Day-to-day efficiency is regarded as one of the most valuable attributes a business owner can have. Unfortunately, the most difficult part of being efficient is in maintaining that same high level of efficiency throughout the course of each business quarter, without crashing and burning. The tasks pile up and your level of stress sky rockets. This results in missed or late deadlines, dissatisfied customers–and even worse–a loss in acquiring more possible customers and revenue. If [...]

Ok, that was a little cheesy. But now that you are here, let’s talk about that last word that doesn’t necessarily fit in the cheer. Delegate. When it comes to the power in your office, you are superman. No one can do the work better than you, quicker than you, or more efficient than you. But while you are being “Super-­You”, there are other things slipping by the way side that are just as important. [...]

After my last few posts singing the virtues of sending e-newsletters, you’ll now be ready to send your first e-newsletter… No? After a number of conversations over the last few weeks in response to my e-newsletter posts, which have been received extremely favourably, the number one reason why freelancers and small business owners are not sending them is: They have no time to send e-newsletters You’ve told me you’re so busy working with clients and [...]

Not quite stepped off the fence yet about sending e-newsletters? You now know from my previous post that sending e-newsletters are a great way to communicate and stay in touch with your customers, clients and prospective clients. It’s also a cost effective way to reach your clients and can position you as a thought leader and expert in your field. I can already hear you saying: “What do I write about?” “I have nothing to [...]

You finally did it. You have been mulling it over forever and you finally took that leap of faith and got a virtual assistant. You realize the value and potential value of virtual assistants but you just aren’t sure where to begin with one. Well think of it like this, what would you do if you hired an on-site employee? How would you start with them? Chances are you have a task list a mile [...]

Many business owners an entrepreneurs who are new to the concept of working with a virtual assistant share the same initial questions and concerns. Namely: “How will I communicate with a virtual assistant?’ Anyone who’s been in business for a while knows that the ability to communicate effectively is vitally crucial to any working relationship and particularly that of a businessperson and his or her assistant. When that assistant is virtual and may never step [...]

There are only 24 hours in a day and only seven days in a week. You can’t increase the number of hours in a day or days in a week, so you can’t increase the time you have for work. You can, however, accomplish more if you rely on others for certain business tasks. One great way I’ve found to use my time more productively and to get more work done is to use a [...]