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Time Is On Your Side...How Much Can You Learn in a Year?

How much knowledge can you gain in a year?

One of the great joys of my life is mentoring. I meet with college students and help them figure out strategies to get through the hoops of getting that college degree. The last couple weeks have brought up a common theme that you as a business owner, virtual assistant or for that matter a human being can relate to:

“I feel like I have no time to….fill in the blank.”

Whether it is studying, learning a new skill, getting more information on a topic you are interested in or any number of items on your to do list, we all seem to have that problem.

The truth is you have the same amount of time as many other people that “rock it” every day; the President, George Clooney, Bill Gates, Edward Cullen…oh ya he’s fiction. The point is we all have the same amount of time and it is what we do with it that counts.

So if you really do feel like you have “no time” for your goals,
it’s time to get creative.

One thing I noticed as I talked to several students is some of them have a lot of drive time.Take for example if you drive 25 minutes one way to work M-F, that
is 50 minutes a day or about 4 hours a week. So what could you do with an extra 4 hours a week to learn something new? That is a whole afternoon or evening to do something else.

One thing you can do is what a lot of time management experts call the “Automobile University”. Study in the car. I am not saying to type on your computer or read a book or anything dangerous but to get creative.

One practice I have done for years is listening to books on tape and now mp3’s of seminars and coaching sessions. Sometimes I am truly amazed at how much I can listen to (even without torturing my family).

Let’s look at the numbers. Taking those 4 hours a week multiply that by even 40 weeks per year (you don’t want to be a total nerd after all!), that is 160 hours or 6.5 days! And those would be days without sleep!

To put it in perspective a 3 credit hour college course over 16 weeks is only 48 hours of total lecture time. While that does not include your outside class studies, you get the point. This simple exercise is like getting the content of about three 3 credit hour college courses, and you didn’t even do it all year in our example.

Be creative! You can do a lot with the time you spend driving, even if you commit to only one way. In our example that is 2 extra hours of study a week.

So quit making excuses and start getting creative! It really does work and with the wealth of information both free and what you pay for, there is nothing you can’t learn about and even become an expert in. I have friends that have learned foreign languages, started a new business, and changed the focus of their lives this way.

So here’s to moving forward… and learning all you can along the way.

To your success!
We make it easy for you to get all the information.

What you do with it is up to you!

If I can answer any questions or help you in any way just email me. I am looking forward to your success and helping you build your VA skills!

Have a happy and productive day!

Susan Snyder
Founder/CEO
buildyourvaskills.com
Email me!

PS- Go to http://www.buildyourvaskills.com and look at our current schedule of training. Find one that’s right for you and bring a friend!

PPS- The Inner Circle Coaching Program is filling fast! I have opened up a second group and I am limiting it to the first 25 so you get personal attention! Check it out and start or take your VA practice to the next level. http://www.buildyourvaskills.com/innercircle.html

Sign up for one of our coaching programs and grow your business or learn to work with or on virtual teams.

Want to use this article? You have my permission but you must use the entire article and keep the site links in tact.

Tell me your thoughts.

Do you use this strategy? Will you? What are some other ways you get creative to reach your goals?

Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back...Use Systems to Keep Moving Forward

Lately I have been trying to figure out how to be much more efficient with my time. Part of the reason is that I am so busy and want to free up some time. Another part is I am looking to bring on more team members and I was interested in what it is that I actually "do" that I could delegate to someone else.

I found out something interesting as I have tracked very closely my tasks over the last month. Did you know about 90% of what you do every day you did yesterday or within the last week? As I think about it now I could have guessed that but you just don't think about your days that way.

I also found out I spent a lot of time figuring out what exactly I did the last time when a task was either very new, or very involved. That made me realize I needed to get much more intentional about making things easier to duplicate by making checklists or procedures.

Here we go again! You decided to be self-employed or an entrepreneur because you didn't want the constraints of an operations manual or procedures that were too strict. You want to be "free". I totally agree. So let's not get overly corporate and form a committee or anything crazy like that, but let's just use a little reason and make our work more efficient so we can enjoy a little free time or be able to pursue even more profits with our time.

Track your tasks

Boring I know. I was resistant because I am so busy, it was one more thing I had to do. Believe me though it will be enlightening. You will see exactly what is going on, how much time you are wasting, and how much time you spend reinventing your wheel.

Depending on your personality you can be as detailed as you want or just jot some notes. Keep specific clock time or just jot minutes. Do it a minimum of two work weeks. I did it for a month and it was very enlightening.

Analyze the Results

Now go back through what you wrote down. Make three lists:

1) Repeated tasks with how much time spent and how often they are repeated.

2) Tasks that were just one time but could be delegated if needed.

3) Tasks that will be repeated in the future but are infrequent.

Look objectively at each list. For repeated tasks analyze and prioritize those tasks into a list of what will be the biggest bang if you get it under control.

Make a Plan

With that prioritized list begin working on making a future plan. For each task decide:

1) Does it need a procedure outline?

2) Does it need to be delegated?

3) Does it need to be grouped/scheduled better?

Then work through each of the tasks as you normally would over the next few weeks. As you do the task the next time, act on the decision you made above. You can outline it, make plans to delegate it, or group and schedule it to make it more efficient.

Here are a few things I have outlined with a procedure task and am preparing to delegate to my team:

1) Office Supplies- I spent a lot of time figuring out what toner I needed and where to get it at the best price. This potential sand trap can be taken care of with a list of common supplies and where you got them last time. If you are running to the supply store, check the other items from the same place and pick those up if you need them as well.

2) List of Usernames and Passwords- I know you can relate to this one. I do not advocate writing out the specifics because you are just waiting for someone to find it then. Use a code. For example, I use the same basic username and password for everything but with variations. So I may add a number or a letter to the end. In the documentation I will just put the number or the letter as the password as a reminder. I do the same with the username. I also make notes on special situations with the sites. If you have to do anything special or figure anything out, chances are the next time you visit you will have to figure it out again.

3) Gift lists and birthdays- This is not my forte so I will make a list and remember to check it. Someone gave me a tip of buying and addressing all my birthday cards in one weekend at the beginning of the year. They said to place the mail date where the stamp goes and then put them in order. When the time comes, pop a stamp on it and put it in the mail. No promises but could be a good project for my assistant. (I will sign yours mom...)

The major lesson I learned with this exercise is I can do some simple things without getting too complicated that will help me to be more efficient. I also have more confidence that I can hand a task off if I need to and someone can just jump right in and complete it like I would.

Here's to moving forward...

Susan Snyder Founder/CEO

BuildYourVASkills.com http://www.pcstraining.net

Go to http://www.buildyourvaskills.com and look at our current schedule of training. Find one that's right for you and bring a friend!

Sign up for one of our coaching programs and grow your business or learn to work with or on virtual teams.

Want to use this article? You have my permission but you must use the entire article and keep the site links in tact.

Let's see how many people can do this. Every day this month until Thanksgiving, think of one thing that you are thankful for and post it as your status. "Today I am thankful for..." The longer you do it, the harder it gets! Now if you think you can do it then repost this message as your status to invite others to take the challenge, then post what YOU are thankful for today.

Facebook and Social Media: The New Water Cooler

It used to be if you worked in an office the water cooler was the place to rant, rave, gossip and dish out the latest scoop on any topic out there. While traditional work places still have the water cooler, and you will still find a few people hanging out there, facebook and social media have risen up as the new way to get the word out, speak your mind and basically make a fool of yourself.

Thousands of people login everyday to air their dirty laundry and tell us everything we want (or don't want) to know about them. Reports of employers using social media activity to monitor employees are starting to emerge. Consequences of misbehavior could be anything from:
* losing a job offer
* not getting a promotion
* general lack of moving forward
* and in extreme cases, job loss.

What about free speech you ask? Aren't I allowed to say anything I want?

Well yes, and no.

You wouldn't tell everyone at the water cooler about the strange blemish on your bum, or that you really do hate your boss or that you sat around all day on Facebook and purposely skipped a training. My advice, don't do it on Facebook either.

Treat your social media accounts like you would the water cooler. Use your brain and discretion in equal parts.

Let's assume you want to give all your "Friends" a well rounded view of yourself. Follow these simple rules and you will be fine and your social media status will rise as well.

Mix it up- Don't always talk about sports or work exclusively. Many people who promote their businesses on social media do it to the exclusion of their personal life and vice versa. That is a mistake. You aren't all work and no play. Go ahead post pictures of your kids in their Halloween costumes, talk about your dog, show pictures of your office buddies, or celebrate figuring out a problem at work. These things connect you with your audience. They can more quickly come to know, like and trust you. Then when you need to make a business proposition they are ready to listen.

Use Integrity- Pretend like your boss, your clients, and your grandma will be reading what you post. If you wouldn't say it in front of them, don't say it on Twitter.

Watch the time- If you aren't supposed to be on Facebook at work, don't post during work hours, especially a hundred times. A couple times from your Blackberry maybe but again, use discretion.

Promote Away- If you are using social media to promote your business, do it. Give everyone a true vision of your work and your life and do it daily. Don't expect to put "Buy my stuff" on your status once a month and expect results. Don't abuse it and annoy people but you can network effectively and get great discussions started. Just like at the real water cooler.

One last thing- Please don't tell me about the blemish on your bum...enough said.

Susan Snyder
Founder/CEO

BuildYourVASkills.com

http://www.pcstraining.net

Go to http://www.buildyourvaskills.com and look at our current schedule of training. Find one that's right for you and bring a friend!

Sign up for one of our coaching programs and grow your business or learn to work with or on virtual teams.

Want to use this article? You have my permission but you must use the entire article and keep the site links in tact.

Working Virtually: Avoid the Pitfalls of the Communication Blackhole

The advantages of working with a virtual team and having virtual clients are many. Among those advantages are less idle chatter, no annoying co-worker popping by just when you are in a zone, and in general the quiet. That is also a disadvantage.

It is much harder to build a relationship with a team member and pick up on each other's silent cues and non-verbal communication. The only solution is to use virtual tools and to probably in your mind over communicate.

Here's some tools to avoid things being missed and to get everyone on the same page.

In the beginning- Setup and communicate with your team and with clients your best means of communication. Do you like email? Do you prefer the phone? Can you be reached only at certain hours? Make sure everyone knows how they are expected to communicate, how often, and when.

Email- While not perfect email is still the best method of communicating and documenting the work process. Make sure everyone "whitelists" you and adds you to their contact list. Make sure you add them to your contact list. Sometimes file size for attachments is an issue. Make sure you know if their service will block large files and find ways of dealing with it.

Telephone-Sometimes it is just easier to pick up the phone. I find it much easier to work out a complex question or if you feel you are not getting it. Frustration comes from not having all the information or not getting the emotions behind the written communication. Schedule periodic phone check-ins, preferrably weekly, so you can get that personal interaction and just clear the air.

Instant Messenger, Chat, Texts- These are great resources to talk out situations as well if one or more of you can't be on the phone for whatever reason. It is still hard to get a handle on true feelings if it is a sticky situation but the communication is real time and may be better than a disconnected email conversation. There are several programs out there. Make sure you know which ones everyone uses and try to get a concensus on what everyone uses.

Snail mail and fax- While very "old school" it still is necessary at times. Check into online faxing tools like efax and it will save you a ton of time and resources, but will give you a professional look with a real fax number.

Now that you have the tools in place, communicate with clients whenever you work on their projects. In the email include:

• What tasks you worked on
• If needed the hours spent
• What you still need to do
• Any questions you have
• Any suggestions you have

When dealing with your team virtually consider these communication tips:

• Consider a weekly team meeting, via conference call or skype.
• Get a project planning software that everyone can update and have access to Basecamp, Microsoft Project, or another program will do the trick. This will foster greater communication and anyone can look at the project and know where it is at.
• Treat your team like clients. Make sure you are communicating with them regularly to make sure they know your piece of the puzzle is being worked on and moving forward.
• Let them know when you will be available, unreachable, and in general what your working hours will be.

Communicating virtually provides freedom and flexibility. It can cause problems if not done consistently, effectively and in a manner that really speaks to your team and your clients. Without the advantage of the spoken word and being present to pick up on non-verbal cues, you really have to make an effort to over communicate. What feels to you like over the top may be just right for the person you are keeping in the loop.

Susan Snyder
Founder/CEO buildyourvaskills.com

http://www.pcstraining.net

Go to http://www.buildyourvaskills.com and look at our current schedule of training. Find one that's right for you and bring a friend!

OK, I'm an Affiliate. Now What?

Affiliate marketing is an on line marketing tool that you can use in tandem with other marketing tools to increase your exposure. Affiliate marketing is when you promote other's products to your customers and get a commission off any sales that you generate.

Sounds easy? Well it is and it isn't. Just because you are an affiliate of a great product won't make you the big bucks. It has to be a good fit with your customers, you still have to promote it and you are still responsible to your clients to bring them reputable products.

Here are some tips to making your affiliate marketing into the best it can be for you and your customers.

1) Know your market. If you are selling fishing lures and you put up an affiliate link for a travel adventure to the desert, you better have a good reason and tie in or you won't have any results. You must be tuned in to what your clients want and need.

2) Know the product. It is not enough to go find a product with a high sales rate, high commission offering and that sounds good. You must have knowledge of the product so you know if it is a good fit to your niche market. You must know you are offering your clients something that will deliver. If you aren't going to use it, why would they? If it ends up being a dud and you recommended it, your credibility will go down.

3) Know how to promote the items. It is not enough to put the links on your site, mention them once in and email and hope the checks start rolling in. Affiliate marketing has to be part of your overall marketing plan.

-How will these products be part of your product line?

-How long should I promote these items?

-How will I track the success/failure of these offers to my clients?

4) Have realistic expectations. I have clients all the time that are disillusioned with affiliate marketing. They have heard all the hype that someone put up a product and it has been generating $10,000 a month for them ever since. Well that simply is not the norm. It takes time to build a base of customers. If you are just doing affiliate marketing you have to build a great amount of content offerings, just like anything else, it takes work, it takes a plan, and it takes time.

5) Make sure you understand your part of the deal. You should not have to do any order fulfillment, tracking etc. That is the beauty about being an affiliate, you are their marketing arm. There are a few pseudo-affiliate programs that require you to do it all. Make sure you know what you are getting into and that your responsibility to the affiliate program is simply to drive customers their way.

6) Know that you are building your reputation. Don't just put anything on your site as an affiliate. Your customers know, like and trust you. They are looking to you to weed through the bad stuff and deliver the good to them. Have high standards and only recommend the best. If you don't know a lot about it be honest and say something like it was a recommendation to you, you are checking it out and would appreciate feedback from them as well. You are responsible for your recommendations. Take it seriously.

If you keep those things in mind you will be able to have a successful affiliate marketing program. You can generate income promoting other people's products. You can get the best of both worlds for your customers and create joint ventures with some other great business owners like yourself.

Susan Snyder
Founder/CEO buildyourvaskills.com

Go to http://www.buildyourvaskills.com and look at our current schedule of training. Find one that's right for you and bring a friend!