One of the most terrifying and exciting things in life is having to start again.Let’s face it – we are all getting older! Maybe your children have finally left home for university, (Eben, my son, started college early and skipped his senior year!) or perhaps you’re thinking of retiring from your long-time job and want to try something new this time around! Maybe you have recently been let go at work, or simply grew bored and finally want to do what you have always wanted with your life. No matter which the situation, it’s still terrifying and thrilling. For example,…
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Think of all of the big brand logos out there. Those big friendly arches of McDonald’s, the swoosh of Nike, the softness of the Pillsbury Doughboy… Something that all of the world’s most valuable brands have in common is how well they communicate their brand’s message and values without one single word. Now, take a look at your logo. If this was the very first time you saw it, would you know what your company is about? Hiring a virtual assistant to revamp your entire brand, from your business cards to website, to branding collateral, to your social media graphics,…
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One of the most time-consuming activities for a small business is client onboarding. There are so many steps necessary to give your customers your full focus and attention. By automating the process, you can free up SO much time that you can better spend actually serving their needs. If you are a small business owner with a limited, or non-existent staff, onboarding can take up a ton of your time. While larger businesses can afford to assign someone to handle these responsibilities, your onboarding process entirely relies on you. But what can you do? Well, the solution is automation! By…
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Do me a favor? Check your junk mail. Seriously, go in and take a look at just how many well-crafted marketing emails from businesses that you know and frequent are mixed in with your junk mail. I am going to bet that there are tons of them. Even if you wanted to check out these emails, they are unfortunately surrounded by SPAM and scams, and it would be a huge pain to go through all of your junk mail to sort them out. Now, consider this. There is a pretty good chance that your own well-crafted marketing emails are sitting…
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Do you remember back in the days before Google Maps when you would need to stop and ask for directions if you were lost? In my experience, getting verbal directions from a helpful person would often result in me getting MORE lost. It wasn’t their fault though. Verbal language is, well, imprecise at times. We often think we communicate our thoughts out loud clearly, only to have the person we are talking to misunderstand what we are saying completely. This is partially because, when you are talking to someone on the phone, they can’t see the important non-verbal, physical side…
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I like to think of myself as a veteran small business owner. Ever since my twenties, I’ve felt the drive to create my own work. It’s something that comes from within me, to create a business from nothing. I’m sure that many of the small business owners and entrepreneurs reading this blog can relate! I’ve been through ups and downs and have learned many lessons along the way. One of the most important lessons was the necessity of needing help. For the first ten years of my business, I did everything myself without any help. Not even a virtual assistant.…
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One of the most stressful times for a small business owner is when they’re about to launch a brand-new product. There’s so much that has to go into it, from product development, to branding, to announcing the product to the press, to simply getting it on your digital store shelves! Is there a way that you could simplify the entire process? You bet. A virtual assistant experienced in all of these areas can help make your product launch go smoother than you could possibly imagine! Branding and LogoAs a small business owner, few things as important as your brand. Your…
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Do you know what the most effective method of advertising was back in the golden age of “Main Street” America? The storefront window. Pedestrians would look in all of the storefront windows on main street to see the most interesting. And it worked! People would come in off the street to take a look around the stores. If the store owner was a particularly effective salesperson, they would walk out with a bag full of products. In the marketing world today, the storefront window is the internet and the pedestrians are the ones browsing online. If you want to sell…
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Recently, there have been a number of stories in the news that a record number of pregnant women are running for political office, more than at any other point in our country’s history. This absolutely remarkable shift was foreshadowed just a few short months ago when the sitting Prime Minister of New Zealand gave birth to her daughter. Can you imagine being the leader of a country while at the exact same time balancing the responsibilities of being a new parent? For many small business owners out there, it’s easy because they are going through something very similar. It’s time…
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When was the last time that you got a really good night’s sleep? As a small business owner myself, I know what it’s like to have to have to work 12 to 14 hour days. Back when I first started my business, I would get up in the morning, work all day, and then go to sleep. It’s rewarding, no question, but also exhausting. And what choice do we have? As a small business owner, you’re responsible for everything and, if something doesn’t get done, the only person that you can blame is yourself. But what if it didn’t have…
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