January – 2009 – The Gritty Virtual Assistant

Monthly Archives: January 2009

January 26, 2009 – 10:00 am

Other Little Germany Fun Facts

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1. Over here, the main car makes you see are Mercedes, BMWs, Citreons, Peugots, Opals and VWs. You rarely see pickup trucks (I think I’ve only seen one!). If you see an SUV, it’s usually like a Jeep or Hyundai Sante Fe type. They pay a lot more in gas prices over here so gas guzzlers are even less practical here as they are in the States.

Even the taxis are Mercedes:

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Speaking of vehicles, here are some interesting vehicles we’ve come across…

A little Vespa ice cream truck:

A little three-wheeled, covered thing that had apparently just been in a little fender bender (there were scrapes on the side and sideview mirror was siting on the seat)… there’s a website listed under the name at palmo.info:

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2. Their standard pillow is big and square. I find it really, really uncomfortable and still prefer our American King size standards, but I can’t find any over here.

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3. They make this wonderful rosehip jam over here that is so delicious. Rob says he’s never seen it in the States. His mom doesn’t think it’s over there either. It would be a brilliant import. They make it out of the little bulbs or pods, if you will, that grow on rose bushes after the blooms have died.

When we went hiking up in wine country, we found some rosehip bushes. You pull one off, break off an end and squeeze the big seed out from the middle. You can then squeeze out the sweet/tart rosehip “paste” from both ends, which is a lovely orangey-red color. It’s a bit messy eating from the bush like that, but such a treat!

I want to see if I can have some shipped back to the States or maybe, someone is already importing it. Oh wait, I just did a search and here’s a great page that explains more about rosehips and making your own jam: http://www.springvalleyroses.com/inthegarden/roserecipes.html

Here are what rosehips look like on the bush:

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4. They absolutely adore their dogs over here and take them everywhere. Dogs are welcome in most restaurats and stores, where they stroll and shop right along with their owners, LOL. It’s such a crack-up. They treat them like their own kids. There was one image in particular I can’t get out of my head and I wish to God I had taken the photo, but there was a woman in one of the open-door bookshops and I’m not kidding, she had her little dog in a stroller wearing baby clothes! Why-o-why did I not take that photo?! I’m kicking myself now, LOL. Anyway, Rob says the only place they’re really not allowed is the grocery store. Here are some cute shots:

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5. All the homes and apartments and building windows have rolltop shutters that they put down at night. It’s such a trip. It reminds me of Omega Man where the guy has to blockade himself in at night so the zombie/vampire creatures don’t get him, LOL. But it’s just a commonplace way of life over here. Rob says it’s to help keep out the colder nighttime temps and privacy. It’s a bit eerie to me to walk around at night and see all the homes and apartments all shuttered up.

Here’s a house that has shows some of the shutters all the way down and some left half way:

6. I hate to say it because I absolutely LOVE the U.S. (being over here makes me even more grateful for all that we have at home and country) and I am actually really homesick, but being in Germany really spotlights how wasteful and consumptive we are in the States as a society. For example, you don’t see lots of disposable stuff like paper cups. At the Xmas markets, when you order a drink, it comes in an actual cup or mug. You can either save it as a souvenir (like when it’s painted with that year’s special holiday tidings) or you can turn it back in to the vendor when you’re done and you’ll get $2 euros back. When you do see paper cups, it’s usually from some commercial place like Starbucks. They pay attention to ceremony–they don’t skimp on details because it’s cheaper. It’s very soul-nourishing. For example, here’s what you get when you order coffee in most places:

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7. I needed a quick caffeine pickmeup the other day (I don’t do coffee) when we went shopping downtown and I’m kinda getting tired of having to make special requests for ice and a straw (I know I’m in another country and I’m not trying to be the Ugly American; just sayin’ is all) so we ducked into McDonald’s where I knew THEY’D do me up a Diet Coke the American way, no prob (they call it Cola Light over here). So as I stood in line, I was looking at the menu: Over here, they call a quarter pounder w/cheese a Hamburger Royal. They also serve fried shrimp (McShrimp, anyone?) and curly fries; I’ve never heard of a McDonald’s in the States offering those (do they?), but then again, I’m not a patron of McDonald’s much. Thought that was kinda funny. Oh, and they had cute little McDonald’s outfits: the pants sorta looked like Lee jeans, but instead of the usual stitching, they had a big McDonald’s “M” on the right back pocket. I wanted to take a pic, but I’m sure it would have looked odd taking a pic of someone’s rear-end, LOL.

8. T-Mobile (which we in the States are familiar with as a cell phone service provider) is a German company and seems to be the dominant player here as far as telephone service goes. They have phone booths all over the place. What I thought was cute was their pink receivers:

9. My other new favorite phrase is “schmiki miki.” It means something like “hoity toity” (I have no idea how to spell that; I’ll have to go look it up now). I don’t know how often it would come up in common conversation, but it’s just fun to say, LOL.

10. This was just too funny not to take a pic:

11. Oh, and not that Woolworth’s is the most high-quality store, but it was a bit nostalgic to see one. The last one in our area closed over 20 years ago. When I was litle, we’d go there for ice-cream sundaes. I don’t even know if they have any left in the U.S. (do they?). I have heard they’re still in the U.K. and now I know they are here in Germany, too.

12. They have a much more relaxed, human, if you will, approach to life and commerce over here which I think is very healthy. For example, most businesses including grocery stores are closed on Sunday. Other than restaurants, you won’t find much open. Also, they take a lot of time off during the holidays. They get two days off for Christmas, but what I thought was interesting was that they don’t seem to have any kind of Boxing Day (the big sale day the day after Christmas. Wow! Retailers not killing themselves to get those last bit of year’s revenues in? In fact, many businesses actually closed for the entire week of New Year’s and left signs saying they wouldn’t be open until after the 2nd. I can’t think of any business in the US that would or could afford to do that. Rob says they can’t really afford it here either, but they do it anyway. Because that’s just their lifestyle and values over here.

13. You can buy beer to go from just about every restaurant and pub. You can even get it delivered from the local equivalent to Dominos Pizza called Joeys! I don’t know why, but I find that hysterical.

14. The mounted politzei have the most HUMONGOUS horses! They gotta be at least 18 hands. Gigantic, draft horse height horses, but as sleek and graceful as Thoroughbreds and not big-boned like the draft breeds. They look like they might be Hanoverians or something similar. I plan to ask next time I see them.

15. Their electrical outlets over here are round with two round prongs.

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16. Their keyboards over here are different, too. They have extra keys for the special letters and punctuation they use, and they have some letters and keys moved around. It drives you crazy trying to type on one!

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17. My other breakfast food over here… Dinkel Pops. How fun is that?!

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18. Their postal services are privatized over here, meaning they aren’t government-run. I don’t think it’s such a good idea to have such an integral part of a nation’s infrastructure left in the hands of private industry. I would not want to have that in the States… but I do have to admit their postal employees don’t look like some of the sloppy, crazies we have working for us in the States, LOL.

Their postal service colors/logo are black and yellow:

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in A Virtual Assistant Abroad | Comments (2)

January 25, 2009 – 8:00 am

Unethical Virtual Assistant: Your Virtual Admin

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Here’s another thief who has stolen, verbatim, my home page text: Your Virtual Admin at http://yourvirtualadmin.blogspot.com/

Here’s my site: http://www.therelief.com.

Here’s a PDF of their blog home page with my stolen content:

http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/infringements/YourVirtualAdmin/012409Home.pdf

This Virtual Assistant’s name is Maria. She was contacted about the infringement to give her a chance to remove it from her blog/site before being posted here. She chose to hang up abruptly.

Here’s a hint, guys. Stealing content from other Virtual Assistants is copyright infringement. It’s against the law and it’s also not a great way to make your introduction into the Virtual Assistant world. It’s even dumber to steal it from an industry leader with a widespread audience.

So take a hint, Maria, if you want to save yourself some grief and possible lawsuits: quit stealing and remove my content from your site immediately. Otherwise, you will be hearing from my intellectual property attorney and once I have to go to that length to get you to do what is right, I go for blood.

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January 23, 2009 – 10:00 am

Is the Term Virtual Assistant Serving Us?

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I have never really been happy with the term “Virtual Assistant,” but what to do when so much equity has been invested in it?

It’s too bad there wasn’t any better foresight when the term was adopted to give a name to our industry. However, from what I see, many of the pioneers in the field were actually working with clients as if they were still employees sitting outside the boss’ door–only virtually.

Since then, it seems many of them never grew in their thinking or operating beyond that. That was the end of their evolution of growth when it comes to being a business owner and not someone’s personal, but virtual, secretary.

And now they can’t see anything beyond their own indoctrination and limiting beliefs. Hey, you can stand in the corner and call yourself a business owner, but that isn’t going to make you one if you are operating like that.

The term “Virtual Assistant” itself is at the root of many of the wrong perceptions and misunderstandings we are constantly having to disabuse clients of. Because the term is vague and ambiguous, it creates confusion and leaves it open to anyone’s interpretation. And because it wasn’t well thought out and the branding not managed well or at all, it’s been coopted by anyone and everyone who thinks doing anything and everything virtually is Virtual Assistance.

It’s no wonder that so many clients these days assume we are employees they don’t pay taxes on who are supposed to be at their daily beck and call in the same manner as an employee, only virtual.

So let’s dissect this…

For me, the term has always been nothing more than a verbal/mental coat hook. It’s just a phrase whose definition is not the literal sum of the two words themselves, but rather a term I can tell people to use when they are seeking folks who are in the business of providing ongoing, right-hand administrative support.

The problem is that having no advance knowledge of the concept behind the term “Virtual Assistant,” clients and those who are new or outside the industry can only assume it’s most literal translation. By sheer virtue of the words, they automatically come to the table with wrong perceptions and preconceived notions already fixed in their heads–what I refer to as a misalignment of expectations and understandings.

Overwhelmingly (and more and more because of the miseducation the coopters are putting out there), they don’t understand the relationship, and a big part of the problem is the term itself. Our current title doesn’t help us distinguish and in a better way denote our status as business owners, not assistants who are going to work with them or be available to them in the same way as an employee.

We have to constantly work (too hard) anymore at educating clients that we aren’t lackeys, we aren’t telecommuters, we aren’t their personal servants, we aren’t their do-everything-and-anything-under-the-sun. We are administrative experts, business owners who provide ongoing administrative support and consult wth them on administrative strategies and issues.

I think the term “assistant” inherently connotates a secondary, subservient role and is cause for the whole host of issues we are constantly dealing with in properly educating clients and helping them understand what we do and the nature of our relationship to them.

For me personally, I’m not anyone’s assistant. I’m an expert in my own right–an administrative expert. Clients don’t boss me around and I don’t work with them in any on-demand capacity. I’m also not anyone’s personal valet. I don’t deal with their yacht brokers or buy their wives gifts. They consult with me on things that are strictly related to their business that are specifically administrative support in nature.

I also think the word “virtual” is superfluous and puts an inane, unnecessary focus on something that is really only incidental to our work and what we are.

The Internet, which is what allows us to be virtual, is simply another tool that gives us an additional means of conducting business and working with clients. It doesn’t change the fact that a bookkeeper is a bookkeeper or a web designer is a web designer. Or an administrative expert (VA) is an administrative expert.

Looking at it from that perspective, it’s completely ridiculous to be putting “virtual” in front of anything. Idiotic, really.

(By the way, this discussion is an example of why words and semantics are so very important to branding and conveying precise ideas. If not done right, they convey the wrong ideas and perceptions which means expectations have not been set correctly in the first place. That equals very poor branding and ineffectual marketing.)

So what’s the solution? Do we adopt another name, one that more accurately represents what we *really* are and does a better job of pre-educating clients and sets more accurate expectations and perceptions? But what name?

I have struggled with the term “Virtual Assistant” over and over many times over the years. It wasn’t a ball of wax I wanted to deal with at the time. But as time goes on, more and more, I see that the term Virtual Assistant just does not serve us well any longer, if it ever did.

I think it’s a worthwhile effort to at least attempt to see if we can come up with a distinguishing term all our own that can’t be so easily coopted from us. I definitely think in that respect that “administrative” needs to be in there as that is integral and at the root of what we are in business to do.

Other Terms I’ve Been Reluctant to Use

I been somewhat hesitant to use “consultant” (even though I have here and there in our Client’s Guide to Virtual Assistants and other educational materials) because a consultant is generally an idea and advice person hired to solve broader business issues, whereas we administrative experts are doers. We “do” administrative support and functions.

I don’t want anyone foisting the responsibility for the success or failure of their business on me as that’s not what I am in business to do. We Virtual Assistants often brainstrom with clients and offer our own considered experience and knowledge, but responsibility for results and deciding on strategies in their business still lays with them.

I worry that the term “consultant” may give some clients the wrong idea about that. However, so far it is one of the only alternatives out there that I think better serves our interests.

For similar reasons, I personally don’t think “business consultant” would serve us. We aren’t business consultants, not in the true sense of that word or the responsiblities that come with that definition. It’s also too general and doesn’t adequately or specifically convey what we are in the business of.

I don’t like the term “business manager” because that’s also not the business I am in. I don’t manage clients’ staff or other resources; nor do I want that responsibility. Using that term, there’s an implication of a much bigger role that I personally am not interested in, and I wouldn’t want clients to think I am there for them to abdicate ownership and responsibility of their own business.

I am there to provide one specific service and that is to perform certain administative functions and otherwise help them streamline that work and get whatever can be, systemized and automated. I think it’s a great term for someone who actually is in business to take on that role, but I think it’s definitely something different and separate from what Virtual Assistants are in business to do.

I do like “administrative expert” which I use all the time, but it still leaves me wanting something more… ? Not sure what word I’m looking for; something that might better convey the idea that we are independent business owners and not employees for hire.

I haven’t used ”administrative professional” or “virtual professional” or “virtual associate” for the same reasons; those terms are vague, unspecific and don’t really distinguish us from the administrative workforce and convey that we are biz owners.

I always come back round to “Administrative Consultant” but then I’m back to square one, LOL.

So what are your thoughts? Do you have ideas for a name that better serves us and more clearly describes what we do? Let’s brainstorm and discuss!

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged Virtual Assistance, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants | Comments (36)

January 20, 2009 – 10:00 am

A New Day

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I had a chance to watch some of the inauguration clips and most especially Obama’s inauguration speech, and I just feel such a great swell of American pride that I’ve never felt before.

Oh, sure, I appreciate how lucky I am to have been born in America. It’s a gratitude I consciously think about and appreciate constantly. But I’ve never felt it in this way, a way that I can’t quite describe.

I’ve watched inaugurations and the changing of the guard before. Sometimes with great happiness. Other times with extreme disappointment. I don’t know if it’s being in Europe. I don’t know if it’s because I’m older and maturing in my understanding and interest in politics or what.

But it just feels so different this time. Maybe I’m simply getting caught up in the group think. But I don’t think so. I think there is something truly different and special about Obama’s presidency and I am so looking forward to watching things unfold, being part of those things. I think we are in store for lots of good and goodness!

One thing I really loved about his speech was not just the inspiration of it. Hope and optimism are ingredients that we all need. But they aren’t the only nutrients we need. Nothing is healthy without balance and wholeness, and that includes not only allowing hope and optimism to buoy us, but also being open to taking a good hard look in the mirror and acknowledging not-so-pretty realities.

Inspiration can become like candy to children. And people can be easily fed and led into unconsciousness by the sugarcoating and BS of “inspirational” things; by telling folks what they want to hear instead of the truth; by only looking at the “pretty” things, the “positive” things and not the whole, the real picture.

They abdicate then both their responsibility for the way things are and their freedom to change those things. They are lulled into complacency, a childishness where someone else makes the decisions, calls the shots and takes care of things.

So what I also loved about his speech is that not only was it hopeful and inclusive of all races, all creeds, all religions (including non-believers, which in itself is remarkable)–and we need that after these past eight years–but it also reminds us of the opportunity to take back ownership of our country in its fullness, with all its warts AND all its goodness and promise, by asking each and every one of us to take responsibility. It’s not someone else’s job, someone else’s responsibility. It’s OURS. Each and every one of us.

That is a gift, my friends, one we should never take for granted.

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Personal Musings | Tagged Obama Inauguration | Comments (0)

January 19, 2009 – 10:00 am

Where In the World Is Cologne?

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Okay, I’m a moron, LOL. A couple weekends ago we were in France (which I’ll back-track and blog about next week). I was so awed by the cathedral in Strasbourg that Rob said he’d take me to see another spectacular cathedral in Cologne for my birthday January 15 (which I am so proud to share with Martin Luther King Jr.–one of the most brilliant minds and wonderful spirits in history).

Well, being that we were in France, and the fact that I’d been gushing how much France felt like home (I’m French on my father’s side; Québecois to be precise), and loving that I was actually able to use some of my rusty French and read things for a change, I assumed he meant Cologne, France.

Doesn’t that sound French? Isn’t there a Cologne, France? Turns out Cologne (Koln in German) is in Germany. But it was just as lovely as could be and we had a blast for my birthday celebration.

We took the ICE, which got us there without any stops in just about two hours.

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Of course, Rob always wants to do these things at the butt-crack of dawn so I had to get a little more shut-eye on the ride there and didn’t really get any pix of the countryside along the way.

On a side note, have I mentioned how awesome their train system is over here? Sleek and smooth, comfortable and CLEAN. With such an efficient, extensive multi-modal transportation system, there’s very little need for personal transportation. The U.S. could definitely take some pointers.

What else was interesting was that it made me realize how quiet, relatively speaking, people are in Germany and possibly Europe in general.

Sorry, but you and I know that we are a nation of loudmouths and attention-seekers. Hey, the truth is the truth. If that had been a train station in the U.S., you wouldn’t have been able to hear yourself think. As it was, you quite possibly could have heard a pin drop (well, I’m exaggerating a little, but you know what I mean).

I’ve been in the train station early in the morning and in the middle of the day and it’s so conspiculously noticeable how much more quiet people are over here and how much more respectful they are for other peoples’ personal space. It’s quite a contrast.

Anyway, we reached Cologne and the cathedral is literally, bam, right there. And it was magnificent! You almost can’t comprehend the astounding architecture and engineering and labor that went into building these things.

Train station in Cologne/Koln:

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Fun Facts: Rob tells me that in 1880, the top of the church tower was the tallest building in the world at 157.38 meters and approximately 500 feet high. They started building it in 1248. The plan, at 12 feet long and drawn on cowhide parchment, is apparently the largest known detailed architectural map from the middle ages.

I so wish my pix did the cathedral more justice. When you are in its presence and seeing this stuff with your own eyes, you are just floored by the magnificent scale and loving craftsmanship that went into every minute inch of detail. You can’t help but marvel, and are reminded of the wonderful feats of artistry humankind is capable of.

Of course, Cologne was heavily bombed and destroyed during the war, damage you can still see today and that they are still slowly but surely rebuilding (such as the cathedral), so you are also reminded of the feats of destruction against each other that man is capable of.

Following are some of our pix that turned out the best. Sorry they aren’t better; I’m definitely going camera shopping when I get home.

Exterior shots:

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(No idea who this guy is, but he wouldn’t get out of my shot, LOL)

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These shots show you some of the ongoing reconstruction:

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Interior shots:

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I don’t remember what this was, but it was really old:

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Like the cathedral in Strasbourg, we climbed to the top of the tower through this teeny tiny spiral stone staircase (super claustrophic). So many feet have climbed the staircase that each step has worn down to a concave indent in the middle.

Here are some shots once we reached the top:

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See these shots?

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I’ll tell you what I thought was so interesting about this. See, these panes used to be filled with stained glass. If you’ll notice just past the full length of each pane, you see carved statues (an angel in the first and a figure of St. Peter holding a rooster in the second). These statues are part of a series of two or three that surround each turret at several points along the length of each tower.

When these panes had stained glass, no one would have been able to see these statues in the back in all their glorious, intricate detail. No one but God. And the soulfulness of that kind of craftsmanship and attention to wholeness is what struck me so profoundly.

If that had been built in this day and age, we perhaps would be looking at a smooth, blank wall. Any kind of corner that could be cut would be. What’s the point of wasting labor and effort and expense on something no one will ever see, right?

But see, that’s the beauty of real craftsmanship. There is grace and dignity and meaning in its wholeness. That is soul. Shortcuts strip us of that substance and leave a thing hollow. It’s this soulful wholeness and embracing of that sensibility that makes the old world so delicious.

Overlooking the city and the beautiful Rhine River:

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When we had finished exploring the cathedral and touring its various museums of artifacts, it was still only 11:30 in the morning. Time to get my birthday party on!

I think I’ve mentioned before that the Germans love their beer and drink it any time of day or night. I’m not saying they’re drunks. You don’t see people stumbling around the streets.

They are simply connoisseurs and beermaking is an artform to them. In fact, they even have a standard brewers must adhere to called the German Purity Law of 1516. They enjoy a good beer with their meals as routinely as they would a superbly roasted, brewed cup of coffee or glass of exquisite wine.

Then again, it does just crack me up that you can get liquor just about anywhere, including the corner newspaper stand or doner shop. Heck, even their version of Dominoes Pizza, which is called Joeys, will deliver beer to you!

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This is doner:

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What they do is shave the meat and you can have it served with salat and vegetables in a roll or taco or on a plate. I don’t recommend it. They seem to love it over here, but I tasted Rob’s and it was gross.

Back to the story, so first we set out to get some lunch and ended up at this place called Brauhaus-Sion where it looked like all the local business people congregated at this time of day.

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Cologne is where they make the regional beer called Kolsh and this restaurant is where I discovered my new favorite beer, Gaffel Kolsh!

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I so totally have to get these glasses, too. I usually love to drink out of pilsner glasses, but these small cilindrical ones (called stange) are so dainty and classy. This is the only style of glass that kolsch is served in.

By the way, here’s the custom for how a lot of places keep your beer tab… with each beer you are served, they put a little pencil mark on your coaster. It’s a sin in Germany to have an empty beer so they are always right there with your next full glass (hurray!). To signal that you are done and don’t want any more beers, you put the coaster on top of your glass.

Oh, here’s another custom… they don’t really tip here in Germany. It’s not expected or obligatory in the way that it is in the U.S. However, you can tip if you like; they just don’t do it on a percentage basis like we do. Instead, they round up, which is called auf runden. For example, if your bill is $8.50 and you have a $10, you could just give them the $10 and say “stimmt so” which means “that’s correct.”

Um, okay, I’ll tell you… between the two of us, Rob and I must have had about 10 marks on our coaster. But, hey, it was my BIRTHDAY and I’m in Europe! So I totally have an excuse. We definitely left with more than a glow going on and were having so much fun being silly.

Oh, another by the way… Fasnacht (Fasnacht = Fat Tuesday) is going on through Ash Wednesday over here. They actually begin celebrating on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (November; you get the picture).

Once Christmas is over, you start seeing groups of people dressed up in costumed themes and painted faces. I’ll tell you a little story that happened in Strasbourg when I post about that next week.

So it was extra festive and a good excuse to get a wee bit snockered, LOL. I’ll tell ya, I don’t know that I’ve ever done this, but there is something so fun about walking around sightseeing with a little buzz-on, LOL.

We spent the afternoon walking around the city streets, going into shops (I collect those carved, polyresin magnets of the places we’ve been so I had to get my obligatory souvenirs), strolling along the Rhine River, and just enjoying the people and the buildings and all the sights.

Here are some modes of tourist transportation that I thought were fun:

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Double-decker tourist bus:

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City sights:

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Here’s a place we stopped in for some refreshment (Rob, coffee; me, Cola Light):

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I wish to God I would have taken pictures of the restroom, LOL! The Germans have the cleanest restrooms you have ever seen. You can pretty much use any restroom anywhere; they just typically expect you to pay something and will usually have a dish or attendant to collect.

But this place has a restroom like no other! It had a contemporary Asian teahouse theme going on. Ultra sleek and sophisticated.

The faucet wasn’t so much a faucet as it was a sculptural water fountain down which water cascaded. The stall doors are clear until you lock them; then they turn a milky opaque. You can still see out, but no one can see in. And the toilets themselves weren’t toilets. They were thrones! LOL

I am so kicking myself for not marching right back up to our table, grabbing the camera and going back down to photograph this marvel of toiletry for posterity, LOL.

Anyway, after walking around and getting away from the tourist beat, we were thirsty for some more good beer and decided to find a nice, local pub. I can’t remember the name of this place, but it was along the Rhine River and so quaint:

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We sat in this large corner booth by the window which was great fun because it was more like a community booth so you got to chat with other people who decided to sit with you.

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We met a mom and her son who were going to a Tina Turner concert that night. They were nice, but our two most favorite people we met were these two older gentleman:

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They were the neatest guys! Klaus, the man on the right toasting us with his beer, told us the most interesting stories about the city and the war. His mother was German. His father was Russian and had spent five years in a POW camp before being allowed to go home to his family.

These two fellows have been friends for over 50 years and said that they meet here once a month for a beer. Klaus is in the industrial sand business and travels frequently to the U.S. He gave us his card so we could email him and stay in touch. I just love meeting people like that!

It was dark by the time we left and started heading for home. Here’s a shot of the pub’s outdoor seating:

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We stopped in a couple other places as we made our way to the train station:

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I thought this door knob was so neat:

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Some wild bunnies we found frolicking around in Mannheim once we got back to town:

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in A Virtual Assistant Abroad | Tagged Cologne Koln Germany, Virtual Assistant Abroad | Comments (0)

January 16, 2009 – 10:00 am

Thanks, But No Thanks

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The Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce received a submission to our Virtual Assistant RFP Center recently that was a good example of what we WON’T post to our members forum. It represents everything wrong with how the market has been educated to view Virtual Assistants as employees and remote workers rather than what they are: independent experts who specialize in administrative support.

Not only did the person submit a three-page job description expecting daily, specific hours reporting to a supervisor (among other inappropriate expectations), but they also declined to provide their name. Since they indicated that the Virtual Assistant would be a community resource to various brokers in their agency, I’m guessing they perhaps thought their particular name didn’t matter.

HUH?!

Virtual Assistance is a close, one-on-one relationship between two business owners: the Virtual Assistant and the client. A Virtual Assistant is not a community resource who is passed around at the client’s whim. And they definitely are not employees. Our administrative experts are professionals who deserve the same respect and courtesy clients would prefer to be treated with as well.

So sorry, but if you can’t be bothered to provide your name, we aren’t going to be bothered to assist you. We do not post anonymous RFPs. If you expect our members to provide you with detailed, personal information, you must be prepared to do the same.

On top of that, I absolutely detest people who try to get one over on the system and take advantage of people. It’s called being dishonest and unethical, folks. This RFP came from a Human Resources department. They damn well know better. They are just trying to cheat the law and the government and get an employee they don’t pay taxes on.

Here is how we responded:

“Thank you for your interest in the VACOC RFP Center. However, you appear to be seeking a telecommuter (which is an online employee who is still legally subject to the employment laws and employer tax obligations of the land). That is not what Virtual Assistants are, nor how they work with clients.

“You also did not include your name as requested in the form. As the submission is not appropriate, it will not be posted to our members forum. For more information about Virtual Assistants, what they are (and what they aren’t), how they help clients, as well as how they work with clients, our “Client’s Guide to Virtual Assistants will be helpful to you.”

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged Virtual Assistance, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistant RFPs, Virtual Assistants | Comments (6)

January 15, 2009 – 10:00 am

Review My Website

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I constantly see Virtual Assistants asking other Virtual Assistants to review their websites.

It’s all well and good to ask colleagues to check your site for typos and other goofs, offer opinions and give tips for improved SEO (search engine optimization). However, the most important opinion and advice you should be seeking should come from your target market. THEY are whose opinion will matter most as THEY are the ones you are going to be marketing to and working with… not your colleagues. If your site and offerings don’t appeal to them, it isn’t going to matter a whit what us other Virtual Assistants think.

If you are running a business (and not a hobby or freelance sideline), you want to design your site to be attractive and appealing (both visually and content-wise) on all levels to your specific target market and ideal client. That information should come from your market/field research efforts.

There are lots of ways to go about doing that:

First, identify a target market as well as profile your ideal client. Once you know who you are talking to and trying to attract, can you begin to understand specifically, in great detail, what colors, shapes, fonts and other visual elements appeal to their collective, professional tastes and sensibilities, what their unique business problems are, how to craft your offerings in a way that most resonates with them, and how to speak and write in their “language.” You can’t do that if your audience is anyone and everyone.
Obtain market research about your target market from a company that specializes in that work.
See if you can get your hands on some surveys conducted by your target market’s professional associations.
Look at some of the more professional looking sites of those in your target market and look for common themes, visual personalities and design elements. Model your site after the mood, look and colors. For example, is it a market that has a more serious, studious bent or is it one where whimsy and fun are welcome? If you are trying to appeal to a serious audience, they are not generally going to be attracted (or have confidence in) a site that feels more like a circus sideshow than a credible business they can confidently give work to.
I consider this one THE biggest, most important step: TALK TO YOUR TARGET MARKET.
This absolutely astonishes me, but I can’t believe how many Virtual Assistants NEVER make any effort to actually talk to people who work in the industries and fields from which they are seeking to obtain as clients. It’s absolutely insane NOT to talk to your target market.

And I do mean target market—NOT ideal client. You can find ideal clients in all walks of life, but the only thing that will give you the path you need to find and understand clients most quickly and easily is to have a very specific, defined target market. It’s what will also give your site and offerings the absolute greatest level of clarity, meaning, resonance and attraction.

That is the thing that is going to open up a path and give you the greatest clarity and direction for knowing who you are talking to, how to talk to them and what they want from you and how to frame your offerings for them.

Once you know that, go about making friends with some folks in that market and ask them for their advice and opinions and ideas for creating a site that is going to be attractive to others in that same field. Have lunch with them. Invite them to be on your advisory panel. Probe them about the obstacles and loads they have in running their business. Develop feedback forms and online surveys for them in order to get the information you need to most effectively develop your offerings and marketing to them.

This is work that is going to yield a gold mine of information that is not only going to put you head and shoulders above other Virtual Assistants, but also allow you to provide very intentioned administrative solutions of great value that you can very appropriately charge handsomely for.

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged Review My Website, Virtual Assistance, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants | Comments (0)

January 14, 2009 – 10:00 am

Where Can I Get Virtual Assistant Geographic Rates?

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Dear Gritty VA:

I’d would like to find some hourly rates/pricing tables for Virtual Assistants by state. I would like to know comparisons so I can be better prepared. Do you have anything like that? –AC

This is a great question, not because I’m going to answer it in the way you might expect (although I think you’ll still find my response helpful), but because it gives me another opportunity to discuss value and Virtual Assistants.

Every year since 2006, the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce conducts an in-depth annual survey of Virtual Assistants… not secretarial services; not virtual staffing agencies/VA teams; not web designers; not transcriptionists; not bookkeepers; and not every other kind of business out there that insists on calling themselves a Virtual Assistant when in fact they are not.

Ours is the ONLY Virtual Assistant industry survey to do that. You will find a couple others out there purporting to be “Virtual Assistant surveys” that in my opinion are meaningless crap. They’re crap because they include anyone and everyone who calls themselves a Virtual Assistant, regardless of the fact that they may not be actual, true Virtual Assistants and may only be telecommuters or some other completely different kind of business. Our survey is strictly and specifically for those who are intentionally in the business of continuous (not transactional), collaborative administrative support.

How on earth could results collected from literally anyone and anyone without any kind of discernment whatsoever yield any kind of meaningful, relevant, representative, helpful information for Virtual Assistants? They can’t, and that’s why they are crap. And they are especially crap when they are conducted by industry outsiders and those who aren’t even Virtual Assistants who don’t understand what Virtual Assistants actually are and are driven purely by financially motivated self-interests.

Those surveys don’t help anyone in our industry, especially when the information is skewed or doesn’t accurately represent the real industry of Virtual Assistance. How is including in the survey someone’s part-time telecommuting subcontractor who isn’t running a business of their own and who charges $7 an hour reflective of Virtual Assistance? How does including web designers, bookkeepers and all kinds of other non-Virtual Assistant businesses that are project-based with completely different business models help the solo Virtual Assistant who works in a monthly, relationship-based model? They don’t!

Those other so-called Virtual Assistant surveys also don’t help our industry because they give out incorrect data to the media and others who are in a position to educate (or miseducate as the case often is) our marketplace. Why any true Virtual Assistant would participate in them is beyond me as they are only contributing to the very problems and misunderstandings with clients they constantly complain about.

So, that’s why the VACOC endeavored to conduct a legitimate, meaningful, specific and relevant annual study that would not only give our industry real, more accurate, professional and representative results, but also yield clues to where business knowledge is lacking in the our industry compared to other service professions and how Virtual Assistants might step up their game.

You can get each year’s full survey report at our Virtual Assistant Business Forms Store, or you can download the 2008 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey Highlights Report from our home page which gives you the important meat and potatoes information (it contains about half the information included in the full survey results reports).

Now, once you get one of the surveys, you will find information about what rates Virtual Assistants are charging, how much money they’re making annually, where they are from, etc. However, we don’t extrapolate results based on who is charging what in what state, and I’ll tell you why.

We don’t do that because it doesn’t matter. First and foremost, the VACOC, the organization I founded, is committed to helping Virtual Assistants be better business people. If something isn’t consistent with that core tenet, then we aren’t going to talk out of both sides of our mouth and provide information that we think isn’t helpful to Virtual Assistants, or worse, may harm them or lead them down paths that aren’t going to be successful.

Specifically, your rate should not depend on what state you live in. You have no geographic boundaries when it comes to finding and working with your target market and ideal clients. Your value is your value. It doesn’t change because you or they live in Timbuktu, Ohio. Your value is based on the need you fulfill for those clients in your target market, the problems you solve for them (and what that’s worth to them), and how your work allows them to move ahead in their businesses.

Look at it like this: If your work allows a client to write that that book, create those passive income streams, get more speaking gigs and ultimately make more money, that’s your value. So don’t shortchange yourself!

Geography and what others are charging is of no relevance to you or your business. It has no bearing on how to smartly price your service. You, your business, and what you offer to your target market is going to be a unique value different and separate from any other Virtual Assistant. That value is going to be the same no matter what the geographic location so never use that as an indicator in setting your fee.

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Dear Gritty VA, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged Setting Rates, Virtual Assistance, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistant Industry Survey, Virtual Assistants | Comments (2)

January 13, 2009 – 10:00 am

Hello, Please Take Advantage of Me

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I came across a Virtual Assistant’s website whose rates page went something like this:

“Compared to most Virtual Assistants who charge $35-70 per hour, I am dirt cheap and will only charge $12 per hour on most projects.”

Oh lawdy, lawdy, lawdy… There are so many things wrong with this message and I have two minds on the subject.

On the one hand, this is obviously someone brand-spanking new who doesn’t yet understand what Virtual Assistance is, who is still operating under the misguided notion that a Virtual Assistant is an employee (hence the below-par employee wage-level rate), who has no education yet about how to successfully operate and market a business, and who desperately needs some helpful guidance—because at that rate, that Virtual Assistant is not only going to not make any money, especially doing project work, but she will quickly be taken advantage of and burn out in the process.

On the other hand (and I will be somewhat charitable because I think there’s probably no way she even thought of it from this perspective), but that whole statement is incredibly, abominably insulting to her colleagues and the rest of the Virtual Assistant industry–from whom she is most probably in the habit of seeking advice from at the same time she is denigrating them.

So, consider this viewpoint… if you are going to undercut your colleagues, operate at a loss, miseducate our marketplace, undermine the industry, and create the unrealistic expectation in clients that $35-70 per hour is somehow unprofessional or too expensive, then also please be prepared to stop asking those same colleagues for advice, mentoring and support. It is completely ill-mannered and offensive.

I know you are new. This is one of the most supportive industries you will find, and many successful veterans, like myself, will help you in any way we can. So please do understand that I’m not trying to be mean; I want to wake you up and get you to start thinking.

So what are the nitty gritty problems with this:

1. This is someone calling themselves a Virtual Assistant who doesn’t yet understand what Virtual Assistance truly is. Virtual Assistance is not project work done here and there; that is a secretarial service. What Virtual Assistants are in the business of providing is ongoing, continuous administrative support.

Your understanding about what you are and what you are in the business of providing is going to be critical to your ability to market attractively and create sustainable, profitable earnings.

To get that understanding about what Virtual Assistance is and the difference between a Virtual Assistant and a secretarial service, read the VACOC Home page, as well as the History of Virtual Assistance and the VACOC Outsourcing Glossary. Heck, you should probably read the Client’s Guide to Virtual Assistants while you’re at it.

2. Running a business is a completely different animal than being an employee. You can’t operate a business and make a real income, much less sustain the business, if you think and operate like an employee and don’t charge appropriately. You’re going to have to start eduating yourself about business and being a business owner. That could start with getting a clear understanding about the difference between an employee and a Virtual Assistant.

3. I can almost guarantee this Virtual Assistant has done no business planning or used any business formularies to set her rates profitably and professionally. If you do nothing else, download the VACOC’s free automated Excel Service Pricing Worksheet so you can get a smarter, more informed idea of what it really costs to run your professional business and what kind of rate you’ll need to charge in order to sustain the business, pay yourself a salary and (gasp!) even create profit!

You should also purchase the VACOC Virtual Assistant Business Plan Template. This isn’t someone’s sloppy, generic, poor excuse of a business plan. This is my personal, 18-page, proven success plan that outlines my complete model for creating a six-figure solo Virtual Assistant practice. It is fully customizable and includes four Excel financial worksheets as well as a service rate calculation tool.

It’s designed to help you better understand the business you are in and how to create multiple revenue streams at every level in addition to your one-on-one administrative support.

4. It screams to potential clients, “Hey, I’m a cheap dummy. I don’t know the first thing about running a business and charging appropriately. PLEASE, I’m desperate, don’t know any better and this is your red-carpeted, personal invitation to come and totally take advantage of my ignorance.”

This is absolutely the wrong way to attract clients. You aren’t in business to give away your work, but that’s exactly what you’d be doing at those kind of unprofitable rates. In fact, it will attract all the worst sort of clients: the demanding nitpickers, the cheapskates, the scope creepers, the late payers, the non-payers, the I-want-it-all-and-I-want-it-now-but-I-don’t-want-to-pay-for-it clients and all other various manner of nightmare, PIA clients; the kind of clients that will make you regret ever going into business in the first place.

You simply can’t afford to work with the wrong kind of clients who don’t want to pay fully appropriate and professional rates. Your business will not survive. You will quickly go broke and burn out trying to keep up.

Low rates is also not the way to get good, quality, wonderful-to-work with clients who will value you and your work. It’s actually a form of bribery. It’s saying, I have nothing of any real substance to offer and the only way I can get clients to work with me is to bribe them with low rates.

Worse, it is a bright, neon-lit sign that tells the world you don’t have any confidence in your skills or the value they offer to clients and their businesses. Mark my words, if YOU don’t value and respect what you have to offer, no client will either.

It’s also a never-ending cycle of sabotage when you base your marketing message on low rates (and really, your marketing should never be about your price, but that’s a different post). Those who only come to you because you’re cheap are always going to want “cheap.” You will be nothing more than a commodity to them and they will forever be asking you for more discounts, more bargains, more freebies and more give-ins.

And there will always be someone else out there (who also doesn’t get it) willing to do it even cheaper. So then what do you do? Start working for free? Oh wait, you’re basically already doing that.

I know you don’t really want to go down that road. But it’s going to take more than knowing that you don’t. You’re going to have to start thinking and becoming conscious. It will require you to be smarter in business, to educate yourself about marketing and pricing (and the marketing message your rate sends), to fully understand your real value to clients, and in the process gain the confidence you need to run your own show and charge appropriately and profitably.

Some of that is going to necessarily have to begin with getting over some of the social and cultural hang-ups most women suffer from in business. My favorite expert for helping women overcome employee mindset and gaining the confidence to start charging their worth is Mikelann Valterra, director of the Women’s Earning Institute. Get thee over to her website and sign up for her newsletter and subscribe to her blog. You simply must do this now!

And for an entire process of getting clear about the business you’re in, identifying your target market, profiling your ideal client AND gaining a clear, unmitigated understanding of your value to clients and crafting your marketing message, be sure to get my workbook, “Understanding Your Value: How to Craft Your Own Unique Value Proposition and Cash-In on Value-Billing Methodologies.”

You do the exercises included in the book to help you tighten up your thinking and craft your marketing and you will never have to bribe anyone to work with you for peanuts ever again.

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged Setting Professional Fees, Virtual Assistance, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants | Comments (9)

January 12, 2009 – 10:00 am

Lahr (Germany) & Strasbourg (France)

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This past weekend our mission was to go to Lahr, Germany. Lahr is a quaint little village that my dad had fond memories of when he was in the Air Force and stationed there back in the 60s. He asked me, if we were ever in the area, to stop by there and take pix of the city, a few landmarks and some of the places he used to frequent.

There was an extreme cold snap going through most all of Europe, but the weather was so beautiful you almost didn’t notice the cold. Of course, it helps to be all bundled up warm and snuggly.

It’s only about a two hour drive on the autobahn from Mannheim to Lahr. We left at 8:30 am and got there in time to stop in at the information office before it closed. The ladies there were so nice and helped Rob’s mom locate all the spots I wanted to shoot for my dad on a map they gave to us.

Although it was still morning, we didn’t get to go into too many places. This being one of the small towns, it’s the custom where shops typically close at noon on Saturdays. Some places (like restaurants) will open back up a few hours later, but most are closed the rest of the weekend.

We did catch a delightful bookstore before it closed, and I was able to get a few books on the history of the city for my dad, which was nice. But darn it–I wasn’t able to catch any souvenir shops open long enough to find my polyresin city magnet for Lahr (I collect these from all our travels).

We strolled over the downtown streets. I just love how the cities here are all built in a circular fashion. Everything you need is always within walking distance. The streets and alleys meander this way and that; you never see what’s coming up next and turning every corner and curve is an adventure.

Here are some shots of the downtown shopping district:

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I just love the little details you always find on the homes and buildings in Germany. This is a little doodad for holding down the shutters:

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One of the landmarks on my dad’s list was the Storchenturm (Stork Tower), which was built in the 17th century. Storks mate for life and at one time there was a pair who nested at the top, but we were told it’s been empty for many years now.

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Our luck was great as one of the few pubs/restaurants that stayed open was right across the street. We had the most delicious meal here and the owner was quite a character. He spoke English very well, which he told us he learned when he lived for many years in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The beer, needless to say, was stupendous. They pulled it straight from the kegs which are hooked right up the taps.

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By the way, here’s something you should know if you ever travel here and like to partake of a brewski now and then… Every region is known for its own kind of beer. Only beers brewed in certain regions can legally be called that particular region’s kind of beer.

When you travel to different areas, it’s the polite custom to order that region’s particular brews (we generally ask for whatever their region’s pilsner or ale is). It’s considered extremely rude to ask if they have another region’s beer. Don’t ever do that! LOL

After filling up on yet another wonderful repast and a couple beers, we decide to walk up one of the hills out of the shopping district and into one of the tonier residential neighborhoods.

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After that, we headed to the hotel that the ladies on the information center recommended to us, the Dammenmuhle.

Wow! What a treasure this place was. They sure didn’t steer us wrong and we definitely plan to return again. It’s more bed and breakfast than hotel. It’s billed as being on the outskirts of the Black Forest, although truth be told, it’s not really that close, but it is in its own little isolated forest wanderland, complete with its own lake.

The entire hotel consists of the main building with office, dining hall and ballroom along with three or four outbuildings each of which has its own design. All the buildings surround the little lake, along with some storage facilities and animal barn. The lake even has its own island and at night is lit up with bright, multi-color globes and little white tea lights.

In the summertime, you can rent canoes. But in the winter, when it’s freezing cold as it is and the lake freezes over, people and their children play hockey and slide and ice skate on it.

Here’s the hotel during the day:

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One of the dining halls (they had all kinds of wonderful old paintings and furniture and other artifacts):

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I loved this chair:

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One of the mangers:

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They had a few darling little animals (even a mama llama and her baby):

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Here’s the frozen lake during the day:

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You can see how cold it is… This is a creek. You know it’s cold when running water freezes!

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After taking a little nap, we headed back out to the lake where some kids and families were skating:

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Below is the beergarten where you can warm up with some gluhwein or a beer. It was extra festive that night because we are still officially in the Fasnacht (Fasting Tuesday, which is like our Fat Tuesday) season leading up to Ash Wednesday.

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The ballroom all lit up with the crystal chandeliers aglow. They had some kind of party going on, but we didn’t crash it. We opted instead to watch all the crazy shows on German cable tv.

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(By the way, I don’t know why, but the Germans seem to be about twenty years behind the music scene and are OBSESSED with our old 70s and 80s pop music!)

Here’s the view of the lake from our private patio. We had the very top floor rooms, which were just gorgeous.

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Here’s a shot of the night sky (there was a full moon that night) with one of the colored globes making for an interesting photo:

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The next morning we had a big buffet for breakfast. The Germans don’t eat a whole lot for breakfast. It’s commonly just a little bread of some kind and maybe some fruit. The hotel had all kinds of yummy, healthy stuff to choose from.

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You remember I mentioned Fasnacht (Fasting Night). This is like our Fat Tuesday holiday, but it lasts much longer. It begins on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (November) and lasts up to Ash Wednesday in February.

Generally after Christmas, you start to see more and more groups of people dressed up in matching themed costumes, and there are parties going on all the time. This group was supposed to be a bunch of Cossacks:

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Funny, but not so funny, story… the chef and the owner visited with us over breakfast. The chef pointed to a group travel bus outside and said that one of the partiers was found passed out in front of it in the early morning hours. Apparently she had wandered outside after everyone else was asleep, perhaps to smoke a cigarette, and ended up with barely a pulse!

Luckily, someone found her in time, but it’s no joke to be outside in that kind of weather drunk off your ass. You can die in a heartbeat. But they got her all warmed up and she was okay they told us.

Our plan for Sunday was to go to Strasbourg, France, and see the cathedral there. Along the way, the extreme cold made for the most hauntingly beautiful shots of the countryside and farmlands:

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We hit France at about 11:30 am or noon (somewhere around that time):

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Strasbourg is in the state of Alsace and at various times in history has been alternately German, then French, and back and forth. Much of the architecture and culture is originally German. It is now part of France again and decidedly French although much of the population speaks a dialect that combines both German and French. It’s not uncommon for people to have a French first name and German last name.

Strasbourg was just lovely. I felt so at home here. It was really nice to actually be able to read things for a change and even use a little of my very rusty French!

Here are some shots of what I would say is the city center:

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Look at that gorgeous iron work!

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And the sculpural ornamentation!

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Look at this crazy skinny little building sandwiched in there!

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We bought some roasted chestnuts from one of the little cart vendors you see here and there:

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We had lunch at this lovely place called Le Gruber:

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Rob’s mom and I had this delicious coq au vin dish. Rob had some kind of big ol’ sausage with sauerkraut which was good also.

Rob’s dad had an Alsacian pizza which is supposedly renowned worldwide. I can see why… it really was to die for. The crust is done very, very thin (like the Italians do) and is covered with this special cream type sauce with the teeny diced ham and tomatoes (or whatever you are having on it) sprinkled over the top.

Here are some shots inside:

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A French beer:

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A couple four-legged friends:

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After lunch we headed for the main event of the day… the cathedral!

There just are no words to explain the awe you feel in the presence of these structures. It’s a very visceral reaction.

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You almost can’t even comprehend the details. See how each and every little sculpture and carving is a completely different scene:

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Here are some interior shots (sorry they didn’t come out better):

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This is where the organ is located:

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These are the steps up to the pulpit:

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This is the amazing astronomical clock. It’s the one picture I am just dying didn’t come out well. I even tried to take a movie, but it was just too dark. I so wish I could better share how amazing this thing was:

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Rob and I climbed to the top of one of the towers. You get there via this windy, enclosed, spiral cement stairway which opens up at various levels along the way (very claustrophic). Here are some shots on the way up:

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See these marks in the next two shots? They are mason’s marks. Each mason had their own symbol (you could even say “brand!”) he would carve into any piece of stone he was responsible for laying. I thought that was so interesting. We spotted these inside the staircase.

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Sundial:

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They had graffitti even back in the olden days! Notice how neat they were back then even while they were defacing church property.

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And then you would find these odds-and-end, sneaky little details like this little puppy… Who know why it’s there. Does it have any historical, symbolic meaning? Was it a particular mason’s brand? Or was it just someone having some fanciful fun? We didn’t find out, but who cares? We were just grateful that it exists in the world.

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