What’s Love Got to Do With It?

by Meredith on August 27, 2008

This past week I’ve finally had a chance to catch up on some past teleseminars. Over the summer, I took Andrea Williams’ Start Up Success Series. I ordered the “deluxe” package which included all 15 speakers on CD. This was a good thing because I can pop a CD in my car each day when I do preschool pickups. My daughter is too busy talking to her friend to notice what is on the radio…

Anyway, one of my favorite speakers in the series so far is Lisa McLeod. Lisa was very funny, but her message is very profound. The main message of Lisa’s teleseminar was that you need to come at your business from a place of love. If you adopt love as your ultimate strategy — your business will grow beyond your wildest imaginings. OK, I know that you all are probably thinking — Meredith has finally crossed over to “woo woo” land (a true danger when working with life coaches) — but if you think this through — it makes a lot of sense.

Studies have shown that people are happiest when they are in the moment (that is a whole other post for another time) and when they are doing something that they feel is making a difference.

If you can get to the point where you (and the people working with you) can see the difference you are making in people’s lives — everything will flow. The first thing I thought of when I was listening to Lisa was my (very on the side) business with Send Out Cards. It is very easy to get into the love mentality with Send Out Cards because SOC makes it very easy to show people that you love them by sending them a greeting card. You choose and create the card online, click send and then the company prints and mails the card for you. The company encourages its distributors to send a heartfelt card everyday. Yes, I know that means that they sell more cards — but… when I take the time each day to really tell someone how much I love them — it has a powerful effect on my life and on my day. Talk about a business based on love. If you want to try out Send Out Cards — you can send a card for free as my gift. I’ll even personally walk you through the process. Go to my send out cards website , and click on the banner. Or (even better), send me an e-mail at meredithe at gmail dot com and we can set up a time to walk through sending a card together.

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The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval

by Meredith on August 24, 2008

If you’ve been following my blog/tweets at all lately, you know that I was featured in this month’s edition of Good Housekeeping. This is really very very funny because I have 5 year old daughter and my house constantly looks as if a whirlwind just hit…

One of my favorite clients, communications guru Liz Gurthridge suggested that I write a little bit about the power of the Good Housekeeping “seal of approval”. When I was little I actually used to think about the seal of approval and the Good Housekeeping test kitchens. I had visions of rooms with rows and rows of ranges and women dressed in pink dresses and lace aprons testing out all the recipes in the magazine to make sure they were good enough to eat. Although I don’t know very many people who read Good Housekeeping (I was actually surprised at how many people spotted my article though…) — the power of the seal lives on. The seal (like being favorably reviewed in Consumer Reports) lends some important “social proof” to a product’s claims. And, although Yellow Highlighter didn’t receive the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval — the fact that I was featured in the magazine has had some great spillover into my business.

The idea of a seal of approval is very powerful. According to a recent issue of Fast Company, Chlorox recently sought the Sierra Club’s seal of approval for their products. This idea is very easily transferrable to the Web. This works for both companies. Chlorox gets third party validation that their products are environmentally friendly. The Sierra Club gets recognized as a leading expert on the environment.

Seals of approval work very well in a virtual world where third party validation (internet marketers call this “social proof”) is very important. You see this at work in the “badges” that people display on their blogs. PoshMama and BlogHer rate blogs. If you pass their tests, you get to display their seal. The seal is an advertisement for the blog and validation that you know your stuff. I was trained as a virtual assistant by AssistU – as a graduate, I am entitled to display their seal on my website. The seal links back to a page with a list of AssistU graduates. When clients see my site, they know that I’ve invested some time and effort into my continuing education.

Do you have an seals of approval on your site? Do you offer one as part of your business?

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Attraction By Mail

by Meredith on August 22, 2008

My affirmation card...

My affirmation card...

I am currently working my way through Laura Howard West’s Joyful Business Guide.  The Guide takes you step-by-step through the process of designing a business that is about the heart and soul as well as the head.  When your business is in alignment with who you are at the deepest level, it becomes easy and even fun.

One of the exercises in the book is to create three theme words to infuse my business for the next year.  I chose Creativity,  Success and Focus.  To remind me of my goals, I send myself a card that I designed myself using Send Out Cards. (if you want to try out Send Out Cards — http://tryoutsendoutcards.com and I’ll give you a free account with a few cards in it so you can try it out).

I also set it up so I’ll get reminder cards every few weeks.  My client was so impressed that she is having me make cards for her coaching clients too.

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Twitter 101: Getting To Know Twitter and Your Tweeps

by Meredith on August 20, 2008

Do you need to know your target audience better? Who doesn’t? Twitter is one of the most powerful and popular tools out there right now! Major companies and successful businesses have started using Twitter for good reason…

To get a better understanding of Twitter, let’s first take a look at the format. Essentially, Twitter is a program that allows you to make very small, public posts. Because these posts are so limited (they max out at 140 characters) they can easily be sent to a number of different locations all at once. When you have written a Twitter, it can appear on the twitter website, on short message services, instant messaging sites or even on third-party applications like Facebook, Twirl or Twitterific. There are also aggregator services like hellotxt.com or Ping.fm. You can even add a script to your website to show your tweets (look at this site to see an example…Your Twitter messages, also known tweets, will appear to anyone who has chosen to follow your updates.

Twitter has several advantages…. First, it allows for a much more immediate relay of information. The shortness of the message forces you to be very brief, and this alone can create interest in those reading. Because tweets are so short, they often lead to frequent posting, which is excellent when you are looking to communicate with people and to get to know them. While Twitter is, by default, public, you can restrict the people who see your material with the ease of checking a box in your profile.

You will find that not only can you post tweets, you can also receive them. Once again, the immediate nature of this service lends greatly to its appeal. Want to follow someone’s updates and see what they are up to with their business or life in general? Simply sign into your Twitter account, type in their Twitter address or username and click the “Follow” button. That’s all there is to it.

The amount of time that spent reading the messages is very short, and you can be in contact with people a great deal more than you otherwise might be. In essence, you can get to know each other much more quickly than if you were just reading each others blogs or profiles. The look and feel of an instant messaging service helps add to this ability. Think about it for a minute, do you feel more connected to those on your messenger list than the blogs you read? Twitter is the same way.

For many, whether they are looking for friends, clients, or someone to help them out with a problem or workload, getting in touch with others is important. With Twitter it has never been easier!

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How to Save 5 hours a week (and be much happier…)

by Meredith on August 20, 2008

Do you ever get the feeling that the world is trying to tell you something? I am the world champion internal drama queen. I spend *a lot* of time replaying, mulling over and analyzing things that have happened in my life (both good and bad). As I was talking to my wise coach, she had me do some exercises about how I would feel if I *didn’t* obsess or attach negative connotations to things. Since that phone call, I’ve been trying to just accept — and it has been working for me to a degree…

But… a blog post by one of my clients, Sharon Melnick has given me a reason to try even harder. In her post, Sharon points out that the replaying and obsessions are an incredible waste of time. She tells about one of her clients who managed to free up 5 hours extra per week of free time by stopping the internal soap opera…

As as work-at-home mom and entrepreneur, I need the time. So, my goal for the next 30 days is to try to catch myself when I start the replays and change the inner channel to something more relaxing and productive.

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Lessons Learned From Send Out Cards

by Meredith on August 15, 2008

This past week, I’ve been at the Send Out Cardsconvention. Well, actually I was visiting my Mom and the convention happened to be in the same place… so I decided to go. For those who don’t know, Send Out Cards is a nifty program that allows you to send real cards to people (you know — the kind with a stamp) to people from your computer. If you are anything like me — you have a stack of stamp-less cards on your front table waiting to be sent. This program solves that problem and has helped me become much closer to my family and friends…

Send Out Cards is a side to my business and it is a network marketing company. I chose to become a distributor because I LOVE the cards… Even though SOC isn’t my primary business — I came away from the convention with some valuable lessons….

1. It is all in the system Send Out Cards makes it’s money when people can succeed in recruiting more people into the organization — it is that simple. They give you the system to use. All the really successful people use that system. If you don’t have systems in your business — you should think about creating them. This is something I’ll be working on over the next few months. Also daily routines and checklists help you to succeed.

2. A small kind gesture can make a very lasting impression. The presenters told stories of sending out cards to favorite restaurants, old coaches, good friends letting them know what they meant to them. Another presenter told a story about how he won over someone who was saying horrible things about him on the internet by sending cards and gifts.

3. The fortune is in the follow up Most sales aren’t make right away — 80% of sales are made after the 5th contact — most people give up after the first. Also, it doesn’t pay to be phone-phobic. It is easier to make a sale by phone rather than e-mail.

4. Don’t throw up At networking events, don’t get so excited, make it about how you can help the other person. Just pique their interest…

5. A new haircut can make you invincible I got a new do right before the event. I knew that I looked the best I could look — so I could talk to everyone.

6. You never know who you’ll meet I didn’t go to the convention with any real networking agenda. But, I did meet some people that I might work with in the future.

All in all, it was a great few days I learned a lot and met some great people.

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Are You Tweeting Yet? 5 Reasons You Should Be Twittering for Your Business

by Meredith on August 13, 2008

What is all the buzz about Twitter? Is it an instant message water cooler? A mini-blog? Mastering the fine art of the tweet (Twitter post) can change the way you network online Here are 5 reasons why you should take another look at Twitter and its power for your business.

1. Less Is More…
You’ll find that one of the best things about Twitter is that it keeps all messages very short and sweet. You’ll have to give your customers and clients the gist of what is going on in short tweets (messages similar to instant messages) that allow their interest to be piqued in such a way as to make them investigate further. You won’t bother them with long-winded messages that make them yawn and move on. Instead, you will be able to catch their attention quickly and make them want to know more.

2. Instant Gratification
Much like a blog or an RSS feed, you can get access to the people that use Twitter regularly. In some ways, this is like making sure that you can reach them no matter where they are, and you will find that this is very important when you want to make marketing one of your biggest priorities. You are making sure that they have all of the latest updates to what you are doing and what’s going on by simply sending a tweet their way.

3. Are you missing the chance to get to know potential customers?
In many ways, Twitter is a social program more than it is a marketing one. It allows you to get to know people you might otherwise not have access to. By posting your tweets, you let people get to know you as a person rather than just as a business. This can be very important when it comes to establishing a customer base and customer loyalty.

4. You Get to Hear The Conversation
Remember that it goes both ways; you can put information out on Twitter and you can also learn a lot too. By following other’s Twitter accounts, especially if it looks like they have a lot to offer, you can keep in the know about various products, services, and other happenings online. You can learn about your target audiences from their tweets. This can be a great way to keep an eye on what is going on in order to keep yourself in the know of your industry.

5. It;s fun.
You can also use Twitter to tease people a little bit, in a fun way, of course! When you use Twitter, you have to keep your messages short, and in many ways, a little mysterious. Pique their interest, joke around, and you’ll find that you gain a lot more followers and hopefully website traffic and customers as a result.

Be warned, just as with any other social networking site, Twitter can quickly become a time black hole and addiction if you let it. Don’t go overboard and get so involved in all the tweeting that you are not getting your work done. Used in moderation, Twitter can be a great tool for getting the word out about about you and your business in the virtual world.

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It’s not *exactly* magic: 5 traits of a successful Virtual Assistant

by Meredith on August 10, 2008

My business was recently featured in my local newspaper. You can read the article here . The columnist in the article referred to AssistU as a "magical fairy godmother" that with a stroke of a magic wand solved all my work/balance issues. I do agree that becoming a VA and teaching other aspiring VAs has been a magical choice for me, but I think that the article’s author makes it seem a little too easy.

Starting a successful virtual assistance business (or any business) is not for the faint of heart or for people who lack patience. Also, I’m not completely sure that being a virtual assistant is for everyone. Some people seem to have more success than others. Here are the five traits I’ve noticed that very successful virtual assistants have:

1. Ability to communicate I have only met of my clients. 99% of my communication with them is either via e-mail or via phone. Without the advantage of body language, it is sometimes difficult to get ideas across. Also, because you are not working in the same office as your clients and work for several clients, it is really important to be able to regularly communicate the status of projects to your clients.

2. Ability to create systems The key to a successful virtual business (or any business) is having strong systems in place. The more the day-to-day work is systemitized, the easier it is to outsource work and concentrate on growing and marketing your business. Clients treasure VAs who can help envision, put into place and maintain these systems and processes.

3. Love of Technology The Internet is changing every day. Clients depend on their VA to let them know about what is new on the technology front and help them to utilize the technology in their business. Good virtual assistants LOVE to learn and love to apply what they learn for their clients.

4. Partnership Mentality This works on two levels. The first level is seeing yourself as a partner with your client. The thing that my clients tell me they love the most about having a VA is having a sounding board and brainstorming partner for their business. The other side of partnerships is being able to find and create partnerships for your clients. The VAs who are "naturals" are always thinking about ways to connect their clients with helpful people and resources.

5. Patience Again, this applies on many levels. First and foremost, you need to have patience with yourself. Nothing good ever happens overnight and it takes time to start a successful VA business (or any business). If you have the right skills, you can make the learning curve shorter, but it will still take time to build a full practice, learn to balance the spinning plates of client work, business building and home life. Two thirds of businesses fail in the first five years — many times it is because new business owners give up before their businesses take off. You also need to teach your clients to be patient. Building a business takes time and e-mail lists and client rosters don’t grow overnight. The most successful businesses chart a course and stay with it as their businesses grow.

So, no… starting a virtual assistance business is NOT magic. But, if you have the right skills and the right attitude, it can be a magical business choice…

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Goodies for Your Blog

by Meredith on July 26, 2008

Somehow, all of my clients seem to be on the same psychic wavelength…  They all decide that they want a complete overhaul of their website in the same month!   For a number of reasons, I usually suggest that my clients build the site on Word Press platform because WordPress has a lot of great traffic building features built in AND it is very easy for clients to learn to update themselves :)

WordPress comes with some very powerful themes.  I have a developer’s licensce for two different themes wtih a lot of "good stuff" under the hood – Semiologic and Thesis.  Semiologic is very easy to use — and very easy to customize — but the skins are kind of plain.  Thesis is easy to use (but not as full-featured as semiologic) — but it is beautiful. 

Some other goodies that I’ve discovered in my month-long blog cutomizing frenzy are:

Cross-Browser preview tools:

This weekend I had a minor disaster, I work on a macbook without parallels.  I usually do my PC stuff on my PC — but the internet connection was down so I had no way of viewing the site in IE (and I did need to view the stie — it looked awful in IE).

To the rescue — http://crossbrowsertesting.com — you can login and use a virtual version of most operating systems in most browers for free.  If you just want screen shots — you can go to http://www.BrowserShots.org

CSS Editing

Going through css code makes my eyes cross. Fortunately, there are some good CSS editors out there to help you.

One that I especially like for the mac is CSS Edit  - Firebug for Firefox is also a robust CSS editor.

For color matching — try the colorzilla firefox add-on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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5 Online Ways to Get Offline Publicity For Your Business

by Meredith on July 25, 2008

Picture 63.pngWell, my 15 minutes of fame has finally started.  My profile in the August issue of Good Housekeeping magazine has finally hit the streets. I’m featured in an article about people who make good money working part time from home.

  I’m still not sure whether I am glad they didn’t use my picture or not :)  For those of you who haven’t been following the saga of my first national feature story, I replied to a ProfNet query from a report back in March.  ProfNet is a service that matches reporters looking for sources with willing sources.  One of the services that I provide my clients is to look through their ProfNet e-mails each day and forward opportunities to them that I think are a good fit.  (hint:  I also offer this service as a stand alone — and it will cost you less than subscribing  yourself…)  I found the Good Housekeeping opportunity and responded to the reporter. A few months and a few interviews later, I got the news that I was in! 

Before becoming a virtual assistant, I worked as a local government public information officer where I helped some great agencies get some well-deserved publicity.  Here are five quick tips on getting some offline publicity for your business:

1. Subscribe to ProfNet (or hire a VA or publicist to scan for you).  I know several small businesses that have scored big coverage this way.  A free alternative to ProfNet which is a little smaller is helpareporter.com.

2. Read your local papers and business magazines.  Get to know the reporters and the different types of stories they write.  If have something newsworthy, e-mail them and tell them about it.  It also helps if you mention previous articles.  The more personalized the better — journalists are people too :)  You can also hook up with local reporters on Facebook and Twitter.

3. Hook into current news stories.  Visit the google news site every morning and send press releases to your local paper that hook into current news stories.  For example, if there is a new study about how child care affects children and you chose to work part time to cut down on day care — write about that. 

4. Get active in your local and industry blogging communities.  reporters are often turning to popular blogs for news stories. Subscribe to google alerts - http://www.google.com/alerts and find out when anyone blogs about your topic.

5. Do something newsworthy. Do you suppoart a particular cause?  How about donating a portion of your profits for a given month to the cause?  Hook in to a national holiday or create your own holiday.  Blog or write about the holiday.  Submit a press release. Naked PR has a giant list  of free press release sites on her blog.

Good luck and I hope you get some great publicity.

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