access to those, this gets you a tweet and demonstrates your work.

#10 :: Sandwiches.

You can sell a Ham Sandwich – lol, only joking

So see how it goes, and start brainstorming your own list of things you are willing to offer in exchange for a Tweet or Facebook post. It’s a great way to experiment with your content and see how viral it can go!

If you would like to download my eBook in exchange for a Tweet, and see this thing in action, head over to VirtualAssistant-Live.com/tvab

What do you think? Is this the new way to pay for freebies, or do you think it’s a fad that will phase out?

Starting a business is both exciting and “nerve-wracking.” I never regret my decision to do it and I have often thought that had I not, my life could have turned out very differently – in a word, not as brilliantly.

But what nobody really ever mentions to you is the amount of time that business consumes in your life, and I am not just talking about the bit where you’re sitting at your desk or wherever you are working. My business is pretty much present most of the time, and whilst it doesn’t really bother me, the whole unwinding, switching off, not thinking about it, just doesn’t seem to ever happen! I am finding that it’s a struggle to not have a part of my brain engaged at every moment, not thinking about the business in some way…

Mission Impossible - Meditating

Scenarios

#1 – Dinner conversations we’re discussing the business, what happened that day, new clients I started working with etc… I guess the usual end of day conversations.

But, even years later it still extends out into…

#2 – At night I am laying there thinking of a project or a blog post I want to write, jumping up and grabbing a pen or my iPad to get them out before I lose them (I have lost so many good ideas in bed).

#3 – In the car when I go out, I’m chatting to my husband about the business, something going on in it, or simply driving around thinking about things I want to work on.

#4 – When I go out with my kids, I’ll often take the iPad, or a notepad so I can write down ideas that pop into my head randomly about the business.

#5 – Ideas will suddenly form on things I can do to improve, create, perfect, streamline, master, add-on — you name it, it’s generally on my mind.

My entire brain is like a think-tank for my business, and most of the time even laying there listening to music, I am, in some way or another thinking about my business, my clients’ business, my projects and if not, I am thinking about my family and how my business impacts them, and our lives together. I would be totally rubbish at meditating…

Today’s Nugget Of Wisdom

So, it’s a bit like when sometimes someone tells you when you’re a kid, “make the most of those years, they are the best years of your life” or when you have someone who has kids tell you before you have kids, “life will never be the same”…. Here is my piece of wisdom…

If you are considering starting a business, and it’s something you’re passionate about, and want to develop and grow, and not treat it as just a way to earn an income – then be prepared to pretty much go at it 24 hours a day (unless you’re watching a good programme on TV, are asleep, totally engaged in another activity, or being hypnotised) you’ll likely, in some way or another, have your mind on your business in some form.

How does your business effect your life? Do you find it easy to switch off?

I recently got together with Corbett Barr from CorbettBarr.com after discovering his awesome new programme Start A Blog That Matters. I was curious to see if his expertise in the realms of blogging could benefit online service providers – I was not disappointed!

This guy is amazing, and I love his approach to online business, check out the video top right where we talk about blogging for online service providers, and how you can use your blog to attract clients, he also shares a brilliant tip at the end, which I think we often can easily overlook. I have been so impressed by Corbett, I think you will be too. If you want to build an amazing blog that matters – Click here to check out his programme!

Transcription of Video:

Hi!  This is Michelle Dale for VirtualAssistant-live.com and VALive.TV.  Today, I am so honored, honestly, because I have Corbett Barr on with me.  I discovered Corbett when I was doing Digital Nomad Academy.  We kind of have a very similar lifestyle in the fact that we love to do business and we love to travel.  Corbett has recently introduced a new product online called “Start a Blog that Matters.”  As soon as I saw this product I thought that this is something very awesome because so many people are just not able to really start a blog and have it kind of impacted their business.  This is particularly in the service industry.  So, I’ve got Corbett on today so we can talk about blogging and particularly blogging for people who sells services online and how it can impact their business.  So, thank you, Corbett.  Thank you so much for being here.  It’s great to see you.

Corbett:  Thank you.  Thanks for having me.  I’m glad to be on.
Michelle:  Thank you.  For those people out there who don’t know who you are at the moment, can you just like introduce yourself, explain a little bit about what you do and your life basically because it’s very very exciting and interesting.
Corbett:  Okay, sure.  I’ll try to give you the brief version.  I started out my career as a lot of people.  I think I just jumped into working for big companies.  I was a software developer and then a business technology consultant for a number of years.  I just never found that life to be very fulfilling.  So, at some point in 2009 I realized that I was looking for a lot more in life.  Instead of jumping from one job to the next, instead, my wife and I decided to take a 6-month sabbatical road trip to Mexico.  We actually lived in California normally.  We drove down to Mexico for 6 months and traveled around the country.  While we were there, a number of really interesting things happened.  First of all, we started meeting people who weren’t rich or retired but somehow had figured out ways to make their work fit around their lives so that they could take months at a time and live in other countries or some of them could even travel indefinitely because they’ve built a career for themselves that allowed them to do that.  So that was the first interesting thing.
The second thing is that I discovered blogging in 2009.  I’d always been aware of blogging but I hadn’t really dived into it to explore and to see what it was all about.  I ended up starting a blog while we were on that sabbatical.  Basically, first of all, to explore my own thoughts on career and life and what I wanted for myself and then second of all, to share the stories of these really interesting people that we were meeting while we were on the road.  That was about 3 years ago, since then my life has changed in incredible ways because of blogging.  I actually now run 3 successful blogs.  The first one is called “Think Traffic,” which is all about how to build an audience online.  I have a personal blog at Corbettbarr.com where I talk about business and lifestyle.  My third blog, which is the newest, is called “Expert Enough” and that’s all about how to gain expertise in all kinds of different areas.  I run those 3 blogs and I built a business around those blogs that allows me to travel around the world.  I spent 2 months in Europe over the summer this year and now we’re back in Mexico again this year for the winter.  So, blogging has taken me on that journey and I started this course that you mentioned earlier basically to help people also who are interested to start a blog that matters so that it can impact their lives in the same way that it changed mine.
Michelle:  That’s amazing.  You’ve got such a history and such a story that it would take us like hours to go through it all.  It’s brilliant about how you traveled and everything like that and that’s kind of what we’re trying to introduce here on Virtual Assistant Live, it’s about how people can use the online world and use the internet to be able to live this kind of lifestyle.  You mentioned that you have 3 blogs, so 3 businesses.  So, let’s start with the first one with the “Think Traffic.”  What’s this about, this one?
Corbett:  “Think Traffic” is about how to attract an audience online because of something that I noticed.  The story that I gave you is the brief version.  The longer version starts in 2003 or so.  That was the first time that I started an online venture and tried to build a business online.  Very quickly I learned that it was going to take more than just a website and maybe some Google AdWords or something to build a really big audience.  At that point, I started wondering to myself, “What is it that makes different websites successful and the majority of them actually not successful?”  The majority of websites seem to fail.  They don’t ever attract an audience.  I started thinking about that.  I started studying it.  I started other projects.  I ended up running a venture capital back start-up in San Francisco for a few years before the sabbatical.  All the while, I was learning more and more about what it takes to actually grow an audience online so when I started blogging I used all that knowledge.  Within the first 6 months of starting my first blog I had about 100,000 people coming to my site.  I decided to take all those lessons and turn that into the second blog, “Think Traffic,” and share that with other people.  Now, that has become, really, the majority of my business.
Michelle:  It’s quite amazing, really, I mean I maybe sort of speculating here, but I think the way you see a blog is not about how to make money.  It’s about how to attract people.  Am I right in thinking that?
Corbett:  Yeah, yeah, I think so.  Of course I want to support myself and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with money but I think if you come at whatever you’re doing online with the approach of only wanting to make money then it’s not going to be a success because there are plenty of people out there who love what they do regardless of whether or not it brings in money.  You’re competing against those people.  That’s why finding out what you’re passionate about and being real and honest and being your real self and being transparent online, that’s why that’s so important because you’re competing against other people who are their real selves online and who are doing it simply for the love of what they’re doing.  They’re going to work their asses off and you have to compete against those people.  So, when I start a blog I try to start it on a topic that I really care about and that I simply want to learn about, to share with other people and to connect with other people about, first of all.  Secondarily, sometimes I turn those blogs into a business, you know, build a business around those blogs as well.
Michelle:  Okay.  So, obviously, you’re very okay with the whole blogging thing.  I’m really new to it.  I only started blogging about a year ago.  To be honest with you, I find it tough so I think what you’re doing with regards to helping people learn how to blog is a very major thing.  With regards to the whole blogging aspect of your business, what makes a good blog?  What makes a blog that matters?  What are the important factors of a blog?  Is it the content?  Is it the design?  Is it the topic?  What would you say are the most important factors of a blog?
Corbett:  It’s a combination of those things, honestly, but I think instead of the sort of tactics or strategies or whatever, it starts at a much deeper level than that to create something that really matters.  First of all, as the creator you have to be building it around something that you legitimately care about and that you’re passionate about and feel very strongly about.  Second of all, as the creator you have to want to help your readers or to entertain them or to inspire them in a way that will legitimately change their lives.  You have to want to have a major impact on people.  You have to be willing to put in the time and effort that it takes to learn your craft well enough that you can produce content that actually makes that sort of high level impact on people’s lives that I was talking about.  That’s really what it comes down to.  If you think about it, there are thousands and thousands of blogs online.  In fact, there are millions of blogs online and there are thousands of them started every day.  When someone comes to your site you have a very important question to answer which is, “Why the hell should I be spending time on your site when there are thousands of other sites out there?” and you have to answer that very clearly.  One of the ways to do that is to care more about your audience, to provide more value in the content and then also to differentiate yourself and to make sure that your blog stands out in some way so that when they come to your site they don’t think, “Oh, this is just like such and such but they do it better.”  You have to stand out and try to make your blog different as well.  So, that’s kind of the high level recipe that I use for creating a blog that matters that can attract an audience.
Michelle:  Okay, so say for example somebody is a virtual assistant or a consultant or provides some sort of a service online even coaching or something like that.  How can they take their job, which is basically providing services, attach a blog onto it?  How is that blog going to become instrumental into the services that they provide because technically they’re not bloggers but they want to start a blog to have an impact on their business?  How does it work?
Corbett:  Right.  Well, first of all, as someone who has been a service provider in the past myself I know that the hardest part of building a services business is finding clients.  No question about it, especially when you’re just getting started.  That’s the hardest part.  A lot of times if you’re starting out you don’t have a whole lot of contacts so you have to resort to things that might make you uncomfortable.  You have to network with people.  You have to go to conferences.  You have to talk to other service providers and try to look for referrals.  You have to do selling.  I know I don’t enjoy selling at all and, to me, the best sales pitch possible is really no sales pitch at all.  If you had a way for people to learn about your services and to know how extraordinary you are as a service provider and then to reach out to you because they want you instead of you having to bid on a project amongst dozens of other people or something and to have to prove yourself that’s what a blog can do.  It can make you the thing that people want, the thing that your clients want as opposed to them simply wanting a service from the lowest cost provider or something.  That enables you to do a lot of things.  You can raise your rates.  You can become booked solid so that you’re actually booked out by weeks or months.  You then get to choose from the clients that come in.  You almost get to audition clients as opposed to having to just take whatever comes your way.  Those are the types of things that you can do from a blog.  Now, to start a blog and attract those people I think you have to think in the same way that you do when you’re crafting your services to offer.  You have to think about what are the pain points that my clients have?  What is it that I’m trying to help them do?  What major benefits will they get by using my services?  How am I going to change their lives and to impact them in a significant way?  Then, through the blog you give them as much as you can give through free content.  Let’s say you’re a life coach and you want to help people make transformations in their business or something.  You might be able to give them an incredible amount in the sessions that you do, in the 90 minutes or something, but if you sort of abstract out the types of things that you’re going to give them in the sessions, in the consulting that you do and try to put that into the content that you create then that’s what you can use to attract people.  That’s what you can use to demonstrate how valuable your services are, how knowledgeable you are, why they might be connected with you from a personal level and then some of those people who read that free content will then want to take it to the next step naturally and become a client of yours.
Michelle: So essentially what you’re talking about is blogging about the benefits of yours service.  How the client will receive some sort of value from it?  How it will change their lives?  How it will impact their lives?  What they will see as a product of these services?
Corbett:  Not exactly.  There’s a bit of a nuance there.  I said earlier to start with the benefits.  Think about the benefits that your services provide.  I’m not saying that you should blog about your services or about the benefits.  I’m saying you should give them a taste of the benefits that they’re actually going to get.  Basically, think about what your services and how you could help someone through your content, not just to tell them about how great your services or that, you know, if they buy your services they’re going to get those things but to actually give them some of that benefit just by reading your content.  Give them a list of things that they can do.  Maybe tell them case studies of people that you’ve helped and how you helped them and be very specific and show them exactly how you helped them and what you went through in order to make that transformation.  Don’t be afraid of giving away your best stuff.  Literally try to help people with your content in the same way that you would with your services.  You’re going to attract a lot more leads that way and by giving away such awesome content through helping people that’s how you gain clients because there are clients who are going to want to go the extra mile.  There are clients who are going to want you to customize the generic advice that you’ve provided through your blog post in a way directly for them by using your services.
Michelle:  So basically you’re showing them a taste of what you’re capable of?
Corbett:  Exactly.
Michelle:  Okay.  Great.  So, moving on to “Start a Blog that Matters.”  I was very excited when I saw this because not only does it look like a great prospectus; it looks like a great cause.  It’s about doing something that you love; doing something that is going to impact other people’s lives.  It’s not just about making money.  It’s not just about putting a blog up and doing AdSense and things like that.  It’s really about changing people’s lives, not just your own through the blogging but for the people that follow your blog.  I would like to touch on this a little bit more.  I would also like to say that I think it’s too cheap because I saw the price of it and I thought, “Oh my gosh, this is amazing.”  Basically, what was your motivation for creating this?  Why did you create “Start a Blog that Matters?”
Corbett:  Mostly it’s true, the work that I’ve done, I think “Traffic” and just having gotten to know dozens of  bloggers personally, I’ve met some very big-name bloggers and I’ve helped other people create blogs that have gone on to be very successful but I also have gotten to know, maybe not quite so formally, hundreds of bloggers through the comments that they leave on my site, through the emails that they send me, and I know that people are struggling out there to create blogs that actually do something.  A lot of people launch a blog and they think it’s going to be easy.  They think it might be an easy path to make money or to get clients or whatever and they realize that it’s actually a lot of work.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in the internet marketing crowd who are all too happy to prey on the fears and the desires that people have and to sell them a bunch of lies, frankly, to tell them that, like you said, that you can slap up a few posts with really basic information and then use a bunch of, you know, social media Twitter, Facebook, and that sort of thing and maybe some Google AdWords or something and then you can have a big audience.  It just doesn’t work that way.  I’ve watched people struggle so much.  I know that there are a number of simple things that you can follow, a set of action plans as I call them, over a period of 90 days in the course that are going to help you make major breakthroughs that you wouldn’t make on your own or if you were listening to the usual advice because the usual advice just doesn’t work.
Michelle:  Yeah.  Honestly, that’s a subject that’s very close to my heart, particularly in the sort of consulting virtual assistant industry.  You have so many people come to you who say, “Oh, I saw this guy and he’s making $100 a day and I just need you to create a blog and then I’m going to do the same.”  But, it’s very difficult to explain to people that it just doesn’t work like that, certainly for my service providers because, obviously, the virtual assistant industry itself a lot of internet marketers are encouraging their clients, I suppose, to use virtual assistants and then it sort of like the internet marketers doesn’t get blamed but the virtual assistant gets blamed for not producing the results that the internet marketer promised.
Corbett:  Right.
Michelle:  So, it’s kind of catch-22 that rolls in at the moment.  I can talk about that all day but, yes, absolutely, a blog, it’s….
Corbett:  Yeah.  I hear you.
Michelle:  It takes dedication.  It takes hard work.  It takes effort.  I also think as well it takes a lot of personal interaction.  Whilst you can outsource a lot of the technology and things like that, essentially I think what you’re saying is a blog has to come from the heart and it has to be personal.
Corbett:  It’s the same if you think about your line of work, being a virtual assistant, in order to be a really good virtual assistant you have to not be doing it just because you want to make $100 a day because if you do that you’re never going to put in the effort required to get the good clients and then when you get the good clients you’re not going to have the passion to help them make the kind of results that they need.  So, if you’re doing it for more than that, as a virtual assistant, if you’re trying to help people, if you legitimately care about their business and about making a strong contribution to that business, getting to know them, learning the ins and outs, then you’re just going to be so much more successful in that industry.  The same is true of blogging.  You have to be blogging because you want to reach out and help people.  You don’t start a blog just because you want to bring in more clients.  You start a blog because you want to produce content that is going to have a material impact on other people’s lives.  The satisfaction of doing that and the satisfaction of making new friends and things online that’s why you have to start a blog.
Michelle:  Absolutely.  Good stuff.  So, in terms of online service providers, in terms of virtual assistants, consultants and people like that, how can your program help people who are offering services online?  What can it do for them?
Corbett:  The course, as I mentioned, is essentially a 90-day action plan for starting a new blog.  So, if you have no blog at all or maybe you started one before but it wasn’t successful this course will give you weekly lessons and weekly action plans on exactly what you should be doing from start to finish.  On the service provider front we don’t dive very deep into how to make revenue but in your case that’s okay because you already know how you’re going to make revenue.  You’re going to turn some of the leads, the people that come to your site, into clients.  You already have the mechanism for doing that as a virtual assistant or a service provider, the people who are in your audience, Michelle.  But, what this course will do is it will help build a platform where people are coming to your sites so that you can stop having to go out and do the cold calling or the networking or attending the events or the hard sales pitches that frankly most people don’t want to do.  I think a lot of people end up failing in your industry simply because they’re not willing to do all of the selling that it would require to gain clients if you didn’t have a platform.  Again, that’s the purpose of building a blog if you’re a service provider, is to have a platform that draws people in.  I don’t know if you’ve heard the term “inbound marketing” but that’s essentially what a blog is.  It’s inbound marketing as opposed to outbound marketing meaning people are coming to you for the incredible content that you create.  It’s very easy to turn some of those people into clients as opposed to outbound marketing where you’re pushing messages out and you just feel like you’re almost spamming people, trying to tell them about how awesome your services are.  Instead, you attract them with honey with demonstration of how great your content and your services are and then some of those people naturally become clients.
Michelle:  So what your program can actually do is help people to attract potential clients to their blogs through the content and through your strategies that you help people with for them to potentially turn those people and those visitors into clients?
Corbett:  Exactly.
Michelle:  Okay.  Great.  So, just to recap.  It’s over on StartaBlogthatMatters.com, is that right?
Corbett:  Yap, that’s correct.
Michelle:  Okay.  So, if anyone wants to join it’s StartaBlogthatMatters.com.  We’re going to put the links and everything with this video and the blog post.  Do you have one final tip that you can give anybody who’s looking to start a blog or anybody who has started a blog and has maybe not seen the kind of results that they would like to see from it?  What is your top tip?
Corbett:  Well, I have a lot of top tips but here’s one that maybe people don’t think about very often which is:
“Oftentimes, your success as a blogger is directly related to the number of other bloggers that you know because if you think about it, traffic and visitors don’t come out of thin air.  Traffic and visitors that you would like to get to your blog are already hanging out somewhere else online.  They’re spending time on new sites.  They’re spending time on social media.  They’re spending time all over on the internet.  Your job is to identify where those people hang out and then to get in front of them somewhere, somehow and then to bring them back to your own site.  A really great way to do that is by getting to know other bloggers online because other bloggers might have an audience already.  They might have people that are visiting their site and some of those people might be interested in what you have to offer.  So if you get to know other bloggers via email, via leaving comments on their blog through social media, through Skype conversations like we’re doing now through interviews and things like that and you form relationships with those other bloggers because they’re in the same industry (for example I’m sure in the virtual assistant industry there are a whole lot of other people out there who are blogging about it and talking about it), if you band together and you make friends with those people then over time they’re more likely to link to your website, to feature you on their blog and perhaps to let you guest post on their blog and things like that.  So, networking with other bloggers is a really great way to grow your audience.  That’s one of the things that we teach in the course.  It’s one of the top strategies that I use to grow my blog and that I use when I’m working with clients one-on-one as well.”
Michelle:  Amazing stuff.  Corbett, thank you so much for your time.  I know you’re a busy guy.  You probably got a beach somewhere in Mexico to go and lay on.  Thank you so much for your time.  I look forward to seeing what you come up with again in the future.
Corbett:  Alright.  Thanks so much for having me on, Michelle.  Good luck.  I’m a big fan of what you’re doing.

Connect With Corbett:

Corbett is a lifestyle entrepreneur and founder of Insanely Useful Media. His other projects include Think Traffic and Expert Enough, and now Start A Blog That Matters.

Twitter / Facebook / Google+ / RSS

What did you think of the interview? Was it helpful? I Hope So

This post may sound a little scary, but I have found it to be true, certainly from my own life and perspective, and from what I have seen in others.

First off, I mentioned success in the title of this post – we tend to use that word very loosely and it is open to all sorts of interpretation, but when I refer to success, I mean in anything you want to achieve in life. Of course we can automatically associate this with business, and I’ll use business as an example, because it’s rather a large consumption of our lives, but here is the thing… there is something you can do to pretty much guarantee the success of anything you do – and it requires the following 2 things:

1. A clear understanding of what you need. (Harder than you think!)
2. A lack of other options.

I’ll explain this to you as best I can…

You Don't Just Need A Paraglider - You Need GUTS!

#1. A clear understanding of what you need.

Of course we must understand what we need from ourselves in a practical sense, for example, if you want to start an online business you’re going to need a website, if you want to become a Virtual Assistant, you’re going to need a computer, if you want to cycle around the world, you’ll need a bike etc… these are all pretty obvious necessities in order to to get from A to B.

BUT – it’s not just about that, it’s so much deeper, and you’ll have to be very honest with yourself to find out what you’ll really need. For example, if you want to become a virtual assistant, and we already know you need clients, you’ll also need confidence, people skills, expertise – let’s say you are aware that you lack confidence, and you are aware you need to gain confidence, then you’ll need to work on your confidence skills, you might want to explore a confidence coach or workshop, read some self-help books, but whatever you decide to do, you need to really focus on getting that area of need sorted.

The point is, you know and understand what you need to work on, to make whatever needs to happen, happen – and here is the thing, if you don’t address it, the need won’t suddenly evaporate and go away. Success can be complicated, it’s like a chain with many links, and if a link is too weak, the rest of the chain won’t be strong enough to hold…

If you have an intention to travel the world, you’ll need your first ticket – go book it. Take action, do it. Then if you have a fear of flying, or a fear of travelling alone for example, those are the things you’ll need to really work on, or nothing else will fall into place. You’ll get to the airport and flake out and go home…

That leads me nicely onto my next point.

#2. Lack of other options.

So, you have started the Virtual Assistant business and you’re ready to take in clients, you have done what you needed to do in order to achieve this, BUT… You have left yourself with other options which could potentially keep you from pushing yourself hard enough, for example:

• “It’s okay if my business fails, I’ll go and get a job.”
• “It’s okay if I flake out at the airport, I’ll just go home.”
• “It’s okay if I don’t complete the marathon, there’s always next year.”

Do you see my point? Having options, whilst we think they are good, they are not an EXTREME way of going about achieving your goals or reaching the success you need to realise.

What if there were no other options?… What would you do then? What if there was no option to go out and get a job, what if that flight was the last flight to your destination and you would never get another chance to leave again, and what if that was the last marathon, and if you don’t complete it this time, you never will?

Wouldn’t your attitude change? Wouldn’t you feel less ‘comfortable’ with going back…

If you want to be successful, in an “extreme” sense – then failure is not an option, period. You find your weaknesses, (there is always a reason, or maybe several as to you why you’re not succeeding as you had hoped) and you work on them until you have overcome them – you keep going, and then you put your best foot forward knowing there is no going back, and there are no other options, you simply cannot back down, like a rickety bridge where with each step you take to get to the other side, the previous step on the bridge falls down into the canyon below, and the only way left for you to go is forward or plunge to your doom… I would go forward if I were you.

There is no failure until you stop trying.

If you want an Extreme Success Experience, you’ll need to suffer, honestly… But in a good way. This relates to me, I have been faced with several situations where I either make it work, or give in and go back… I toy with the idea, but in the end, I always did whatever it took to not have to reverse, I remove the option completely, and when you do that, there is only one way for you to go – BUT – you have to be quick… You have to focus on your weak spots, and improve on them as fast as you can so they don’t hold you back – ask yourself if you know where the issue lies,  maybe you are psychologically trying to cover it up with something else – get help with that.

Be honest with yourself, find the problems and create an action plan for a solution, do what you gotta do, so they are no longer a weakness – I believe there is a solution to everything if you set your mind to it. You’ll be surprised at the outcome.

Should we focus on our individual weaknesses below the surface to succeed? Or just hope for the best? Comments below!

WordPress is by far the most popular blogging platform for functionality and ease of use, in fact, this blog is built using WordPress. The wonderful thing about this system is that it allows Virtual Assistants and other online service providers an additional service they can provide to their clients. And, more and more service providers are catching on and adding WordPress services and support to their clients.

So as WordPress is such a competitive service offering, how do you get the client to choose your WordPress services?

Well, of course other than your charismatic personality and natural ability to charm the pot of gold off a leprechaun, you can add a little something extra – using that ‘good old-fashioned’ staple in any online services business – Outstanding Customer Service!

Altogether now….

We Don’t Sell, We Help…

Here is a quick reminder – A while back in the archives, you’ll find a post entitled, “How I made a 6 Figure Business Without Selling Anything”

In hindsight, the post doesn’t really do the concept any justice, and if you want people to purchase any of your services, you just have to really give a lot of consideration to things you can tag on that would really help people… So it doesn’t become ‘just’ a service, it becomes an experience. Anyway, that subject is for another blog post I think! Back to rockin’ your WordPress services!

Here’s What I Set Up To Make My WordPress Services For Potential Clients A No Brainer.

Care.

You need to offer aftercare/support, show the client you’ve got their back. I have a lot of conversations with solopreneurs who want the ability to update their website themselves, have no experience, and wonder how they’ll cope after they get their site. This is a very real problem, and I have a solution.

Offer A WordPress Training Centre.

Here is what you need to do step-by-step to remedy this issue, and provide a solution to your clients, before they have even told you what the problem is. You offer a WordPress Training Centre, and this is SO much easier than it sounds.

Item 1 – Tutorial Videos

You need some high quality tutorial videos, showing people the basics of how to update their website in a very step-by-step fashion. Now you could go the long way around and create these videos yourself, or you could invest in some high quality tutorial videos.

See WP101.com if you don’t want to create your own.

You can purchase these videos under a partner label and you’ll have permission to add them to a secure area of your website.

If you would like to preview the videos, they are a part of my membership site TheVAPassport.com, simply login and checkout “TREK Through WordPress 101″ – If you’re not a member you can sign up for $7, and have a quick look at the videos to see what you think before you jump in and buy them from WP101, but they are excellent I assure you.

Item 2 – Secure Area

Next you need a secure area to set these videos up in. I have placed them on my main website VirtualMissFriday.co.uk which is built in Adobe Business Catalyst, you can create individual pages for each video (like I did in The VA Passport members site) or you can simply add them to one page. I kept it simple on my own client training centre at VirtualMissFriday.co.uk and added the videos to a single page. If you want to do it like me, you’ll then need to set up a secure zone in Adobe Business Catalyst, assign the page (or pages) and then create a login page. Voila! In literally no time at all, because it’s a built in system, you can have a training centre ready for your clients.

By setting up the training centre using my method, you’ll have nothing to install, a complete secure server with an easy to set up and use client login area, and nothing to plugin or fiddle around with, you can have it ready within a couple of hours.  If you would like to learn how to set a Training Centre up like mine, step-by-step, there is a video tutorial in my membership site TheVAPassport.com which goes live tomorrow, the 1st of February.

And there you have it! Instant value added services and customer support that you could set up in no time at all…

What do you think of a WordPress Training Centre for Clients? Great Idea, or Not Necessary?

I have been working on a new product for VA’s that will help them set up a basic, first stages, baby step VA company on a shoestring budget, so if someone was in 2 minds about going for the plunge, they could dabble in it first and see what gives (more on this later – you heard it here first folks), it’s still in the early days but I had to do quite a bit of research, and in amongst this research I have been looking at online project management spaces.

If you have any sort of online service business, a solid project management space is crucial to keeping organised and staying efficient. Here are a list of 22 project management and collaboration spaces I have found online that make me go “Mmm Nice…” so I thought I would share them with you. It’s also important to note that some of them are free, so it’s well worth exploring the possibility of using online project management software, and getting used to it, even if you are a solo VA or have a consulting business, before upgrading to a paid system (if you felt inclined to do that of course).

Just to let you know folks, I am an activeCollab.com lady through and through, but of course, I still like to window shop and stay up-to-date with the latest systems available. You could say I am a project management and organisation junkie!

So here goes – in no particular order…

#1 activeCollab

My baby! “The project management & collaboration tool that installs on your server or local network. activeCollab gives you full control over your files and communications, with unlimited users, unlimited projects, and unlimited storage space – it grows with your company, with no monthly fees. Work more effectively with your entire team, plus all your clients and contractors in an intuitive, fully customizable space.”

 http://www.activecollab.com

#2 Go Plan

This was what I used before switching to ActiveCollab. “The best way to collaborate with your peers. Companies like Sony Music, Mozilla, Boxee and Digital Kitchen use Goplan to manage their projects.”

http://goplanapp.com/

#3 Intervals

“Intervals is web-based project management software that marries time tracking and task management in a collaborative online space with powerful reporting.”

http://www.myintervals.com/

#4 Basecamp

By far one of the most popular choices. “Basecamp Brings Project Teams Together. Millions of people use Basecamp, the leading online project collaboration tool. Basecamp is the top choice for entrepreneurs, freelancers, small businesses, and groups inside big organisations.”

http://basecamphq.com/ 

#5 Zoho Projects

“Zoho Online project management software for planning, tracking, and collaboration. Easy and professional with the integrated features for scheduling, collaboration, time tracking, and reporting.”

http://www.zoho.com/projects/

#6 Liquid Planner

“Online project management software for planning, tracking, and collaboration. Easy and professional with the integrated features for scheduling, collaboration, time tracking, and reporting.”

 http://www.liquidplanner.com/

#7 Project Bubble

“Project Bubble is a simple tool for managing your projects and collaborating with your team. It’s so easy you’ll love it!”

http://projectbubble.com/ 

#8 Wrike

“Thanks to Wrike’s patent-pending Intelligent Email Engine, thousands of teams have been able to merge their email communications into their planning process. With Wrike’s unique Flexible Structures at their hands, managers can easily coordinate every tiny detail of their projects. Thanks to Wrike’s handy Dynamic Timeline, managers have a real-time, clear picture of multiple projects.”

http://www.wrike.com/

#9 Teamwork Project Manager

“Teamwork Project Manager is an easy-to-use online teamwork & project management software application that helps managers, staff and clients work together more productively online.”

 http://www.teamworkpm.net

#10 Central Desktop

“Central Desktop delivers a cloud-based social collaboration platform that revolutionizes how people connect and share information to drive profitable business results. Businesses of all sizes use Central Desktop’s complete online collaboration solution to manage projects and documents in the cloud with colleagues, customers and partners.”

http://www.centraldesktop.com/

#11 ProjectTurf

“Create and assign tasks, share files, collaborate with others, track time and budgets, calendar events, manage tickets, and get things done. It’s easy.”

https://www.projecturf.com/

#12 DeskAway

“DeskAway is your central place to communicate, delegate, follow up, share files & track what everyone is working on.”

 http://www.deskaway.com/

#13 ProWorkFlow

“Manage projects online. Easily sort projects, tasks and time online, anywhere, anytime! ProWorkflow helps your company manage projects, tasks, time tracking, staff and contacts anytime from anywhere. All you need is a web browser or smartphone!”

http://www.proworkflow.com/

#14 WORKetc

“Does your online project management do CRM? And does your CRM do billing? Introducing WORKetc: the all in one approach to business management. More than just online project management software – WORKetc combines project management, billing and more in the only complete online CRM solution. Manage everything from leads to invoices in one place, without costly integrations.”

http://www.worketc.com/Online_Project_Management

#15 Freedcamp

Apparently according to MakeUseOf.com Freedcamp is “the closest free alternative that you will ever get to Basecamp” – Nuff said?

http://www.freedcamp.com/ 

#16 ClockingIT

“ClockingIT is a free hosted application, keeping track of all your tasks and the time you spend on them.Extensive features, Project Management, Collaboration and Time Tracking …and it’s free!”

http://www.clockingit.com/

#17 Dooster

“Dooster is an online project management and collaboration tool designed to save you from being overwhelmed by your tasks, appointments and emails while keeping important data, like contacts, schedules, emails and documents always close to hand and under one roof.”

http://dooster.net/

#18 Gantter

“Gantter is a FREE web-based project management tool. You can think of it as a web-based Microsoft Project. Gantter features all the power of leading desktop scheduling software products without users having to buy or install anything!”

http://gantter.com/

#19 TeamLab

“TeamLab is a multifunctional web office for business collaboration, document and project management. It has been developed by Ascensio System SIA, a fast-growing company that offers IT-solutions for personal and corporate use. TeamLab was founded on the idea of making social networking and project management efficient. It combines a wide range of features that assist a company team to work as one organism at solving common tasks and achieving results.”

http://www.teamlab.com/

#20 Who Does (it) for free?

“WhoDoes 2.0 is the web-based project management tool that helps team members COLLABORATE with each other, SHARE files, emails and MANAGE milestones and tasks.”

http://whodo.es/home

#21 ScadaPlan

“Scadaplan is a project management and collaboration tool for small and middle groups. We know how many similar programs can be found across the internet, which consist of functions like Tasks, Deadlines, Calendars, Comments, etc. We ourselves have tried using dozen of similar programs, working in design and developing industry for 9 years. This is why we have decided to develop something of our own and to let the people use our product.”

http://scadaplan.com/

#22 ProjectStat.us

“ProjectStat.us is easy to use. We help you track the basics of any project so you only spend time updating the most important information for your customers. Information like “When does my project start?” and “How long will it take?” ProjectStat.us is a simple service that does what it needs to and nothing more. No needless or confusing features here!”

http://www.projectstat.us/

This post just touches on the systems available, and you may have to dig around a bit to find the one that works best for you, but it’s well worth the effort.

What project management or client area system do you use or have considered using? Comments below!