Everyone needs a cheerleader!
June 7, 2008 by Kylie Short · 3 Comments
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!
Ethics in business
April 28, 2008 by Kylie Short · 2 Comments
Time and time again, I hear stories of friends, clients, acquaintances and strangers all being taken for a ride simply because they possess ethics and manage their businesses accordingly.
Be it someone purchasing a domain and arguing with international trademark lawyers about it, saying that the international trademark doesn’t apply in Australia or someone purchasing the graphics and designs for websites and passing those websites off as their own, all these people have something in common. A severe lack of conscience and ethics.
This is really bad for the Internet in general on so many levels. As a service provider who comes in AFTER an experience such as the ones above, it makes my task so much harder. I have to go all out to convince them that not all online businesses are like that. That there are actually people making an honest living from the Internet. These business owners are scarred in a way and never approach dealing on/through the Internet the same.
I’m not saying that I’m perfect and that I never make mistakes with my clients. I do. The difference is that when I do make a mistake, I own up to it and try to do my damnest to appease that client.
Many of the Virtual Assistant organisations that I belong to have a code of ethics. I’m proud to say that I abide by them to the fullest and that I also have my own code of ethics.
So for those of you that have been taken for a ride by unscrupulous Internet business owners, contact me today!! I’d love to show you what working with an ethical Virtual Assistant is like.
Setting your boundaries
March 21, 2008 by Kylie Short · 9 Comments
When I first began my business I made a mistake. I forgot to set my boundaries and as a result my client would fax/phone me at all times of the day with ‘urgent’ requests. Everything had to be done NOW and that meant putting down my newborn bub or my toddler or my older son who wanted my attention, to do their work. I would become easily stressed and I felt that I had no time to be with my kids even though they are the reason why I decided to start working from home.
As time went by and I started to market my business, I of course started signing up new clients. My main client still didn’t understand why I wasn’t at their beck and call AND still didn’t understand what and why I was becoming stressful. They knew I had a newborn, after all they hired me despite my 34 week pregnant belly and they knew I had older children but this seemed to have no bearing on the situation for them. They had a need and I fulfilled that need. Only thing is, they were encroaching on my family time.
Eventually as I became busier and started thinking about becoming a multi-VA business, the decision had to be made. What was I going to do about the situation?
I began by reflecting on why it wasn’t working. How did the situation make me feel and how did that effect my business overall? Not setting clear boundaries with this client was holding back my growth and ability to take on new clients. It became clear that they had to be fired as a client and that is exactly what I did, despite the fact that I would be losing out on 15 hours a week billing time. A big chunk of change in anyone’s eyes.
I credit attending the Business Mums Network Conference in 2007 with making me sit up, take notice and make the decision to fire my first client. Since then I’ve gone from strength to strength. I’ve added people to my team and together we rock!! I also finally sat down and decided exactly what my boundaries were. Did I want to be constantly bombarded with chats via Skype? No I did not. Did I want to be constantly answering emails? No I did not. Did I even want to answer my own office phone? No I did not. I hired an in-house Virtual Assistant to help ME get my ’stuff’ done and I lay down the law with my clients.
I no longer ‘chat’ on Skype unless it is something to do with my current task. I have Beckie to answer the phone and screen calls for me. The office is closed on Fridays to allow me some time to breath. I book in phone conferences in advance and try to get them done all on the one day. I return and make calls in a blocks of time instead of sporadic throughout the day and the side benefits of setting my boundaries is that I am becoming more productive in my work day.
So what did my existing client’s think? “About time, we were wondering when you would stop running yourself ragged”. I even get chastised for answering emails on a Friday or on the weekend by my clients. The amount of emails that come through are minimal because clients know to use Basecamp instead. I’m less stressed and my family loves it!
Moral to the story boys and girls is to make sure you figure out what your boundaries are. Figure out what is acceptable and not acceptable in your business. Make sure you lay down the ground rules and then stick to them. Not only will you be less stressed trying to meet everyone’s needs but your clients will thank you too.
Moderating with Virtual Assistant Forums
March 15, 2008 by Kylie Short · 6 Comments
I’ve been hanging out and lurking about with the wonderful community at VAF and when I read that Tess was looking for moderators for the forum, I couldn’t help myself. I offered myself up and she accepted. I am now moderating the General Client Relations Board. So why did I offer in the first place?
To be truthful, if it wasn’t for forums like VAF, I wouldn’t be where I am today in my Virtual Assistance business. I joined as many forums as I could in the beginning to soak up and learn as much as I could about becoming a professional VA. I attended webinars, read e-books and searched back through the forums for the information I needed. Today my business astounds me. I have an inhouse employee and 6 others on my team who assist regularly with client projects. I still have a lot to learn about managing a virtual team but I am loving my business, my team and my clients and where we are today. If I can pay it forward, then I will.
Communicating via Email
February 13, 2008 by Kylie Short · 1 Comment
Over the weekend I received an email from a potential client asking me about my services. GREAT! What was even better was that they came through my IVAA.org listing. Perfect!!
So why this post?
In talking with this potential client she told me that she had emailed 4 other VAs in Australia from the same directory and I was the only to respond to her. I was stunned. How often do we get a hot lead like this through our websites?
So my question is, if you receive an email from a potential client, how quickly should you answer it?
I believe that even if your client roster is full you need to answer the email and let them know. Who knows, maybe you know another VA who’d be perfect for that potential client and in making the connection for them your VA friend will thank you and the potential client will remember your willingness to help them find someone else. So when it comes time for them to refer a friend, who are they going to send them to?
Business to me is about building relationships. Relationships between your and your clients. Relationships between you and your colleagues including other VAs. Relationships between you and your suppliers. You need these relationships to be able to manage and grow your business.
Educating the wider business community about the value and professionalism of Virtual Assistants happens on an ongoing basis and I still get a blank look when I tell people I am a Virtual Assistant. It’s important that we treat our email habits as professionally as possible. Especially if you are like me and communicate mainly by email.