I did a double take when I saw the latest selection of 'people you might know' this morning at LinkedIn. I bet you recognise some of these names too? Obviously an April Fool's joke - although it's now April 2nd in Australia. Or perhaps LinkedIn has found a way to resurrect people too. Wonder how many people try to connect to them? … [Read more...]
Whatever happened to professionalism?
aaarrghh! I can't believe how many emails I get these days where people do not sign off, or include contact details. What is wrong with people these days? Is email no longer considered a professional way of contacting others? What am I talking about? Signature blocks. I receive emails from Virtual Assistants, from service and product providers, from other organisations where people just sign off with their firstname and nothing else. No surname, no business name, no website address, no phone … [Read more...]
Using Facebook for business
As many business owner/operators have done, I've turned to Facebook for networking opportunities. When I first started using Facebook a few years ago I set up two profiles - one for personal use and one for business. I didn't want to confuse personal stuff with business stuff and really didn't want my business contacts seeing what various members of my family were chatting about. For me, that made sense to do. However, Facebook has in their Terms of Use that you should really only have the … [Read more...]
Working with a Virtual Assistant – do you know what’s involved?
I often get emails or phone calls asking me what's involved in working with a Virtual Assistant, what do we do, how can we help the caller, and how does it work? Many find it a struggle to get over the hump relating to working virtually. It's really quite simple once you know how to look at it. For me, it's like this: Think of a corporate PA who works close by to the boss, either in a room next to their office, or nearby. They converse face-to-face, by intercom and internal email. The … [Read more...]
17 years ago today…
I nervously and excitedly made my way into the city of Melbourne to register my new business. I hadn't wanted to share my business name idea with anyone, in case someone else beat me to it. Little did I know what might transpire in the years to come and how my business name would be used, not only for my services, but for the services of many others. The world has indeed changed in those 17 years. Computers have changed incredibly, so has the media we use for storing information. It is … [Read more...]
Now that AVAC’s over…
We can get back to the business of working in our businesses. The two day conference was fantastic and feedback from the delegates indicate that they were very happy with the event. I do know from the very start there was an excited buzz in the air that remained with the event all the way through. So much to listen to, so much to learn, so much to apply, excitement to be had, new friendships formed, old frienships renewed, faces to match to names we know so well. Great event and thank you … [Read more...]
Australian VA Conference one week away
Well, the second annual Australian VA Conference is just a week away. Although the numbers still aren't as high as I would like them (well into the triple figures) they are still higher than they were last year, and we're thrilled about that. We're delighted that IVAA is our major sponsor and that they are sending a delegate to the event this year. In fact, that person will be staying with me and I can't wait to show them a little bit of the Australian countryside I get to enjoy every … [Read more...]
Real Estate VA – niche
There are VAs who specifically support Realtors in the day-to-day running of their businesses. It's much more prevalent in the US than here in Australia, however there are VAs here who do support Real Estate agents. And I believe this is slowly growing. I've begun supporting a local agent recently and am learning about their systems, as well as advising on things they haven't yet ventured into, such as social media. What type of things can a VA do for a Real Estate Agent? These are just a few … [Read more...]
Let people know who you are
There seems to be this 'new' phenomenon where people email me or respond to an email and then not sign off their name. They make an assumption I know who it is. Often I have an email address and sometimes a business name but those things don't always clue me in as to who wrote the email. Which means I either have to search my database or do a search online to find out who it is that sent me the email. Doesn't matter if you think the person you're emailing knows who you are, it makes sense to … [Read more...]
