Still Haven’t Made Goals for the New Year? A Virtual Assistant Can Help!

By Jennie Lyon / January 10, 2017

The start of a new year always gets people motivated to make changes in their life, work on personal and professional development, and try new things. Unfortunately, a lot of people struggle to stay on track with their resolutions, and most get broken or forgotten by the time February rolls around. Maybe you broke them already? The last thing you want as a small business owner is for your new business goals to meet the same fate as that resolution to lose 5 pounds or eat more vegetables! [Tweet “It’s a new year, full of new opportunities to grow your…

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Put Yourself First this Year and Your Business Will Soar

By Jennie Lyon / January 3, 2017

If you make just one resolution this year, let it be to put yourself first. Too many small business owners work themselves to the bone, burning the candle at both ends, sometimes for years at a stretch. Your body and mind need time to recover from a hard day’s work, and there’s no shame in taking care of yourself. I know how tempting it can be to try and “do it all” when you’re in charge of everything about your work. Trust me when I say I have been there before. I have learned to resist the urge to spend…

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Steps to Make the Coming Year the Best Business Year Yet

By Jennie Lyon / December 20, 2016

Well, we’ve almost made it through another year! I hope it was as good for your business as it was for mine, although I have some great suggestions if you didn’t meet all of your business goals this past year. The perfect time is coming up, in the lull between holiday gatherings and the new year starting in earnest, for you to take some steps for envisioning your next year in business. [Tweet “Come up with concrete plans and goals to make the New Year, your best year yet!”] One of the key practices you should adopt if you want…

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End of Year Assessment: How to Improve Your Work-Life Balance in the Coming Year

By Jennie Lyon / December 13, 2016

At this busy time of year, the idea of work-life balance can seem almost laughable, especially for anyone who runs a small business. With seemingly endless tasks popping up, parties, family commitments, and more, the last weeks of the year are difficult to prepare for. However, taking space from your work is important, more so now than at any other time of year. Because so many others—including business owners and many of your own clients—take time away from the office during December, they’ll be more understanding than you’d expect when you let them know you’ll be taking a week or…

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Don’t Forget to Take Care of Your Clients This Holiday Season

By Jennie Lyon / December 6, 2016

With the holiday season in full swing, your focus should be on offering clients the same great, reliable service you give them year-round, to help reduce the stress of this time of year. For most small businesses, the last two months of the year can be very busy. However, they’re also one of the best times to show your clients how invaluable you are to them, and how much you appreciate their business. By taking a bit of extra time to ensure that your seasonal client care is top notch, you’ll be sure to avoid ending up on any “naughty…

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It’s Almost a New Year: Build Your Virtual Team Now

By Jennie Lyon / November 29, 2016

Do you have the right team in place to support your business? Your goals probably involve the growth of your business, taking on new clients, expanding your services or product line, tackling more and larger projects, etc. No small business owner wants to get stuck in a rut or have their business stagnate. However, growth means more work. A lot of small business owners view hiring an additional person to work on their business as a scary prospect. They worry about paying a salary, whether their need for support will remain consistent enough to warrant the commitment of a new…

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Gratitude: What are You Thankful for in Your Business?

By Jennie Lyon / November 22, 2016

It’s Thanksgiving week, which means it’s a good time to focus on the things in our lives that we’re grateful for. Owning and running a small business can sometimes be challenging or draining, but there are so many wonderful things about it that make the trials worthwhile. I always try to remember to think on all the parts of running my own business that fill me with gratitude and appreciation for the work I do and the people I work with. Especially around holiday time, when the themes of thankfulness and love are so prevalent, I find it makes me happy…

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Are You REALLY Hearing Your Clients? How to Listen Well as a Business Owner

By Jennie Lyon / November 15, 2016

Do you know how to listen well as a business owner? Really, I’m not asking this facetiously; a lot of people don’t actually have well-developed listening skills, and that can hold them back in the world of small business ownership. Communication is the key to running a successful business, and listening should be the bulk of your communication! In a world of constant distractions, where we’ve been taught to multi-task as often as possible, many people have difficulty keeping their attention focused on a single conversation for any length of time. This can be a huge source of miscommunication between…

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Showing Client Appreciation is Essential and the Holidays are the Perfect Time!

By Jennie Lyon / November 8, 2016

Clients are the heart of your business, and you can’t afford to take them for granted. Without your clients, your business wouldn’t exist, so you always need to be considerate of their needs and appreciative for their patronage. The benefit to showing clients your appreciation is that it builds a strong connection with them, encouraging return business and making it more likely that they will refer others to you. Good client care is fundamental to the success of every business! While there are actions you can take year-round to let clients know how much you appreciate their business, the holidays…

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Planning Ahead: How to Set a Short & Long Term Business Flow

By Jennie Lyon / November 1, 2016

Planning ahead of time is one of the most important skills for a business owner to develop, because the success of any small business depends on how well it flows. Unfortunately, most people are only good at planning a day or two in advance, or for the very long term—setting goals for the year or beyond. It is merging the two, and sticking to a plan for the week or month where most people get tripped up in their calendaring and organization. Successfully planning ahead and maintaining business flow becomes even more difficult around the holidays, where clients and collaborators…

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