Take the Time to Invest in Your VA!

I have been asked several times by other Virtual Assistant friends and team members “How do you get a long and like your clients so much?” They go on to tell me how they have clients that do not invest any time to get to know them, respect boundaries, or share the products that they with them.

This is a common problem I hear around the “virtual water cooler”.

The best advice I can give business owners using virtual assistants (and really any kind of assistant) is to take time to invest in them. Granted, you pay your virtual assistant for the work they do but believe me you will get a lot more if you invest in them as a person too.

This needs to be real and not a passing question that is later swept under the rug… but one from your heart. It only takes a few minutes a day/week to get to know your team member and the rewards will be endless! Does your virtual assistant have a family - do you know their names? There ages? How about “working hours” and “working days of the week”, do you know them and respect them?

Too many times business owners are so caught up with what their project is or needs are that they are expecting a lot from their VA and expecting it immediately. Is that really fair? Would any business owner allow them to be treated that way, even if they were doing something in a joint venture? I think not.

Several business owners will not share their product line with their assistants - this is silly… you want them to know everything about what you do right? You want them to invest a piece of themselves in your business and success, this is a very inexpensive way to invest in your VA - build on their education.. trust me it is a win win for you both!

As a Virtual Assistant I love what I do! I love helping my clients and making them shine! I have great relationships with them and we understand one another. I have taken the time to get to know them as a person not just a client and they have gotten to know me and my family. It makes a difference when you are called upon at 6:35am on a Sunday for help.. I can promise you that!

As a Productivity Consultant working with Business Owners and their teams, I cannot stress that the relationship between the client and VA is the most needed part of a strong working foundation.

Good luck, go and bond.

Moving Ahead in the New Year!

The new year has arrived and the first official Monday is tomorrow! Are you ready to make a difference in your life and business this year? Not that you have not made a difference every year but a new bigger difference this year!

The roll over of the annual calendar allows us all to make changes, updates, new commitments and face the past challenges head on.

This is the time to find ways to Move Past and Move Ahead of it all. If you have not sat down and made a list of what worked last year, what did not work last year, what changes you would like to see happen this year, what people you would like to connect with this year - it is not too late!

Take a moment to review your logo, your website message (your tag line and the direction the message is being delivered), your meta tags, your keywords - be sure your branding is in line with where you want your business to be going! Sometimes we start out with our branding in once place and after a few years (or maybe even a few months) the direction or mission has slightly changed but your branding has not been updated. Updating your branding to be sure the most current direction of your company is being relayed is vital to your growth! You want to continually connect with your target market right? Stay up to date!

There are several Virtual Assistants that specialize in niches like this - they can assist business owners who might not have enough time to go through all of the changes. There are VA’s that assist in keeping your SEO up to date and continually adding to your key words and meta tags so you stay on top! Last but not least there are Marketing Strategists that can help you from point A to point Z in putting it all together!

Remember there are Virtual Assistants and Strategists out here to help you… if you are interested in getting a couple of referrals, please contact me and I would be happy to make a connection!