Brainstorming is an awesome practice. I absolutely love brainstorming, and it is such an important tool for an entrepreneur.

When I was 18 - fresh out of high school - I enrolled in an entrepreneurship program at a local college. I remember one day we started brainstorming together. Each person would take a turn in front of the flip chart and write down ideas as they were offered by fellow students. It was such an amazing process, and it is very true that two heads are better than one. (At that time, I was so young, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do yet. I just knew I had an entrepreneur inside, dying to get out.) When you brainstorm with someone, you can build upon each others ideas, and great things can come out of that type of interaction.

If you’re an entrepreneur,  you’re full of ideas. A lot of them are probably great. A lot of them could probably become great with a simple brainstorming session.

Here’s where a virtual assistant can come in. A lot of employers will enlist the help of their staff when they need to improve upon a concept, or develop new ideas. What’s a staff-less business owner to do?

A solopreneur with her very own virtual assistant has, at her disposal, not only one brain, but dozens of brains. Let me explain.

I am a smart woman. I can say that confidently. I am full of ideas. If someone wants to brainstorm with me, I’m all over it. But when I brainstorm with a client, I not only have my own ideas…I can bring that brainstorming session to my network of virtual assistants and generate tons of ideas.

One of the great benefits to turning to the virtual assistance industry is that you can hire someone for a one time brainstorming session. That would be great. What’s even greater is that VA can then implement those ideas for you.  And greater than that is if you work with that VA on an ongoing basis, they will come to know your business inside and out, and will be an even bigger asset to you and your company.

Once you start thinking about how a VA can help you, you will be amazed at how many areas of your business can be improved upon.

2 Comments »

I think my grammar is pretty good. It’s not perfect - not by any means - but I think it’s slightly above average. I wing it with my blog cause it would cost me a fortune to have my super star proofreader/editor go over all of my posts.

I was meeting with one of my newer clients this afternoon - a delightful lady - and on my way out we were talking about how she found me. Incidentally it was through an ad that I forgot I had on UsedPEI.  Anyway…she was telling me about how impressed she was with my website, and she actually pointed out to me what a good hold I have on the English language. She said she notices things like that and is appalled by some of the grammar she sees on the Internet.

There. Right there. That’s the reason I never let anything go online (except forum posts and my blog - people are more forgiving with blogs) or to print without being reviewed by one of Mann Made Time’s proofreader/editors. My website was written by me, but tidied up grammatically by my associate and friend, Angela Smith.

Just a point I thought I’d make in between projects. If you stink at grammar - hire someone to review your work before you publish it. You might think you can’t afford it, but can you afford to lose potential business because of your grammar?

1 Comment »

On the weekend I had to return two library books that I didn’t get a chance to read…but that’s another story. I learned a trick somewhere awhile back and I thought I’d make a quick blog post about it.

When you return a business book to the library, stick your business card inside. The next person to borrow it might need your services. It will look like you innocently marked your page with your card even thought it was a strategic marketing move.

Try it. Those cards will do no good sitting in their box on that shelf.

2 Comments »

With every new business comes a new brand. Branding is one of the most important (and fun) things you’ll do when starting your business. It’s also often underrated.

A business doesn’t really need to be branded. You don’t necessarily need a logo, a corporate font, corporate colors, etc. to start your business. But when you put your whole heart into starting up a new enterprise why not do it right? Brand recognition is very important. I found an interesting article about the history of branding which you can read here.

Think a logo will cost you a fortune? Think you’ll have to refinance your home to get a professional website designed? Think again. In this day and age you can get a brand for a bargain - without sacrificing quality.

I am not one to brag, I’m quite a modest person actually-but my brand is really great. My logo (my virtual alter ego donned in a Santa hat for the holidays), business cards, website, and blog cost me much less than $1000 and that includes the money I spent to have my web copy proofread. That’s small potatoes for a big brand (big to me at least!).

The first thing you need is your name and tagline. It’s helpful if you have a target market at this point as well so you know who your brand should appeal to. From there your logo is the next logical step. Some free advice…before you jump in and get your logo designed make sure you can use your business name. Check to see if the url you want is available and make sure you can get your name registered. If not, you’re out some money and you’ll just be plain disappointed.

Do you live in an area where graphic design costs more than you can afford to spend on your branding? Are you starting your business on a budget? Look for a virtual assistant that specializes in graphic design. Here at Mann Made Time, with our preferred partner, Signature Worx, we offer lots of economical creative design packages including (drum roll please…) Mann Made Time with The Worx which includes your logo, stationery, brochure, business cards and website!

If you already have a logo and website, a virtual assistant can still help with other graphic design projects. Desktop publishing is something many VAs specialize in and most enjoy doing. You can get yourself a very professional looking flyer, brochure, postcard or almost anything you can think of, for a fraction of what you think it would cost!

1 Comment »

I have had the pleasure of working with several true entrepreneurs lately. And it sincerely is a pleasure working with this group. I love the energy an entrepreneur exudes while that idea is being fostered. I love helping in that stage and I love being able to support the dreams of these people, even if it is in some small way (taking the burden of administrative ’stuff’ off of their shoulders so they can nurture their creativity).

An entrepreneur in the start up phase of their business is in a very delicate state. Usually this is where the ideas are flowing freely, and the entrepreneur in question just wants their business started - up and running - as soon as possible.

Sometimes the entrepreneur is employed elsewhere and can’t do all that needs to be done without help. Other times the budding business owner has taken on clients before certain things were in place and has gotten too busy to back track and to them now.

Starting a business is a huge undertaking and the incredibly bright entrepreneur recognizes the fact that they must spend as much time as possible fostering that idea…that concept. However, if they spend all their time on their idea, the other side of their business, the administrative/operational side will never be as strong as it should be. There are some sad statistics about how many start ups actually make it past five years, and the start up phase is an important time to set up some good practices.

This is where the services of a virtual assistant can be invaluable for the bootstrapping entrepreneur.

An off-site administrative assistant works only when you ask them to. It’s not like a traditional employee where you pay someone to sit at a desk five days a week, whether or not you have five full days worth of work for them to do.

The following is a list I brainstormed yesterday, of items an entrepreneur in the start up phase can delegate to a virtual assistant:

• Graphic design - logo, business card, stationery, flyer, etc.
• Website design/development, shopping cart set up
• Blog set up (the right VA can even write the entries for you!)
• Masterminding (help determine a business name, tagline, target market, etc.)
• Business plan - a VA can take your notes and format them into a proper business plan.
• Marketing assistance
• Newsletter creation
• Internet research
• Copywriting
• Database creation
• Bookkeeping
• Making phone calls
• Email management
• Virtual PBX set up

I am going to delve into these items in more detail over a series of blog posts over the next few days - so stay tuned!

In the meantime - think about how productive you could be if you could take the above items off your own plate….

No Comments yet »