If you're like me and starting to have regular online meetings, you may find yourself doing far too many, in too little time. I've heard some are spending hours every day in online meetings. Was that the norm for you? Regular daily meetings? Remember you are in control of your diary. Set a routine and try to pace yourself. I've decided no more than one meeting a day but for others that might not be realistic. Perhaps one in the morning and one in the afternoon - if they're not long … [Read more...]
My first website
I created my very first website in April 1996 with MicroSoft Publisher. The Internet in the business world was very new and I was keen to be a part of it. It was a single page, with some MS Clipart and my contact details and list of services. But later that year I began adding more pages, listing my background, providing a newsletter for whomever might read it, list of services and my contact details. Already I was exploring what else I could do with the site. Are you familiar with the … [Read more...]
Creating websites for new VAs
Frequently I see new VAs seeking advice about creating a website for their business and what should be included. I thought I'd share a post on this which I'm happy to have shared with others. First off, they often ask if they need a website if they have a Facebook Page and I say 'yes, you still need one.' Why? Because not all your audience are going to be on Facebook. How many people do you know who aren't on it? If you're like me, you know quite a few. Either people who are technologically … [Read more...]
Are your emails getting through?
Email is not 100% proof and probably never will be. So why do people just assume that all their emails are getting through? Or that they're receiving everything they should? It really hurts when you miss an email from a client or potential client and, therefore, totally miss out on a job - because you didn't know they were trying to contact you. What is wrong with using the phone these days? Or make contact other ways, i.e. PM via Facebook or other social media if those people are … [Read more...]
Spamming is not on!
I am getting so fed up with Australian businesses sending commercial email that is purely spam. This message is for all VAs, irrespective of where you are located around the world. If you are engaged to send out email on behalf of clients make sure you ask them about their lists and how they came by the list - if you're taking it over. If building from scratch, encourage the client to build their list organically by networking wherever they can and collect business cards and also by using their … [Read more...]
Do you have a website?
Getting a website created, or creating one for yourself, can be a daunting prospect. When you're setting up business there are so many things to think about, plan and pay out for, that often the website gets put aside for 'later on'. The reality is that people need to be able to find you online. The medium for doing business is the Internet so it makes sense that you are available there for people to find you. And all your competitors are already there! When you email people do you use a … [Read more...]
Can your prospective clients contact you?
Have you viewed your business card and website with your prospective clients' eyes lately? Over the past year I've noticed a trend in business cards having minimal details. Websites are often the same. A name, perhaps a business name, an email address (or, on their website a contact form) and a mobile phone number. That's it. Often the email address is not a domain address, i.e. they're using their ISP email, gmail, hotmail or similar. When considering whether I want to do business with … [Read more...]
Yahoo has taken over my Firefox search
If you have searched and found this post, then it may well be that you're looking for the answer to this annoying problem. My favourite search engine is Google. That's the one I want to use. But for some reason, some software programs have included yahoo search in their installation files. That's all well and good but what if I don't want to switch to yahoo? I use Mozilla Firefox as my web browser of choice. I like how it works and to me is more robust than others I've tried. So imagine my … [Read more...]
Christmas cards for your clients
Do you send out cards for your clients? Or even to your clients. Things get busy this time of year and Christmas card sending can be quite a time hungry exercise. Over the past 3 or 4 years I've been using Send Out Cards, which definitely saves me time and I don't have to leave my office in order to organise beautifully printed cards of my choice and design and posted to my database. How does it work? Simple. Open up an account, go to the card catalogue, or Create a Card, and then set the … [Read more...]
