They Can’t All Be Freebie Seekers

When people unsubscribe from your list or mark your e-newsletter as spam or get your free report and unsubscribe ten minutes later…they may not just be freebie seekers.

I think that people assuming unsubscribes are freebie seekers is a way to try and bring a little comfort to a situation that might hurt personally. I mean, you’re giving them a free newsletter – why would they leave?

If it is just one person here and there comfort yourself not by putting them down or insulting them by assuming they are a cheap ne’er do well – assume that what you had is not what they wanted and try to be okay with that – don’t take it personally.

But if you’re finding that people are signing up, getting your free report and then unsubscribing right away – make sure you’re sending quality and not making a bad first impression.

• Have at least one person, preferably three, look over your free report or bonus gift to check for grammar, spelling, and that you didn’t start to ramble for four paragraphs on page seven.
• When you have people look the report over, try to find one person that does not know what you do (family can be great for this). Then, make them guess what services you offer from your freebie/giveaway. If they guess wrong, check to make sure your message is on target.
• Have someone with an editor’s eye look over your piece to make sure it is a good piece of work. Better to be a page short and packed with content than ten extra pages of fluff.

Budgeting Plus Extras

For many people, budgeting isn’t enough to get you on the track to freedom. I’m not recommending debt consolidation, but for some people it’s the only way to get all the different accounts under control.

Budgeting for your business can be tough too, especially if all your money is going in and out through your personal account. While it is risky, as long as you keep good books you can show the IRS at anytime the difference between your personal purchases and your business purchases and stay in the good graces of the government.

At least until you can get a business checking account.

On The Lookout For Deals

My girls are getting to the age where I’m looking to get them out of the house. When we were younger my grams always liked to take us on these awesome weekend getaways to hotels. Many hotels have pools and arcades and other stuff that makes them really kid-friendly and I’d like to give my kids a taste of that. Considering the offers out there that range from free stay at hotel deals to meals and other amenities being offered for free – it’s actually a really reasonable mini-vacation.

What I Wouldn’t Give

I need new business insurance. The insurance I have is really just a business policy with no bells, whistles, or coverage for some things that I might want coverage for. Like errors and omissions, which I think is totally separate from a business policy but I can’t get anyone to tell me that. I started looking for free insurance quotes online but was unable to find a place that does business insurance right away. Luckily I finally found a place and I’m waiting for someone to contact me back. I don’t expect anyone but me to be working on a Sunday night!

The Pain of Reformatting

Thankfully it’s not my computer that desperately needs a memory upgrade, it’s the one I used to use that became a hand-me-down for my 4 year old. I reformatted the 2 gig hard drive only to find that all the memory the new computer has is 250 megs. I’m not sure what I did wrong but rather than go through all the drama all over again I’m just going to plug some more memory in there. It needs better RAM anyway – kids games require more juice than I thought!

Have References Handy

The best way to get clients is word of mouth – that’s because your services are getting a great reference while they’re being talked about by your happy client. But what if you don’t have clients yet?

Ask colleagues or even friends to give you a reference based on things they already know about you. Don’t have them lie about specific skills they don’t know about, just have them willing to say how amazing you are when it comes to being on time or being reliable.

Make sure you put them on your website. People want to see other people raving about you. They want to see specific raves, though. About time management, ability to think outside of the box and beyond the exact task you are given, about how fast you work or how thorough you are.

Tell people you are amazing using other people. If you have current clients, e-mail them and ask for a reference. It goes a long way.

Many people put these under a heading of testimonials…but you know what…I think putting them under references is much more familiar for people looking for the services of a virtual assistant. Even if it feels too "secretarial" for you as a business owner…it’s not about what you want to tell someone, it’s about what they want to hear.

What I Learned at the Business and Learning Expo

Mostly I learned that the only difference between the people presenting and the people asking questions is thinking and doing.

The presenters are all doing, sure they plan, but they don’t spend all their time planning and trying to figure it all out. They figure out enough to make an educated guess of success and then start working on the plan.

I also discovered that in many cases, people are well known because they got one small opportunity and used it effectively. Of the 11 Moms, there is only one I know that has moved on and moved up, using her one-off opportunity to create a brand and a potentially sustainable business.

So when you have a little notoriety, or if you get in your local paper…use the exposure and build it into something bigger and better.

Business and Learning Expo Time

Today at 1pm CST you can log into the http://businessandlearning.com chat room and listen to Tricia Gardner, Tammy Munson, and me talking about VA Industry Dos and Don’ts.

If you have questions about your VA business, come and ASK us! Tricia is a current, successful VA with clients that rave about her service and I am a former VA that was doing well but needed to change it up.

We look forward to talking to you about your business!

New Years Resolutions Are So Three Months Ago

My resolution this year was to be more focused.

I got pregnant instead.

It reminds me of the year I resolved to lose weight and then found out I was pregnant and all the weight loss products I’d purchased earlier in the year went right into the garbage can – doctor’s orders.

So I’ve decided that I’m going to start resolving not to make any more resolutions and instead start focusing on each day as it happens. I choose to make itty bitty changes every day instead of waiting until January 1st and putting some huge pressure trip on myself. It’s better for everyone.

Insurance For Your Business – Life Edition

Along with liability insurance for your business you need to consider getting life insurance. Mostly to protect your family if anything should happen to you. You don’t have to get anything expensive, a term life insurance policy that will cover what you are making as a VA should be enough in the event the worst case scenario happens. Even if it’s just enough to cover funeral expenses, it’s insurance every business owner should have.