Episode 68 [39:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

Episode 68 is devoted to the topic of Business Ethics. Business Ethics is important to businesses of all types and sizes. Joining me to discuss this topic is Jeannine Clontz, owner of Accurate Business Services, founder of VABizCoach.com and current President of the International Virtual Assistant Association (IVAA).  During our conversation Jeannine explains just what business ethics are, why they are important to your business, adopting a code of ethics, copyright infringement and more!

BONUS: One person will receive a copy of Jeannine’s book,  Entrepreneurial Freedom. Listen to the podcast episode to find out how you can be the lucky winner. Once you hear the details, come back to this post and  leave your response. The first person that correctly responds to the question posed in the podcast episode will be the winner.

Show Links:

Jeannine’s websites:  http://www.accbizsvcs.com, http://www.vabizcoach.com
Entrepreneurial Freedom – http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com
International Virtual Assistant Association: http://www.ivaa.org
Copyscape: http://www.copyscape.com

Books Mentioned in the Podcast

The Book of Questions, by Gregory Stock, Ph. D.
The Principles of Information Ethics, by Richard James Severson
Business Ethics, by Thomas M. Garrett
Power of Ethical Management, by Norman V. Peale
Managing Corporate Ethics, by Francis Joseph Aguilar

A Virtual Perception podcast is sponsored by:

Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual Assistantville: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

A Virtual Perception podcast is produced and hosted by:
Darlene of True Harmony Media, LLC: http://www.yourtrueharmony.com

 

 Episode 67 [15:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

Well, AVP’s Summer of Success has come to a close. If you missed it, not to worry, you can find all of the posts on the website (avirtualperception.com). In this episode I share my closing words for the series, announce the winners of the two Summer of Success contests and air a bonus Summer of Success tip provided by Collette Schultz of Virtual Dream Office Services.  Collette shares some subcontracting tips and tricks for the virtual service provider.

Thank you again to all of the business professionals that participated in the series. You rock!

Summer of Success Contest Winners:

Top 5 Tip Contest Winners are:
Janine Gregor
Lisa Olinda
Kimberly LeRiche
Tahneesha Smith
Lily Chambers

Beach Bag O’ Fun Contest Winner is: Deb Frawley

Congratulations everyone!

A Virtual Perception podcast is sponsored by:

Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual Assistantville: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

A Virtual Perception podcast is produced and hosted by:
Darlene of True Harmony Media, LLC: http://www.yourtrueharmony.com

Today’s Summer of Success entry is a video tip from Lauri Smedley. Lauri explains how to go about finding and working with a VA. In addition, Lauri talks at length about what a client can expect to find (and also look for) in a Virtual Assistant service agreement or contract.

About the Author:
Lauri Smedley is a Professor at Sacramento City College where she teaches Computer Information Science (CIS) and Business courses, including a course called Virtual Office Careers and Technologies. Lauri is currently writing a textbook which she plans on using as part of the Virtual Office Careers course.

Visit Lauri’s website: http://professorsmedley.com/

Listen to Episode 42 to learn more about Lauri’s upcoming book and her interview with Darlene.

3 Things to “Forget About” When Selecting a Virtual Assistant

Back in the day, I was known to watch a good mafia/mob movie or two. Nowadays, they would not be my movie of choice; however, I distinctly remember the infamous phrase “forget about it”.

Often business owners are looking for a Virtual Assistant with the wrong approach and expectations. This mentality is often due to a lack of knowledge about the VA industry and/or misinformation. The first step to working successfully with a Virtual Assistant is finding the right one. If you are a business owner in search of your perfect Virtual Assistant these are 3 things I would ask you to “forget about it”.

1. You are going to get something “great” for nothing – forget about it!
Many business owners have heard about Virtual Assistants and how they can benefit their business. Unfortunately, they may not have the budget to truly partner with one or may be unsure if VAs are worthy of their rates. When I first established my VA business (more often than I would like to remember) I encountered Request for Proposals (RFPs) with unimaginably low rates. You should not low ball when comes to finding an expert that will be a valuable partner in maintaining or growing your business.

2. You are just hiring another employee — forget about it!
Virtual Assistants are not employees; they are business owners. Ultimately, you are contracting with a service provider to assist you with a specific need. You are partnering with them as experts to accomplish a specific task or for ongoing support for your business. Please do not require a resume; however, feel free to ask for references or a portfolio.

3. All Virtual Assistants are created equal — forget about it!
I am honored to be a part of the Virtual Assistant industry. It is growing at an incredible rate and it is full of talented VAs with different niches and specialties. To get a good idea of the many specialties available visit the Virtual Assistantville Directory. I recommend you find the right VA that can help with your specific need. Ensure that she is experienced or trained with the correct skill set. As with any other service provider; do your due diligence before contracting with one. The worst thing you want to do is contract with someone and be disappointed by the VA’s lack of knowledge in that area. Take your time selecting the right Virtual Assistant that fits your need and budget.

About the Author:
Tahneesha Smith is the owner of A Virtual Blessing, a Christian based virtual assistant business that offers executive administrative assistance to small businesses.  A Virtual Blessing services include bookkeeping, administration and concierge/personal assistance.
Visit Tahneesha’s website at: www.avirtualblessing.com
Follow Tahneesha on Twitter: @virtualblessing

Today’s Summer of Success tip is somewhat of a different variety; it is a topic that is important for anyone that has an online presence. The topic is online safety and the article is provided to you by Jocarole Carpenter.

Is your password ironclad or just ‘passable’?

When it comes to online safety, you are the only one in charge. Consider your password the key to your online ‘vault’.  This is the place where you keep all your personal and business files.  You are ‘in charge’ and you have to be on guard, day and night.

Ok, tell me more

A password is your digital key to your online accounts and networking sites.

A password works with a user name. The two of them are always used together. They unlock the online door to everything you hold near and dear to you, virtually speaking.

Getting started

You want to make your user names and passwords long and strong.

• Have a combination of letters and numbers.
• Add in some punctuation and uncommon keyboard symbols.
• Use upper and lower case letters.
• Use different user names and passwords for each site you are on.
• A good amount of characters would be 20, the longer the better.

Remember you want to make this hard for hackers; it has to be hack-free.

When you think you finally have created the ‘perfect’ password, there is something else you need to do before calling it a day. You have to test it with a ‘password checker’ to determine how strong the password is. Try this from password checker from Microsoft.

What’s not okay

Don’t ever use words which other people know or can figure out easily. This includes your family members as well as you.  Some examples are: names (first, middle, and last). Also your mother’s maiden name and yours too) if this applies. Social security numbers, birth dates, your partner’s name, ages, favorite colors, favorite numbers, your pet’s name, numbers in a row such as 1, 2, 3, etc.

Just so you know there are software programs specifically designed to break your password code so you need to put a lot of extra thought in this. I also wouldn’t type in my password on a public computer.

• Don’t use the same password for different websites.
• Don’t use passwords that are almost identical to each together.

Click here for Random.org which will help with creating your own unique passwords. Another resource is here at Strongpasswordgenerator.com.

Help! I forgot my password!

The easiest way (for me) to remember all of my passwords (I have a lot) is to write them down. There are even programs that will store your passwords for you. For me I just prefer keeping them to myself and not having to worry Websites are down or even broken into. We all have heard those stories before. I have a separate rolodex I keep for this purpose and I know that will never get hacked!  It’s really worth it to take the time now and put a security lock on your computer door using strong password combinations. 

In closing, if you decide that password security is just not for you then you may want to read this.

About the Author:
Article written by JoCarole Carpenter of Shore Office Services.
Shore Office Services is a virtual assistant practice that provides administrative, computer, concierge, database management and more. Visit JoCarole’s website for more details.
Visit Jocarole’s website: www.shoreofficeservices.com
Follow Jocarole on Twitter: @ShoreofficeSvcs

Communication and Delegation with your Virtual Assistant

With so many methods for communication available to us it is easy to allow these devices, intended to make communicating easier, rule our lives and eat away at our efficiency.

Any Virtual Assistant with multiple clients will likely not be sitting in her email all day waiting and watching for new emails to arrive as she likely has scheduled out her day and works on projects for up to several hours at a time. And believe it or not there are some people (gasp!) who do not get emails to our phones so if we are out of the office we will have no way of knowing emails have arrived until we are back in our offices.

Therefore, as you begin working with a Virtual Assistant one of the most important things you can discuss is your preferred method of contact as well as her preferred method of contact. In order to prevent miscommunications you will want to address if those methods change on “regular” work vs. “emergency” work.

How we communicate affects how we delegate

When you write emails are they long and detailed or are they short and sweet? What is your preferred style when you receive emails; detailed, Step by Step descriptions or do you prefer a brief recap?

Determining your preferences as well as the preferences of your Virtual Assistant will prove to be beneficial as you continue working together as often those who prefer the short and sweet version are frustrated or overwhelmed if they get detailed, Step by Step emails.

Together you and your Virtual Assistant should determine how often to communicate after a task is delegated. Such as: How do you handle questions as they arise? If the project is multi-step how often do you want your Virtual Assistant to check in with a progress report?

When delegating a task it is always helpful for your Virtual Assistant to know:

1. The deadline – how soon do you need this work completed?

2. If this is a multi-phase project – how many phases are anticipated?

Example:

a. Research

b. Research reviewed and modified

c. Final research will be put into a PowerPoint presentation

d. PPT slides turned into PDF handouts

3. How long you expect the project to take or how long you want her to spend on it – this is especially helpful on research projects.

Here are just some of the many ways that small business owners can communicate with and delegate to their Virtual Assistants:

• Email

• Texting

• Fax

• Skype, Google chat and other instant messaging platforms

• Phone

• Project Management software programs such as BaseCamp, TeamBox, etc.

• Google Documents (though I am only aware that the spreadsheets will send notifications of changes made)

Armed with this knowledge you will both have a better working relationship and the likelihood of any problems will be eliminated.

About the Author:
Michelle Mangen is the owner of Your Virtual Assistant, a virtual assistant business that specializes in social media marketing, bookkeeping, Excel, Aweber, Wordpress management and more.
Visit Michelle’s website at: www.thevirtualasst.com
Follow Michelle on Twitter: @mmangen

Listen to Episode 38 to hear Darlene’s interview with Michelle.

Today’s Summer of Success tip is a video post from Alyssa Gregory:

7 Steps for Finding the Right Virtual Assistant from Alyssa Gregory on Vimeo.

About the Author:
Alyssa Gregory of avertua, LLC
avertua, LLC is a virtual assistant practice that provides small business support, social media consulting, copywriting. content marketing, brand development, blog setup/customization and web design/maintenance.
Visit Alyssa’s website: www.avertua.com
Follow Alyssa on Twitter: @alyssagregory

Alyssa is also the author of the book, “VA Secrets Revealed“. Listen to Episode 15 of A Virtual Perception to hear Darlene’s interview with Alyssa about her book.

Don’t forget to leave your comments, insights and questions on this post to be entered into the drawing for the Summer of Success contest. Details can be found here.

How to Successfully Work with a Virtual Assistant, Better known as:

HELP!  I need help!  How do I get help?

I still run into many people who don’t know or understand the role of a virtual assistant, and I love explaining what we can do for them.   Unfortunately for most business owners and entrepreneurs, by the time they realize they need help and then actually seek it out, they are so stressed and overworked, they just don’t know where to turn.   Step 1:  Read the eMyth and learn how to delegate.

Don’t wait!

If you feel as if you may be busy in the near future, but don’t need someone right now – then THAT is the perfect time to start looking.  If you can find a VA before you actually need one, you will feel more confident that help will be there when you are ready, thereby greatly lowering your stress rate.   I suggest starting the interview process early and take your time.  There are many different types of VA’s out there, and in speaking with a few you should be able to get a feel for personality, specialty and discuss turnaround time and pricing.  Also a good way to see who will follow-up appropriately.

What type of VA do I need and where do I find one?

My favorite thing to tell anyone who knows they need help but are not sure what kind of help they need is this:  make a list.  Write down every single thing you do in your business for an entire week.  At the end of the week, look over the list and check off everything that you personally HAVE to do.  What’s left unchecked is how you determine what type of VA you should be looking for and what you should start to delegate to your VA.  I guarantee that once you start working with a VA, the list of items that you absolutely positively have to do yourself will shrink – and you can start working on your business instead of in it.

As far as where to find a VA – ask around.  Do you know of anyone who is using a VA?  If not, there are many VA organizations that have VA directories broken down by type of services. IVAA, DVVAA, VANetworking are a few well-known ones, but there are more out there.  You can also ask your local Chamber of Commerce if they know of any VA’s or any local networking groups such as BNI, LeTip or any of the many others that are popping up.

Cost

In looking for a VA, cost will be an issue for most people.  You don’t want to hire a VA who is at the low end of the spectrum or one that has a higher rate than you’re comfortable paying.  Prices should commensurate with experience and specialty.  Hiring a VA to do some general administrative-type work will be at a lower rate than a VA who is graphic designer or website designer.  You may prefer to work with a multi-VA company where you need only have one person to contact, but have access to VA’s to perform any type of work you may need – at no greater cost than trying to find a different VA for every task you have.   You also don’t ever have to worry about not being able to reach your VA with a multi-VA company because there’s always coverage and backup available.

There are also different types of cost structures:  there are monthly retainers, per project prices, and straight billing for actual time spent.

Do your homework!

When interviewing a potential VA partner, ask for a resume with references, ask what organizations they belong to and how long they’ve been doing VA work – and even how long they intend to be doing VA work.  Do they have a company formed?  What did they do before they became a VA?  These are great general questions to get the interview started, before you even get into the type of work with which you need assistance.   And do call or email the references you’re given.

Commit to working with a VA

Once you’ve found a VA who you think will be a great partner for you to work with, assign a task to perform – no matter how small.  That’s a great way to judge work style and performance.  Remember, you’re getting ready to really need help, so don’t wait until you’re weighed under to assign a task.  Try to keep in mind that hiring a VA is a lot like hiring an executive assistant that would be sitting in the office next to you.   There is a learning curve for both of you, but if you are patient and willing to teach your VA your style, it will be well worth it!  And on the other side, if you are finding that it just isn’t working out, make the break and look for someone else.  Not everyone will be a fit for you and vice versa.

Now go out there and get some help!  Make your business a true success!

About the Author:
Nickey Hollenbach of Personal Touch Concierge Service, LLC
Personal Touch Concierge Service, LLC is a virtual assistant practice providing assistance to small businesses  - services include legal assistance, administrative services, website design and more. Visit their Nickey’s site for details.
Visit Nickey’s website: www.ptconciergeservice.com
nickeyh@ptconciergeservice.com
Follow Nickey on Twitter:  @nickeyh

Listen to Is a Multi-VA Practice Right for You? to hear Darlene’s interview with Nickey.

You have dozens of phone calls to return, your desk is engulfed in post-it notes and your email inbox is a wild beast that cannot be contained, as soon as you delete one email, three more show up. Not to mention the fact that you have events and meetings to go to and preparing your presentations for said events needs to take precedence over everything else. Yet, you really do need to get those invoices out, so you can get paid. If this sounds like you, then you are probably at the point in your business where you need help. And, like most business owners, you are probably thinking about hiring an employee to help you get back on track. In this day and age, you actually now have two options. You can hire an employee, someone to help you out with your business day to day tasks or you can work with a Virtual Assistant to help you with those same tasks. So, which do you need an employee or a Virtual Assistant?

The United States government defines an employee in this way:

Under common-law rules, anyone who performs services for you is your employee if you can control what will be done and how it will be done. This is so even when you give the employee freedom of action. What matters is that you have the right to control the details of how the services are performed. http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=179112,00.html

Therefore, if you are looking to have someone available to assist you on a daily basis, during specific hours each day and control every little detail of how that assistance will be performed, then an employee may be your best option.

The United States government defines an independent contractor in this way:

The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if you, the person for whom the services are performed, have the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not the means and methods of accomplishing the results. http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=179115,00.html

A Virtual Assistant, is an independent contractor who can assist you with many of your business needs. However, they do so within their own working schedule,  using their knowledge and expertise and assist other business owners as well.

Some other differences between a Virtual Assistant and an employee: Virtual Assistants, require little to no training (usually the only training that is required is to get them up to speed with policies specific to your business) and you don’t have to pay employee taxes or paid-time off.

Employees require some training (or a lot of training depending on the entry-level of the employee) and you will need to pay for things like employee taxes, worker’s compensation and paid time-off.

The best thing you can do to decide who the best assistant is for you, an employee or a Virtual Assistant, is to ask yourself what: “What do I need assistance with?” Then ask yourself how “How do I want this work to be performed?”, “How much control do I want to have?”, “How many hours do I need assistance with?”, “How much money can I afford to spend?”

“What” questions and “how” questions will most definitely help you in deciding who the best fit is for you, an employee or a Virtual Assistant. Once you determine the who, the next step is to find your assistant. Stay tuned to AVP’s Summer of Success to find out how to find the right Virtual Assistant for you.

Tomorrow in AVP’s Summer of Success series is Nickey Hollenbach of Personal Concierge, LLC  with her blog post:
“How to Successfully Work with a Virtual Assistant, Better known as: HELP! I need help! How do I get help?”

Jump in and share your comments on employee vs. Virtual Assistant. What other things should a client consider when deciding the type of assistant they need, a VA or an employee?

About the Author:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez of True Harmony Media, LLC
True Harmony Media, LLC is a multimedia company that provides audio, video and website assistance to small businesses.
Visit my website: www.yourtrueharmony.com
Follow Darlene on Twitter: @darlenevictoria or @avppodcast

 

 Summer of Success Begins [6:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

Most small business owners find themselves handling it “all”, all being the day to day tasks of running a business, as well as, networking, marketing, writing contracts, crunching numbers and even adding contacts into their own Outlook database.

At some point, there will come a time when a business owner realizes they can’t do it all, or maybe more on target, they realize they don’t want to do it all.  Some call it business growing pains. Running your business doesn’t have to be a pain, in fact, it should be the exact opposite. And so, when you come to a point where you find adding contacts to your Outlook database is something you really don’t enjoy, it may be time to get some help. And that is where a Virtual Assistant comes in.  ”A Virtual what?”, you ask.  I am so glad you asked!

The answer is just what the Summer of Success series is all about. Every day for the next three weeks,  there will be a new tip provided by a business professional to help clients better understand what a Virtual Assistant is and how to successfully work with one.  The information will be provided in a variety of formats, including video, audio and blog posts. Topics include communication and delegation, tips for finding the right Virtual Assistant for you, VA contracts and more.

An open dialogue between  a VA and a client is an important aspect to working with a VA (as you will learn in the tips throughout the Summer series), therefore participation in the series is HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. If you have a tip, resource, or question you would like to share, please leave a comment on the blog post for that respective tip.

And, so with that,  let the Summer of Success begin! Check back this afternoon for my blog post, “Do you need an employee or a Virtual Assistant?”

About the Host:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez of True Harmony Media, LLC
True Harmony Media, LLC is a multimedia company that provides audio, video and website assistance to small businesses.
Visit my website: www.yourtrueharmony.com
Follow Darlene on Twitter: @darlenevictoria or @avppodcast