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 | Mar 4, 2014 | Delegation, Virtual Assistant
The Virtual Assistant Industry is a vast network of professional entrepreneurs engaged in helping your business meet its goals for growth, increased revenue, online branding, image and exposure. We are your long term vested partners who are truly part of your team, your daily business operations and your second pair of hands and eyes to ensure everything is successfully managed to your satisfaction.
When you are looking for a vested partner, your goal should be someone with an entrepreneurial mindset who understands what it takes to not only get up and running, but who knows how to thrive in business and in the digital marketplace. While you can certainly choose an offshore call center to help manage day to day tasks, you will be missing out on the bigger part of your business success, a trusted like-minded entrepreneur.
My personal network is comprised of amazing women, dedicated virtual assistants, who are so willing to help one another, answer questions, provide assistance, referrals or even brainstorm. There aren’t too many industries with such a tight group of people who don’t fear competition or sharing of information. The client/virtual assistant relationship is based upon many different factors for each individual partnership and there must be a resonance along with the skill set to make them a cohesive productive team. Speaking from experience, my clients and I all work well together – communication, feedback and accountability are key components for success. Being in business since 2002, I have been very fortunate to engage with some amazing entrepreneurs. I think I learn as much from them, as they do from me. I hope so anyway.
Choosing to delegate is not always an easy step because you feel you are giving up control, but when you partner with an established virtual entrepreneur, you are choosing someone who is in business for themselves and know what it takes to succeed. The 365/24/7 mentality of a driven business owner will have a greater impact on your success, than an offshore call center who has one off task managers. Give careful consideration to your long term needs, your goals and what you expect from your delegatee. Established virtual assistants go above and beyond the request. We are always “on” in terms of your business. A task manager does that one task and nothing more. You may be asking about price and cost effectiveness. Just remember the old adage, “You get what you pay for.” Value, effort, dedication and commitment are priceless.
When I chose to build my team, I had several criteria that I would not compromise because my name goes behind every project, every task. I needed dedicated, focused entrepreneurs that I knew I could trust on many levels. Be patient and invest the time to build your team of like-minded experienced business owners to help you scale your company to the next level.
Tips to help you find a virtual assistant
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are just three of the online platforms to help you find the perfect virtual assistant for you and your company. Due diligence is very important and shouldn’t be a shortcut to save time because in the long run, it will cost you.
- Ask questions about their business, history, why and when they got started.
- Review their website/blogs.
- Look for social proof.
- Ask for references.
- Request writing and portfolio samples.
- Follow and engage with them.
- Watch their writing style and shared content
- Are their emails professionally written?
- What software and tools do they use, both online and off?
- Do they respond to your email inquiries in a timely manner?’
- How do you perceive their online brand image?
- Are their social profiles sending cohesive messages?
- What are their greatest proficiencies?
- What are their hours and availability?
- Do they have off hours to meet your needs?
- Schedule a call or two.
- Did you feel a connection on the call?
- Were they engaging?
- Were all of your questions answered to your satisfaction?
- Did you get a feeling of authenticity?
- What are their strengths/weaknesses?
- Do they have an entrepreneurial mindset?
What attributes helped you choose your virtual assistant?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Jan 21, 2014 | Delegation, Entrepreneur, Small Business, Virtual Assistant
I learned to delegate!
Many grew up with the mentality, “If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.” Well, this is just is one big bowl of misunderstanding and attitude adjustment. There comes a time when you must cut the apron strings and fly.
As an entrepreneur, the CEO of your company, you have a limited number of hours to work both IN and ON your business. Constantly flipping your hats not only takes time, but a shift in focus, a reorganization of your priorities and it disrupts your workflow. You may end up overlooking important business details or even client needs because you are buried in the trenches instead of running the front line. Focus on the high payoff activities that model your organization’s vision, foundation and core competencies.
“Exponential growth is possible when we give up trying to do everything ourselves and allow others to leverage THEIR genius to help us grow.” Melanie Benson Strick
Consider what and who suffers while you try to feebly grasp on to every responsibility, system and process.
At what cost do you realize that it isn’t prudent nor an effective solution to retain every job function in your company? If your goal is to scale, then delegating is one simple tool to enable you to commit and dedicate to your company; your passion!
Building a company requires a team and as one person, while as incredible as you are, you are still not a “team.” We can successfully build your online team to take you to the next level. Solo-preneur doesn’t mean lonely or alone. You have an option, a teammate: enter the executive virtual assistant.
“Almost all of my business transactions are conducted via e-mail and occasionally phone. It really doesn’t matter where my assistant is located. No one knows the difference. I’m convinced that virtual assistants are the future. Honestly, it’s one of the best decisions I ever made.” Michael Hyatt
Outsourcing is not a new age concept. It is a dose of reality especially within the digital community. You might be surprised at just how many people and companies outsource components of their daily business operations and social media. They get it. They want to grow and flourish and to do this, it means giving up some control and trusting in another entrepreneur (Virtual Assistant).
“Do what you do best and outsource the rest.” Robert G. Allen
Delegating Exercise:
(No heavy lifting required) whether you use your computer or paper and pen, the choice is yours, just do it. Design it how it will best flow for you but just track the data. Use sticky notes if you want.
Column one: items that represent working ON your business. (all of the things it takes to manage and propel your business forward……)
Sub-columns: every day, every week, monthly and yearly
Track the time spent on each
Column two: items that represent working IN your business (social media management, administrative, calendaring, writing, curating content…..)
Sub-columns: every day, every week, monthly and yearly
Track the time spent on each
In a week’s time, what does your tally look like? In your honest review, did you spend more time working IN your business rather than ON it?
- What was accomplished?
- Did you meet your goals?
- How many projects were completed?
- Did you engage with clients?
- Were you able to close any sales?
- Did you initiate consults?
- Write new strategies or brainstorm ideas?
- Revise your business plan?
- Create or consider other revenue streams?
- Design new products or services?
- Innovate?
- Think outside the box toward your long term growth potential?
- Read white papers?
- Review the competition?
- Collaborate with colleagues?
- How must time did you allocate to social media? Or get sucked in to the black hole?
- Is social media management the best use of your time (excluding engagement)?
- Did you forget anything or miss an appointment?
- Procrastinate yet another day/time?
- How many tasks were interrupted?
- Did you miss any opportunities?
This simple, yet effective exercise should leave you with a list of tasks and projects you should delegate. They do NOT represent your core genius, but are actually a hindrance to your growth.
I am sure you have your goals written down somewhere. Compare your long and short term goals to everything you worked on this week. Does your work support your vision and aspirations?
You know you need to start delegating if:
- You spend 7-10+ hours online, curating, scheduling and managing your social media and it takes away from time with clients, colleagues, partners etc.
- You need to implement some systems to streamline your business processes
- You have wished for a like-minded brainstorming partner
- You are ready to scale, but don’t have enough hours in the day.
- You find it hard to concentrate and stay focused because there is too much for one person to do.
- You have some projects or platforms that are barely started or only half finished.
- You lay awake at night wondering how you will manage everything.
I don’t think you started your company to stagnate but instead, it is time to actualize your dream and go for it. There is too much at stake for you to stay here, doing what you have always done, day in and day out. If you want different results, then you need to change the experiment.
Give up a few things on your list and experience the benefits of delegation. Partnering with a virtual assistant is a results oriented approach for you and your business. Our intellectual property from years of experience, research and education is invaluable and can be right at your fingertips when you choose to incorporate our expertise into your business operations.
“The first rule of management is delegation. Don’t try and do everything yourself because you can’t.” Anthea Turner
- Consider the sacrifices of holding on to EVERYTHING you do.
- What would you focus on if you have had 5-10 more hours per week?
- How would you change your daily processes and systems?
- Do your daily business operations scream for your undivided attention?
Can you afford NOT to delegate?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 9, 2013 | Delegation, Small Business, Virtual Assistant
Operating your own business is a dream. You know all of the ins and outs; what is required; the nuances; your target markets; you have it down pat from sunrise to sunset. It is all second nature that you could run it in your sleep if you had to.
While there is nothing inherently wrong with this scenario, ask yourself is it productive? Is it efficient? Are you and your company operating at 100% in order to experience growth?
I would venture a guess that your responses are probably teetering more toward the “No, not exactly” versus “We are the best and on target to triple our revenues.”
Many of my clients have been in your position, realizing they are not poised for growth and they want to move from entrepreneur to more of a small business status. As I have stated before, being able to effectively delegate represents a readiness and growth mentality. You must relinquish much of the day to day tasks in order to be able to focus on your “real” business goals. “Entrepreneur, Fire Thyself.”
“The whole transition from working in the business to working on the business means letting go of what you’re comfortable doing. You always need to be thinking big and challenging yourself.” Mary Jo Gorman, member of the 2011 North American class of Entrepreneurial Winning Women.
There are several steps or processes to be able to arrive at this juncture and once you do, it is still a matter of understanding and learning how to work with a virtual assistant, when you have always done everything on your own.
I get that! I really do.
- It took me a few years before I was ready to delegate
- I had always done it
- No one could do anything better or faster
- Why should I write out all of my policies and procedures when it is quicker if I just manage it on the spot?
I am over that and value the freedom and ease of having a tremendous virtual assistant. I don’t need to do every single task or project. If I was so bogged down in each and every daily business operation and activity, I wouldn’t have the time to build my business, provide personalized service, work ON it rather than IN it and I wouldn’t have enough hours in the day to write a blog post. I would be a slave to the clock and the company. That is not the kind of business dream I have.
Clients have asked what should they outsource and what is the best way to work with a virtual assistant.
Outsource anything that
- Doesn’t directly generate revenue
- Isn’t your core genius
- Represents administrative tasks
- You don’t like to do
- You don’t want to do
- Is too tedious
- Takes up too much time
- Provides a low payoff
Here is an exercise that may shed some light on your time spent versus invested: for one week track every task and project that you work on.
Note the time spent. What wasn’t completed, what was overlooked, any appointments missed, activities half completed, which ones generated revenue. How many low payoff activities usurped your time?
At the end of the week, review it. What should you move off of your plate?? It should be very clear.
What every day operations are you involved in that also aren’t the best value of your time? Sure, they are necessary, but do YOU need to do them?
Working with a Virtual Assistant (Best idea ever!)
After you have chosen your vested virtual partner be ready to experience outstanding results.
- Understand your daily processes and business operations
- Be well aware of your core genius and high payoff activities
- Clearly outline your goals
- Know what you want to outsource: for example, content curation, proofing/editing/uploading of blogs, email and calendar management, social media and project management
- Outsource one offs, projects, administrative tasks and daily business operations
- Establish your workflow
- Define specifics, desired outcomes, expectations and deadlines
- Prepare documents to support the processes you use to complete tasks. You may also discover that your VA has some other efficient tools and ideas as well. Be open for discussions
- Accountability and communications are a must for success and satisfaction
- Provide valued, honest feedback
- Trust the VA you have chosen – avoid the need to micromanage
- Expect to participate in monthly strategy calls to brainstorm, share ideas and talk about your business
- If they are to interact with your clients or vendors, create an email address for them at your domain
- Recognize that you are part of a TEAM, investing in your partnership and business
- Every month, review what is working and what isn’t. Consider outsourcing additional operations management or projects while you may decide to pull back others
- Continue to foster and nurture your relationship just like you would with an in-house staff member
Thes
e suggested tips may seem a little overwhelming or daunting at first, but once you lay out the foundation or the architecture of your partnership, the coming months and years will prove to be very lucrative for you. It is worth the investment and time to set up your blueprint for success.
If you are ready to talk, let’s give it a shot. Call or send me an email to schedule your free consult.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Sep 30, 2013 | Delegation, Productivity, Small Business
Business growth depends on your ability to leverage time, money, expertise and “human” power. As you have probably discovered, it is virtually impossible to manage every single task, system and project in your business, all by yourself. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to operate at 100% effectiveness, 100% of the time. Even with your action lists and priorities, you only have two hands and one pair of eyes. Your income is limited by your time.
Can you just imagine how freeing it would feel to be able to count on someone else for support? A team partner? Someone who is vested in the success of your business while still saving you money?
The answer for your small business?
Leverage the power of other people’s strengths and time so YOU can get more done: focus on your core genius to scale your business to the next level. Think of all of the everyday mundane tasks that while necessary, do not represent direct in-pocket revenue for you. Why do you use your valuable time for these low payoff activities?
“Within the first 6 months I added a virtual bookkeeper and personal assistant. I went from making about $4,500/month to making over $15,000/month.” Melanie Benson Strick
- What tasks do you perform on a daily basis that actually generate income?
- What projects or business operations are required, but are not money makers?
- Which of the two take up most of your day?
- What is on your plate, that shouldn’t be part of your steady diet?
Are you truly cognizant of all of the hours you spend on basic office administration? Project management? Social media? inbound marketing?
This is just a small sampling of what you should be outsourcing so you can focus your time on what you do best. How many of these low payoff activities do you manage every day?
- Triaging and responding to emails
- Creating email templates
- Researching statistics and industry data
- Content curation
- Social media best practices
- Social media automation tips and tools
- Sending out client birthday/holiday cards
- Travel planning
- Editing, proofing blog posts
- Image search and creation
- Uploading blog posts and adding SEO
- Creating systems
- Tracking deliverables
- Generating office policy and procedure docs
- Researching online business tools
- Managing your database
- Creating spreadsheets
- Managing your online newsletter
- Tracking web statistics
- Testing new software
- Interface with team members
- Blog promotion
- Cross promoting your content on social media channels
- Calendar and appointment scheduling
“Exceptional leaders, however, understand the importance of and how to surround themselves with exceptional talent and delegate tasks and responsibility to them.” Peter Gasca
How much more do you think you could accomplish if you outsourced just 5-10 hours per week? I am not suggesting anything new to you or something I don’t do myself. I have a phenomenal virtual assistant and without her tremendous assistance, I would go insane. When you continue to do it all, or attempt to, you become the bottleneck to your growth and expansion. If things are falling through the cracks, you have little time to yourself or you are a slave to your business, it is time to re-evaluate your systems.
What are you willing to give up in order to grow?
If you are interested in testing the waters or learning more, please contact us to discuss your business, operations, systems and how we can partner. Working through any apprehensions about working with a virtual assistant is easy with a little guidance and reassurance.
We can do this together.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Jun 27, 2013 | Delegation, Small Business, Virtual Assistant
Yes! I do have one too and I am not sure how I would function without her or the rest of my team. You see, I do practice what I preach. Delegating isn’t just something I recommend for you and your business. I need to do it too.
WHY? Delegating daily tasks and projects enables me to be more productive and efficient. As a solo-preneur, there are only so many hats you can wear before you become overwhelmed and burdened with too many activities on your plate.
Scale for growth: In order to continue a path toward growth, I knew I needed to function at an optimum level. This meant outsourcing to my team enabling me to focus on core tasks that only I can do.
Two Fold Project: I wanted to expand my reach both locally and in my digital universe. In my daily content curation for my client base, I discovered a few articles about RSS feed directories and local online listings. I forwarded these to my trusted virtual assistant, including a few questions, wanting additional research, a compilation of the top sites for each and I also included the approximate time to be spent on each action step.
After a few clarifying e-mails, we had formulated a plan of action. I soon received a list of directories for both queries for approval along with some well thought out details and suggestions.
Results: I am now listed on several RSS feed directories who pull my blog posts while others require manual submission. The local directories have all been updated with my business information and links. Today, I received a spreadsheet containing all of the data, logins and submissions.
“That was easy.”
I can’t tell you how excited I was to have this time consuming project moved off my plate, giving me the time to manage other client business needs as well as other Ace projects.
Outsourcing gives me such great benefits beyond just time. I know I have a team to collaborate and brainstorm ideas. There is accountability. We meet virtually as needed and fully utilize a variety of tools to enhance communications and project management.
Feel the freedom and partner with a virtual assistant. I do.
