It’s that time of the month again! (No, not THAT time, LOL) But it is time for the acclaimed VACOC Monthly Guest Expert Teleseminar Series next Thursday, January 15.
This month, the fabulous and wonderful Cari Vollmer, the Passion into Profit mentor and founder of LifeOnTrack.com, is going to share her world-famous vision-boarding process.
It is the start of a new year, ya know, and what better time than now to revisit our hopes, our dreams, our goals and get excited about them all over again. This time, though, you’ll have help from Cari’s brilliant, fun and creative tool to keep you… what else? On track!
And by the way, as always, this is a free business teleseminar and all are welcome. Be sure and invite your business buddies (and hey, if you’re always looking for something to write about, this is a great resource to share on your blog or post to the listservs and forums you participate in). Feel free to borrow any wording you like from our registratio page!
Never place cost above value in business. Successful people do not pinch pennies (as in penny-wise, pound foolish) and they certainly don’t pinch a loaf when it’s time to pay for something of value.
It never ceases to amaze me how Virtual Assistants and other small business owners will waste hours and hours of time (how much is an hour of your time worth in your business?) just to save a few measly bucks or pennies.
I mean, I have seen people mulishly refuse to part with $30, $15 even $10 a month on something that could literally end up saving them thousands upon thousands of dollars in time, energy, labor, you name it.
That’s just being plain dumb. God gave you a brain; use it. And don’t give me any excuses about not having any money. First of all, being in business costs money (at least in some amount); get used to it. Only idiots and morons will tell you any differently.
Second of all, when there is a tool or solution you can invest in that will elevate your business image, improve your operations and profitability, and free up more of your time to work with clients (and make more money), come hell or high water, you find the money somehow, some way to get that thing. Complaining about money is for victims and people who shouldn’t be in business.
This is why I’m always preaching to never be a cheapskate. If you are a cheapskate in your business, you can expect to always attract cheapskates as clients as well. You’ll also deliver a cheapskate service. If you don’t understand value in the same way that quality clients do, you’ll never be able to sell it to them.
If a solution allows you to automate, operate more efficiently and profitably, get in front of more clients or make more moolah than it costs, THAT’S value. And value doesn’t require that it necessarily be instant or on-demand.
Plus, something that is of value is an investment, not an expense (not to mention a tax write-off). An investment is something that adds to or enhances your business and service, not takes away from it.
Not only do Virtual Assistants need to be looking at the tools they review for use in their businesses in this way, it’s also how they should be talking to clients about Virtual Assistance.
I have a new client who wants me to sign a non-compete agreement. Do you know where I can find one that will work? –SC
HALT!!! Sweetie, don’t do another thing until you read this post!
You NEVER, ever want to sign a non-compete agreement. You are a business owner and you are in business to work with more than one client. Signing a non-compete agreement, especially those poorly written generic ones that far too many people buy at their local office supply store, could effectively and potentially put you out of business.
You ALWAYS want to consult with an attorney in legal matters like this, and never sign any agreement of this nature before you do (which,personally, I recommend you never do; it has no place between two independent business operators), and especially in cases where you don’t realize the legal ramifications and rights you may be signing away.
Now, your client may be talking about some kind of confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement (just using the wrong terminology), something to protect his or her proprietary business information and intellectual property that you may have access and become privy to while working together. That, of course, is perfectly reasonable. In fact, you may have your own proprietary information and trade secrets you want to protect and want to have clients sign your NDA as well.
However, it is not your role to provide legal documents of that nature to clients on their behalf. That is something every business owner must do themselves, consulting with their own attorneys. When they want to protect something in their business, they provide the documents to you. And vice versa.
In the case of subcontracting for colleagues, there are reasonable expectations that you are expected not to market to or steal their clients. But there is specific language for that that an attorney can and should look over or provide so that you aren’t signing some kind of blanket non-compete that asks you not to do business in certain areas or do the work you do for a certain period of time. That’s what you do not want to be signing away or agreeing to as, again, you are a business.
This is an area of business law you need to bone up on if you are going to be a smart, responsible, knowledgeable business owner. And it’s an example of an area you may often need to educate clients in as well (when they ask you to do things that just aren’t your responsibility to do).
Last Monday, January 5, we woke up to an inch or two of snow. Finally!
I just love snow. We don’t get a whole lot of it where we live in Western Washington. So when my daughter tells me I’m missing the biggest snow that side of the mountains in 20 odd years, I was bummed. Snow just gives everything such a festive, magical feeling so it was wonderful to be able to get a bit here in Germany so I wouldn’t miss out.
The other cool thing is that Jan. 6 is a holiday over here called Holy Three Kings Day. Everything is closed and it’s a work day off for most everyone. So Rob and I decided to explore Luisen Park, all sparkly from the fresh snow cover, which is basically across the street from us and runs alongside the Neccar River. It was such a wonderful, exhilarating day being all bundled up warm and toasty like eskimos and walking around in the icy cold. It was a crytal clear, sunny day to boot!
Luisen Park is a gorgeous wanderland with trails, lakes, ponds, streams, reflection pools and art installations where you can walk your dog, get your exercise and take in all the beautiful scenery.
(These lawn chairs in the snow cracked me up.)
Chess anyone?
Park of the frozen lake where you can rent gondolettas in the summertime:
Boat launch:
One of my favorite sights that day: the flamingoes, along with storks, pelicans, cranes and other water birds:
Storks:
Oh, they also have wild parrots ala “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.” Lord, they are cute. What personalities! They are really loud, too. When I first got to Mannheim and Rob and I walked around the neighborhood, I saw some flashes of birds zipping by that sounded like parrots and whose silhouettes looked like parrots. Now we know they were parrots!
The park has beautiful outdoor gardens and indoor green houses with themes from all over the world. They also have a little zoo where you can see all kinds of birds, fish, butterflies, reptiles and other various small animals, as well as a farmyard petting zoo where it is set up to show how they used to farm and do things back in olden times in the area.
One of the greenhouses:
Some of the greenhouse plants:
They have several *real* restaurants on the grounds where you can get full dining service and even sit outside at night or when it’s cold underneath the gas heaters with blankets.
Before looking at the animals, we decided to warm up with some lintzen (lentil) soup with bratwurst.
Here’s shot of the outside of the restaurant where you can view the multi-level reflection pool complete with live flamingoes as you eat:
Afterward, we couldn’t pass up dessert. Our desserts came two pieces to a plate so we shared. Mine was definitely the best. The dollops of real cream with chopped pistachios sprinkled on top was a heavenly touch.
My dessert:
Rob’s dessert:
By the way, that’s one of the neat things about Europe. They have more of a reverance for food and observing the ceremonies in life that we Americans take for granted. Food and dining is an experience to languish in. That’s why you’ll see real restaurants on park grounds, for example, instead of crappy, unhealthy food-to-go joints.
Also, restaurants here don’t rush you out the door. You are allowed to savor and enjoy, converse with the people in your party and just *be.” Much of the service we see in American only in three or four-star restaurants is commonplace here, such as full, beautifully presented place settings and services.
Take this coffee service below for example…. Each person’s coffee comes in its own pitcher (can’t think of the right word off the top of my head) along with all the accoutrements on a little silver platter. Often, you’ll get your own personal little creme pitcher and sugar dish as well.
This is just the everyday, common way of serving over here. These are important things in life here to people and they don’t cut corners. This is what I call “soul” and I think we need more of that in America.
Below is a shot of the outdoor restaurant seating. This is something else commonplace, where they’ll provide gas heaters and blankets so you can enjoy the out-of-doors even in the dead of winter. I love it and wanted to eat out there, but Rob was being prissy, LOL.
Oh, and it being Holy Three Kings Day, there was some kind of event going on which we missed, but here are some shots of the “kings:”
I won’t bore you will all our animal pix, but here are a few of the hightlights. The otters were definitely the most entertaining!
One of the other main attractions is this huge, gorgeous Chinese tea house in the Chinese Gardens which was brought over from China piece by piece and recontructed.
The little train that will take you around the Chinese Gardens:
We had planned to also take the train to Swennigan (I need to look up the correct spelling), which is a neighboring city not too far away that is supposed to be even lovelier than Heidelberg. But there was just too much to see and do in Luisen Park and we ended up spending the entire day there.
(Here’s an article I wrote and just published for the VACOC newsletter, “The Portable Business(TM)” which you can subscribe to here.)
So What Is This Thing Called Virtual Assistance?
You may or may not fully understand what Virtual Assistance is all about so every five weeks we like to spotlight an article that has to do with better understanding what Virtual Assistance is and how to best work with a Virtual Assistant.
Unlike a secretarial service, which is focused on piecemeal, transactional project work (sort of like dropping off a copy job at your local printer’s), a Virtual Assistant specializes in ongoing, continuous, administrative support working in collaborative relationship with clients.
See, working only once or sporadically with vendors you are only impersonally or occasionally engaged with only accomplishes an immediate need. And sometimes that’s all you need. Isn’t it great that there are all these different kinds of businesses in our great, big, wonderful world?
But sometimes a business owner wants more continuity. He or she realizes that one little ol’ project being completed isn’t going to contribute in any substantive, permanent way toward building a more efficient, smoother-running business. That business owner wants someone who can handle ongoing administrative functions as more of a right-hand, a partner who can then better understand the work and how it all ties together within the business. In this way, that “partner” is therefore able play a bigger, more effective, contributing part in helping the client achieve his or her objectives.
This is exactly what a Virtual Assistant is in the business of offering: right-hand administrative support delivered in an ongoing, collaborative relationship. A partnership, if you will. This is where all the magic, efficiency and forward-growth happens. And the longer you work together, the more efficient and sympatico the work and your relationship becomes. You are building upon a foundation of knowledge and understanding, not starting and stopping from scratch, project by project, with strangers outside your business. They simply can not have the same big-picture vision of what the works means to your goals and what you are striving to achieve.
So you see, it’s not outsourcing. It’s not project work. It’s a close, personal relationship and the chemistry that occurs only when two people work closely together.
RESOURCE: Learn more about Virtual Assistance and how to get the most out of your relationship with a Virtual Assistant with our Client’s Guide to Virtual Assistants. And don’t forget that the VACOC is the only organization that screens members to meet standards of excellence, ethics and competence. They ain’t got it, they are not granted membership. Our Virtual Assistants are waiting to meet you.
About the Author: Danielle Keister is a business advisor, innovator and thought leader in the Virtual Assistance profession. A veteran Virtual Assistant of 12+ years, her logical, no-nonsense approach to business development has gained her recognition as one of the leaders in the field. Her business acumen is a hot commodity among the Virtual Assistants who regularly consult her. She loves what she does and is passionate about sharing her knowledge and know-how with the world. She’s all about inspiring others to reach for their highest excellence. When not taking care of clients in her own Virtual Assistant practice, The Relief Virtual Assistance, she is busy leading the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce.
(c) Copyright 2008. You are free to republish this article only if used in its entirety with links, resource and “About the Author” info intact.
I was reading a newsletter from someone I think is a lovely, delightful person personally, but like most of the internet marketers, works with Virtual Assistants as if they were employees. And sorry to say, it’s Virtual Assistants who have trained them like this.
Here is the line that chaps my hide:
“… your Virtual Assistant decides to fly off for a spur of the moment week away, leaving you with hours of admin nightmare to deal with.”
If this client’s workload is that large and that immediate, they don’t need a Virtual Assistant, they need an employee (although I also feel for that empoyee who can’t take a week off without hearing about it like this).
And the Virtual Assistant she’s got, she’s not a business owner, not really. For all intents and purposes, she’s working as if she’s still an employee.
Business owners with workloads that large don’t make for great clients for exactly the reason indicated in that sentence. When you take on a client like that, expect to be enslaved to them by the sheer volume of the workload.
That’s not enrepreneurial freedom, and working with clients who have that kind of workload will keep you from growing your Virtual Assistance practice as a real business (and wear you out in the process).
No client should ever be so dependent upon a Virtual Assistant–who is an administrative consultant and a business independent of theirs, not an employee–to the point that their business comes to a screeching halt without them. If that’s the case, then what they need is an employee, not a Virtual Assistant. And Virtual Assistants need to stop working with clients in that capacity as if they were employees.
We decided to go to Heidelberg to ring the new year in. It’s a popular spot to celebrate New Year’s Eve, according to Rob, because of the spectacular fireworks show that happens along the Neccar River against the backdrop of the Heidelberger Schloss (schloss = castle/palace) all lit up.
We caught the train to Heidelberg at about 8pm. Walking to the train platform was treachurous as it had rained earlier and by this time the sidewalks were a sheet of ice. It’s a wonder I didn’t slip in my boots and break my neck, but I didn’t!
The plan was to go across the bridge to get the best view. But first, we wanted to eat something hearty and have a couple beers so we decided to check out Binsebub’s, not knowing if it would be open. It was! AND they had a free buffet with all kinds of yummy German dishes, appetizers and other finger food. Score!
We had a few beers, bought a couple to go (yes, you can buy beer to go from just about every pub and restaurant here, and you can walk around with beer, too), and at about 11:30, right when we were about to leave, the proprietors broke open some fabulous champagne and starting serving everyone. It would have been rude not to drink what was set down in front of us. Rob gulped his down so we wouldn’t be late, but I can’t drink like that so I put us behind schedule. The proprietor signaled me to guzzle it, LOL, and told us to be sure and come back to eat some more as they would be still be open. (Champagne is the quickest way to get me absolutely drunk, by the way!)
We didn’t make it across the bridge. By the time we got up there, it was already midnight and too crowded to move through, but the fireworks in the street were still festive and exciting. It was crazy like the Wild West! People singing and cheering, shooting off firewalks and walking around with all manner of bottles and drinks, LOL! We got to the bridge entrance, broke open our beers and took in all the fun, video rolling.
So here’s a couple videos from the Rob and Danielle Show and all the action and festivities along the Neccar River right before and after the stroke of midnight, raw and unadulterated, LOL. Sorry, they’re a bit dark, but they lighten up at places and you can definitely hear how crazy it all was. First one is about 9 minutes and the second one about 8 minutes long:
At about 12:30, we wanted to check out our other favorite watering place, a world famous university gasthaus located right by the bridge towers called Schnookeloch, which means “mosquito hole”, but they were already closing for the night so we headed back to Binsebub’s where there was more partying to be had. We chatted and partied with all kinds of interesting people there that night. A retired professor (from the University of Heidelberg) and his wife who had just come from a classical concert in Mannheim. He was also a musician and regaled us with his stories of working with classical musicians who couldn’t play a thing unless it was on a sheet in front of them, and his other passion–playing improvizational and dixieland jazz on his accordian.
Then we met a couple of sociologists. The guy was super intense. He was one great big giant brain, but very funny and gregarious at the same time. Rob and he talked and debated about history and politics all night. The girlfriend, also a sociologist and psychologist, was so nice and spoke a bit of English. We pretty much hung out together the rest of the night and made fun of the guys. Another one of the more interesting people was this cancer researcher who was originally from Russia and, like Rob, had been all around world. He definitely had some very strong opinions and ideas about the state of affairs in the world today!
Bars here in Germany stay open later than in the U.S. and it was 3:30 in the morning when the owners started closing down! Time had flown by and we had no idea it was that late (or early, as the case was). Trying to get home was an adventure in itself. By the time we walked back to the depot, our last train had already left. While we waited around to see if there were going to be any buses headed back to Mannheim, we met a couple American guys, civil contractors working at the U.S. base in Mannheim. We decided to all catch a cab together and split the fare in half. We were lucky to get one since EVERYONE was trying to do the same thing, and it was a huge relief once we did. I think we probably got home about 4:30 or so.
Today, we have just been laying around in bed having a totally relaxing day and listening to old radio shows on the computer (one of my favorite things to do). It is an absolute wonder that I am not hungover when I think of all the booze we drank last night, LOL. I think the good, hearty German fare helped cushion our abuse, LOL.
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It’s that time of the month again! (No, not THAT time, LOL) But it is time for the acclaimed VACOC Monthly Guest Expert Teleseminar Series next Thursday, January 15.
