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What’s Holding Back Your Success and How to Overcome Them – A Series

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One of twelve things I’ve found that hold virtual assistants back from achieving success is what I call… 

Pulling the Trigger

What’s Holding Back Your Success and How to Overcome Them A SeriesBefore I started my business we were looking for something for my husband to do from home.  Six years ago when he got laid off yet another restaurant job, we decided to send him back to school and let him start his own home-based business.

Although he gave it two years and tried really hard, we learned that it was just not for him.  He just didn’t have the focus and self-motivation to make a go of it.  For him, the biggest challenge was pulling the trigger.  He could do all the research, could put together all the details needed to make a decision, but could never make the decision that would move the business forward.  He just had too much fear about making a mistake.  Ultimately, he let himself get so frustrated; he did make several mistakes that caused him to realize he was not enjoying anything about his business.  He transitioned back into the corporate world and is much happier in what he’s doing.  It doesn’t mean he’s a failure, it doesn’t mean he can’t be successful, it simply means having his own business, and this particular type of business, was not a good fit for him.

Let me start by saying this is not easy.  There’s no immediate success without very hard work.  You have to really want this, and want it badly.  So many people tell me that they’re going to give this a try, and if it doesn’t work they’ll go back to working in the corporate world.

To me, that’s a pretty good indication that this is not for you.  You will have problems being decisive and making good long-term decisions if you’ve got an idea that things may not work and you have an out. You have to be totally committed to doing what’s necessary to make your business work.

Many people are attracted to a home-based business model so they can stay home with children.  Understand if this is going to work, you’re going to have to initially make some sacrifices.  You may have to miss some dance recitals or hockey practices, and you will need the full support of a spouse or significant other, and hopefully your family and friends.

If you want to be an entrepreneur, if you want to make a good income and eventually have more time for family and fun, you will have to start by making some hard decisions about what you’ll need to do to succeed.

This will be your business and you’ll make all the decisions.  If you’re looking for someone to bring you or give you business, or you just aren’t willing to do anything outside your comfort zone, stay in the corporate world.

Having a business means no excuses, and no complaints.  Either you have the drive and motivation or you don’t.

So make the decision now to take the steps to start your business with the knowledge that you will need to immerse yourself into making this a top priority, and doing things that may now be ‘outside the box’ for you.  I’m not saying you have to do everything day one, but you have to be willing to open your heart and mind to the possibility that there are opportunities available to you, if you only try.

If you’ve been established in your business for a year or more, we can sometimes get complacent and feel that there’s nowhere else for our business to go.  Take a step back, talk to other successful VAs and change something to take your business where you may not have considering going.  Try a new marketing plan; put together a system to reach past clients as well as prospective clients.  Drag yourself away from something that’s taking too much of your time and not producing results, and ‘pull the trigger’ on something new.

Jeannine Clontz, provides professional business coaching to established and start-up virtual assistants (VA’s).  Learn more about Time Management for Virtual Assistants by downloading her FREE report “A Fresh Look at Time Management for Virtual Assistants”, or request her FREE audio CD “What’s Holding Back my Business Success?”,  and more by visiting:  http://www.VAbizcoach.com; or contact her at: coach@VAbizcoach.com.

 

 

 

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9 Ways to Increase Business Profits Quickly and Easily

profit

9 Ways to Increase Business Profits Quickly and EasilyMany business owners who operate a business want as many clients as possible, both those who have just started their business and those who have owned one for a long time. They are, however, not fully utilizing all of their assets as they could be in order to achieve their desired results.

The objective of increasing business profits isn’t only met by attracting more clients.  There are several other reasons why a business doesn’t make as much money as it should besides not having enough clients.

Here are a few simple, yet effective business coaching ideas that will help you unlock the hidden profits in business and also some reasons why things aren’t operating at full potential as they should:

- Focus more time on the important matters – you may not have enough time available to boost your business, especially if you are the one who is serving clients on a regular basis. In this case, you should consider hiring somebody to help. Running a business takes a lot of work, so let the employees handle the day-to-day issues, while you take care of the important ones such as developing strategies for present and future growth.  Set aside an hour each week to brainstorm ideas, implement strategies and nurture key business relationships.

- Carry out competitive intelligence on other businesses, especially the ones that are successful and emulate them. This doesn’t mean copying whatever they do.  Take the best parts of your competitor’s business and apply them to your own.  It is also very important to keep a close eye on the competition, regardless of the nature of your business. If you are running a restaurant, for example, you should inspect the services, the offers and the prices of the competition. By doing a little research on other businesses, you will be able to reorganize, improve your services, adjust the prices depending on the competition, as well as introduce new offers to your clients. By knowing what your competitors are up to, you will always be one step ahead of them.

- Spend less of your gross profit on overhead and ineffective marketing.  Lease unused space in your office or warehouse.  Track sales as a result of expense.  Employ salespeople on a higher commission scale rather than a high base salary.  Test and measure for effective marketing campaigns before dumping a ton of money on any marketing campaign that is doomed to fail from the start.

- Instead of competing on price, develop an ultimate strategic advantage™.  Emphasize the qualities that make your business stand out and create a whole new positioning in the industry.  Find out what really matters to your clients by surveying them and give it to them.

- Talk with clients and find out if they are delighted or not.  Ask for suggestions. Dissatisfied customers will not return, while a delighted client will refer others.

- Nurture existing clients.  Instead of focusing on acquiring new customers, concentrate on nurturing and maintaining the clients that you already have! Make sure they are pleased with the services you provide for them and pay attention to their needs, desires and complaints. It is very important to establish and maintain good relations with your clients, as they are the ones who keep your business running.

Many business coaching companies encourage selling more to existing clients because it improves a business bottom line by increasing the lifetime value of a client.  It also brings new clients, attracted by positive experiences from your delighted clients.  Referrals lower your acquisition cost through word-of-mouth marketing and this also adds to business profits.

- Up sell other products/services.  Selling extras is known to be a great method of increasing profits.  For example, grocery stores strategically place many magazines and snacks near the checkout. People browse and buy these while waiting in line raising the average dollar sale with these extras.  McDonald’s is well-known for its up sell before a sale is completed by simply asking a simple question to add on more products (complete meal, fries, sundae, or apple pie).

- Increase your advertising – advertising is expensive but if things work well, the money will definitely return to you. You can also try to make the best use you can out of free advertising. Get the most out of promotions and limited offers, especially around holidays.

- Seek out business coaching advice. Having a comprehensive set of business strategies can help you further, by providing you with new efficient methods of increasing the profits of your business.  To operate a business effectively long-term, most businesses will have to deploy several strategies in order to diversify their sources of leads and maximize their profitability through smart marketing, team building, and business process management.

 

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What’s Holding Back Your Success? Make the Decision to Move Foward!

Moving Forward

Whats Holding Back Your Success? Make the Decision to Move Foward!If you’ve been in business for any amount of time, you know that this is not easy.  There’s no immediate success without very hard work.  You have to really want to have your own business, and want it badly.

You need to be totally committed to doing what’s necessary to make your business work.  It also may mean you have to make some sacrifices, making certain that your business comes first and that you set boundaries for family, friends, and clients.

If you want to be an entrepreneur, if you want to make a good income and eventually have more time for family and fun, you will have to start by making some hard decisions about what you’ll need to do to succeed.

Having a business means no excuses, and no complaints.  Either you have the drive and motivation or you don’t.

Make the decision now to take the steps to grow your business with the knowledge that you will need to immerse yourself into making this a top priority, and doing things that may now be ‘outside the box’ for you.

Talk to other successful VAs and change something to take your business where you may not have considering going.  Try a new marketing plan; put together a system to reach past clients as well as prospective clients.  Drag yourself away from something that’s taking too much of your time and not producing results, and make the decision to move forward.

 

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Good Companies Grow No Matter What

growth

Good Companies Grow No Matter WhatEvery business demands growth, and double-digit growth is the dream of every dedicated business owner, even when lackluster results show up at quarter’s end.

Most entrepreneurial business owners need a guide to navigate their way toward substantial, sustainable growth.  It can be done even in a slow economy as demonstrated by such companies as Harley Davidson, Starbucks, and WalMart.  Even smaller companies such as Paychex and Oshkosh Truck have been able to make gains in revenue, gross profits and net profits.

Here are 5 disciplines of sustained growth:

  1. Retain Your Customer Base:  Keep the growth that you have already earned by coaxing customers into complex relationships that make it a hassle for them to switch to your competitor.  Tailor your products/services using data gleaned from your customers giving you an      advantage.  Proactively managing customer defections will help you anticipate and pre-empt them. Bonding with customers wherever emotion is tied to an interaction is another great way to retain them.
  1. Gain Market Share at the Expense of Your Rivals: Give customers a reason to abandon a competitor’s product/service for yours.  Do what it takes to lower the switching costs.  Pulling customers away from a competitor can be difficult, so you must devote many resources to raiding their customer base.  Offering higher value and quality are crucial to this end.  Buying a competitor is another way to do this.
  1. Exploit Market Position:  Show up where growth is going to happen by spotting it early.  This can be done by watching the industry for shifts in buying criteria, product or service innovations, and population trends.  You must be able to spot positioning opportunities to make the most of them by continually using a systematic approach to the process.
  1. Invade Adjacent Markets: Before moving into a nearby market, decide whether it offers significant long-term growth and profitability.  Determine whether you have an advantage over a competitor, and ensure you can match its standards of quality and value.
  1. Invest In New Lines of Business:  If you take this approach, never overpay for a new line.  You must find simple strategies instead  of complex ones, and partner with the new business by assessing its leadership team and balance sheet.

Although a successful growth portfolio might not include all five of these disciplines, it must contain more than one.  Only a balanced growth portfolio can keep an organization growing when the market shifts dramatically.

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Virtual Assistants Can Shine Like Social Media Superstars

social media

Virtual Assistants Can Shine Like Social Media SuperstarsMore and more, virtual assistants are being asked by clients to also address many of their social media needs. It makes sense; you have most of the information at your fingertips and are generally aware of what’s going on with the business as a whole.

But for VA’s who haven’t spent a lot of time dabbling in or learning social media best practices, this can be a bit of a daunting task. However, it’s a task you must learn in able to better grow your VA business. And, besides, it can be fun.

1) Facebook: Ask questions on your posts! The most important thing to keep in mind with Facebook is that nearly every single post you make should be designed to elicit an action from those who follow your business page. Those vital actions come in the form of the three buttons you see at the bottom of each posting: the Like, Share and Comment buttons. Many of your posts should be structured as questions in order to spur the reader to comment and interact with your page. The same holds true for the Like and Share buttons. When people Like, Share or Comment on a posting on your page, those actions are highlighted to all of their friends, as well, providing your business or brand with ridiculously free exposure.

2) Use Google+. While it’s true that Google+ doesn’t claim nearly the usage numbers of Facebook (and most people you know probably aren’t on it), Google+ can be an extremely valuable social network for businesses with a national or international footprint. For starters, it’s much easier to get people to ‘Like” you (in Google+ language it’s called adding you to a circle) on G+ than it is on Facebook. This is precisely because the usage numbers are lower: therefore there’s much less clutter and demand for attention than on other social sites. And don’t let those usage numbers fool you. Someone liking you and following your G+ marketing feed is just as valuable as the same on Facebook.

However, I would not recommend G+ for smaller businesses narrowly focused on a specific geographic locale (like a pizza shop in Peoria). For G+ to be effective for you at this stage of it’s development, you must be an entity interested in acquiring a following of users from a large geographic area.

3) Pictures, pictures, pictures and graphics, graphics, graphics! In case you haven’t noticed in your own, personal social site usage, nothing draws attention and Likes, Shares, Comments, Retweets, and Plus 1′s like a great photo or interesting graphic. Since your primary goal is to draw attention to your post and have your followers actually see and read it, pictures are a panacea for any social site suffering from a case of the blahs and low interaction.

Best of all, think of a great caption to go with the picture or graphic that also applies to or supports the core offering of your business or service. For example, let’s take a great picture of a baby smiling with contentment. A real estate agent might post: “Want contentment and serenity as you sell your home? I’ll help you feel just like this baby!” Meanwhile, an auto repair shop could utilize the same picture with a posting that reads something like “Your car deserves to be treated with the same gentle touch that this baby deserves. Call us for your next auto service need and we’ll handle your baby with care.”

So, use the pictures you find in your own news feeds, but tie those pictures in with the marketing message of your clients.
And always remember, creativity and actually responding to people who interact with your client’s page is crucial. Answer those queries promptly or at least respond with a simple “thanks” for the comment or the Like.

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What is a “Lifestyle Entrepreneur”?

home-business

What is a Lifestyle Entrepreneur?Lifestyle entrepreneurs are business owners who know how to work efficiently so that their business doesn’t infringe on valuable personal time or family responsibilities.  For a home based business owner in particular, this can be a challenge.

Whether you’re  considering the launch of a home based business or are already operating one, below are three essential tips that will help you incorporate working from home into your busy lifestyle:

1. Define Your Hours: Take a look at your schedule and pinpoint the hours of the day that you’re able to devote to your business. If you’re a “morning person”, plan to wake up one hour earlier to work. If you prefer to work in the evenings, go to your home office after dinner or after your family has gone to bed. Need to schedule work hours around a full time or part time job? Call forward your business line to a cell phone and return calls during your commute to and from work or during your lunch hour.

2. Use The Internet: The Internet is a phenomenal tool for a home-based business operator. It allows you to promote your business 24 hours a day and communicate with clients even when you’re out of your office.

For example, if you launch a website for your business set up a form with an autoresponder message so that potential clients can contact you at any time and receive an immediate acknowledgement via e-mail.  And, if you collect names and e-mail addresses of visitors to your site you can follow up with a monthly or quarterly e-newsletter.

3. Work Efficiently: No matter how many hours you have to devote to your business, use your time well. If you’re only able to work 1 or 2 hours per day, focus your energy on the money-making aspects of your business and outsource other business responsibilities that require a particular area of expertise such as web design, copy writing, accounting, etc.

Finally, if you feel that you’re time is too limited, consider launching your business with a partner and divide business responsibilities based on your individual talents.

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SEO Ghost Writing and Editing

ghost writing

SEO Ghost Writing and EditingWriting articles is often done by ghost writers, as well as many other works such as books, screenplays and eBooks. Knowing how to ghost write  by using SEO, or search engine optimization, is primary for those who write articles and eBooks. It really helps the writing to “get found” by search engines. And SEO for Google is paramount in todays’ overcrowded but Google-dominated search market. However, you shouldn’t only optimize for Google – even Google itself frowns deeply on that!

Mostly, you need to optimize for keywords. When writing anything, especially a website, with Google in mind, you must keep your keywords down to about three at most per page. And try not to overuse any keywords in your text copy. Google wants the page to have reader-oriented info, not search engine-oriented info. So bear in mind your readership when you’re having your text copy ghost written, as it needs to not be overstuffed with any of your keyword phrases.

It’s best to use bold and large type font for your main keyword phrases, only once per phrase if possible, on your text page. Then have the rest of your page written naturally, for the readers who will be going over it carefully. Lead them down the page with your offers of service. It can also help to use a form on your page where your readers can submit info and ask you for a free service, such as a white paper or other free document. Your ghost writer should be able to input such a form on your website.

When ghost writing articles, it’s best to avoid “keyword stuffing” when it comes, once again, to Google, and even MSN is getting concerned about that. MSN will be in the big picture, it’s speculated, more often now, so find out what their policies are on how they view website text copy. As for articles, keep each of your keywords down to 3-5% total at most per page. The best way is to hire a ghost writer who knows about Google’s algorhythm changes and their Panda and Penguin update systems, so that your ghost writer will know how to optimize your articles and websites properly.

Lastly, have your ghost writer create several expert, professional articles about your business, ones which don’t mention you by name, at least not in the body copy, and press releases too. Spread these around the Internet on various sites, such as Ezine Articles, with links back to your business website. Your business name shouldn’t be in the article copy, but it can be in an About the Author resource box, and you can have the ghost writer give you credit as the “author” of each article so that the resource box leads back to your website.

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Ethical Guidelines for Professional Communication

business communication

Ethical Guidelines for Professional CommunicationCommunicating ethically in your business all of the time can be a struggle. Sometimes, you may find it easier or advantageous to say nothing rather than to tell the truth. However, ethical communication in your business means being truthful and upfront and saying what needs to be said, even when that is difficult. Fabricating false information is clearly unethical, but so, too, is exaggerating or omitting important information that others need to know.

Ethical professional communication is based on upon care and respect for others. Everyone deserves to be respected in your business, regardless of the individual’s job, socioeconomic status, gender, race, age, or other characteristics. Communicate with your clients, partners, co-workers, boss, and other stakeholders in ways that demonstrate that respect. And, do not tolerate communication from others that degrades individuals and humanity through the expression of intolerance and hatred.

Career professionals who practice ethical communication also support others as they share information, opinions, and feelings. Be a person who supports diversity of perspective and freedom of expression in your business and profession. Believe wholeheartedly that unethical communication threatens the wellbeing of others and the integrity of all communication in your business. Be a thoughtful listener and keep an open mind to those around you.

Badmouthing your business or any of the individuals who are affiliated with it is unethical communication. Even after work hours, you need to be very careful about what you say about your employer, co-workers, client, and boss, and to whom. Avoid negative communication about your workplace in a public place where your conversation may be overheard. The most ethical behavior is to keep your thoughts to yourself or to address important matters directly with the individuals involved, at appropriate times, in an appropriate place, and in appropriate ways.

Finally, ethical professional communication relies upon your ability to keep confidences. Once you have agreed to work in a business or profession, you have also agreed to abide by that business’s or profession’s policies and procedures for maintaining confidentiality. Breaching these rules, except with prior and appropriate permission and under very special circumstances, is unethical communication and carries with it severe consequences. You have an ethical duty not only to keep things confidential by not sharing them wrongfully, but also, to safeguard confidentiality by making sure you’re not overheard and keeping documents from wandering eyes. Be very careful when handling confidential documents or computer files to ensure that others without need do not have access to the information. Close doors, keep your voice low, and do whatever else you must do to ensure confidentiality.

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6 Wildly Effective Ways to Grow Your VA Business and Get More Clients

virtual-assistant-business

6 Wildly Effective Ways to Grow Your VA Business and Get More ClientsThe Virtual Assistance industry is consistently growing. Each day, new, optimistic VA’s are hyped and excited about what this lucrative industry may bring them. Unfortunately, through experience, I know that success in the VA industry is comparable to others in that it takes diligence, skill, expertise and a few “tricks”. There is numerous ways to grow your virtual assistance business online and offline. Although most VA’s understand the importance of gleaning clients and potential clients through online methods, few have been able to successfully “ace” it. Most spend countless amounts of hours per day, week and month, in a never-ending battle of “spinning their wheels”. Through trial and error, I’ve discovered 6 key ways that have proven to be highly effective for growing a virtual assistance business online and can also be used with other industries as well. Without ever having to leave the comfort of your living room chair, you can build your client base by strictly using the internet and or virtual means.

Number 1: Blogging

I love blogging! Its relaxing and a great stress reliever but its also a GREAT way to drive traffic to your website. The key is to create posts that will attract your target market or the individuals that benefit from your services the most. By using targeted keywords, creating and providing great content and blogging on a consistent basis, your ideal client will definitely find you.

Number 2: Articles

Although there is currently a discrepancy within the VA community as to whether article writing is still relevant, I continue to be a firm believer of its importance. Through sites such as My.EzineArticles.com, GoArticles.com and other high PR article sites, you are able to create awesome, high ranking links to assist in improving your overall SEO. Furthermore, utilizing these platforms can assist in target clients finding your website and services that you have to offer.

Number 3: Email Marketing

Email Marketing can be very tricky but its a must have of every marketing campaign. With the VA industry, email marketing can be considered to be a ‘holy grail’. There are numerous, popular quality email marketing platforms including Aweber, Constant Contact, Getaresponse, IContact and MailChimp. I currently use MailChimp for my newsletters, email marketing and autoresponders. It’s an inexpensive way to grow your email list and client base. With proper usage, email marketing can bring you new, exciting and eager clients.

Number 4: Social Media

Although there are many social media sites, whereas a new one is being created each day, the ‘big 3′ still remain; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. In addition to these, Pinterest is ever-growing statistically. Most VA’s get discouraged through the use of their Social Media campaigns because they fail to see a return on their time investment. The key to optimizing your social media campaign and actually gain clients from it is to focus on ‘socializing’, not selling. Social Media is a social venue and most participants are there to socialize, have fun and or obtain vital info. By focusing on helping your fans, followers or connections, and providing them with useful info to better their business, life, etc., they will love you for it and remember you. So the next time they are in need of a WordPress design, support task or other, they will consider you above all. Also, join various networking groups on these sites, answer questions, start conversations/discussions and institute other networking actions.

Step 5: Teleseminars/Webinars

One of the best and most popular ways to build your brand is through hosting Teleseminars and Webinars. With it, you can build a loyal client base as well. I know it may seem astounding at first or even intimidating but to combat that, consider hosting your first one with a skilled and experienced guest speaker. Once you start scheduling these, your followers and potential clients will start to see you as an industry expert. Becoming an industry expert is needed to truly build a competitive, lasting brand and client list.

Step 6: Outsourcing

You might see this one and wonder, “Outsourcing, I don’t understand how that will bring me more clients?” From experience, I can tell you that one of the best ways to grow your business is by outsourcing and subcontracting. You are limited to the amount of time, energy and work that you alone are able to do. By building a team or outsourcing, you have more time to spend on targeted areas of your business, building your client base, marketing, networking and more. We as virtual assistants should take our own advice that we oftentimes give to our clients and appreciate the importance of outsourcing. Some mistakenly believe that by outsourcing, they lose money. This is far from the truth. Also, by subcontracting for other VA’s in the industry, providing quality work and service, you are able to build a brand name among other VA’s who are often able give you work, referrals and more!

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What’s in a Name?

Business Name

So you are about to start a new business, assuming you have already done all of your market research, budgets, cash flow projections and all the other due diligence before you get started. How do you choose a name for your new venture?

Before the rise & rise of Social Media as a business marketing tool, the name of your business was somewhat just your personal preference. The best options tended to be a business name that promoted yourself (Jim’s Mowing) or a name that defined your product (Charis Seafoods) or the service you provide (Ace plumbing).

In today’s era this is still a great start, however you will also need to take into consideration the following:

Can I register that URL?

Whats in a Name?

All businesses have a website these days, there is nothing more problematic as having a website URL that does not match your business name, or even worse sends people looking for you on-line to someone else.

Is the URL too similar to a more established business?

If so you will most likely always rank below them on Google & other search engines, potentially missing a lot of opportunities to your competitor.

Can I trademark it?

Registering your business name and it’s URL is not enough. When you start out competitors are not likely to be too concerned about your name, until you start becoming well known or successful. You could put years of time, blood, sweat & tears into building your business. Only to get hit with a trade mark infringement that will cost you not only a potentially hefty compensation payment, but also the high cost of rebranding your business.

Does business name suit my expansion plans?

You may intend to start out local, however if in the future you could potentially go national or global. Naming your business with a local name such as the town you live in will not be a great idea.

Can I get that name on a Facebook business page?

Love it or hate it Facebook is here to stay and an integral part of any businesses Social Media strategy, there are 1000,s of facebook pages registered that have little to do with the product or service you may provide yet still clash with your branding strategy. Make sure your branding will be consistant across all of your Social Media options. Keep in mind Pinterest, linkedIn, Twitter and any others you may intend to use.

Something as simple as your business name has now become a mine field, that could make or break your social media strategy, & in turn your success. Be sure to add this extra step into your start up due diligence & planning, to avoid these now all too common pitfalls for business start up’s.

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