There’s a spot within 20 minutes of where we live that my husband and I really enjoy. I actually wanted to go there on Mother’s Day but the website told us they were closed on Sundays and Mondays. I was impressed that the restaurant had a website because many small local business in my province don’t.

Anyway, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to go. They have an outdoor patio overlooking the water, it was a weekday evening so they’d be open and probably not overly busy.

So I pulled up the website to check out the menu (it’s been awhile since we’ve been there…I’m talking years!) to see what price range we were looking at. There was a special that looked very good – a 16″ pizza, 12″ garlic fingers and donair sauce for $24.99. You don’t get much better than that so off we went.

When we got there, a large sign read, “Now open 7 days per week!” Hmm. I couldn’t help but wonder when that took effect. I didn’t think much of it until we went to order and I asked for the special I saw on the website.

The server laughed and said, “We haven’t had that special in forever but it was a great deal.”

A lot of good that does me, I think.

Anyway, we are very easy going people and we ordered a different special. The food was amazingly delicious. Among the best pizza I’ve ever had. Service was great, atmosphere can’t be beat.

But the website. If you have a website and it’s never updated, it’s worse than having no website at all.

See, for Mother’s Day, if there wasn’t a website for this place I would have had to call to make a reservation or to find out what their hours were. Maybe it was open and we could have gone there. We would have enjoyed it and we likely would have been back sooner. Instead, I got information on the website that may or may not have been accurate but I took it as current and believed it. Much like I believed the special on a restaurant’s website would probably be something we could order at said restaurant.

If you have a “local” business with an out of date website…why? I can only assume that it’s because you either don’t think anyone is looking at it or because you can’t maintain it yourself and it’s too expensive to hire a web developer to do it for you.

If that’s the case, I urge you to go and find someone who can set you up with a website you can maintain yourself. Or hire a virtual assistant who can make the updates at a lower cost than your web guy probably charges.

Your website is your most important marketing piece. Please treat it with respect. Load it with good, search engine-friendly content, current information and details someone planning a visit/purchase needs to know.

Anyone else feel like pizza all of a sudden?

Because I’m leading a workshop on following up with leads, I’ve decided to put a stupidly low price on my ebook, The Art of Follow Up, in honor of FoVA.

It normally retails for $24.95 but from today until May 9th you can get a copy for $10.

To order your copy, visit this link. Don’t let one more lead fall through the cracks!!!

Let me set the story up a little bit.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a lead through my website’s contact form. I called the person back and we had a great discussion. When I asked him if he’d be speaking with some other VAs he told me he didn’t have the time and wanted to get started. So, I emailed him a copy of my agreement with the understanding that he would forward more project details and we would get underway.

I didn’t receive a reply, I followed up a couple times and he finally said that he found another VA that charges substantially less than I do, and she wowed him by taking the initiative and actually doing some of the work with no prompting from him, nor an agreement or payment for it. Needless to say, he was impressed.

So, this morning when I checked my email I was surprised to see a fax of my agreement, tweaked around to serve as a basis for this person’s relationship with his new VA. I was confused, thought that he accidentally faxed it to me instead of this other person, but as I looked at the very familiar agreement, my freakin’ fax number was left on there as the number to send the agreement back to. Kind of funny, right?

Well, what I didn’t find too funny was the price that this other VA was working for. It was less than half of my hourly rate, and I charge what I believe to be industry standard. There is no way a person can run a business for that type of money, not in North America. I don’t care that another VA got the project. I’m too busy to worry about that stuff. What does bother me, though, is that people charge such ridiculously low rates to land jobs. I think it does a great disservice to other newbies to the industry trying to make it by charging the rates that they need to charge to make a living.

I believe there’s a big difference between doing this as a job and running a VA practice as a business. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened to me, and I’m okay with it personally. I have clients that appreciate the fact that when you pay peanuts you get monkeys, so I’m doing just fine. I just hate that there isn’t a governing body or something to set a rock bottom rate for VAs to charge. I don’t know, is that a good idea or a bad idea? If everyone had to charge a minimum price it would at least put everyone on level playing ground. Am I just grumpy?

Earlier this week, I had to take my computer for a memory upgrade. When I looked at my poor Acer on the table at Microage, I saw it for what it really is. A cracked-kind of dusty-keyboard letters half worn off-scratched-beat up looking-outdated computer. I was actually kind of embarrassed about it, if truth be told.

Although I love my computer like another family member, it’s time for a new one. I will keep this old machine around, but it is time.

Mann Made Time’s second anniversary is in June, and so is my last birthday before the big ‘3-0′. What better way to celebrate than with a brand new computer?

I am officially on a quest to find the best possible machine for me. I’m considering switching to a Mac. I’ve heard over and over again that when you go Mac you never go back.

Is that true?

Do any of my readers have any advice regarding a computer purchase?

I will be wanting to get a laptop or notebook again, because with two children under three years old, I can’t be tied down to a desktop all day, everyday.

So…let me have it…

All opinions wanted!

To share the love a little bit, I have decided to feature a client here on my blog.

One of my very favorite clients is a real estate agent based in St. John’s Newfoundland, by the name of Larry Hann. If you’re considering relocating to St. John’s you should check out his general website LarryHann.com or his specialty site StJohnsCondos.ca. Both sites are the most advanced, consumer friendly real estate websites in Newfoundland and Labrador. His sites are easy to navigate,  full of useful up to date information and feature Google mapping for your real estate searches.

Larry likes me too! Here’s what he has to say about working with me:

“I found Jaime Mann’s website in the summer of 2007, and immediately contracted her real estate services. Her assistance is second only to my website to help drive my business. Once I have signed contract in place, Jaime takes over and I’m free to pursue new business. She is a skilled professional who I have found to be articulate, flexible, pleasant, and supportive in all aspects of building my business. Jaime is also well connected. When I have a question that she is unable to answer, someone in her vast network of real estate VAs can. I highly recommend Jaime’s services.” Larry Hann.

I’m blushing

Once again, this makes me think of how important it is to have a backup plan in place when you operate a business. Many businesses can’t open here because power is needed for almost everything.

We have a generator that will power our heat, coffee maker and our internet connection (three important things!). That being said, it is costing quite a bit to keep up with the amount of gas needed to power the generator.

It’s mostly business as usual, but we can only have the generator going for a couple of hours at a time because of the cost, and the house will stay warm for a little while once the rads are shut off.

We don’t have enough juice from the generator to use our stove, so it’s mostly grilling being done, but we’re a lot better off than some people.

Are you prepared for a power outage in your business? You might want to check out Yvonne Weld’s guide to making a plan for your business, including a disaster plan.

For anyone not living on PEI to see the devastation, check out the Guardian’s website to read about it and see some pictures of the ice that covered everything yesterday. Mother nature is truly remarkable.

So, are you prepared?

Trina wanted to see her favorite’s favorites, so here we go, my Top 5 (in no particular order):

1. Connie McVicker, In The Worx
   
2. Maureen Kerr, Kerr Consulting
3. Cristina Favreau, The Savvy Entrepreneur
4. Yvonne Weld, Thriving Business Blog
5. Sally Kuhlman, Virtual Simplicity

I get excited when I see that these five ladies have posted something new, so I figure they belong on my list. Now I’m going to have to start reading Trina’s blog too since she put me on her list

Ok ladies, let’s see your list of outstanding bloggers!

Software like this prevents sifting through email to ensure nothing has gotten missed – it contains a history of all interactions. Large files will no longer gum up my email – they can be uploaded to Assembla. This will be a major time saver for me, and I think it will really improve Mann Made Time’s efficiency.

One of my resolutions for 2008 (and specifically for January) was to set up a collaboration space. Done!

Thanks Mark

Is there anyone that doesn’t vow to change a few things when January rolls around? I don’t think so. A new year is an opportunity to start fresh, start anew, make things better.

Have you made some goals for this year? This quarter? This month? This week? Today?

I think goals are important. In the wise words of Yogi Berra – “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”

The best way to stick to those goals you’ve set is pretty simple. Write them down. Don’t just write them down and forget about them, though. Write them down and look at them every day. I take great satisfaction in crossing off to-do items, and really, a to-do list is a list of goals.

If you’re a super smart and busy person, you’ve probably considered using the services of a virtual assistant to help accomplish some of your goals, right? A virtual assistant can take care of your administrative tasks so you can get to that goal list, and can even start crossing some items off for you.

One of my goals for the year is to post at least once daily to this blog, so I hope to ’see’ you back here tomorrow

I highly recommend Signature Worx for anything graphic or web related. Thanks Connie – you’re amazing.