A lot of people ask me if I feel lonely or isolated, working from my home office. These people apparently do not have two children under the age of two. Not really lonely around here! However, it is tough not having co-workers to chat with, and I think that’s where the isolation question comes from. Many VAs do have feelings of isolation, but I can only hope for an hour or two of loneliness each day when the girls go for a drive with their father or - when the stars align - have a nap. Loneliness=productivity.

Anyway, what many people don’t realize about our industry is how extremely networked it is. There are quite a few virtual assistant networking forums on the ‘net and they serve as a source of information, and support.

I belong to most of them!

• VA Networking is a great one. It’s the biggest out there - as of right now there are over 7400 members. Up until the 1st of November, membership was free. Now you can still have a free membership, but it’s limited. There is a ton of information in the forum at VANA, and it truly is a friendly place to go!
• IVAA is another large VA organization. It’s a paid membership, so you get people who are a bit more serious about their businesses. I find people are really quick to respond to questions, and there’s a pile of resources available that I still haven’t come to the bottom of.
• The Virtual Assistant Revolution, is my favorite. It’s also a paid membership, and only people completely serious about their business end up as members. The support you have access to within its ‘walls’ is tremendous. Can’t say enough about them. We’re even having our second annual Secret Santa gift exchange this year! I’ve made actual friends through the ‘Rev’.
• CVAC is a Canadian forum, and a great place to find Canadian information. The group is extremely helpful, and you usually receive an answer to your question within minutes.
• IREAA is a forum specifically for real estate assistants. For industry specific information, there’s no parallel.

There are more, but these are the ones I frequent the most. The greatest part of belonging to these organizations is if you hit a rough patch in a project (or in life) this is where you turn for help. The members of these organizations support one another like you wouldn’t believe. There are conferences for virtual assistants a couple of times per year, and I can’t wait to attend my first one ‘FoVA‘ in May 2008. I hope I will get to meet many of my ‘friends in the box’ there.

You might not believe this, if you are unfamiliar with the industry, but it is a small world, even though it’s virtual!

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I’m reading (scouring really) my first ‘for Dummies’ book - “Marketing Kits for Dummies”. It’s actually one of five books I have on the go right now - one being about blogging, one about PR, one on copywriting and another by Seth Godin called “Small is the new Big”. I’ll review them all in detail as I finish them, but I read one part in the ‘Dummies’ book last night while I was watching ER that I wanted to share (Is it just me, or is that show going downhill?). It was about business cards. The author was saying how, as business people, you try to ensure that if you’re meeting with a client or a prospective client, you take care with your appearance. Professional clothes, nice hair, no body odor (he actually said that) and a nice smile. He went on to say that while there is often great care taken with your physical appearance, sometimes people don’t put as much thought into their marketing materials - which is a big mistake. When a person meets you in person, you are there to help give a great impression, but when you’re not there and your business card is doing all the talking, it has to be fabulous.

Your business card is a very important (and underrated) marketing piece, and I agree with the author of this particular ‘for Dummies’ book. Although it might set you back a couple hundred dollars, it is money well spent when you consider that it is often the first impression a prospect has of your brand.

What does it say to a prospect when they turn over your card and see advertising for the company that printed your business cards for free? What about the ones that were printed at home and still have the perforated edges? Go look at your collection of business cards - which ones stand out to you. Which ones made you say, “Wow, that’s a great card!”. The ones with raised ink? Vertical layout rather than traditional horizontal? Double sided? Some stand out and others are…well…dull and boring.

A good business card is memorable. It is an important piece of your branding and more thought should go into it’s design than often does.

If you are on a budget, as most of us are, this is one thing you should not scrimp on. You can get a business card designed very inexpensively by a virtual assistant - Mann Made Time offers this service, as do many other VA companies. Printing doesn’t have to cost a fortune either. There are a lot of companies online that are very inexpensive, and if you prefer to go with a local company it might cost a little more, but it is a legitimate business expense and the service is often better.

Bottom line is this. You want your card to be better than your competitors’. Take a look at your business card. How does it stand up?

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I was thinking last night about a couple of meetings that I have on Monday at my favorite coffee shop - Beanz. Then I started thinking about their policy to give discounts to people that bring their own mug. Then I thought that I should go get a cool mug to bring with me when I work down there, or meet clients there. THEN I thought it would be cooler still if I went to CafePress and got a Mann Made Time mug!:

When I got up this morning, brewed my coffee, and reached for one of my plain Jane coffee mugs, I couldn’t help but think how much fun it would be to bring a mug with my company logo on it to a coffee shop frequented by business people.

Have you heard of CafePress? You could get customized corporate t-shirts, mouse pads, note cards, wall clocks, baby bibs, and so on and so forth. There’s no minimum, so I don’t have to order 200 Mann Made Mugs (tee hee) just one for the CEO….(yes, that would be me). I have ordered things from there more than once, and I’ve always been happy with the product and with the shipping time.

This could be a great time to order some things for Christmas, even as corporate gifts. Maybe you could get one of your clients’ logos put on a canvas tote bag or wall clock for her, how cool would that be?:

Think outside the box. I could go to Beanz and use their own mugs or get a take out cup. OR I could bring my own while doing something good for the environment AND showing off my logo. Win-win.

Great idea, but no time…you say? Hire a VA to do it for you. Done!

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In my last post, I mentioned that I was working from a coffee shop. Well, turns out I didn’t get that much work done, but instead, it turned into a networking opportunity. After I finished the blog post I was writing, I got up for a refill of coffee (just like I said I was going to do). When I got up to the counter, I saw a former employer of mine who happens to be a real estate agent. I hadn’t seen him since I started my business, so I was happy to tell him all about what Mann Made Time does, and the services we offer. We sat down and chatted for quite awhile, and he seemed very interested in the VA industry.

On my way out of the coffee shop, I approached one of the staff members there and asked if I could leave my business card on their bulletin board. He said that would be fine, and he asked me about what I do, stating that he loves networking. As I explained that I am a VA, he was very interested. He asked for a stack of my cards so he could spread the word about virtual assistance by handing them out. This guy, Geoff, was great at networking and I’ll tell you why. He asked about me and what I do, asked questions about my business and offered to help spread the word about Mann Made Time.

That brings me to the point of this post. Networking can happen when you least expect. Some business owners shy away from in person networking. That’s not breaking news or anything, but as this post suggests, networking can happen anywhere. Are you networking whenever you can? Do you talk about your business at every turn? If you do, that’s wonderful - but networking has to work both ways or it’s not really networking. Talk to people about what they do. Ask questions about their daily struggles and how you or your business can help alleviate some of their stress. I realized when I got into my van upon leaving that coffee shop, that I didn’t ask Geoff what type of business he was in (assuming that he must be in business of some type because of his interest in networking). I have to follow up with him this weekend and learn a bit more about what he does. It’s just good networking and shame on me for not asking him while I was speaking with him yesterday.

My husband laughed at me when I was getting ready to leave yesterday. Early on a Saturday morning, going to a coffee shop, wearing a corduroy jacket, dress pants, heels and lipstick. If I went out wearing flannel pajama pants, crocs and a t-shirt I don’t think I would have had the confidence to approach anyone at all, let alone for business sake. I don’ t think it matters if it’s 8:00 in the morning, 4:00 in the afternoon or 8:00 at night. If I’m heading somewhere that I could possibly encounter a client or a potential client (which is just about anywhere) I try not to leave the house in anything less than business casual. If I have my kids and husband with me, I’m out and about as a mom, not a business owner and I don’t worry as much about my appearance. (I still don’t believe you should leave the house in pajamas, even if you are going out as a mom.)

Be prepared for networking wherever you go. Yesterday morning, all I expected to get at Beanz was some broadband and a cup of coffee. I got that, but I also made two good business connections. I might keep going there to work a couple times a week, even when I get my internet back up and running!

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