“Virtual is about efficiency and streamlining…”

“I prefer email to telephone calls or snail mail…”

“We don’t even order stationery anymore…”

“Of course I told my clients Happy Birthday, I sent them an ecard…”

“Of course I have not forgot the need for a personal note card here and then, that is why I subscribe to sendoutcards.com…”

I work in a primarily virtual environment, so I don’t dispute everything above.

I too utilize the virtual world to be more  efficient and streamline.

I too prefer email to telephone calls or snail mail.

I too have not ordered stationary in quite awhile (but I do still have some).

I don’t always know my clients’ birthdays, but if I did, I imagine I would send more than just an ecard.

I too subscribe and utilize sendoutcards.com

This is the world evolving as we know it. As a matter of fact, I only check my postal mail once a week, so I am used to it. My utility bills come via email, my credit card bills and student loan statements come via email, the only thing that ever comes via the USPS is direct mail pieces (catalogs, etc.) and a few bills that I have forgotten to activate e-statements on. Anything I order or purchase normally comes Fed Ex or UPS, so that poor postal mail just builds up in a basket, until I check it the end of every week and sort it into four piles:

• scan & shred
• put in the to be paid bin
• trash
• this looks interesting (normally a catalog or magazine)

However, this past week when I was checking my postal mail, I received a handwritten envelope, a card. I thought to myself – well my birthday is this month, but it  is still kind of early, so I opened it up.

It was a flat card (a non folding card) inside the most gorgeous flat card sleeve I have ever seen – and it was from my client Tamara Gold – and it was for no other reason than to tell me that she appreciated our services!

Okay I have a couple of things to say here:

1. I reached out to her via email to thank her – what a schmuck I am! While, I am sure she appreciated the acknowledgment, and at the time it seemed like the best thing to do (I wanted to thank her quickly), I soon realized part of the wow factor is that she took time out of her busy schedule to write me a short note. The least I can do is write her back (which I plan on doing in a handmade card I purchased awhile ago off of Etsy!)
2. It was the prettiest sleeve I have ever seen, those red vines are velvet, so of course I had to track down the maker – her name is Anna Griffin, and I WILL be purchasing some things from her shortly. (FYI: It is a ‘Flocked Invitation Sleeve’, the flat cards have to be purchased/personalized separately).
3. She is MY client, I should have been thanking her in this way, not vice versa (although I appreciate it!).
4. Even though we have a 100% virtual relationship, she just made our relationship more personal.

The moral of this story is… don’t forget the basics… a handwritten note will go a long way, and on unique stationery, will leave an everlasting impression.

Thanks Tamara for teaching me a very important lesson!

Related posts:

1. Tools that I use in our Businesses – Virtual and Brick & Mortar
2. Heather Podcasts: Managing a Virtual Team, Advice by Deb Walker – Virtual Team Manager (Episode 5)
3. Growing Your Business: Why Separating Business and Personal Finances is Good

Hubby decided he was going to get me a new chair and since he could not really wrap it, I would just have it early. I woke up on Monday morning, the 30th of November, and saw a gorgeous leather chair sitting in my office with three bows on it. I mean, it looked like something a king or queen would sit in. I gave it a whirl and sat down in my new monstrosity. At the first “feeling”, I was quite impressed. It felt like I was sitting on a cloud. Then I went to roll my new chair over to my desk. I couldn’t move!!!!

First, my feet did not touch the ground. Then when I scooted forward and touched the ground the chair was so heavy I could not roll it to the desk. I had to get up and push it over. The glance on hubby’s face made me erase my skepticism and jump right in. I could tell he was hurt and it was just so thoughtful.

I tried working in it until lunch time. I just could not. In its “upright” position I was still leaning back, my neck hurt, and it was making me grouchy. If you were following me on Twitter on the 30th you know all about it!

Well, when he left I swapped and brought my old chair back in my office so I could actually get some work done. Meanwhile, I was getting recommendations on Twitter for an Aeron chair. I ended up going back to the store with him that day and lugging in the 50 lb couch he had bought. Luckily they did have a few Aerons. Amazingly, the price was about the same as well (not sure of the details as he paid for it, but I believe it was almost an even swap; maybe a bit more for the Aeron Chair). And now I am comfy cozy in my office with a chair that has adjustable arms, lumbar adjustments, even the pressure of my recline adjusts. I still don’t know what half the levers and buttons do, but I certainly am comfortable.

He said: “You want this over this huge leather executive chair?”

My response: “Evidently executives don’t do much computer work and can recline all day. I need something more functional!”

Moral of the story: Just because it is big, expensive, leather and pretty-looking, does not mean it is a good fit.

Second Moral: Don’t buy a chair for anyone without them testing it out first!

Happy Holidays!

Related posts:

1. Home Office: Post 3: 50% Done
2. Joint Ventures – Be Picky! Like Me!

It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about a large business, a small business, a start-up, a department, or a project that is being managed within an organization – businesses need to work towards high quality completion but NOT perfectionism.

Here are some great examples (“war stories” from colleagues, mostly) that illustrate why perfectionism should not be the end-goal:

• On a project for a large organization, one shareholder wanted to strive for perfectionism. Their seemingly small changes/recommendations/demands/improvements (intended to turn a great project into a perfect project) cost just as much to make at the near-to-finished stage as the rest of the project cost to do, and doubled the timeline. Their changes were minor – a period here an extra line there, another review, a semi colon instead of a comma, etc. Their effort to take “great” and make it “perfect” doubled the budget and timeline… on a project in which the audience would not notice the changes that were made.

• A marketing website meant to capture the attention of prospects could have been rapidly deployed with effective results, getting prospects signing up quickly. Unfortunately, the company went through hundreds of drafts by dozens of writers because it wasn’t perfect. At the time of this writing, six months after the project was supposed to be live, it is not live yet.

• Back when the housing market was better than it is today, one colleague was waiting to buy a house. He patiently waited through the tiniest of interest rate changes, calculating that one more point might be the perfect time to buy. He was not impressed when I pointed out to him that the months of high rent he was paying in the meantime would surpass any savings he made on the single point of interest.

Here’s where I see it most frequently… and where it is most relevant for small business owners: If you are in sales or have a sales department where you work, I predict that this is one of the biggest challenges. If you put all of your sales people into a room and ask them about their sales, the ones who are less successful will tell you that they are still working on their pitch or their presentation material or trying to perfect the marketing brochure or PowerPoint to use. And the most successful ones? They have material that is “good enough” – it is high quality, there aren’t glaring errors, and it’s accurate – but it’s not perfect. And yet they are successful because they know that these elements do not have to be perfect.

You might notice something else I’ve hinted at: The cost (of money, time, and effort) to take something from poor to good and then from good to great can be equivalent to (or even less than) the cost to take something from great to perfect. In sports, an amateur athlete needs to do less work to go from good to great than an Olympic athlete needs to do in order to go from great to perfect. And if business is a sport, no one is expecting Olympic-style performances. They’re costly and only come once a year. What people really want is consistent business wins, day-in and day-out.

Business owners and project managers: Take a look at your list of projects (especially your to-do’s related to marketing and sales). How much of it is “good enough” but currently unused because it is not perfect? Try using it anyway and see what happens. I believe that your “good enough” material can be made great on-the-fly as you interact with your marketplace. And because you didn’t invest disproportionate amounts of time and money up-front to make it perfect, you’ll be willing to make changes if the marketplace tells you that it needs something different.

Trust me. It works. Perfection is a myth. Aim for great, achieve it, and succeed. Leave perfect for fairy tales.

Happy Blogging!

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If you follow me on twitter you have seen a ton of recent tweets about @emailcenterpro, about ‘click – click – move – move’, and about Inbox 0!

Some of you may be wondering: How I am doing that? Others may already know because you subscribe to my Tips in 10 email newsletter. I won’t write it out in detail (but if you want to get the step by step instructions, just subscribe to my Tips in 10 newsletter using the sign-up form on the right hand side of this blog post).

In summary:

1. I use www.emailcenterpro.com
2. I have a virtual assistant
3. I have spent lots of time and energy making sure my assistant is well-versed with the important information:  Who every client is, what every email is, where my documents are stored, what things mean, projects I am working on, who does what within my organizations, etc.

I realized this week that I have reached a “peak”; the top of the mountain, so to speak. We (my assistant and I) have spent 4 months with email traffic of approximately 200 incoming daily and 100 outgoing daily.

It started out slowly the first two weeks. She was able to handle about 10% of my email (which were copies etc. that she was able to appropriately categorize and file). Then, by the end of the first month she started handling about 25% of my email – the copies plus the stuff that really should not go to me but should go to someone else.

The second month we stepped up training and started having her save documents people sent me to my filing system and retrieving documents people were requesting. By the end of month 2 she was handling about 40% of my emails (copies, delegation, documents and attachments).

In the third month I started delegating mini-tasks. In other words, not necessarily a project but usually an internal issue within the organization – like maybe a bug in one of our systems. By this time she knew who it needed to be delegated to, she knew who was reporting it and needed it fixed, and was acting as the middleman (which I normally do) to make sure that it is fixed, tested, and all parties advised. By the end of month 3 she was handling about 60% of my email.

We are almost done with the 4th month and she now handles about 90% of my email.

The 60% mentioned earlier – and now the additional 30% to bring it  up to 90% -  includes appointments, resolving issues, transmitting reports to clients by due dates (i.e. I do the work, turn the reports over to her when done, she proofs, makes sure she understands content, turns it over to the client and answers any of their questions), makes sure all invoices or receipts are forwarded to the accounting department and then follows up to assure they are entered and / or paid.

At the end of my day I am only handling about 10% of my email load (20 incoming/10 outgoing daily). This is a huge relief for me. Running half a dozen companies and performing billable work as well as working on non billable entrepreneurial endeavors can fill a day. Now, I am doing things I was never able to do before:

1. I get off work at 5-6pm. No exceptions (unless for some reason I want to stay on and work – which sometimes I do).
2. I am getting in at minimum 6 hours of billable work a day, which before I was pushing my luck to get 2-3 hours in.
3. My clients (for the most part) are a lot happier. Don’t get me wrong, there are downfalls; I know some clients are thinking “she is too busy to respond to me anymore”, but at the end of the day they are getting a faster response time and more efficient work.
4. Yesterday I took a lunch break for the first time in over 4 months. (I mean, I actually went out to lunch vs. eating at my computer).
5. Today I decided “I am going to blog” – completely unplanned.
6. When I am done writing this I am going to send it over to her to proof, put the graphics in and post on my website.

What I am trying to say is: so many people hire us for virtual assistant work and never fully take advantage of what we can offer. Sometimes they think they just don’t have the time to teach, either. I took the time with Joan (my assistant). I created many video tutorials and used the features in Email Center Pro to give her tips, tricks and explanations.

She is not cheap, she works for me almost 40 hours per week, but she has made me achieve efficiency, improved my quality of life, and given me more time for billable work, which is offsetting her salary. Day by day she is getting quicker and doing more as well.

I feel today that I have finally reached my peak and have proven that, with time and effort, delegation is no longer outsourcing a task or two because it is more cost effective, rather, delegation is partnering with someone (or multiple people) who can learn who you are, how you work, and what needs to be done in order to make sure that the time you do spend you are 1) getting paid for, 2) creating something that will generate more revenue down the line or 3) improving your quality of life.

Thanks Joan!

Related posts:

1. Time Off: Do Small Business Owners Get Any?
2. There’s only one thing that can’t be delegated
3. Kick Your Email in the @

Pros:

• Lower cost: Less cost for storage, pharm-techs, etc.

• Reduced human error: I can’t read those doctor’s prescriptions and I’m not sure that pharmacists can, either.

• 24/7 service: Assuming that these are in a publicly accessible place 24/7. (Although, in some neighborhoods, that might be a con, not a pro).

Cons:

• It seems like there is little control over who can pick up the meds. APVs would allow anyone with the right prescription document to get it. That doesn’t seem right to me. Isn’t there some kind of identity check required for the release of meds? [Disclaimer it's been a long time since I've had a prescription filled... so maybe there isn't].

• Pharmacists are (in my opinion) a HUGE part of the medical system but are undervalued as merely being human prescription vendors. I think they can do much more and I’m afraid that we would lose that with a vending machine. In many ways, it’s not like a bank’s ATM (replacing the teller) or a pop machine (replacing the convenience store clerk). Pharmacists also provide advice.

Potential middle ground: Standard meds for seasoned users would be a good use for APVs. But for first time med users, and for medicines that have serious side-effects or non-standard formulations, a pharmacist is still necessary.

As an investment opportunity, I’m curious about getting one of these for the lobbies of doctor’s offices. Doctor writes a prescription and it can be filled right in the lobby on the patient’s way out the door. Fast and convenient. I’m not sure about the ethical implications, though: would a doctor tend to prescribe medication that was available at their APV (assuming that they’re getting a small incentive)?

Here’s a cautionary tale from my college days: We had a vending machine in the laundry room of my dorm. And someone discovered that if you put in your change, you could get your pop… and then you could also get as many iced teas as you wanted, simply by pressing the iced tea button several times. And then you could press the coin return button and a handful of change would be dispensed. As you can imagine, it lasted until we ran out of iced tea and change and then the company switched machines. Note to APV manufacturers: You’ll want to implement some related controls!

As originally posted on: Blog by Aaron Hoos

Related posts:

1. Lunch 2.0 Launched! #BusinessLunchClub, #BizLunchClub, #BLC
2. Today’s #businesslunchclub discussion (July 13, 2009)
3. Tips to get more out of #businesslunchclub

If you’re a business owner who is stuck at your desk for lunch, you might be getting work done but you’re missing out on the powerful networking opportunities of a business lunch. That’s where BusinessLunchClub comes in. BusinessLunchClub is where entrepreneurs on Twitter have lunch. If you’re stuck at your desk but want to do some networking, tweet while you eat and add the hashtags #businesslunchclub, #bizlunchclub, or #blc.

Read 8 Ways to Use BusinessLunchClub to Grow Your Business.

Here are a couple of tips to help you get more out of BusinessLunchClub:

Either invite a handful of people to participate or tweet out that you’re looking for others to join you.

For example: @AaronHoos @IAC_Heather you guys around for #businesslunchclub?
Or: Stuck at my desk. #bizlunchclub anyone?

You might also want to schedule your next BusinessLunchClub meeting. Mondays with one group of colleagues, Tuesday with another, etc. Consider having a business problem that you’d like to talk about.

Check out BusinessLunchClub.com to see what other people were talking about or to review your conversation, or keep track of those terms in TweetDeck. (Ref. Thanks to Jeffrey Priebe for the TweetDeck recommendation)

Just like many business lunches have a purpose (besides eating at the same table), BusinessLunchClub is made more beneficial when you participate with a goal in mind. Perhaps it might be “I need to find someone to help me solve this business problem” or it might be broader, like “I’d like to learn something about a few of my followers or it might just be a nice way to make your stuck-at-your-desk lunch a little more valuable.

As originally posted on: Blog by Aaron Hoos

Related posts:

1. 8 Ways to use #businesslunchclub to grow your business
2. Lunch 2.0 Launched! #BusinessLunchClub, #BizLunchClub, #BLC
3. Today’s #businesslunchclub discussion (July 13, 2009)

Everything you enjoy about business lunches is now available on Twitter with Business Lunch Club. If you find yourself unable to have a real business lunch, simply tweet while you eat and add the hashtags #businesslunchclub, #bizlunchclub, or #blc.

Here are some ideas to get the benefits of a business lunch from Business Lunch Club.

1. Find others who are stuck at their desks over lunch. You’ll make your at-your-desk time far more productive while you eat.

For example: Stuck at my desk. Anyone else in the same boat? #businesslunchclub

2. Start a discussion about a topic that you might normally talk about over lunch. You’ll engage others in topics that interest you and shape the discussion on Twitter.

For example: How has the economy been impacting your lead generation? #businesslunchclub

3. Participate in a discussion that someone else has started. You’ll add value to other people as you talk with them. Several people can join in at once, just like a real discussion.

For example: Re: lead-gen I’ve had to really ramp up the value of my offering. How about you? #businesslunchclub

4. Ask for help. Leverage your relationships to ask professionals for advice on issues you face in business.

For example: Can anyone point me to a good online bookkeeping system? #businesslunchclub

5. Get to know your followers. You have lots of followers but how well do you know them? Get to know them a bit better and perhaps you’ll discover some potential opportunities.

For example: Taking a break from work for #businesslunchclub. @IAC_Heather tell me a bit about your business

6. Talk about a joint venture or collaboration idea. Twitter is the perfect place to start up a discussion, test interest, and find experts to collaborate.

For example: @AaronHoos I’d like to work together on an ebook about sales. #businesslunchclub

7. Introduce a couple of colleagues who you think are a good match for each other. Network and help others to network. This is like #FollowFriday but far more focused.

For example: @IAC_Heather, you should talk to @AaronHoos about that book you’d like to write #businesslunchclub

8. Visit BusinessLunchClub.com and meet other people who are #businesslunchclub participants. Follow them to gain access to a whole new network of people interested in win-win business growth.

For example: Hi @AaronHoos I saw you on BusinessLunchClub.com and wanted to follow you #businesslunchclub

As originally posted on: Blog by Aaron Hoos

Related posts:

1. Tips to get more out of #businesslunchclub
2. Lunch 2.0 Launched! #BusinessLunchClub, #BizLunchClub, #BLC
3. Today’s #businesslunchclub discussion (July 13, 2009)

It’s rare that I see a business performing so “fluently” with all of these factors so I sent a quick message of thanks to the company owner and we started a little conversation.

Actuali Design is the company and it is run by a high school student from Canada named Ali. Yes, you read that correctly. At an age when most of us were rebelling from our parents and complaining about math class, Ali has launched a successful business based on a true talent she possesses.

I was really impressed by many aspects of this business, which I’ve mentioned already: service, offering, and brand. These are important aspects to a successful business and I would have almost said that they are mandatory. But it got me thinking about what the ingredients are in a successful business. While service, offering, and brand are important, I would venture to say that they are not the cause, but rather a result.

The true cause of success – the “secret herbs and spices” that make up a great business – are exemplified in Actuali Design owner Ali: In spite of her youth and her apparent lack of experience, she has ambition, drive, and maturity.

I work with business owners of all ages. The seasoned business owners draw from their experiences; the younger ones long for the day when they have experience. BUT the successful ones, like Ali, bypass experience and create something anyway with drive, ambition, and maturity.

I really think all three are needed. Ambition helps you to dream big, drive propels you forward, and maturity keeps your feet on the ground and empowers you to be thoughtful and decisive.

I would label Ali’s business successful right now and I would encourage my readers to keep an eye on her and on Actuali Design to see where it’s going to go in the future.

Want to see more of what I’m talking about?

Follower her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/actualidesign
Look at her designs and workspace on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/actualidesign/
Visit her Etsy website at www.actualidesign.com and purchase her beautiful handmade greeting cards.

Related posts:

1. Nine Tips for a More Successful Business
2. The Secret Sauce for a Successful Business
3. The Building Blocks of a Successful Company

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The whole point of a Joint Venture is that two (or three, four or ten) heads are better than one, two audiences are better than one, two networks are better than one. You utilize each other’s respective skills, network, and leads to create a complimentary package, product, or service offering. Wonderful! However, here are some things to look out for:

• Is the person or people you are entering into a JV with honest and respectable?
• Do they bring as much to the table as you do? (Likewise do you bring as much to the table as they do?)
• Are they willing to work to make the venture work? (Likewise are you willing to work to make the venture work?)

The answers should all be “Yes”, or the venture should be avoided. At the end of the day, if everyone involved is not on equal playing fields, someone is going to get the short end of the stick and the venture will turn into a headache rather than a success.

…All that being said, as I stated earlier, I entered into a mini JV these past couple of weeks, pairing up with Hannah McNamara (and a few dozen other top coaches), offering her some “freebies” to include with the limited time offer of her new book Niche Marketing for Coaches. It is a handbook of sorts; a step by step guide showing coaches the ins and outs of identifying their niche market, setting their rates, and marketing themselves to achieve or grow their client base. She is very humble with the title; it should really be called The Operational Manual for Coaches.

Her book is available for $14.99 (here), and while you can purchase her book at any time, this week is the only chance you have to get $2,600+ in promotional offers from a variety of professional coaches… including yours truly. My contribution to this package is my Twitter in 10 Minutes Daily Tele-Class. As a matter of fact, I had stopped providing it in group sessions and have only been offering it one-on-one for the past three months, but for this super special occasion, I will be providing the Twitter in 10 Minutes Daily Group Tele-Class again – free – as part of her bonus package. Considering that I used to charge $97 per session, the purchase of a $14.99 book is a bargain, because not only are you getting my Twitter in 10 Minutes Daily Tele-Class, but you are also getting $2,500 worth of other bonus offers from coaches, in addition to Hannah’s book!

Pick it up now before this spectacular special ends.

Related posts:

1. 8 Ways to use #businesslunchclub to grow your business
2. Not all Butts are the same. Mine is picky!
3. How Entrepreneurs Can Get the Benefits of a Team (Without Selling Part of Their Business)