Developing a Strong Focus
September 24, 2008
It was over 1 1/2 years ago when I began planning for my virtual assistant business. At that time, I wasn’t sure about the technology to make the “virtual” happen or what skills I would be most comfortable marketing; it all seemed overwhelming. Since then, I’ve scoured the internet, learned to network, and have also taken quite a few courses to expand my knowledge. I LOVE learning new and exciting things. Now, I’ve comfortably settled into bookkeeping as my niche and enjoy working as a subcontractor on several virtual teams. I was very lucky, and thankful, for my past proposal preparation skills as they helped me successfully answer several RFPs.
I confess, I’ve been dragging my feet in preparing to market work for myself. When summertime ends, I naturally feel the need to increase my business focus … it’s sort-of like the new year, for me. It’s always important to put those “resolutions” in writing so here are my goals to develop a consistent part-time bookkeeping support business:
- Redesign my website
- Become a QuickBooks Pro Advisor in 2009
- Take Andrea Kalli’s Social Marketing Success in Under 30 Minutes a Day elearning course, so I can:
- Join the Twitter buzz
- Update my LinkedIn profile
- Create a Facebook profile and jump in
- Blog actively
My list of things to do goes on, but I don’t want to become overwhelmed before I get started (did I SEE my list yet?). Oh, and maybe I’ll figure out how to open a Yahoo! Store someday.
7 Habits
September 21, 2008
I very much enjoy the FranklinCovey day planners and though I’m making strong efforts to go paperless, there is something about writing things down that helps my brain process. This year, I’ve been enjoying my classic planner theme: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Of course this is based on Dr. Steve R. Covey’s book of the same name. Each day I focus on the Daily Thought and a little nugget from his book. It is a great way to start my day being inspired. Here’s a little tidbit for you:
Daily Thought
I believe that you can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want
–Zig Ziglar
Do-it-yourself Web Design
September 19, 2008
I really should pay somebody to design my website but the temptation for my right-sided brain to do it myself is too overpowering. I have these great ideas floating around in my head just waiting to pour out. I bought a few books and highly recommend Paul McFedries, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creating a Web Page & Blog. In fact, his new book, The Idiot’s Guide to Creating a Website, comes out October 7 and I’ve already pre-ordered. As an author, he is witty with a dry sarcasm that I find charming and I retained so much more with a smile on my face.
Paul really simplifies the process and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could actually read HTML code. I find that I look at websites in a whole new way, literally, as I view the Page Source in my browser. I feel as if I’m reading a secret code. It’s great! I’m sure it goes without saying that it’s not for everyone. Who knows, if I actually “get it” and design my new site and blog, I could open up a whole new avenue of business for me. What fun!
Back to School and Back to Business
September 17, 2008
What a relief summer has passed! This was a hectic one and I’m happy to be refocusing on my business. We’re getting into the groove of school drop-off and pick-up, and facing the fact that my precious 3 year old boy has started preschool. Shoot, I even decided to take another accounting course locally, ONLINE, as I work towards my bookkeeping certificate. You gotta love the convenience of that! I’ve decided to reinforce my bookkeeping foundation because as a QuickBooks user, you really need to build on the accounting essentials when the computer software does so much for you. This is my first step in strategizing the expansion of my business in the coming months.
Looking back over this first strong year in business, I realize I’ve been working diligently in support of a handful of clients. But with my nose to the grindstone, I’ve neglected to keep myself active in a variety of networking forums and blogging here. With a fresh new fall on the way, I’m ready to get back to business!
