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Time Tracking: Don’t Waste Your Client’s Money

I recently had a revelation about Virtual Assistants and how they track time. I talk to a lot of VAs in my circles and one of the biggest discussions remains how much to charge for something. The answer to that is usually centred around how long it takes you to complete a task – whether you are quoting an hourly rate or a package rate. But I didn’t really stop to think about the vast parameters of that thought: how long it takes you to complete a task. What I realized is that everyone works at a different speed. And there is nothing wrong with that. But are you working at the RIGHT speed? If you aren’t, you could be… Read More »Time Tracking: Don’t Waste Your Client’s Money

My Housecleaner is Back! And More Lessons About Communication

A few months ago I wrote to you about my longtime housecleaner retiring, which meant that we needed to replace her. How hard could that be, we thought? 🙂 We brought in someone new and expected her to be able to do things the way our previous cleaner had. But we didn’t help her very much, by giving her clear enough instructions. I made a strange (I realize now it was strange) assumption that the new girl would be able to seamlessly take over for the other one. She did not. Long story short (you can read it here),  it didn’t work out with the new girl. But the good news is that when I called our old cleaner to get… Read More »My Housecleaner is Back! And More Lessons About Communication

How to Onboard Clients (the Right Way!)

First impressions matter, in every relationship – but especially in business. When a client has paid you money or agreed to work with you, their expectations kick into gear immediately. If you aren’t providing a great first impression, you could be losing a bit of your client’s trust before you even start working together. Have you developed a great onboarding process for your new clients? If you haven’t, I have some great tips for you. Your process for onboarding clients should be all about clarity and communication. 1. Send a welcome letter or email. Once a client agrees to work with you, clearly outline what comes next for them. Be succinct in your emails – try not to get too… Read More »How to Onboard Clients (the Right Way!)

Are you doing too much?

When it comes to running your business, are you doing too much? Too much networking. Too much marketing. Too much project management. Too much time tracking. Too much research. Your time comes into play in every aspect of your business. The fact is that we all have the same amount of time (168 hours a week!), but it’s how we use that time that makes or breaks our efforts, no matter what we are doing. One of the mistakes I see Virtual Assistants make all the time is cramming a lot of stuff into a short period of time. For instance, when we talk about networking, they will say they spend hours a day connecting with people. When we talk… Read More »Are you doing too much?

3 More Reasons Your Business is Stuck (and how to fix them!)

Last week we talked about 3 ways your business is stuck and what to do about them. Feeling stuck in your business manifests itself in many ways: lack of revenue, lack of clients (or lack of good clients), exhaustion, burnout, and more. No matter what is making you feel stuck, you just need to focus on one problem at a time and fix it. So what is keeping you stuck? As I promised, here are three more reasons!  1. You are focused on your rate, and not your value.  Virtual Assistants are service professionals, and so it can be very common to trade time for money. It’s also a really easy way to set your business up when you first… Read More »3 More Reasons Your Business is Stuck (and how to fix them!)

3 Reasons Your Business is Stuck (and what you can do about it)

Are you feeling stuck? Do you wake up every morning (or in the middle of the night!) thinking about how tired you are of trying to figure it all out? Not enough clients, not enough money, and you are beginning to dread starting your work day? I’ve got some good news for you. You’re just stuck. You don’t suck. Your business doesn’t suck. And it’s temporary. Because with a little strategy, you can pull yourself out of it, and love your business again. Here are 3 of the most common reasons that your business might be stuck (and what you can do about it!): 1. Your goals are not clear. Do you set goals in your business? Many VAs don’t,… Read More »3 Reasons Your Business is Stuck (and what you can do about it)

What Firing My House Cleaner Taught Me About Communication

Do you have an onboarding process for a new client? How about for a new team member? When you bring someone in to work with you in any capacity, you should have an intake procedure that helps you get the information you need from them, and give the information to them that they need to do their job properly. What about communication policies? Do you have a set of rules around how you communicate with people in your business? You should be very clear about who does what, and how everyone communicate with each other. I learned a valuable lesson about both of these things recently – and it had nothing to do with clients or team members (well, not really!). It had… Read More »What Firing My House Cleaner Taught Me About Communication

Speaker Support is in demand! Learn how here!

One of the things we have total control of in our business is which services we choose to offer. Sometimes we want to do something that is interesting and fun, but we have no idea how to learn about it. Take speaker support, for instance. Do you realize how many industries use speaking in their business? Some use it to get exposure to their industry, to become viewed as an expert, or to build their reputation on a certain topic or in front of a certain audience. Others use it as a means to network and to get new clients. Finding speaking gigs is time consuming though, and that’s why it’s a rapidly growing service that VAs can offer to their clients. Many… Read More »Speaker Support is in demand! Learn how here!