Work at Home Does NOT Mean Solitary Confinement

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Amber Whitener

I have a “confession” to make. I live with a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder also known as “Winter Depression”. Depression is a scary word isn’t it? Here in Indiana we have a wide variety of weather changes. Sometimes there are weeks of gray winter days, one after the next; and those days can seem to last forever.

Due to a brief break during the holidays, followed by four months of burying myself in my work and my studies, I wasn’t really affected by it as much this last winter. The problem with this “solution” is that inevitably ends in a period of “burn out“.

Most of my trouble with winter is the fact that it’s difficult to get out as much. I have found lots of tools that help me work more efficiently, and help me “get out more”. I hope that sharing them with you will help you get out more as well.

One purchase this last winter that transformed some work at home to become work on the go was a smartphone. Check out these smartphone resources:
If you do not have a smartphone yet, but do have a laptop, look into places with free WiFi.
Even if you don’t have a laptop yet, you can go to your local library and find out about the availability of computers and the internet.
Many Virtual Assistants have also found this new cellphone application called Foursquare to be a fun “excuse” to get out more.
- Never “check in” until you’re leaving, especially if your going to be there awhile
- And never check in to someplace you visit on a regular basis. (e.g. school, book club, work, or church)

I am the type of person who loves to be around people, I get sort of energized by it. Therefore, the decision to work at home was truly a difficult one. I knew that I wanted to be at home with my children, but they are growing more independent everyday.

In order to stay healthy and motivated, it’s important for us all to make sure that we live active and balanced lives. Even if you begin to practice working away from your home office once a month, it’s better than not at all. New places and environments can really stimulate productivity!

Launch Gum & The Launch United Community: The Who, What, Where, When, Why, How interview

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Kena Roth

Launch Gum & The Launch United Community: The Who, What, Where, When, Why, How interview

What?

Launch Gum is an energy drink in a chewing gum. One can of launch gum contains 9 sugar free pieces, the energy equivalent of 7 energy drinks.

Launch United is an unprecedented online social network, where individuals buy launch gum, become Launch Reps, build a community and manage a grassroots salesforce.

Who?

The product and company were developed and founded by Justin & Eric — @launchgum & @pilonbignell. Launch Gum started when I knocked over Eric’s energy drink with an errant basketball shot and he made the ridiculous comment that “they should make an energy drink that does not spill”. From there we developed Launch Gum, an energy drink in a chewing gum.

The true supporters and drivers of the brand are our dedicated Launch Reps, the members of our one of a kind grassroots salesforce. From LA to New York, from professional and amateur athletes, to influential college students and everywhere in between, they are motivated individuals that love the launch products, are passionate about the brand and exemplify the launch lifestyle

When?

We started the company a few years back, right out of university and began selling around campus, out of the trunk of our cars, to local shops etc. Our customers were amazed by the innovation, effectiveness, taste, value and convenience. Our awareness and distribution exploded nationally and internationally within one year from our first sale.

Why?

Why is Launch Gum so awesome? – We utilize a proprietary slow-release formulation, with only the highest quality ingredients and utilize a pharmaceutical grade, cold manufacturing process that ensures unmatched active ingredient retention. Short Version: we make sure the product tastes good and works.

Why is Launch United so awesome? It takes grassroots, authenticity and a customer focus to a whole new level. Our sales, marketing and promotional strategies are focused on placing the power, value and dollars in the hands of our customers and our launch reps. Every action we take is aimed at supporting our customers, supporting our reps, supporting our community.

How?

With an unwavering focus on engaging, learning from and serving our customers. We are able to consistently adapt and improve through crowd sourcing and engaging directly and unfiltered with our Launch Reps. We are truly embedded in the culture we serve and have unbelievably loyal customers. Everyday we gain real-time intelligence direct from our consumers and execute to build a consistently improving 360 degree brand experience.

We absolutely love what we are doing. Launch is truly a community and we consider our Launch Reps and customers our family and friends. We deal with positive, passionate, motivated and inspiring people everyday. We have a product, brand and sales structure that matches our and our friends vision of what being from our generation is truly all about.

Thank You – Justin, and Launch Gum for taking the time to be my guest today!

Policies for Time Management-UPDATE

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Jennifer Gallaher

A month ago, I was inspired by an article I read in a Real Simple magazine called “How do you say no to people who want too much of your time?” written by Julie Rottenberg. So, I wrote a piece on time management policies. I also started an experiment and came up with three policies that I wanted to implement into my Work at Home Life. To recap they were:

• I have a standing play date for my son every Thursday. I am going to create a recurring appointment in my Outlook calendar for the next month for this and come rain or shine, I will keep that appointment (that is of course, if my son stays healthy).
• My hours of operation are supposed to end by 5:00 pm PST. However, I tend to put certain small tasks off until later in the evening, like sending out daily reports to clients. I am going to create a daily reminder in my calendar that will alert me at 4:30 pm PST each day to start wrapping up all work related tasks and projects. This will not only force me get those reports out on time, but will show my family that I mean business when it comes family time.
• When I run my errands throughout the week, I inevitably run into other moms that I know. I say “hello” to be polite, but keep going. I know that if I stop, I’ll get caught up in a conversation that I won’t be able to get out of. My goal here is to not only wave hello, but to acknowledge the person in a way that lets them know that I do want to get together, but not at that particular time. Then call or email them later in the day with some dates/times I do have available for that long overdue chat.

I encouraged all of you to come up with, and implement, some of your own policies as well. Now, it’s time to share our results!!! How did you do?

I was able to implement 2 out of 3 of the policies I started out with, with no problem. My husband on the other hand, needed a few reminders when it came to the end of my work day. Clients would periodically call after my working hours and I refused to answer the calls, which would force them to leave me a message. My husband thought, “It could be important, you should answer that.” Well, he was partly right. All of my clients and their needs are important. But, so is my time with my family.

The one policy that I was not able to fully keep up with was the standing play date for my son. I did put the recurring appointment in my Outlook calendar and like clockwork, the reminder popped up each week. However, the first Thursday of my experiment, my son came down with a really bad cold, so I kept him home. The following Thursday, my son’s play date partner was not able to make it due to prior commitments on her mother’s part. I did however, keep the blocked time on my schedule and my son and I painted pictures together. The third week was a winner! I was able to keep the appointment and met my son’s friend and her mother. The kids had a great time and I was able to catch up with a wonderful girlfriend over some much-needed coffee. The last week, however, was a bust. I ended up scheduling a training session for a client because that was the only time that was available.

What I learned from this experiment is that our time is important, not only for business, but for our home life, as well. The days that I was able to keep all my appointments and still follow my policies were the most productive. Not only that, but I was more at ease and didn’t feel pressured for time. So, I am going to keep working on the three policies that I implemented and slowly add more as I go. I also realized that it will take some time before the policies become second nature to me and I will have days that I slip, but that’s okay. It’s the end result that I’m after!

Exchanging the Flip-Flops & Cowboy Boots for High Heels (only for few hours)

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Kena Roth

For a few days in May, I’m trading the flip-flops and cowgirl boots for high heels. I’ve been asked to speak at The Bob Proctor Matrixx Event (http://www.bobproctormatrixx.com/business-retreat-business-goals-wealth-accumulation/) in Canada. Although I totally despise being called an expert, I’m going to run with it and be a guest as their Social Media Expert. I’ll be speaking on using Social Media for Business. Social Media is a never ending learning process. There is something new to learn everyday and that is one reason I have a hard time with the term “expert”.

This is going to be a whole new experience for me and my family. Mom (me) is always here to get everyone out the door. Whether it is off to work or taking my boys to school with lunches packed, clothes ironed (or thrown in the dryer for wrinkle release ), papers signed, homework checked or whatever it may be; it’s done by me! Not that my husband wouldn’t help, it’s just never been an issue of someone else doing it. Then I thought, “who’s going to water the garden or the flowers?” When I approached my family about this adventure, there was nothing but quarter sized eye balls and wide opened mouths and a “are you serious”? I stood firm and said I sure am.

Q: “But, Mom, who’s going to make sure all the soap is out of my hair?”

A: You’re planning on bathing while I’m gone? I’m impressed.

Q: “And who’s going to match my socks up?”

A: You or your Dad, or possibly MeMe?! We’ll figure it out and y’all will make it just fine.

Q: “But, Mom you always take me to school and you’re the only one who drops me off at just the right time.”

After a big long discussion of who, what, when and where, my family agreed. My boys gave me a hug and said “even though we will miss you, we’re very proud of you Momma and what you’re doing with your business and for other online business owners as well.”

I’m not a public speaker and don’t plan on starting now. However, I do have some knowledge to offer, so why not just get up there and let it out. I’ve been practicing on my grammar, as well. I’ve also been trying to say “You All” instead of “Ya’ll.” But, my husband pointed something out – “They asked YOU to speak and that’s just not YOU honey.” Oh man, he has a point. Saying ‘Ya’ll’ is one of those things that’s just part of me being me

I’ve always enjoyed being the one behind the scenes; making things flow for my clients online and obviously my family at home. I never had any desire to “go anywhere” but after some serious thought, I decided I’m going to do this! Yes!! I’m going to Canada. Am I nervous? Hell Yeah, but I can do this for the industry.

So, here’s to all of us – entrepreneurs, online business owners, virtual assistants and small business owners for getting out there and letting it be known about what exactly we do and how important each and every one of us is. I’ll be kicking off the flip-flips and boots for a couple of hours and wearing my big girl shoes!

Wish me luck –

Cheers!

Still Twitterpated? How’s that Working Out for You?

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Amber Whitener

Millions of virtual business owners like us are on Twitter. It is one of those tools that can seem exciting at first, then quickly become a “chore” by having to figure out ways to keep conversations going. If you haven’t found your “purpose” on Twitter, then this post will give you some ideas to finding your Twitter niche.

I don’t really use Twitter all that much to build my business. I happen to prefer Facebook. However, the usefulness of keeping up with my “peeps” has not lost its value. I use it often to teach and to learn about the virtual assistant world. You can learn so many helpful things while listening to live conversations that are happening around the world.

The best ways to learn about how to use tools like Twitter are by experience and by examples. These are five of my favorite peeps who I sporadically chime in on their conversations. They each have their own specific area to shine on Twitter.

@KenaRoth is the perfect example of a VA who has a true passion for Twitter. She shares social media tips, shows genuine interest in people by asking them about their lives/business/family/etc. She has established herself as an expert in her field with Twitter (and Facebook). Now, when people want training to use social media for business, they go to her.
I loved her blog post: Twitter, Some Get It, Some Don’t.
@JenFriel has a fun way of uniting nerds on Twitter. You’ll often see her high energy tweets with a #nerdsunite hashtag. She also shares new places and nerdy conventions she is attending with foursquare. She’s what you’d call an extroverted nerd.
@teksquisite (Bev Robb) is an internet security expert who is always keeping me up on the latest in cyber crime detection and prevention. You’ll often see her tweets hash-tagged under #scammers and #cybercrime. She has established herself as an expert in her field with Twitter. Now, when people are concerned about security threats, they go to her.
@joshchandler is a social blogger who can often be found chirping for charity. See how he shares information about a cause? He gets good causes moving with his tweets. Now this is what I call using your powers for good.
@VAForums uses Twitter to promote their newest resources and forum members’ news. If you are a virtual assistant and haven’t signed up as a member at the Virtual Assistant Forums, then you are missing some tons of helpful tools, templates, and peer support. All they ask is that you keep it professional.

Now you have a few ideas of how to use Twitter creatively for your business: to share tips and good conversation, let out your inner nerd, do your part to fight cyber crime, help a charity, and promote your business. Reach and keep followers with these Twitter tools.

Amber: @FindingAnswers

Jennifer: @thesnflwrgrl

Kena: @KenaRoth

No Time for Blogging…What to Do???

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Kena Roth

Everyone knows how important it is to be blogging these days. The stress alone of keeping it maintained can be overwhelming, not to mention keywords, SEO and link baiting, just to name a few.

“I have NO TIME TO BLOG.”

Does that sound like you? If you’ve reached a point in your business that you need a blog or someone to help with your blog, it may be time to hire outside help.

Hire outside help? People do that? YES! All the time.

It doesn’t matter if you are starting a blog for the first time, or you have gotten so successful you don’t have time to maintain the one you have. www.notimetoblog.com can help!

You already know, or you’ve heard, that blogs can help grow your small business.

As a vital part of your social marketing strategy, they can pull in NEW customers AND help you stay connected to the customers you already have.

But if you’re new at all of this, it can sound intimidating or overwhelming, and you may not even have the time to or know-how to get started. If you’re not new to blogging, you may simply have no time to blog, but don’t want to lose your audience or customer base.

Take a look at what their monthly service will provide (WOW).

Monthly service will provide:

Complete Search Engine-Optimized WordPress blog with custom template: You will not have to worry about set-up or design. You will have complete control to edit any content that doesn’t match your message.
Ongoing WordPress maintenance/security: We’ll check your site daily to make sure it is operational, and will control spam.
Plug-in updates: Plugins power all of those “extras” that connect your website to the rest of your social marketing plan, like your Twitter feed, animations or video feeds. They won’t update automatically, so, we’ll manage it for you.
Your choice of 4 or 8 blog posts per month: We do the writing and posting of your weekly or twice-weekly search engine-optimized posts. You have editorial control to alter or change any posts or to contribute content ideas.
Ongoing traffic generation: When people search for your product or service, you want them to find you. This service includes website and RSS directory submissions. We’ll let Google, Yahoo and Bing know about your new WordPress Blog. We’ll also publicize your blog on other popular websites so your blog will be easily found by the search engines.
Social Bookmarking: Another way people can find your blog is on Social Bookmarking sites like digg.com and delicious.com. When you’re listed, people (and the search engines) can find you by tag and subject.
Connect your blog to popular sites: Every post will automatically appear on your personal profile pages on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

“No Time to Blog” services start at just $97 per month for up to 4 blog posts. The monthly cost for 8 posts per month is just $147. This includes complete blog maintenance such as, software updates, all blog posts as well as search engine optimization and traffic generation. If you don’t have a blog they’ll set one up for you for just $197, which includes one year of webhosting and security updates.

Organization is a Tricky Thing

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Jennifer Gallaher

Organization can be a tricky thing, not to mention a daunting task. However, if it is done in steps, you will not only feel a weight has FINALLY been lifted off your shoulders, but you will feel more balanced when your project has finally been accomplished.

A great point to remember is, what works for one person, may not work for another. Each person’s organizational system is or will be different; just like a person’s personality. The trick is to come up with a system that works with you and your natural abilities or habits so as to assist in you in being at your best, whether for your clients or for your friends and families.

I came across an article in the Lifestyle section of MSN awhile back and found it to be spot on. It offered up realistic tips on how to get and maintain being organized. I have laid out the basic tips for you and added my own little thoughts; however, if you want to read more, I encourage you to click on the link above.

Custom-design your system = This is something that you will have to put some thought into. What works best for you? What goals are you trying to achieve?
Think kindergarten = The old adage “everything has its place” seems to come to mind here. Make sure documents get filed in their rightful place instead of lying on top of your desk or your to-do-lists are next to your computer or typed up on sort of project management system instead of scattered throughout your office. Centralization seems to be the key here.
Organize the basics first = Start with areas that are accessed the most often, like a briefcase, which can end up becoming a “junk drawer.” Once the most accessed areas have been tackled, move on another area…one step at a time. As you start to see “the light at the end of the tunnel”, the more motivated you are apt to feel.
Study yourself = Find out when you are at your most productive and utilize that time period to your advantage.
Learn your concentration threshold = Tailor your schedule/tasks around your attention span. If you know you have a big project coming up, cut it into smaller parts accordingly. Make sure to intersperse those break times as well. This will help with the wondering minds.
Hire a pro or find a friend = If all else fails and you still feel overwhelmed, as for an outsider’s perspective. Their ideas could be the difference between success and failure.

For more inspiration, you may want to visit Julie Morgenstern’s site. She has written several books on the subject of organization and time management. Her site also offers tips that can further assist you with your goals.

The best advice I ever received was to stay positive. I think this advice works well for organization and time management, too. Success and accomplishments will abound, if you just stay positive.

Good luck and I look forward to your organizational tips!

5 Quick Home Business Tips

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Amber Whitener

1. There’s no shame in looking for free options. However, more often than not, you get what you pay for.

2. If you have kids or visitors, make sure you know where the “mute” button is on your phone.

3. Make sure you get references, everytime.

4. It’s OK to invite your friends to try stuff with you or go to events. As long as that’s not all you’re doing. Use social media to share, not annoy. So no more than one promo every two weeks or so. Does that sound reasonable? See my earlier post: Invite Me Too! (Once.)

5. Never underestimate the power of before & after photos!!! Whether you are a personal organizer, video/photo editors, web designers, chefs, or even home theater system installers!

If you can think of more, do share.

Your Blog is Your Bond

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Amber Whitener

Business Bloggers Note: You never know which of your blog posts will be the first blog post a reader will stumble across, and first impressions are irreplaceable. Posting each article without many grammatical errors and a good sequential flow of your information presented is very important. Today, I am going to share some tools with you to help you put your best foot forward with each and every post.

Titles

Make sure you know: what to capitalize in a title.

According to the “The White Paper Marketing Handbook” by Robert Bly, good titles should have the 3 U’s by being: ultra-specific, unique and useful to your readers. For more advice and references on writing a good title read: Why a Good Title Makes a White Paper.

Content

Add visual aid to your posts. (Pictures aren’t always worth a thousand words, however, the right ones really can add value.)

Make sure you utilize keywords in your writing where they are most important.

If your blog program does not include a spelling and grammar check, I recommend trying Spellchecker.net. This online tool allows you to copy and paste your text into their website and check it for spelling & grammar errors.

I wish I could remember where I got these 8 words not to use and their alternatives. However, I decided to go ahead and scan my notes to share them with you anyway. This could have been from an internet source or another article. It’s a good reminder to use your thesaurus and sprinkle your writing with a variety of words. It’s important to be careful and not get too carried away though. You don’t want people to have to look up lots of words in the dictionary just to be able to understand your posts!

If you have an important document like a press release or a business site that gets more than 100 hits per day, I recommend hiring an editor for your content.

No matter what you are blogging about these days, whether it’s for business or pleasure you have a great window of opportunity to establish yourself as a great writer and an expert in your field. Even if you blog about recreational activities or entertainment you must have a certain amount of professionalism when posting your content.

How One Good Guy is Using Social Media to Raise Awareness

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Kena Roth

I’d like to introduce you to my friend Jake Moore [@StLCardsGuy]. Not only is he using Social Media to bring awareness to something he’s passionate about, he’s an all around great guy. He’s one of those Friends on Facebook or Twitter Followers that you look forward to their posts each and everyday.

Here’s Jake’s story…in his own words.

“My passion is for economic stabilization of third world countries. That’s water #1…4,500 people die each day from lack of clean drinking water. I also do things with medical programs, schools, sustainable ag & small business development. I don’t have a specific organization I work with, though, I volunteer with several and sit on the boards of some smaller ones.

The two charities I work with the most are charity: water and Samaritan’s Purse. I started out as a young boy building houses for the poor overseas on summer breaks. It has always been a passion of mine. Over time I became familiar with plenty of other groups. Like I said, many are good, but I tend to focus my efforts. I raise awareness and do a number of fundraising projects like having people bring money to donate to drill wells for my 30th birthday party or where people bring gifts to give to poor kids overseas at Christmas parties. I really do a fair amount of fundraising drives, as well.

There are lots of ways to get involved. charity: water has lots of self-help fundraising ideas on their site. They are a good organization because they provide lots of tools for the average person. They have posters, videos and all kinds of information for free download to spread the word. The ideas are limitless, but the easiest is to pick an event and use it to raise money. For example, you could run a marathon and get sponsors or use your birthday. They have tons of suggestions. I also work with a guy in St. Louis, the Shoe guy. He has a great program that we are trying to take national. He collects old shoes, resells them in the 3rd world by the pound and then uses the money to drill wells.

Both Facebook and Twitter have their advantages. Facebook can integrate so that posts are sent to Twitter, then you can supplement facts on Twitter. You can even automate them through SocialOomph so it becomes much less time intensive.

I think non-profits should be involved in social media, but that can’t be used as fundraising. People tune that out. We need it for awareness and volunteer opportunities.

On a blog I would concentrate on awareness items, such as getting the word out, very simple action steps people can do, give them a form letter they can copy and fax or let them know some very simple things. Blogs can also help get the word out about what you are doing through calendar items. In addition, you can spotlight volunteers, which keeps them involved, and let others know how people can fit volunteering into their lives.

I think social media is hard on volunteers, unless you have a very well thought out campaign with specific instructions for them; blog posts perhaps or getting some data up on Facebook if there are pictures/videos etc. But tweeting…you run the risk of them messing up your message, in my opinion.”

The Virtual Assistant Journal

Monthly Archives: April 2010