{Michelle D@le}
Travelling and Working Online in the Virtual Assistant Industry, very enthusiastically shaping businesses of all sizes into lucrative, paperless enterprises.
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About Michelle
- Also Known As Virtual Miss Friday
She's a Digital Nomad.
I am Michelle, I was born in England in 1981, and I am the Virtual Assistant behind VirtualMissFriday.com. I developed my thriving VA Business while travelling and living in a variety of different countries, and I am still regularly on the move.
VMF Ltd is now a multi 6 figure IBC. It began in 2005 when I left the UK to begin my travels in Egypt and experience life abroad, and since then I have taken it — from just me, to a multi-VA practise, upgrading myself to a highly effective online business manager. I live a life which suits me, as a mobile entrepreneur and digital nomad. Since leaving the UK, I have travelled extensively and successfully created a life as a location independent entrepreneur. I have no intentions of going home to live in England. Over the years and through the wealth of experience I’ve gained, I am now ready to give some of this experience, insight and knowledge back to other Entrepreneurs, Virtual Assistants, Digital Nomads, Work-At-Home Parents and quite honestly, anybody who’s looking to quit their job, find real financial freedom, and become totally independent.
She's a CEO, Virtual Assistant & Online Business Consultant and Manager.
I have a passion for both travel and career, which made Virtual Assistance the ideal solution for me as an online entrepreneur. Having worked alongside enterprising directors and independent business owners, while enjoying a successful career in senior and executive roles, exceeding targets by designing and mastering effective methods of office support, I now assist businesses of all sizes into making the transition from "offline to online," using unique and diverse methods of online business management. I now work as a consultant and business manager, having developed my own team of highly-skilled VA’s to provide a virtual service which is turning businesses all over the world into lucrative, paperless enterprises.She's Human.
I am a Wife and a Mum to 2 beautiful children. I love to cook, listen to music, purchase anything that Apple.com have made - Yes, I am a certified "i" addict, and I read my horoscopes. I am an ordinary person, living an extraordinary life, just making the most of it.- MichelleDale.me
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Work With Michelle
- Online Business Consultancy
with Built-In Virtual Assistant Services
www.VirtualMissFriday.com
Michelle's Blog
http://www.virtualmissfriday.com/_blog/MichelleLearning Centre.
The Complete Roadmap To Becoming
A World-Class Online Service Provider
www.TheVARoadmap.com
The Virtually Anywhere Passport
Online Service Business Centre
www.TheVAPassport.com
The Virtually Anywhere Shoestring
Start-Up Business Programme
www.TheVAShoestring.com
The Virtually Anywhere Apprentice
The Complete 6-Figure Business Programme
www.TheVAApprentice.com
The Virtually Anywhere Black Book
Directory Of Online Service Providers
www.TheVABlackBook.com
The Virtually Anywhere Rockstar
Digital Mentorship Programme
www.TheVARockstar.com
The "Virtually Anywhere" service business newsletter for Online Consultants, Business Managers, Virtual Assistants and Digital Nomads and Clients.
www.eTravelWeekly.comThe Paperless Entrepreneur Magazine.
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As Seen In
- e-Travel, Media, Interviews
Fabulous Magazine
Adobe® Interview
Create32 Innovation For Austria
1 of 30 Leading World Experts Brought In To Create A Vision For The Future Of Austria.
Leaving Work Behind with Tom Ewer
22 Success Stories Reveal the Moment When They Knew They Were Capable Of More
No. 74 in The 100 Blogs You Need In Your Life
Business Backpacker with Brooke Ferguson
Michelle Dale Shares How to Hire a VA, Start a VA Business, and Become a Digital Nomad
Nu Nomad
How To Become a VA and Travel The World
Blog World
25 Brilliant Bloggers Talk About Virtual Assistants
Outsourcing Live with Tyrone Shum
From Being A Virtual Assistant To Owning A Sucessful Multi-VA Business With Michelle Dale
Virtual Business Lifestyle with Chris Ducker
Can’t Manage the 4-Hour Work Week..? Why Not Try The 4 Year Vacation!
Digital Nomad Academy with Cody McKibben
Successful Location-Independent Expert
Little Pink Book
Workers with Wanderlust – Little Pink Book Interviews Michelle Dale
4HWW Success Stories
Creating your 4HWW business and living a nomadic lifestyle Interview with Michelle Dale
Carol Roth – Tough Love For Business
No. 61 in Entrepreneurs – The biggest challenges facing Solopreneurs
IVAA Online Summit 2011 – VA Adventures
Build a Successful Virtual Business Without Boundaries
Virtual Staff Finder
Top Virtual Assistant Websites That Every Entrepreneur Should Visit Everyday!
Executive Action
The Virtual Assistant Productivity Boost Interview with Michelle Dale
Virtual Assistant Moms
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Posts
- Jun 14, 13
My life sucked - It's true, all work, no play, working was simply to pay the bills and holidays were something I took once a year for a week maybe two - I used to talk to my co-workers and say 'surely there has to be other options' but nobody really knew what they were, so we stayed in the same mind numbing jobs hoping for the best, hoping for a change outside of ourselves. BUT THEN!
Fast-forward 8 years and I've got an awesome life that I thank the universe everyday for, it actually only took me 3 months to obtain it because in a moment of time, I made a decision that changed everything, but over the years, I have put a lot of work into it, but it's worth it. I was recently asked a question in an interview, "What does location independence mean to you?" I won't give away my entire response, as I'll share the interview when it goes 'live' - but I started this one with, "It’s the foundation of my entire life."
But what could it do for you? I'm serious...
Let's explore this right now... But first, some background.My Story
Many people know my story which is briefly in the video above (I've been talking about it in my blog for so long that I could start sounding like a cracked record, but I still get contacted by people daily who have never heard it before and have an interest), even if you don't know my story, the fact is, that starting Virtual Miss Friday has given me everything - and I mean everything - I have ever needed... and more.
For me this was like a miracle, actually, I am sure that I've had a fair few unexplained miracles happen in my life, but at some point, I think I had to stop putting down everything that happened to me as a miracle, and started to take some credit for the extraordinary life I'm living.
I looked at everything I had done in my business, the decisions, the development, the mistakes, the triumphs, and I noticed that when I kept altering my decisions, changing and testing my development, learning from the mistakes and paying attention to the triumphs, a pattern started to emerge, where I would try and replicate the good stuff, this then stretched not just to offering services, but blogging and selling products too... It was like a series of online business experiments that paid off, and kept paying off.Helping You Create Your Story
Eventually I created a programme called, "The Virtually Anywhere Apprentice" that contained everything in my business that was awesome and paid off, over and over again... Everything that I did right, everything that worked, because I wanted to pass on the knowledge and understanding to other people. That programme has undergone some dramatic changes since it was first developed and I'm sure it will continue to do so as the online climate changes too.
The programme has for the most part included services I provide in Virtual Miss Friday but in February this year, 2 years after TVAA was born, I launched a version of the programme called "DIY" (Do It Yourself) - this allowed me to share the learning modules, tutorials and resources inside the programme with people who couldn't afford the full version that contained all the services and support, but it was still $997 - not much when you consider it's an entire jam packed, start to finish 6 figure flexible business model containing pretty much my life's work, but for some it's still too much...Your Moment To Change Everything
After several people had approached me asking if I would be open to doing a payment plan on the DIY version, I decided to make a payment plan available all the time, BUT not only that, until the 4th of July 2013, I'm selling the programme with a further $300 off. This means that there's an affordable solution for anyone looking to take my business model and make it their own, and take the first steps to becoming a successful location independent.
So what could this mean for you?
- You'll never have to rely on working for "The Man" again.
- You could have unlimited earning potential.
- You can live and work from anywhere you want.
- You can have a baby in a foreign country (and manage just fine).
- You could be at home and raise your children full time.
- You can raise fluent, native speaking bilingual children (even if you only speak English!)
- You could travel the world.
- You can have variety in your work day.
- You can choose who you want to work with.
- You can meet the man (or woman) of your dreams (yep, I did!)
- You can have freedom.
- You can have independence.
- You can make choices that are otherwise taken out of your hands.
- You can prove everyone wrong who says "You Can't".
- You can live in the sun 365 days a year.
- You can create your own perfect lifestyle.
- You can sit on a camel and ride in the desert after work (and you do it, just because you can).
I would have said 8 years ago that list was the biggest list of Bull**** I had ever heard, and it wouldn't be possible, life just doesn't work out like that unless you're rich or marry someone rich, and 8 years later, every single item has happened or is applicable to me... Because of my business, because of that decision I made to change.Go NOW!
Okay, so I'll cut to the chase, because I hate all that internet marketing hype stuff. Click here to go to the page where the special offer is running for the DIY version of the programme, so you can quit dreaming and start making it a reality. I'm telling you now, it is possible, even if you think it isn't, and it's a hell of a lot easier to find your way when you have a map - I've put together the map, you just have to follow it. - Jun 06, 13
Last week in my post I talked about 2 mindset lessons that I keep with me at all times in business that in a way have contributed to the success of my business - but this week, in the next 3000 words you're about to read, I'm going to share with you a comprehensive yet easy-to-follow "tried and tested" formula that you can use to break the cycle and turn your failing business around once and for all.
Starting an online business is never easy, sustaining it is even harder. Many people will give up in the first year because they are simply not making the profit they need to make the business venture viable, and in some cases the business could be losing money, every month. That can only go on for so long.
First of all, there's no magic pill, no overnight riches and no immediate solution, unless of course you have friends in high places, or you happen to be independently wealthy, then it could be possible. The pace of the transformation depends on many variables including current audience, type of business, existing clientele, previous history and existing operating costs to mention a few...
What I use this strategy for is assessing each individual business and the current health of the business, and then coming up with a pace and plan for executing the changes. If one step is skipped, or not carried out properly, or for the full duration, then this method of transformation will likely not yield the results desired.If followed according to plan, and it's tweaked and adjusted along the way, then it has every chance of being a success.Phase 1 - The Finances
The first step is to take a Birdseye view of the whole business to get a grasp on how much the business is costing on average per year, and then break that down into 12 months to get an average monthly payment. This can be a shock at first, but it needs to be done.
Once that's done, we look at where money can be saved, where certain things could be automated or even eliminated, and how that will impact the business.
The aim of this is to get a final monthly "break even" based on the overall annual cost of the business, this gives you a true figure of what you're aiming to make.
At this stage while refining costs and seeing what can be removed or changed, it's also a good time to do a review of all the systems and assets the business has - is a new website required, new brand, new product, new service, could workflows and processes be streamlined further to save money, could new team members be utilised that are more cost effective - it's a time to be ruthless and really find a footing, and build a foundation.Timeline
It shouldn't take you too long to pull together your expenses and see where the money is going across the year. If you're struggling with the refining process make sure you seek out an experienced online business consultant who can help you with this aspect.Phase 2 - The Changes
The second phase is to implement the changes outlined in the first phase, whether this be changing systems or services, rebranding, redeveloping a site or redesigning social media accounts. By doing this the right way, at this stage you will have your foundation, and your monthly "break even" target. Set that aside for a moment.Timeline
This depends on the volume of changes and resources required to implement them, for some it can be done fairly quickly, for others it could take months.Phase 3 - The Relaunch Campaign
Whenever you make significant changes to your business, it's important to have a structured relaunch campaign with a schedule in place and some sort of a special relaunch offer. Don't make the mistake of just thinking you can email your list and that's that. Make sure you utilise all your resources, social media accounts, scheduled tweets and updates, reminders, emails, LinkedIn connections, Facebook friends, really get your head together and think, "Who can I tell about this?" and "Where are they?" Then schedule in your relaunch emails and messages and recurring status updates to really push the relaunch, the more you plan ahead the less stressful this will be.Timeline
I would say a ballpark 2-4 weeks (depending on the type of business) with a solid well thought through marketing campaign should do it. Don't also make the mistake of rushing ahead before proper planning and speak with your team about the plan, so everyone's on the same page and working towards a common goal.Remember after you do this phase sales could take a dip, don't let this put your off, you have work to do!Phase 4 - Weeding
(and Intel & Relationships see Phase 5)
After your launch, you can begin "weeding" your current business, just like you would weed a garden, taking out everything that doesn't really do anything for the garden, this is often the most exciting time, and the most concerning time. Because you get to see exactly what you currently have to work with. It can be a shock to realise that the list you've been building over a period of time has no real value, or the followers you've been building are not listening. In these cases we're trying to start fresh, weed out the unwanted, and keep what is most valuable to the business.
The most important thing to weed out is the mailing list. What's the point of sending an email to 20,000 people each week that you've bought or coerced into subscribing, and only 500 open it, each week. It leaves a false sense of security. Email marketing is no longer about the quantity, but about the quality. You can make $10,000 from a list of 50 of the right people, and zero from 500 of the wrong people. If you've been using tactics to obtain subscribers over the years that have signed up under fake emails or simply don't look at your emails ever - it's time to let go.
The easiest way I have found to do this is through sending 10 emails (you can do less, 7 - 10 is an average) to the entire list over a period of time, then extract all the people from the list that have opened at least one of those emails. Everyone else who hasn't bothered to open any of the last 10 of your emails, either isn't there (it's going into an unmonitored account, or doesn't care - they simply don't have an interest in what you have to say). Those people won't make any significant difference to your business, if any at all. We have to get a realistic number together. To the list of people who don't open the emails send a final polite email, informing them that you are making changes in your business and if they would like to keep receiving emails from you, can they please subscribe again (and give them a link).Timeline
I suggest 7 - 10 newsletters, so if for example, you send a weekly newsletter then that will be 7 - 10 weeks to collate the results and make the changes.Phase 5 - Intel & Relationships
(and Turning The Corner see Phase 6)
During Phase 4 which we've just discussed, you can also begin gathering intel & relationship building, which is phase 5, this is really the start of putting one foot in front of the other and taking a new path and you'll begin to see if this is really working. The reason being is that in this phase you can start measuring the success of the process so far, through interaction. Let's break this down.Gathering Intel.
The best way to see how your relaunch is fairing is to create a survey and send that to your audience asking for feedback on the new style business, what do they like, what don't they like, and do they have any suggestions for improvements? Be sincere in your request for help, and make sure your audience knows that you care about what they think. From that you can see what your users are thinking. If one person makes a comment or suggests a change, but it doesn't come up from anyone else then it's probably an isolated case, so you can decide if it's something that needs to be addressed or not, but if several people suggest the same thing, that's when you need to pay attention, and take action refining the business - but make sure that each change is thoroughly thought through, just because someone suggests making a change it doesn't mean to say that it's always for the best. Listen carefully, but be cautious.Relationship Building.
There are several ways you can go about this depending on the type of business you have, and ideally your end goal is to get people back to your turf (e.g. your website) and get them subscribing to your email list (you should have something to offer them in exchange for their email, a free download, mp3, eBook, call, programme etc...) - remember, the people who are already on your list will already know you, may have already bought from you, and most likely will already know what you have to offer, but don't want to purchase for some reason. That's ok. In these cases you need to make sure that you're bringing in a steady flow of new leads and if you are suffering financially (you need money to put a roof over your head and food on the table), you can't really afford to be picky about who wants to spend their money with you at this stage in the game - you'll either do what it takes to survive, or you'll go under.Essentially, being precious about what you want from your business and what's going to pay the bills is not something you should be considering in your position right now to get the cash flowing, it will come later. For now, bite your lip and target the people who need what you've got first, so that when you get to phase 7, you're not in panic mode financially. "Panic mode" can kill your business and all your efforts to date.
Here are a few suggestions - keep them consistent and frequent throughout, a couple of blog posts and a few tweets won't fly.Email Newsletters.
Stay in touch with your audience regularly, email newsletters are one of the best ways to go about this. At this stage, save the promotional sales-y type stuff for phase 6, you don't want to dilute the impact of phase 6 with too much selling in the interim, stick to providing really high quality, FREE, useful content and information to your audience. I think it's fine to add the odd message with a link to an offer, but don't thrust it on people, remember, you've just relaunched and it's a lot for people to take in, plus you don't want to go all desperado style.Blog Posts.
A great way to create a newsletter is to first create a blog post and tell your readers about it.Facebook.
The best place for relationship building on Facebook is in a group. Pages tend to be for people to like and share and comment, whereas a group is a place to have a conversation, to learn about people, and they'll be more likely to open up and talk to you in a group than on a public page.
But, that doesn't mean to say that you abandon the page, keep posting on the page and share your posts inside the group to get activity going. Remember Rome wasn't built in a day and it can take time to gain trust, especially if this is something new for your audience.Twitter.
Start working on building your following, interacting, and directing Twitter followers to your website or other social media.LinkedIn.
Start building connections on LinkedIn, start a company page and share status updates on there, invite people to follow your company page, seek out groups of people who could potentially use your products and services, contact the owners and develop a relationship with them, these types of relationships come in very handy in the future in a tight spot or during promotions.
Other ideas include guest posting on other people's sites, getting involved in online communities, and receiving testimonials or positive social proof from other people in authority or people your buyers will trust.How will you know this is working?
You should see a steady increase in subscribers to your newsletter during this phase. When I monitor the results with clients I like to see new subscribers daily, then I know it's working. If you don't see new subscribers, you need to increase the amount of activity and interaction, or change the way you approach people. You want to build rapport and invite people into the fold.
One other very important part of this process is asking people to share your information, don't expect they will unless they're prompted - set up an auto responder on the free download saying something such as, "Like this eBook, please forward this link to a friend." It's a simple message but you can run it through most social media accounts or send a request to your connections offering to reciprocate where appropriate.Timeline
Give this as long as possible, the more time you spend on relationship building, the more clout Phase 6 is going to have.Phase 6 - Turning The Corner
So now you have your valuable original list of subscribers from "weeding," and all your nice new subscribers who you've been prepping with interaction, great content, information and emails to warm them up and develop trust. When you feel you're at the stage where you've made enough of a difference to your audience numbers, you can then begin with Phase 6, and begin turning a corner, and making the business profitable.
Make sure that before you embark on the corner turning that you take on board the intel you've gathered and all your tweaks are in place based on the feedback.
This is possibly one of the most difficult phases out of all 7 but get the timing right and it can be the most rewarding. Are you ready for this...
You need to muster something up with a WOW Factor - something that you can offer, that proves, without a doubt, you are an expert, what you say works, what you do will work for them, and you're the "Go To" person for that.
It sounds simple, but for most people, it isn't.
The best way to do this is to learn and understand what your audience really wants, really really wants, and then check out your competitors, and see what solutions they're providing and then knock them out of the ballpark with something new.
Remember, you'll need evidence and social proof, whether this be audio, video, text, testimonials, whatever - it has to be DAMN good. You've got one shot at this, right now, time is of the essence.
Once you have your product or service and your WOW factor evidence, then you're ready to schedule your campaign, just like you did in Phase 3. Only this time, you have weeded your garden and you have a new audience of people who need what you've got.
You have to show them that they need it now, and they need to buy it from you because you have the WOW factor that nobody else has.How will you know this is working?
You'll start to make money from sales - if you don't, there's a fundamental flaw in your prep work somewhere.Timeline
Again, the same as phase 3, around 2-4 weeks (depending on the type of business) with a solid well thought through marketing campaign should do it. Don't also make the mistake of rushing ahead before proper planning and speak with your team about the plan, so everyone is on the same page and working towards a common goal.
But really the timescale comes down to the business and its status. The most effective relaunch period I have known is around 3 complete months from relaunch on Phase 5, and 2 weeks on Phase 6. Keep note that a lot of people wait until the last minute to buy.Phase 7 - Your Ideal Business
This is what you've always dreamed about, you've got to the point where the business is now making money, and you're working on keeping it that way. Remember, we began with bringing people into the fold who needed what you've got as a means to get to this phase, now you can start working on turning your business into what you want without the sense of urgency, panic or looming financial downfall.
First we need to be realistic and you'll want to keep working as hard as you have been until you're at the very least meeting your "break even" from Phase 1 - make sure you have that as your target and don't lose sight of it.
Then you'll need to think about what you really want from the business, and you can do this at this stage by going through 5 areas with a fine tooth comb.
1 - Your overall business review.
2 - Selecting the right people (for YOU) to work with.
3 - Improving your communication so you attract these people.
4 - Looking at your marketing to attract these people.
5 - Getting your finances in order for the long term.
I do a review of all these points annually, so I can consistently work on getting my business to where it needs to be. If you'd like to study the exact process and criteria I use, check out my digital mentorship programme.Timeline
Review annually.Conclusion
Is this the only way to rescue an online business? Of course not! You'll find many people have different theories, ideas, and techniques - this is just mine, and I know it works.If you follow these phases and take each of them seriously, and don't deviate from the plan then I have no doubt that you will succeed in turning a failing online business into a profitable one. The most important factor is that you have the patience to carry it through and keep a cool head. This is easier said than done for some people, let's face it, running a business that isn't making it is a very stressful uncertain time, and the longer the business has been failing the worse it takes its toll on the owner. This can lead you to panic, lash out, place blame, lack trust and faith and doubt that there will ever be a light at the end of the tunnel - those feelings whilst all valid, are unproductive, drain your energy and can cause the whole process to fall apart at the seams if they manifest.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I've seen it in many businesses I have worked with, the plan works, the business changes - but only if the people involved are united as a team, working together and can stick to the programme, and power through until the end...Why Am I Telling You This?
Because we don't live in an ideal world.
It would be great if we could all shoot straight to Phase 7, it's what a lot of mentors and business experts will say is the most ideal, that we shouldn't compromise, I have to agree entirely - but folks - we don't all live in an ideal world, where we can borrow money to keep us going while we do that. It's really time that someone offered another solution for people (the majority) who need to make their business work as soon as possible.I've developed my own business from scratch, without any start-up money, moving through 6 countries, I have never had any form of credit or borrowing - no credit cards, no bank loans, no job, or other income, just me and the biz, and I have always used the funds I have made to live and develop my business. I have a true understanding from personal experience how important it is to keep the cash flowing to provide for my family - it's not all fluffy bunnies and pink unicorns in the world of business ;-) - May 31, 13
When I was growing up, in my junior years, I was always in a cocoon of ignorant bliss, as any small child is. I grew up mostly in Oxfordshire in the middle of England. My parents both worked, my dad was head of maintenance in a private boys school and my mum was a secretary in private girls school (there are a lot of private schools in Oxford!) - I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. We went on picnics, took family holidays and led a very normal kind of life. So far so good...
When I was about 8 my parents announced they were getting a divorce, and my mother and I moved to the south of England, Bognor Regis to be precise, where we stayed in my grandparents house, they had moved there some years before. I remember being upset that I had to leave my school, my friends, my hobbies, my ballet lessons, and most of all, my father.
2 Things I Learnt Back Then.
The first, was that in life, you can really only depend on yourself, and placing your fate in the hands of another is not ideal - at that age I was a minor and of course had no choice but to place my life in the hands of my parents, and I was raised well - but once we become adults, we essentially become dependant on ourselves, unless you're an ant and live in a colony of course.
I probably sound terribly cynical, in fact I know I do, but because of this line of thinking, I don't sit around and wait for things to happen to me, and I don't wait for the right people to come into my life to make them happen. Where possible, I make them happen, and I seek out the right people to help me make them happen. It's not a passive activity.
The second lesson I learnt was that I had to adapt to my new environment, and if I didn't adapt, I would just be miserable, wanting something I could no longer have in my life. Do you know how much anxiety it can cause when you want something but have no control over achieving it?
Whilst I'm of the mindset we can be and do anything we want in life, we cannot make other people be and do whatever we want, so therefore, when a situation is out of one's control, it's better to adapt. Adapting has helped me get through some of the toughest of times.
What happens to things that don't bend? They'll likely break.
The Impact On My Business.
Depend.
The first lesson, essentially that I should be self-dependent or independent if I want to get what I want out of life has given me a very strong sense of responsibility. When I'm the one in control of my business, I'm the one that needs to take ownership of this. My choices of who I'm to work with, who I listen to, who I take advice from, and who I don't take advice from, what knowledge I should be passing on, what mistakes I've made that I need to learn from - and that any improvement will come from me, and the actions I take.
I don't always get it right, but the more I've slipped up in the past, the less I slip up as time goes along.
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you can't or shouldn't depend on others, in fact, I have needed to depend on other people almost constantly throughout the development of my business, and I have an incredible support network - but that's what they are there to do, support, and I don't hold those people responsible for the outcome of my own goals, I hold myself responsible, and I am always looking to train myself to make the best decisions in business, usually that training comes in the form of making less than ideal decisions, gaining first-hand experience and learning from it.
Adapt.
The second lesson, let's call it adaptability, has allowed me to keep an open mind, learn to be flexible where I need to be, and stick to my guns when I don't need to be. When do you need to be adaptable? When you have no control over the situation. If you have an issue and you can't do anything to resolve it personally, the issue is entirely outside of yourself, you simply have to go with the flow and make the best of it, otherwise you'll crack up or be miserable...
In business I have become a solutions person, if I can, and I want to, I will resolve anything, either by relying on myself to find a solution (often with the support of others), or knowing when it's time to let go and adapt to the environment or situation.As the years go by and particularly whenever I travel to live in a new country, I always learn new life lessons, but I find it interesting that the 2 lessons that have carried me through almost everything in life and business, are the very first life lessons I remember learning as a kid, and for that, I am truly grateful...
What's your first or most valuable life lesson? - May 24, 13
Running an online business doesn't always need to be about the exchange of money for services, in fact if we think about it like that, business would seem almost entirely cold and calculated, which I don't think it is or should be. So here are a few things you can do for your clients that will make a difference to their working environment with you, and the best things is, they won't cost a penny.
Take an interest.
Taking an interest in your client is very important, business is business yes, but in your interactions open and close the business-talk with greetings... "How are you?" "How is your day going?" "Did you see The Big Bang Theory last night?" "Did you enjoy your holiday?" etc... you get the idea. Let them know you care about more that just their business by taking a general interest. You know how nice it is when people take an interest in you, right?Mark special occasions.
With Facebook and Skype these days it's fairly easy to obtain a birthday date, or through conversation when someone mentions an anniversary, make a note anytime you get wind of a client's special occasion, and give it a mention, or send a personal email to wish them well.Be emotive in your responses.
Just because we're working in a digital environment doesn't meant to say we can't make expressions, or communicate feeling through keystrokes. For example...
:-) - You're smiling
! - You're excited
!!!!! - You're really excited
:-/ - You're confused
:-( - You're concerned
:-D - You think that's hilariousSaw this and thought of you.
Do you ever come across blog posts, articles, funny quotes, images on Pinterest or status updates such as tweets of Facebook updates that could be applicable to your client? Why not share a "saw this and thought of you" with them? @reply them on Twitter, send them a link in an email, send a direct message, share something on Facebook or tag them in an image. The "saw this and thought of you" thing is a gesture, a very nice gesture actually.Share their stuff.
If I have been working with a client on a project, or I've enjoyed reading one of their articles and find it could fit in well with a newsletter, blog post or social media avenue, I'll share it. I'm happy to help my clients along by giving them a mention or retweeting their posts. I work with a variety of people, many of them are experts in their field, and I enjoy taking an active interest in what they're doing, what they have to teach me, and passing these things along.
Basically in other words, think about your clients, try to do at least one small thing a day or a week for them, and these little acts of humanity can go a long way to establishing an excellent relationship!Tell them a joke.
Just because it might make them smile, and smiling is good :-) - May 14, 13
I find initial enquiries from potential clients interesting, I think you can tell a lot from a person from the way that they make that first contact, and often times in the beginning we wonder what the best way to respond is - well, this is the formula which works best for me, and from the feedback I've gotton from it, it's also why most clients will respond back instead of going to the other VA's they've contacted.
In my experience when a contact form comes through, your primary goal is to get the potential client on the phone as soon as possible if you want to secure the business (even though many times I have secured clients with no verbal contact before they work with me, I still think it's the most effective way to secure the client early on, because going back and forth electronically takes more time), but sometimes you don't really know what it is you're securing because the initial enquiry is quite vague.
The folk that do send in comprehensive enquiries tend to be easier to respond to because you have much more to go on by way of understanding what they need. Then there are the ones that require us to gather further information or set to purpose a specific direction for them to go in.Break It Down Into 5 Parts.
The best way to do the initial email response is basically lay it out in 5 parts, and keep it simple.Part 1.
Thank them for contacting you and tell you'd be happy to help.Part 2.
Relay back in your own words, your understanding of what they want from you, this could be long or short depending on their initial contact with you, but the point is to establish with them that you understand, or in some cases don't understand what they're needing assistance with.Part 3.
Confirm that if you have understood correctly, that you can (or cannot help).Part 4.
If you can, then provide 2 options, first offer to have a chat on the phone or second, if they have a project/ongoing task brief that you could look over, you could provide a quotation or options. (If this happens, the next step would be to secure the appointment to discuss the project or ongoing task brief and walk the client through their options).Part 5.
Thank them, and mention that you are looking forward to hearing from them.The Example.
So for example, someone contacts you to enquire about a website and ongoing marketing.
"I have a domain thisisthedomain.com and website. I also have a column "this is the name of my column" over 100 articles, plus I have a product. I would like to have an online store for the product and do marketing to send traffic to my website. Also to increase sales I want to offer an ebook of my articles. I need a website to reflect this. Help......"
So the response in this case would be... The areas in red show customisations and notes.
Hi [name of potential client],
Thanks so much for contacting Virtual Miss Friday, I am happy to assist with your enquiry.
So from what I gather you need help pulling together all the different elements of this project into one:
- A Website (To replace the current thisisthedomain.com site)
- Blog (For articles currently on [find the link to the column online])
- Product (What's the product,? Is it the [enter suspected product name and enter link to product])
- eBook (Is this already created and ready to be sold or do you requires assistance with putting this together?)
If I have understood correctly, I can most certainly help you with this, did you want to get together and have a chat on the phone or do you have a more detailed project brief that I can look over to provide a quote and options?
Thanks [name of potential client], I shall very much look forward to hearing from you soon.You'll sound awesome, friendly and totally on the ball!Eliminating Half The Competition.
So basically, you'll see the example response above contains all 5 points, but not only that, this email also shows that I have taken an interest in the client, I have specifically addressed a number of items that would have required me to go and actively look at their business, and I have also relayed back my understanding of the tasks, showing that I have read their requirements and I am actively in pursuit of meeting them, and this is what I believe half of the competition that the potential client may have contacted will not be doing in their first initial response, it takes a small amount of time, but it goes a very, very long way... And you'll stand out as a top notch prospective virtual assistant because of it.Final Golden Rule.
This might seem obvious, but I know it happens.... Never, ever say you can help with something when you can't - do both the potential client and yourself a favour and instead, suggest a suitable colleague and point them in another direction. - May 08, 13
I'm a business woman and a mum of 2 who loves to cook, absolutely loves wine, and primarily spends most social events eating and drinking with friends and when I'm not with friends, I love creating meals at home. I spend most of the day sitting down at my desk, as my company is based entirely online. Since having 2 children back-to-back I'm struggling with my weight - and now, I'm setting myself a challenge to drink nothing but the juices of fruits and vegetables for (30) days.
Why I know this works
If you've been following me for a while you may recall that I did a juice experiment last year where I drank juice for around 29 days, just the juice of fruits and vegetables (with the occasional cup of herbal/green tea too). It wasn't the easiest thing I ever did, and I occasionally fell off the wagon, you can read all about the experiment here:http://www.virtualmissfriday.com/michelle/juiceexperiment
I lost a good amount of weight during that time, going from 93.5 kilos to 85.9 kilos (a loss of approximately 17 lbs in 29 days) and although I stopped juicing, I did manage to maintain it, but sadly from Christmas until February, I became quite ill, and ironically, health was the last thing on my mind, getting by day-to-day was the only thing I could think about. Running the business, taking care of the kids, flaking out in the evenings before starting the next day was about all I could manage, and because of that, my weight slowly crept back on, all of it.
I did recover, and when I did I got back into juicing and green smoothies, usually having one for breakfast and also sometimes lunch, and whilst I felt good about that, it didn't help me lose any weight. I've decided to get 'back on the wagon' this month and do another 30 days juice detox, but this time, I'm going to try my hardest not to cheat, and see if I can improve upon the results I achieved before.Thursday May 9th to June 7th 2013.
This Thursday, the 9th of May, I begin Nancy Desjardins Fresh Start Detox. I decided that rather than just go it alone I would try and stick to a programme, and keep myself more accountable. The experiment I did last year has prepared me for what's to come - I know what to expect, and I know not to foolishly quit the juice after the 30 days is up. I will keep going, at least once or twice a day.
Although I eat a very good diet, lots of fresh food, organic where possible, and the experiment I did last year kicked my sugar cravings, I literally can enjoy a nice dessert occasionally now, but I have no interest in sweets, sugar or chocolate anymore, I like food A LOT and also wine, so this is where I will need to bring out my willpower in full force, also it's my birthday on the 18th of May, my first choice on how to celebrate would be going out for a meal, and I'm trying not to think about that right now.Make It Happen!
Support is essential to the success of this for me. I have a very supportive husband who pretty much does all the juicing so I can concentrate on the business and not have to think about where my juices are coming from. I'm currently living on Crete and the weather is perfect, we have lots of juice bars so I'll be able to socialise, but instead of a glass of wine I'll be ordering a juice, and finally, I'm going to do this with the support mechanism that Nancy Desjardins has put together on her website HealthLady.comNot only am I going to be doing the Fresh Start Detox programme she has put together, I will also be documenting my journey and weight loss each day, Monday through Friday in her forums at the Health Academy.
So if you'd like to join me, I hope that my daily reports will help you to keep on track too.This is what you need to do!
Option 1. Join Me!
If you'd like to do the Fresh Start Detox with me you'll need to click here.
First click on the "Fresh Start Detox" (second option) and sign up for your account so you get access to the detox programme, Nancy currently has a sale on until May 16th to get the programme for just $47!Option 2. Follow Me!
The next option is that if you don't want to join me on the detox, but you'd like to follow my progress diary, I'll be updating Nancy's Health Academy Forums each day with my progress report. So all you have to do is click here.
Click "Health Academy" (first option), and sign up. If you want to follow the next 30 days it's just $17 for the month and you can cancel at anytime.
Juicing is really a 'life changing' experience - I'm looking forward to this journey and moreover if you decide to do it with me, I'll look forward to hearing about your results in the Health Academy forums, we'll have a much better chance if we all support each other, and in terms of health coaching, there's nobody better to get you through this than Nancy Desjardins from HealthLady.com, who is totally passionate and committed to helping people.
If you'd like to hear an interview I did with Nancy (who is also a client of mine) check out the special offer on The VA Rockstar this month, where you can listen to my interview with Nancy called "Body, Brain and Business" and how your health is linked to your overall success!Wish me luck!!! Tonight is my last night of solid food and chewing for 30 days and I intend to go out with a bang. - May 01, 13
At the end of last year, in December 2012, I made some significant changes within my business, I go through this approximately every year on a larger scale, those changes allowed me to expand my business in the last 3 months, faster than any other 3 month period before. In this post I'm going to share with you what I did to make this happen, and how you can follow this same process, as often as you feel ready for it.
If you have an established Virtual Assistant Business, you might feel happy with the set up, your brand, your presence, your systems and your services, you also have a client base and you're earning an income, then you may be content - but reaching this stage of your business can also leave you feeling like you're coming to the end of a journey, but you're not quite there yet. Something is still not right, maybe it's your clientele, maybe you feel you're working too many hours for the amount of profit you make, maybe you feel like your business is running you and you're not running your business, maybe you feel like you have reached a place where you've got stuck and can't see how to move forward.Maybe you know your business could be so much better, and you need a system to follow, that's tried, tested, works and won't let you down - something you can keep following to continue to improve.
The Solution...
This is a very common place to be for many online service providers, and there's a solution that will bring everything on track. It's a step-by-step formula or process, let's call it this, and it can be implemented in any online service business that's already up and running with at least a small clientbase. It's the exact system I use in Virtual Miss Friday, it's the system I used these last few months to expand even further than I considered would be possible in such a short space of time, yet still keep my service to clients personal, responsive and maintaining a high standard, but for anyone who knows me, you'll also know I like to stretch the limits.
Exceeding The 3 Month Goal
In 3 months I've taken in 7 brand new clients, 3 on my priority support programme, 5 new team members, 2 of which are starting this week, and I have 1 new position which opened up last week for a team member to come in during May. Plus, the ironic thing is, that I have also turned more clients down and let projects and potential clients go than ever before, because they didn't fit into my formula - it was tough to discipline myself to do this, but by doing so it allowed me to concentrate and work with the clients who I knew would be better for me and for my business overall.
I have also made significant changes to my business overall, my mindset and my structure. Overall it's been the most productive 3 months of my entire business, since 2005. Not only that, in terms of the day-to-day operations of the business, I have more free time (again that took a lot of discipline) to spend with my family and enjoying my nomadic lifestyle - without compromising on my service levels to existing clients.So, How Do You Do It?
The best part is that it's not rocket science, it requires following guidelines, and making some tough decisions about your established business and seeing them through to the end, in a fearless, ruthless manner.
Do you think you're at a stage where you could do this and break a cycle, make changes that could potentially ensure the ongoing success of your business?
This entire process has been documented into a programme called "The VA Rockstar," and to celebrate my birthday this month, 9 years into my Virtual Assistant Business I'm offering this programme which includes a direct coaching call with me which you can use anytime, at a very special price!
So click HERE to learn more or to get started today!NEW in the Rockstar
I have just added a new interview with my client Richard Parker who I have been working with since 2009. One of the many great things about a varied clientbase is what you can learn from the clients you work with. On this call I discuss with Richard his own experiences on how he grew his corporation Diomo, into a 30 million dollar enterprise, what it takes to be an exceptional entrepreneur, and other ways online service providers can use their business to subsidise their income and have even greater earning potential beyond clients.
Click here for further details and to take advantage of this months special offer!
- Apr 25, 13
In my last post I mentioned that I would be away for a week, on a sort of holiday (vacation) type thing. It's odd really because since 2005 when I became a virtual assistant and digital nomad my entire life, day by day has been a complete holiday, having worked my way living through 6 countries, meeting my husband along the way and having a couple of kids but never having anywhere I particularly need to be, that kind of makes me and my life unique... But these last 7 days have I had an eye opener - oh my, yes I have...
So first of all I decided to take a holiday, my mum and a friend were coming to stay for a week, the friend I haven't seen in more than a couple of years and my mum more than 6 months, so it would have been lovely to see them, relax and just catch up.
How things actually turned out was slightly different - and I'm going to share this with you to show you that no matter how you think things will go, they might never quite go according to plan...
First I have to take you back to 2010, I wrote a blog post about an experience I had where my server went down unexpectedly, which, when you run a virtual services business it can seem like a complete and utter disaster. Here is the post - and you will notice, at that time, to remedy the situation I went out and purchased the absolute best server money could buy, and after about a year due to the expansion of my business, I even upgraded to bigger, more secure, and better... (by this time the original server company had been bought out by a larger company, but I still stuck with them, I had no reason to think the service would be any different) - In addition, I also hired a dedicated independent server expert with a team of web savvy technical people to make sure everything ran smoothly so I wouldn't ever endure the same issues I experienced before. You would think that with such a monthly financial commitment, let's say more than several hundred $$$ a month the safety of my business was pretty much covered... Wrong.
And this is where we come back to the present...
Sunday - I picked my mum up from the airport, I had intended to do a few days work, and then on Wednesday, her birthday, I was taking her to a spa, and then would have the rest of the week to go 'out and about.'
Monday was fine.
Tuesday we noticed that our email went down and spotted some other small issues.
Wednesday we had a scheduled upgrade happening for our main project area. I was at the spa that day for my mums birthday and left things in the capable hands of my husband and team. When I got back, that's when the news came. There was a significant issue with one of the hard drives on the server, it happened to be the hard drive that was supposed to ping us when errors or problems were detected and it didn't - this apparently was entirely a hardware issue, and the HDD (hard drive) needed to be replaced.So - we accepted the downtime, but nothing is ever straightforward, is it? We had oodles of data to back up and that alone was going to take literally all night until the following morning.
Thursday - There was nothing I could do. Dale notified all the clients we knew would be trying to get a hold of us, and I carried on taking my mum and a friend out and about. When I got back, they were still working on the server via support tickets and direct phone support.
Friday - Eventually Friday evening came around and we were able to get everything up-and-running, remarkably due to the fact that we had a lot of back-ups in place we lost nothing other than a couple of days of business. In the online world, a couple of days in an (enormous) amount of time.As I'm writing this now, I'm looking at yet again a broken office. You see, after the server people attached a new 3rd drive, we moved everything onto this good drive, fortunately we kept a spare (backup drive) from day one for instances such as this, we then instructed the server people in Amsterdam to take away the defective hard drive and replace it with a good drive. Do you know what they did??? (these are not my people by the way, they belong to the server company) - they went and took out the good drive... leaving the empty broken hard drive in place, and removing all my sites from the Web.
So, you see folks, sometimes life has a way of throwing a bunch of C**P at you, and the only thing you can do is do the best you can because it's totally out of your hands, and in the hands of the most expensive hosting company that money can buy and the a man called Nick who took out the wrong drive. He did apologise though...
And breath...
Needless to say, this first week back from the semi-vacation where I sat and worried for most of it, and also hit the bottle a few times (yeah it did help) has been busy, and I'm making a resolution to try and be more accepting when things go wrong, the problem is, I anticipated the people who rely on me in business are less accepting, and I discovered that I am truly surrounded by the most loyal and supportive clients a virtual assistant could ever wish for. We're now looking at ending our relationship with hardware (our dedicated server) in exchange for The Cloud...
Nick from Amsterdam has now put back the good hardrive and everything is back to normal. As they say in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, "Everything will be alright in the end, if it is not alright, it is not yet the end."
- Apr 08, 13
Last week you may have noticed I went 'radio silent' and a blog post didn't appear on this blog and a newsletter didn't go out either. This really was for a couple of reasons, the first, it was Easter and I decided that I would give myself a break from my routine for that reason, and the second, I had a major relaunch for a client, and several other very important projects simmering on my virtual stove for other clients - and when that happens, clients come first, and my time is wholeheartedly devoted to their businesses.
You see here's the thing, I am a real stickler for routine and meeting any commitment I make, you'll probably see that from the hundreds of blog posts from this site - a majority posted every week without fail. When I skip a post or a newsletter, I don't like it - but this is not an excuse for why I was unable to post last week, this is simply me making my business work, and prioritising. I think I'd like to talk about the difference between the two in relation to having a successful business.The Entrepreneurs 6th Sense.
Usually I have more structure to my blog posts, you may find this is a little random, but sometimes a little random is exactly what is called for. Over recent weeks I have continued to have the pleasure of speaking to clients and VA's about their businesses and the future of their businesses. As a natural part of this discussion, lives outside of their businesses come into play, because this to me isn't just a business. I don't see a business as something you switch off from, or close the door on, that's simply a job or being an employee, for me, having my own business is a 24/7 type thing that blends in with my life and family. I Accept it.
Often times I wake up first thing in the morning remembering I should have done something, it's like having a 6th sense, or even sometimes in the middle of the night, and I can then slip into the office and right myself some notes, or schedule a reminder. Do I care that it's 3am in the morning, no... not really. You see if you ever have children, you'll know that the sense of responsibility becomes an integral part of your very being, you listen out for them, even while you're sleeping and for me, my clients' businesses all have a similar importance, but they just occupy a different part of my brain and a different part of my awareness. But essentially, I take care of my clients, in a similar fashion to taking care of my children, making sure they are okay at all times. It's not the first time I have used this analogy and I am sure it won't be the last.
But you see here's the thing. If I had been a salaried employee, I wouldn't have that same unconscious sense or gift of perception. I'd be wanting to distance myself from the thing I had to endure on a daily basis in order to pay my bills, but being a business owner, and knowing that my bills won't get paid unless I set certain standards in my business is enough to care, but it goes so much more beyond that too.It All Comes From Having A Bloody Good Reason.
I'm in Crete right now, and last week I celebrated 1 year of living here. We sailed over from living in Italy on the 1st of April 2012, and we intended to stay here a year and then move on to another unknown place. But as time moved on, we realised this place was special, the island, the people, the weather, the lifestyle - how everything is so wholesome and invigorating... We then said to ourselves... Why do we have to go? Where exactly do we have to be? What's stopping us from staying? And we decided that until we felt the time was right to move on, we'd hang out here for a while...
Without my virtual business, I would have that decision removed from my hands. I am proud to say that I am in my 8th year of being a nomad, having left England, I have no need to return, but at the same time, no need to be in any other specific place either.
Without my passion for living this lifestyle and for raising a family within it, I wouldn't have developed my ability and drive to do the best I possibly can for my clients, this 6th sense I'm talking about. I am often told that I am "lucky" to be living the way I do - when I have come to the conclusion that luck plays little to no part of it. Dedication, determination, an ability to strive for something that means something and taking my income seriously, to the point where if I need to sit up until 3am in the morning working, because I have to meet a responsibility, I will, and I will do it with gratitude that I have a purpose, and that also provides for my family.Just FYI, I often don't stay up later working these days because of the way I structure my business and schedule my clients' work with my team - however, it was not always like this in the early stages when I was on my journey to success, when I was living in France our neighbour once commented on how the light was always on in our office before 7am in the morning and after midnight, 7 days a week, at that time we had a 15th month old son and a newborn baby with us 24/7 too, and even though I feel now that I've come a long way beyond that several years later - I am still more than willing to pull out all the stops if needed, and that willingness is always there.The 3 Musts.
What I am trying to say is that in business, not just a virtual one, but any business, if you want to see the kind of rewards that are in your big vision for the future, you MUST genuinely care, about yourself and your clients, you MUST be prepared to work harder than you would as an employee, and you MUST then learn to enjoy the fruits of your labours to keep reminding yourself the reason why you do what you do, to have fun and make the most of out your life and business combined.
So next week, you won't hear from me, because I will be enjoying the fruits of my labours, I am having family and friends to stay with me here in Crete and I will be making the most our time together, and I will be missing a weekly post on this blog, but I want you to know that even when I don't post, YOU my readers, my clients, the members of my programmes, and the people I mentor, are always on my mind and in my thoughts and I am always eager to return.Making Excuses or Making It Work.
It's okay to break your schedule, to veer off your business routine, to miss the odd commitment here and there, but if you want a successful business, that your clients and even colleagues rave about, it's important to make those moments exceedingly rare - and learn the difference between the reason why you've done it -as being an excuse, or it simply being you making it work and prioritising something else as more pertinent to the bigger picture and the vision of where you want to be in life and business.
Cryptic this week, right?Have a great week ahead, and I'll see you soon! - Mar 25, 13
I am often asked how a typical day looks for me. I guess some people expect me to have a very glamorous lifestyle and I can only anticipate that my response may be a little disappointing, but to me, life doesn't really get any better than this, especially when we can achieve this lifestyle from almost anywhere in the world, whenever we want.
So, this is full disclosure about what an average weekday looks like for me. I am the CEO of a virtual business, I have 3 managers, and around 25 virtual champions on my team in total split into 4 small groups/departments. My client base is large, some on individual projects of various sizes, some just hiring us for content and SEO, and some with ongoing recurring daily work.
7:30 am
I hate mornings, I'm really not a morning person at all, my husband gets up around 6:00 for the kids and wakes me up around 7:30am with a cup of tea. For this I am eternally grateful!
8 am
Start rounding the kids up to get them ready for their day, at 8:15 we leave the house, I drop my son off at school and then my daughter with our Greek childminder. I would highly recommend if you are a nomad and living in a foreign country with children that they spend as much time as possible talking to people who don't speak English, it's the fastest way for them to learn the language - if they were at home with us all day everyday we could teach them squat about the language. In fact, my son now has a perfect Greek accent and often corrects me when I pronounce the words wrong!
8:30 am
I'm home and jump on my trampoline for a while and then I have my Green Smoothie or Juice for breakfast.
Around 9 am 'ish'.
I'm sat at my desk ready to start the day. First I check my horoscopes on Cainer.com and then take a look at my calendar to see what appointments I have that day, with who, and what time.
Then I open up my 3 primary windows that I am using throughout the day. My email, my support site and my project management space which I call "The Office".
I begin with checking the support site and seeing what has come in that I need to deal with, closing things off which are not required and just doing a general tidy up. Anything I can flag for my team, I will, to pick up when they come online. I clear my support site so it's prepped and ready for the day.
I then pretty much do the same with my email. My email contains both my personal emails, the emails between myself and my team and also I receive notifications of the tasks and discussions from my project space "The Office" which I process one by one until they are also cleared. This is usually a good portion of the morning, as we have to manage a lot of projects and clients. I delegate as much as possible and respond to any questions from my team so they can act on them as soon as possible and I'm not holding up the task processing.Around 12 noon 'ish'.
I check my task list for the day and see if there are any regular essential tasks that I need to carry out, such as sending my newsletter, posting to my blog, checking social media etc... All those things that keep the business ticking over.
Then I look over each active client and their projects, starting with my priority support clients so I can keep their work moving as quickly as possible by delegating as much as I possibly can, and then creating a task list myself for the day from what I was unable to delegate - this is usually when I am required to consult, advise or coordinate specific items or stages on the project. I'll usually liaise with the clients and team through online discussions or Skype.
Then for the rest of the day I work on projects, periodically checking and responding to my priority support clients and any urgent tasks or emails which come in. I always put my clients first in this respect, but I am also sensible about it too, and will leave non-urgent or non-critical tasks for the team to pick up later in the day.I stop for food whenever I feel ready.
Around 4 pm 'ish'.
I do a final check on everything, before getting ready to give the computer and myself a break. I do work pretty much solid during the day, but I often go out, do the shopping, run errands that type of thing - it really all depends on the workload and deadlines.
5 pm.
I go pick up my kids from my Greek childminder and then we have some family time at home, I cook dinner, we hang out or do something together.Around 7 pm - 8 pm 'ish'.
We put the kids to bed and I do a quick check to make sure nothing needs my urgent attention, or to see if I need to do any quick approvals or comments on the tasks/projects just so I don't hold up the night shift (people outside of my time-zone).
I also tend to have calls in the evening too, and if I do have calls at night I'll usually work until the calls end.
After that I spend some time with my husband, or doing something I like to do, before we go to bed.And The Weekend?
Unless something is really pressing or a deadline needs to be met, I spend my weekends with my husband and kids. It's important to have that balance wherever possible, but as a business owner, and not just that but an entrepreneur and someone who loves what they do I remain flexible with my time, some days I work long hours, and some days if there's not much that needs my attention I'll take a break and shutdown, go do something different.
The fact is that I have a 4 and 5 year old, so a 9-5, Monday to Friday lifestyle is currently what fits in with them best, I make the business fit around my personal preferences and my family. At that's what counts - that's one of the many reasons why I love being in business for myself. Becoming a business owner is not just about being your own boss and spending all day on the beach just because you can and there's nobody to stop you (although I do know some people who would like to do that) - It's about being responsible with managing the clients, the family, and the work day - but doing it with complete freedom knowing you are the one controlling what goes on, and when.It's Not Like This Every Day...
Of course there are variations to my schedule, at lot of those variations tend to do with the country where we are living, for example we're in Crete right now, 10 minutes from the beach, so we'll often try and get some beach time in during the week if the kids have a day off or happen to be home with us. It's these perks that make the times when there's more pressure and more work to deliver that much more satisfying and easier to handle.
So there you have it. I'd love to know what your day is like if you'd like to leave a comment! - Mar 20, 13
This weekend was a very special long weekend here in Greece, and we went to the annual carnival/festival in the main town. It was totally packed out but it was bunches of fun! Today I'm bringing the carnival to the blog with video and pictures for you to enjoy - And that's how you have a carnival party on a blog!
- Mar 12, 13
This is a true story, I don't know how common it is, maybe it's very common, maybe not so common at all, all I know is that I was certainly not expecting it, maybe my husband wasn't either...
When I was born I was named Michelle Louise Dale, after my father Michael Dale (Michelle is the female equivilant).
When I was living in Egypt, I had a friend who was a lovely woman and she rented out flats in her building. She told me that there was a tall handsome Californian man in his early 30's renting out one of her flats and I should go and meet him, (yeah, she was matchmaking I think) she suggested she invite him up for a coffee at the same time she invites me for a coffee as we might get along. Given the fact that young handsome men from California, and English was their first language were pretty scarce in Luxor at that time, I said sure why not, what's his name?
She said his name is Dale.... My friend and I went on first name terms funnily enough and I said, wow that's weird, so is mine. My name is Michelle Dale.
So... She invited me and Dale to have a coffee at her flat one evening and he and I hit it off, I think.... Actually he asked my friend for my number after I left and then he didn't call me for over a week, I think he was on Egyptian time.
Anyway, around 10 days later Dale called me, and we met for a drink, within a month we were planning the rest of the foreseeable future together.
That was in 2006. In 2007 our son was born, in 2009 our daughter and in 2010, we married. So I guess my name now 'officially' is no longer Dale, however my business and everything I built over the years has always been from Michelle Dale and hence I never changed my name.
Life has been unusual having the same name as my husband. When we were in the registry office creating our child's first birth certificate we were asked if we were sure my name was Michelle Dale... The same thing happened with our daughter, then again when we got married, when we applied for a lease on a house, and pretty much at any given point where we have had to provide both our names.It's also interesting how we ended up getting married - you see that's us on our wedding day in the image above... No white gown, masses of people or food... We had been battling with the VISA office for ages in France since he is from the USA and decided to get married to make life a little easier for all of us, so on a cold February day we went to the registry office to sign the marriage papers, no fancy anything, no grand wedding plans, but really it didn't matter, what matters the most in life is simply being with the ones you love. I bought my 'wedding outfit' from a French supermarket a few days before, crazy right... In the photo you'll see our 2 witnesses, to the left, is Dorota, our Polish mid-wife from when we had Akasha (who I'm holding) and to the far right, a very good Swiss neighbour and friend, who helped us with Dale's VISA. In the middle, the man who married us, and to my right, his assistant.
We've also been asked if my husband took my name when we married instead of me taking his, but no, he was also a Dale before we met.
Since my husband joined me in the business shortly after the birth of our son, I have since been questioned when he sends emails using his name Dale, if I am pretending to be 2 people... this happens frequently, I'm not pretending to be 2 people.
So really this post is to say, yes, my name is Michelle Dale, and yes my husband is also called Dale, and he works with me in Virtual Miss Friday :-)
Just to make matters interesting, our son's middle name is also Dale so it looks like we gave him both my name and my husband's name. In hindsight that may have not been such a good idea and he'll also get the blank look when someone asks him what's your mother's maiden name and he says "Dale," having just told them his father's name is Dale and his middle name is Dale....
Anyway, this is all just a happy coincidence and in some ways I think fate just gave me that little helping hand to show me that I had chosen the right man to spend my life with.
So what's Dale's last name? I'm not saying, but what I can say is that it's foreign and very hard to pronounce the first time you say it, and it has a lot of letters in it. Needless to say, it's probably simpler I stayed with Michelle Dale. - Mar 03, 13
Expanding into a Virtual Team can be both exciting and stressful. Hiring support gives us a feeling that we're breaking into another level, moving forward and progressing with things, and then we find that often times we end up working even harder as we expand further because we micro-manage everyone and everything.
I had a mentorship call this morning with someone who took my VA Apprentice programme. The programme was able to quickly launch her business into a successful VA company, with this brought a fast expansion of team members and then - overwhelm. She was constantly being interrupted throughout the day, and despite appointing a team leader, was finding that was taking even more precious time away from her clients and her marketing.
Here is the advice I gave her...1. Appoint a Wingman.
The first thing you need to do is find a wingman, someone to be a team leader so you end up managing one or just a small handful of people depending on the size of your business. Then these people help manage the team.2. Divert the team.
Explain to the team that they need to approach your wingman (obviously call them by their name and not wingman - for the sake of this post we'll say their name is wingman) with everything they would normally have approached you with relating to their work.3. Begin the listing.
Your Wingman will need to sort their work/dilemmas/questions they are asked into 2 lists.
List 1: Items they know they can handle.
List 2: Items they believe they cannot handle.
On list one, your Wingman will need to write down (or explain to you in the morning meeting coming up next) how they would handle the issues.
On list 2, these are saved for the next step.4. Morning Meeting.
Each morning before work commences you have a morning meeting with your Wingman to review how they would handle things, and the things they couldn't handle - you'll do this each morning for the next week.On list one, you'll let the wingman know if they should do something differently to what they outlined/told you they would do, this is part of the training process of handing over how you would like things handled. It's also a good demonstration of your wingman's initiative. If they do well, give lots of praise and positive feedback.
On list two, you'll walk your wingman through what needs to be done at each point. The wingman then goes and actions all the items from the previous day.5. Priority/Emergency.
During this training period there will be a 24 hour (or so) delay to responses, make sure the clients are aware if anything is being referred, also don't run a risk - if it's a priority client, or there's a deadline, or something important, you must be notified immediately, in these cases, the wingman can be bypassed or the wingman must notify you instantly if there's a problem.6. Boundaries.
The next thing you must do is set some boundaries. You must be there for your team and for your clients and for your own business. Generally, last on the list is your business. Set aside times of the day or week, where you're not to be disturbed except in emergencies, for example, daily between 1pm and 3pm you focus on your marketing and only your marketing, switch off all distractions, set your Skype to Do Not Disturb, leaving a mood message "Only In Emergencies"
If you want to have time to fit everything in, you need to be ruthless with the way you schedule your time, and don't spread yourself too thin.The Results.
After about a week of your Wingman consistently showing evidence that they can handle list one, hand everything over to them, and eliminate list one from your meetings. Let them do their job, let them do what you hired them to do. You may have to handle the odd hiccup, but with each hiccup, comes a new lesson, and improvement.
List two will begin to dwindle away on a daily basis as they become more experienced. You'll then be able to switch to weekly meetings, or even monthly.
The most important thing you need to have is someone you can trust, the most important thing you need to give to them, is your trust. Then you'll begin to have a much healthier life and business. - Feb 25, 13
Have you ever got into the cycle of wanting to do something, and maybe taking a few cautious steps towards making it happen, and then find that you end up not going any further, or life gets in the way and it gets pushed to the back of your to-do list and what you wanted ends up never happening? What if you could break that pattern?
The fact is, I think most of us are programmed to either put everyone else before ourselves, so therefore everything we wanted comes after what everyone else wants, and as a result, never comes, or we choose the easier option, either because we lack the drive, the energy, or simply because we're afraid of failing and then the dream would go 'pop' - maybe not trying and not knowing is more comforting than trying and failing...
Break The Cycle.
The first thing is no matter what reason it is that you aren't pursuing what you want, you need to understand it, find your weak spot, find the excuse you make, and break it. Eliminate it from your life... This is easier said than done. My weak spot happened to be the place where I lived, my job and even the country I was living in... It's pretty extreme, but I quit my job, moved country, and eliminated my excuses and reasons for not moving forward with my life, and staying on the treadmill. I broke the cycle.
But sometimes, a cycle is literally all about making one decision to do something new, or something different. What's the worst that could happen - really?Change Your Life.
Do something that could change your circumstances, could change your life, even if it's not immediate and you work hard at it (rarely anything you badly want in life comes easy). This all depends on what kind of dreams and goals you have. Mine was to travel the world, be my own boss, escape the 9-5, live life on my own terms. Little did I know then that all I had to do to achieve all of that was start my own Virtual Assistant Business and make it work at all costs, cost of my time, my energy, the amount of sleep I got at night - but all that hard work makes coming out on the other side even more satisfying and more rewarding.Get What You Want.
The easiest way to get what you want is to find someone who had similar goals, similar wants and went out and got them, successfully - that's the best way to fast-track getting what you want. Learn from the people who have been there and bought the t-shirt, make it your mission to gather as much information as you can about how they did it, what works and what doesn't.
I love food, I love cooking, and as a result, I always have extra pounds to lose. When I watched "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and I saw the amount of weight that Joe Cross lost from juicing, I decided to try and break my own cycle, do something new, and it worked. I juiced for 30 days and in total, I lost over 8 kilos.
It's not actually as hard as it seems when you have someone to inspire you and aspire to.This Week.
So, let me ask you...
1. Are you someone looking to break your cycle?
2. Do you want to change your life?
3. Do you want to get what you want?
I would like to help you along the way... My brand spanking new programme, The VA Apprentice 2.0 is THE most excellent business programme on the planet specifically for online service providers. That's Consultants, Online Business Managers, Virtual Assistants, Freelancers, Digital Nomads and anyone who would like to exchange a service, online, for money.
Ideal for anyone who wants a business that's scalable, flexible and completely mobile. Imagine what you could achieve if you were to break that cycle, change your life and get what you want?
Well, I'm here to do everything I possibly can for you to make sure that happens, and I've pulled out all the stops with the programme that provides you with everything you'll need to learn, everything you'll need to be able to work and build the business, including a top notch professional online presence, and finally all the support you'll need with monthly one-on-one mentorship calls.
So why this week?
Because until February 29th I'm giving you the gift of $1000 OFF this programme as a final fairwell to the original version, and a celebration of the new version released last week. This is the lowest price you will ever be able to purchase the Apprentice 2.0 programme and it's not to be missed!
So what will you do? Are you ready to break the cycle, change your life and get what you want?
Click Here To BeginMore Success Stories...
{module_faq,i,61740,,ajax,} - Feb 18, 13
As an online service provider one of the many things I invest my time and money into is the overall client experience that my clients have when working with me. It's even more important when you have a team around you who also service the client's requirements, and you have a growing business, where new clients are coming periodically, and regularly. Maintaining the exceptional support standards and simplifying is the key. Without this, the business would likely suffer.
The Issue That Needed Resolve.
I provide clients with a number of facilities to use online within my business, but I also have struggled in the past with how to make the experience for the client seamless and not too overwhelming. You see, there's not a single systems that does 'everything' and the ones I have found can sometimes do 'most things' but not really well, and when I know another system can achieve a better result for both myself and client, I would rather use the better system.The Time Has Come To Centralise.
So I've now created a way to centralise my client experience. Before, I would do this with a page on my website and I would add tutorial videos for each system, but it still seemed too fragmented to me, and if it seemed like that to me, it may also appear that way to the client. So I decided to make it super-simple and build a client area on my own site, where I could customise it exactly to the systems I use with clients, all of them, in such a way that it was all clear and made sense. That would allow me to make one tutorial video for the client area, and provide individual instructions inside the one area bringing together the purpose for each system we use online, and the access.
This makes it easy for clients to use and leaves very little room for confusion.Growth & Consistency.
The nice thing about creating one of these centralised areas is that my business can evolve and grow, I can introduce new systems, take systems away, but all the time, the client area and login will stay constant, in the same place. All I need to do is update it, and that's the beauty and simplicity of taking a set of systems and centralising them into a personal client area that you control, on your website.This Is About Being The Best.
Actually we can do lots of things to help our clients' experience become the best it can be, which is the key to growth and success in the online service business. Would you eat in a restaurant that had bad customer reviews? Maybe.... Would you go back there if you tried it and wasn't impressed with the experience, for example, the menu was too complicated, the dishes didn't go well, the atmosphere and seating environment wasn't very nice, and the service was slow and dissatisfying?.. No you wouldn't - I think even if the food was excellent, the disappointing service would be enough to put you off. Clients need to be treated in your business the same way that a top city restaurant would treat a V.I.P. diner... With finesse, attention to details and in today's environment a lot of innovation. It's not just about providing the end result, or 'delivering the goods' -- it's about the whole package.How To Do It.
Simple! You can watch my 30 minute tutorial video released this month inside The VA Passport, which shows you step-by-step how to create and area just like the one I have created for my clients. I'm releasing this video to Passport Members as a part of the relaunch of The VA Apprentice 2.0 which, despite my March 1st deadline I'm hoping to have ready this week!! Make sure you join my mailing list if you would like to be notified of the "Go Live" date.The video will demonstrate the kind of ideas and techniques that I'm introducing in the new Apprentice 2.0 programme, many of them will be new to you, some may not, but I promise to provide the most innovative, cutting-edge content, learning and tutorials that exist in today's online service provider industry. The aim of this programme is to not only provide the actual information and practical support you need step-by-step, but provide a lifetime of ongoing learning as well.
As many of you probably already know from the feedback I receive from colleagues, I'm often considered to be Avante-Garde in the online service business industry because I listen, I learn, I design and I master the entrepreneurial way forward for online service providers everywhere. I am so passionate about sharing this information with you, which I have always first tried and tested in my own business with real results that can be implemented and realised in yours too.
I look forward to seeing you inside The VA Passport - Plus it's your last chance to purchase The VA Apprentice before the price goes up on March 1st 2013 forever! Don't miss this amazing opportunity to become a part of the leading entrepreneurial online service provider community of this century...
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Tweets
- @carlprudejr Thanks Carl! I'll take a look at your page. Hope you have a great day!
- @jimatshirlaws Thanks for the mention Jim! I really appreciate it.
- “Eventually I created ..."The Virtually Anywhere Apprentice” - http://t.co/zfjWQltJCf
- The Virtually Anywhere Daily is out! http://t.co/zlOolXEaNZ ▸ Top stories today via @CoffeeNotInc
- @freedomonk My pleasure Freedom. Happy Tuesday!
- @andilyn_oc My pleasure Andie! Great to be connected.
- The Virtually Anywhere Daily is out! http://t.co/zlOolXEaNZ ▸ Top stories today via @TheVAPassport @myvacloud @RedDeerCollege
- “You can prove everyone wrong who says "You Can't…” - http://t.co/585564gcGg
- I'm having a sale on my business blueprint! http://t.co/cfusR4jICbJun 17, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- “Hoping for a change outside of ourselves…” - http://t.co/VICZ0jBB9g
- @williamjspencer Thanks William! Great to be connected.
- @willieshamorris Thanks Williesha! I really appreciate it.
- @guayagourmet Great to be connected Nathalie! Happy Monday!
- @danisecodekas My pleasure Danise. Have a great week!
- @benitawizehouse My pleasure Benita! Great to be connected. :-)
- @vadirectory Thanks for the RT! Have a great week!
- @datssocute My pleasure BJ. Great to be connected!
- @jenneilpeters Thanks Jenneil. I really appreciate it! :-)
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Wall
- The real secret to a crazy successful VA Business... Do your best for every single client, as if your life depended on it.
- It's lethal listening to "These Dreams" by Heart... It will literally take over your brain and you won't be able to get it out of your head! Don't click play... Dont do it... This is a willpower test.
- New on the blog, a typical day the VMF HQ. http://www.virtualmissfriday.com/_blog/Michelle/post/vmfhq/
- Change your mindset and you will change your whole world.
- That's my girl :-)
- Make a lot of endings, each one better than the last :-)
- Let's get this party started! It's on the blog today :-) http://www.virtualmissfriday.com/_blog/Michelle/post/carnival/
- Back from Carnival weekend here in Crete, Greece, it was awesome. More to come on the blog this week :-)
- 3 ATM machines in a row, all out of order... Think something is trying to tell me I shouldn't be withdrawing cash today?
- I'm SO loving this new add to Wunderlist button for Browsers and Gmail! Thank you people at Wunderlist
- On the blog today, a true love story with a strange twist of fate. http://www.virtualmissfriday.com/_blog/Michelle/post/daleanddale/
- Good question, what would you choose?
- Spring is in the air! Like if you feel it too :-)
- So today I was walking through and old Cretan village and there was a little old lady sitting in her garden, very small, a little hunched over, and the house looked like it was falling down. Sat next to her, is a bright blue peacock.... This island never ceases to amaze me.
- If you love everything about what you do, you'll only keep getting better and better at it. It's a given.
- Prepped for my @bcgurus training programme - yay! http://bcgurus.com/proauthors/michelle-dale
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Info
- CEO at VMF Ltd (Virtual Miss Friday) Online Business Consultancy With Built-In Virtual Assistant ServicesInternet | Other, OOSummary
At Virtual Miss Friday we support small to medium businesses and independent professionals by taking the hassle out of hiring business support through providing a complete set of consulting, administrative, creative and technical services under one 'virtual' roof.
We work with you by providing an accessible range of skill-sets to tackle almost any ongoing task or stand-alone project, and we do it all online turning businesses all over the world into lucrative, paperless enterprises.
Michelle is an online business expert and travel enthusiast who has been travelling the world while working online.
Specialties: Administrative support, web design and development, social media marketing, creative design, content management and search engine optimisation.Experience- Nov 2007 - PresentCEO / VMF Ltd (Virtual Miss Friday)
This company provides products and services for online business owners across the globe. Founder and CEO Michelle Dale (www.MichelleDale.me) travels the world working online in the Virtual Assistant Industry as a digital nomad, very enthusiastically shaping businesses of all sizes into lucrative, paperless enterprises.
Additional Information-
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UploadsJun 14, 13" data-title="What If You Could Do Something Now, That Could Change Everything?"> May 08, 13" data-title="Fat Sick & Nearly Dead Inspired 30 Day Juice Detox"> Mar 20, 13" data-title="Carnival Rethymno, Greece 2013"> Feb 22, 13" data-title="The Central Client Area"> Feb 22, 13" data-title="The Learning Centre Members Area"> Feb 22, 13" data-title="The VA Apprentice Tour"> Feb 22, 13" data-title="The VA Apprentice Modules"> Jan 28, 13" data-title="Schooling Children Who Travel - Why It's Okay To Not Plan Out Their Entire Education."> Jan 23, 13" data-title="TheVARoadmap.com - How To Become A World Class Online Service Provider"> Jan 14, 13" data-title="The VA Apprentice 2.0 Introduction"> Jan 07, 13" data-title="Turning Your Vision Into Reality"> Jan 04, 13" data-title="How To Start A Successful Virtual Assistant Business"> Dec 18, 12" data-title="Merry Christmas from Virtual Miss Friday!"> Nov 27, 12" data-title="Let's ROCK Your Business! Calling All Established Virtual Assistants & Online Service Providers"> Nov 27, 12" data-title="The First Of It's Kind Programme Designed For Established Virtual Assistants - The VA Rockstar"> Nov 13, 12" data-title="How To Structure Your Online Client Area So Clients Will Use It And Love It"> Oct 16, 12" data-title="How To Set Up A Virtual Assistant Service In An Untapped Niche That Totally ROCKS"> Oct 02, 12" data-title="Dane Maxwell Enlightened Me On What Every Entrepreneur Should Try At Least Once In Their Life"> Sep 21, 12" data-title="How To Be A Super Switched On Virtual Assistant And Have A Laugh While Doing It"> Aug 28, 12" data-title="My Big Fat Greek Christening"> Aug 07, 12" data-title="How To Overcome Your Biggest Challenges In Business"> Aug 03, 12" data-title="The Virtually Anywhere Shoestring - How To Start A Rockin' Online Service Business"> Jul 24, 12" data-title="A Traditional Cretan Village Concert"> Jul 13, 12" data-title="Create 32"> Jun 29, 12" data-title="How You Can Receive Amazing, Jaw Dropping, Eye-Widening Testimonials And Feedback From Clients"> Jun 29, 12" data-title="The Flight Deck Show May 2012"> Jun 26, 12" data-title="A Virtual Tour Of Austria"> Jun 08, 12" data-title="Everyone Has Haters, Even Those Who Really Don't Deserve Them"> May 29, 12" data-title="Creating A Life With Meaning -- Is It Time To Ditch Striving For Work-Life Balance?"> May 18, 12" data-title="Whoop Whoop! It's The 31% Off Birthday Parteeeeeeeeeeeeeee ;)"> May 09, 12" data-title="The Paperless Entrepreneur Magazine"> May 08, 12" data-title="The Travel Drug"> May 08, 12" data-title="The Flight Deck Show April 2012"> Apr 27, 12" data-title="FREE Paperless Entrepreneur Magazine"> Apr 17, 12" data-title="Easter In Crete 2012"> Apr 07, 12" data-title="#10 The Flight Deck Show - March 2012"> Apr 07, 12" data-title="#9 The Flight Deck Show - February 2012"> Apr 06, 12" data-title="Crete Arrival April 2012"> Apr 06, 12" data-title="Greece To Crete Ferry March 2012"> Apr 06, 12" data-title="27 Euro For 2 Drinks"> Apr 06, 12" data-title="Italy To Greece Ferry March 2012"> Mar 25, 12" data-title="Bells From An Old Italian Church"> Mar 16, 12" data-title="Creative Blogging Ideas That Scream Unique And Are Super Quick To Do!"> Mar 09, 12" data-title="How To Do Outstanding Client Phone Consultations"> Feb 28, 12" data-title="The Art Of Never Saying No, And The Reasons Why You Shouldn't"> Feb 19, 12" data-title="4HWW Success Story Interview with Michelle Dale"> Feb 14, 12" data-title="The Flight Deck Show - January 2012"> Feb 10, 12" data-title="The One Thing You'll Wish Someone Had Told You Before You Started A Business"> Feb 07, 12" data-title="How To Attract Clients To Your Virtual Assistant Business Using Your Blog with Corbett Barr">
