Tag: VA
Use The Caterpillar Method Of Business Growth
There are so many examples in the insect world that can help you with building your Virtual Assistance business. Stretch your imagination for a bit and try to think as if you were a caterpillar.
Have you ever wondered if a caterpillar looks forward to becoming a beautiful monarch butterfly? As a human, we can sit back and thoroughly appreciate this fascinating process.
Even people who find caterpillars icky or creepy, likely find immeasurable beauty in the monarch. Do you find it lovely?
Why should you consider thinking like a caterpillar?
The monarch butterfly has 4 stages of its life. What stage of your Virtual Assistance business are you in? What is your BIG PICTURE goal? I hope that you look forward to creating a business as gorgeous as the monarch (but with a longer life-span).
Phase I – Foundation Continue Reading>>
Achieving Goals Motivation Organization Uncategorized
#006 VA Success Cafe: Important Steps To Setting The Right Goals
Achieving Goals Mindset Motivation
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>>
Business Management Transition Virtual Assistant
5 Steps To Starting A Virtual Assistance Business
You are likely reading this article because you have a vast array of skills as an administrative professional. In a previous time, you may have been an executive assistant for a large company. Or, you developed your skills supporting a wide range of professionals who needed help with their administrative tasks.
Now, you are looking for another option. The possibility of using your admin support skills to start your own business has become very appealing to you. There are probably 100 reasons why you are interested in started your own Virtual Assistance business.
To name a few, you may desire to:
1. Dictate your own schedule and income
2. Work for the best boss in the world – YOU!
3. Spend more time with family and friends
4. Take better care of an aging relative
5. Retire with grace
The list can go on for miles. The important thing to keep in mind is the motivating force for you. Why are you driven to learn more about building your own business? Your reason is important to me as well. It is so important that I want to share with you 5 keys to keep in mind when starting your VA business from scratch!
The fun part about the steps that I am going to share with you is that you can do them in any order. You have to take the lead and decide which is the next best step for your current circumstances. Heck! You can even do two steps at the same time!
Step 1: Set Up Your Infrastructure Continue Reading>>
Marketing Networking Skill Development Target Market
5 Pieces To Effective Business Conversations
Have you ever had that feeling? You know what I mean.
It’s that feeling that you get when your mind is racing, your palms start to sweat and your thoughts decide that they do not want to make the faintest connection to your vocal cords. And then, you become…
SPEECHLESS!
Has that ever happened to you met a potential business associate. You exchange greetings, you learn each others’ name, and then the conversation goes deeper with the one question that makes you cringe… “So, what do you do?”
For many Virtual Assistants this is the most dreaded question because they do not know how to clearly convey the problems of their target market (if they have one), or how they solve those problems effectively.
What Are the 5 Pieces?
There are 5 critical pieces to masterfully articulating your value as a business owner and making strong connections. When you are face to face with a conversation partner keep the following conversation pieces in mind.
1 ~ Choose A Target Market
Having a target market gives great subject matter on which to have business conversations. If you tend to be on the shy side, focusing your attention on a separate group of people will give you the confidence needed to add more fuel to your conversation fire. If your target market is business coaches, you can talk about how that stresses that they experience with owning and operating their coaching practice. Then move to piece #2. Continue Reading>>
Achieving Goals Mindset Virtual Assistant
3 Reasons To Ask Yourself “Why?”
Let’s be honest! If you look back at the previous 12 months of your life, do you find things that are noteworthy or humdrum?
Noteworthy – (adjective) Significant or unusual.
Examples of things that are noteworthy:
- Accomplishing meaningful goals.
- Building or repairing important relationships.
- Breaking through a paralyzing limiting belief.
Humdrum – (adjective) Lacking excitement or variety; dull; monotonous.
Examples of things that are humdrum:
- Allowing hours, days and months to pass you by without making quality contributions to your life or that of others.
- Embracing a life that is stuck in a rut.
- Empowering others to dictate how your life will turn out.
Do you recall the day when you planted the idea in your mind to start your own Virtual Assistance business? Has that seed sprouted and begun to flourish? Did the idea motivate you to take some action in order to create a vision for yourself, set some goals and act on those goals?
If your seed of a thought has not yet sprouted, I can tell you exactly the reason it lays dormant in your mind. Your ‘WHY’ is not BIG enough! I cannot stress the importance of having a tremendous motivating factor. I know the feeling of setting a goal and shortly forgetting about it because it wasn’t strong enough to move me to action. Have you ever felt that way?
Here are 3 reasons you need to have a compelling ‘WHY’ in order to become a successful Virtual Assistant. This will force that implanted mental seed to germinate. Knowing your BIG WHY will do the following:
- Force you to be relentless. Have you ever been in a financial bind? It is amazing the resources that become available to you when you need money fast. (Just to be clear, I do imply legal resources.) During that time, when your mortgage is due, you won’t stop searching until you have a solution to the problem. The same is true when you are seeking to build your own business. You will find the resources and the mentors who can help you to be successful in business. You will not allow anything to stop you from doing so.
- Compel you to complete projects. A successful business is the result of completing a series of projects. When you have a vision of the type of business that you want to create, you will then need to map out the action steps that will enable you to accomplish your goals. Completing those action steps fulfills your goals.
- Empower you to create a life-enhancing business. We all have to work in order to provide for our families. If that isn’t a BIG WHY for showing up at a place of employment (that you may detest), I don’t know what is. I have spent the majority of my career as an employee. If you were to ask me why I worked for the companies that I’ve worked for, I would’ve stated, “I have to eat and pay bills!” That was my BIG WHY. If you’d like to know why I am now self-employed, send me an email and I will gladly share with you my new BIG WHY.
If you look back at 2012, do you find that experienced a year that was noteworthy or humdrum? If you were aiming for noteworthy and accomplished it, then CONGRATS! If you have just realizes you were living a humdrum year and want to make a change, I invite you to start where you stand and strive for something more. If you are now an employed administrative professional, think of ways that you can make your 2013 year-end review remarkable! Make a list of trainings that you can take. Look for daily tasks that you can complete quicker so as to improve your productivity.
If you are already working full-time as a Virtual Assistant, focus on how you can make 2013 a noteworthy year. Define what success means for you. It may be enrolling a certain number of clients or earning a specific income. Whatever the case, clarify your vision for success so that you can invest outstanding contributions to the fulfillment of your goals. Start taking the appropriate action today. Would you like a copy of the formula that I use to help me stay focused on my vision and take the right action to completing my vision? Email me (Wil@EAtoVA.com)!
Achieving Goals Mindset Virtual Assistant
3 Reasons To Ask Yourself “Why?”
Let’s be honest! If you look back at the previous 12 months of your life, do you find things that are noteworthy or humdrum?
Noteworthy – (adjective) Significant or unusual.
Examples of things that are noteworthy:
- Accomplishing meaningful goals.
- Building or repairing important relationships.
- Breaking through a paralyzing limiting belief.
Humdrum – (adjective) Lacking excitement or variety; dull; monotonous.
Examples of things that are humdrum:
- Allowing hours, days and months to pass you by without making quality contributions to your life or that of others.
- Embracing a life that is stuck in a rut.
- Empowering others to dictate how your life will turn out.
Do you recall the day when you planted the idea in your mind to start your own Virtual Assistance business? Has that seed sprouted and begun to flourish? Did the idea motivate you to take some action in order to create a vision for yourself, set some goals and act on those goals?
If your seed of a thought has not yet sprouted, I can tell you exactly the reason it lays dormant in your mind. Your ‘WHY’ is not BIG enough! I cannot stress the importance of having a tremendous motivating factor. I know the feeling of setting a goal and shortly forgetting about it because it wasn’t strong enough to move me to action. Have you ever felt that way?
Here are 3 reasons you need to have a compelling ‘WHY’ in order to become a successful Virtual Assistant. This will force that implanted mental seed to germinate. Knowing your BIG WHY will do the following:
- Force you to be relentless. Have you ever been in a financial bind? It is amazing the resources that become available to you when you need money fast. (Just to be clear, I do imply legal resources.) During that time, when your mortgage is due, you won’t stop searching until you have a solution to the problem. The same is true when you are seeking to build your own business. You will find the resources and the mentors who can help you to be successful in business. You will not allow anything to stop you from doing so.
- Compel you to complete projects. A successful business is the result of completing a series of projects. When you have a vision of the type of business that you want to create, you will then need to map out the action steps that will enable you to accomplish your goals. Completing those action steps fulfills your goals.
- Empower you to create a life-enhancing business. We all have to work in order to provide for our families. If that isn’t a BIG WHY for showing up at a place of employment (that you may detest), I don’t know what is. I have spent the majority of my career as an employee. If you were to ask me why I worked for the companies that I’ve worked for, I would’ve stated, “I have to eat and pay bills!” That was my BIG WHY. If you’d like to know why I am now self-employed, send me an email and I will gladly share with you my new BIG WHY.
If you look back at 2012, do you find that experienced a year that was noteworthy or humdrum? If you were aiming for noteworthy and accomplished it, then CONGRATS! If you have just realizes you were living a humdrum year and want to make a change, I invite you to start where you stand and strive for something more. If you are now an employed administrative professional, think of ways that you can make your 2013 year-end review remarkable! Make a list of trainings that you can take. Look for daily tasks that you can complete quicker so as to improve your productivity.
If you are already working full-time as a Virtual Assistant, focus on how you can make 2013 a noteworthy year. Define what success means for you. It may be enrolling a certain number of clients or earning a specific income. Whatever the case, clarify your vision for success so that you can invest outstanding contributions to the fulfillment of your goals. Start taking the appropriate action today. Would you like a copy of the formula that I use to help me stay focused on my vision and take the right action to completing my vision? Email me (Wil@EAtoVA.com)!