productivity – Virtual Assistant Success Strategies

Wil Hart on December 3, 2013

Discover Your Fears And 3 Ways To Overcome Them

One of the best definitions I have ever heard for the word FEAR is False Expectations Appearing Real.

It goes without saying that starting and running your own business can appear to be a scary undertaking. For some it is horrifying. For many others, it is a thrilling prospect of creativity and opportunity.

Fear can sap your energy and hold you back from making progress in your business. How though, can you discover whether or not fear has a grip on you?

Start by analyzing your habits. When you have an important task to complete, do you have the habit of diving into the work and completing it as soon as possible? Or, do you put the task off for later because you want to make sure that everything you need is in the right order and perfect.

If you tend to put things off by allowing ‘busy work’ and distractions to overwhelm you, it may be that you have the fear of completing tasks. Just thinking about the work that it will take to get a new client, write a few blog posts, or attend a networking event seems exhausting and complicated. This is a prime case of “ready… aim… wait“! Continue Reading>>

Wil Hart on November 25, 2013

#005 VA Success Cafe: Dominate In December – Part II

Wil Hart on November 15, 2013

How To Win During the Sluggish Season

As time draws closer to the end of the 2013, I hope that you are not thinking of slowing down in your efforts to grow your business!

NOW is the time to kick your business activity into a higher gear. Rev your engine and step up your Virtual Assistance game. You may ask, ‘How do I do that?’ That is a very important question and I have an answer for you. But, before I answer your question, let me tell you why it is imperative for you to do so.

Why Kick Into A Higher Gear Now?

‘Tis the season for slowing down and getting lazy. It is possible that you as a business owner may feel that this year is finished. That is far from true. There are 46 days left in this wonderful year. You, my friend, should make the best of it. Avoid the sluggishness that occurs in November and December and use the remaining time to light a spark under your business.

Many of your competitors will not read this message and you can get the edge over them. By stepping up your game, you can use the next 6 weeks to build traction and gain momentum as you blaze a trail in January! How will this benefit your Virtual Assistance business? Think about it for a moment. A sluggish November and December leads to a sluggish January. Do you want to start the new year at full speed? Continue Reading>>

Wil Hart on October 7, 2013

3 Things You Fail To Do In Your Business

Have you ever baked a cake? Imagine for a moment that you were baking a red velvet cake. However, you failed to include you flour, sugar and red food coloring. Would the finished product be a success? I don’t think so!

What about your Virtual Assistance business? If you are missing key ingredients, how do you expect to accomplish your goals? Make sure that you do not fail to generously use the following three key ingredients for baking up business success.

Those ingredients are Planning, Focus and Completion.

Planning

If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there. Almost everything conceivable has a vision, action steps and progress. When you decide to bake a cake, you have likely seen the finished product in one form or another. It may have been a picture or you could have tasted the delectable item.

The same is the case with your business. You know what your version of success looks like. One of the easiest ways to measure that is in terms of income generated. Why? Most businesses are designed to produce revenue. The health of the business can be determine by its’ profits. You should already know your revenue goal for the year, for the month and for each week.

Now that you have those numbers written on paper, you will need to determine what activities will enable you to reach these goals. The amount you charge your clients should be clear. The number of clients you need to have each month should be stated. Your marketing strategies for acquiring clients must be recognized. And you need to measure your activity and your results. You should have a detailed plan with a copy of it on your desk for daily review.

Focus

When your cake pan is in the oven, the mixture of ingredients in that pan is ready for intense heat. This is the only way to bring about the finished product; focused, intense heat. Are you putting focused heat into your work? It is one thing to have a plan, but undistracted follow through on that plan is of paramount importance.

Of course you wear many hats as an entrepreneur. Still, a successful business is the result of many projects and tasks being carried out with committed focus. Take a look around your office. How many projects, tasks and follow up appointments are waiting on your attention? After acknowledging these matters, you can progress towards the third ingredient.

Completion

What indicators make it apparent that a baking cake is almost done? Your nose gives you a hint. A better and more accurate gauge is your clock. Likewise, put a time stamp on all of the projects and tasks that you need to complete. Be realistic in your assessment. If you need to get a new website up and running, there is no need to block off three months for this project. Also, when it comes to marketing your business, you should have specific activities noted on your calendar for each month and each week. Note as well, the day and time that you will engage in your marketing activity. Do these to completion!

It is certainly difficult to focus on and complete projects and tasks in this day and age. We live in an era of many distractions and shiny objects. At the same time, if you want your Virtual Assistance business to be a success for you and your family, it is imperative that you know what your vision of success looks like. Plan out the work that it takes to bring that vision about. Focus with intense heat on all of the projects and tasks that will enable you to fulfill your vision. Do not stop working until you have completed every project and task. When you generously apply these three ingredients, your success is certain!

Wil Hart on April 3, 2013

The VA Success Cafe: Episode 13

In this audio you will learn the importance of increasing your knowledge of technology. Doing so will increase your efficiency, reduce your effort and save you money. At the same time, you will learn why it is necessary to consider the taking in the right type of knowledge so that you will improve work and personal life.

Wil Hart on November 20, 2012

Take Your Next Step Now

At this time today, as you read this blog post, you have a set of actions that you need to take at some point. Your action steps are related to building your Virtual Assistance business, improving your skill, increasing your knowledge or a host of other activities.

My question to you is, “What is holding you back?”

In order for you to make progress you have to take the next action step. So, look at your list of things that you need to accomplish this week. Take out a pen and write down the very next progressive step in each important activity.

There is a caveat to this simple instruction of taking the next progressive step. Try hard, I mean really hard to not live in the past. If you have a long list of to-do’s that you know should have already been completed, don’t stress about it. They are not done, but you still need to get them finished. Start where you stand! Take the next progressive step.

After you have taking the next step, be clear on the subsequent actions that need to be taken so that you can continue to make progress towards accomplishing your goals. Develop the ‘what-is-my-next-step’ attitude. Clarify the next action step and then get involved and complete it. What is your next progressive action step for your most important activities? Share them with us below.

Wil Hart on April 15, 2011

5 Steps to a Productive Work Environment

When you’re a Virtual Assistant, you are only paid for the time you spend on client projects. Therefore, maximizing your work time is key to the profitability of your company. As VAs typically work from home, it can be a challenge to create a productive work environment where you experience minimal distractions and can focus on running your business. Use the following strategies to get more out of your day.

1. Create a dedicated workspace – There is such a thing as being too virtual! If you find that your “office” moves from your living room, to your bedroom, to your kitchen table or elsewhere, I guarantee that you aren’t nearly as productive as you could be. You are running a business, not pursuing a hobby! Your business deserves its own dedicated space where you show up for work each day. Regardless of how large or small your home is, you can carve out a space for your own office. A corner, a nook, even a closet can be used to create a highly functional office space where you can run a profitable enterprise. Retailers like IKEA and The Container Store have numerous resources to assist you with this.

2. Clear the clutter – Some of us are more organized than others for sure, but there is not a single VA around who wouldn’t be more focused, productive and profitable if they got rid of their clutter. Do you have old pens, mail, folders or other materials piled up in your workspace? Whether you realize it or not, having clutter in your space is a huge distraction for you. It’s been proven that:

Clutter causes you to feel overwhelmed or depressed
Clutter robs you of energy
Clutter steals 50% of your storage space
Clutter makes running your business harder – You have to look longer and dig deeper to find what you’re looking for
Clutter makes it hard to think straight

Get rid of your clutter and you will instantly boost your productivity!

3. Eliminate all your notifications – Unfortunately, because of our technology focused society we are often inundated by notifications and so called “helpful” reminders. However, when you are focused on your client work and business operations during the day, you don’t need to notified of every little thing. Make it a habit to turn the ringer on your cell phone OFF. Turn the ringer on your home phone or business phone OFF. (You can schedule times to check your phone(s) during the day). Also, let friends and family members know what your work scheduled is and that you are NOT available to talk during those hours. Finally, turn your email notifications OFF. Your time during the day is much better spent working on various projects and being notified each time you receive an email is a costly distraction that you don’t need.

4. Stay OUT of your email Inbox – Email is one of the greatest productivity killers around. It’s a fabulous communication tool, and critical to the functionality of your virtual business, however it also has the potential to be a HUGE time waster if you aren’t careful. I recommend dedicated two blocks of time per day to process your email. Otherwise you’ll find that you won’t get any real work done during the day because you spent all your time answering email! Also, train your clients to communicate with you via a project management system such as Basecamp or Central Desktop. These systems will track all correspondence in a neat, organized fashion so you don’t have to keep a back log of emails but can still keep track of conversations around projects and tasks.

5. Choose the right workstation – Think about the functions that you’ll be doing at your desk. Analyze what you do in a day, and make sure that your desk or workstation suits your needs. Do have lots of cords between your computer and other equipment? Then you want to have a desk with built-in cable management and an adjustable keyboard drawer. Are you a person who likes to spread out while you work? You’ll want a desk with lots of flat space so that you can work comfortably.

By implementing these strategies, you can create a workspace that maximizes the time you spend on your projects and stay focused on the task at hand. Schedule time now to makeover your workspace by selecting one area to work from, cleaning out clutter, eliminate notifications, manage the time spent on email and choosing the right workspace. You’ll see the benefits pay off in no time!