New Blog

I have moved my blog to another location – check it out here.

Leadership – How do you choose great leaders?

How do you view leaders? Do you judge them on their oratory expertise? Their skills? Their ability to deal with difficult situations? Their ability to help others solve problems? Their ability to actually put forth a solution? Their charisma?

This is an election year. Sigh. What I like to see from leaders is not what a former leader or opponent has not done or done wrong, etc., is what they actually propose.

I want to hear a leader say, “This is want I want to do and how I want to achieve it.” Now that is not always possible, but it is important for people to stop the blame game and just step up to the plate and offer some solutions. Concrete solutions.

IAAP is having some issues with the International Board and some of their decisions. A lot of the long-time members are dissatisfied, unhappy, discontent and downright angry. Angry enough to leave the organization. As the Colorado-Wyoming-Montana Division President, my goal is to remain on the fence. Hmmm, I think the members are professionals who, if they remove the emotions, can make up their own minds. I simply provide the information from both sides.

One of the great books is  How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, by Dale Carnegie. He has has time-tested methods on problem solving. Here are his steps:

1) What is the problem?

2) What is the cause of the problem?

3) What are all the possible solutions to the problem? (With this one – don’t debate if someone is right or wrong! Just list solutions)

4) What solution do you suggest?

These are simple, easy to follow guidelines that can help anyone from age 4 and up to learn to solve problems.

Word Definitions and Why Do We Stand So Firm?

There is a discussion about the word “partner” over on a Ryze listserv – VAU, entitled You are not my partner.

The whole discussion regards the definition of partner when it comes to virtual assistance. Individuals are coming down on both sides of the fences. One side says – “Since you do not take the financial risks of my business, you are not my partner.” The other side says – “Sorry, we are part of your business, do take your success seriously and are partners with you to grow your business.”

I consider myself a partner in my clients’ businesses. We grow together and they depend on my expertise and advice in many areas. Now, whether they take it or not – that is up to them. Why? Because it is their business.

I can see both sides of this debate. However, I cannot see why people are so adamant about being right regarding a definition. There was an earlier discussion about the definition of a VA.

My advice is simple. As in all learning, experience, and teachings – take what feels right to you and ignore the rest. A VA is the ultimate owner of their business and the success of their business is not dependent on a definition. Think about how the definition of words has changed over the centuries.

Take the word “hag.” In mythology, it used to mean wise woman. “One of the magic words for which there is no male form, suggesting its original meaning was close to “diviner, soothsayer,” which were always female in northern European paganism, and hÊgtesse seem at one time to have meant “woman of prophetic and oracular powers.(1)”

Now – think of the word in modern times – an ugly old woman, witch, etc.

Times change, definitions change.

Is it really worth a full-blown battle? I think not. I suggest we base our definitions of our businesses on our talents, skills, and reputation instead.

(1) American Psychological Association (APA):

hag. (n.d.). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved March 02, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hag

Chicago Manual Style (CMS):

hag. Dictionary.com. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hag (accessed: March 02, 2007).

Modern Language Association (MLA):

“hag.” Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 02 Mar. 2007. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hag>.

10 Minute Mail

How many times have you visited a webpage and wanted to simply download an article, get quick information, etc., but had to submit your email address?

As we all know, this can lead to a can of worms – not always – but you usually end up with tons of extra emails that you don’t want, don’t need, and are just irritating! A VA colleague, Geri Lafferty, from AssistU found this resource.

You can get your own email address for the length of time you need it for visiting websites – a whole 10 minutes! Now what can be better than that? You have an email address for the article you want to download and in 10 minutes – presto – it no longer exits!

10 Minute Mail

Cool, huh?

American Chronicle: Outsourcing Your Website Business Tasks

Are you defining your VA business or are you a business looking for additional resources?

VAs are a great way to – but so can outsourcing some of your work. VAs could be considered outsourcing, but I would prefer to think of us as a RESOURCE.

Want more information about both options?

American Chronicle: Outsourcing Your Website Business Tasks

SBWire > View Release > VirtualAssistantNetworking.com Releases Definitive Virtual Assistant Definition

I have been involved in an interesting discussion on Ryze – actually reading more than posting – about the definition of ‘Virtual Assistance.’

This was a very intense discussion and lead to some not-so-nice words from VA to VA. I was a little disturbed that the discussion degraded, especially when most communities strive to achieve just that – a community or family. Well, even families argue.

My opinion is that if you are providing niched services such as bookkeeping, web design, graphic arts – you should be defining yourself as such and not as a VA. In my mind, a VA is administrative support.

Below is a press release regarding the definition of Virtual Assistance – go forth and define!

SBWire > View Release > VirtualAssistantNetworking.com Releases Definitive Virtual Assistant Definition

Encode your email address

Web spiders and spammers often search the Internet and grab your email address. The Enkoder was recommended by another AssistU VA. This is a free tool for your website, if you have your email address listed.

Automatic

Virtual Assistance Networking

Oftentimes a new or established VA looks for networking opportunities. I have a couple of local organizations that I belong to, as well as international and virtual organizations.

I find value in each one. The local organizations give me an opportunity to get out of the office (read – office) and share issues or techniques with other administrative professionals or business owners.

The international ones – The International Association of Administrative Professionals and AssistU – give me access to individuals and solutions.

The Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce is another opportunity to network with other VAs to learn, share and network. I encourage you to check it out, membership is free. I have just signed up for membership and look forward to the community.

Here is a great press release about them:

Press Release: Promoting the Passion and Profession of Virtual Assistance – Home Business/Virtual Assistant | NewswireToday

Cherry Creek News – Virtual Assistant industry grows

It is exciting to see how Virtual Assistants grow and manage their businesses. In this article, Patty Benton, talks about growing her businesses with new VAs who are just starting out.

Cherry Creek News – Virtual Assistant industry grows

This is a win-win situation. The new VA gains experience and knowledge while the more experienced VA gains time and growth in their client base.

I participated in the internship program after graduating from AssistU. I worked with one of the most experienced and patient individuals – Liz. She is the VA for Ali Brown, The Ezine Queen.

I learned a lot and Liz was gracious enough to refer my first client to me! My client and I are still working together – a relationship that has lasted more than 3 years.

If you are a new VA, contact some established VAs to see if they are willing to share experiences, advice, or more. If you are an established VA, be willing to consider working with another VA to expand and grow. My only caveat is – if you are a new VA, please don’t expect the senior VA to give away the shop. Make sure you do your own homework, education, networking, and due diligence.

Here’s to great VA partnerships!

Instead of building an ark……

I live in the desert. Plain and simple – the desert of Western Colorado. However, last week we got enough rain to make our yearly quota.

The problem with this was – our Qwest phone lines are old and vulnerable to the rain and tend to not work when it rains this much. I use VoIP and my Internet comes over the T1 line. Hmmmmm, see the potential issue? Well, I was without Internet and phones for two days. This, for some reason, makes working virtually a ‘little’ difficult. But, where there is a will there is a way.

I spent time at the local coffee shop and for the price of a cup of coffee could sit there and work. However, I have come up with a necessary backup plan. We should all have an emergency plan – in case of tornadoes, floods, Acts of the Good Lord, etc. So, I have devised mine for excessive rain in the desert.

I do have a flash drive, but not nearly big enough. I am doing research and plan on purchasing at least a 2 G flash drive. Then, I plan on scoping out all of the free wifi spots in town. The third and most critical part will be to learn how to synch my laptop with my pc. I can have my phone forwarded to my cell phone – so – Presto – when the rains pour, I should be well prepared.

The important thing to remember is – don’t panic! I still have to work on that issue – but things usually work out and clients can be very understanding when things happen. As long as you have a backup or emergency plan in place, you should be fine.

Now, if I just knew where the design to the ark is……………..