I’m feeling generous today, and I just thought up a little something.

I would like to give away one free hour (Monetary value of $40/CAD) of Mann Made Time today. No obligation, no catch. Just sixty minutes to be used towards an administrative task you want to unload. (I’ll have to exclude design services on this one or Connie would be upset with me )

Some ideas of what we can do in one hour:

• Create an email campaign
• Create a PowerPoint presentation
• Revamp your website copy
• Research travel arrangements
• Process a mail merge
• Prepare some general correspondence
• Research a project
• Write some blog entries
• Order your office supplies

I’m making this up as I go along, so there are lots of other things that could be done - those are just some ideas.

Anyone is eligible.

All you have to do to win is send me an email: jaime@mannmadetime.com. In the subject line, type “My Mann Made Time” and tell me in that email what you would do with one hour of Mann Made Time.

It’s that simple.

We’ll pick a winner on Monday morning at 9am AST. The contest will be open until then.

So….

What will you do with your Mann Made Time?

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So Mark has done it again.  He has blogged about another awesome little tool that I am really loving.

It’s called Windows Pager - it’s an open source program that works with Windows XP to give you up to 4 desktops on your machine, all running at once. Open Source = free!

Right now, I have one desktop with my collaboration site open, one with my word processor where I’m doing some writing, one with my time tracking tool, and another here where I’m blogging, etc.

It’s a teeny tiny file, and even with my slow broadband I was able to download it and have it working in seconds.

Download it here:

http://windowspager.sourceforge.net/

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This wasn’t intended to be a blog by a virtual assistant for virtual assistants. I started this blog to provide tips and resources for entrepreneurs and real estate agents. However, a large percentage of my readers are VAs, and since I eat, breathe and sleep the industry every day it makes sense to provide industry specific information. And besides, VAs are entrepreneurs too.

I hope you’ve heard of FoVA - the Forum on Virtual Assistance - which is happening just outside of Toronto, Canada from May 2-4.

I’m going to be a co-facilitator for one of the workshops at the event and I am getting very excited about being able to put a face to a name and to meet some of the many virtual friends I’ve chatted with and networked with over the last couple of years.

When I started my business, and first heard about a VA conference I was so disappointed that I couldn’t afford to go. I vowed that day to budget for an upcoming conference to attend in real life. If you can’t feasibly travel to FoVA, put some money aside every day to save up for next year’s!

FoVA is not just a conference though. It’s different. It’s a…well…forum. Industry leaders will meet and share ideas and information, newbie VAs will learn about overcoming pitfalls in their own businesses and have an opportunity to learn from the best.

Check out the website: http://www.ForumonVirtualAssistance.com for details.

If you’re thinking of registering, don’t hold off too long, seats are limited, and hotel rooms are being bought up quickly.

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Last night I had a most enjoyable consultation call with what is now my newest client.

This team of agents was referred to me by a current client, Larry Hann, and I really appreciate the referral.

I received my first email from them a couple of months ago, and I diligently followed up with them. They were very interested in my services, but needed time to get organized enough to decide how they would best use their Mann Made Time.

I did not wait for them to get back to me. I emailed them every couple of weeks to see how they were doing. My last email to them was sent yesterday, and it resulted in them contacting me to have a phone discussion last night.

Want to see the fancy message I sent them? If you aren’t following up because you think you will be nagging people, think again:

“Hi (name)

Just checking in to see if you’re ready for that phone call! Hope all is well.

Jaime”

Would they have contacted me yesterday had I not sent them a follow up email?I’ll never know, unless I ask them, but I highly doubt it.

I wrote a book for VAs on the subject of following up, called ‘The Art of Follow Up‘. In that ebook, (which retails for only $24.95 ) I tell my readers that rule #1 of follow up is to never wait for the potential client to contact you first. Busy people are simply too busy. You must keep your name in front of them so when they are ready, you make it that much easier for them to contact you.

There are many reasons for not following up with leads, but none of them are excuse enough not to do it. You’re literally halting your own business’s growth if you fail to make contact again (and again) with these people.

If you have any questions that I can answer, feel free to post comments. I love talking about follow up!

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This is totally and completely off topic, but I just had to share!

Many of my readers are busy business women, and we ladies tend to crave chocolate. A lot. (Scott and Darrell, I know you both read my blog every day and you aren’t girls, but you’ll like this too ;))

How would you like a piece of homemade chocolate cake right now? Real chocolate cake in only  minutes…

I found this recipe while searching for something special to make my sweetie for Valentine’s Day. While this won’t be on Thursday’s menu, we had some last night. Yum.

Microwave Chocolate Cake

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch salt

Directions:

1. Spray a medium microwave-safe bowl with non-stick spray and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and milk; blend together. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; blend into the mixture until smooth. Pour into greased bowl.
2. Cover and cook in the microwave on high for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched. Since all microwaves cook differently, adjust the cooking time to accommodate your machine. To serve, let the cake cool five minutes, then cover the bowl with a plate and turn both bowl and plate upside down so the cake falls onto the plate.

There you have it. An individual sized serving of homemade chocolate cake, to be enjoyed at 3pm, midnight or whenever.

If you love to bake but just never have the time, this is a great recipe for you. If you’d like to get back in the kitchen more often, consider outsourcing those tasks that keep you away to a virtual assistant

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