The Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants Group will be hosting their 4^th Annual Special Evening Event on Thursday, October 27^th at Alloro Restaurant in the Burlington Hotel & Conference Centre. I hope you’ll come out and join us for a three-course meal, guest speaker Sheeba Varghese and, of course, a chance to network with local virtual assistants and other professionals. Because seating is limited, pre-registration is required.

GHVA Members at 2010 Special Evening Event

Whether or not you can attend, you can promote your product or services to our members and guests by donating a door prize. All donors will be recognized on the GHVA Sponsors page for one year and will have the opportunity to submit marketing material to be distributed to all participants. Please let me know if you are interested.

I had no experience planning business events before organizing our first one in 2008. Since then, I’ve learned a few things which I’m happy to share with you today.

Date

If your group is holding the event, ask the members what dates will work for them. If you’re hoping for guests to come from great distances, avoid the winter months when weather may interfere with travel. Find out what else is taking place in your area. You probably won’t have a date all to yourself, but be aware of major events that may draw people away from yours. (Last year we made the mistake of scheduling our Special Evening Event during Small Business Week, and lost a few potential attendees to trade shows in two neighbouring cities.)

Location

If you hold your event in a hotel meeting room, you will probably have to pay for room rental on top of the cost of your food. Unless you’re planning a large group, this may force you to charge more for attendance than many people will be willing to pay. A better choice is a restaurant with a private room. I’ve had a lot of success locating suitable venues using MenusOnly.com, which covers the Hamilton and Burlington areas, and you may find a similar guide for your region.

Menu

Most restaurants that cater to groups have a special events menu where each guest can select one of three different meals. Sometimes you will have a choice of menus at different prices. Since some of your guests may have dietary restrictions, make sure that special requests can be accommodated.

Speaker

If your event is being held by an association or other organization, there may be a good speaker among your members. If not, or if you’d prefer an outside speaker, ask your members for recommendations. Some speakers are willing to waive their regular fee in exchange for the opportunity to promote their products or services to your group.

Door Prizes

If you’d like to have door prizes, contact your group members and other people in your network to request donations. Many will be happy to offer a small gift or a gift certificate for their services as a way of promoting their business. We’ve always been blessed with a great response, and have generally received enough donations that every person in attendance has gone home with something. Use a spreadsheet to keep track of the donations you’ve been offered, and mark it off when you receive them. You can use this list to follow up if something doesn’t arrive when expected, to thank your donors after the event, and to connect with them again before subsequent events.

Price

Consider whether your goal is to make money, either for your group or to support a charity, or whether you only need to break even. When calculating how much to charge for registration, figure out how much the meal will come to after taxes and gratuity are added on. Be sure to also factor in any costs for room rental, speaker fees, a meal and/or gift for your speaker, and any other expenses related to hosting or promoting the event. Even if you don’t need to generate a profit, you may want to charge a little extra to ensure you don’t lose money if you don’t sell out.

Documentation

Each year that I’ve organized the GHVA’s Special Evening Event, it takes a little less time and effort, because I already have a system in place. Set up a folder on your computer for your guest list, donor list, email templates, and any other documents you use or create while planning your event. This will make your life so much easier next time! And, if you decide to pass the reins over to someone else in the future, you’ll be able to share your system without spending hours explaining what you did.

Since event planning is not my area of expertise, please add your own suggestions in the Comments section. Maybe there’s something I missed that will make next year’s event even easier!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Tips for Organizing a Business Event – and an Invitation to one.

Here’s what I’ll be up to:

September 12 to 16: Tips and Tools for Virtual Assistants

I’m excited to be part of a panel of VAs who are each experts in various areas in the Virtual Assistant industry. In 10 calls, we’ll be talking about all the pieces you need to know about in order to market your VA business successfully.

Here’s the line-up, along with their areas of expertise:

• Kristi Pavlik: Implementing Systems and Procedures
• Christina Hills: Using Ecommerce and Autoresponders; Why WordPress is the Platform for You
• Alyssa Gregory: Connecting with Others Through Networking
• Rebekah Zobel Jones: Membership Sites
• Michelle Schoen: Video Marketing
• Kathy Colaiacovo: Social Media Strategy
• Erin Blaskie:  Introducing Passive Revenue to Your Business
• Tracey D’Aviero: Getting Support in Your Business

I’ve been invited to speak about Working with a Niche on Monday, September 12th at 4 pm Eastern.

All this information is being offered free of charge, so it’s a fabulous learning opportunity for virtual assistants at any stage in their businesses. For more information and to register, visit Tips and Tools for Virtual Assistants.

October 5: It’s All About Me Conference

This is a private event for City of Hamilton administrative staff, so I won’t tease you with details, other than to mention that I’ll be presenting on Organizing and Your Personality Type, the subject of my popular e-book, Organizing Your Life, Your Way.

November 3 to 5: Professional Organizers in Canada National Conference

I’ve been invited to speak again at this year’s POC Conference, which will be held in Toronto. This will mark the third time I have spoken at this important event, and I am truly honoured. My topic for this year’s Conference is Blogging: Beyond the Basics, and I look forward to sharing some of my favourite blogging strategies with professional organizers from across Canada and beyond. My session is on Saturday, November 5th at 11:00 am.

Of course, there will be lots of other interesting sessions, including keynote presentations by Erica Diamond on her Top Secrets to Success in Life and Business, and Joe Roberts on From Skid Row to CEO.

Please visit the Professional Organizers in Canada website to download a complete program or to register.

What’s on your schedule for this fall?

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Fall Schedule of Events.

One of the goals of Global VA Week is to provide an opportunity for face-to-face networking for virtual assistants at the local level. Since we’re already doing that, we decided to focus on the other goal: to educate local business owners about the benefits of working with virtual assistants. After a couple of very busy months of planning and organizing, we’re looking forward to a successful event at the Burlington Art Centre on Wednesday, May 18.

You should attend if:

• You are a busy entrepreneur or small business owner interested in cost-effectively decreasing your stress and workload and improving your efficiency
• You coach others who are starting or already running a business and need to know what resources are available to them
• You’d like to network with other local small business people and enjoy good food in a beautiful venue
• You are interested in becoming a virtual assistant and would like to know more about the profession
• You’re already a VA and would like to network with your local colleagues

The highlight of the evening will be a presentation by Mr. Dave Howlett, founder and Managing Director of RealHumanBeing.org, who will be giving a 15 minute portion of his renowned “How To Connect” presentation. I’ve not yet had the pleasure of hearing him speak, but I’ve heard wonderful things about him and am really looking forward to it!

We’re truly thankful to Techno Metal Post, The WQ Gift Company, Energy Savings PowerGard, and Workload Solution Services Inc. for their financial support. If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor as well, please let me know and I’ll be happy to connect you with our sponsorship person.

Tickets will be available at the door for $20.00, which includes parking and food, but you can save $5.00 off the admission cost if you pre-register online.

I hope to see you there!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Global Meets Local at Business Networking Event in Burlington.

At the same time, I would create an invoice in Excel, save it as a PDF, and email it to my client, who would then send me a cheque or pay by PayPal. In some cases, the client would email to ask how to make a payment using PayPal, generating yet another step. If I knew ahead of time that the client preferred to pay by PayPal, I could use the PayPal invoicing tool, but then I didn’t have the option of including my business logo on the invoice.

Once Scott assumed responsibility for these tasks, the burden shifted to him. He tried using PayPal’s Payment Request Wizard for Outlook, but found that it didn’t really eliminate any steps, it just changed what the steps were. For myself, although I was freed from doing the work, I no longer had easy access to the information when I needed it.

Fortunately, I learned about some free online resources that have simplified both of these functions, and they just might work well for your business too.

EchoSign

EchoSign is a secure online signature service that makes things a little easier at our end, and a whole lot easier for our clients. We still create our agreements in Word and save them as PDFs, but after that, the entire process is automated.

When we upload the PDF to Echosign and enter the client’s email address, a copy is sent to him or her. Once they’ve reviewed it, they only need to click to indicate their acceptance, and a copy of the “signed” agreement is emailed to us. It’s that easy!

The only drawback is that the email shows as coming from echosign.com and not from us, and is occasionally blocked by our client’s spam filter, but it hasn’t been a big problem.

We’ve been using the free version for over a year, which allows for up to five signatures per month, but if at some point it no longer meets our needs, we will happily upgrade to the paid version, because it works so well. In addition to unlimited signatures, the four premium versions offer a variety of additional features to meet the needs of small business through to global enterprises. It can even be integrated with other applications, including Google Apps, Salesforce, and eFax, for even further streamlining.

Billing Boss

If EchoSign is the best thing since sliced bread, then Billing Boss is the best thing since… bread. It is exactly the tool I’ve been looking for since day one.

With Billing Boss, you simply upload your logo and enter your business information, and you’re ready to start sending invoices. There are only eight styles to choose from, but some are quite basic, so with the addition of your own logo, it’s not hard to find one that’s suitable.

You can either import your client list or enter the information as needed. It will then be stored within the application for future use.

Select the client, enter your invoice details, and send it by email. If you accept PayPal, there will be a space on the client’s copy where they can click to make a payment. Other online payment methods may be added with an optional upgrade. Mobile payment processing is another optional upgrade that would be useful for professionals who don’t always work from their office.

By using the system to track when you receive payments, you can see at any given time which invoices are outstanding or overdue, and generate reports to track your income. Because the invoices are all stored within your account, you can easily resend an invoice if the client needs another copy, either for payment or for year-end tax purposes.

You can also give read-only access to your bookkeeper or accountant, eliminating the need to hand over printed copies.

I am just thrilled at the ways these tools have streamlined our operations. In an ideal world, we could integrate the two processes, but who knows… that day may come!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on How to Streamline Operations without Breaking the Bank.

Several months ago, I answered a few questions for someone who was writing an e-book about becoming a virtual assistant, and with so much else going on, it had slipped my mind. It therefore came as a wonderful surprise this week to learn that several of my comments were used in the brand new FabJob Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant!

I was also happy to receive a copy of the guide as a token of appreciation for my contributions. At 268 pages, it is packed with information and I know I’ll benefit from it, even though my VA business has been established for several years. It covers a wide range of essential topics, including:

• Communicating effectively with your clients
• Skills required, and different ways to acquire them
• Legal and taxation issues
• Marketing and networking
• Setting fees and collecting payment
• Working with strategic partners
• Time management and productivity
• Choosing your business name, niche market, and much more

I would definitely recommend the FabJob Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant to anyone considering this profession, even if my name wasn’t in it!

If you’re more likely to need a VA than to become one, be sure to swing by Deb Lee’s blog and read my guest post on The Benefits of Working with a Virtual Assistant.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Interested in Becoming a Virtual Assistant – or Hiring One?.

Since then, my business has evolved to the point where a good deal of my work consists of website design, mainly in the area of WordPress theme customization. I therefore thought it might be beneficial for me to read How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Web Site Design Business by Bruce C. Brown and Charlotte Evans. What I discovered was a comprehensive manual outlining the technical and creative skills which a website designer needs to have before they even consider starting their own business.

Of course, even a highly experienced designer may not possess, or even be aware of, the other skills necessary to start and run a business, and the authors fill in that gap by addressing topics relevant to any business, such as competitor research, pricing, bookkeeping, marketing strategies, communicating with clients, and much more.

Also included are suggestions for complementary services which may be offered to website clients to generate additional income. I was pleased to discover that we are already offering many of these, and at the same time gained some new ideas for the future.

The helpful content is accompanied by an abundance of useful worksheets and checklists which appear throughout the book and on the companion CD-ROM, making this a valuable reference book for new and experienced website designers alike.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Book Review: How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Web Site Design Business.

I knew from following her on Twitter that Frances would have lots of resources to share, and I was not disappointed. Here are a few of her recommendations:

• Studiopress for professional WordPress themes
• Jing for creating screencasts which can be used to demonstrate tasks to clients who are visual learners
• 123RF for royalty-free stock photos
• Oddiophile’s Technorati Tags Bookmarklet
• Google Webmaster tools, which I knew a little about, but learned even more

I also learned that when creating websites (as opposed to blogs) using WordPress, it’s better to use a premium theme (as I did for the Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants Group and Maestro Quality sites), because most free themes are more suited to blogs. Furthermore, when using free themes that are not listed on WordPress.org, it’s important to watch for hidden ads which may lead to “bad neighbourhoods.”

Perhaps most valuable of all were copies of Frances’ Ultimate Blog Planning Workbook and WordPress Site Design checklist, which have already been very useful.

All in all, FoVA was a wonderful experience and I am so glad I went. If you avoid industry conferences because you don’t understand the benefit of networking with and learning from your peers, I urge you to reconsider – you just don’t know what you’re missing! For more on that subject, read The ROI of Attending a Conference.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on The Wonderful World of WordPress.

It’s been two years since I took a teleclass with Yvonne Weld, author of The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Thriving Business, and learned that standard operating procedures, or SOP, are just as important for one-person, home-based businesses as they are for large organizations. Even if you are the only person carrying out the work, if you don’t document it, how do you know you’ll do it the same way each and every time, ensuring consistency of service? And how will you remember how to do it if several months go by before you do that particular task again? Most importantly, how will someone else know what has to happen in the event that you’re unable to work?

Creating standard operating procedures for my business has been on my “someday list” ever since I took that teleclass, and now that there are two of us, it has become increasingly important to have a procedures manual. For that reason, when I saw that one of the workshops at the recent Forum on Virtual Assistance (FoVA) was Standard Operating Procedures – the Who, What, Where & Why you should have one for your Virtual Business, I was eager to attend.

The workshop was facilitated by Kristi Pavlik, who is known in VA circles as the Systems Chick. (Kristi appears in the above photo with her very own Systems Chick which was presented to her at FoVA.) She explained that an SOP has two main components: a system, which is the overall picture, and the process documents, which provide the specific instructions for each task.

To illustrate a system, Kristi supplied us with a copy of the mind map she uses for her business. The business name goes in the middle, and each broad area of the business goes in a bubble around it. Next to each bubble is a list of specific activities related to that business area. Each bubble then gets its own mind map. As I began to fill mine out, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it actually was. Furthermore, I realized that creating a procedures manual for my business is not all that different than the procedures manuals I created in my past jobs.

I’ve always had a problem wrapping my head around mind maps, so for my systems, I decided to make a list using outline mode in Outlook instead. I then used that outline as the starting point for my process documents by making a copy of the file, switching to normal view, and copying and pasting all the procedures that we have already documented. The rest will get filled in over time until it’s complete. I’m actually not sure if it will ever be complete, because we’re always making changes and introducing new procedures, but this is certainly going to make it a lot easier for us to keep track of everything.

Because this is so important, I decided to invest in Kristi’s e-book, Systems of a Successful VA, and was pleased to find it full of visuals, step by step directions, templates and added resources which should be very helpful as I move through the process.

I think getting started just may be the biggest step. Although there’s still a lot of work to be done, it feels really good to see how much has already been documented, and especially to see it assembled in one place. It’s also much easier to see now what sections still need to be completed.

If you don’t yet have an SOP for your business, I strongly encourage you to get started as soon as possible.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Developing Standard Operating Procedures.

Janet:  Thanks for stopping by, Vanessa. It’s great to meet you.

Vanessa:  Thank you, Janet! I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time. I’m honored to be here.

J:  Thank you. That’s nice to hear. Why don’t you give my readers an overview of your e-book series?

V:  I’d love to! The Adventures of Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant series is a collaborative effort between me and my writing partner, Melodee Patterson of Short-term Solutions. I knew nothing about the Virtual Assistance industry when I left the SafeRight Insurance Company after being the President’s Executive Assistant for a number of years. But after doing some Internet research on the subject – which I discuss in the first e-book – I decided becoming a Virtual Assistant was the perfect solution for me.

I did tons of research on all aspects of becoming a VA – such as what kind of business structure was best for me, how to set up my home office, how to determine my rates, the best ways to market my business, getting over my fear of networking, and how to blog. It was hard work and took a lot of time!

J:  So you decided to share your findings with other prospective Virtual Assistants?

V:  Yes, exactly! Melodee and I wanted to save other VAs the time and frustration of plowing through all that information themselves. We used my research notes and the forms I created for my own business as a blueprint for the series.

J:  I understand you had some interesting adventures while starting your company. What happened?

V:  Oh, Lordy. For one thing, my mother – she reads auras for a living – was bound and determined to “help” me. You wouldn’t believe the things she mailed me from Sedona, Arizona! And then there’s my ex-husband who had the nerve to tell me I couldn’t possibly start my own business without his help! Luckily, my friend Marci was very supportive and helped me through the rough patches. Anyway, it’s all in the e-books. I wanted prospective Virtual Assistants to know that life may throw some roadblocks their way, but becoming a VA is worth the effort.

J:  How many e-books are available?

V:  At the moment, there are three e-books. The first e-book, Vanessa Has a Dream is free to download. It describes how I left my job and decided to become a Virtual Assistant. It’s an unbelievable story, but I swear my adventures are as real as I am!

In the second e-book, Vanessa Becomes a Virtual Assistant, I discovered my company name – with a little help from the Universe, created a business plan template, and decided on a business structure. And the business plan template is downloadable!

J:  That’s great. What about the third e-book?

V:  Vanessa Sets Up Her Home Office is full of practical advice on choosing the right office equipment and supplies for your own VA business. There are research notes about computers, fax machines, scanners, ways to access the internet, and lots of other good stuff. I even describe my visit to my hometown’s office supply store. Don’t you just love wandering around in the pen and pencil section?

J:  Ummm, yes, I do. Where can my readers download your e-books?

V:  They can go to the E-books page of my current website here.

J:  Are there other ways they can contact you?

V:  Sure! They can email me, and I’m also on Facebook.

J:  It was a pleasure having you here today, Vanessa. I’ve enjoyed the first three e-books in the series and I can’t wait to read the rest!

V:  Thanks again for letting me stop by, Janet. I’ll be sure to let you and your readers know when the next e-book is available.

J:  Before you leave Vanessa, I have to ask…you do realize that you’re not a real person, right?

V:  [Sigh] Yes, I know. I’m just a figment of Melodee’s imagination. But that doesn’t mean my e-books aren’t informative and entertaining.

J:  I certainly agree with that. Thanks again for coming, Vanessa.

V:  You’re very welcome, Janet. I enjoyed talking with you.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on An Interview with Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant.

Vanessa Andruz is a Virtual Assistant and owner of Andruz Business Solutions LLC. She was an Executive Assistant for many years, but after turning 50, she became tired of corporate politics and decided it was time for a change. After researching different career moves, she became a Virtual Assistant. She had some challenges while setting up her business – her mother insisted on “helping” and her ex-husband gave her grief about quitting her job – but she persevered and now has a successful Virtual Assistance business.

With the help of Melodee Patterson of Short-term Solutions, she has created a series of e-books (The Adventures of Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant) which chronicle her VA journey – ex-husband and all. The series provides timely information on discovering your company name, setting up your home office, determining your services and rates, becoming a marketing maven, and much, much more.  If you’re thinking of joining the fast-growing Virtual Assistance industry or any home-based business, you won’t want to miss my interview with Vanessa.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Introducing Vanessa Andruz.