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 25, 2013 | Entrepreneur, Small Business, Social Media
Can you just imagine the explosion of growth of your online world since its inception? Even reading all of the facts and figures, it is probably much greater than we can even comprehend. Millions and millions of people are online every day, searching, communicating, connecting and networking.
Jeff Bullas recently published a post 46 Amazing Social Media Facts in 2013 stating:
- There are over 10 million Facebook “apps”
- Twitter’s fastest growing demographic is 55-64 year olds
- 60% of Twitter users access it from their mobile
- There are over 343 million active users on Google+
- The +1 button is served 5 billion times per day
- 67% of Google+ users are male
- There are over 3 million LinkedIn company pages
- More than 16 billion photos have been uploaded to Instagram
- Food is the top category discussed on Pinterest at 57%
- There are over 1 billion unique monthly visitors on YouTube
Just mindboggling numbers!!
Keeping all of this in mind, your social media efforts have the potential to reach your infinite target audience almost painlessly. Almost being the operative word.
Social media does require time, planning, tools and energy. You don’t become an overnight sensation just because you created a few accounts and maintain a website. Quality lead generation, customer acquisition, partnership development or your other social media goals are all attainable. You need to actively engage with your audience. Know where they hang out. What they want. What drives them.
Know what your customers want most and what your company does best. Focus on where those two meet. Kevin Stirtz
People devour news and content like it is their last meal. If you want to satiate their hunger pangs, then serve them remarkable content, authenticity, real connections and top quality service. The same that you expect from your network and vendors. There are no short cuts to creating long lasting relationships.
“Social Media is about the people! Not about your business. Provide for the people and the people will provide for you.” -Matt Goulart
Define your goals and strategy for your varied social media platforms. You will need to revisit and refine as time goes on, but your initial foundation is a starting point.
Stay current on trends, customer needs and pain points. Interests change and expand every day. Be informed. Give them what they want.
Be able to immediately address and troubleshoot any problems or issues that arise. Word travels fast in social media; don’t simply ignore or delete a negative comment. Step up and resolve it.
Investigate how you can expand your reach. If you are using only one or two platforms, consider where your audience may be spending more of their time. Are they on Pinterest, Instagram, Foursquare or YouTube? There are many options to choose from, however; if you are going to jump in, then you must play in the sandbox. Don’t just build a castle and walk away.
Be social, don’t just do social. Share valuable content and don’t spam. Keep it in the can. While self-promotion is acceptable, if you are doing it all of the time, it becomes obnoxious. Sorry, but yes. Share the content of other industry thought leaders, current topics of interest, news and some of your content.
Respond to comments, posts and RTs. Don’t ignore anyone. You chose to be out there and have a presence so engage. It is not only courteous, but it helps you to develop a rapport toward a long lasting relationship.
Create your community, your network of “real” people. They are invaluable in both personal and professional roles.
Whether you are B2B or B2C, social media is your prime opportunity to meet and greet. Open your arms, welcome your customer, your neighbor, your partner as this playground is here to stay and it will only continue to intensify your growth potential.
If you would like a little more insight, please click on the links below.
The Etiquette of Social Media
Should Your Business Blog
13 Tips to Humanize Your Brand
5 Sources for Social Media Content [list]
Content Marketing | Don’t Make it a Fatal Attraction
Free Social Media Tools | Analyze and Measure
Selling Value | 14 Common Sense Tips
Honest Communication | 30 Tips to Build Trust
Social media isn’t really that much of a mystery even though there are constant changes and updates to many of the perimeters. Simply put, be you. Genuine and authentic. Don’t be pushy and spammy. No one likes me me me. Post consistently. Listen, engage and respond. Yes, this is so basic but why over analyze and critique it down to a crazy science?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 10, 2013 | Productivity, Small Business, Time Management
You have heard it before, being busy is NOT an indication of being productive. Sure, the time goes by, but what did you really accomplish? Did your tasks and projects get you closer to your goals or just help to pass the time.
Organization is one key component to your productivity and time management. You may be hearing: blah, blah, blah, but it is the truth. We read about it all of the time, but do you implement any measures to bring you back to focus?
What are your daily objectives? Trolling Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter updates don’t really count. They may be good distractions and provide entertainment, but how do they help you operate your business?
There are some simple straightforward, no brainer things you can do every day. They don’t cost anything, they will only help you invest more in yourself, your business and your time. Maximize your time to work smarter, not harder.
Productivity KISS
- Wake up early
- Establish morning rituals
- Determine your goals
- Create a To Do list
- Make action steps
- Plan your strategy and priorities: do the most important/most difficult task first.
- Engage or create your team
- Brainstorm and mindmap
- Don’t lose focus: maintain discipline and work ethic
- Figure out where you waste your time
- Time block to batch process your tasks and projects: for example, set aside 30 mins each morning to attack your email. Do this 2-3x per day
- Create an editorial and social media calendar
- Set aside time each week to write your blog posts and content curation
- Keep and sync a calendar with your mobile devices
- Use a timer or app to stay ON task
- Tune out distractions and notifications: every interruption adds more time to your task.
- Know and set time/space boundaries
- Never stop learning new tools or methods. Times change.
- Network with like-minded people
- Maintain a positive attitude about work and life
- Take timed breaks to refresh, but get back to work: no zombies allowed
- Keep everything in its place. An organized workspace is an organized mind with no wasted time.
- Think quality productivity
- Be aware of your core genius and outsource your low payoff activities
- Use project management tools that work for you! If you don’t like an online program, then at least use a basic spreadsheet. I love Teambox.
- Update and use your policies and procedural systems to maintain efficiency
- Do NOT multi-task: it is distracting, harmful to your brain and impedes productivity
- If you telecommute or work from home: change up your office environment: try a café or library
- Automate daily routine items: no need to continually recreate the same efforts every day. This also applies to SOME of your social media efforts. Notice I said some. Never automate personal engagement. That is not social at all
- Store things in the cloud so you can access them when you are away from your computer
- Learn some keyboard shortcuts
- Remembering passwords is a PITA: store them online and keep them safe with LastPass
- If you are working with a team, utilize Dropbox or Google docs to share content and easily review revisions
- Procrastination kills time!!
- Use news aggregators with keywords, favorite RSS feeds and topics to avoid hunting for your daily digital news. It is a time waster. Suggestions: Feedly, Prismatic, Tagboard
What tips can you add to this list?
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 | Sep 3, 2013 | Entrepreneur, Productivity, Small Business
I was listening to a podcast this weekend about sales and service. There is always room for work and personal development when you own your own business. It never stops. Personally, I am always on and eager to learn more for both you and me.
Back to the podcast: You want the best service and products and we want to deliver. That goes without saying but being the best customer goes beyond signing an agreement or clicking pay now.
This post isn’t about creating your buyer personas and identifying the ideal customer. It is about BEING the best customer to ensure complete satisfaction and deliverables.
As the vendor, your vested partner, we have a job to do and most of us strive to be the pinnacle of providers. Our business depends on it because if we don’t, there is someone else who will. Your needs are to be met, better yet, exceeded. But we need YOU to do your part as well.
In your mind’s eye, what characteristics represent your own best client? The kind you love to work with? The one that is so productive, enriching and fun, making your job so much easier?
Sure, there can be daily challenges or differences of opinion, but those can be easily seen as strengths to develop a strong working relationship. It takes two to make it work, efficiently and effectively.
The 4 Cs of being the ideal client:
Cultivation:
Doesn’t it feel wonderful when you establish a new relationship, feeling the vibrancy and synergy? You know it is going to work out. You are excited to move forward. Don’t lose this feeling because of the daily grind and pressures of running your business. A successful partnership, like any connection, requires effort and mutuality. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or schedule strategy calls if you have new ideas or ventures you want to discuss. We welcome that interaction and want to serve you.
“One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others.” Lewis Carol
Communication:
It goes beyond just telling us about your plans and visions, which of course are vital to our success ratio, but we also need open communications, transparency and feedback. Creating the initial foundation after the sale, especially when in the service industry, is paramount to our long-term partnership. Clear and succinct details and desired outcomes are important to us. Feedback is necessary on our deliverables.
There are many times we also require more information from you, enabling us to do our best and meet your expectations, but if we as service providers are met with an untimely response or lack thereof, we are unable to give you the service you want and deserve.
- Keep the communication lines open.
- Respond in a timely fashion.
- Provide honest feedback.
Collaboration:
Our partnership requires collaboration, a give and take for us to achieve your goals. In the Virtual Assistant industry, you have contracted with us to assist you with your business management and operations. We need to work closely together, using tools and clear communication to achieve your desired objectives. You may have given us project to complete and to create a sturdy foundation for success, we need to collaborate and discuss the details. We will use a variety of tools to streamline the process, and while you have delegated to us, you are still considered a facet of the job, when and if, we need additional information or approval. When we are able to work together, bounce ideas, outline criteria, and act as mutual associates, the outcomes far exceed expectations. As your vested partner, we drive AND thrive to do our best for you. But again, it takes two.
Let’s work together to master your operations and scale your business to the next level.
“LOVE the WE because as I said before we are a team! :)” Recent quote from an ideal client.
We are a team.
Commitment:
You possibly chose your vendor based upon interviews, recommendations, online brand reputation and research. You selected the best company or person for the job. In doing so, you trust them to provide you with remarkable products and service. You made a commitment to the partnership. Commitment is a big word, reflecting on your trust and value in the service provider. If you have made this pledge, why not be the best you can be, so we can be the best for you?
No one likes to be disappointed or to have to repeat the process to find a replacement. Invest in this partnership in order to see your desired results.
Commitment is also the catchall for:
- Cultivation
- Communication
- Collaboration
This post is NOT to put the onus on you. It is about US!
In your quest for the best, you found a provider who exemplifies each of the characteristics above and is fully accountable for their half of the equation. As entrepreneurs, we opened our doors to provide and serve. To be unsurpassed and please you with our goods and services.
“For us, our most important stakeholder is not our stockholders, it is our customers. We’re in business to serve the needs and desires of our core customer base.” John Mackey
Let’s do this together. Are you ready?
What character traits make you the best client?
