Archive for August, 2007
Daily Dose of Success #23: Power to the Facebook people
This is a brilliant example of the power of social networks nowadays…Facebook Campaign Forces Bank to Reverse Charges.
This is a brilliant example of the power of social networks nowadays…Facebook Campaign Forces Bank to Reverse Charges.
Outsourcer Preparedness…huh?
Aaagh, some consulting jargon from the old days…’outsourcer preparedness’ sounds like some form of Harry Potter-esque magic trick.
So I’ve finally (after several weeks of researching, searching & then several more weeks of waiting) been assigned my new VA – Shinu.
This will be the first time I’ve had someone working for me (unless you count the [...]
Aaagh, some consulting jargon from the old days…’outsourcer preparedness’ sounds like some form of Harry Potter-esque magic trick.
So I’ve finally (after several weeks of researching, searching & then several more weeks of waiting) been assigned my new VA – Shinu.
This will be the first time I’ve had someone working for me (unless you count the husband) in my own business. I’ve managed plenty of people in my days as a management consultant but there you have all sorts of guidelines & policies to follow. Managing my own VA will be different. I’ve been reading in various books & blogs about the DOs and DON’Ts of how to work best with a VA so I’m going to be spending the next few days ensuring that our relationship is going to be a successful one.
Here’s some of the things I’ve done & will be doing…
- Created a new email folder to file all correspondence between me & my VA.
- Already filed emails/tasks in the folder that I’d like them to do – many of these will be repeat tasks.
- Creating email & document templates that I’ll ask him to use for certain tasks.
- Created some Camtasia video tutorials of some of the key tasks I’ll be asking him to complete (such as blogging/Typepad tasks).
- Creating separate user accounts/login details for some of the online services he might need to use.
I’m sure there are others but for now that’s quite enough to be getting on with. Please let me know if you think/know there’s anything else I can be doing to ensure our success!
Being Busy…
Being busy…good or bad. Discuss :-)
I alluded to it yesterday in a post about managing my emails. There’s this myth amongst many in the business/entrepreneurial world that you shouldn’t appear too available or too reach-able to people because they’ll get the impression that you’re not busy, not successful & your business isn’t doing too well.
Funny [...]
Being busy…good or bad. Discuss :-)
I alluded to it yesterday in a post about managing my emails. There’s this myth amongst many in the business/entrepreneurial world that you shouldn’t appear too available or too reach-able to people because they’ll get the impression that you’re not busy, not successful & your business isn’t doing too well.
Funny that. I think it’s an entrepreneurial thing or perhaps it’s also a cross-over from the corporate world…if you appear busy, your boss won’t give you any more work and you can spend more time Facebooking ;-)
I used to think the same thing though – if I appeared too available to prospects & clients, then they’d probably think I wasn’t busy, wasn’t earning any money & didn’t have many clients.
On the other hand, given that I spend time talking & writing about how important it is to implement processes that help your business run more smoothly, automate things & make your life easier so you can spend more time on the beach…isn’t that what I should be doing?
Showing my clients & prospects that look…if you get things working well, you can earn enough money in fewer hours leaving you far more time to go to the beach, read a book all day, go for a bike ride or do whatever you fancy.
Yes, I still have ongoing projects & goals that I’m working on but many of these are by choice, not necessity. I choose to be busy at times but that doesn’t mean I want to appear too busy to connect with people for fear of appearing ‘unsuccessful’.
Being busy isn’t bad – it’s often just an unnecessary habit.
