So, you might be wondering why my logo is adorned with balloons, presents  and a birthday cake. Just so happens, June is a big month for Mann Made Time. We’re celebrating two years in business and it’s my birthday month - one more year in my twenties…reason to celebrate, right?

After two years in business, I have really been able to find out which services I love the most and the ones I prefer to outsource to my team members. My biggest love is writing, and I’ve been lucky enough to be doing more and more of it for my awesome clients. I’m toning up my marketing message to attract more copywriting projects and that excites me.

When you first start your business, nailing down a target market and niche can seem very overwhelming and a lot of people don’t believe they should focus their marketing on any one place. In a sense, that’s a good idea. Offer a bunch of services (ONLY ones you’re great at) and then decide where your biggest strengths lay and which things you enjoy doing the most. Then carve out your niche and decide on a target market. If you started your business with a target market that you don’t feel the love for after some time has passed, change things up. There’s no rule saying that you have to target the same bunch forever. There’s no rule saying you can’t upgrade your skills and find yourself a niche you really love.

Your business is your business. You’ll get out of it what you put into it. If you’re doing work you love for people you truly enjoy working with you’ll be more motivated and success will come easier. You’re the boss. Do you look forward to the work you have on your plate when you wake up each morning? For a time, I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing. Now, it’s like Dr. Phil says. If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. I feel privileged to provide the services people pay me well to do. It really doesn’t feel like work and what could be better than that?!

Oh. And happy birthday to me!!!

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I’m going to bare a bit of truth about myself here so please don’t judge me! When I started my business, I had a dedicated office in the third bedroom of my home. That worked because at the time, my only daughter was a year old and was relatively easy to keep an eye on. Then, when I was expecting my second child last summer, I quickly realized that set up was just not going to work. There was no way I could work in that room with an infant and a two year old to watch constantly. So, I moved my office into our family’s main living area. It allows me to work whether the girls are watching cartoons, playing or sleeping. However, this summer I’m hiring a ‘Mother’s Helper’ and am going to move my office back to where it originally was so that I’ll be able to close the door on everyone for a few hours a day, and close the door on Mann Made Time when it’s family time.

My business has grown significantly since those early days in a separate area of the house and I know I could do a better job at organizing my office than I have been. I can organize anyone else, but when it comes to organizing myself, well, it’s kind of the same as the mechanic who always drives a jalopy. You’re too busy making a living doing what you’re good at to actually do the same for yourself.

I have found a few things that work for working from a home office with youngsters and I hope some of my readers will contribute their tips as well. Here are mine:

• I keep an office spike on my desk to stab receipts with, so they’re all there at the end of the month for me to organize.
• I have an old fashioned Hilroy scribbler for each client. I put all of their contact details, usernames and passwords and other frequently needed information on the inside cover. Anytime I speak with a client on the phone, I grab their notebook and keep all notes there in one place for them so I can retrieve details quickly.
• There is a Rubbermaid file tote thingy that I keep these scribblers and project details in that I can bring with me if I need to work from the kitchen, or when I had a dedicated office I could haul it with me when I needed to be mobile.
• I always keep some old cell phones, cameras, calculators and daytimers in a desk drawer to occupy the little ones since they always to play with things that they shouldn’t have.
• The beloved laptop. I am using the same notebook computer I did when I started my business two years ago. For Mann Made Time’s second birthday, which coincides with my “last-year-before-turning-30″ birthday next month, I’m purchasing a new machine. I think I’ll go with a desktop this time since my notebook will still allow me to work from anywhere in the house, which is key when you work from home with children.
• Make your space off limits! I often discover that my tape has gone missing, or my fancy stapler has disappeared. Where do pens go? Post-it notes get sucked into a black hole and it seems as soon as I buy them they are gone forever. I don’t think it’s the little ones either, I think it’s the other grown up I share my home with. When Mann Made Time moves its headquarters over the next couple of weeks, there will be some new rules in place. When the door is closed, nobody goes in, whether I’m there or not! I think I’ll be getting myself a sign to attach to the door with my office hours.

Anyone else have some tips? I’d love to hear them!

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Back in June 2006 when I officially started my business, I didn’t know half of what I thought I knew. Does that make sense? I had spent months researching the virtual assistance industry, and studying the way other VAs were marketing themselves.  I thought I knew all of the benefits that came with hiring a VA, but my first client quickly taught me that I didn’t.

One of the main reasons the real estate agent who became my first client wanted to contract my services was something I had never considered before, and I’ve forgotten about until we’re here in the middle of tax season!

While we were having our initial consultation, he told me that he really needed some legitimate business expenses, and my services would certainly provide that to him, while helping him to keep on top of things at the same time.

Have you had your taxes prepared yet? Did you have enough business expenses? We’re already practically at the end of April, so you might be looking for something to spend your money on to help you out for next year’s taxes. The services of a virtual assistant are not only a legitimate business expense, but by outsourcing your administrative duties - you know, the ones you hate doing so they rarely get done - you’ll free up time to do things that will help boost your income.

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I’ve cooled off a little bit, but I must tell you, I was quite annoyed this morning when I checked my email. I woke up in a good mood because both of my daughters slept through the night, which means I got my first full night of rest in three years. That’s no exaggeration, either. But it’s beside the point.

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?

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I’ve had around the same number of billable hours each month for the last year. I’ve had clients hours fluctuate, I’ve lost some clients, gained some new ones, but it all seems to level out.

About two months ago, I was at a point where I was at the computer from 7 in the morning until 2 in the morning. I still only put in a few hours of billable time - the rest of that time was spent managing projects, staying on top of email, wrangling my children, etc. I was rapidly approaching the ‘burn-out zone’. While I was subcontracting some work, I was still spending way too much time on project management and other administrative things. I wasn’t able to market my business, follow up properly, or eat lunch without feeling guilty for being away from my computer.

So I took the plunge and retained the services of a VA to keep on top of that stuff for me. It’s the best investment I have ever made in my business, and more importantly, in myself.

For the last two months I have had my own dedicated VA. I’ve blogged about her before - Victoria is my lifesaver. I wonder…is this how my clients feel after they start delegating projects to me? It is a glorious feeling.

Victoria and I are in different time zones, so she starts managing my email when her work day begins, and that frees up so much time, you have no idea. I can actually focus on the day’s projects without being distracted by my email. That is saving me at least an hour or two every day.

I’m delegating more and more work that I don’t really have to do myself. My VAs are more than capable, and it prevents me from switching between projects a million times a day which is idle time I can’t charge for.

A strange thing happened this week. I kept feeling as though I was forgetting something. After dinner when the babes were fed and bathed and I would sit down at my computer to work, but my client work for the day was taken care of. Hmmmmm.

Honestly, it didn’t sink in for awhile. Why do I have free time in the evenings? Am I forgetting about certain projects? What’s happening?

Wait a minute. It’s my VA. What a light bulb moment. Now that I am on the ‘client’ side of the VA arrangement, I will be able to market my services much better because I am living the benefits.

When my workday is done (ya, it does have an end now!!!) I am able to follow up with old leads, work on personal projects and my own business development.

Now it’s Saturday and I have options! I can either get my stuff together to give to my bookkeeper so my taxes will get done on time, or work on a fictional story I’ve been wanting to get to forever. I can clean my house, play with my kids, go for a drive, or just read a book.

Who knew life could be this good for a busy entrepreneur?

If you are on the fence about hiring a VA - get off the fence and get yourself one. Preferably Mann Made Time, of course. Never before has my team been so efficient.

My tagline, “When there aren’t enough hours in the day…” has a whole new meaning for me now. When you find yourself feeling that way, give me a call. We really can add hours to your day.

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