VA Secrets Revealed! The Blog

Secret #5: Goal!

It's that time of year when everyone is thinking about goals for 2009. I, for one, am always thinking about what I will be doing next. I'm a perpetual planner, and I thrive on challenges, so I LOVE this time of year.

But I don't limit my goal setting to once a year. Every couple of months, I reevaluate my status and make a new list of goals. Having goals and consistently thinking about the next project and challenge can keep you going, help your business to grow beyond what you envisioned, and keep a level of excitement that is vital.

Here are a couple of articles I wrote on goal setting to get you started:

• Setting Goals for 2009: Oh, the Places You'll Go!
• New Year's Resolutions vs. Goals

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This post is expanded from Chapter 6: My Top 20 Secrets to Success in the book, VA Secrets Revealed! An Insider's Guide to Being a Successful Virtual Assistant. Grab a copy and follow along as I blog!

New Year's Resolutions vs. Goals

The New Year is approaching and excitement is building for what 2009 has in store for us. Do you set goals for the year or do you make New Year's resolutions?

The Difference Between New Year's Goals and New Year's Resolutions

I've always hated making New Year's resolutions. As specific as I try to be, my resolutions always seemed to be abstract and, in many cases, unattainable. They are quickly forgotten. To me, resolutions are more of a desired end result (i.e. be healthier, quit smoking, be a better parent), but they don't give you any kind of plan to get there...

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Mistake #4: Failing to Tend to the Business of Being in Business

A virtual assistant business, like any business, is not solely about getting clients, providing a product or service and getting paid. Any business owner will attest to the large amount of time that is spent managing her business, creating her own processes and doing other non-billable work that keeps the business running behind the scenes. As a VA, much of this behind-the-scenes work could be services you offer to your clients to help keep their businesses running. But it is also exactly the type of work you will need to do for your own business to keep it running smoothly.

When these essential business administration tasks continuously fall to the bottom of your to-do list, they build and build until you have a handful of payments to log into your accounting software, a mountain of papers to be filed, and 85 e-mails sitting in your inbox, waiting for your attention. It becomes an almost insurmountable collection of things to attend to and can take hours, or maybe even days, to weed through. That’s a huge chunk of time which can translate into a lot of lost income.

As a business owner, you need to accept the behind-the-scenes tasks and get them done or hire them out. Some professionals you may consider hiring include:

• Accountant and/or bookkeeper
• Attorney
• Professional Organizer
• Virtual Assistant (yes, you can have your own VA!)

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This post is expanded from Chapter 2: The Biggest Mistakes VAs Make in the book, VA Secrets Revealed! An Insider's Guide to Being a Successful Virtual Assistant. Grab a copy and follow along as I blog!

Secret #12: Bounce It

One of the best things you can do during the planning stage for your business and on an ongoing basis is to designate someone as your go-to person when you need encouragement, want to brainstorm, or need some outside input. It can be easy to get caught up inside your own head and essentially stuck.

Candidates for this type of support can be a colleague, spouse, friend, or even a business coach. Identify a person (or people) you trust, is easy for you to talk to and is genuinely interested in your business venture. They will become invaluable to you and your business.

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This post is expanded from Chapter 6: My Top 20 Secrets to Success in the book, VA Secrets Revealed! An Insider's Guide to Being a Successful Virtual Assistant. Grab a copy and follow along as I blog!

Ideas for Surviving School Vacation When Working at Home

This time of year means vacation for the school-aged children in your family, but what about parents who work from home...what do you do three days into a two-week break when the kids have tired of all the holiday gifts and are claiming boredom?

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Challenges of Working from Home: Avoiding Feelings of Isolation

A difficult challenge for many work from home moms (and other work-at-homers!) is feeling alone and isolated from peers. It can be very difficult to be inside your house all day with only your work and the company of your kids. Here are some ways to combat those lonesome days.

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Secret #20: Don’t Sweat It

As much as we may want it to happen, chances are you won't wake up the day after starting your business with a full client list and more work than you can handle. You may not even wake up a year later with that kind of success.

But don't stress! Being a successful virtual assistant, or any kind of business owner for that matter, takes time, hard work, planning, and foresight. Have patience. No business with the longevity you want is an overnight success.

If you hit a wall (which happens to everyone, even veterans), try a change -- even the smallest of adjustments can be the turning point. Here are some of my favorite "shake it up" activities:

Think Big...and Work Backwards

You know where you want to go and are excited to get there, but don't try to skip the small steps to speed up the process. Start from your end goal, and go backwards milestone by milestone until you reach where you are now. You'll get clarity on the route to take AND a great blueprint for how you will reach your goal.

Get a Makeover

No, not a day at the salon (but that could certainly be another way to shake things up!). Try updating your business plan, revamping your website, or refreshing your sales pitch. A new look can bring a new outlook and new ideas.

Clean House

Give your office a Spring cleaning, including going through your file cabinet and ditching dated, expired or other unneeded paperwork; organizing bookmarks on your computer; and straightening up your electronic files. You may come across an old article or website that gives you a great idea for your business. At a minimum, you'll have a clean computer and spotless desk to start the next day with.

The most important thing you can do is to keep striving. Think of building your business as a marathon, not a sprint, and trust that you will reach your goals. And you will.

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This post is expanded from Chapter 6: My Top 20 Secrets to Success in the book, VA Secrets Revealed! An Insider's Guide to Being a Successful Virtual Assistant. Grab a copy and follow along as I blog!

Setting Goals for 2009: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

One of my favorite books of all time is Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss, and it always comes to mind when I start my goal-setting process for the coming year. I thought I'd share my process with you, so take a break from your holiday preparations, step away from your end-of-the-year work wrap-up, grab a piece of paper and sharpen your pencil...it's time to move mountains!

Step 1: Reflection

On and on you will hike. And I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems whatever they are.

It's hard to figure out where you want to go until you've acknowledged where you’re been. So the first step in my process is thinking about the past year, looking at the goals I set last year and making a list of all that I accomplished. Here are some questions to get you started...

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Secret #8: It's Good to Be a Geek

As a virtual assistant, even if your focus is strictly on administrative services, the technology you use will be your best friend (and your worst enemy!). It is so important to stay up-to-date with new products, software updates and systems that you use to do your job. Periodically check for updates to your operating system, software, new versions of applications available and hardware. Consider what your clients are using in terms of software. If the norm is version 8.0 of an application and you are using 5.0, it's probably time to upgrade.

You should also schedule a time each week to run maintenance processes on your computer, such as checking for spyware and viruses and defragmenting your system (if you are on a Windows machine). If you use a Mac, make sure you are checking for application updates regularly. This will help keep your computer performing at its best. And no matter which platform you use, be sure to back up your data!

Click here for an overview of some of the options available for data backup. For tips on computer maintenance, read this article on Stepcase Lifehack.

Secret #18: It's So Taxing

As business owners, we become very accustomed to doing everything oursevles. But there are certain things that you should absolutely consider hiring out, even from day one.

Think about hiring an accountant to file your taxes each year. The last thing you want as a business owner is to have the IRS after you for not paying taxes because you didn't know how to file properly. You may even want to consider hiring a bookkeeper for the month-to-month management of your books. At a minimum, you should use accounting software to manage your business finances and keep copies of everything you may need for an audit, including checks and receipts.

When you are beginning to prepare your contracts, hire an attorney. Make the investment up front to ensure you are setting things up properly. It could save you an immense amount of time, money and aggravation in the long run.

What are some other areas where you plan to outsource in order to get (and keep) your business running smoothly?

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This post is expanded from Chapter 6: My Top 20 Secrets to Success in the book, VA Secrets Revealed! An Insider's Guide to Being a Successful Virtual Assistant. Grab a copy and follow along as I blog!