by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Dec 18, 2013 | Virtual Assistant
There will come a time in your business when you feel plagued with the never ending amount of tasks and projects required to successfully operate your company. In a state of overwhelm, there is simply too much for one person to achieve while remaining efficient, effective and balanced. You may find that you have numerous responsibilities to complete but not enough hours in the day.
- You don’t have time to focus on your core genius
- Low income tasks usurp your valuable time
- Your work/life balance it out of whack
- You have a set of tasks you need completed that are outside your skill set or expertise
- You have missed deadlines or appointments
- You spend hours updating your social media platforms, taking you away from your high payoff tasks and projects
- You are having trouble finding time to research, update and syndicate your blog posts
- You haven’t published a recent e-newsletter
- There are 5424 emails in your inbox
- Your You Tube channel is collecting dust
- You consistently procrastinate on tasks because you simply don’t enjoy doing them
- You don’t have the time to devote to working ON your business rather than IN it
“The first rule of management is delegation. Don’t try and do everything yourself because you can’t.” Anthea Turner
If Chris Ducker can outline 101 Tasks that you can outsource to a Virtual Assistant, can you just imagine what you are holding on to? For example, he listed categories ranging from email marketing, administrative and blogging, email and schedule management tasks, to content writer, SEO and graphic design. Under each category there were bulleted lists of tasks/projects to be delegated. It was quite extensive and really makes me think about all of the daily non-income producing items that you don’t delegate. I understand you may get into the groove and just keep going with a project, but at what cost to the rest of your business?
Ask yourself:
- Is delegating a logical next step to help grow my business?
- How much time am I spending on tasks that impede my progression and waste my time?
- What are my most pressing issues or pain points that command most of my time?
- Have I been able to accomplish ALL of my daily To Do list items?
- If I delegated tasks, how would I utilize an additional 5-8 hours per week?
- How would I feel if I only worked on income generating tasks and released the more administrative projects to a virtual assistant?
The inability to delegate is one of the biggest problems I see with managers at all levels. Eli Broad
There is no need to struggle with your business operations and daily tasks when you have the opportunity to outsource. It will save you time and money. With 168 hours in the work week, it is important to choose your activities and projects that make the most sense for yourself and your business. If you find yourself in floury of needless activities that aren’t producing desired outcomes or generating revenue, then it may be time to consider working with a Virtual Assistant to give you back your time and passion to focus on your business. If you are still teetering on the fence a bit, you might enjoy reading: 5 Mental Roadblocks to Partnering with a Virtual Assistant
2014 is here. It’s time to do something different. Make new inroads; greater progress.
The Sales Blog: “Successful people spend their time where they create value. They delegate, eliminate, or defer activities where they cannot create value.”
Outsourcing is a low cost, high payoff tool to assist you with your organizational growth. There are only so many hats we entrepreneurs can wear at one time, before our do it all mentality ends up costing us either lost time, opportunities, accounts, business development or free time. Why aren’t you delegating?
“When I am speaking with new business owners, or ones that can’t seem to find the time to get everything done, the very first piece of advice I offer is to partner with a virtual assistant.” M. Shannon Hernandez
Call Ace today to get started! We are waiting to hear from YOU!
Let’s ring in the New Year with a BANG!!!
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Dec 16, 2013 | Social Media, Time Management, Virtual Assistant
Social media marketing is not fading away. As 2013 comes to a swift close, SM Marketers are looking back at the year in review and projecting some potential future trends for the coming year.
Brian Solis: “This year marked social media’s move into the mainstream. Social media is now part of our fabric of society, like mobile phones and computers — it’s a staple of our everyday life.”
SMM continues to expand exponentially and you should be on board with the 2014 trends; otherwise you may just be shouting noise with a plugged up megaphone or simply lost at sea. Since its inception, SMM has exploded the opportunities and platforms for both B2B and B2C. The online digital office provides YOU with a GLOBAL reach but only with the right strategy and planning for your brand. It is a mandatory tool for businesses of all sizes. You can’t NOT have a presence if you want to be found, talked about, and grow your revenue. You will want to be “linked in so you are not left out.”
2013 offered a great deal of tools, tips, platforms, and innovations, but what still stood out?
Content Marketing! It is a must have, must do, in your marketing arsenal. Uberflip’s infographic clearly outlines the trends and potential for CM. Remarkable content reaches your audience. It is shared. It is talked about. It has the potential to reach pain points and have an impact on your buyer. As one of the main 2014 trends, you need to consider how YOU will bump up your efforts, your blogging, your website and all of your content, to seize the attention of your audience. If you don’t, your competition will be serving the entree.
In a recent study by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute their results demonstrated that 93% B2B organizations now use content-based tactics for their marketing promotions and 73% specified they now produce more content than the previous year!
Other projected social media trends
Justin Pearse:
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Brands will start investing in the people, processes and technologies to deliver truly compelling content.
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2014 will be the year job titles such as head of content and content director become common at brands, both B2C and B2B.
Juliet Stott:
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2014 will see more brands embracing social media as an integral part of their content marketing strategy.
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There will be a race for engagement on social across all the channels.
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Brands that delight and reward their followers and harness the invaluable (user generated) content they create will be the most successful.
Ben Barone-Nugent:
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Businesses and agencies are going to more formally recognize distinctive types of content strategists.
Jayson DeMers:
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Investment in social media will become a necessity, not a luxury.
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We’ll see even more companies hiring social media strategists or full-time social media managers.
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Businesses who are finding themselves spread thin with their social media efforts will increasingly turn to Google+ as the closest thing we have to a ‘one size fits all’ social network.
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Visual content will increasingly become a critical piece of any solid content strategy, and social networking site.
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LinkedIn is positioning itself as one of the largest sources of content creation and curation for professionals.
TwinEngine
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Content marketing is the key to attract and retain customers.
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Images outrank words for engagement.
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Companies engage with consumers in real-time.
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Hashtags become a leading search tool.
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Mobile marketing surpasses traditional marketing.
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Digital exceeds a traditional marketing budget.
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Building relationships with inbound marketing is critical to long term growth.
WOW Isn’t that an extensive list of social media projections!? How can a business possibly manage to stay on top of the trends, research the current tips, tools and best practices, never mind maintain all of the social platforms? It sounds so painful and extremely time consuming when you need to run your business, attend to your clients, troubleshoot and every other day to day task. That is just way too much for one person to consider.
BUT what if you had a team?
A vested partner perhaps to help you:
- deal with the overwhelming social media trends
- with your social media plan for 2014
- to execute and manage ALL of it
- invest your valuable time where it should be spent
- become more productive and efficient
- scale your business!
While you are very cognizant of the FACT that social media is a necessity for your business, it may not represent the best use of your valuable skills and talents. It isn’t your core genius! Your passion! Your job! BUT it is a requirement to help promote your online marketing efforts and generate income.
CONTACT us today to discuss how we will kick off 2014 and make it a more profitable and productive year.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Nov 12, 2013 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
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. 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.
“Which do you think will build a stronger company over time? A technically competent team of people who share no collective set of motivations, styles or goals – or – a technically competent team of people who are united by a clearly articulated set of values and expectations the CEO has both described to them and tested for during the interview process? It’s not a trick question.” Hunter Walk
Finding the right fit goes beyond technical skills or a likeable personality. It takes a certain kind of individual to start and operate a company. A degree or a previous title doesn’t make you an entrepreneur. It also isn’t about someone who wants to turn a hobby into a 9-5 job or someone who only wants to cut a paycheck. There is more to it than that.
Owning and operating your own business requires a commitment to 24/7/365 days a year. It isn’t something you just dabble in “willy nilly.” In the beginning you may be wearing all of the hats, living and breathing every facet of the business, even in your sleep. There is no rest. No downtime.
The Entrepreneur:
- Methodical
- Courageous
- Strong time management and planning
- Organized
- Productive
- Strategic
- Critical thinker
- Insightful
- Intuitive
- Communicator
- Enthusiastic
- Problem solver
- Overly committed
- Driven
- Innovative
- Ability to pivot
- Open to change
- Ready for failure
- Readiness to begin again
These are innate qualities that you will never learn in business school.
It is what is in your head. What lives in your heart. How you survive and thrive in life.
Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding says: “To be perfectly blunt, people with hard skills are a dime a dozen. A high-school kid can probably learn most of the hard skills that would be required to do just about any job, but it’s doubtful that he or she would have the emotional maturity and people skills to make it in a Fortune 200 company.”
In the search for your virtual assistant, think about the match that is most important to you. What do you value most?
You are secure on who YOU are as well as the value and expertise you bring to your clients and the marketplace. Don’t you want and need the same type of support from your team? Someone who fully understands your needs, culture and business?
“Formal education will make you a living, self-education will make you a fortune.” Jim Rohn
Who is the best fit for your company? When interviewing your prospective virtual assistants, due diligence is a necessity. Not just a quick SKYPE interaction.
- Learn about them. Why did they get into the business? Here’s my story.
- What struggles have they faced and how did they overcome them.
- What are their goals?
- Speak with their past and current clients.
- Read their online testimonials.
- Google them: what social media platforms do they use? Is their branding consistent? What types of posts do they write? Is their blog up to date?
- What personality traits present most strongly in their online communications?
- Do you feel that they are transparent and open?
Find the real treasure, the driven entrepreneurial virtual assistant who is truly devoted to your dreams of success.
Look for a partner, not an automated task doer.
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 | Aug 22, 2013 | Guest Blogger, Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistants | Your Small Business Secret to Success
This morning I woke up and started the day knowing that the tasks I find tedious, and other tasks, are done thanks to my team of “virtual assistants.” Lourdes Wellhaven.
I didn’t start my career as a self-employed person with a team. Instead, I took the hard route. I went the typical I’ll-make-it-happen-somehow-bravado route. I slept very little and sacrificed a lot to get my business off the ground. In a few short months it became clear that I needed help and fast. I thought that the logical next step was to hire my first employee. I chose well, I thought to have hired a dear friend who needed a part-time job.
Sure I had heard that it’s not good idea to hire a friend or family member. But that warning was for “other people.” I soon found out that I was not immune to the same issues that every start-up has when they hire people they care about. Unfortunately that business relationship ended badly and the friendship ended with it. That employer/employee relationship was followed by a series of additional similar situations, some working really well, but most, not so much.
I hired an HR Coach to tell me what I was doing wrong. In a few short hours he came up with a recommendation that was very surprising. He advised me to hire Virtual Assistants for everything. Yes, a VA for every single possible job function my firm needed or would ever need in the future, no exceptions.
I couldn’t wrap my head around the concept. My concerns were endless. But he described to me in detail how he himself works exclusively with VA’s. I took his advice, albeit with baby steps in the beginning, but have not looked back since.
Here’s what I’ve learned in the process
- Labor costs have dramatically decreased: It may appear at first glance that I’m paying more for an “assistant” per hour than I did before but that’s not true and here’s why: There are many other costs besides the hourly wage rate associated with a traditional employee including paid-time-off, fringe benefits, insurance, worker’s comp, retirement etc. If you are truly using the services of an independent contractor (check IRS regulations) then there are no other additional hourly expenses.
- Production has increased: I was more than a little shocked to realize that what my traditional employee was taking 40 hours to complete was quickly and efficiently done by my VA in 10 hours.
- Team spirit has been enhanced: Virtual team members have a very different mindset primarily because the business relationship is different. I’m not their boss, I’m their client. Astoundingly my VA’s act as if they have a bigger vested interest in my success.
- Internal Control has increased: Internal control in an accounting term whereby a company puts policies and procedures in place to ensure the accuracy of financial data and the safeguarding of resources. I thought that having remote employees would compromise internal control, but instead, I’ve found that with the help of technology, it has been enhanced.
- My company benefits from the experience a VA has with other clients. My VA’s each serve lots of different clients. This means they get really good at doing that “one thing” and have specialized in certain tasks. Further, because they serve so many different clients daily with those specialized skills, they have a much deeper understanding than any traditional employee could ever hope to.
- I can easily scale up or down as my workload warrants. Projects start and complete and I can enlist help on an as-needed basis instead of being stressed about providing enough work for my employees on an ongoing basis. It’s a huge responsibility to hire someone. That’s a pressure I simply do not have to deal with any longer.
Sure I miss the water-cooler talk from time to time and the camaraderie of having others in-house. There is always a give and take with everything in life. For me, though, I’d rather sacrifice the social aspects of having an in-office staff for the happiness that I get from knowing that I’m working smarter for myself and my clients.
Guest Author Lourdes Wellhaven:
by Lourdes Welhaven – Lourdes is the host of the Networker for Business Women effort and podcast which is owned and run by Welhaven and Associates for the benefit of women in business everywhere. Lourdes is also the Founder and Publisher of Little Pampered Dog “The Lifestyle Magazine for Little Pampered Dogs and the People Who Love Them.” You can download your free copy of the app and a free issue for your iPad, iPhone or iPod here: www.littlepampereddog.com/download
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Jul 25, 2013 | Entrepreneur, Small Business, Virtual Assistant
A code of ethics and honor exists amongst most Virtual Assistants, at least with the tremendous women in my network. As entrepreneurs we pride ourselves with strong character and morals, not just because we are business owners and great human beings, but we are also trusted with managing our client’s business. We are privy to logins, credit cards, proprietary information and other business “secrets.” We treat these components with the utmost confidentiality, similar to HIPAA.
I recently discovered another Virtual Assistant who copied some content from one of my blog posts. I was irate of course. I labor over my blog posts, hoping they are rich and valuable to you, the audience. I immediately became incensed with anger and frustration. Those were not her words I was reading, but mine. Her title was even taken from a different post and she also stated the upcoming content of her next post, which of course can found on my blog. Maybe it was her idea, all fresh and new, but it certainly appears a little suspect. She is even a “Certified VA” with a badge on her website and a link to their code of ethics.
VAs are trusted with so much and if one is going to steal another’s content, what else may she consider? I feel very strongly about my industry and the trust from my client base. It is always an honor when Ace is chosen as remote business manager. My reputation stands for itself as does the other Virtual Assistants I know and follow. We work hard and earn our place in the business world. When I see something like this, it just makes me question someone’s business sense and character.
“Character is the firm foundation stone upon which one must build to win respect. Just as no worthy building can be erected on a weak foundation, so no lasting reputation worthy of respect can be built on a weak character.”— R. C. Samselat
As soon as you publish original content, it is protected by the copyright law, even without the symbol. This translates into the fact that people can’t repurpose or publish your content without consent.
- If you want to do a little research about your site and content, try CopyScape. It is a simple tool I discovered many years ago which will clearly display what content has been copied.
- Using Google Authorship also helps to reaffirm what is owned and protected by you.
- Make sure you take screenshots of the offending content.
- Email the perpetrator with the exact details, including the images, requesting that all copyrighted content is removed.
- If your correspondence is not successful, you can also contact the search engines directly under the DMCA Law or Digital Millennium Copyright Act
A little permission goes a long way. Ask. Give credit. Share honestly and professionally.
Know the laws and your rights.
