Here’s some ideas for getting your family and friends to honor your work-from-home time…..

Create a separate workspace

It’s much easier to bother you if you’re working at your kitchen table. However, if you’re working in your home office it’s more obvious that you’re working. Additionally, when you have a separate workspace you can close the door. This is a definite signal to others that you’re hard at work.

Set established working hours and stick to them

When you set boundaries and hold to them, your friends and family will quickly learn your limits. However, if you say “I’m working” and then proceed to talk on the phone or visit for thirty minutes, you’re sending the wrong message.

Express gratitude

When your friends and family do respect your work-from-home time, express your gratitude. Let them know how grateful you are that they support your business.

Dedicate time to spend with your friends and family

If you’re always working, you’re going to have some disgruntled friends and family. However, if you spend dedicated time away from work with your friends and family it’ll be easier for them to support you. It’s also a good way to stay balanced.

Use helpful devices and reminders

Consider using a sign on your door that says something like “work in session.” This is a quick and easy way to let people know you don’t want to be disturbed.

Get a designated work phone number

Don’t give your work number to your friends, unless they’re marketing for you. Ask your friends and family to call you on your home or cell number. When you’re working, don’t answer your home or cell phone. Only answer your business line. If you get caller ID then you also know when to answer the phone and when to ignore it.

Set business hours that make sense

Sometimes you don’t have a lot of control over your working hours. However, by and large you get to set your own schedule. Set your working hours for when your family and friends are busy. For example when children are at school and friends and family are at their own jobs. Other work-from-home business owners work very early in the morning or late in the evening. These are times when others are busy and not likely to need your attention.

Working from home offers a number of benefits. It also has a few challenges. One of the biggest challenges is being productive. Setting clear wishes and boundaries with your friends and family will help you manage this challenge successfully. Remember, don’t be afraid to say “NO” to them when the time comes!

To Your Success,

Having goals and a general outline of what I want to accomplish from month to month has really helped keep me focused in my business this year, but you might be surprised at what the most important and powerful thing I’ve done this year was…

It wasn’t the nifty software I purchased in the spring.

It wasn’t the new client I won over in the fall.

It wasn’t even the release of my transcription business starting information product earlier this year.

In fact, the most important and powerful thing I did for my business doesn’t have anything to do with my business at all in the technical sense and it’s something I’ve only just recently done. I outsourced the major housecleaning and I have someone coming in once a week to scrub and clean.

How is that helping my business? you might ask.

Well, it helps me out in a few ways. One, that’s more time I have to focus on what I’m doing and get more work done during the week. Two, it lets me relax a little when I’m not working because the cleaning is already done. Three, it relieved a ton of stress I didn’t even realize my husband and I had over the household chores.

See, a messy house doesn’t really bother me much at all, I do have four boys after all. But, internally I was feeling a little neglectful of not being able to get everything done that I wanted to get done. Quietly, my husband was feeling the same way. With both of us working full time there just wasn’t a lot of time for the usual household stuff. It was silent underlying stress trigger for both of us and we didn’t even realize it until it was no longer an issue. Weird how that sometimes happens with stress, you don’t even know it’s there until it’s already gone.

Why is this important?

I’m going to be blunt and honest with you here, because this is not something to mess around with. Stress can be very serious. It effects your health silently and sometimes unknowingly in many different ways. It can literally make you sick.

Have you ever mentioned a recurring problem to your doctor? Something like a headache, a rash, hives, an unexplained pain or annoying feeling, upset stomach for no obvious reason? One of the first thing your doctor probably asks is if you’re under any stress at work or at home. Most of the time we say no, things are fine, good, or even great. Because we don’t realize that we do have stress, it’s quietly hiding in the back of my mind waiting for the right time to pounce on us.

So, while you’re evaluating your business and setting your goals take a few moments to think about what might be causing you undo stress in your life, then take care of i as soon as possible, for your health and your success.

Kind Regards,

Here’s how to show your appreciation to customers during the holidays.

#1 Gifts.

One of the most common ways to show a customer you appreciation is to give them a holiday gift. Many businesses go the way of the marketing device. They give away pens, notebooks, calendars, magnets with their company logo and contact information on them. Small items that have value and can be used to simultaneously market your business. These are nice ideas. They don’t cost too much and they’re an easy way to say thank you.

However, they can also be a bit unimaginative. If you want to be unique, and be remembered for your thoughtful gift, consider stepping away from the marketing gadget. Consider giving something that’s related to your business or your customer’s needs.

For example, if you own an information site on the niche topic of office organizing, you could send labels or a storage box to your customers. A pet niche could send a sample of pet food, personally wrapped pet treats or even a grooming tool. If you’re in the fitness or health niche you could send a water bottle or a few hand wrapped energy bars. The thought you put into your holiday gift can go a long way toward endearing your customer to you. And it’s just a nice way to say thank you!

#2 Holiday Cards

Many businesses skip the whole gift giving concept. It can be very costly. Instead, they stick with a good old fashioned holiday card. This is a wonderful way to say thank you and to show your appreciation. However, to give your holiday card giving the right degree of attention, consider hand writing a note inside each one.

It may seem laborious. You can hire an assistant to do the job for you. However, a personal message is a lot more effective than a stamp or pre-printed message. It shows your customer that you really do care.

#3 Promotions and Discounts

Finally, consider giving your customer something they really want – a discount or a special promotion. For example, you could send a special promotion code to your customers this holiday season. Offer them something for free when they make a purchase. Make sure the promotion has a holiday message and demonstrates your appreciation for their business. If you don’t want to make the freebie contingent on a purchase, just send them a coupon or a note telling them how to collect their freebie. There are many ways you can make this a fantastic holiday gift.

When considering how to show your customers your gratitude this holiday season, consider what they would appreciate the most. Then follow through with a message that shows your appreciation. Take advantage of the season to strengthen your business relationships!

I hope you’re having a great holiday season!
Kind Regards,

==> Great Gadget Gifts for Writers and Bloggers

This gift guide is perfect for anyone on your list who is working from home, a writer, an author, a blogger, a virtual assistant, a list maker, note taker, or someone who generally has a pen or keyboard in hand, probably much like yourself. So, I confess it’s half a wish list for myself of tools and gadgets I’d like to have and then includes a few things that I already have that I absolutely love, like my netbook!

I hope you enjoy the list and happy holiday shopping!

Kind Regards,

Facebook advertising is hot right now, but if you’re not sure where to begin it can sure make your head spin. So, today I’d like to introduce you to Jennifer over at FB Ads Lab because she is offering some great services that make Facebook marketing stress free for her clients.

Facebook ads are a fantastic source of instant, qualified, targeted traffic for your website and FB Ads Lab can help you make sense of things or if you prefer they can handle your Facebook advertising campaigns for you.

Wherever you are with your Facebook marketing efforts I definitely recommend taking a peek at the FB Ads Lab FB Basics on how to get Facebook traffic, it’s a good checklist for getting started!

So, now that you’ve seen what Jennifer and her team is offering take a few minutes and think about a service you offer that could be niched down in a similar way to offer a specific service.

While offering a variety of services is fantastic, sometimes when you niche down you find yourself being more productive, streamlined, efficient, and ultimately able to help more people, which hopefully in turn means more income for you too.

Have a great weekend!
Kind Regards,

This week Nicole asked….

Let’s say that you’re being paid a million dollars to be stranded on a deserted island for one month. You’ll have a nice bungalow and will have food and water delivered as well as necessities like soap and sunscreen – but NO technology.
You can, however, pack up to 10 books.
Which books would you bring? Why?

and I thought it would be fun to blog my own list of 10 books to take along with me while I’m stranded far away from everything with no technology. (Gosh, that is sounding more and more fun every day.)

Oh, I’m going on vacation for a month ~ awesome! This is a great question and I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone is reading so I can add a few new things to my Amazon WishList of must-have books.

Well, I’m going to cheat a little bit and take the entire Harry Potter book set, so that’s books 1 through 7 for me.

Book Number 8 is one of my favorite books that I carry around with me, Too Deep to Fall, Poetry by Brian S. Oliver. Yes, I’m admittedly a little biased in my opinion that it’s completely awesome.

Book Number 9 off my bookshelf is The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas, a classic favorite that I read again and again. (By the way, have you met my oldest son, Dylan Thomas Oliver?)

Book Number 10 from the shelf is The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe, which has all the poetry and short stories in it. I could read it a million times over and over again (and I assure you that my copy is quite worn) but I figure that’s a good thing for being on a desert island with nothing but my thoughts.

What – no business books on my list? I have a stack a business books on my desk, more on my nightstand, I figured I’m going someplace sunny and warm I should probably enjoy myself and give my brain a break from all the seriousness. I might try to squeeze a journal in there to jot notes and ideas in, shhh don’t tell anyone I hid it in my sock!

Why did I really choose these 10 books? Whether it’s watching a movie or reading a good book on the beach it’s good to take a break from the stress and the crazy that an internet entrepreneur’s life can quickly become when everything revolves around work. Yes, being up to date and in the know about the marketplace is important and good for business, but so is your ability to de-stress, unwind, relax a little to renew both your mind and your spirit.

You can see all the expert answers and participate in this fun little thinking exercise at NicoleontheNet.com

Kind Regards,

So, where have I been? I’d like to tell you that I’ve just been super busy. And I have been pretty busy, but that’s not all that’s kept me from the blog. Well, the hard truth is that I’ve been really sick, whether I wanted to admit it or not I was sick for several months. Any time I was upright and not in bed feeling miserable I spent working on transcription and scratching things off the to-do list. Unfortunately, I was spending more time feeling miserable than working or spending time with my family. I’m finally feeling quite a bit better and ready to work hard and get things back to the way I like them again.

I’ll be jumping back into posting here once a week with virtual assistant information, ideas, tips, and hopefully by February 1st the very first VA Helper eCourse will be ready to go! I’m very excited to be sharing the things I’ve learned as a virtual assistant over the years with you and my hope is that it will make your journey as a virtual assistant easier and faster. If you have any questions about VA work please leave a comment or send me an email, I’d be glad to go over anything with you.

Thank you for joining me again, I appreciate it.

Kind Regards,

Here are just a few:

1. Advertise in Ezines.

There are online newsletters everywhere that accept advertising. The key is to purchase advertising in publications that reach your target market and to create your ad to showcase your expertise. Don’t try to be everything to everyone or you won’t attract clients.

Ad Example of what Not to Write: “Hire me to lighten your workload. I can do everything that you don’t want to do. Let’s talk!”

Ad Example of what works: “Are you ready to get more leads to your business? I will handle your ezine advertising campaign for you. No more searching for targeted ezines, no more writing and tracking your ads. I’ll handle it all it all. My clients experience a boost in subscribers after I complete my ezine advertising campaigns that will pay for my services. Check out my website for testimonials and free tips.”

2. Write and Submit Articles.

The key is to stay on topic. Don’t write and submit articles about health or pet care. Present a problem in your article and solve it. Make sure your author bio is very compelling to attract potential clients.

Recommended Resource: If you’ve never tried article marketing, I’d suggest this course to get started – www.EasyArticleMarketing.com

3. Network where *successful* people hang out.

A huge mistake that VA’s make is to hand out on forums where there are other people struggling to make money. Instead, join a membership site for your target market and you’ll find yourself in the "inner circle"

Recommended Resource: My favorite forum for masterminding and brainstorming is Lynn Terry’s SSWT Private Masterming Forum.

4. Advertise at Shelancers.com.

One of the easiest ways to get your name in front of business owners looking for help is to join Shelancers.com.

Again, it is crucial that you list your specialty in order to stand out from the other service providers. But, if you can find a problem that business owners face, and offer to handle it for them, you’ll attract loyal clients who will continue to work with you.

These are just a few of the ways you can boost your client base quickly. What are some of your favorite methods? Please share them below.

Have a great weekend!

Kind Regards,

I personally use Gmail as my email client and have everything imported or forwarded there. It’s easy, I can access it from anywhere any computer and it has lots of time saving features that I can use. One of those being the “canned responses” feature.

The next time you find yourself explaining one of those frequently asked questions I encourage you to save it as a “canned response” so you can just click on it and insert it the next time someone emails and asks the same question. It will save you a ton of time in the future and make your email answering time much more efficient in the long term.

I hope you found this helpful, if you have any questions about this or you find yourself stuck just let me know and I’ll help you get it set up.

Have a great weekend,

One thing I learned early on in my online career and something you’ll hear so many internet people say (including some of the big name marketers) is that the people around you are going to be negative, tell you that you can’t do it, it’s a waste of your time, that’s not a job it’s a hobby, etc, etc, etc…. You get the idea. That kind of thing is only going to sabotage any success you have early on and it’s going to make you feel miserable, and honestly, it’s the reason a lot of people give up and quit before they reach any success points at all.

I don’t want you to go through that and I’m here to support you, lend an ear whenever you need it, but what you really want to look for is a community of people, multiple people with the same kind of thinking, similar goals, and a bright shiny outlook on the world of virtual business. Of course you can comment and chat here on VAhelper.com, but there are several communities out there that you might find helpful as well. Here are just a few….

and I’m sure there are many more out there. If you have a favorite community that I haven’t mentioned, please post it in the comments section here.

I spent a lot of time thinking I could do things by myself, I didn’t need support, I didn’t need any of that, and because of that I spent a lot of time locked away from everyone, feeling miserable, feeling frustrated, and not getting anywhere. Opening up and joining a community helped my business flourish, relieved a ton of stress from my life, and improved more than just my business.

I hope you’ve had a productive week and have a fantastic weekend. Talk to you again soon.

Kind Regards,