On March 24th, I posted about my gardening ventures….
I have a little update for you and it’s really just a brag and boast on my part. I have diligently
been taking care of those plants over the last few weeks. I’m like a little kid to be honest; every
morning I woke up to see if there was a sign of life under all that dirt. I’ve watered them, made
sure I brought them in off the porch when it got cold, and cleared off the top of my microwave
because that is where they would get the best sunlight in the house.
No one, including myself, thought these plants would sprout. Talk about a lack of confidence!
But, when you have a track record like mine, coupled with a brown thumb, it’s easy to not have that
confidence.
Just to recap, we planted strawberries, grape tomatoes, tomatoes, an oversized cabbage, and
sunflowers. Well, all 5 of my sunflowers are about a foot tall, the cabbage is huge and ready to
be planted in the ground. The tomatoes are ready to be repotted as well in their own pots.
Now obviously I didn’t sit down and write this to tell you all about my gardening escapades. Just
like I related them to your business before, I’m going to do it again,
Gardening is new to me. Business is new to me. Yes, I’ve been in business for over a year. Yes,
I consider myself successful. I don’t know everything there is to know. I still learn on a daily
basis and I will continue to learn on a daily basis.
With the planting that I did, I stepped outside of my comfort zone. I didn’t think I would have
any luck with those plants, yet I did it anyway. People laughed, and with every right. I’ve
killed a cactus!
Regardless of what people said, I still planted. I followed my boyfriend around the house last
night with a pot of strawberries and sunflowers exclaiming “look what I did!” Silly? Of course!
But I was proud, so very proud of what I had accomplished.
I do the same thing with my business. A new client is still a thrill for me and something I’m
proud of and if you think I follow him around the house with a signed contract, you’re right.
Perhaps the reason I’ve killed plants in the past is because I didn’t have an interest and know
that I will kill them. I know that I put off this business thing for a long time because I thought
that I couldn’t do it. No confidence.
So maybe I do have a little bit of a green thumb. I guess the only way to find out is to keep
tackling these plants and see what I can do with them. The same way I need to tackle new
challenges in my business.
The worst thing that’s going to happen is that I’m going to kill a plant, and I’ve done that
before. It’s just one of those things, I didn’t know I had it in me.
The only thing between me and a green thumb is me. And the only thing standing between me and the
success of my business is me.
With all that said, it’s beautiful here and I’m off to plant some green beans!
Until next time…
Heather
Permalink 1 CommentI came across the intro to the Simpsons but they aren’t cartoon, rather real people. It was interesting to watch how these cartoons were “converted” into real life! Check it out here!
Until next time…
Heather
Permalink 13 CommentsCheck out this story….“Baby bonus” turns into PR headache | Reuters.com
I just have to laugh at some of the mistakes that are made like this.
It’s one thing to make the money, it’s another thing to ask for the money back. Personally, my thought process is this: If I make the mistake, then I eat the cost.
I would limit future non-Italian families from getting the “bonus” but I would not make those that claimed it pay it back. Not good business in my opinion, and running a country is just like running a business…worse actually. You are voted into office!
Just some food for thought!
Until next time…
Heather
Permalink 14 CommentsSharing Articles: Can it help my Virtual Assistant Business?
By Nicole Dean
Question: I’m a Virtual Assistant. Can I use articles to promote my business?
Signed, Eager VA
Dear Eager VA,
Virtual Assistants are springing up all around the internet. It’s a very viable business option and more work at home moms are jumping on the bandwagon every day. The real go-getters will whip up a “business card” website right away with their contact information, ‘about me’ information, and their rates and services offered.
But, then that website sits and collects dust while they wait for the traffic to roll in. So, what’s a Virtual Assistant to do to generate traffic to their website?
Oftentimes VAs overlook one of the best methods of marketing their websites – article writing. Virtual Assistants can write about all kinds of topics – how to organize emails, customer service, hiring or firing a VA, ways a VA can benefit a business, or accounting among other things. Then, they can share the articles, just like any other website owner to drive traffic to their websites and establish an expert status in their field.
If you’re a VA who’s new to article sharing, it’s actually quite easy. You write a helpful article and include your author bio at the end. (See the end of this article to see an example.) Then, you submit your article to Article Directories where hungry website owners, blog owners and ezine publishers eagerly grab your article to publish it on their sites. Now, there is stiff competition so it’s not quite that easy, but that’s the gist of how article sharing works. And, you know it works because you’re reading my article that I’ve written and shared with article directories. There’s my URL in the author bio and you’ve found my article because someone has published it on their website, blog or in their newsletter. If it works for me, it can work for you, too.
Article sharing is underutilized in the Virtual Assistant field and I hope to see that change in the coming year. Go grab that free traffic and grow your VA business. Not only will your VA business grow, but you can share this method of marketing with your clients and blow them away with your knowledge of internet marketing. Best wishes.
About the Author: Nicole Dean doesn’t pay for advertising – ever. She uses Article Marketing to get free advertising on websites and in newsletters worldwide. You can use articles to get free traffic, too. Visit http://www.valleyva.net/easyarticlemarketing.html to find out how.
Permalink 4 CommentsIt’s no secret…I think big. I have more ideas than I have time to implement. And often, it’s easy
to get caught up in them.
There are many things in my business that I have thought up and run with only to find out that I
didn’t put enough thought into them and that they weren’t planned properly. They didn’t go over
well because I was too excited to focus on their proper implementation.
I’ve also been subjected to the hype of new product launches and have fallen for the hype. It’s
okay. I know its good marketing when I get suckered into the marketing ploy; when I get to the end
of the sales letter and I’ve already got my credit card out and ready to pay.
However, in the past two months, there have been three product launches that I have really looked
forward to and when it came time to pay, they weren’t planned very well. I’m a pretty easy going
person but here are a few things that happened and how I felt and reacted.
The first was a new membership site by someone whose advice I highly admire. I think he’s a
brilliant man and I have learned a great deal from him. In fact, I pay for his newsletter every
month. So when he announced his new site, I was there within minutes, credit card in hand ready to
get in.
I gave him my information (basically my credit card information and my name) and then I was taken
to a login page. They never asked me to create a user name and password and I had no way to get
in. I wanted it. They sold me. I wanted the information and I wanted it right then and there.
It took me two days to finally get the information. I was so frustrated by then that I canceled my
membership and asked for my money back.
A few weeks later I learned of a new product that was coming to the market. I was hooked by the
sales letter, the hype, the follow up emails, the sneak peeks; oh I was all over it. I was on the
site, counting down to 10am with my credit card in hand. At 10am, nothing happened. There was no
where for me to pay. I finally got in at 10:30am and what was promised to me (the bonuses,
primarily) weren’t there. A slew of emails came from the owner with incorrect links to get bonuses
and to log in and I was frustrated. I cancelled my account shortly there after.
And then this last time just a few weeks ago. I was offered a “pre-launch membership fee” and that
the site would go live in just 3 days, March 15th. It’s been pushed back 4 times now, there have
been many other emails pushing other people’s products and there is nothing in the membership area.
Today, I get an email stating that she is pushing it back to the 31st. She wasn’t ready, and to
be quite honest, I’m not impressed with it at all. I’ve cancelled that membership as well.
My point is this. Hype is wonderful. Get people excited about what you have to offer, but make
sure that you deliver. If you’re going to launch a product or service, make sure that the site is
ready to go and all the major kinks worked out. Check your payment processor, your gateway and
that all your links on the inside are correct. It’s okay to have a glitch or two; it wouldn’t be a
true launch if there wasn’t something, but make sure all the major issues are resolved.
Until next time…
Heather