Navigating Your Success

Who Would Work for $3 an Hour?

2011-06-13T21:36:00.002-05:00

Many of you may have contemplated hiring a virtual assistant. If so, now is apparently the time to get one.

There is a plethora of websites that job seekers and job posters can use to either find work or find employees. Some of these websites are free and others charge a minimal monthly service fee. One such website is called oDesk. I was surprised how little some virtual assistants will accept for an hourly rate.

This job, for example, very clearly states that the starting pay is $1.00 an hour, "but will earn more later on via bonuses and promotions if you are good, hard-working and honest." How honest can the employer be if he or she values someone else's time so little?

Surprisingly, thirty-eight people applied for this job. It does not seem possible that so many people would work for so little. If you are thinking about hiring one of these assistants, do your research first. Here are some areas to look at when selecting a VA:

Portfolio
Consistency
Reliability
Reviews
Native language skills
Lack of exploitation

One of my clients used one of these inexpensive assistants for a couple of projects. He then had to turn around and pay me to either completely re-do or to fix the work of the employee. In the end, he paid out more for the projects than he would have if I would have just done them to start!

Do your research, hire Polaris Administrative Concepts, and remember that there is no such thing as luck!

Working Weekends?

2011-06-10T20:33:00.004-05:00

How many of you work on the weekends? Are you so grateful for your clients that you work all hours of the night and day in order to keep them happy?

I was doing this until I realized that I didn't have to work on Saturday night. My clients may not even be expecting me to work on the weekend. I usually now reply to a client's request for work by saying I can get to it first thing on Monday.

Where do you draw the line? Do you charge a special fee for work outside of "regular" business hours? I would love to read your comments!

Remember, there's no such thing as luck!

Should Blogging be Delegated?

2011-06-09T22:27:00.004-05:00

This week I have been researching more virtual assistance projects for my company. Many businesses are looking for writers to compose for their company blogs. I was a little surprised by this, as it had never occurred to me to do have someone else post.

This idea poses many questions. In a small company, who should write the bog posts? Should it be one person or many? Should it be the president or the lowest person on the totem pole?

Ultimately, the president is responsible for information and opinions found on the company website and blog. With that responsibility comes the decision-making power. He or she can decide whether or not to give away some of that power.

I thoroughly enjoyed Susan Solomon's article titled "Whose Blog is it Anyway?" because she outlines the risks of having a blog author from different levels within the company. Solomon also gives the reader points to consider when decided who the author should be. Check it out!

Polaris Administrative Concepts is such a small company, that I, as president, do the blogging. We will have to see in the future if I would feel comfortable passing that responsibility on. That would be a risk that would remind me that there is no such thing as luck!

Does Blogging Really Work?

2011-06-08T15:00:00.005-05:00

Experts seem to agree that blogging is a great way to bring exposure to the writer's product or services. I have readily agreed with that because it seems logical. Now, I want to experiment with this theory.

I will post daily for the remainder of the month and monitor this blog's stats. I am curious to see what the result will be. Will there be a bunch of "pageviews" only? Or will those pageviews turn into new clients and/or projects?

What is an experiment without a hypothesis? So, here it goes:

"Navigating Your Success," the official blog for Polaris Administrative Concepts, will triple its number of pageviews this month. This will result in the addition of one client for the company.

Let's see if we can prove that there is no such thing as luck!

From Stagnant Content to Profit Generating Product

2010-04-27T08:07:00.002-05:00

Do you have files upon files of presentations you have given or articles you have written that are just sitting on your computer, threatening to be forgotten? These files can be your key to an increased earning potential that would not require much extra work.

Start by organizing your articles, presentations, PowerPoint slides, etc. into different categories. Once organized, there are many things you could do with the content, including:

Creating an ebook
Creating a white paper
Combining a live recording of a webinar or seminar with a PowerPoint presentation
Transcribing a webinar or seminar
Creating a book

After you decide which product(s) you will create, you must simply market the item(s) at a reasonable rate. Make sure you do not sell for too little, however. Depending on how much of the work you did yourself, the majority of the money generated is pure profit. What an excellent reward for information just sitting untapped in your computer.

Have fun and remember...there is no such thing as luck!

Weeding Through the Bad to get to the Good

2010-03-13T20:05:00.009-06:00

I recently began looking on Craigslist for new clients/opportunities. Now some of you may be rolling your eyes and wondering if I am crazy, desperate, or both. I would like to think that I was just inquisitive.

A colleague gave me a tip to a grant writing job posted there, so I checked it out. It turned out that the job was with an organization that wanted to have someone in office, (which does not work for virtual assistants) but I began looking regularly on Craigslist.

For about a week I responded to several ads; I was excited about the prospects. Yet, I found within another week that that excitement was not well-founded. On Craigslist there is a "Scam Alert" disclaimer that warns you that there could be bogus ads on the website. I feel like I am pretty aware of scams and schemes. I was amazed how creative the scammers are. Here are common tricks they may use:

They'll ask you to buy something and promise to pay you back, usually through certified check or money order.
They'll tell you that they will send you more money than necessary and ask you to forward the rest of the money to someone else.
They may tell you that you will make thousands a month, all you have to do is pay a small fee.
They will create bogus websites that make you think it is real
Eventually they will ask you to reveal personal information that is unnecessary and that could compromise your identity.
Look for bad English grammar.

Are there any ads that are for real? Here are some things to look for:

A company name
A local phone number and address
A website
Meeting in a local place

One of the ads I responded to was awful in the sense that the scammers took a real person who has a photography studio in Idaho and used his name and website. Because of this, I thought it was for real. The ad claimed that he needed an assistant. I researched the company and the man to make sure that he was a real person. This was so difficult because he is a real person, but he was not the one who was writing the ad and contacting me. I noticed his bad grammar after a couple of emails and then I had a hunch. I decided to call the number listed on his website. It became clear that the man's voice on the machine was definitely American with no trouble with his language. I knew then that this was not the man emailing me and I cut off communication at that point.

Now I am leery about any ads. I find it better to use other job websites instead, like the local classified ads or Monster to look for potential clients. Be careful and remember, there is no such thing as luck!

What is Going to Happen When You Die?

2010-02-10T22:15:00.014-06:00

Until a year ago I never thought of myself needing a "Last Will and Testament." No, I did not have a near-death experience, I just had a visit with a financial planner.

My husband and I do not have much as far as worldly possessions are concerned, so it didn't occur to me that we needed to actually have a will. Our wise financial planner, Rodney Jacobs, explained the benefits of having all our financial and legal affairs in order now to make life easier for our children and other family members we will leave behind.

You may be wondering why I am writing about this when my primary audience is small business owners. Every small business owner has a personal life. Not only do business owners need to have their personal financial and legal affairs in order, they also need to have their business financial and legal affairs in order.

Here are a few affairs to think about:

1) Get a lawyer

2) Get a legal Last Will and Testament

3) Get a Living Will and Healthcare Power of Attorney

4) Set up a trust for your children

Get a lawyer. Not only does it sound impressive to say "Let me talk to my attorney and get back to you...", but having an attorney can be very handy on a moment's notice. Last year I was dealing with an unfortunate situation involving a major rental car company. They took some of my money unjustly, and I wanted it back. So, I told the company that I was going to call my attorney. I had my money back within a week.

Attorney fees are expensive, right? They do not have to be. Again, at the sage suggestion of our financial planner, we started using a service called "Pre-paid Legal Services." This is a very simple and affordable legal solution. There is a monthly fee (We pay about $27) that gives access to a major law firm in your state. We live in Indiana, so our law firm is "O'Koon Hintermeister, PLLC," based out of Indianapolis. If we have a legal question or issue, all we have to do is call up the law firm and give the receptionist our membership number and a brief description of why we are calling. Without fail, an attorney from the firm calls us back within 8 business hours.

If you have even thought of writing a Will, you may know that it is not generally cheap to have a Will drawn up through legal measures. You can expect to pay around $500 for two Wills. With Pre-paid Legal, the process is much more affordable. If you start the Will procurement process during the first six months of your membership, then both your Will and your spouse's will be free. You pay no lawyer fees at all. If the six-month period lapses however, your Will is free and your spouse's is only $20. Unimaginable! Check into it

Get a legal Last Will and Testament. If you are a parent, it is essential to understand that if you do not have a Will, the state has one for you. It may not be what you want for your children because the state and the court will decide where your children and your assets will go.

Another reason to get a Will is to make it easier for any family that will be left beind once you are gone. I have heard many horror stories of sibling fights that happen once both parents are gone. You can eliminate this possibility by creating a specific Will.

Get a Living Will and Healthcare Power of Attorney. Although we do not like to think about it, there is a possibility that we may need someone else to make our healthcare wishes made know. If we want that person to be someone who knows us, then we need to create a Healthcare Power of Attorney and a Living Will. I have included helpful links that explain the difference between the two documents.

Set up a trust for your children. This is another delicate issue. A trust can allow you to manage how your beneficiaries can spend the money you leave to them. For other reasons for creating a trust, click here.

Although estate planning is not the most enthralling topic, it is one that is better managed while we are living than when we are dead. I encourage you to complete these four steps to get your affairs in order and remember there is no such thing as luck!

"I'm (not really) Lovin' it!"

2010-01-19T09:52:00.005-06:00

For nine years I consciously boycotted a major national food chain like the H1N1 virus. Yesterday, however, I experimented by eating at McDonald's and buying my seven year-old her very first "Happy Meal." I recently researched the nutritional information of many fast food restaurants and came to the conclusion that the McDonald's menu is actually healthier than the other hamburger fast food joints, and here, I define healthier as "lower in calories." Needless to say, I was very surprised by this.

So, yesterday as we were coming home from a weekend trip we decided to stop at McDonald's. The drive-thru line was a little long, but the staff was friendly. Everything went off without a hitch until we were a quarter mile down the road and my daughter announced that they had forgotten her apple juice. So, we had to go back. Before I went in to get the apple juice, my husband jokingly told me to not cause $1500 in damage. He was referring to the woman who threw a temper tantrum when she was not happy with the customer service at a Kansas City McDonald's in December.

The staff was courteous and apologetic when I went in to get the missing juice. As we continued on our way, I was thinking about whether or not they should have done more to elleviate the inconvenience they caused us. They gave me the missing apple juice and two different workers apologized. Was that enough? What more could I have expected?

I decided that what they did was sufficient. They would not need to do more. If I was a regular customer, I would come back even though I had been inconvenienced. However, I would have been highly impressed if further steps were taken. I could have been given a gift certificate or an additional food item to make up for the inconvenience.

That led me to think about my own clients and how I would handle the situation if I made an error. Would I just offer a simple apology? Would it occur to me to offer something more? What could I offer?

I can't speak for my clients, but I would venture to say that an apology would be acceptable if I made an error similar in nature to the missing apple juice. BUT, I think they would be highly impressed and much more likely to offer referrals if I went further. I could give them a discount off the next month's invoice or complete a project at a reduced rate. That would let them know that I was serious about my apology and that I would not let it happen again.

Now, if McDonald's would have offered me free food, would I go back? No, I can't say I would. Besides Subway, I am staying away from fast food restaurants. My ban is back on for McDonald's because this is the restaurant that really took the fast food industry to a new level. For an interesting read, find a copy of Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation.

Many may look at McDonald's and praise the company for it's unprecedented success. The revenue is amazing, but I don't want to follow a business model that affects other's lives in a negative way. I do praise the "healthier" menu, but will continue with my self-imposed boycott.

In the meantime, I will find ways to impress my clients with the customer service they receive. Remember, there is no such thing as luck!

A Bottle of Cinnamon, a Two-year-old, and Two arrow Keys

2009-08-05T20:11:00.011-05:00

Last night I had a classic parenting nightmare, er, I mean moment, that in reflection, has given me some sound business advice.

While working in my office, my daughter was entertaining herself in another room. At last look, that entertainment involved some story books. After getting off the phone, I checked on her to find, to my horror, that she had plucked ten keys off of my husband's laptop. After convincing her that this activity was "naughty", I found out that the keys snap back on relatively easily...except the arrow keys. Somehow these keys were different from the others and would not snap back on. She had only pulled one arrow key off, but I pulled another one off in order to have a model and to make sure the key wasn't actually broken.

What I have failed to mention is that during this time, my daughter proceeded to dump an almost-full bottle of ground cinnamon onto the kitchen carpet (and herself), destroyed the bathroom during the bath she was taking to clean the cinnamon off herself while I was working on the computer, and my dinner burned on the stove.

Although, you may have had moments like these in your personal life, you are probably wondering how this can be converted into sage business advice. Here is what I learned from this still not very humorous evening:

Put things away that you do not want others touching or seeing.
Sometimes others' well meaning intentions can bring disaster.
A difficult situation can be made much worse if everything else is ignored while trying to solve the original problem.
There is usually a point, when the best thing to do is just stop trying.
You cannot solve every problem with your own skills and brainpower.

In the midst of this tumult, my daughter brought me a small bowl full of the powdered cinnamon and said "I made you breakfast." She was doing something good, even though in the end it caused me a lot of trouble. In that moment I had to decide what was most important, disciplining her for the mess or playing along so she could grow positively. Luckily, I was able to choose the latter.

In our businesses, we will run into similar situations with our employees or clients. Situations that seem like the end of the world in the moment, but in reality can be managed quite well when given enough time. All this situation needed was 25 minutes of my husband's time. He was able to get the arrow keys back on in a fraction of the time that I spend attempting. May we all heed the business lessons I learned last night before our next disaster. And remember, there is no such thing as luck!

The Journey to Virtual Assistance

2009-07-30T10:36:00.010-05:00

Two-and-a-half years ago, I was the young mom of a six-month-old and a four-year-old who was desperately seeking a job that would allow me to keep my children out of daycare. Because my husband is a physician, that meant either working third-shift or starting my own business. Third-shift did not sound appealing, so the best option for me was starting my own business.

As I have a degree in management and a certificate in nonprofit management from Indiana University, I had the intense desire to roll my experience and passion into one phenomenal career. Amazingly, I was able to do this, and still come up with a business that could be successful and profitable the first month out.

I had never heard of a "virtual assistant" before, but that is the job title I had decided on. I found out soon enough that field of virtual assistance not only existed, but was growing rapidly.

At this point, you may be wondering what a virtual assistant is and does. I really like the definition found on the website for the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce. It reads as follows:

A Virtual Assistant (or VA) is a solopreneur who specializes in providing ongoing, one-on-one, collaborative-style administrative support.

Like other professional service providers, Virtual Assistants operate remotely from their own places of business and utilize today's technology to deliver their services and communicate with clients.

Virtual Assistants are first and foremost administrative experts. Virtual Assistants sometimes offer additional, separate specialties that fall under creative and/or technical services.

Virtual Assistants come from a variety of business backgrounds, but the single-most important qualification the industry expects of its peers is at least five (5) years administrative experience earned in the real (non-virtual) business world working in upper-level capacities such as administrative assistant, executive assistant, secretary, legal assistant, paralegal, legal secretary, real estate assistant, office manager/supervisor, etc.

From this level of experience, a Virtual Assistant is expected to possess the skill sets, training and business knowledge which are the hallmark of a truly qualified Virtual Assistant.

A virtual assistant would be able to do anything you would normally have an in-office administrative assistant do, without needing to provide an office, computer, printer, etc. for her or him. Stay tuned for a blog post about all the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant instead of an in-office assistant. To view a complete list of the services Polaris Administrative Concepts offers, click here.

Why Pay for Press Releases?

2009-07-22T07:19:00.008-05:00

I recently learned that there is an overabundance of websites that will distribute your press releases for free. If you have a low project or advertising budget, and your goal is to get your information out to as many people as possible, this is the way to go.

You may be wondering where to start in finding these free pr websites. A client gave me a short list and then I did a Google search. The search yielded an article found on NAKEDPR that includes a list of no less than thirty of these gratuitous websites. I found all the ones I checked out to be easy to navigate and user-friendly.

There are many commonalities among the websites. All or most of the websites will want:

Your contact information

Registration (login and password)

A title that is not in all CAPS

A true press release, not an article or blatant advertisement (click here for tips)

A unique summary that is not the first paragraph of your release

Tags

Time to review and approve your release

Your target industry

On average, it took me 10 minutes to post a press release on sites where I was already registered and 15 minutes on sites where I had to create a new registration. I think it is time well spent to get your information out in cyberspace.

Of course, all of these free distribution websites give you the opportunity to upgrade and pay fees as low as $29 up to $400 per press release. As you peruse the sites, you can see what benefits are included with those fees. One service that some provide, even to the free registrants, is ability to check how many times your press release has been viewed. This allows you to see how effectively you used your time.

Here is the list of the ones I used. Check them out and use them to promote your event or organization. Have fun and remember there is no such thing as luck!

QuickAnnounce

Click Press

i-newswire

1888PressRelease

TransWorldNews

24-7 press release

Add PR

Free Press Release

Free Press Index

MediaSyndicate.com

pagerelease.com

pr.com

prlog.org

Express-press-release

Brand New Blog, Brand New Success

2009-07-15T09:36:00.000-05:00

As I write this, I am writing my first ever blog post. I have been putting off the weblog world for the past two years. Unsure that I could add anything "new" and "innovative" to cyberspace, I have avoided it altogether. Through clients' blogs, I have seen success and stagnation. I hope to emmulate the successful blogs by consolidating and creating helpful information that can navigate a successful future for your small business or nonprofit.

If any of you are debating about whether to create a blog of your own, one helpful article can be read at the Learn How To Do Things website. This article explains the success a weblog can bring you through the online world of network marketing.

I think that is all for this first post. Keep reading and remember, there is no such thing as luck!