by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Dec 1, 2024 | Goals, Life Thoughts
Traditionally, the end of the year brings about a time for renewal and reflection. What worked, what didn’t, where can you improve, and how will you set the world on fire next year? Isn’t it exciting to think of everything you’d like to accomplish?
New directions and goals.
Start fresh and put the past in the past.
Your resolutions fly off the tongue. You are inspired and driven for change. It’ll be the best year ever. Right? Does this sound familiar?
Studies have shown that less than 25% of people are successful at staying committed to their resolutions after 30 days.
Why are resolutions shelved for the END of the year?
You are a work in progress. Constantly evolving, growing, changing, like a chameleon.
Instead of New Year’s Resolutions, consider goals: daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. Alongside the goals, you can establish habits that are long-lasting and life-changing.
90% of resolutions often fail after two short months. One possible reason is willpower. You know you have it. You’ve tested it, but how long does your iron fist (if necessary) keep on target with your goals? Willpower can be a tricky mind game.
Willpower, like a bicep, can only exert itself so long before it gives out; it’s an extremely limited mental resource. Jonah Lehrer
Why do resolutions fail?
- Overzealous ideas
- Taking on too much
- Lack of real desire for change
- Minimal effort
- Adopting someone else’s resolutions
- It’s something you think you should do, rather than want to do
- Quitting too early
Sure, you had admirable intentions and passion for change but when it is a once-a-year review, it is more challenging to persevere.
An overnight quick fix is not the solution. This mindset is transactional, not transformational. Transformation involves ongoing introspection, discovery, pivots, and corrections.
Create habits and rituals that are indestructible commitments to yourself, your business, or your life.
A prime example is exercise and a gym membership. Enthusiasts show up every January ready to pump iron and sweat it out until they hit their lofty goals. By the end of the first month, most of those once motivated gym-goers are long gone. By February, you’ll typically find only those who have made fitness a lifestyle.
You might be sick and tired of some things in your life or your business, but when you make “resolutions” out of desperation and frustration, they are more challenging to maintain. You may deeply want them. You may feel passionate about change and be ready to execute but think seriously about what you want and why.
Change is ongoing, not a fleeting thought to revisit once a year.
How can you guarantee greater success?
- Start small
- Tie your goal to a habit
- Write down your goals WITH action steps
- Think: S.M.A.R.T. Goals: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely
- Be realistic, not too grandiose
- Make a vision board
- Inspire and motivate yourself
- Celebrate your successes – no matter how large or small
- Be accountable
- Involve others
- Understand you will have ups and downs (that’s okay)
- Realize change takes energy
- Failure is acceptable because you will try again
- Have a plan for your perceived roadblocks
- If you want different results, change the experiment
- Changing or modifying a behavior takes time
- YOU do have time
- Dump the inner critic!!
- When in doubt, ask yourself: “How does this serve my goals?”
- Work on yourself ALL year, not just at the end
Are you ready to create new yearlong habits or New Year’s Resolutions?
Remember this: YOU are the architect of your life. Build your vision.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Nov 17, 2020 | Entrepreneur, Life Thoughts, Virtual Assistant
Your virtual assistant is more than that amazing avatar behind the company name that gets your SH** done in a timely manner. We are your left hand, right hand, and perhaps a toe or two that manages all those business nuisances and trying tasks so you can focus your most valuable time on what you do best. The prime reason you started your business.
You know we exist because everything you need or want seems to get done. Kind of like some unicorn magic. We are damn good at what we do, or at least I know that I am. I have been in business since 2002 and absolutely love what I do and whom I serve.
Social media has blessed me with wonderful connections, colleagues, partners, clients, and even sub-contractors, some that I have met in person.
While running your business, and mine, is paramount to my success and paying bills, of course, I do have a personal life that I highly value, protect, and embrace. I am more than the Ace behind the keystroke of our partnership of timely deliverables and virtual support.
Since I have introduced my new website, I thought I might grab your virtual ear and share a little bit about me. What drives me. How I thrive in life. My goals.
My foundation, my essence if you will, begins with my personal beliefs about health, well-being, and longevity which grew out of my firsthand experience working in a naturopathic clinic with the founder (also a relative). My philosophy continued to develop due to my social media research role for various client professions: chiropractor, sports/conditioning coach, and health industry authors/podcaster. I read, researched, learned, and educated myself. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know. I followed doctors, health professionals, organizations, and clinics on social media. I purchased books. Talked to people, listened to interviews, and formulated ‘ME’ based on the science, case studies, and personal stories. A life-long learner with an interest and passion for living MY BEST life.
My health is extremely important to me. If I am not healthy and thriving, I cannot provide the executive support I promise to you. I choose to live out my years actively and dis-ease free.
I think in terms of ‘healthspan’ not just lifespan.
“Healthspan,” a coinage now gaining traction, refers to the years that a person can expect to live in generally good health — free of chronic illnesses and cognitive decline that can emerge near life’s end. Although there’s only so much a person can do to delay the onset of disease, there’s plenty that scientists are learning to improve your chances of a better healthspan. via Kaiser Health News (KHN)
I have been whole food plant-based for about six years and love, love anything veggie related. The produce aisle is my candy store. I do prefer shopping at local farmer’s markets if I can. I can’t really think of a fruit or veg that I don’t like or can’t prepare for that matter. I enjoy raw vegan as well as cooked foods. Playing in the kitchen is my therapy and have created many recipes of my own. Food can harm or heal. I love to eat healing, whole foods to nourish and feed my mind, body, and soul.
Exercise is my other passion. Exercise and fitness! I don’t ever want to say, ‘I’ve fallen and can’t get up’ before I’m 100 years old. I want to be able to play, jump, run, climb, squat, get dressed, sit on the floor, tie my sneakers, sit in the sand, or splash in the water until my eyes close forever. As you may have read in Virtual Assistants, Passion, Preference, and Persistence (MY WHY of starting Ace), my mom, sister, and more recently, my niece all passed from breast cancer. I embrace and value every day of my life and will live my best life in their honor because theirs were drastically cut short.
I have a gym in my basement, love to kayak, hike, SUP, and cycle. My longest bike ride is 52 miles so now 30 seems so short. I will get to a century ride. Goals!
I have been tracking my fitness since January 2019. I keep a whiteboard in the basement gym and record the time I lifted, time on the treadmill, steps, calories, miles walked, and whether it was fasted cardio. I also write down every lift with reps and sets. This is just me. I want to be accountable, motivated, and responsible for my own healthcare. [bctt tweet=”I am the architect of my body/life and I need to be proud of my building.” username=”AceConcierge”].
My day starts between 5:15 and 5:45 with my morning routine of hitting the gym for 1 to 2 hours. If I’m not doing intermittent fasting I will make a high protein green smoothie and perhaps some avocado toast after I train. I do change it up. After the gym and breakfast, you’ll find me outside weeding, pruning and planting until it’s time to move on to the office. In the colder months, I’m seated at the helm much sooner.
At the end of my workday, I prefer to enjoy a bike ride, a hike, or kayak. If I could, I’d always be out doing something. I don’t watch any television. I love to read, mostly health books or client books.
The ocean is my air but living in Virginia I’ve adjusted to appreciate the beauty of the mountains. They are majestic in all seasons. I love seeing the bones of the trees. I am in awe at the shapes, sizes, and expanse of these skeletons in the winter. We have many that were here during the Civil War and I wonder what they saw. What stories they would tell.
And no story about me would be complete (as many would tell you), without the mention of my love of wine, a newly acquired taste for bourbon, and now craft beers. Virginia is the mecca for adult beverages. We have beautiful wineries and vineyards, amazing distilleries, and fabulous breweries. There are even biking trails around some of the venues. How can you go wrong? Right?
So, this is your personal behind the scenes look into your virtual assistant.
Tell me, who are you? What do you love? What are the routines that make you, you?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Mar 27, 2014 | Customer Service
Customer service has always been and will continue to be a driving factor for all entrepreneurs, freelancers and business owners. Without the customer, you don’t have a business so you had better be damn sure you are listening and understanding their needs because if you aren’t, your competitor is. You have the opportunity of creating a brand advocate OR a vocal, viral monster who will inform the world about your lack of service and attentiveness.
Merely satisfying customers will not be enough to earn their loyalty. Instead, they must experience exceptional service worthy of their repeat business and referral. Understand the factors that drive this customer revolution. Rick Tate
Delivering the desirable and effective customer experience is an ongoing process and should extend beyond the close. Don’t let it stop there. You have earned an interested buyer and as in any successful relationship, the attentiveness to caring should not end simply because you sealed the deal. You should always be thinking of the small touches, the nuances and added service to continue to nurture your client. Think long-term partnership.
According to The 2012 American Express® Global Customer Service Barometer:
- Social Media Savvy Consumers Have High Expectations: They’ll Spend More When They Get Good Service and Ditch Companies When They Don’t
- More Than Eight in Ten of These Consumers Have Bailed on a Purchase Because of a Poor Service Experience Compared to 55% Overall
- Nine in ten of Americans surveyed (93%) say that companies fail to exceed their service expectations.
- Americans will tell an average of 15 people about positive experiences – up 67% from 9 last year
- Americans will tell an average of 24 people about poor experiences – up 50% from 16 in 2011
Social Media Raises the Stakes for Service (infographic)
Customer satisfaction is your competitive advantage: use it or lose it.
Providing quality unsurpassed service should be as simple as treating others the way you want to be treated. It seems so simple yet many companies fall short of this basic premise. The Golden Rule is your Midas Touch.
Think of a time when you didn’t receive the service you expected:
- How did it make you feel?
- Did you reach out to customer service?
- What method (s) did you use to tell your story?
- Was your issue satisfactorily resolved?
- Did you share your experience with others?
- Would you use this company again?
Create a CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE that infuses:
- Satisfaction in your products and services
- Comfort that they know you care
- Assurance that their issues are heard and respected
- Security in believing in your company
- Trust in your pledge to them
- Loyalty to your brand and values
- Confidence that you will go the extra mile
- Reliance that your team wants to ensure 100% customer satisfaction
When you are able to serve and deliver, you will generate not only happy customers, but brand advocates; the cornerstone of your success because it isn’t just your widgets that open the door. Build your company around real promises, outcomes and solutions to build the trust of your buyers and potential customers. Your business can’t survive online without the trust from your consumers; earn the trust and loyalty of your audience; your community. Cultivate your relationships through authentic communications and reliability. Your network is always looking for validation to ensure that a potential partnership or connection is dependable, trustworthy and “real.” Remove the feeling of vulnerability and risk of doing business with someone behind a keyboard. Read about the 10 Tips to Build Trust Online.
Trust removes fear, doubt, and friction. It dislodges things that are stuck. If you want to help your dream client make change, work first on winning the battle for trust. Anthony Iannarino
How do you create the best ongoing customer experience?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Mar 25, 2014 | Delegation, Productivity, Small Business
Part of being effective during your work hours is the discipline to spend time on what is truly important even if other things try to steer you off course. Efficiency is learning about your awareness to, acceptance of and ability to determine your real work, the actual tasks and projects that propel you forward versus time suckers, bad habits, procrastination or other low payoff activities that take you away from your personal and professional aspirations. It is a continual building process and without a strong sturdy foundation, you may find yourself with a few cracks, leading to disaster, lost time or missed opportunities.
What are you putting off today and WHY? There are things we hate to do or aren’t all that much of a priority, but what happens when you continually push things under the rug? For one, your To Do list multiplies to such great lengths that some activities just get buried at the bottom.
Procrastination List or To Do list?
Go look at your list, your calendar or wherever you record your tasks and projects. I’ll wait.
How long have some of the items been on the list? Are there any you just file in your head to do, but never make it to a list to get done?
Be honest!! What are you going to do about it? And WHEN?
Stop running away from your lists and responsibilities.
Learn to take action and manage your procrastination.
Melanie Benson Strick, America’s Leading Business Optimizer gives you tips on how to SQUASH your procrastination habits. They are very simple and easy to implement today! Read what she has to say and see if you can’t change up a few of your activities and get more important things done.
“When you find yourself procrastinating high payoff activities because you don’t have time or don’t enjoy doing them, its time to activate a more powerful approach to getting things done.
Here are the four ways to squash procrastination and get her important tasks done:
Delegate. My favorite way to handle tasks that must be done but that drain my energy is to delegate those activities to someone else who enjoys doing them. My motto is if someone can do it better, faster or cheaper than me, get it off my plate.” Melanie Benson Strick
Click to learn about Melanie’s other three suggestions: successconnections.com
What are YOUR tips to manage procrastination?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Dec 18, 2012 | Entrepreneur, Life Thoughts
Feeling like you live in a shadow but dream of success requires that you don’t merely step out of your comfort zone, but you LEAP, JUMP, SCREAM or otherwise take some real concrete actions to ensure your aspirations become realities. Sitting on the sidelines with an “oh poor me” will NOT take you to the mountain top.
You must decide what is it that you truly want! Something definitive and tangible.
If you have been floating within mediocrity, feeling just reasonably comfortable but suddenly realize there is more. YOU WANT MORE! Well, what are you willing to do for it? What will you commit to?
There can be some harsh revelations during the eye opening beginning. Learning what you did wrong, to teach yourself what you can do right.
What you can do better!
Some of us may not want to admit mistakes or past errors, but until you see the failures, it is more difficult to plan your successes.
You may see other industry colleagues thriving, flourishing, while you are only treading water. You know your legs are tiring from the constancy of monotony.
Your recognition needs to act as a positive upsurge, your motivator. Create your strategy; your plan to achieve your goals.
Envision your end result and work backwards with a detailed outline of how you will make it all happen. Record timelines, players, procedures, activities and any other structures or elements that will drive you toward your end result.
- Make a vision board
- Partner with your task force
- Seek a mentor
- Create a daily schedule/To Dos
- Write out your processes
- Enlist “industry experts
- Enhance your skill-set
- Measure or track your successes/failures
- Have a deadline
It is your playing field and if you want that touchdown you must write the playbook to score.
Now get in the game.
Learn the action steps, the stakeholders and commit to creating the life you want and deserve.
”Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes… but no plans.” –Peter F. Drucker
