So it’s been two months now since we moved into our new office and my family are ecstatic. It’s really forced me to be strict with my time and more productive. They know when I’m home and they know when I’m at work. On the flip side - family members who didn’t approve of me working from home are really happy to see me in an office.

Despite all the family stuff it’s been a huge change for me personally. I’ve not worked outside my home for the last 6 years. To have to been somewhere at the same time every day is a challenge for me. I can’t go with the flow anymore and just squeeze things in. I have to be a big girl and actually manage my time. I love it but I’m missing my home office too.

Have you recently made a big change to the way you do business? Perhaps you’ve recently changed your business model? If so, I’d love to hear from you.

If you’ve been thinking of attending the Business Mums Conference next month then this is the post for you. I am offering one scholarship to attend the Business Mums Network Conference in Melbourne. Why? Last year was a big year for me. My business grew very quickly, I was working all hours, irritable and generally stressed out. The I received a phone call from Melissa. She wanted to offer me a scholarship to attend the conference, was I interested?

I had a talk to my code monkey, we organised for our eldest two to go to their grandparents and we drove the 11 hours from our home town to Melbourne with Miss Matilda. Well.. I fell in love. With the city of course. But during the two day conference I began to look at my business from the outside in. Instead of working feverishly I sat back, listened to other business owners who were experts in their field and I began to make a series of decisions that have set me on my current path today.

It was an eye opening experience! I’d been working hard to get out of the employee mindset and yet I still hadn’t broken free from it. It was so hard choosing between the different workshops and I remember wanting to go to both of them.

I met some fantastic people who I’ve become close friends with. We talk about kid stuff, spouse stuff, business stuff etc.

I’m soooo glad I was able to go and this year I want to pay it forward and help someone else to go too.

If you’ve been thinking about attending and you’re not quite sure, send me an email. I’d love to hear from you and give you the opportunity to go too.

There are times in our business where we need a cheerleader, someone who can see our vision, gets excited on our behalf and supports our ideas. Someone who isn’t judgmental or has a hidden agenda. For some of us, our cheerleaders are our significant others, children, close friends. For others it can be our business coach, colleagues or even clients.

Regardless of where your cheerleaders come from, treasure them close to you. There are going to be times where you’ll need their support and understanding. Not everyone in your life will understand your vision and reasons why you want to own your own business. Cheerleaders do!

Go hug or thank one of your cheerleaders today and let them know how much their support means to you. I know I will!

To celebrate the second anniversary of Tilda Virtual Services, I decided to run a special birthday promotion. For all you ‘ole timers’ out there who have been in the business longer than I, you can stop chuckling now. It was my first time and as usual I saw it as a learning experience.

1. Make sure you actually tell people you are running the promotion
2. Remind people to actually purchase on a regular basis up until the promotion ends
3. Be prepared for more takers

So what was the promotion? It was for 10 hours prepaid to be used within 12 months for $350 AUD. That was a whopping saving of $90.

I of course sent out cards to all existing and past clients thanking them for their patronage and then as an after thought why not offer a discount for my 10 hour prepaid package and inserted a coupon. This was super successful in that I received a gift from one client (thanks Melissa!) and kudos from the rest. They recognised the achievement and took time out of their day to ring and say congratulations. We also had a few clients take up the offer.

I then thought “hmm, I didn’t really promote this, why not send an email out to my newsletter list??” and had more people take up the offer. Now I don’t profess to be an expert in marketing nor do I pretend to know all there is about marketing but I learnt from this experience. PROMOTE THYSELF!

Because it is still May 31 somewhere in the world I am going to offer the promotion to my loyal blog readers. If you’d love to work with a Virtual Assistant who is a perfectionist, self professed nerd and a classic over achiever, then click here. If not…. thanks for reading and tell a friend instead!

BATHURST NSW, Australia – Australian business owner Kylie Short, of Tilda Virtual Services, has won the Janet Jordan Achievement Award at this year’s online virtual assistant convention (OIVAC). The award honors a newcomer Virtual Assistant who has been in business for less than five years and has reached a milestone in their short career.

Tilda Virtual Services (TVS) recently reached two milestones. The first was a celebration of two years in business on May 15th 2008 and the second, moving into office space in downtown Bathurst “It’s said that it takes a village to raise a child and I firmly believe that it takes a community to raise a VA”, said Short during her acceptance speech. “A lot of what I learned, I learned from the best.”

Nominees for the award are asked to submit application packets and the materials are judged by the OIVAC Steering Committee. The winner is chosen based on a set of specific criteria and a numeric scaling system. Short’s application materials apparently earned high points with the committee. Some of the criteria include industry memberships, mentoring and volunteering.

Janet Jordan, who died in 2006, was a recognized industry leader in the virtual assistance field. Along with running her private VA practice which included clients who spanned the globe, Mrs. Jordan also trained aspiring entrepreneurs to launch their own up-to-the-minute, compelling and relevant virtual assistant practices through Virtual Assistance U. Short is following in Jordan’s footsteps volunteering time to help educate various organizations and virtual assistants on technical and Web site issues.
Reflecting on the announcement, Short said, “I was so honored to be nominated but to actually win – I feel very humble, special and excited all at the same time.”

About Kylie Short
Kylie Short, Owner of Tilda Virtual Services has 10 years experience in Office Management and Bookkeeping with considerable time spent in Small Business Management, Information Technology, Manufacturing, Child Care and the Human Resource industries. To find out more about Ms Short, visit her blog at http://www.tildavirtual.com.au/blog.

About Tilda Virtual Services
Tilda Virtual Services partners with small business owners to provide personalised, cost-effective and reliable services that support the needs of their business. Providing bookkeeping, administrative support, contact management, newsletter, website design and hosting, Tilda Virtual Services is here to assist small business owners, freeing up their time and reducing their to-do lists. For more information visit the Web site at http://www.tildavirtual.com.au.