I keep meaning to get back here and write a post and then life seems to happen and it stops me from getting here …

Isn’t that the way if seems to go with everything though? The key is to not let it get in the way. YEAH RIGHT!!

I am a huge advocate of planning and scheduling, but what I struggle with is sticking to that schedule. See I set aside time each week for blogging, but for some reason blogging seems to get shuffled to the backburner, which is funny since it is the thing I love to do the most. I keep telling myself that having a schedule is the easy part … sticking to it - not so easy. So what am I going to do to make sure that this happens?

FIRST STEP - PRIORITIZE
My new schedule is going to work along with my priorities. First and foremost I need to schedule in the client time as this seems to be the thing that is pushing everything else aside. The next thing are those things that I need to do for my business such as blogging, marketing, etc.. Finally I will schedule in time for the fun things for business such as reading forums, learning a new skill, etc..

SECOND STEP - BE HONEST WITH MYSELF
I think my biggest problem is that I was trying to be wonder woman. I was giving myself too many things to do in a week and in a day. I needed to take some time and really look at a typical day for me. I know that dragging myself into the office before 9am isn’t probably likely with two young children that need to get ready for school. I also know that nights and weekends are hard too as the demands of my family are taking precedent over my business. So instead of scheduling in working time then, if I happen to find a few extra minutes I am going to call it a “bonus”!!

THIRD STEP - MAKE IT VISUAL TO REMIND MYSELF
My schedule used to be in my head … now I have written it out and color coded it on a nice excel spreadsheet. Finally I printed it out and put it on my bulletin board. It isn’t there to tell me what I can and can’t do and at what time, but more as a reminder of what I hope to accomplish in a day.

FOURTH STEP - DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME TIME
Finally and probably most importantly, I was forgetting about me. I was so busy worrying about my clients and my family that I forgot that it’s okay to take some time and watch my favourite TV show or take a walk with the neighbourhood girls!! Instead of feeling guilty for indulging in these pleasures, I was thinking that I was straying away from my schedule!!

So one of my priorities will be to indulge in my pleasure of blogging … by telling myself it’s okay to have this time to myself, I am hoping I will be “killing two birds with one stone” and also still helping others that struggle too with the wonderful world of entrepreneurship!!

Many business owners would say that this statement is true without a doubt. No matter what the issue or what the expense, the client is always right and every remedy should be made to ensure that the client is always satisfied. I would love to challenge you to think about the following situations and determine if you still think the client is always right.

1. The Customer/Client that Challenges Your Boundaries. As a business owner it is important to determine boundaries for your business. These boundaries would include such things as; hours you are available to your clients, projects you are willing to undertake, pricing policies, turnaround times, etc.. When a client continually expects you to step outside these boundaries and challenges you when you stand behind your boundaries, is it necessary to allow them to be right? For example, if you stated to a client that your turnaround time was three business days and anything under that time was considered a rush job and subject to premiums, when your client insisted that a job be done within two days and then was unwilling to pay your rush premiums, would you fight to obtain those premiums?

2. The Client that is Never Satisfied. We have all dealt with one of those clients before, I am sure that you know the ones I am talking about. I call them the “suckers” … they suck everything out of you so that there isn’t much left for the other clients. This is the client that changes their mind constantly, that is always right (even when they are wrong) and that never seems happy with anything.

3. The Client that is Bad for Business. So many of us can remember that client that something just didn’t feel right, but we decided to work with them anyways. The biggest lesson that can be learned from working in a situation such as this one is to always go with your gut. Don’t ever be afraid to fire a client, especially a client that is effecting the value of our work for the other clients.

4. The Client that Makes us Unhappy. Remember the reason you started your own business was to make your own decisions and to work with who you wanted, when you wanted, doing what you wanted. The minute that a client makes you not want to answer their phone calls, not want to answer their emails or worse yet not enjoy working with them or on their file, it is time to part your ways.

Of course, each situation and answer is not cut and dry. Many times it depends on a variety of circumstances such as who the client is, what was stated in writing and verbally, how determined you are to “stick to your guns” and how much there is to lose if the situation is reversed or if you stick to your guns. Remember that when determining if the client is right, do what feels right to you and your business and don’t ever let a client “bully” you into doing something that goes against your personal and business ethics. I challenge you to answer this simple question when determining if your client is always right … What is the worst thing that they could do to you and your business if they were told they were wrong?

One of the toughest questions to answer as an entrepreneur is and always will be “what price should I charge?” If we overprice we will turn away potential clients, but so too is the same true about underpricing. It is a fine line that we walk when we try to determine our price and many times it may be a system of trial and error before we determine just the right price. The biggest factor in determining our price is “what is the client willing to pay”, but the answer to this is much harder to determine than you realize. So too must we consider is how the way our client will conceive us based on our price even before they take a second look at what we are offering. This term is called the “psychology of pricing”.

There is a ton of information on the internet just waiting to be found on the psychology of pricing. When I googled the term “pricing psychology” there was over 460,000 sites just waiting for me to visit. These sites all pretty much said the same thing … perception is key to setting your price. Even though you only save one penny, $9.99 will always seem like a much better price than $10.00.

However, let’s keep in mind that psychology also covers other areas as well besides just saving a penny, there are a number of other psychological factors to keep in mind in setting your price:

1. What is the competition charging?

When setting your price you want to be in-line with the average that is being charged for your services/products by your competition. If your price is one of the lowest, people will wonder if you “know your stuff” or have an inferior product/service. If your price is on the higher end of the scale, people will automatically expect you to have a lot of added value for them to agree to pay that price.

2. What is your USP (unique selling proposition) or the added value?

When people are determining whether to purchase from you, they want to know that there is a good reason to go with you. A justification, if you will, for when they tell their friends about you. If you can provide them with a good reason to purchase from you, price will be secondary. If you have a specialized skill that you can provide you are more likely to be able to charge more than someone that the client feels provides a service they can “handle” on their own.

3. What’s in it for me?

Many people buy with pain in mind. They are looking for the underlying value. When you can sell them on the product or service based on appealing to solving a pain, again price will be secondary. For example, as a service provider, if your client had to do the task on their own, what would their investment of both time and money be? How do you make their life easier? With a product, why must your client have that product and what great benefit will they receive?

Sometimes it can take several attempts to find the “right” price. Don’t be afraid to “test the waters” and then try something new. Another approach is to ask your potential clients what they see as the value in the service or product you are providing. Many times we are so close to the situation that we undervalue ourselves, our services and our products.

As Virtual Assistants and business owners, we often wonder how we can get more clients. For most service based businesses, the way we find the majority of our clients is through word of mouth. We get our clients because satisfied clients are referring us to others that they know. However, this is not the only people that can help to increase your client base through word of mouth. Anyone and everyone could easily promote your business on your behalf.

Take the time to tell everyone about who you are, what you do and who your ideal client is and then give them an incentive for telling someone what you just told them. The best way to do this is to offer them an incentive or a reward.

So I’m putting it out to you now … do you have a referral program you would like to share? What is working for your business and how are you rewarding others, including your clients, for spreading the word?

As business owners we all dream of our success and the success of our businesses. In order to develop a truly thriving business you must find that way to stand out from others.

I remember a friend telling me one day about how she took her dog to the dog park and the dog park was scattered with frisbees that contained the name and phone number of a local doggie spa. How innovative was this thinking? The dogs were all grabbing the frisbees and I am sure many were taken home as a new toy for their doggie pals. I’m not sure how much business the doggie spa received, but what a way to think outside the box. The very next time that someone wants to take their dog to the spa they might just remember that frisbee and at the very least look at how much everyone is talking about this incident. These innovative marketing “ploys” are just one way to stand out, but here are some easier ways that can cost you little to no money.

When you are networking if you end your elevator speech in the same way each time by offering a visual aid, each time that someone sees that visual aid they will think of you. For example, a computer guy I once knew said “you know that mess of cords under your desk coming from your computer … well my job is to make those cords manageable”. Now each time I look under my desk I think of him.

Having a tagline that is on your marketing materials is another way to allow yourself to stand out. Your tagline should tell others in a simple one sentence what it is that you do. For example a virtual assistant business might state “I can do anything an in-house secretary can do except make your morning coffee”. This tells someone exactly what you do, but does it really stand out? Yes I believe it does … again it has given someone a visual … the next time they make their morning coffee they will be sure to think of that virtual assistant.

Finally, your branding … many people overlook it’s importance. If that same virtual assistant utilized coffee cups in their logo and when giving away door prizes gave coffee and coffee mugs … and finally gave coupons to her clients after working with her that said “by now you know I can do everything, but make the morning coffee so tomorrow coffee’s on me” … you see where I am going with this?

So, take a look at your business and develop your very own memory hook … that thing that will make you stand out … and within no time you will have a thriving business.

So with April upon us, this means that the first fiscal quarter of our year is over - time to dust off those goals you set for yourself in the beginning of the year and see how your business is doing. How will you take that information to make the next quarter bigger and better than the first?

For my business, I have again picked up and my business is thriving once again. Problem is that a lot of the projects I wanted to get done while my business was slow just didn’t seem to get finished. Since clients always come first, it leaves one wondering how these projects will be completed now … but wait it is me that we are talking about!!

If you are anything like me, my biggest motivator is being busy. The busier I am the more motivated I am to keep busy. This is where getting help is key and this is the goal I will be working on in the next quarter. I need to arm myself with a great team of supporters that I can trust and depend upon without fail. This will free me to do those projects that I am passionate about. Before the end of this year I want to launch my coaching program and now that I am writing this goal here I am hoping this will give me the last motivator I need to make it happen.

My challenge to you is this … what is your goal for the rest of the year? I dare you to write it here and we can check back at the end of the year to see if you have made it happen.

I am sure that there is that one thing that you are thinking about and would love to step out of your comfort zone and accomplish … so what is stopping you?

If I hadn’t stepped out of my comfort zone I wouldn’t have my business, I wouldn’t be an author, I wouldn’t be a Success Partner at CVAN, I wouldn’t have the friends that I have all over the world …..

So … here is my challenge … think of that one thing that you have been dying to do and just get out there and do it. What is the worst thing that can happen? Will you be any further behind from the point you are at right now if you at least try?

How can your dreams come true if you don’t take action? How can you have all of your wishes granted if you never, ever take a chance?

It is surprising how many people don’t use the easiest and most effective tool for success … The Daily Task List. When I prepare my daily task list I actually prepare it the night before. This way I don’t think about it all the things I have to do the next day all night long. How many times have you been laying in bed thinking “Oh, I have to remember to do that tomorrow”. By preparing your task list the night before you alleviate the worries that come from mentally trying to think of everything you have to do the next day, while trying to sleep.

Here are some tips to preparing your daily list:

- Describe the task so that you will know what it is that needs to be done, but in as few words as possible (NOTE: add in whatever details will assist you in knowing that task. For example “Write letter” can seem very vague, but “Write letter to client re: new prices” is something that at a glance you don’t have to stop and think about what it is that needed to be done).

- Give the task a level of importance. Is this something that is urgent or is this a task that you would just like to have done.

- Estimate the time you might need to complete the task. This will better help you in planning your day.

- Prioritize your daily list so that you know what things need to be done first, second, etc. depending on time lines, deadlines and other factors

- Ensure that your list is flexible - leave room for additions or deletions as necessary.

Most importantly just start using one. You will be surprised how much more organized you will feel and how much more productive you will be. By planning for your day, you are more likely to use your time wisely in the day and you will accomplish so much more!!

Good luck and I would love to hear how you make out with your daily task lists.

Take a moment to close your eyes and focus on your vision, your dream … imagine yourself one year, two years or even five years down the road. What does the picture look like? Really take some time to develop the picture. How does it feel? How does it taste? How does it look? How does it sound? How does it smell? Use every one of your senses to make your dream as real as you can. Now open your eyes and start writing. Using these senses, write out your dream in detail so that anyone can be brought into your vision and feel, see, taste, hear and smell it with clarity.

Without dreams and visions, why bother? Without something to work towards or strive for, who cares? Giving yourself something to work towards is the key to creating any success in our lives. If you fail to dream, you fail to have goals. Without goals you fail to have purpose. Without purpose ….

So start dreaming and you will be amazed at where you will go … and even better, believe that your dreams are possible.

DARE TO DREAM !!!!!!!!!!!!!